Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - Pt. 2

When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will ewe have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:8-14 ESV).

 

One great glimpse at the Lord Jesus is given in Hebrews 10:14. So let's focus on that verse this morning: "For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." Now let's do some very preliminary clarification of the words themselves. The word "offering" refers to the death of Christ, the offering of his own body in death on the cross (v.10). The "He" who does the perfecting is Jesus Christ. We know this simply by following the line of thought from the previous verse (13) where Christ sat down at the right hand of God and waits there, triumphantly, until all his enemies are put under his feet.

 

Also, the tenses of the words "perfected" and "sanctified" are extremely important. The ESV says, "He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” This is not the best translation of the Greek tenses. The translation of "has perfected" or "has made perfect" is good, because the act of perfecting is viewed as complete. That is to say He has perfected a group of people by means of his sacrifice for sins. This perfecting is viewed as having been accomplished and finished and completed. It is done "for all time."

 

But the translation, "those who are sanctified," at the end of the verse, could also look in English as if the sanctifying is also complete. They "are (now, already) sanctified." But that is not what the tense in the original Greek means. It is the present tense and signifies an ongoing process. So, this time the ESV gets it exactly right. The process of sanctifying is continuing now in their lives. Let's step back now and put the whole verse before us again in its context: "For by one offering [the sacrifice of his own body on the cross] Jesus Christ has perfected for all time those who are being made holy [or: are being sanctified] now progressively in this life."

I will return to this truth in the coming days. Today it is vital for your spiritual health to recognize that while you are not yet perfect (without sin) you are accepted and the process will be completed in Jesus. Our goal is not perfect behavior in this life. Our goal should be following Jesus in every step of our journey. Trust Him for that. The enemy would lie to us about that. Don’t listen to that Deceiver!