Hebrews: He is Once and Forever!
Hebrews 7:26-28; Revelation 15:4; James 1:27; Romans 8:38-29; Luke 16:15; Romans 6:10; John 5:36 - A point in time connects to eternity.
“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”
Hebrews 7:26-28 NASB1995
Five attributes of Christ, our High Priest are identified in verse 26. He is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Let’s do some word studies!
Holy in this usage, according to the Blue Letter Bible, comes from the Greek adjective ὅσιος or hósios (Strong’s G3741), with the following Biblical usages:
undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, religiously observing every moral obligation, pure holy, pious
This distinguishes the term from other similar words, as noted in this Strong’s definition excerpt:
uncertain affinity; properly, right (by intrinsic or divine character; thus distinguished from G1342, which refers rather to human statutes and relations; from G2413, which denotes formal consecration; and from G40, which relates to purity from defilement), i.e. hallowed (pious, sacred, sure):—holy, mercy, shalt be.
Another usage of this same Greek adjective for holy can be found in Revelation:
“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy;
For all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts have been revealed.””
Revelation 15:4 NASB1995
Innocent comes from the Greek adjective ἄκακος or ákakos (Strong’s G172), with the following Biblical usages:
without guile or fraud, harmless, free from guilt
fearing no evil from others, distrusting no one
The usage of this adjective in the New Testament is limited to this verse and one other in Romans (not a similar context, so I won’t reference it).
Undefiled comes from the Greek adjective ἀμίαντος or amíantos (Strong’s G283), with the following Biblical usages:
not defiled, unsoiled
free from that by which the nature of a thing is deformed and debased, or its force and vigour impaired
Another usage of this same adjective is in the epistle of James:
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James 1:27 NASB1995
Separated [from sinners] comes from the Greek verb χωρίζω or chōrízō (Strong’s G5563), with the following Biblical usages:
to separate, divide, part, put asunder, to separate one’s self from, to depart
to leave a husband or wife
of divorce
to depart, go away
This verb is used to denote NOT being separated, in one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament from Romans:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NASB1995
Exalted [above the heavens] comes from the Greek adjective ὑψηλός or hupsēlŏs (Strong’s G5308), with the following Biblical usages:
high, lofty
exalted on high
with an uplifted arm, i.e. with signal power
metaph. eminent, exalted
in influence and honour
to set the mind on, to seek, high things (as honours and riches), to be aspiring
In a negative sense, this same adjective is used to describe the things that are esteemed among men as being detestable to God, found in Luke:
“And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
Luke 16:15 NASB1995
Because of these attributes, Christ is perfectly suited to represent us once and for all time because of His sacrifice for our sins. Precept Austin has some thoughts about these attributes that are worth sharing:
Holy (ὅσιος) — Morally Pure
Illustration: A crystal-clear mountain spring. No debris, no pollution, no foreign matter — just pure water. That is what Christ’s holiness is like: absolute purity at the source.
Contrast: The priests of Israel were like wells that needed constant cleansing; Christ is a fountain that never runs muddy.
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Separated from Sinners (κεχωρισμένος ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν)
Illustration: A skilled surgeon who steps into an operating room — he is surrounded by sickness, yet he himself is healthy, set apart to bring healing.
Point: Christ lived among sinners to save them, but He was never entangled in their sin.
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Undefiled (ἀμίαντος) — Unstained
Illustration: Imagine a white garment carried through a coal mine yet emerging spotless. Christ walked among sinners, but sin never clung to Him.
Biblical Parallel: Like the Passover lamb that had to be “without blemish” (Exod 12:5), Jesus was untouched by any stain of sin.
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Exalted Yet Interceding
Devotional Thought: Though exalted above the heavens, Jesus has not abandoned us. His exaltation is the proof that His sacrifice was accepted. Now He intercedes continually, not as one striving to finish the work, but as one who has completed it. His presence in heaven is the guarantee of our access to God.
