The Throne of Grace

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Hebrews could be my favorite book of the NT. As an intuitive-thinking type (INTJ if you're into MBTI), whenever I read Hebrews I am always drawn into deeper reflections by the writer's ideas, explanations of truth, and use of language. Unlike, say 1 John or James, where all the truth is on the surface and is fairly easily gathered in a single reading, every reading of Hebrews requires re-readings and further contemplation. Whatever gets picked up on the surface of Hebrews opens up to more that is beneath the surface waiting to be mined for meaning.

The verse above is like that. The writer begins in verse 14-15 talking about our "great high priest," Jesus, who left heaven to become a man like us in every way, yet remained sinless. He is not an impersonal deity meting out judgment, but a an advocate for us who knows our temptations and weaknesses. Because of that (verse 16), we can be confident to come before the "throne of grace" so we can "receive mercy" and "find grace." That's a beautiful word picture on the surface, but dig a little deeper and it becomes even richer.

My first thought was, "Do High Priests sit on thrones?" After a brief word study, the answer is, "No...Kings sit on thrones." But some other passages in Hebrews add detail to these words. In 1:8-9, the writer quotes Psalm 45 that talks about the "throne of God" where God the King (who is also the Son) dispenses righteousness and justice. In 8:1, the writer says that our "high priest" sits at the "right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens," and in 12:3 that Jesus "sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" when his work on earth was done.

So here's the picture that emerges. God, the Majestic King of the universe, sits on the "throne of God," but he is a righteous and just God. Jesus, our "high priest," sits at his right hand, interceding for us, representing us. If God were not on the throne, there would be no hope of ultimate justice in the universe, that sin and evil will be judged. If Christ were not our high priest, though, we as sinners would have absolutely no hope of mercy and grace. But because Jesus our High Priest and divine advocate is there, we can go to the very "throne of God" the King with confidence. Rather than the judgment we deserve, we will "receive mercy"--we are weak and sinful, and yet God will be merciful to us because of Jesus. But more than that, we will "find grace." The implication is more than just finding something expected, but that we will "discover" this incredible grace of God, something we weren't even expecting. Grace should always be a surprising discovery!

Perhaps that is what a "taste of grace" is all about--picking up pieces of mercy that fall from God's throne that provide a surprising discovery of God's grace. Grace to you.

The Beauty of Grace

Just got back from my oldest son Joel's new blog at PoetsandPriests.com and picked up a piece of Bono lyric that was lying in his sidebar:

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things...
Grace finds beauty in everything.

That very elegant piece of verse reminds the listener that God's grace is more than just an idea or a doctrine. Into a world in which every molecule and miniscule is stained and marked by the ugliness and hurt of sin, God's grace comes to cleanse, heal, soothe, and most of all, to beautify and dignify. It comes not to politely excuse the sin, but to divinely reveal the beauty in every person and thing. Bono's lyric immediately brought to my mind Psalm 149:4 (NASB):

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.

The psalmist has called the congregation to praise and exalt God in verses 1-3, and now he tells them why--because God is gracious. Here's a TOG paraphrase of this verse: For the Lord gives grace to his people; He honors the humbled ones with his deliverance. For God to "take pleasure" in us means literally that he "favors" us. That is very close to the NT idea of grace as unmerited favor. He is gracious. And his favor will "adorn" us--we are made beautiful by his adorning grace resting upon us. "God makes beauty out of ugly things." Interestingly, the Hebrew term for "salvation" is "yeshua," the Hebraic name of our Lord, Jesus. Though we are humbled and afflicted by this sinful world, God favors us and adorns us as his people with salvation, with Yeshua. Jesus. That's the real beauty of grace.