When a person turns to God, consciously or unconsciously he needs a mediator. Many people go to the Orthodox church to talk to the priest, thinking that he is on a higher spiritual level. Others turn to the Mother of God, regarding her as a mediator between man and God. Even in modern charismatic churches believers often look for a pastor or prophet, hoping that he has a higher position in the heavenlies and a high-speed connection with God.

Job, who was being tormented by the devil, was in roughly the same situation. He said: “For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.” [Job.9:32-33] Job longed for a mediator who would be on the same level as him, understanding everything he was going through — because his friends clearly did not understand him — and who would also be on the same level as God. Glory to the Lord, we now have the mediator Job longed for.

The Perfect Representative

It is written: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh…” [Jhn.1:1,14] Jesus, being God, was born in a human body in order to become our mediator, or representative, before God. He is the only One who can lay His hand on God and on man. Paul writes: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” [1 Tim.2:5]

The letter to the Hebrews says of Christ: “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” [Heb.2:17-18] He is the only One who understands the difficulties we are going through and intercedes for us before God the Father. He is the only One who can help us.

The essence of the high priesthood is rarely preached in the body of Christ, and as a result many do not realise its significance, but understanding it is very important, because once you understand it, many questions fall away by themselves. The Jews understood the significance of the high priesthood very well, which is why the letter to the Hebrews reveals Christ so well as the perfect High Priest, or representative.

A high priest is a person who represents the interests of a person or a group of people before the highest authority. Like an advocate, for example. He appears there not in his own name, but in the name of the one or ones he represents, and the highest authority regards him as us.

John writes: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [1 Jhn.2:1]

There is an idea that if a person sins, the devil accuses him before God like a prosecutor in court, and Jesus, as his advocate, speaks in his defence. This idea is not correct, because the trial ended long ago, 2000 years ago to be precise, when Jesus said “It is finished!” and God the Judge struck the table with His gavel and said: “Case closed! The accused is acquitted!”, and the accuser was thrown out of the courtroom. [Rev.12:10-13]

Look at what happened in heaven when the trial ended: “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” [Rev.16:17-18] Jesus repeated what He heard in the Spirit. A voice came from the throne of God: “It is done!”, and Jesus said: “It is finished!” (in the Russian Bible it is the same word in both places) and yielded up His spirit, and on earth there was a great earthquake. [Mat.27:51,54]

Now Jesus sits at the right hand of God not to persuade the Father to forgive us our sins. No! Jesus sits at the right hand of God as the perfect representative of mankind. God is not angry with anyone, because the representative of all mankind sits beside Him and reminds God of eternal forgiveness.

That is why God says, and the Holy Spirit testifies: “their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” [Heb.8:12; Heb.10:17] Jesus is not only an eternal reminder to God of our eternal forgiveness, but also of our eternal justification. It is no accident that John uses the word righteous: “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [1 Jhn.2:1]

If our representative is righteous, then God sees us as righteous too. Our righteousness does not depend on our behaviour and our works. Our righteousness depends on our representative, who sits at the right hand of the Father.

How long do we remain righteous? Until the next sin? Of course not! We are righteous for as long as our representative is righteous. And how long will He be righteous? For ever and ever! That is why He became the High Priest, or representative, of mankind. It is testified of Him: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” [Heb.7:17]

Jesus Is Our High Priest

I remember once talking with brothers and sisters in Christ, and I began to explain the essence of the High Priesthood. A sister said: “This is not interesting and not clear. Tell us about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.” But Jesus accomplished the work of our redemption precisely as our High Priest and intercessor, and without understanding the significance and meaning of the priesthood described in the Old Testament, we will not understand the redeeming work Christ accomplished for us.

When God gave the children of Israel the law, He did not simply give them two tablets. For forty days and nights God showed Moses the design of the tabernacle and explained to him the meaning of the priesthood, down to such details as what clothes the high priest and the priests were to wear.

“as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’” [Heb.8:5] Every detail of the tabernacle of meeting reveals the greatness and glory of Christ. Every detail of the high priest’s garments points to His perfect work.

Take, for example, the precious stones that the high priest wore on his breast. [Exd.28:17-21] On each stone was engraved the name of a tribe of Israel. What does this tell us? That our names are engraved, not written, and what is engraved cannot be erased.

These stones were also on the breastplate, which means that we are very close to the heart of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. It also tells us that when God looks at Jesus, sitting at His right hand, He sees us not as dirty sinners, but as precious stones shining in the rays of His light.