Application: When doubts arise, look to Christ at the Father’s right hand. His very position there is the assurance that your forgiveness is secure and your access is open.
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Devotional Thought: The writer of Hebrews reminds us that God did not give us just any mediator—He gave us the exact High Priest we needed. His holiness means He is fully pleasing to God. His innocence shows He is blameless before men. His undefiled purity guarantees no corruption taints His sacrifice. Unlike the Levitical priests, Jesus is untouched by sin’s weakness. Exalted above the heavens, He ministers not in an earthly tabernacle but in the true sanctuary before the Father. Every aspect of His person is “fitting”—perfectly suited for our salvation.
Application: When you feel unworthy, remember: Christ is perfectly qualified to represent you before God. You do not need to look inward for adequacy; you look upward to Him.
Our forgiveness is secure and our access is open! So comforting! His presence at the right hand of God is our assurance.
Continuing through this passage, there is another phrase worth looking at from the Blue Letter Bible in verse 27:
Once for all comes from the Greek adverb ἐφάπαξ or ephápax (Strong’s G2178), with the following Biblical usages:
once, at once
all at once
once for all
Paul uses this beautiful phrase in Romans:
“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Romans 6:10 NASB1995
This action by our Savior is a pinpoint in time for all time for all sinners, then and now, who confess He is Lord. John Piper is quoted on Precept Austin about this pivot point in history:
The effect it has is to make Jesus the center of history. Every work of God’s grace in history before the sacrifice of Christ looked forward to the death of Christ for its foundation. And every work of God’s grace since the sacrifice of Christ looks back to the death of Christ for its foundation. Christ is the center of the history of grace. There is no grace without him. Grace was planned from all eternity, but not without Jesus Christ at the center and his death as the foundation. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1: 9 that God’s “grace … was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” (See Our High Priest is the Son of God Perfect Forever).
Weak men were appointed as priests before Christ came. Now He is appointed by the Father and is made perfect forever. Ok, two more word studies from the Blue Letter Bible
Perfect comes from the Greek verb τελειόω or teleióō, (Strong’s G5048), with the following Biblical usages:
to make perfect, complete
to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end
to complete (perfect)
add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full
to be found perfect
to bring to the end (goal) proposed
to accomplish
bring to a close or fulfilment by event
of the prophecies of the scriptures
From the Gospel of John, a witness to His accomplishments:
“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
John 5:36 NASB1995
Forever comes from the Greek preposition εἰς or eis (Strong’s G1519), with the following Biblical usages:
into, unto, to, towards, for, among
A point in time expands into/unto/to/towards/for/among eternity! This particular preposition is used over 1,000 times in the New Testament and is used here in the context of everlasting. Here’s more from the John Piper sermon excerpted on Precept Austin:
Jesus never dies. He never has to be replaced. He has an indestructible life. He will outlive all his foes. He will be there for us long after everyone we depend on is dead. Sometimes children fret that Mommy or Daddy won’t live to take care of them. And sometimes we parents fret that we won’t be alive to take care of our children (especially when at age 50 we adopt a baby girl). But that is why this truth is so precious. The priesthood of Jesus—the one who prays for us, as we saw last week, and the one who is sympathetic with us, as we saw in Hebrews 4:15—this has been perfected forever. Not for a decade or a century or a millennium. But forever. To that we look when we think about how uncertain our lives are.
The great and overarching point of this text at the end of chapter 7 and the beginning of chapter 8 is that we have a great High Priest, Jesus Christ, Who came into the world as the Son of God, lived a sinless life, offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of his people, rose to everlasting life at the right hand of the majesty of God, and there loves us and prays for us and bids us draw near to God through him. He did not come to fit into the old system of priestly sacrifices. He came to fulfill them and end them. He is the reality; they were the shadow and the copy of the reality. When the Reality comes, the shadow passes away. Now let me draw out some implications of this for the life of worship. The High Priesthood of Jesus—the coming of the reality instead of the shadow—fulfills and brings to an end the physical center of Old Testament worship, the tabernacle and the temple. It fulfills and brings to an end the official priesthood. It fulfills and brings to an end the sacrificial offerings. It fulfills and brings to an end the dietary laws. It fulfills and brings to an end the priestly vestments. It fulfills and brings to an end the seasonal acts of atonement and reconciliation.
