The Intercession of Christ (Romans 8:33-34)

This sermon was preached on 8/4/2010

Paul has now reached the application of his argument and is presenting reasons why Christians should have a strong sense of security. He does this in the form of three applicatory questions: (1) Since God has already given his Son as the sacrifice for their sins, will he not with him not also give everything else that is required? (2) Who can condemn Christians? (3) What can separate Christians from the love of Christ? It is the second of those questions that I want to consider in this sermon.

The first matter to be addressed is the identity of those who are likely to want to charge or condemn Christians and what standard will they use to do so? First, the accusation will come from their spiritual enemies – the devil and the world – and they will base their criticism of believers on the law of God. The devil can use God’s law in many ways, which is why he is called ‘the accuser of the brethren’. Similarly, the world can identify when a Christian fails to live up to the standard of God’s law and many are quick to bring the charge of hypocrisy against the Lord’s people.

The believer in Jesus may also be condemned by his own conscience. Often, when they sin, they will respond by asking themselves, ‘Can I be a true Christian and still have these awful thoughts?’ Or they may be concerned by their lack of progress in the spiritual life and moan over their sluggishness in spiritual things. They condemn themselves frequently for such features. Indeed we see such an example in Paul’s description in Romans 7 of his conflict with indwelling sin.

Paul, therefore, was fully aware of the problem and is not posing a hypothetical question. This was a real issue for him, but he had discovered the answer and proceeded to explain the solution to his readers. The explanation involved understanding two doctrines: justification by God the Father and the ongoing intercession of Christ.

We should note immediately that Paul does not suggest to his readers that the solution is to be found in themselves. Often our response to such accusations is to resort to sanctification, to look for marks of grace that balance out the defects in our lives. It is important to have marks of grace, and they certainly are evidences both to ourselves and to others that we are new creatures, but they are not to be primary means of spiritual comfort for our souls when under attack. The reality is that each of these evidences of grace can be improved, and the devil and ourselves are aware of defects in them. So Paul, as he often does, turns our eyes away from ourselves to what God has done and is doing for his people.

Further, Paul leads his readers to consider two unchanging features of the salvation that God has provided for his people whatever may be the changing states that they feel. The first unchanging feature is their state of justification and the second unchanging feature is their involvement in the intercession of Christ.

Justification

Each believer in Jesus has been forgiven all his sins (as far as God’s justice is concerned) and has had the righteousness of Jesus imputed to him as his standing before God. Every Christian has been permanently removed from the state of condemnation in which they were in because of their sins against God and has been given an unchanging and an unchangeable state of acceptance with God.

Therefore when the devil accuses us regarding our post-conversion sins and demands, from God, punishment to be meted out, he cannot receive his request because the penalty has already been paid by Jesus on the cross and the lack of obedience on our part has been provided already by Jesus through his representative life. Justification should never be used as a reason for sinning, but it should be used by us as a rebuttal of the devil’s attacks and for the attacks of our own consciences.

It is important to stress that justification and not sanctification is the springboard for the Christian life. Much modern spirituality gives the impression that sanctification is the springboard and such a view is merely a return to the monasticism that the Reformation delivered us from. Many religious people are striving through various means to gain the acceptance of God, to persuade him to accept them on their spiritual efforts. Even true Christians can be affected by this outlook. For example, they can imagine that if they pray for three hours a day instead of one hour, they will be more accepted by God. But they are not accepted according to the measure of their devotion at a particular time. If that were the case, they would be less acceptable when their devotion decreased because of their sins. Each Christian can say, ‘I can live each day for God (ongoing sanctification) because I have been justified (permanently accepted.’

When a Christian sins he does not go down to the bottom of the ladder and begin his Christian life over again. Consider David in Psalm 51. He had sinned greatly, yet he knew that once God had forgiven him he could immediately become an effective witness. The message of the Christian life is the same throughout: God forgives. David, when he sinned, came under God’s fatherly displeasure and was chastised, but he was not unjustified. Neither was he re-justified when he repented.

Intercession of Christ

In referring to the intercession of Christ, Paul mentions a subject that is only mentioned twice in the New Testament. The other reference is Hebrews 7:25: ‘Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.’ A very close activity is described in 1 John 2:1: ‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ This is an example that we cannot assess the importance of a doctrine by the number of times it is mentioned.

Paul is considering a heavenly activity of the risen Christ. In turning our thoughts heavenward we cannot help but recall that the Saviour does many things in heaven in addition to intercession. For example, he rules over human history from the divine throne; he is preparing a place for each of his people; he is overseeing the spread of the gospel. These actions of Jesus have been divided into the three offices of prophet, priest and king, with some of his actions involving all three offices. With regard to each of his people, he is at all times teaching him or her as a prophet, interceding for them as a priest, and ruling over and for them as a king.

Clearly, intercession is part of his office as priest, although it is not his only priestly action. Jesus’ priesthood contains several distinct roles. As priest he leads the praise of the house of God. Also, it is through Christ that believers have been given access into the presence of God. Further, it is through Jesus in his role as their Priest that their service is acceptable to God. Nevertheless, intercession is a mystery, which in many ways is beyond our understanding. But we can remind ourselves of a few details.

