Hebrews 4:3-13
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We are in Hebrews 4
The Author is Talking to His Audience About God’s Rest
The Israelites in the Wilderness Were Promised Rest if They Trusted God
But They Did Not Trust God (His Message or Promises)…
So They Did Not Enter His Rest
The Offer Still Stands to Enter into God’s Rest
But We Can’t Follow in the Unfaithful Steps of the Wandering Israelites
We Must Trust in God (His Message and Promises)
His Message and Promises are the Gospel of Jesus
We Covered Verses 1-2 Last Time
Hebrews 4:1–2 (NASB95)
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
Now We Will Begin Our Study in Verse 3
Hebrews 4:3–5 (NASB95)
For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.”
These Verses Can Be a Little Bit Difficult to Interpret
But I Believe the Main Point the Author is Trying to Make is:
God’s Rest is Still Available for Us to Enter into Today
Those Who Believe Enter (Present Tense) His Rest
Entering God’s Rest Isn’t Just Something that Will Take Place in the Future
It’s Something We Can Enter into By Faith Right Now
This May Be Referring to the Spiritual Rest We Receive…
When We Give Our Lives Over to Jesus
When Becoming a Christian, We Already Begin Experiencing the Rest of God
But We Will Experience the Fullness of His Rest When Jesus Returns
The Rest of God Has Been Available Since the Foundation of the World
God Rested On the 7th Day and He Has Been “Resting” Ever Since
That Doesn’t Mean God Has Been Inactive
But that He Completed His Creation of the World
Ever Since God Rested On the 7th Day, He Has Opened Up that Rest to Humanity
But, Like the Israelites, So Many Have Failed to Enter it Due to Unbelief
Hebrews 4:6–7 (NASB95)
Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
Entering into God’s Rest Has Been Available By Faith Since Creation
The Israelites in the Wilderness Missed Out On Entering God’s Rest
The People of David’s Day (Psalm 95) Were Encouraged Not to Miss Out On Entering God’s Rest
And the Hebrew’s Author Tells His Audience that the Offer Still Stands
Even Today You Can Enter God’s Rest if You Will Place Your Faith in Him
Hebrews 4:8–10 (NASB95)
For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
The Hebrew’s Author Seems to Indicate that Joshua Didn’t Actually Lead the Children of Israel to God’s Rest
But the Book of Joshua Seems to Indicate Otherwise
Joshua 1:13 (NASB95)
“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God gives you rest and will give you this land.’
Joshua 23:1 (NASB95)
Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,
Hebrews 4:8–10 (NASB95)
For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
We Know that Israel Experienced a Temporary Rest
But We are Looking for the Perpetual, Eternal, Sabbath Rest of God
A Rest that Begins When a Person Places Their Faith in Christ…
And Comes to its Ultimate Fruition When Jesus Returns
The Sabbath Rest that God Began On the 7th Day…
Was Not a Cessation of Work, But a Completion of His Work
When a Person Enters into the Rest of God, We Enter into the Completion of His Work Through Jesus
We Become a New Creation in Jesus
There is No More Working and Striving to Inherit Salvation
There is Only Faith/Trusting in Jesus
This Teaching Should Have Been Comforting to the Hebrew Christian Audience
The Working, Striving, Sacrificing, and Law-Keeping of the Old Law…
Has Been Replaced By Faith in Jesus
To Enter into God’s Rest Through Faith in Jesus…
Is So Much Greater Than Returning to the Old Covenant
Hebrews 4:11–13 (NASB95)
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
Hebrews 4:11 (NASB95)
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
To End Out the Section About Entering God’s Rest…
The Author Encourages His Listeners as Well as Himself…
To Be “Diligent” to Enter God’s Rest
“Diligent” = To Be Eager/Zealous, To Make Every Effort
We Ought to Be Zealous and Make Every Effort to Enter God’s Rest
Those Who Don’t, are in Danger of Following in the Footsteps of the Wilderness Generation
Footsteps of Disbelief and Disobedience
What are Some Ways that We Can Be Diligent to Enter God’s Rest?
Read and Study the Scriptures
They Teach Us About God and Show Us His Faithfulness to Keep His Promises
Follow the Teachings of Jesus
Love God and Love Others
Encourage Each Other
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Many Early Church Fathers Leading All the Way Up to the Medieval Ages…
Believed This to Be Referring to Jesus
Since the Reformation, This View is Much Less Popular
I Believe the “Word” Refers to the “Message” of God
We Find God’s Messages to His People in the Scriptures
What All Types of Messages Do We Find in the Scriptures?
Commands
Commands to Do Things
Commands to Not Do Things
Promises
To Give Hope of Restoration and Salvation
To Warn of Judgement and Destruction
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
What Does it Mean for God’s Message is Living and Active?