What this means, in essence, is that the entire worship life of the Old Testament has been radically refocused onto Jesus himself and has become a radically spiritual thing, as opposed to an external thing. The external is still important, but now the spiritual is so radically pervasive that virtually all of external life, not just church life, is the expression of worship. “Present your bodies as living sacrifices which is your reasonable service of worship” (Romans 12:1). That’s all the time and everywhere. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)—all the time, everywhere. The money that the Philippians sent to Paul he says in Php 4:18 was “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”
In the New Testament, all the focus is on the reality of the glory of Christ, not the shadow and copy of religious objects and forms. It is stunning how indifferent the New Testament is to such things: there is no authorization in the New Testament for worship buildings, or worship dress, or worship times, or worship music, or worship liturgy or worship size or thirty-five-minute sermons, or Advent poems or choirs or instruments or candles. In fact, the act of getting together as Christians in the New Testament to sing or pray or hear the word of God is never even called worship. I wonder if we do not distort the Biblical meaning of “worship” by using the word almost entirely for an event for which the New Testament never uses the word.
But all of this makes us very free and, perhaps, very frightened. Free to find place and time and dress and size and music and elements and objects that help us orient radically toward the supremacy of God in Christ. And frightened, perhaps, because almost every worship tradition we have is culturally shaped rather than Biblically commanded. The command is a radical connection of love and trust and obedience to Jesus Christ in all of life.
There’s a reason for this radical spirituality of worship in the New Testament. And the reason is this. The New Testament is a missionary document. The message of this book is meant to be carried to every people on earth and incarnated in every culture in the world. And that is why our High Priest came and ended tabernacle, and sacrifices and feasts and vestments and dietary laws and circumcision and priesthood. The Old Testament was mainly a come-and-see religion. The New Testament is mainly a go-and-tell religion. And to make that possible, the Son of God has not abolished worship, but made it the kind of radically spiritual engagement with God in Christ that can and must happen in every culture on the earth. Worship is not trivialized in the New Testament, but intensified, deepened, and made the radical fuel and goal of all missions.
The frightening freedom of worship in the New Testament is a missionary mandate. We must not lock this gospel treasure in any cultural straitjacket. Rather let us find the place, the time, the dress, the forms, the music that kindles and carries a passion for the supremacy of God in all things. And may our communion with the living God be so real and the Spirit of God so powerfully present that the heart of what we do becomes the joy of all the peoples we are called to reach. (Our High Priest is the Son of God Perfect Forever)
What a fantastic sermon!! Those who are hung up on doctrinal “requirements” should read this; those liturgies and other accessories to the faith are mostly human inventions. But love, trust and obedience to Jesus is for eternity, which starts right now. Go and tell!
My next devotional examines Hebrews 8:1-3 - A better ministry!
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I am in eternal gratitude that You led me in the direction of word studies for this last passage in Hebrews 7. I am also deep in gratitude that my eye continues to heal from the surgery two weeks ago. I pray for continued improvements in my visual acuity. Amen.
Credits and Citations:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 12/15/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 7:26-28. The sermon by John Piper has this citation:
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For more than thirty years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. He is author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org
“G3741 - hosios - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3741/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G172 - akakos - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g172/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G283 - amiantos - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g283/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G5563 - chōrizō - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5563/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G5308 - hypsēlos - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5308/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G2178 - ephapax - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2178/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G5048 - teleioō - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5048/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.
“G1519 - eis - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Dec, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1519/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/>.