31/07/16 Hebrews 4:1-13 “We must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ”
Those who rightly divide the
word of truth have to act as watchmen for those who don’t. Thus, we must “exhort
one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews
3:13)
Hebrews 4:1 – Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise
being left [us] of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to
come short of it.
Because some will enter this rest (see Vs 6)
according to the promise given by God (that is, the promised land) and, as we
saw last week, some won’t enter because of unbelief (Hebrews
3:7-19), therefore let us fear lest any not make the grade (that is, “seem to
come short of it”)
let us …. fear – phobeo (to put to flight by
terrifying; flee [from fear]; fear; be afraid) This word comes from the
word used for fear in Hebrews 2:15 – phobos (fear; dread; terror) – where we get our word
“phobia” from:
Hebrews 2:15 – And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
It isn’t just saying that we should be worried about
this; instead we are to flee because of the terror! So, what are we to flee? If
you are doing anything at all which would be described as “an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews
3:12b), tempting or trying (proving) God (Hebrews 3:9),
rebelliousness in general, and, in particular, “hardened through the deceitfulness
of sin” (Hebrews 3:13b), then flee as if in terror from
such things. Otherwise you just might come short of that rest, even when you
might think you might have made it.
come short – to be left behind in the race and
so fail to reach the goal; to fall short of the end.
Matthew 7:21-23 – 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Hebrews 4:2 – For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not
being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].
For they heard the good news that was preached to them
(that is, the promise of God’s rest), just as you also have heard the good
news.
gospel preached – euaggelizō (to bring good
news; to announce glad tidings) = evangelise. They were all similarly
evangelised; the same promise was given to all.
preached – akoē (hearing; the thing heard; oral instruction;
preaching the gospel)
heard – akouō (from akoe – preached) (hear; understand; perceive the sense of
what is said; learn by hearing; give ear to a teaching or teacher; comprehend)
They all heard the good news, they were all evangelised, yet those (in general)
in the wilderness didn’t profit from it because they didn’t trust in God’s
promise of a land of rest. That is, they lacked the faith to trust that God
would be true to His promise. And thus, the good news of their rest did not
profit them at all! They may have been like Demas – 1 Timothy
4:10a – For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present
world – with too much love for this world, or like the Hebrews in the
wilderness who clearly loved their lives more than God’s promises.
Numbers 13:30-33 – 30 And Caleb
stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go
up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But
the men that went up with him said, We be not able to
go up against the people; for they [are] stronger than we. 32 And
they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the
children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we
have gone to search it, [is] a land that eateth
up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it [are] men
of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons
of Anak, [which come] of the giants: and we
were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
The message is to not just hear the word, but to be
doers also. (James 1:21-22)
Hebrews 4:3 – For we which have believed do enter
into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my
rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
have believed – pisteuō (from pistis – faith)
(to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit; place confidence in) That
is, we (the writer is clearly talking mainly to Christians) who have had faith
in God’s promise will enter that rest, because God has sworn that those who do
go astray (“err in their
heart”) and do not try to know His ways will not enter that rest (Hebrews
3:10-11). These who do enter that rest have to be those who have not gone
astray in their hearts, those who know God’s ways (clearly from experience).
Hebrews 3:10-11 – 10 Wherefore
I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known
my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest.) (from Psalm
95:11)
The writer continues the theme that only those who sin
shall be punished (see Ezekiel 18:20 – The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear
the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the
son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon him.), and those who are punished for their sin
shall not prevent those who are obedient from entering that rest.
So, those who enter in will do so as God has stated
would happen (“as He said”).
the works were finished from the foundation of the world – [cf the Lamb slain (Revelation 13:8) and names
written in the Book of Life (Revelation 17:8)]
Vs 4 & 5 suggest that this refers to the Sabbath-rest
(see Vs 9) that God had after the works of creation had been finished, and that
the future rest is actually God’s rest (“My rest” – Vs 5)
that He has provided for believers to enter.
rest – katapausis (rest; resting place) 8 out of 9 N.T. occurrences
are in Hebrews, noun.
