are not all those spirits dispatch'd as ministers to take care of those who shall belong to the christian church.

saying, "I will declare thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the church I will sing hymns to thee."

and of teaching about immersions [Note: The use of the plural word here suggests teaching on the distinctions between Jewish washings and John's and Christian immersion, whether in water or the Holy Spirit. See Acts 19:1-7], and about placing hands on people [Note: This act was practiced in the appointment of church leaders, in healing sick people and to impart supernatural gifts], and about people being raised from the dead and about never ending judgment.

He is a minister in the sanctuary, [serving about holy things] in the true tabernacle, which was set up by the Lord and not by man [Note: This sanctuary/tabernacle represents either heaven or the church].

Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things [i.e., the Tabernacle, its furniture and utensils, etc.] to be [ceremonially] cleansed by these things [i.e., the blood of animal sacrifices], but the heavenly things themselves [i.e., the church, both on earth and in heaven] require better sacrifices than these [i.e., the sacrifice of Christ].

We should not neglect our assembling together [as a church], as some people are in the habit of doing, but we should encourage one another [spiritually], and [do it] all the more [diligently] as you see the day [of judgment] coming closer.

But you [Christians] have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. [Note: These terms describe people who have entered a spiritual relationship with God as part of the church]. [You have come] to a praise gathering of innumerable angels [Note: Christians are here pictured as assembled in worship of God, along with angels],

and to the general assembly and church of the first-born registered in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men perfected,

Therefore, we should be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken [i.e., the church. See Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:6, 9]. So, with reverence and awe, we should serve God in a way that pleases Him,

Do not neglect to do good, to contribute [to the needy of the church as an expression of fellowship], for such sacrifices are always pleasing to God.

[You should] obey your leaders [Note: This probably refers to church elders] and submit to their oversight, for they look out for [the welfare of] your souls as men who will give an accounting [for your spiritual progress]. [Be obedient], so that they will be able to do this joyfully and not with sorrow, for that would be unprofitable to you.

Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep [i.e., the church], through the blood of the never ending Agreement [i.e., Christ's blood],