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”?
Christ becomes our spiritual Father at
this point – He “begets” our spiritual rebirth; He is to us a Father.
We now get to enter into His Rest in the
flesh, which is the fullness of His glory (see D&C 84:24).
Sons of God are made: implied is that
they were not always Sons of God and that someone “made” or “called” or
“anointed” or declared them to be a “Son of God”.
What
is THE Testimony of Jesus?
We become “sons of God” through The
Testimony of Jesus, which He speaks to the Father in our presence, that we are
clean; it is not a testimony OF Jesus, but Jesus’ testimony or
witness/declaration of the truth.
It is Jesus’ testimony to the Father
regarding us.
It is how we know the path we are
pursuing is pleasing in His sight (see LoF 2:2-4).
It is receiving one’s calling and
election/more sure word of prophesy.
READ Hebrews 3:6-11 and Hebrews 4:1-2 and
11
What
does it mean to enter into the “rest of the Lord”?
His rest is the fullness of His glory
(D&C 84:24).
It means to enter His presence and behold
His face (D&C 84:23).
It means to be redeemed from the Fall
(Ether 3:13).
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”?
Christ intends to make many “sons of God”
– Paul says “heirs of salvation” plural in Hebrews 1:14 (see also Hebrews 2:10).
Perhaps this
refers to the Father becoming Christ’s spiritual Father in a prior eternity,
when the Father was in the role of Savior that Christ is now. Christ may have come unto Him as we are to
come unto Christ in this eternity and on this earth, the Father becoming Jesus’
spiritual Father on that earth and saving Him as His Messiah.
Who
are the angels who are not called “sons of God”?
They are ministering spirits (see Hebrew
1:7 JST and v14).
They desire to look into becoming sons of
God but have put up too many stakes (see TPJS 362:2, TPJS 349:5 and TPJS 366:3).
They are those who did not receive The
Testimony of Jesus in this life (see D&C 76:74 and D&C 88:74-75) but
inherit a Terrestrial glory.
How
does the Father know that Christ “hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity”
above His fellows or peers?
If God can
look upon sin with no degree of allowance, there cannot be sin in Heaven – in
His presence.
So, the
opportunity to engage in sin or to hate it must happen outside His presence.
This seems to
indicate that those, like Christ, who “hated iniquity” (past tense) had to demonstrate
that behavior in a prior probation outside of God’s presence where sin was able
to exist and could be hated or rejected – and righteousness was chosen and
loved through agency. This could speak
to Christ living multiple mortal probations before He became a Son of God.
READ Hebrews 2:10-13
How
many sons of God does Christ intend to make?
Christ intends to make many “sons of God”
– Paul says “heirs of salvation” plural in Hebrews 1:14.
As many as will come unto Him and be
sanctified and become one.
Again, although we are God’s spirit
children, we are given to Christ to become His spiritual children.
But it begs the question regarding when
this will happen for the vast majority – likely not during this mortal
probation in this eternity; but the intention is there, which should give us
hope.
READ Hebrews 5:1-3
Who
are these “high priests taken from among men”?
They are the “sons of God” who have
entered into His rest and been sealed up to Eternal Life.
What
are these high priests ordained to do for men?
Offer gifts or blessings to them.
Offer sacrifices for sins – now this is
interesting, as Amulek states clearly that one mortal man cannot atone for the
sins of another (see Alma 34:11) but the required sacrifice to atone must be
accomplished by the “son of God” (see Alma 34:14) – but Paul implies there is
or will be more than one when he says “for every high priest taken from among
men” (Hebrews 5:1).
What
does it mean that the high priest is also compassed with infirmity?
The mortal condition, even for a Son of
God, is “mortal” – everyone is affected by the chaos and decay inherent in a
telestial state through the mortal body.
He has compassion for the ignorant and
those who are wandering because he, too, is compassed by infirmity in a mortal
condition (although he is not ignorant or astray).
Why
ought the high priest to offer himself for sins?
For His people – because they are in need
of help, due to their being ignorant, astray and infirm in the mortal condition.
For himself – to live a sinless life
which does not warrant death, then to suffer and be made guilty of an eternal
and infinite weight of sin, then to be killed and submit to death (allowing the
effect of the eternal suffering to have full sway in a mortal body – which will
kill it instantly) unjustly, so he can win the keys to death and hell and
attain to the resurrection himself.