The word “rest” occurs 12 times in Hebrews, 11 of them katapausis or katapauo.
The other word for “rest” is used only once in the N.T.
and it occurs in Hebrews 4:9
rest (Vs 9) – sabbatismos (keeping the Sabbath;
the future rest for God’s people)
Thus, as God entered His seventh day Sabbath rest after creation, God’s people
shall one day enter God’s rest (our Sabbath rest). Even though God’s works of
creation were completed before He took His rest, there was still a rest
remaining for those who had done the works of obedience.
Hebrews 4:4 – For he spake
in a certain place of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God did rest
the seventh day from all his works. (Genesis 2:2)
rest – katapauo (to rest; to make quiet) 3 out of 4 occurrences in
Hebrews, verb
The seventh day here represents firstly the Sabbath rest
of God, and secondly the future Sabbath rest of God’s people. Those who have
partaken with God the benefits of salvation and have become joint-heirs with
Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, have a type of their future Sabbath rest
in this Sabbath rest of God on the seventh day. God rested from His labours; believers
will also rest from their labours!
Hebrews 4:5 – And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest.
But once again, there have been those in the past who
have not entered into their rest (in Canaan) – a picture of those who by the
same rebellion against the living God will not enter into that final Sabbath rest
which belongs only to God’s people, those who by their obedience have been
promised the Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:6 – Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it
was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Because God promised a rest to those who believed in Him
(those who didn’t have an evil heart of unbelief) then by logic there must
be those who will be approved by God to enter this rest. That is, God would not
have promised such if no-one were to be a part of this promise! Otherwise it
would be like promising a reward to anyone who could do the impossible –
therefore not really a reward after all!
Hebrews 4:7 – Again, he limiteth
a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long
a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
limiteth – horizo (to
define; to mark out the boundaries or limits (of any place or thing); to
determine; appoint; ordain; that which has been determined, according to
appointment; decree) from the word horion = boundaries for a region, district, land, territory.
Our word “horizon” traces back to the same origins, meaning “boundary”.
Today – sēmeron
(this {very} day) That is, now, not tomorrow but now!
If David said “Today”, after such a long time (about 500
years), then it didn’t just apply to those who were brought out of Egypt. Thus it is an ongoing promise, and can be applied to all
believers, not just the few (Joshua and Caleb) who came out of Egypt.
So “Today….” The writer is making certain that the
Hebrews to whom he is writing are aware that this (that writing which they
would have known about intimately) also applies to them “Today!” This isn’t
just history to do with the law of Moses; it’s applicable to them right now as
much as it ever was. Even Jesus claimed that the law of Moses spoke of Him
because it spoke of Christ, and this was the New perfected Covenant that Christ
had come to put into place, the New Covenant that the Hebrews were now being
told was the final covenant (in the last dispensation).
Hebrews 4:8 – For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
KJV says “Jesus” here, but remember that Joshua is the
Hebrew form of Jesus, and Joshua son of Nun is the obvious meaning here, having
been the person who led Israel into the promised land of Canaan. Joshua did
lead them into Canaan, but there was little real rest involved with this, being
only a type of the future rest of God. And it clearly points out here that
Joshua couldn’t have given them rest as such because God through King David has
spoken of that certain day (Vs 7) a long time after Joshua, yet still calling
it “Today”.
Once again, the Hebrew readers of this epistle were
being told that this promise of a rest still applied to them “Today!” In fact,
there would continue to be “Today!” until this dispensation closed. But for
individual people, “today” referred to that time during which this option was
still available to them. For some people “today”, there will literally be no
“tomorrow”!
2 Corinthians 6:2b – behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is]
the day of salvation.)
Hebrews 4:9 – There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God.
rest – sabbatismos (keeping the Sabbath; the future rest for God’s
people) The word isn’t “Sabbath” but the “keeping of a Sabbath”, which can only
point toward “heaven” being meant. The only place in the N.T. this word is
used.
