A FAITHFUL LIFE
Week of August 10, 2008
Bible Verses: Hebrews 2:14-18; 3:1,5-14.
Biblical Truth: God has provided believers resources to help them stay faithful to Him.
My Helper: Heb. 2:14-18.
[14] Therefore, since the children share in flesh
and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He
might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
[15] and might free those who through
fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. [16] For assuredly He does not give help to
angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. [17] Therefore, He had to be made like His
brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people. [18] For since He Himself was
tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those
who are tempted. [NASU]
[14-15] The
necessity and purpose of the incarnation are now defined with more preciseness
than before. Its intention has already been declared: so that by the grace of God Christ might taste death for every one [9];
and its effect: bringing many sons to
glory [10], those sons being the brethren whom he has sanctified [11]. The
genuineness of Christ’s humanity is now affirmed in the most unequivocal terms:
flesh and blood, a common synonym
for human nature. Moreover, that the incarnation was the divine Son’s free act
on our behalf is indicated by the tenses of the two verbs share and partook. The
first, a perfect, describes the constant human situation: all men and women, of
every generation, have this in common that their nature is flesh and blood; whereas the second, an aorist, points to the
historical event, unique in itself, of the incarnation when the Son of God
assumed this same human nature and thus Himself became truly man and
accordingly truly one with mankind. This assertion of the common humanity by
which Christ is linked to us and we to him is followed by a statement of the
primary purpose of the incarnation, namely, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil. The power of death is held by the devil only in
a secondary and not in an ultimate sense. God is still supreme in His sovereignty.
The necessity of Christ’s death on the cross is bound up with the demands of
the moral structure of God’s world. In Christ, the Son of man and only
law-keeper, dying in the place of man the guilty law-breaker, the justice and
the love of God prevail together. Thus the death of Christ for us was the
defeat of the devil; but it is not the end of the story, for it was followed by
His resurrection, ascension, and crowning with glory and honor. This is the
great vindication of Christ’s saving work, the assurance of its perfection and
its acceptance by God, as well as its eternal efficacy for man. The defeat of
the tyrant naturally means the setting free of those whom he holds in bondage.
Rescue is the whole point of the operation.
[16-18] In saying that Christ took to Himself the seed (descendant) of Abraham our author places the incarnation within the perspective of the covenant, of which the incarnate Son is the focal point. It follows (therefore) that He had to be made like His brethren, that is, to identify Himself completely with mankind, whom He came to rescue, by a true incarnation, involving the assumption not only of flesh and blood but also of all human feelings and sensibilities (in all things). Representation requires identification. By His voluntary and victorious endurance of testing and suffering, the incarnate Son gave proof of his mercy and faithfulness. The Greek verb used here (translated propitiation) means to render propitious or well disposed, to conciliate, and when used intransitively, as in this verse, to make propitiation for. To procure our restoration, God himself has met the demands of His own holiness. He has, so to speak, propitiated Himself in our place, thereby achieving the reconciliation to Himself of mankind, who otherwise were hopelessly alienated and under condemnation because of sin. The help that He brings is twofold: in the first place, forgiveness of sins, the annulment of past defeats, and, in the second place, the power to fight and overcome temptation.
My Calling: Heb. 3:1,5-6.
[1] Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a
heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our
confession; [5] Now Moses was faithful
in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be
spoken later; [6] but Christ was
faithful as a Son over His house--whose house we are, if we hold fast our
confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. [NASU]
[1] This chapter begins a new section with the primary theme of the superiority of the Son
to Moses. The description of the brethren as holy does not imply that they are
holy in themselves, but rather “sanctified” or “consecrated” as those who have
been chosen and set apart by God. The reference to a heavenly calling shows that the initiative comes from God. Here
the readers are admonished to consider,
to give thoughtful attention to (an intensive compound meaning to apply one’s
mind diligently to something). The designation of Christ by the title Apostle is without parallel in the New Testament.
The word apostle means one who is sent and Jesus repeatedly describes Himself
as having been sent by the Father into the world. As our high priest Christ is
intercessor and the One who prepares the way for us to the land of the living,
because He intervenes for us and enables us to pass over the waves of this
world and over every calamity to the heavenly fatherland.
5] The contrast between Moses and
Christ, both faithful, is now resumed and developed. There are two main points
of comparison, namely, that Moses as a servant was faithful in God’s house,
whereas, Christ as a Son was faithful over God’s house. Christ displays Himself
in a double capacity, as servant and as sovereign: servant in His mediatorial office
which involved Him in the service of the household, and sovereign by reason
both of His eternal Sonship and of the enthronement that followed His
humiliation, and as such the ruler over the household. A further relationship
between Moses and Christ is implied in the description of the function of the
former as being to testify to the things which were to be spoken later, that
is, to be spoken by God. That is to say, an important element of Moses’
stewardship was that of witness, not to himself as though he were the end and
fulfillment of God’s purposes, but to realities which were still future and
would come to expression in the incomparably greater person of Christ.