READ D&C 93:12-14
Why
was Christ called the “son of God”?
Because He received “not of the fullness
at the first, but received grace for grace”.
And He continued from grace to grace,
until He received a fullness – being “made perfect” (see Hebrews 5:9).
This is why Jesus Christ is our great
example. If we want to be saved, we must
become “precisely” what He is and nothing else but He did it so it is possible.
Because He had
not been called (to be) the Son of God previously.
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?
To become Gods ourselves.
To follow the way to Godhood – the way
all those who have gone before have done, including our Heavenly Father.
To go from one small degree to another,
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 yourself and become precisely what Christ is and nothing else.
And are able to dwell in everlasting
burnings.
READ Hebrews 5:4-10
What
is the honor that no man can take unto themselves?
The honor of being proclaimed a high
priest or, in other words, a “son of God”.
No man can take this honor unto
themselves –
Either in this life - receiving the high priesthood, becoming a “son of
God” and entering into His Rest; the Oath is given by the Father’s own voice to
His “son” in mortality (see v5 and Psalm 2:7).
Or in the eternities – where the Father asks “who shall I send” (see
Abraham 3:27) to enact my Plan on this earth which requires the sacrifice of a
God - and the “Beloved Son” of God, chosen from the beginning (Moses 4:2), says
“Father thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” – and the Father says
“I will send the first”.
Christ did not “glorify Himself” to be
made a high priest but was chosen by the Father (v5-6).
What
is the duty of a “son of God”, called by Him to be a High Priest, in a mortal
probation?
To learn obedience through suffering.
Become the author of eternal salvation
for all who obey the Father/the Son and come unto Him/Them.
While He cannot sin, He must learn how to
overcome sin through the vicarious suffering of the Atonement the Savior will
perform, so He can forgive and cleanse, minister to and succor all those that
seek to obey Him and will come unto Him, to save them – enabling them to abide
in the presence of the Father – and make them “sons of God” in the process.
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?
A man doesn’t ordain another man to this
priesthood.
It is given by God Himself.
What
does it mean “without beginning of days nor end of life”?
It does not originate in “time” or
mortality – it is “from eternity to all eternity” (see also Alma 13:6-9 and
Alma 40:8).
What
power does this priesthood hold?
The sealing power.
Power over the elements, over the earth,
over men, over angels and spiritual entities.
It enables the translation or quickening
of the body and ascend the Way to Heaven.
It enables the holder to stand in the
presence of God.
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?
The Levitical priesthood is given by
ordination from one man who holds it to another – no oath is required.
The Order of the Son of God is given by
Oath from God Himself – it is the “Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood” (see
D&C 84:35-40).
READ Hebrews 7:24-28 including JST
Appendix
Why
is Christ able to save us?
He condescended to come to this fallen
earth as a mortal.
He was given the Holy Priesthood by Oath
from God Himself.
He earned power over death – being
sinless but offering Himself to die – so could raise Himself from the dead and live
forever – and raise whoever else He wanted to.
His priesthood will remain with Him
forever (“unchangeable”) – now He has attained to the resurrection Himself, and
ascended up to the Father’s place, He can no longer condescend to be born on a
mortal earth (in a future eternity) and risk the possibility of losing His
priesthood and glory as He is now exalted and His body and spirit are
inseparably connected (see TPJS 392:1); He will need to rely on one who can “go
down” as a Son of God to save His people.
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?
Through His mercy, be completely forgiven
and cleansed – to be innocent, as if we’d never sinned.
Receive a mighty change of heart and mind
– such that His “laws” or commandments or the way He is and acts becomes the
way we are or at least desire to be.
Enables us to stand in God’s presence
without being incinerated by His glory; it “clothes” us in light and glory and
is the “wedding garment” spoken of.
Know Him personally – such that there
will be no need for anyone to tell us anything about Christ, because we will
know Him intimately yourselves.
READ Hebrews 6:4-6
What
is the fate of those who, having been made a Son of God, betray their Lord?
They cannot repent – they will not repent
– they are in open rebellion against God – they are now Sons of Perdition (see
D&C 84:41).
Christ as a Man
READ Hebrews 2:14-18
Did
Christ really endure a mortal probation, with all that entails?