The fact remains that the provision of a yet-remaining rest
demonstrates that it has been reserved for actual believers. (Note that
salvation was provided because there was to be an actual need for salvation,
otherwise salvation would have been futile!)
Hebrews 4:10 – For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.
Believers who enter this time of rest (heaven) will have
ceased from their labours as God ceased from His labours on the seventh day.
Wipe away all tears, no more pain nor sorrow, etc. No more anxiety, all eternal
life from now on. It is something we can and should be looking forward to.
However, we must continue to bring in the harvest, labour in the fields until
that day that we go to our eternal rest. All the trials and tribulations of
this world will be past. As God rested on His Sabbath rest, so will we, one day!
Hebrews 4:11 – Let us labour therefore to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
labour – to hasten; make haste; to exert one's
self; endeavour; give diligence.
It has the idea of persevering diligently, much like holding fast our
confidence to the end, lest we fall away through disobedience. Thus, the need
to exhort one another lest each other “fall” (“be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin”– Hebrews 3:13).
fall – to descend from a higher place to a lower;
to descend from an erect to a prostrate position; fall down (physically and
spiritually). Thus, lest anyone should fall down spiritually because of the
same sin of disobedience as that committed by the children of Israel in the
wilderness. In other words, in order to enter that rest, be diligent to learn
from what happened to Israel in the wilderness, and avoid their sin. The offer
of God’s rest is still available but can only be to those who fulfil the required
conditions of obedience (as it was back then).
As with all definite blessings of God, the requirement
always includes a good measure of obedience!
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God [is] quick,
and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
word – logos
quick – alive, living
powerful – energēs (active) 3 times in KJV: effectual x 2;
powerful x 1.
dividing asunder – merismos (a division; partition; distribution; a separation;
cleave asunder or separate) 2 times in KJV: gifts x 1; dividing asunder x 1. Both
are in Hebrews: 2:4 (“gifts”) and 4:12 (“division”). The connection is that the
gifts of the Holy Spirit are depicted as being divided up for distribution. All
other occurrences (17) of “gift/s” (including “free gift”) in the N.T. involve charisma.
soul – psyche (breath (of
life); life; soul; seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions etc;
the soul as an essence which differs from the physical body and is not
dissolved by death) Some see this as the animal life that causes us to live our
physical life, and when we die, this stops.
spirit – pneuma (spirit (including Holy Spirit); a spirit (Eg angel); the soul; a human soul that has left the body;
breath; wind) This is seen as the eternal part of our existence, the part that
goes on after death,
intents – the act of thinking; consideration;
meditation; a thought; mind; understanding; will; manner of feeling, and
thinking.
For the word of God is quick (alive) and
powerful (energised) – mighty, the truth against which no lie can stand
(Thy Word is truth – John 17:17), lighting our pathway (Psalm 119:105), and
here it is the exposer of every hidden secret of every person.
sharper (that is, slicing rather than a two-edged
sword that hacks) – doing what a sword could do, only far more effectively and
decisively.
piercing (penetrating) as far as to be able to cut
the soul and spirit apart, and also the joints and the marrow – cutting
deeply and exposing all to the omniscient God before whom nothing can ever be
hidden (See Vs 13).
Genesis 15:10 – And he took unto him all these, and
divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the
birds divided he not.
Jesus is known as the Word of God; thus
this verse appears to have some connection with Revelation 1:16 – And he had in his right hand seven
stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged
sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
Some maintain that Vs 12 relates to 1
Thessalonians 5:23 – And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Note the three parts mentioned here: spirit, soul, and
body. Barnes suggests that the “dividing asunder” means the separating between
the animal life (psyche – “soul”) and
the mind or soul (pneuma – “spirit”).
Barnes – To
separate the one from the other is, therefore, the same as to take life - and
this is the idea here, that the Word of God is like a sharp sword that inflicts
deadly wounds. The sinner "dies;" that is, he becomes dead to his
former hopes, or is "slain" by the Law; Romans
7:9, "I was alive without the law once, but when the
commandment came, sin revived, and I died." This is the power referred to
here - the power of destroying the hopes of the sinner; cutting him down under
conviction; and prostrating him as if a sword had pierced his heart.
