In the opening verses of Hebrews, we learn a lot about Jesus. He is the “heir of all things,” “through whom also [God] made the universe.” Jesus “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” And now we read that he has provided “purification for sins.”

This points to one of the main teachings in the book of Hebrews. Jesus “provided puri­fi­cation for sins.” Notice also that Jesus has already done this for us. It is something in the past.

Purification means being made pure or clean again. When humanity fell into sin, it tainted everything about us. We are unable to do anything to make ourselves pure or clean again. We need someone far greater than we are in order to be puri­fied of our sin.

Having been washed and made pure in Christ, however, we are clean. We do not need to be purified ever again as long as we believe that Jesus has done this already for us. We will learn more about this as the message of Hebrews ­unfolds.

Having been washed and made pure, we are called to live as washed and purified people. We are called to put our sins away and to live holy and pure lives.