It’s Not a Dead and Inactive Message
The Scriptures Aren’t Ancient Writings that Have No Real Application to Us Today
As Much as They Were Alive and Active the Day They Were Spoken By God…
They are Still Just as Alive and Active Today
The Specific Example that We Have From This Context is the Quoting of Psalm 95
The Holy Spirit Through David, 1,000 Years Prior…
Had Said God’s Rest was Available to All Those Who Trust God, “Today”
And the Author of Hebrews Told His Audience that “Today” Didn’t Just Mean David’s Day
It Also Meant Their Day
And it Also Means Our Day
God’s Words/Messages From 2,000 Years Ago (and Further)…
Are Just as Alive and Active Today as They Were Back Then
His Commands are Still Alive and Active
His Promises are Still Alive and Active
His Message Still Applies to and Can Still Transform Us Today
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God’s Message is Sharper Than Any Sword Ever Known
Sharpness Speaks to its Ability to Easily Slice Through/Divide Something
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God’s Message is So Sharp, it Can Slice Between Soul and Spirit
There are Lots of Different Ideas as to What this Means
I’ll Give My Opinion
We as Humans are Made Up of Body, Soul, and Spirit
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NASB95)
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Body is Our Physical Body
Our Soul Seems to Possibly Encompass Several Things
It Can Sometimes Refer to One’s Emotions and Thoughts
But it Primarily Refers to Our Life
Our Spirit is that Non-Material Part of Us that Lives On After the Body Dies
Our Spirit is Our Inner Person
God’s Word is So Sharp it can Divide the Joints From the Marrow
The Hebrew Author’s Focus is On the Sharpness of God’s Word
Thoroughness Seems to Be the Point
It Can Slice All the Way Through Us
And it Can Even Divide Things that Can’t Seem to Be Divided
It Can Penetrate Through Both Material and Immaterial
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This Seems to Get to the Heart of What the Author is Saying
God’s Word Slices Us Open to the Extent that Nothing is Kept Secret From God
God’s Message Judges Our Very Thoughts and Intentions
The Next Verse Expands Upon This Idea
Hebrews 4:13 (NASB95)
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
God’s Word Judges Us Thoroughly and Righteously
And There is No Escaping His Judgement
There is No Hiding Our Thoughts or Intentions From Him
His Word Cuts Right Through Everything that We are
All Things are “Open” = “Naked”
All Things are “Laid Bare” = “To Seize the Throat”
It Could Refer to When a Priest Bent Back an Animal’s Head Before He Slit its Throat for Sacrifice
It Could Refer to Putting Someone in a Choke-Hold to Render Them Helpless
It Could Refer to a Man Being Led to Execution With a Knife Placed Beneath His Chin…
So That He Could Not Bow His Head in Shame Away From the Stares of the People
All 3 are Appropriate Illustrations of Our Status Before the Judgement of God
Our Necks are Laid Bare Because We Deserve to Be Executed for Our Sins
We are Completely Helpless Before the Judge of All the Earth
We Stand in Shame Before the One Who Has Every Right to Take Our Lives as Punishment for Our Sins
This Hebrew Audience was Tempted to Turn Their Backs On Jesus and Return to Judaism…
To Escape the Persecutions, Sufferings, and Pressure
These Words From the Hebrew Author Were Meant to Wake Them Up to Reality
They are Naked, Helpless, and Exposed Before the Eyes of God
He Knows Them Better Than They Know Themselves
His Word Cuts Them Right Open and Exposes Their Every Thought and Intention
They Needed to Realize that They Can’t Hide Anything From the Word of God Which Will Judge Them
That’s Why Verse 11 is So Important
Hebrews 4:11 (NASB95)
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
We Have to Make Every Effort to Enter God’s Rest Through Faithful Obedience to Jesus
Because God Knows Everything About Us and His Message Will Judge Our Every Thought and Intention
This Section of Hebrews Began Back in 3:1
First, We Were Told to Consider Jesus as Better Apostle and High Priest Than Moses
Jesus is the Faithful Son Over God’s House
Then We Were Told of the Wandering Israelites Refusal to Trust in God’s Word and Their Punishment as a Result
The Hebrew Audience, as Well as Ourselves Today, are Given the Same Offer of Rest or Punishment
If We Will Only Trust and Obey God’s Word, We Will Enter God’s Rest
If We Refuse to Trust and Obey, We Will Be Punished
Our Every Thought and Intention Will Be Naked and Laid Bare Before God’s Judgement
We are Given a Terrifying Image of the All-Knowing Judgement of God
When We Honestly Think About Our Sinful Thoughts and Intentions, Not to Mention Our Actions…
God’s Wrathful Judgement Upon Us Seems Definite
Reading That Section Ought to Make Us Feel Absolutely Hopeless
Because, Without Jesus, We Are
But the Author Doesn’t Leave Us in Hopeless Despair
He Offers Comforting Words to His Audience
Hebrews 4:14–16 (NASB95)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
God Does Not Leave Us Helpless in Our Sin
Jesus is Our High Priest
And Because We Have Him as Our High Priest…
We Can Draw Near to the Throne of Grace with Confidence to Receive Mercy and Grace
Why Would We Ever Turn Our Backs On Jesus?