God's Got This

Their Jewish friends and relatives were pressuring and shaming them back into a sacrificial system that, because of Jesus, was obsolete and in just a few short years would be irrelevant because of the pending destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

As the writer of Hebrews brings his letter to a conclusion, he offers up a prayer or benediction that seems to encapsulate so much of what he has covered.

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

As we conclude our study, let’s reflect on two key elements of this prayer. First, we get to see that...

God is the God of true and lasting peace

This time of year, we want to talk a lot about peace. We want peace on earth. We want people to get along. We want an absence of stress. While we may end up with moments of tranquility, that peace ultimately does not last.

In this prayer that the writer of Hebrews prays, he packs it with a great deal of substance that is truly worthy of meditation.

Hebrews 13:20 “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,”

Think about this for a moment. God is the God of peace. Is that how you view God? Why did Jesus die? Why is it important that God brought him back from the dead?

He did that to bring peace between us and God.

When it comes to true and lasting peace, the ultimate source of our stress is our sin. Now we may not always think about it that way because we’ve become so accustomed to our sin nature. But when it comes down to the eternal consequences of our sin, apart from Jesus, we are without hope!

beyond just eternal consequences, our sin has very real consequences today.

The Psalmist writes:

Psalm 32:1–4 ESV

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

We may have a tendency to rationalize our sin, but ultimately we can’t escape from the pressure that mounts up within us as we “waste away” from the rot.

One way that God brings peace is by dealing with our sin - not just for a moment, but for all eternity.

Sure, we will still sin. We will still mess up. In fact, it’s likely a daily battle within us. But because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, we have no reason to fear judgment. God judged Jesus on our behalf - if we would only receive His salvation by faith.

In the Jewish sacrificial system, they had to regularly go and address their sin. The covenant was conditional on their ability to maintain it.

But through Jesus, we have an eternal covenant.

Let that sink in for a moment.

(give some examples of sins that we may commit, that have been covered by Jesus)

The Psalmist continues, reflecting on the health of confession:

Psalm 32:5–7 ESV

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

Not only does God bring eternal - true and lasting peace through Jesus, but because Jesus is the great shepherd, there is perpetual comfort.

He knows us, he knows our needs, he knows our concerns…

John 10:14 ESV

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

Jesus not only knows that stress of our sin - after all, it cost him his life - but he knows our present stresses. As our shepherd, he knows what we need. He knows what needs fixing. He’s got this!

the frustration for that broken relationship

the financial stress when that unexpected bill comes up - he knows

the relationships at work

the health concerns that worry you

But, because God is the God of true and lasting peace, the next thing we get to understand about God in this prayer is that...

God equips

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now may the God of peace … equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The word that we have translated as “equip” has with it the connotation of supply or “to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something” (Louw-Nida). But, elsewhere in the NT, that word is rendered to “‘restore’, ‘repair’, or ‘mend’.” The commentator Raymond Brown notes that this word is used of the disciples as they were mending their nets. He continues...

“In equipping his people with everything good, our God is able not only to supply what is necessary, but also to repair what is broken.”

Ultimately, what God has repaired is our broken relationship with him, our corrupted sin nature. But when we look at the substance of this prayer, we are equipped or repaired in order to do his will.

God equips and prepares us internally and spiritually, but I believe he also does that in community. When we can cast our burdens on God and share them with one another, we get to experience first hand the restoring/equipping power of God through each other.

(story of confession, asking for help…)

We saw a few weeks ago how the OT saints provided for us a testimony about God’s faithfulness as they sought to live by faith (Heb. 11). They experienced shame and disgrace by human standards, but got to experience the fulness of life as they followed God obediently.

We also saw that in light of their testimony - we should run with endurance the race or the life that God has ordained for us - recognizing that it will be challenging and difficult, but it will be worth it as God works in us to perfect and sanctify us (Heb. 12). But our running is not running alone - we saw that Jesus ran that race for us. He too endured shame, but kept running for the glory of God.

We also got to consider how the true sacrifices or services we should render to God entail

love for one another - which implies that God has given us a community within which we get to live,

love (hospitality) toward outsiders, and

love toward the persecuted (Heb. 13).

We also got to see how individually we should work toward contentment - trusting God’s good wisdom and provision.

God equips us to run the race, to love, to live in community, to grow toward holiness.

The apostle Peter helps us to understand it a bit more:

2 Peter 1:3–8 NLT

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is so much that we could unpack there, in fact it may be worth taking some time to meditate on this passage later today or this week.

Closing Thoughts

Receive that peace that God has purchased for you through Jesus - stop trying to earn your salvation.

Allow God to mend and restore what is broken in you - repenting for trying to shore that up on our own - trusting in the community in which he has called us.

Walk in obedience to all that God has called you to - in community and in the world.

I don’t want to trivialize the peace and equipping that God works in our lives, but I do want to give us a bit of an analogy to understand this a bit more. I want to tell you about our dog Dakota. I know I’ve mentioned her before. She’s a small, 8ish pound mutt. She has lots of energy and likes to play. She ends up spending a lot of time at home and typically likes being wherever we are. Occasionally she will be a bit demanding.

But she is also fairly easily stressed out. When we do take her in the car with us, she is quite anxious. She has to sit on the drivers lap, and since I don’t like to let other people drive ( I guess I have some of my own anxieties that I need to address), she wants to be with me.

She will squeal at other cars and people as they pass by. She will scratch at the window as though she is trying to get out - and yet she is right where she wants to be - with us - or really - with me - her emotional support human. There are brief moments when she will stress herself out so much that she will tuck her head between my arm and the door - ignoring what’s around her - ignoring what’s passing by. But then, before too long, she’s back up and anxiously moving around. If the trip or the day is long enough, she may tire herself out enough to sleep in my arm or on my lap, but that takes a long time to get to.

Her stressing is not going to change the fact that she is not in charge. As her owners, we are looking out for her, caring for her, equipping her with all the food, toys, and care that she needs. But she needs to yield and trust.

There are times when I can be so much like Dakota in my relationship with God. The anxiety turns into stress and passive aggressive comments toward those closest to me. I need to trust that God’s got this - he will supply what I need. He will mend what needs to be healed. I need to trust him and yield to His ways.

I think that ultimately, if we would truly live out the life that God has called for us - according to his ways, we will still encounter scorn and shame, there will be stress from external circumstances, but there will be contentment, knowing that He’s got this! He knows what he is doing.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let’s pray.

Benediction:

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Questions for reflection and discussion:

What are the biggest areas of stress in your life? How do you typically handle that stress?

Knowing that God’s peace is true and lasting, what changes do you need to make in how you think and act in order to rest in His peace?

How have you seen God supply what you need in order to do his will? How have you experienced his mending or repairing work in your life? Where would you like to experience that repair? How might God be using the people of the church to equip/repair/restore/mend what is needed? Are you allowing God to work through your brothers and sisters in Christ?

References:

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/hebrews/

Berkhof, L. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938.

Brown, Raymond. The Message of Hebrews. The Bible Speaks today. Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982.

Frame, John M. Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006.

Kruger, Michael J. Hebrews for You. The Good Book Company, 2021.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.

O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Hebrews. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Strong, James. A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Confident: Live by Faith, Not by Sight. NT Commentary: Hebrews. Colorado Springs, David C. Cook: 1982

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