Jesus is the risen Shepherd of the sheep, who offered the blood of the eternal covenant to reconcile His sheep to God, so that we could do His will. To Him be the glory forever!
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The God Of Peace Sanctifying His Chosen People
Hebrews 13:20-21
This morning I would like you to meditate with me on one of the most precious benedictions in all of Scripture. A benediction is a prayer of blessing. In this prayer of blessing, there is a treasure of rich spiritual instruction for us to feast on this morning!
The main point of this benediction is the believer’s sanctification. This comes out of verse 21, “may God equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.” This passage is a prayer that the Christian would do the will of God. That is at the heart of sanctification. Holiness of life is all about doing God’s will.
Now, notice that there are two parts to this benediction. The first part in verse 20 is the Foundation of Our Sanctification. This verse shows us what makes our sanctification possible. In this verse there are three great phrases by which we learn three tremendous truths. These are the three phrases: 1) the blood of the eternal covenant; 2) the great shepherd of the sheep; and 3) the God of peace. Each one of these great truths forms the basis and foundation for our sanctification.
Then in the second part of the benediction in verse 21, we have the actual Process of Our Sanctification. We find that God sanctifies us by equipping us, working in us, and uniting us to Christ. The apostle closes the entire benediction by ascribing all of the glory both for the foundation and the process of sanctification to the God of Peace, and the Great Shepherd of the Sheep.
So, with that as our framework, let’s begin to meditate on this glorious prayer.
1. The Foundation Of Our Sanctification
The Blood Of The Eternal Covenant (Jesus died to fulfill His side of the eternal covenant)
What is the eternal covenant? Well the author of Hebrews must be using the phrase “eternal” covenant to distinguish it from the Mosaic covenant. The covenant God made with Israel through Moses was becoming obsolete, and growing old and is ready to vanish away, according to Hebrews 8:13. So the Mosaic covenant was not eternal. It was temporal. This covenant is eternal. So, what covenant is He describing. I believe he is describing the inter-Trinitarian covenant that the Father, Son and Spirit entered into before the foundation of the world. We know that the Father and the Son had entered into an agreement together because of some things that Jesus says in the book of John. Let’s look at them.
John 6:37-38, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.”
Now what do we learn about what the Father and the Son had previously agreed upon?
1) The Father had given the Son some people.
2) Those people will certainly come to Christ.
3) Christ will never cast those people that come to Him out.
4) Jesus came to do His Father’s will, not His own.
5) Christ will infallibly save and raise from the dead all the Father gave Him. None will be lost.
Now, all of this speaks of a pre-arranged agreement, doesn’t it. Jesus didn’t come into the world without a plan. He wasn’t trying to figure out what He was supposed to be doing on the fly. No, He came into the world in order to accomplish something that He had already agreed to before He came.
John 10:16-18, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
Again, there are many things we learn here about the arrangement between the Father and the Son.
1) Jesus had Gentile sheep which were not of the Jewish fold. It’s not that He would have them in the future. Before they were ever converted, He already “had” them.
2) Jesus must bring them also. There was a divine necessity to their salvation.
3) When Jesus brings them, they “will” listen to His voice. Jesus’ power will be irresistible. No one that He brings is able to refuse to listen to His voice.
4) Jesus came into the world to lay down His life.
5) Jesus would take His life up again.
6) Jesus speaks of both dying and rising again as a “charge” that He received from His Father.
You see, the Father charged the Son to come into the world on behalf of a specific group of people – His sheep. The Father gave the Son those sheep. The Father charged the Son to bring them into His fold, die for them, and then rise from the dead for them. All of this was a charge given to the Son by the Father. Now, all of this speaks of a binding agreement between the Father and the Son. Since this covenant is eternal, this binding arrangement must have been entered into from eternity past, and the effects of this covenant must last for all eternity.
Charles Spurgeon, in a sermon entitled “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant” speaks of this everlasting covenant between the persons of the Trinity. This is great. I’m just going to read this extended section to you.
“I the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto My only begotten and well-beloved Son, a people; countless beyond the number of the stars, who shall be by Him washed from sin, by Him preserved and kept and led, and by Him at last presented before my throne without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. I covenant my oath and swear by myself because I can swear by no greater, that these whom I now give to Christ shall be forever the objects of My eternal love. Them will I forgive through the merit of the blood, to these will I give a perfect righteousness, these will I adopt and make My sons and daughters and these shall reign with Me through Christ eternally.”
The Holy Spirit also, as one of the high contracting parties on this side of the covenant gave His declaration. “I hereby covenant, said the Spirit, that all whom the Father giveth to the Son, I will in due time quicken, bring to life. I will show them their need of redemption. I will cut off from them all groundless hope, destroy their refuges of lies, I will bring them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them. I will work in them every grace. I will keep their faith alive. I will cleanse them and drive out all depravity from them, and they shall be presented, at last, spotless and faultless.
