Background: A letter, or possibly a formal written tract, followed up with a personal note, written by Paul in Rome to the Jewish Christians in Israel; approximately 62 AD but at least before 70 AD when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
Sons of God
READ Hebrews 1:3-9 (including JST), Psalm
2:7, Hebrews 11:5, and D&C 88:75
What does it mean to be “made” a “son of
God”?
What is THE Testimony of Jesus?
READ Hebrews 3:6-11 and Hebrews 4:1-2 and
11
What does it mean to enter into the “rest
of the Lord”?
Re-READ Hebrews 1:3-9 (including JST),
Psalm 2:7, Hebrews 11:5, and D&C 88:75
Is Christ the only one on this earth to
whom the Father said “thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee”?
Who are the angels who are not called
“sons of God”?
How does the Father know that Christ
“hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity” above His fellows or peers?
READ Hebrews 2:10-13
How many sons of God does Christ intend
to make?
READ Hebrews 5:1-3
Who are these “high priests taken from
among men”?
What are these high priests ordained to
do for men?
What does it mean that the high priest is
also compassed with infirmity?
Why ought the high priest to offer
himself for sins?
READ D&C 93:12-14
Why was Christ called the “son of God”?
READ TPJS 391:1 to 392:2 and LoF 7:9, 16
“I wish I was in a suitable place to
tell it, and that I had the trump of an archangel, so that I could tell the
story in such a manner that persecution would cease for ever. What did Jesus
say? (Mark it, Elder Rigdon!) The Scriptures inform us that Jesus said, As the
Father hath power in Himself, even so hath the Son power —to do what? Why, what
the Father did. The answer is obvious—in a manner to lay down His body and take
it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as my Father
did, and take it up again. Do we believe it? I you do not believe it, you do
not believe the Bible. The Scriptures say it, and I defy all the learning and
wisdom and all the combined powers of earth and hell together to refute it.
Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have
got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the
same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree
to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from
exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and
are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who
sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the
last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling
with you or me. The Righteous to Dwell in Everlasting Burnings These are the
first principles of consolation. How consoling to the mourners when they are
called to part with a husband, wife, father, mother, child, or dear relative,
to know that, although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they
shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to
sorrow, suffer, or die any more; but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs
with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and
the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a God, and ascend the
throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before. What did Jesus
do? Why; I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds come rolling into
existence. My Father worked out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must
do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so
that he may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory. He
will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place, and thereby
become exalted myself. So that Jesus treads in the tracks of his Father, and
inherits what God did before; and God is thus glorified and exalted in the
salvation and exaltation of all his children. It is plain beyond disputation,
and you thus learn some of the first principles of the Gospel, about which so
much hath been said. When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom,
and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the
principles of the Gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you
learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you
have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all
to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our
salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave. I suppose I am not allowed to
go into an investigation of anything that is not contained in the Bible. If I
do, I think there are so many over-wise men here, that they would cry “treason”
and put me to death.”
What must we also learn?
READ Hebrews 5:4-10
What is the honor that no man can take
unto themselves?
What is the duty of a “son of God”,
called by Him to be a High Priest, in a mortal probation?
READ Hebrews 7:3 JST Appendix and Genesis
14:25-36 JST Appendix
What does it mean that this High
Priesthood was without father, mother or descent?
What does it mean “without beginning of
days nor end of life”?
What power does this priesthood hold?
READ Hebrews 7:15-21 including JST
Appendix
What is the difference between how the
Levitical priesthood is obtained vs. the Priesthood after the Order of the Son
of God is obtained?
READ Hebrews 7:24-28 including JST
Appendix
Why is Christ able to save us?
READ Hebrews 8:10-13
Through His condescension, Christ
established a “new” saving covenant for all those who will come unto Him – what
is it now possible for us to do?
READ Hebrews 6:4-6
What is the fate of those who, having
been made a Son of God, betray their Lord?
Christ as a Man
READ Hebrews 2:14-18
Did Christ really endure a mortal
probation, with all that entails?
Why did He condescend to live this mortal
life?
READ Hebrews 4:15
Did Christ really experience carnal
temptations?
Faith in Christ unto Salvation
READ Hebrews 10:31-37
Why is it a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the Living God?
READ Hebrews 11:1 (JST) and 11:6
What does the assurance of things hoped
for imply?
What does the evidence of things not seen
mean?
Why is it impossible to please God unless
you exercise faith in Him?
READ Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-19, 33-40
(including JST)
What was Abraham looking for in the
“strange country”?
Why are Abraham and his family “strangers
and pilgrims” on the earth?
How might they have seen hints of the
realization of their promises “afar off”?
Why is our faith tried?
How was Abraham’s faith tried?
How do these verses define “hope”?
Enduring to the End
READ Hebrews 12:1-15
What kind of race must be run with
patience?
Why does Paul tell the Saints that they
have not yet “resisted unto blood, striving against sin”?
Who does God develop?
What is the “end” to which we must
endure?
How can we fail of the grace of God?
READ Hebrews 12:18-25
Where is the ultimate destination Paul is
encouraging us to endure to (in the flesh)?
Why does Paul advise us to not “refuse
Him that speaketh” from heaven?
READ Hebrews 13:2
How might the Lord test our hearts?
How might they look?
