Hebrews 3:1-6 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; {2} Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses [was faithful] in all his house. {3} For this [man] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house. {4} For every house is built by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God. {5} And Moses verily [was] faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; {6} But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Internal Erosion Of The Church

The reason that the Book of Hebrews was written was because the devil began to try and erode the Church from the inside. As people came to know Christ as Lord and Savior, being “born again” into the Kingdom of God, the Church began to grow. Satan attacked the Church externally, but this only made it stronger. So Satan infiltrated the Church. He put on a suit and tie, and joined the local Churches. Through the Pharisees he began to teach that – in order to be saved – the Christian had to return to the “shadows” of the Law.

Males had to be circumcised.
The Church must keep the Feasts.
Every believer must continue in the animal sacrifices.
The priesthood would continue with a few select men.
Christ is our Savior, the Law our Lord.

In congregations where this didn’t work, the Devil came in the guise of the liberal Sadducees. He came teaching:

Most of the Bible is to be disregarded.
Since Christ paid for sin, we are free to sin.
God has no standard for us other than our satisfaction.
Christ is our Savior, but not our Lord.

The Devil brought POLITICS into the Church through the Herodians. He brought PERMISSIVENESS through the Sadducees. He brought the yoke of PONTIFICAL PRECEPTS through the Pharisees. Through it all, his intent is that we take our eyes off of Jesus.

Let Us Compare Jesus To Moses

Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Word Study: We are told to “CONSIDER” Jesus. This is the Greek katanoéō, {pronounced kat-an-o-eh’-o}, which means “focus your mind on the standard of”. In chapter one, we were shown that Christ is the Son of God, made lower than the angels to bring us salvation. We were shown that Jesus is in fact Eternal God in the flesh, who hates sin just as much as the Father does. We are shown that Jesus changed once when He became flesh, but Jesus never changes, for He is eternal. Jesus, Who was made lower than the angels for our sake, has always been greater than the angels.

In chapter two we learned that the Father offers a great salvation through Jesus Christ alone. God proved Christ is Messiah by signs and wonders, by miracles and supernatural giftings of the Holy Spirit. We saw that Jesus is Lord, and the High Priest of His Church. We saw that His Church is comprised of those who are “His brethren”, those who are “born again” by faith in Him.

Now as we come into Chapter Three we see a comparison between Jesus and Moses. In verse 2:

Hebrews 3:2 Who {Jesus} was faithful to Him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

Both Jesus and Moses were equally faithful to what the Father called them to do. However, Jesus is greater than Moses:

Hebrews 3:3 For this Man {Jesus} was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

Jesus has more glory than Moses. Now, why is the Bible comparing Jesus with Moses? Because the Pharisees often attacked Jesus for violating the Law of Moses. They claimed that Jesus was

Matthew 12:2 [AP] {allowing} Your disciples to DO WHAT IS UNLAWFUL on the Sabbath …

They attempted to stone Jesus to death “for BLASPHEMY, because You Jesus are no more than a Man, but You make Yourself God” (John 10:33, AP).

Jesus IS a Man, but He is NOT a Man as Moses is a Man. Though both Jesus and Moses are equally faithful, we have learned that Jesus is both fully Man and fully God.

Hebrews 3:4 For every house is builded by some man…

Why is Jesus superior to Moses? Because Jesus is THE SON, but Moses is THE SERVANT.

Word Study: The Bible is now going to compare two “Houses”. We’re all familiar with the word “House”. The word “House” is the Greek oikos (pronounced oy’-kos), which means “The Family, the place one dwells, the House”. We’re told that “every house is builded by some man”. Let me say this while I’m thinking it:

There are HUMAN houses, and there is a DIVINE house.

Human houses are built by men and women. A human house is where you live. If you built that house, you have authority in that house. If I go to Tony and Jane’s house, they decide what rooms are used for what. They decide when to eat, what they’re going to eat, how they’re going to cook it. When they raised children, they determined when the children would go place, where they attended school, and so on. If you are in their “house” you are under their authority.

Hebrews 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

Though men build the “house”, GOD builds ALL THINGS. God built the men that built the “house”. God provides the materials that make the “house”. The “house” is the place you live and have authority. It is not a hotel, but a house. When Sherry and I go to see our grandchildren, we stay at my son’s house. We’re comfortable there – of a sort. But we’re not at our house. If I need a drinking glass, I look in his cabinet to get one – but it doesn’t feel right. We stay in the room that the owner of the “house” puts us in.

