The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 242

God. Man, 11,~ he is now, cRnnot mRke it; (vers. 16-23), and the c11amcter of his but in the "Son of man" he sees it made, sacrifire implies a better covenant tlmn tho nnd thus finds aL last the idea of a true atone- old, even such e. oue e.s J eremiuh fore- ment fulfilled. In the expression, "dead told. Further, the purpose of his dee.th works," there may be &n intended 11,1\usion is said to be "for the redemption of the to _the dead_ bodies from the pollution of transgressions the.t were under the first which espeornlly the "ashes of an heifer" covenant." For in the passage of Jeremiah purified; &nd in "to serve" (,ls .,.b A11'Tp<1'mv) the defect of the first covenant was besed on there is an evident reference to the leg-al the transgression of its conditions by mo.n, type. As the legal sin offering purified the while under the new one, such transgres- fte,h from the contamination of contact with sions were to be no more remembered. Dut the dead, so that the Israelites, thns cleansed, this could not be without atonement for might offer acceptable worship, so Christ's them; the whole ceremonial of the Lo.w offering of himself fulfils what was thns signified this; and also tho.t such atonement typified; it purifies the "conscience" from could not be except by death. The death of the contamination of " dead works," so that Christ satisfied this requirement ; and so we may offer our bodies a living sacrifiCG, the new covenant could come in. So fe.r the holy,accepta.ble unto God, whioh is our Ao-,,,rd, course of thought is clear. Nor is there Aa,-p,ia(Rom. xii. 1). On v,1epiiw lp-,,r,,v, see difficulty in nnderst11.nding the purport of under eh. vi. 1. Here, the idea of general ver. 18, etc., ta.ken by itself, where the pollution pervading the whole congregation "blood-shedding" that inuugumted the first having been prominent in what precedes, covenant is regarded e.s typical of that of we may, perhaps, take the expression as Christ in the ine.ugure.tion of the new one. denoting all human works whatever "done But there is a difficulty a.bout the intervening before the grace of Christ and the inspira- verses (16, 17), a.rising from the apparent tion of ,his Spirit," all being regarded as use of the word 11,a.lHJIC?I in a new sense, not tainted with sin, and so dead for the purpose otherwise suggested-that of testament rather of justification. The purification from them than cot>enant. The verses are, as given in which is spoken of involves (be it further the A.V., For where a testament is, there observed) both justification through atone- must also of necessity be (tplp,u9a.,, e. word of ment and se.nctilication through grace : the which the exact meaning is not clear; some first, since, otherwise, the very meaning of interpret "be brought in, or proved," some the old sin offerings would not be fulfilled; "be understood., implied") the death of the the second, as denoted by the concluding testator ('Toii li,110,,.dvou, equivalent to "him clause, " to serve," etc. The second is the that made it"). For a testament is of foroe necessary sequence of the first. Believers after men are de&dl( '11rl v,,cpo,s) : otherwise it are not only "cleansed from their former is of no strength at all while the testator sins," but also put into a position for offering liveth ( or, /or doth it ever avail while he that an acceptable service. In the life of Christ made it li-veth 1 '11r,l µ-fi,ro.,.• : cf. eh. x:. 2; in whom they live, and who ever li-oeth to Rom. iii. 6; 1 Cor, xiv. 16; John vii, 26; make intercession for them, they can hence- Luke iii 15). Now, the word li,a.lH,«11 itself forth •• serve the limng God." There is undoubtedly may bear the sense of "testa- involved, in fa.et (to return to the account of ment." Its 1?;eneral meaning is " disposition," the new covenant in Jer. xxxi), both oblivion or "settlement;" and it may denote either e. of past sins and a writing of the Law upon compact between living persons, or e. will to the heart. take effect after the testator's death. In the Vere. 15-17.-.A.nd tor this cause he is the verses before us it appear, to be used speci- Mediator of a new testament, that by means fically in the latter sense. For tliey express of death (literally, death hamng taken place), general propositions, which are not true of for the redemption of the transgreBBi.one that all covenants, but are true (according to were under the first testament, they which their most obvious sense) of all testaments. are called may receive the promise of the Further, this sense is distinctly applicable eternal inheritanoe. Here the view of the to the new li,118-li«11, regarded as the dying gospel as e. new li,11/Hi/C'f/ (introduced first in Christ's bequest to his Church. Hence, eh. vii. 22, and enlarged on in eh. viii. 6- but for the context, we should nature.Hy so 13) is age.in brought in. For the word is understand it in these verses. The dif- still li,a.fH,,,.,, though here, for reasons that ficulties attending this sense are: (1) The will appear, rendered "testament" in the word is not used in this specifio sense before A. V. The connecting thought here is-It or afterwards in this Epistle or in Jer. x:.xx:i., is becatUe of Christ's sacrifice he.ving been which is the basis of the whole argument, such e.s has been described, that he is the or elsewhere, apparently, either in the Old Mediator of that new and better covenant: Testament or the New. (2) The sense does it qualified him for being so. A sacrifice, a not suit the case of the old li,a9-fi1e11, which dee.th, wu req"Dired for giving it validity we.a a covenant between the living God u4 en. 1:x. 1-28.] THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 233