Restoration Ministries International
Restoring the Hebraic Foundations of the Earliest
Church
Preparing the Family of Jesus to Be Light in Darkness
Discussing How To
Restore The Early Church
Returning Intimacy and Power to the
Father’s Children
“I tell you that if two of you on
earth agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by my Father in
heaven.
For where two or three come together in my
name, there am I with them.”
(Matthew 18:19,20)
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Section 1 - Lesson 11
A Hebraic Perspective
A Priesthood Change: From Levitical To
Melchizedek’s
Empowered By The Holy Spirit
Immersion In The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit AsTeacher
The Spirit of Conviction
A Hebraic Perspective
A Priesthood Change:
From Levitical to Melchizedek’s
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the
Jordan to be baptized by John.
But John tried to deter him, saying,
‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to
me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper
for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized,
he went up out of the water. At that
moment heaven was opened, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and lighting on him.
And a voice from heaven said, ‘This
is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased’” (Matthew 3:
13-17).
A little review of a concept that’s
foreign to contemporary Christian practice would be helpful
here. The Levitical priesthood of the Older Testament was
established by God to provide a means for His people to receive
forgiveness and reconciliation with Him.
An unblemished animal was brought before
the altar in order that the penalty
for the sins of the one offering it
might fall upon the sacrifice, and the sinner be forgiven. The
mediator between the sinner and God was a priest from the tribe
of Levi. The priest offered the blood from the sacrificial
substitute before God, the bloody death that was deserved by
the guilty sinner. That gory visual reminder of the
detestability of sin in God’s sight was a potent reminder
to avoid sin and walk in obedience to God’s ways!
Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement, the High Priest of the Levitical priesthood entered
the Holy of Holies behind the Temple curtain to represent the
nation before God’s presence. However, because the High
Priest himself needed forgiveness, this arrangement provided
only temporary forgiveness. Thus, the daily sacrifices had to
continue, day after day, year after year.
While many priests served before the Lord
with their own division for two weeks each year, there was only
one High Priest. Each time a new
High Priest was anointed, the outgoing High Priest would
baptize the incoming one by immersing him in a mikveh, waters of
purification.
Can you picture this? The incoming High
Priest is taken down into the water and immersed by the
outgoing priest. This is a crucial point in the change of
priesthood.
At this point, let’s make the
connection with Jesus, Who is now the High Priest of all who
are His. Have you ever considered this point: How did Jesus
receive His Priesthood?
Along the shores of the Jordan River,
Jesus came to John the Baptizer, who qualified as a Levitical
priest through the hereditary line of his father, Zachariah
(see Luke 1:5). [Some historians point out that John would have
been a legitimate High Priest of the Levitical system if the
Romans hadn’t put Caiaphas in that role.]
Since Jesus was without sin, he
didn’t require a baptism of repentance, that which John
was doing. Instead, Jesus received the anointing of His Priesthood from the last potential High Priest of the Levitical
line in order to satisfy the righteous requirements of His role
as our High
Priest. Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant, would offer
Himself once and for all as the Perfect Sacrifice.
John misperceived the Lord’s motive
for immersion, and humbly objected. But Jesus made His point
clear: “Let it be so now; it
is proper for us to do this to fulfill
all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).
In effect, John, the last of the Levitical
line of priests, baptized Jesus in the “Jordan
Mikveh”. Through this transitional act, Jesus initiated
the empowered priesthood of Melchizedek, the priest to whom Abraham delivered a tithe
of the choicest spoils of war. In the likeness of the priest
Melchizedek, Jesus lived an “indestructible life”
(see Hebrews 7:16). He could thus be recognized as the Messiah
Who fulfilled these priestly qualifications: “You are a priest forever, in the order of
Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:
17).
The name of Melchizedek bears special
examination, for it so fittingly describes Jesus, the High
Priest and King who had so long ago been prophesied: “First, [Melchizedek’s] name means
‘king of righteousness’; then also, “king of Salem”
means ‘king of peace’” (Hebrews
7:2). Jesus, our King of righteousness, fulfills the very words
given to the prophet Jeremiah:
“Behold, the days are coming,”
declares the LORD, “When I shall raise up for David a
righteous Branch; And He will reign
as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And
Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will
be called, ‘The LORD our
righteousness’ (Jeremiah 23:5,6,NAS).
John’s awareness of Jesus as the
Messiah was prompted by the prophetic expectation aroused by
his own father’s words of praise: that John would prepare
the way for the coming Lord and give his people the knowledge
of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:
76,77).
