Suggestions for leading a study:

• Familiarize yourself with the passage in context, including the book itself.  Who wrote it to whom, and why?
• Read through the study guide a couple times to get the “big idea” as well as the flow of the argument
• Have the group read through the passage in it’s entirety before beginning the study.  One of the goals is to try to get your members to learn how to study Scripture methodically, and this is an important step.
• Be prayed up
• Have fun!
  

Already in Heaven

²²But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
            ²⁵See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ²⁷The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
            ²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our "God is a consuming fire."

Discussion Questions

-What does verse 22 say about our relationship to heaven?  Is this different than how you usually think of it? 

-In what way do you think the writer of Hebrews is saying that we are “already there?” 

-What is going on with the angels there?    

-Can this image help when it seems like what’s going on around you is nothing to celebrate?

-In the first part of verse 23, what is it that characterizes people in the church of the firstborn? 

-Since that is where you are, can this image help when you feel insecure in your position with God?

-What does verse 23 say about God and about the spirits of men who are with him?

-Can this image help when you feel like you deserve to be condemned by God?

-According to verse 24, what role does Jesus play?  What do you think that means?

-Abel was murdered by his brother, and his blood cried out for vengeance.  (See Gen. 4:10)  How does Jesus’ blood produce something better than God’s vengeance on sinners?

-Since we are the inheritors of all this, what should we be certain not to do, according to verse 25?  Why do you think people still do that?

 Leaders' Guide

This study explores the notion that spiritually we are already in heaven, and how the images related to that can help us deal with our lives “down here.” 

-What does verse 22 say about our relationship to heaven?  Is this different than how you usually think of it? 

            This verse says that we “have come” to the heavenly Jerusalem.  It is not known with certainty who wrote Hebrews, but this is similar to Paul’s thought in Ephesians 2:6:  “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”  Obviously, we don’t normally think of heaven as being a place where we have already arrived.  The New Testament is clear, however, that at a spiritual level we are already transported into that reality as believers.  Some of the profound implications of that are what the rest of this study will explore.

-In what way do you think the writer of Hebrews is saying that we are “already there?” 

            Clearly, we haven’t “died and gone to heaven,” so this is a spiritual reality for us.  However, don’t be afraid to explore the notion that as believers in the church we should be experiencing a little bit of “heaven on earth” as well.  Everything that will characterize our eternity should also be our experience in this life, even if it remains to be completed. 

-What is going on with the angels there?  

            They are in joyful assembly.  A whole bunch of them.  We are in the middle of a huge heavenly party.    

-Can this image help when it seems like what’s going on around you is nothing to celebrate?

                        Perhaps if people can visualize themselves in this kind of context that can help deal with all of the pain and hurts that are around us in a world that has become so distorted and deteriorated by sin.  Psychologically, there is no doubt that we can thank and praise ourselves into better attitudes and outlooks on life, and the Scripture gives us a profound promise and picture to help us accomplish that.

-In the first part of verse 23, what is it that characterizes people in the church of the firstborn? 

            Their names are written in heaven.  As an aside, the notion of firstborn is something that Scripture usually applies to Christ, as the first to be resurrected and never have to die again.  Here it applies to us, indicating that the reality of our own resurrection is “as good as done.”

-Since that is where you are, can this image help when you feel insecure in your position with God?

            One of the profound implications of the notion that we are “already there” is its usefulness for people who struggle with wondering if they are really saved, or if they might have lost their salvation because of something they did.  God doesn’t have a cosmic eraser that he uses every time we misbehave.  This image should be able to help members of your group who feel like since their conversion and baptism that they might have done something to warrant losing their status with God.  Assure them that at that time their names were written in the lamb’s book of life forever.

-What does verse 23 say about God and about the spirits of men who are with him?

            God is the judge of all men, but the spirits of those men who have “arrived” have been made perfect.  This is another reason why we can be assured of our eternal position.  Yes, God is a God of judgment, but it isn’t our own behavior (good or bad) that is the standard of judgment.  If it was, we would never make it.  We have to be “made perfect” by the same God who judges us.  In that way, we know with absolute certainty that we have met his criteria, since he is both the one who judges us as well as the one who makes us worthy to stand up to that judgment. 

-Can this image help when you feel like you deserve to be condemned by God?

            We all mess us sometimes and feel like God must be displeased with us.  The notion that we have already been made perfect should help us get through those times.  Just as our status in heaven is a done deal, the perfection that enables us to exist there is as well.  The God who judges has passed judgment, and we have been found to have been made perfect. 

-According to verse 24, what role does Jesus play?  What do you think that means?

            He is the mediator of a new covenant.  There is a new agreement between us and God that supercedes the old covenant, which was based on law.  Since now we are declared righteous by God because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, this is a covenant of a totally different kind.  As the mediator, it is Jesus who makes it all possible.

-Abel was murdered by his brother, and his blood cried out for vengeance.  (See Gen. 4:10)  How does Jesus’ blood produce something better than God’s vengeance on sinners?

            The new covenant of forgiveness of sins by God’s grace because of the blood Jesus spilled on our behalf is a far cry better than God having to get his revenge on us for sinning against him.

-Since we are the inheritors of all this, what should we be certain not to do, according to verse 25?  Why do you think people still do that?

            Not to refuse him.  There are both negative and positive connotations to this.  On the positive side, why would we want to refuse an offer like this one?  We can be placed into the center of a heavenly party  by the power of God, no longer worried about whether we’re good enough.  But we still have to choose it.  Not to do so is the same as refusing it.  No room here for believing that somehow everyone will be saved.  On the negative side, since the transaction that places us in heavenly realms is so sure and so certain, we can also be assured that there will be no “second chances” after we die.  Now’s our chance, which is why this section is in the form of a warning.  The last part of the question asks why it is people still refuse so great a salvation.  Perhaps they don’t understand it yet.  In that case, how can we help?  Most of the time, people just prefer to be their own boss.  We need to help them understand that making Jesus Lord of your life is about the eternal benefits that begin right now, not about how awful he’s going to make your life.

-What else should we be doing, according to verse 28?  How can you accomplish that in your life?

            Being thankful and worshiping God are set forth as the inevitable results of understanding what God has really done for us.  You might consider spending some time just expressing thanks to God and worshiping him, in whatever way is appropriate and available for your group.