Yes, you are precious treasures in God’s eyes and very much loved by Him, which is why you are on His breast. Where John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, leaned his head. [Jhn.13:25] Jesus loved all twelve disciples, but John saw himself as a precious stone on Jesus’ breast. Amen!

The Forgiveness of Sins and the Perfect Work

When Jesus ascended to heaven into the presence of God, He did not go empty-handed. Every high priest in the Old Testament came into the Holy of Holies with a sacrifice and the blood of bulls and goats, and in this way covered Israel’s sins for one year. A year later there was again a reminder of people’s sins, because the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. [Heb.10:3-4]

Christ, when He came into this world, offered His spotless body and holy blood as a sacrifice pleasing to God, and by this sanctified us for ever and ever. [Heb.10:10] He not only sanctified us, but also made us perfect. [Heb.10:14] Wow! This means that the work of our perfecting has already been finished. There is nothing left for us to do to make ourselves better.

This is what the apostle Peter writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” [2 Pet.1:5-9]

If a Christian does not show brotherly kindness, it does not mean that he needs self-improvement. Peter does not write: “If anyone lacks brotherly kindness, change and try to love the brethren.” He writes: “If anyone lacks brotherly kindness, he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his sins.” This person keeps on considering himself a sinner and, as a result, shows himself to be what he is not.

Such a person needs one thing: to be reminded that his old sins have been cleansed. If a person lacks virtue, what should he be told? Remind him that his old sins have been cleansed! If he lacks perseverance, what does he need to do? Try to be patient? Of course not, and again no!! He needs to be reminded that he has been cleansed forever by his Representative and High Priest, and that now he is perfect.

The message of complete forgiveness does not leave people free to sin! No, and again no! The good news of complete forgiveness begins to work in a person by itself, for this news is the power of God [Rom.1:16], and the believer begins to show what is inside him: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. What a collection of wonderful qualities, and they all begin to show themselves in a person only when he learns, or remembers, that all his sins have been forgiven!

If a preacher preaches by the Holy Spirit, he must testify to what the Holy Spirit testifies: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Otherwise his words are not from God, but human wisdom, which James calls demonic. [Jas.3:15]

When Paul speaks about God’s wisdom, he writes: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” [1 Cor.2:12] The spirit of the world says: “You must do this and that in order to receive something or achieve some result.” The Spirit of God reveals only God’s gifts, only the grace of Jesus Christ, which is God’s unmerited gift.

The Holy Spirit Intercedes

Jesus said about the Holy Spirit: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” [Jhn.15:26]

The word Helper (or Comforter) in Greek is parakletos. It is the same word that is translated in 1 John 2:1 as Advocate, and it also means defender, intercessor. Many believers think that the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin. It is as if their Advocate, who is supposed to defend them, acts against them and accuses them.

The Holy Spirit convicts only those who do not believe in Jesus — more precisely, the world. [Jhn.16:8] But believers are not of this world, and the Holy Spirit does not convict us, but intercedes for us. [Rom.8:26] That is why Jesus called the Holy Spirit “another Helper“, or another Advocate. [Jhn.14:16]

If you doubt this, ask yourself: “Did Jesus convict prostitutes and tax collectors of their sins?” Did He say to the woman caught in adultery: “My daughter, you know that sleeping with other men is a sin”? Nothing of the kind!! What did He say to her? “Neither do I condemn you!” [Jhn.8:11] Jesus said these words even before He shed His blood and made us perfect. He then added: “Go and sin no more”, because she was still living under the law, and the law could condemn her again.

Now that God has taken the law out of the way and nailed it to the cross [Col.2:14], the Holy Spirit says only one thing: “Neither do I condemn you!” Sin or don’t sin, there is only one word: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (that is, who live not under the law but in grace) [Rom.8:1]. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” [Rom.8:33]

Those who live under the law, like the foolish Galatians, put themselves under condemnation and under the curses of the law. Paul writes to them: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’” [Gal.3:10]

Those who so zealously preach obedience to the law and fiercely defend life under the law harm themselves and those who listen to them, for “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law”. And who can continually keep the law? Clearly, no one!

The law was not given to be kept, but to die to it. In the same place Paul writes: “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ,” [Gal.2:19-20]

When the law came, sin revived and man died. What for? To live for God, not for the flesh! Our flesh has been crucified with Christ [Gal.5:24], and now we live in the Spirit, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is our life. [Col.3:3-4] And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me! [Gal.2:20] He died for me, He rose for me, and He sits at the right hand of God for me, to intercede for me!!! [Heb.7:25]