Moses Built The House As A SERVANT

Moses was raised up by God to lead His Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land of Canaan. Egypt was a land of bondage, dominated by false gods and huge tombstones called pyramids. The Lord did not want His Israel to stay bound in a land of death and destruction, slavery and destitution. God wanted to raise His people up. He wanted to save whoever would follow Him and lead them from death and unto life.

Where did Moses come from? Israel was enslaved by Egypt, a fulfillment of a prophecy God gave to Abraham, the Father of faith:

Genesis 15:13-14 … your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Moses was the son of Jochebed, a Hebrew, the wife of Amram. They were living in slavery, and the child was supposed to be drowned in the Nile river. His sister Miriam put her brother in a basket, and floated him down the Nile. He was discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him “Moses” (mōšê, pronounced mo-sheh’), meaning “drawn out of the water”. (Exodus 2:10). Though Moses was a slave, he was raised in the household of the King, the child of the princess.

Moses was not born into the House of Pharaoh, but was adopted by the princess. Moses was born into the House of Israel. Appearing to be royalty, he was a slave.

Hebrews 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant (therapōn, a God called servant), for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;

Raised in the House of Pharaoh, when Moses discovered he was actually a Hebrew, he killed a Egyptian Taskmaster (Exodus 2:12). Moses broke the Law of Egypt, but he also broke the Law of God. God told us all:

Genesis 9:6 (ESV) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Moses knew his action was both unlawful and sinful, for he tried to hide the man he murdered in the sand. But Moses was seen, and he fled into the wilderness for forty years. Marrying and raising a family, Moses shepherded the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As Moses “led his flock to the west side of the wilderness of Midian, near Horeb the Mountain of God”. It was at Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, that God called Moses to serve Him from a burning bush (Exodus 3:6). As God called this man’s name, He said:

“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”

But God did not say to Moses, “I am YOUR God”. Moses was a lost man. He was a fugitive from justice, a murderer. But God in Grace called Moses to salvation and to service. Moses was to go to Israel, to free Israel from the House of Pharaoh. Moses’ struggled with God’s call, saying:

Exodus 4:10 “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent”
Exodus 4:13 “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

Moses was not worthy – but God never calls the worthy. Moses could not serve God in Midian. He had to go to Egypt for God. Israel could not glorify God, nor be His House, while it was part of the House of Pharaoh. Israel had to follow Moses out of Egypt. God tells His people:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ESV) Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

The House of Moses was to leave the House of Pharaoh. The House of Moses would bind with the House of God. God built Israel as His House, and Moses was faithful as a servant in his house.

Through the House of Moses, God brought forth the Law of God. He brought forth the Feasts and the Ceremonies, the Sacrifices and the Priesthood. Moses was faithful in building that House:

Hebrews 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;

Moses wrote the first Five Books of Scripture, called the Books of the Law or Torah. What Moses wrote, he faithfully wrote. God said of Moses in:

Numbers 12:6-8 (ESV) … If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord.

God spoke to Moses face to face, mouth to mouth, clearly. Moses was faithful IN ALL GOD’S HOUSE. Saved by Grace, and ex-murderer, Moses was faithful to what God called him to do. But that which was given to Moses was “a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after”. The House of Moses introduced the coming House of Christ. When our Lord Jesus spoke of Moses to the Pharisees, He said:

John 5:45-47 (ESV) Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

When God established the House of Moses, it was an introduction to a greater House, the House of Christ. We are later told in Hebrews 10:1, “the LAW WAS BUT A SHADOW of the GOOD THINGS TO COME”. The animal sacrifices were a shadow that foretold the death of Christ on the Cross for our sins. The Feasts were a shadow of the joy we who know Christ have in our hearts every day. The Priesthood was a shadow of the Priesthood of the Believer, where Christ is our High Priest, and we all have access to God.

Jesus Is Building His House As A SON

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Moses was a SERVANT over his house, over God’s House. He was a faithful servant, but Moses is just like us all:

“There is none righteous, no, not one. “ (Romans 3:10).

Not me. Not you. Not Moses. Not Paul the Apostle, nor Peter. No naturally born human is born flawless and without sin. But Jesus IS A SON OVER HIS OWN HOUSE. Not a servant, but a Son.

