COVENANTS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
41
`Now of the things which we have spoken this is the SUM: We have such an High Priest, Who is set on the
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man'.
In this summing up the apostle adds the `heavenly sanctuary' which we must never omit.
(4) The fourth occurrence is in Hebrews 10:12, where it is placed in vivid contrast with the Levitical priests who
`stood' offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, whereas, the apostle
continued, `This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God'.
(5) The last occurrence is in Hebrews 12:2 where the race is run, the shame endured for the joy that was set
before, and the Lord is once again expressed as being `set down at the right hand of the throne of `God'.
We therefore have the references to the Right Hand of God distributed thus:
A 1:3. As a reward, the Glory given, the work done.
B 1:13. As a contrast with angels who are ministering spirits.
C 8:1,2. THE SUM.
B 10:12. As a contrast with the priests who Ministered daily.
A 12:2. As a reward, the joy set before Him, the race run.
This is the glory that was given Him, and which the Saviour said `I have given them' (John 17:22). It is NOT the
glory which was His by right `before the world was'; in that the redeemed can never share. To sit at the right hand
of Majesty is not the same as absolute Monarchy. Even some of the redeemed are told that:
`To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne,
overcame, and am set down
EVEN AS I ALSO
with My Father in His throne' (Rev. 3:21).
There can be no possible thought of sharing Deity! The elements of the reward or recognition of faithfulness are
still uppermost. Even that majestic passage, Philippians 2:5-12, is introduced with the words:
`Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus',
and concludes with the words:
`Wherefore, my beloved ... work out your own salvation'.
Again, some, through not recognizing that the seat at the Right Hand is not a claim to essential Deity, have strongly
objected to the words of Ephesians 2:6 as though it invaded the Divine prerogative. To return to the type in Genesis,
as Pharaoh said to Joseph, or as Joseph himself acknowledged:
`Only in the throne will I be greater than thou'.
`He made him ruler over all'.
`Thou art even as Pharaoh'.
`He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt'.
`God hath made me lord of all Egypt'.
`Tell my father all my glory in Egypt' (Gen. 41 to 45).
When the Mediatorial kingdom is finished and the last enemy is destroyed, then the Son vacates the seat at the
Right Hand to enter the glory that was His before the world was (see 1 Tim. 6:16). The association in Hebrews with
this session at the right hand of God is related particularly with the office of High Priest, and the office of High
Priest will not be retained for ever. The blessed fact is that just as His sacrifice for sins will never be repeated, just
as the glory of the New Jerusalem will not consist in a more magnificent temple than ever, but that rather there will
be no need for a temple any more, so the perfection of Christ's priesthood is that it will not need to be perpetuated
beyond the confines of the ages.
`In the Sanhedrin, the highest court of judicature among the Jews, he who presided in it was called Ab din or Ab
beth din, the father of judgment, or the father of the House of judgment, and sat at the right hand of the prince of