THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST
Verse 14 says, “Having therefore a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast the confession.” In Romans 8 the One who indwells us is Christ. In Hebrews 4 the One who approaches God is the High Priest. At our end, He is Christ coming to us from God; at God’s end, He is the High Priest going to God for us. Ascending, He is the High Priest, and descending, He is Christ. After His resurrection, He ascended from the earth. To the disciples it seemed that He was leaving them. However, His going from the disciples was for His coming back to them (John 16:5-7). His ascending was for His descending.
The angels in Jacob’s dream were not first descending and then ascending. They first ascended (Gen. 28:12), rising from the earth to reach God. After His resurrection, Christ did not come directly to dwell in His disciples. On the morning of the resurrection, Jesus told Mary, “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father” (John 20:17). Then in the evening, Jesus came to His disciples and breathed the Spirit into them (v. 22). This was His descending to enter into them. The ascending was in the morning, and the descending was in the evening. First, He ascended to the heavens to present Himself to God in the freshness of His resurrection to satisfy the Father. Then He descended to the disciples in order to enter into them to be their life and their everything for their satisfaction.
COMING FORWARD TO THE THRONE OF GRACE
According to the Old Testament type, the high priest ministered in the Holy of Holies. Within the Holy of Holies there was the ark, and upon the ark there was the propitiation cover, or mercy seat (Exo. 25:17, 21), upon which the propitiating blood was sprinkled. This seat signifies the throne of God, which is the throne of authority to all the universe (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 5:1) but the throne of grace to us, the believers (Heb. 4:16). Moreover, it is the throne of God and of the Lamb, Christ (Rev. 22:1). God and the Lamb sit on the one throne in the way of coinherence, in the way of being two yet one.
Today the throne of God is both in our spirit and in the heavens. This may be illustrated by electricity. Electricity is both in the power plant and in our homes at the same time. Christ is both in the heavens and in our spirit, and where Christ is, there is the throne of God. Just as the one electricity joins the power plant to our home, the Christ who is in the heavens is also within us, joining us with the heavens and bringing the heavens down to us, making us one with the heavens. Today we are in the heavens, and the heavens are in our spirit.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help.” The way to come forward to the throne of grace is to turn to our spirit. To turn to our spirit, we do not need to pray much. When we simply say, “O Lord,” we have the sensation that the throne of grace is within us. Today in our spirit there is heaven, the throne of authority, and the throne of grace with God and the Lamb. When we call on the Lord, we are in our spirit, and our spirit is in the heavens with the throne of authority, the throne of grace, and the coinhering God sitting on the throne. This is the way to apply Romans 8.
Every day we should continually come forward to the throne of grace. This is the real experience of life. Whenever I am going to speak in a meeting, regardless of how busy I am, I spend at least five minutes with the Lord. When I call on the Lord, I am in my spirit, and I meet Christ on the throne of grace. In this way, I receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Then I can speak with the heavens and with the throne of grace and the coinhering God on the throne. To speak in this way is to speak in the enjoyment. The more we speak in this way, the more we enjoy the heavens, the throne of grace, and the very coinhering God.
After seeing the revelation in Romans 8, we need to come to Hebrews 4. First, we must discern our soul from our spirit. Then we need to experience the indwelling Christ and the High Priest going to God for us. Then we will receive mercy and find grace.
(The Experience and Growth in Life, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)