Moses the faithful servant was a SINNER, but Jesus is SINLESS. Pastor Nick Batzig wrote:

“Job declared that man is “abominable and corrupt,” one who “drinks injustice like water” (Job 15:16). Solomon acknowledged, “there is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46). The apostle John warned, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” and “make Him a liar” (1 John 1:8, 10). The apostle Paul summed it all up when he said, “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). Yet, when the Son of God took to Himself a human nature, a sinless man entered into time and space.”

The Scripture says that Jesus is our High Priest,

Hebrews 7:26 (ESV) … holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Moses was flawed with sin, but Jesus COULD NOT BE a sinner. Under the House of Moses, animals were frequently sacrificed to cover or “atone for” sin. But in the House of Christ Jesus HIMSELF, as a LAMB WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH (1 Peter 1:19) paid for our sins. Whereas under the House of Moses people took lambs to the Priests to be sacrificed, under the House of Christ the Father sent the Son to be judged in our place.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) For our sake {the Father} made {Jesus} to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and Moses came calling Israel to be part of his house. Moses was called by Grace, and knew his work foreshadowed that which Christ would do. Jesus calls to everyone who will hear:

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus calls us into His House. But we are not called as SERVANTS, but as SONS. Go back to the beginning:

Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Word Study: If you have been saved by faith in Christ – if you have heard His call and answered Him by faith – then you are “holy brethren”.

People misunderstand the word “HOLY”, the Greek hágios, {pronounced hag’-ee-os}, means “sacred, set apart for God’s Kingdom, consecrated – a saint”. Every believer in Christ has been “born again of the Spirit” (John 3:7). Because Christ paid the penalty of your sin, His righteousness is imputed to you. You are “made the righteousness of God” because of Jesus. You are to live within the House of Christ, devoted to Him. He is a Son, but you are sons of God because of Jesus! We as members of Christ’s House are to be:

Philippians 2:15 … blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

We who were bound to the House of Satan have been freed from sin and death by Jesus. The Scripture says:

1 John 3:1-2 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Moses was a servant. Jesus is a Son. And He, the Son of God, made us sons of God. We are …

1 Peter 1:23 … Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

We as God’s people do not live in Egypt, in the world, subject to its whims and foolishness. We are dead to sins so that we can live in the House of Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

By His Blood we who believe have been set free. His Blood, poured out on Calvary, satisfied the eternal offenses that stood between us and God – blessed be the Name of the Lord forever! We are told that:

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It is God’s desire that all might be saved. Yet whether you are saved or not depends on whether you believe on Him or not. The Scripture goes on to say:

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Though the Bible tells us that Christ Jesus came to this earth to suffer and die for sinners, the Bible is also careful to tell us that we must believe in Him and Him alone or we remain condemned. The saved do not have a hope so salvation, we have a know so salvation Just as Israel followed God out of Egypt, we who believe follow God out of this world. We repent of our sins, turning away from the ways we used to go. We follow Jesus, believing in Him, trusting Him, loving what He loved and hating what He hates.

The Christian Way of life begins by surrendering to Him in Whom is all life.

All to Jesus, I surrender,
All to Him I freely give,
I will ever love and trust Him,
In HIS PRESENCE daily live!

Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

We are

partakers of the heavenly calling

Word Study: “partakers” is the Greek metochos (pronounced met’-okh-os), which means “partners together with God”. We are “holy partners”, set apart to glorify God. If you are saved, you belong to the House of Christ. If you are going to succeed and win this land for God, then you will only do so as a partner with the House of Christ. Listen Beloved: your success or failure as a local Church is conditioned on whether or not you heed the One Who leads you. Look at verse 6:

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Did you notice that? Whose House are we – we are the House of Christ – IF WE HOLD FAST. What do we hold fast? The confidence and rejoicing of the hope.

The House of Christ is designed by God to triumph in this land by leading others to Jesus. We are called to take the land for God. But we must continue to follow the One Whose House this is. Israel refused to follow Moses – God’s representative – and though Israel was saved from Egypt she died wailing in the desert. Too many professing Christians believe that they can ignore the Lord now that they have been saved. How foolish is such a concept! Israel was saved to serve the Lord Who rescued them. You are saved so that you can serve the Living God!

God is able. Follow Him. Look unto Jesus. He is our Apostle, our Lord, as well as our High Priest. Consider Him, and do as He tells you. If you do not know Him as Savior and Lord, turn to Jesus this very day. Enter His House, and obey His Word. May God touch your hearts with His Word. May God the Holy Spirit pierce the hardened heart. Amen. Amen and Amen.