The Epistles to the Hebrews

Sess ion 1 The Easy Yoke: Learning of Chr i st in Bibl ical Theology  15

B. To equip us to make disciples of Jesus, Matt. 28.18-20

1. We give testimony to Christ’s sufficiency, 1 Cor. 2.1-5.

2. We are to teach others all that Christ commanded.

It is inconceivable, therefore, that there could ever be either a higher revelation than God has given through the person of Jesus Christ His Son, or a fuller redemption than He has achieved through the work of Jesus Christ our Savior. Both are perfect and complete. What God has said and did through Jesus Christ He did hapax , “once and for all.” This is a favorite word in Hebrews with reference to the Cross and is also used by Jude of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Thus, Christ was offered for our sins once for all, and the faith has been delivered to us once and for all. Please do not misunderstand these affirmations. They do not of course mean that either our understanding or our relationship to God is perfect, but rather that what God has done to make these possible, namely His revelation and redemption through Jesus, are perfect. We have much more to learn, but God has no more to reveal than He has revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore we shall grow in our Christian understanding as the Holy Spirit enlightens our minds to perceive more of the glory which God has once and for all revealed in Jesus Christ. Again, we have much more to receive, but God has no more to give than He has given in Jesus Christ. Therefore we shall grow our Christian character as the Holy Spirit enables us to claim more of the spiritual inheritance which God has once for all given us in Jesus Christ.

~ John Stott. Focus on Christ . Cleveland: William Collins, 1979. pp. 31-32.