Yes.
Mortality had to be a fair and real test
– He had to overcome all things without sin to be able to win the victory over
death (as death is the wages of sin but He never sinned, although He was given
the opportunity to).
He did have the Spirit with Him without
measure, even a fullness (see John 3:34 JST), meaning that when the Lord was
down here accomplishing what was expected of Him, He had access to the Spirit
in a degree to which none of us can equal – it was necessary for Him to fulfill
His responsibility; while we have weakness given unto us to test us.
However, He experienced morality with a
much higher “specific gravity” or degree of difficulty than we ever have to
fight against in this life – Satan was on His case 24/7 and nothing was off
limits; remember that we are promised that we will not be tempted above that
which we can bear – but Christ could bear all things.
Remember that we came to earth to be
proven while He came to prove us (see Abraham 3:25-26) – He had already been
proven (see Hebrews 1:9).
Why
did He condescend to live this mortal life?
To gain the knowledge to enable Him to
justify many – He had to experience the weaknesses of the flesh to understand
how to overcome them – so that He can succor or relieve or teach mankind how to
overcome every form of guilt affliction or weakness (see also Alma 7:11-12).
READ Hebrews 4:15
Did
Christ really experience carnal temptations?
Yes – he had “carnal urges” but not
“carnal thoughts” because while tempted in all points like we are, Christ “gave
no heed to them” (see D&C 20:22).
He had to be like us or He couldn’t
legitimately represent us before God.
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?
Because He wants you to become like Him –
which will require walking His same path.
This world is a place where you can
suffer and die for a cause worth suffering for - He can and will prove you
here, through trial and affliction.
This world is an opportunity to sacrifice
all things (see LoF 6:7).
READ Hebrews 11:1 (JST) and 11:6
What
does the assurance of things hoped for imply?
That the person has received an assurance
or promise from God (the only reliable source that you can truly have faith in).
That the person now has a promise that
they can “hope” for.
What
does the evidence of things not seen mean?
You have been given a promise that
something (good) will happen, but the evidence or proof of it coming to
fruition has not yet been realized – there is still nothing to see – and there
may not be for a long time.
Why
is it impossible to please God unless you exercise faith in Him?
Because He wants you to come unto Him and
be saved – it’s His work and glory (see Moses 1:39).
And unless you have faith (belief plus
action) that He exists and that He will reward you if you make the effort
(which will be great), you will not attempt to come unto Him (see Moroni 7:38).
READ Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-19, 33-40
(including JST)
What
was Abraham looking for in the “strange country”?
A “better country” = The City of God in
Heaven (see D&C 76:66) – he wanted to ascend up the Way, perhaps to find
his friend Melchizedek, who had left the earth to live there, with his entire
city.
Why
are Abraham and his family “strangers and pilgrims” on the earth?
They wanted to be living in the Heavenly
Zion – they felt more comfortable and “at home” there than they did on the
fallen earth.
Note: “These
all died in the faith, not having received the promises” is a bad
translation. The meaning is better
worded: “Having received promises directly from God in an oath regarding their
future exaltation, these all died firm in their faith in God, despite the fact
that they had not experienced the realization of these promises in mortality.”
See v33 – these people obtained promises from God.
How
might they have seen hints of the realization of their promises “afar off”?
God coming to them to tell them their
standing before Him and that they are (or are not) on the right path – so that
they have an “actual knowledge” (see LoF 6:2-3).
The birth of the Spirit.
Gifts and fruits of the Spirit.
Visions of heaven and visitations from
heaven – revelations and true messengers.
The Second Comforter taking up His abode
with them.
Why
is our faith tried?
That through our sufferings, we might be
made perfect (v40).
It is only through the sacrifice of all
earthly things that sufficient faith can be produced to receive salvation and
eternal life (LoF 6:7).
Because we are “learning to be Gods” and
the gods love their children so much that they are willing to sacrifice
themselves to save them; and any sacrifice we perform helps us begin to learn
what will ultimately be required of us if we are to become precisely as Christ
is and be saved (see LoF 7:9).
How
was Abraham’s faith tried?
Isaac was the son through whom the great
promised posterity was to come and sacrificing him would end that line in
mortality.
But the Lord required the sacrifice
anyway – in this rendition of the experience, there appears to be no “ram in
the thicket” as it says “accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead”.