With the immersion of Jesus into a new
priesthood that was completely
different from the Levitical
system, a new Covenant was about to begin. The Levitical
requirements were “weak and useless”, unable to
make anyone perfect (see Hebrews 7:18,19). But Jesus
inaugurated a new and perpetually
effective priesthood through
His own sacrifice:
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them
free from the sins committed under
the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).
Our Lord Jesus is not the priest of a
religious system; His priesthood far surpasses that of the
Levitical priests. Jesus has brought about an eternal better hope through
which we draw near to God! (See Hebrews 7:19.) He is our
personal intermediary in heaven, and He wants you to trust that He is there on your behalf.
As you seek to serve Jesus, your
“Mel-chizedek” priest, you need the same empowerment by His
Spirit as He had. To allay any doubts that Jesus might not be
the Anointed One of God, “the
Spirit of God descend[ed] like a dove and light[ed] on
him” — the same Spirit
Who abides in those who walk in the Lordship of Jesus.
Only when you are baptized into the same Spirit that anointed
Jesus can you complete our Father’s purposes and be transformed into the
nature of Jesus. Neither the temple regulations of old nor the
steeples of today’s Levitical system of intermediary
clergy can effect the life changes that only our Melchizedek,
Jesus, can.
Through our King and High Priest we can draw near to God. We
who embrace the true Gospel are the Spirit’s dwelling
place. No earthly structure is holier than another, for where
the Spirit of Jesus is, there dwells His presence. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
[For more on this, see our newsletter
March, 2001: Living as the Family of Melchizedek.]
The clergy system of today is a throw back
to the temple Levitical order. Revisionists in the fourth
century resurrected the old priestly role to support the
pattern they had adapted from the Greek pagan priests.
Note this, however: The High Priesthood of
Jesus our Melchizedek and the old Levitical priesthood cannot
exist at the same time. They
represent two entirely different covenants. The former that is enacted from heaven has replaced the latter
system through the shed blood of the Priest Himself:
For Christ did not enter a man-made
sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he
entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in
God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself
again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy
Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ
would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the
world. But now he has appeared once
for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:24-26).
How much do you know about Jesus as a “priest in the order of Melchizedek”? Can you describe why perceiving Jesus in this
light is important to you? (You may want to explore the Book of
Hebrews for insight into the role of Jesus as our High Priest.)
Describe what you believe to be the biblical background for
the current clergy system in Christendom. What similarities do
you see between the clergy role and that of the obsolete
Levitical priesthood?
A Hebraic Perspective
Empowered By The Holy Spirit
“‘Not by might nor by power,
but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6)
As a result of Peter’s message at
Pentecost, many from the Hebraic Stream embraced Jesus as their
long-awaited Messiah. The teachings of Jesus, including His
affirmation of the need to be born again, confirmed that God
had been guiding this group for sometime. Their ancestors in
the Hebraic Stream had already put into practice the relational priorities and foundational
spiritual practices they would need
in their faith pilgrimage.
A new thought for you to consider: The
Church, the “called-out
ones”, did not begin at
Pentecost. The “church” as exemplified by a life of
love-grounded obedient trust began with Abraham, the first “called-out one.” This is why he is called the father of all who put
their trust in Jesus (Romans 4:16), and why the Gospel was
first spoken to Abraham (Galatians 3:8).
As we’ve already mentioned, the
Hebraic Stream up until the first coming of Jesus were the “called out ones”. These had been walking in the footsteps of Abraham in
their heart relationship of obedient trust in God. And, these
same Hebraic “called-out
ones” responded to
Peter’s proof that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies as
God’s Anointed One. It was through their repentance and
trust that these “called-out
ones” were forgiven and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Everything that the earliest followers of
Jesus needed to know about enacting their faith in a manner
pleasing to God had already been made known to their ancestors.
To repeat,
EVERYTHING you find in the
Newer Testament relational priorities and
faith practices were already
part of the Hebraic Stream before the
coming of Jesus. All they needed were His sacrificial atonement
and the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Think about the above statement for a
moment:
• The Father had ensured that the
relational priorities and faith practices that would fulfill
His purposes were already in place before the coming of Jesus.
• For the majority of Christians, and
possibly you, this is a whole new awareness. So many have
confined themselves to the Newer Testament as an independent
entity, disconnected from its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Some go so far as to refer to the “New Testament
Church” as though the Older Testament were insignificant
and useless instead of foundational for the continuing truth presented
in the Newer Testament.
