Bible Studies

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Sacrifices Pleasing to God Part 16

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, KJV

The 📝 writer of Hebrews now turns away from requesting the Hebrew believers prayers for him to praying divine blessing and protection over them, as it is written, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant," (Hebrews 13:20) (KJV). The Apostle Paul concluded most of his ✉ letters with this decsription, designation, and declaration of our Great God and Savior our Lord Jesus Christ, for example, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." (Romans 16:20) (KJV), therefore, this is why many Christians believe that Paul is also the author of this ✉ letter to the Hebrews. I personally have gone back and forth as to whether or not he did 🖋 pen this epistle, but I am unsure if he did or not, however, what I am sure of is that whether it was Paul the Apostle or one of the other men selected by God to 📝 write His Holy Word, each and everyone of them would always pray for the Father's divine protection and blessing upon other brothers and sisters 'in Christ' without hesitation. This first part of his prayers for the Hebrew believer's declares our Great God 'The God of Peace' and this is a Character of God that many unbelievers question because of all the despicable 😈 evil acts of men and women that goes on around the world. However, the presence of evil in the world 🗺 is not of God's doing, but the first man (Adam) allowed or 🔓opened the 🚪 door to the 😈 evil one the 👿 devil, therefore, all those acts of such in humanity are because of our human nature that was corrupted by Adam's sin, disobedience, and rebellion. Despite this fact, God wants to grant or give a fraction or sliver of His peace to any sinner who would turn to Him through Christ Jesus our Lord. At all times does He want to give His peace and rest to us His sons and daughters 'in Christ'. Here is some of what Alexander MacLaren had to say about 'The God of Peace', "He is the tranquil God, dwelling above all disturbance which comes from variableness and all ‘the shadows east by turning’; dwelling above all possibilities of irritation or agitation. And yet that great ocean is not stagnant, but through all its depths flow currents of love, and in all its repose is intensest energy. The highest activity coincides with the supremest rest. The wheel revolves so swiftly that it stands as if motionless. We read that ‘the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly,’ and also that ‘the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds,’ and again that the peace of God will sit as umpire in our hearts, detecting evil, judging actions, awarding the prizes. For, indeed, when that peace lies like a summer morning’s light upon our quiet hearts there will be little in evil that will so attract us as to make us think it worth our while to break the blessed and charmed silence for the sake of any earthly influences or joys. They that dwell in the peace of God have little temptation to buy trouble, remorse perhaps, or agitation, by venturing out into the forbidden ground. So, brethren, the great name of the God of peace is itself a promise, and entitles us to expect the completeness of character which alone brings peace."

When our Lord Jesus Christ lived upon the 🌎 earth, He was fully man and fully God at the very same ⏲ time, and this is the fact that makes it so special and important for us. God cannot ever die because He is eternal, however, when He made Himself Man and God at the same ⌚ time, then for our sakes (sinners) He died so that each one of 👥 us could be redeemed/reborn, therefore, His resurrection from the dead back into a new glorified body is a promise to and for us that we also will be resurrected from our physical or bodily death and given new resurrected bodies (like His) (1 John 3:2) to be with Him forever in Heaven. Here is some of what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 'The God of Peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant', "So, then, we have here brought before us Jesus who is risen and ascended, as the great Shepherd of the sheep. Looking to Him, what are we heartened to believe are the possibilities and the divine purposes for each of those that put their trust in Him? Gazing in thought for a moment on that Lord risen from the grave, with the old love in His heart, and the old greetings upon His lips, we see there, of course, as everybody knows, the demonstration of the persistence of a human life through death, like some stream of fresh water holding on its course through a salt and stagnant sea, or plunging underground for a short space, to come up again flashing into the sunshine. But we see more than that. We see the measure of the power, as the Apostle has it, that works in us, ‘according to the energy of the might of the power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.’ As we gaze, we see what may be called a type, but what is a great deal more than a type, of the possibilities of the risen life, as it may be lived even here and now, by every poor and humble soul that puts its trust in Him. The Resurrection of Jesus gives us the measure of the power that worketh in us. Expect great things; believe that what Jesus Christ came into the world and died to do, what Jesus Christ left the world and lives to carry on, will be done in you, and that you too will be made complete in Him. For the Shepherd leads and the sheep follow - here afar off, often straying, and getting lost or torn by the brambles, and worried by the wolves. But He leads and they do follow, and the time comes when ‘they shall follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth,’ and be close behind Him in all the good pastures of the mountains of Israel ‘We see not yet all things put under Him,’ but we see Jesus and that is enough. But the blood of the covenant does not mean only the death by which the covenant is ratified. We shall much misapprehend and narrow New Testament teaching, if we suppose that. The ‘blood is the life.’ There is further suggested, then, by the expression, that the vital energy, with which Jesus Christ came from the dead as the Shepherd of the sheep, is the power by which God makes us ‘perfect in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight.’ So, two practical counsels may close my words. See that you aspire as high as God’s purpose concerning you, and do not be content with anything short of the, at least, incipient and progressive accomplishment in your characters and lives, of that great prayer. Again, see that you use the forces which, by the Cross and the Resurrection and the Ascension, are set in motion to make that wondrous possibility a matter-of-fact reality for each of us; and whoever you are, and whatever you have been, be sure of this, that He can lift you from the mud and cleanse you from its stains, and set you at His own right hand in the heavenly places. For the name, and the risen Shepherd, and the blood of the everlasting covenant, make a threefold cord, not to be quickly broken, and able to bear the weight of the loftiest hopes and firmest confidence that we can hang upon it."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

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