Originally posted: 10/06/2021
Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen, (13:20-21).
And so we end our time in this book of the “better things” in Christ as the writer wraps up his brief exhortation on the Supremacy of His New Covenant.
But I urge you, brothers and sisters, listen patiently to this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly, (13:22).
The writer describes his letter to the Hebrews as brief, for all the writings in the world could never adequately capture all the “better things” in Him. And as he continues expounding on the Supreme Truths expressed in the previous chapter, specifically the need to endure to the end in the race of life, the writer articulates several outcomes that endurance will manifest in the actions and attitudes of the sheep who follow their Great Shepherd: Love, Hospitality, Mercy, Fidelity, Contentment, Confidence, Perseverance in Persecution, Obedience in Sanctification, Sacrifices of Praise, Doing Good and Sharing, Joyful Submission, and Honorable Conduct.
But the writer was not pointing the believers to pursue character qualities or behaviors. The writer was in fact directing us to pursue Him in faith, for He alone is able to Equip Us in Every Good Thing.
Consider Him Who Equips Us in Every Good Thing
From the beginning of this book, the writer has conveyed the truth that Jesus Christ is Supreme over all of creation, and He has been for all of eternity.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever, (13:8).
Before he sent any final greetings to be shared, the writer penned a benediction in 13:20-21. A benediction is considered to be a final act of worship in declaring the reality of God’s blessings upon His loved ones, and is meant to empower the hearers as they are sent out into the world.
And in his benediction, the writer speaks a blessing over the readers declaring God’s unchanging purpose for His people that has now been fully realized through the “better things” accomplished in Christ.
Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen, (13:20-21).
- He Equips Us in Every Good Thing by His Peace.
Now may the God of peace,- For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6). - “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful,” (John 14:27).
- For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
- He Equips Us in Every Good Thing by the Resurrected Shepherd.
who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep
- “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd,” (Ezekiel 34:23).
- “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 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. 30 I and the Father are one,” (John 10:27-30).
- He Equips Us in Every Good Thing by the Blood of the Eternal Covenant.
through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord,
- “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me,” (Jeremiah 32:40).
- For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:13-14).
- He Equips Us in Every Good Thing by revealing His Will.
equip you in every good thing to do His will,
- “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know,” (Jeremiah 33:3).
- He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him, 10 regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth, (Ephesians 1:9-10).
- He Equips Us in Every Good Thing by working in us that which is Pleasing in His Sight.
working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.- For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He will glorify the lowly with salvation, (Psalm 149:4). - for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure, (Philippians 2:13).
- For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
How do we respond to Him Who Equips Us in Every Good Thing?
And so we close the final chapter of this book which has continually drawn us to consider the “better things” in Jesus Christ, our Lord; a book that is meant to ground us in our faith in His Truth:
He Sat Down as He finished the work in providing His Great Salvation (chs. 1 and 2); He came as the Apostle and High Priest to provide His Rest from our own works (chs. 3 and 4); He came as the Source of Eternal Salvation to Anchor Our Soul (chs. 5 and 6); He came in the Perfecting Power of His Priesthood to enact His New Covenant (chs. 7 and 8); He Obtained Eternal Redemption through the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice (chs. 9 and 10); He came in the ultimate act of Faith through living and giving His life in What Pleases the Father as He Endured the cross (chs. 11 and 12); that we would be saved by grace and Equipped in Every Good Thing (ch. 13), through faith in the “better things” in Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast, (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Oh, can anything in this world ever be compared to the “better things” we have received through the gift of His salvation? Let us not be distracted by what the world has to offer, that we would ever be content with the “better things” we have in His Presence and Protection.
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” 6 so that we confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?” (13:5-6).
Lord, we humbly ask You to Equip Us in Every Good Thing that You might use our lives as a daily benediction as we live by faith in Your Truth. Lord, please empower us as You send us out into the world to declare the reality of Your blessings.
Lord, we believe that You, and You alone, are Able to Equip Us in Every Good Thing and we acknowledge in faith that it is all Your work, for we are Your workmanship. Please use us Lord to walk in what You have prepared for us to do by Your Equipping power in Every Good Thing, that wherever You send us we would boldly declare the “better things” in You.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them, (Ephesians 2:10).