• Our concerned Father also realized
that those who trusted in His Son would need the empowerment of
His Spirit if they were to walk in the obedient trust that
would fulfill His purposes.
The need for the Spirit’s power
wasn’t unique to the Hebraic early Church. Many
Christians limit the Holy Spirit’s work to the Newer
Testament. But this is far from the truth. The Spirit’s
role and presence permeate the Hebrew Scrip-tures. For example,
the Spirit was an integral part of creation in Genesis. He was
in the midst of the Israelites during their wilderness journey
(Isaiah 63:11).
The Older Testament testifies that the
Holy Spirit entered particular individuals to enable them to
perform extraordinary acts on God’s behalf. Let’s
examine three instances in the Hebrew Scriptures in which the
Spirit came upon someone.
A key illustration is Joseph, whom God
raised up in authority over all of Egypt to prepare the country
to face the coming famine. Even Pharaoh testified that “the Spirit of God lives in him!” (Genesis 41:38).
Then we encounter Bezalel, in whom our
Lord placed His Spirit so he could serve Moses in building the
Tabernacle (Exodus 31:3).
And when God wanted to raise up a wise
successor for Moses, we’re told, “Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the Spirit of
wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the
Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded
Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:9).
When our Lord promises, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6), do you realize that He means
for this to apply for all ages?
The Holy Spirit in our
Father’s children not only separates us out from all
mankind in relationship and motivation; He also enables us to
joyfully obey and complete our Father’s purposes for us.
To live for Jesus in the midst of evil, you need spiritual
power.
Describe your own views on the Holy Spirit
as He pertains to your life. Does He seem to be more of an
abstract concept? or, is He a living Person through Whom you
communicate in union with Jesus
A Hebraic Perspective
Immersion In The Holy Spirit
“It’s true that I am immersing
you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the
one coming after me is more powerful than I — I’m
not worthy even to carry his sandals — and he will
immerse you in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Matthew 3:11,CJB)
No one can point to the Holy Spirit and
say, “There He is!” Yet, Scripture confirms that an invisible God-Person enters into every true
follower of Jesus as a sign that our Father has consummated His
Covenant with that individual.
In some sectors of Hellenized
Christi-anity, baptism in the Holy Spirit is a controversial
subject. And because the Spirit is so significant in the way
our Father uses His people to fulfill His purposes, Satan would
like nothing more than to make the Holy Spirit a divisive
topic.
Remember that water baptism in the early
Church was derived from the Jewish mikveh in which a person was immersed in water for
purification purposes. This is the backdrop to the promise of
the “baptism in the Holy
Spirit”. It is an immersion into the
Spirit. And as you notice in the Book of Acts, those with the
Spirit of Christ were transformed!
Picture yourself there on that Pentecost
morning described in Acts chapter 2. The promised Holy Spirit
unmistakably arrived! But why was His indwelling presence so
necessary?
• The Holy Spirit is first and
foremost the evidence that our Father has accepted us as
children of the Covenant that was made sure in Jesus.
• Our pilgrimage with the Holy Spirit
is the means through which we become increasingly transformed into
Christ’s likeness.
• And, His power through us is what
makes us effective in fulfilling our Father’s purposes:
“But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth” (Acts 1:8).
[See Chapter 1 of God’s Instruments for War, “The Anointing of
the Holy Spirit: God’s Power Given To Man”.]
Wouldn’t you like to have heard
Peter’s words firsthand?
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The promise is for
you and your children and for all who are far off—for all
whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38,39).
Even though none of us was there, the
promise they received of the Spirit is for each of us who
trusts in the work, power and authority of Jesus. The promise
is for you...
Do you believe in your heart that a
follower of Jesus today needs a Spirit-empowered life to fulfill our
Father’s purposes in and through him? Our God
doesn’t depend on your strength or intelligence to
fulfill His plans. He values instead your dependence on His Spirit.
What is your belief about baptism in the
Holy Spirit?
Describe how you know that the Holy Spirit
indwells you. Cite both Scripture and personal experience to
evidence His presence.
A Hebraic Perspective
The Holy Spirit As Teacher
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything
I have said to you” (John 14:26)
The Hebraic followers of Jesus clearly
understood what it meant to be “born again.” The
rabbis of the Hebraic Stream had been teaching this truth for
over 200 years. Spiritual rebirth was a shift from your mind to
your heart. In a sense, to be born again was a change in
motivation from “what” you did to “why” you did it.
[See Lesson 8: The Hebraic Stream Versus The
Judaizing Stream.]