First, the priesthood of Jesus was pictured in the Levitical ritual, particularly in the actions of the high priest on the great Day of Atonement. The duties of the high priest were threefold: make atonement, make intercession, and pronounce a blessing on the people. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest did two things. First he had to offer a sacrifice, of an animal separate from himself and for himself because he was a sinner, as well the offering of a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Second, he took a censor, put some coals from the alter into it, and then put some incense on to the coals. The result was that the most holy place was filled with the smoke that arose from the incense. In addition, he also sprinkled some of the blood on the mercy seat in the most holy place. These practices depict what Jesus did as our priest. He did not offer a sacrifice for himself because he was sinless, but he offered himself on behalf of others, a sinless substitute for a sinful people. Because he did this, he entered the presence of God, similar to the way the priest entered the most holy place with the incense, to make intercession. This intercession was also pictured in the Old Testament ritual by the high priest having the names of the tribes of Israel on his breastplate and on his shoulders. Because his intercession is successful, he can bless us with what we need.

Second, the priesthood of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament. The clearest prediction is found in Psalm 110:4 where the psalmist says concerning the Father’s promise to Jesus, ‘The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”’ The teaching of this psalm is expounded in the Book of Hebrews. Zechariah 6:12-13 predicts: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honour, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’

Third, Paul here links Christ’s intercession to his place of pre-eminence. He functions as a priest at the right hand of God. It is important to take note of this because sometimes the impression is given that Jesus’ intercession is accomplished by pleading, as if he had to urge and persuade God to the Father to listen to him. Such an idea is wrong. Jesus’ intercession is made from a place of power. Connected to the place of power is Christ’s possession of power; he ‘has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life’ (Heb. 7:16). Jesus cannot be overpowered again.

Fourth, the intercession of Jesus involves his whole person. He ‘appears continually in the human nature before the Father in heaven. He is the God-man in his theanthropic person, having a glorified human nature, still in union with the divine nature, in his Father’s presence in heaven. His person, therefore, is well qualified to do the work of intercession. The dignity of his divine nature gives him equality with God, and his human nature gives him a kinship with men that enables him to bring them into his Father’s presence with favour and acceptance’ (Francis Beattie). His human experience also enables him to respond with sympathy to the situations of distress and need in which his people find themselves.

A question that has interested many is whether or not Christ’s intercession in heaven is a vocal one. Obviously, when he prayed on earth, he used words. The difficulty concerns the abilities of his human nature, even after its glorification. For example, there are millions of believers on the earth today. At every moment, each of them needs something from heaven, and that something only comes through Christ. It is not possible for Jesus’ human voice to articulate each of their names individually and continuously. The answer to this question, as far as I can see, is to note the relationship between his two natures. As God, he knows each of his people and all their needs; as man he asks that God would bless all of them.

Jesus’ priesthood is also a public one. He is present there as the one who was sent by the Father to perform the work of salvation, who represented his people in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, in his ascension and in his current priestly position. Jesus continues there as our representative, which means that he obtains for us what we need. Although we divide Jesus’ work into various categories, we should recall that in reality the procuring of salvation is one work in which each part fits in with the others and is essential for the accomplishment for the whole. Jesus’ intercession is connected to his death on the cross as well as to his exaltation to God’s throne.

It is easy to answer the question as to whom Jesus intercedes for. He intercedes for those he represented throughout every other stage of his mediatorial role. But what does he intercede for? We get insight into his intercession when we read his prayer in John 17. It may be useful if we turn to it for a quick survey of what Jesus says.

First, he bases his intercession on his completed work (vv. 1-5); then he prays for the sanctification of his people through the truth (vv. 6-17); then he prays for the unity of all his people in subsequent ages, a unity that seems to be historical rather than geographical (vv. 18-23); then he prays for the glorification of all his people in his presence (v. 24); finally he mentions his desire that God’s love would be known by them (vv. 25-26). His intercession will be achieved when all his people are glorified.

I would suggest that what intercedes for and what he always receives is the Holy Spirit. He asks for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to be maintained in the life of each of his people, and we have noted in Romans 8 several ways in which the Holy Spirit operates in our lives. He enables us to keep the law, he enables us to mortify our sins, he enables us to know God as Father, he intercedes for us with inexpressible groans. But all these activities of the Spirit happen to us because of Jesus’ intercession.

His intercession is a defence against charges and condemning accusations. How does it help us? Ask yourself, ‘Does his intercession depend on my ability or his commitment?’ It does not depend on my ability. For how long will this intercession continue? Until we are glorified. Jesus is not going to cease interceding because we have failed. What will Jesus do each time we need help? He will ask for the Spirit to be given.

When he comes, the Holy Spirit always brings sinning believers to the divinely-appointed remedy. That is what he did for David, for Peter, for those to whom John wrote (1 John 2:1). When he comes, he comes as the representative of Jesus to comfort us. ‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid’ (’John 14:26-27).