Bengel – Man, contemplated according to his nature, consists of
soul and body, Matthew 10:28 : but when he has in him the
working of GOD’S word, he consists of spirit, soul, and body. … The soul
attracts (draws with it) the body, the spirit both, 1 Thessalonians 5:23. The spirit is divided
from the soul by the efficacy of the word of GOD, when the former is claimed
for GOD; the latter is left to itself, in so far as it either does not attain
to, or does not follow the spirit.
Others maintain that this does not mean the actual
separating of soul and spirit, but a dividing like the joints of the soul and
spirit, piercing to the very marrow, which is the very deepest part of the hard
bones. That is, everything is sliced asunder, even to the very deepest and most
hidden parts of our soul and spirit.
Cambridge – The meaning is not
that the word of God divides the soul (the “natural” soul) by which we live from the spirit by which we reason and apprehend; but that it
pierces not only the natural soul, but even to the Divine Spirit of man, and
even to the joints and marrow (i.e. to the inmost depths) of these.
Vincent – Μερισμὸς dividing, only here and Hebrews
2:4, is not to be understood of dividing soul from spirit or joints
from marrow. Soul and spirit cannot be said to be separated in any such sense
as this, and joints and marrow are not in contact with each other. Μερισμὸς is
the act of division; not the point or line of division. Joints and marrow are
not to be taken in a literal and material sense. In rendering, construe soul,
spirit, joints, marrow, as all dependent on dividing. Joints and marrow
(ἁρμῶν, μυελῶν, N.T.o )
are to be taken figuratively as joints and marrow of soul and spirit.
Yet others maintain a position somewhat between the
other two views.
Jamieson – even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit—that
is, reaching through even to the separation of the animal soul, the lower part
of man's incorporeal nature, the seat of animal desires, which he has in common
with the brutes; compare the same Greek, 1Co 2:14, "the natural
[animal-souled] man" (Jude 19), from the spirit (the higher part of man,
receptive of the Spirit of God, and allying him to heavenly beings). and of the joints
and marrow—rather, "(reaching even
TO) both the joints (so as to divide them) and marrow." Christ "knows
what is in man" (Joh 2:25): so His word reaches
as far as to the most intimate and accurate knowledge of man's most hidden
parts, feelings, and thoughts, dividing, that is, distinguishing what is
spiritual from what is carnal and animal in him, the spirit from the soul: so Pr 20:27.
Matthew Poole – separating
the most nearly united and closely joined things, laying open the very
entrails, the most inward in a man
However, in light of Vs 13, the obvious meaning in
context is that the Word of God searches and is a discerner of every thought
and intention of the heart. This is traditionally taken to mean the Bible, but
in this context cannot exclude the actions of God through Jesus Christ the Word
(Logos) in searching the depths of our very being.
Psalm 139:1-4;
23-24 – 1 O Lord,
thou hast searched me, and known [me]. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine
uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3
Thou compassest my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted [with] all my ways. 4 For [there
is] not a word in my tongue, [but], lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
23 Search
me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And
see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 – 9 The heart [is] deceitful above
all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I
the Lord search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man
according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.
Hebrews 4:13 – Neither is there any creature that
is not manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto
the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Thus, through the Word of God
(initially the Bible, but ultimately Christ) there is nowhere we may hide. All
things are naked (laid bare) and open (exposed) to God.
Psalm 139:7-12 – 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I
flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou [art]
there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou [art there]. 9
[If] I take the wings of the morning, [and] dwell in
the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand
lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say,
Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but
the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light [are] both
alike [to thee].
And one day we will give account
of all that God knows already! Nothing can escape His attention.
Romans
14:12 – So
then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Matthew 12:36 – But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment.
2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the
things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done,
whether [it be] good or bad.
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