To His followers Jesus foretold that they
would receive the Counselor Who would teach them this new way
of life. He would reveal Himself as that inner voice to
guide them and quicken their understanding of God’s ways.
The Apostle John affirms this role of the
Holy Spirit when he assures, “...as
his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real,
not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in
him” (1 John 2:27).
Life with the indwelling Holy Spirit
isn’t meant to be one-way communication. To understand
the Holy Spirit as the followers of Jesus did, think of the
invisible Person of the Holy Spirit as your intimate, two-way
communicator with your heavenly Father:
• The invisible Holy Spirit expresses
our Father’s will and His love through your spirit into
your mind so you can respond in obedient love.
• As the Spirit of wisdom He gives
you God’s understanding of truth.
• When you pray, the Holy Spirit
intercedes with our Father and guides you to pray according to
our Father’s will.
Can you see how the process by which
you’ve learned in the past through your mind CHANGES when
your spirit perceives and agrees with our Father through the
Spirit of Jesus?
Prior to the Spirit’s indwelling,
all that you learned was acquired through
your physical senses as they sent information to your mind.
But as a Spirit-led follower of Jesus,
truth is learned, affirmed and applied by the Holy Spirit to your spirit.
The Spirit of Jesus guides and teaches
those He indwells by announcing the truth He’s received
from Jesus to the spirit of Jesus’s followers (see John
16:13-15). These “announcements” aren’t oral
in the sense that your ears pick them up. Rather, the
“ears” of your spirit respond to the Holy
Spirit’s inner proclamation.
Sadly, so many Christians never make the
transition from the physical to the spiritual dimension. They
depend solely on their five senses to impart information to
their mind. In doing so they negate dependence on the Spirit of
Jesus. Ultimately they may find themselves sinning against God
by grieving and quenching His Spirit.
Describe how you learn and apply biblical truth. How
dependent are you on hearing from the Spirit and obeying what
He says?
As you consider your own prayer life, what
part does the Holy Spirit play? What did He last make known to
you apart from your physical senses?
A Hebraic Perspective
The Spirit of Conviction
“When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he
will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and
righteousness and judgment” (John
16:8)
In Lesson 6, The
Older Testament: Key To Repentance, we
emphasized the Older Testament as the source for understanding
the all-important requirement of repentance. That’s why
it’s so evident that Jesus, John the Baptizer and Peter
at Pentecost clearly understood this Hebraic pre-condition.
Each one preached repentance as the first step into the Kingdom.
Consider this vital point: In order to repent you need to be convicted. And that’s exactly what Jesus tells us
will be part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry — the One Who convicts. Conviction means that you perceive your sin from
God’s vantage point and recognize that there are
consequences if you continue on that path.
When Peter finished addressing the Jews at
Pentecost, the impact of the Holy Spirit as Convictor was
profound and immediate: “When
the people heard [Peter’s words], they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what
shall we do?’” (Acts
2:37; see also 2 Corinthians 7:10,11).
Jesus revealed to His disciples the
Spirit’s role as Convictor so that they would recognize
the Spirit’s presence in action. The convicting work of
the Holy Spirit is a great kindness that our holy God has given to
mankind. If the Spirit didn’t convict people of their violations of
God’s commands, they’d only grow more evil.
Envision, for example, if this nation had
no police establishment to enforce the laws of this land. If
lawbreakers were not convicted, what do you think would happen?
Society would become more bent on evil and ever more lawless.
That’s why our Father so accurately
described humanity in terms of “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil all the time” (Genesis
6:5). God knew we needed help! We need to be convicted when we
break His laws.
Consider how necessary the indwel-ling
Holy Spirit is to followers of Jesus for them to be able
• to be convicted of their sins when
they’re walking in unrighteous, worldly ways.
• to repent for their sins by turning
from them and walking uprightly.
• to be cleansed of all
unrighteousness.
If you’ll read our article, The Gospel Of The Covenant Is The Pilgrimage To
Salvation, you’ll see how
powerful is the prayer of a righteous person who’s free from
unconfessed sin! What glory that person brings to our Father!
In essence, the convicting work of the
indwelling Holy Spirit enables followers of Jesus to live holy lives. He
enables them to be used for HOLY purposes in God’s
Kingdom.
How do you recognize when the Holy Spirit
is convicting you of sin?
How would you describe your receptivity to
the Holy Spirit’s conviction? Quick to respond?
Resistant? Unresponsive?
Ask those close to you in the faith to
describe your willingness to turn from sin when it’s made
known to you.
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