[6] As so frequently in this
epistle, we are God’s house if, on
condition that, we hold fast our
confidence and the boast of our hope. Admonitions such as our author gives
here serve to emphasize the seriousness of the Christian’s calling and are
thoroughly in line with God’s covenant relationship with His people in former
times. A man whose profession of faith is contradicted by the quality of his
life should examine himself to see whether he is a Christian at all [2 Cor.
13:5]. What is said here points to a dwindling of confidence, involving
inevitably a weakening of evangelical witness, on the part of those to whom this
letter is addressed. The pride with which they had formerly testified to their
Christian hope was draining away. In the case of our present letter, its
recipients would seem to have been heeding suggestions that the expectation of
the return of Jesus Christ was a vain hope [2 Pet. 3:3ff]. But it is a mark of
true Christianity that constantly and tenaciously we exult in hope of the glory of God [
My Bible: Heb. 3:7-11.
[7] Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, [8]
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF
TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, [9] WHERE YOUR
FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me,
AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. [10]
THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, 'THEY ALWAYS GO
ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS'; [11] AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, 'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER
MY REST.'" [NASU]
The comparison
between Christ and Moses leads to one between their followers. The writer uses
the conduct of the Israelites as a means of challenging his readers to a closer
walk with God. There was a promise in the Old Testament that God’s people would
enter into rest. The writer sees this promise as fulfilled in Christ. In
drawing attention to this, he shows from another angle that Christ is God’s
final word to mankind. The writer begins this section with a quotation from Psalm
95:7-11.
My Church: Heb. 3:12-14.
[12] Take care, brethren, that there not be in any
one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
[13] But encourage one another day after
day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will
be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. [14]
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of
our assurance firm until the end, [NASU]
[12] There
is a strong logical connection with the words in verse 7 by which the quotation
was introduced: Therefore, as the Holy
Spirit says, Take care, brethren.
In other words, the Holy Spirit has said these things not to provide a static
record of past occurrences, but to speak an admonitory word, dynamic and
existential, to us in our day. The immediate danger is that there should arise
an evil, unbelieving heart in their midst. The unbelieving heart mentioned here is not a heart that has not yet
come to belief, but a heart that departs from belief, a heart not firm in
faith, the evil nature of which is displayed in an act of willful apostasy. It
is not a question of a quasi-passive falling away but of a deliberate,
rebellious secession from the living God. It is far more serious to commit
apostasy after professing belief than never to have come to faith [cf. 2 Pet.
2:15; Mt. 12:43-45; Heb. 6:4ff, 10:26ff].
[13-14] An important means for
withstanding the enticement to apostasy is that of mutual exhortation or
admonition. Mutual concern and encouragement are of constant value in the
church. This unremitting encouragement of one another in loyalty and perseverance
should continue as long as it is still called
“Today,” that is, as long as the present day of God’s grace endures. The
allusion is to the quotation from Psalm 95 in verse 7 above. Under Moses, that
“day” lasted for forty years in the wilderness, and so long as it lasted the
opportunity persisted for the people to heed God’s voice and obey his will. As
with them, however, the day of divine forbearance will not last forever; it
will be succeeded by another “day,” the Day of the Lord, which is the day of judgment
for those who have spurned the day of grace [cf. 2 Pet. 3:8-10]. The purpose of
the mutual encouragement which he advocates is that that none of you will be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin. Sin
is a constantly present reality which makes its inroads by means of
deceitfulness. Sin first deceives and then hardens, leaving its victims in an
irretrievably hopeless position. Our author links authentic participation in
Christ with the condition, if we
hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. This conditional clause corresponds closely
with the conditional clause at the end of verse 6: if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm
until the end. These
conditional statements serve as a test to determine the genuineness of one’s
faith and salvation. If you have true saving faith in the Gospel, then, by the
help of the Spirit, it is certain that you will meet these conditions.
Questions for
Discussion:
1. Why did Jesus have to share human nature completely? What three purposes for Christ’s death do you see in verses 14-17? What is the importance of “therefore” and “that” in verse 17? Explain the meaning of propitiation?
2. How does Christ’s role as high priest encourage you in your current situation (17-18)? What kind of high priest is Jesus? Why are these qualities that we would want our high priest to have? Do you think He really understands everything you are going through? Why or why not? As our high priest, what does Jesus do for us?
3. Why would the writer refer to Jesus as “the
Apostle and High Priest of our confession?”
How can we fix our thoughts (consider, apply one’s mind diligently in
order to learn the inner meaning) upon this Jesus? What are some warning signs
that should tell us that we are not fixing our thoughts upon Jesus?
4. What are the confidence and hope that
we are to hold fast to? How do we rejoice in the hope? Scholars have long
debated the meaning of the “if” clause in 3:6. Look at the following passages
where you also find conditional statements: 1 Cor. 15:1-2; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col
1:21-23; Heb. 3:14; 6:4-6. How do these verses relate to the doctrine of the
perseverance of the saints?
5. Why does the writer put so much importance on encouraging one another [13]? What does the author say about the purpose of encouragement? What encouragement can you offer each other? How does verse 14 tie in with this? What is the connection between partakers and confidence or assurance?
References:
The Book of Hebrews, Philip Hughes, Eerdmans.
Hebrews 1-8,