In a twist, God required that Abraham
sacrifice his son, as he himself was almost sacrificed by his father’s priests
as a youth, seeming to legitimize the rites of that false religion.
How
do these verses define “hope”?
These high priests or sons of God have
received a promise from God Himself (exaltation and, possibly, translation so
that they can leave the fallen earth and live in Zion with Enoch and
Melchizedek).
They are afflicted and suffer.
The promises are not realized
immediately, or in some cases, at all in mortality.
Their faith in the promises are tried.
This is hope – acting in faith on the
promises given to you by God, even when they seem (as Abraham) to be crumbling
around you.
Enduring to the End
READ Hebrews 12:1-15
What
kind of race must be run with patience?
A long one.
Over many
eternities and exaltations (see D&C 132:21-24; TPJS 391:2).
Why
does Paul tell the Saints that they have not yet “resisted unto blood, striving
against sin”?
He uses this
phrase having just referenced Christ’s suffering in the Garden and on the cross.
He has just
told them ‘if you think you’re getting weary because of everything you’re going
through and the long “race” of life still to be run, consider what Christ had
to endure, being a sinless man.
It sounds like
Paul is saying “you have not YET had to suffer an atonement or unjust death”;
implying they may have to in some future eternity… It doesn’t seem like he’s
talking about their current mortal situation, because they’ve surely had to
“strive against sin” in an effort to repent and be obedient – it sounds like it
means something much more than the normal mortal condition (see LoF 7:9 –
“precisely” like Christ).
Why
does the Lord chasten those He loves?
We are not perfect.
We must become perfect to be like Him and
be saved.
All light we obtain through obedience in
this life goes with us to the next.
Development requires receiving feedback
about our faults, acknowledging that feedback is correct (this can hurt the
pride); if we don’t acknowledge the feedback – the Lord may need to get our
attention with “sharpness” or possibly withdraw His Spirit or presence if we’re
not willing to listen; poor performance has natural consequences of failure, it
may also cause a merciful Master to change the situation of the individual –
possibly losing opportunities that they can’t yet handle, or it may require
that they are thrown back into the fire to try again. All of this can feel like “chastening.”
This is all the more difficult when our
vision for ourselves is myopic or temporal and is not shared by the Lord, who
seeks to “prune” us to become what He wants us to be in His vision, mercy and
love.
Who
does God develop?
His sons and daughters.
Those who will never make it are left to
themselves.
What
is the “end” to which we must endure?
It is Christ – He is the End or the Omega.
We must “look diligently”, seeking after
and achieving peace or love with all men and the holiness or light that comes
with obedience to eternal law, so that we can see the Lord, in the flesh.
How
can we fail of the grace of God?
By not looking for Christ diligently.
By not enduring to the End, who is Christ.
By hardening our hearts towards the
mysteries of God (see Alma 12:9-11) and rejecting charity, the pure love of
Christ, but letting bitterness towards God for the refiner’s fire you must go
through to become precisely as He is.
By not trusting the Lord in your
extremities, as He is a fourth watch God and will try us to the utmost end, so
that we can become like He is – full of faith as a result of our sacrifice of
all things (see LoF 6:2-7).
READ Hebrews 12:18-25
Where
is the ultimate destination Paul is encouraging us to endure to (in the flesh)?
To the city of heaven itself.
The same city Abraham was searching for
in the promised land.
He’s saying, don’t just go to the
“Temple” (Mount Sinai) on earth but endure in the covenant so that you might
pass the angels that stand as sentinels between this earth and heaven, that you
might walk back like Elijah, Melchizedek, Enoch (and Alma, John, the 3 Nephite
disciples, etc.) did.
The Lord Himself is the End – Omega is
one of His names, as is Endless.
Why
does Paul advise us to not “refuse Him that speaketh” from heaven?
We are being invited to arise and walk
the path back to heaven in this life.
But we will be damned by our careless
indifference if we do not listen and accept the invitation (see also 2 Nephi
32:4-7 and D&C 84:42).
READ Hebrews 13:2
How
might the Lord test our hearts?
By sending angels in disguise.
How
might they look?
As strangers.
Asking to be entertained.
Probably not well dressed. They most likely will come “in need” – it is
a test of our hearts, remember.