“As for the other side of the covenant, this was the part of it engaged and covenanted by Christ. He thus declared and covenanted with His Father, “My Father, on My part, I covenant that in the fullness of time, I will become man. I will take upon myself the form and nature of the fallen race. I will live in their wretched world and for my people will I keep the Law perfectly and I will work out a spotless righteousness which shall be acceptable to the demands of Thy just and holy law. In due time, I will bear the sins of all my people. Thou shalt exact their debts on Me. The chastisement of their piece I will endure and by My stripes they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, I will magnify Thy Law; make it honorable. I will suffer all they ought to have suffered. I will endure the curse of the Law and all the vials of Thy wrath shall be emptied and spent upon My head. I will then rise again. I will ascend into Heaven. I will intercede for them at Thy right hand, and I will make Myself responsible for every one of them that not one of them whom Thou hast given me shall ever be lost. But I will bring all My sheep, of whom by My blood Thou hast constituted Me the shepherd. I will bring everyone safe to Thee at last.”
So, the first thing we learn about our sanctification is that it was made possible by Christ’s death, whereby He fulfilled everything on His side of the covenant. Without the death of Jesus Christ, every last one of us would still be in our sin, cut off from God, without hope and without Christ in this world.
The Great Shepherd Of The Sheep (Jesus rose as our Great Shepherd)
Our text says, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep.” Here is one of the beautiful titles of Jesus Christ – the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. He said the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. So, Jesus was the good shepherd in His death. Here He is called the Great Shepherd. Jesus is the great shepherd in His resurrection. Then in 1 Peter 5:4, He is called the Chief Shepherd. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd when He appears in glory at His second coming.
Now, let’s look closer at this title. We are told that God brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant. So, there is a vital connection between Jesus shedding His blood to fulfill His side of the covenant, and the Father bringing Him back from the dead to fulfill His own side of the covenant. What is that connection? Well, as I have already said, when Jesus died, He fulfilled His side of the bargain. It was as if He was signing that contract in His own blood. When Jesus died, He fulfilled everything He agreed to do in that compact He made with His Father. Now, it is all up to the Father to make good on His end of the bargain. And what did the Father promise to do? He promised to raise His Son from the dead. God promised that He would not abandon His soul to Sheol, or let His holy One see corruption (Ps. 16:10).
You see, when Jesus became our surety, and assumed all of our legal obligations before the Father, He took upon Himself the punishment and wrath that we deserved. That included dying an accursed death, and then being buried. However, once Jesus had fully paid the price, and suffered the shame of the cross and the grave, He could no longer be held in its power. As long as the atonement was not fully made, Jesus must be kept behind the prison bars of death. But once the atonement was fully made, the prison doors were flung open. The debt had been paid. The punishment had been endured. The wrath had been absorbed. There was no more reason why He should remain in the grave. Now, if Jesus had never been raised from the dead, what would that mean? Why, it would mean we are still in our sins. It would mean He is still paying for our sins, but He has never quite paid the whole thing yet, and that’s why He is still in the grave. No, the Father raised Him to prove once and for all that He has forever accepted His death as complete and full payment for our sins! Hallelujah! Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus is risen from the dead, because that is proof positive that our sins are paid for! We are free from sin and justified in the sight of God!
Notice that the one who has been brought again from the dead is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. He is not the Great Shepherd of all of humanity. He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. We read in Matthew 25:31-46 that when Christ returns He will separate all of humanity into two groups, the sheep and the goats. Christ is not the great shepherd of the goats, but of the sheep alone. Now, what do we know about Christ’s sheep?
John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Notice several things about Christ’s sheep:
1) The Father gave them to Christ (10:29)
2) They hear Christ’s voice
3) They follow Christ
4) They have been given eternal life by Christ
5) They will never perish
6) No one will ever be able to snatch them out of Christ’s hand.
The sheep are those whom the Father chose and gave to His Son to save. Christ came into this world as their Shepherd.
Why is Jesus called the great shepherd of the sheep? Well, it is because His job was to be their Representative. Christ lived a perfect life on their behalf. Then He died a cursed and shameful death on their behalf. Then He rose triumphant from the dead on their behalf. Everything that Jesus did in this world, He was doing as their Representative, for them in particular. Jesus came into this world to save His people from their sins. As a shepherd, He leads, guides, and protects His people. He did all of that while He lived on the earth, and He continues to do all of that from heaven where He intercedes for them as their High Priest. He has a flock that the Father entrusted to Him, and they are His charge. He must watch over them, make sure no harm comes to them, and that they arrive safely in heaven with Him for all eternity.
The God of Peace (Jesus reconciled us to God)
In the Old Testament it was very common to refer to God as the “Lord of hosts.” This expression means “the Lord of armies.” Aren’t you glad He hasn’t marched onto the field of battle against us? When Jesus shed the blood of the eternal covenant, God is now the God of Peace to all who believe.
So, what is inferred by “The God of Peace”? Well, peace speaks of reconciliation. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Col.1:20-22 says, “making peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.” The title “God of Peace” means that God has been reconciled to believers through the death of Christ. We are no longer God’s enemies. Christ has removed the enmity between us. Our iniquities which had separated us, have been forever taken out of the way. Instead of hostility, there is now peace. He is now my God of peace!
This is Good News! We don’t do God’s will in order to get Him to be at peace with us. We do God’s will because He is already at peace with us. We are not striving to be accepted by Him. We are accepted by Him, and that causes us to desire to please Him by doing His will.
So, what is the foundation that Christ has laid for our holiness? He has shed His blood and died to fulfill His side of the eternal covenant. That means that God must come through and fulfill His part, which includes sanctifying and bringing all of Christ’s sheep to glory. Not only that, but Christ has been raised from the dead as the Great Shepherd of the sheep. His own resurrection life flows into all of His sheep on earth. That heavenly life quickens them and takes them from one degree of holiness to another. And finally, He has made God a God of peace to all of His sheep. Christ has reconciled us through His death to God. Now that we are at peace with God, we may begin to make progress in holiness. We don’t become holy in order to earn peace with God. We already are at peace with God, so now we are free to advance in holiness.
2. The Process Of Our Sanctification
There are three things which God does in order to promote our sanctification. He equips us, works in us, and unites us to Christ.
God Sanctifies Us By Equipping Us
The idea behind “equipping” is that of mending a net, or setting a bone that is out of joint. It carries the idea of preparing us or fitting us for something. Because of the Fall, we are all out of joint. We all have holes in our net. We are broken people. However, this text teaches us that God is actively working in these sheep! He is granting us everything good that we may do His will.
Let me remind you that doing the will of the Father is an evidence of true conversion. Remember Jesus words in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” It doesn’t matter how long and loudly you say, “Lord, Lord.” Anyone can say anything. The proof is in whether you actually do the will of God. And the Good News is that God Himself will equip us to do His will. Folks, God has not left us on our own to try to live the Christian life. God hasn’t forgiven you of your sins and then said, “OK, now you’re on your own. Go do the best you can.” No, God is continuing to work in our lives to make us holy. Not only does God save us, but He also sanctifies us.
God Sanctifies Us By Working In Us
Our text says, “working in us that which is pleasing in His sight.” How does God equip us to do His will? He works in us. God will never leave you or forsake you. There’s a passage in Philippians 2:12-13 that is very much like this one. It says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” There it is again. God works in you for His good pleasure. Friends, God is more committed to your sanctification than you are. And when you stop working on your sanctification, He doesn’t. When you do work on your sanctification, it’s because He’s already working within you.
God Sanctifies Us By Uniting Us To Christ
Notice a little phrase at the end of verse 21, “through Jesus Christ.” That phrase speaks of union. We are equipped to do the Father’s will, by God working in us. And God works in us through Jesus Christ. Because we are in Christ, we partake of His power and virtue. He was raised from the dead. Because we are in Him, we also partake of His resurrection power. That is the power that works within us. That resurrection life gave us spiritual life to begin with. However, it also continues to cause His power to flow into us to sanctify us.
Think of what the author tells us in Hebrews 10:7. When the Shepherd comes into the world He says, “I have come to do Your will.” In fact, that statement really sums up Jesus’ life. When He was twelve years old, talking to the religious leaders in the temple, He told His parents, “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s business?” Later He told His disciples in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” To Jesus, doing God’s will was like enjoying a feast. At the end of His life, Jesus said, “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do.” Jesus was consumed with doing the will of His Father. Guess what? You have been united to Him. His passion now flows into you. That’s why we desire to do the Father’s will. Not only do we want to do God’s will, we love doing God’s will!
Conclusion
What should our response be to all of this? Christ has died to ratify the eternal covenant. The Father has raised Him to prove He has forever accepted His payment for sin. He is now and forever will be the Great Shepherd of His sheep, to lead, guide, and protect them. By Christ’s work, He has reconciled us to God, who is now our God of peace. God is equipping us to do His will. God is working in us to do what is pleasing in His sight. God has united us to Christ to share in His resurrection life.
What shall we say to these things on this Easter day? Let’s say what the writer of Hebrews says at the end of verse 21, “to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Now, it is not entirely clear if the writer is thinking of the God of peace, or of our Lord Jesus. I think it is probably best to understand it of both of them. What is our reasonable response to all of what God has done for us in Christ? Glorify Him forever and ever! Praise Him! Worship Him!
Oh, friends, this is what we will be doing for all eternity. We will be gathered around the throne of God and of the Lamb, singing, “Worthy!” Let’s begin that eternal song of praise now. Let’s be worshipers of the Lamb!
Let’s also cooperate with Him as He equips us, works in us, and unites us to Christ. It would be a huge mistake to think that since God is working in us, we have nothing to do! Paul tells those Philippian believers whom God was working in, to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. In Hebrews 12:10 the author says, “Pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” These promises of God concerning God sanctifying us are not meant to make us passive. They are to stir us up to work together with God. We are to use every means at our disposal to fight sin, and to cultivate the graces of the Spirit. Seek God. Read His Word. Meditate on His Word. Fast and pray. Seek the fellowship of other believers. Share Christ with others. Yes, do all these things, but in the end realize that the desire and power to do any of them comes not from yourself, but from God Himself. And having realized that, give Him glory!
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