Hebrews 4:1-13 - Outline of Hebrews (Book Notes menu page)
4:1 Let us therefore fear,
lest, a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest,
any {one} of you should seem {ie., should be accounted} to come short of it.
Therefore - ie., having the example of Israel's loss due to unbelief (3:19)...
let us fear - Fear is a good thing if it makes us wary of danger.
McGee suggests: we should fear "rattlesnakes... and ignorance of the Word of God," and the possibility of exclusion from God's rest.
There are three ''Rests of God'' in ch. 4:
1. His Rest from Creation, v.4
2. Israel's Rest in Canaan, v.5,6
3. The believer's Rest in Christ, v.9-11
4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached {lit., the word of hearing} did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].
{(or) 'because they were not united, by faith, to them that heard.'}
unto us - ie., the early Hebrew Christians.
unto them - the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness
(and also unbelievers contemporary to the readers).
the word...not mixed with faith...- cp. Rom 10:9-11,14-18; Heb 11:6
The alternate reading of the last line of v.2 (shown above) is supported by the meanings of:
  1. 'mixed' {GK=sugkerannumi, mingled together, combined} which occurs in only one other NT passage (1Cor 12:24), where the context refers to believers as members, 'tempered together' in the body of Christ.
  2. 'heard' (as below)
them that heard {GK=akouo, to hear with understanding or perception}.-
This believing group is also identified as 'us' (v.2) and 'we' (v.3).
While 'they' may gather with 'us' regularly, 'they' are not truly united with 'us,' because 'they' do not truly believe. While 'we' enter, by faith, into God's provided rest, 'they' do not.
4:3 For we which have believed do enter into {that} rest, as he said,
As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: {Psa 95:11}
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
     (Psalm 95 continues to be central to the argument of ch.4, as it was in ch.3.)
Rest is for believers.
Unbelievers are excluded from God's rest, but not because God's work is incomplete.
God's work was "finished" long before man came on the scene.
eg., His work of salvation in Christ: Eph 1:4; 1Pet 1:20; Rev 13:8
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. {Gen 2:2}
What does it mean that God rested?
He rested, on the first Sabbath day, not due to tiredness,
but because His work of creation was complete. cp. Isa 40:28; Gen 2:2,3
4:5 And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest. {Psa 95:11}
they - God purposed that people would benefit from His finished work. Examples:
  • As His creatures, men are part of God's creation rest.
    (The present unrest, in the creation, is an effect of sin. Rom 8:22-25)
  • For Israel, God promised rest in the land of Canaan.
    Although some were not allowed to enter, because of their unbelief, others did enter.
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: {Heb 3:18,19}
it remains - The rest which God has promised has not been derailed by human unbelief. Rom 3:3,4
some must enter - God's purposes cannot be thwarted.
It is necessary, because God has promised, that some men will be included in His rest.
Who, then, is elligible to enter?
Was His offer of rest limited to Israel in the wilderness, in Moses' day?
4:7 Again, he limiteth {ie., marks out, defines} a certain day, saying in David, {Psa 95:7,8}
To day, after so long a time; as it is said,
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
No, it was not for Moses' day only.
In the Psalms, God spoke through David (who lived hundreds of years after Moses), calling the people of David's day to find rest through faith in Him.
Today - it is for our time also. 2Cor 6:2
hear {GK=akouo, to hear with understanding or perception}
(cp. the English word 'acumen'- quickness of perception, keenness of insight). cp. 1Thes 2:13
4:8 For if Jesus {ie., Joshua} had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Joshua - The same GK word {'Iesus'} is used for the names 'Jesus' and 'Joshua' in the NT.
The GK is a transliteration of the HB 'Jehoshua' (meaning 'Jehovah Saves' or 'Jehovah is Salvation,' cp. Mat 1:21).
     Verse 8 refers to Joshua, the son of Nun, who succeeded Moses as Israel's leader (Deu 31:22,23). Joshua brought Israel into the promised land, where they found rest. (However, due to unbelief, their possession of the land was incomplete.) Josh 22:1,4
But God had another rest in mind, since He spoke, through David, long after Joshua's time.
4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
a rest {GK=sabbatismos, lit., a sabbath keeping}
remains - There is a type of rest, promised to God's people,
which is distinct from the rests of Creation and Canaan.
Yet, like God's first sabbath rest, it is based on His completed work.
4:10 For he that is entered into his {ie., God's} rest,
he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.
rest {GK=katapausis, a cessation of work} (all occurrences of 'rest' in ch. 3-4, except 4:9).
The English "pause" comes from the root of this word.
ceased {GK=katapauo, to cease (from the same root word)}
from his own works -
God rested because He finished His works (plural) -
  • of Creation.
  • of Redemption in Christ.
Man rests when he enters "into His rest" (ie., into God's finished work of salvation,
     which Christ accomplished on the cross, Joh 19:30).
Christ invites us to come to Him for rest. Mat 11:28-30
   The rest that He gives has two aspects:
  1. Cessation from futile attempts to attain self-righteousness. Mat 11:28; Rom 7:18-24
    He provides righteousness apart from the works of the Law (Rom 3:19-26).
    Having been 'justified' {made righteous}, through faith in the finished work of Christ, we have peace with God. Rom 5:1,2; Eph 2:8,9; Titus 3:5-7
    Christ fulfilled the Law, in our behalf, for we could not keep it (Rom 8:1-4).
  2. Complete submission to the Father's will. Mat 11:29,30
       Only the children of God (born of His Spirit) are able to "learn" His ways as taught by His Son (Joh 1:12,13; 3:5-7; 1Cor 2:9,10).
    God's ways are "easy" for His children, only as they draw on the power of His indwelling Spirit, for...
    1. Victory over sin - This is experienced, not by my moral strength of character,
      but through Christ's death and resurrection, by which (A) sin has lost its power over me and (B) the power of His Life lives within me. Rom 6:1-11; Gal 2:20; 5:22-25
    2. Godly life and service - This is the fruit, not of my abilities,
      but of Him who began and will complete His work in me. Joh 15:5; Php 1:6; 2:13
         Note that, in contrast to the Pharisee's sabbath rest, this aspect of Christ's rest is not a rest from work, but in work: "not the rest of inactivity but of the harmonious working of all faculties and affections- of will, heart, imagination and conscience- because each has found in God the ideal sphere for its satisfaction and development." Eph 2:10
         [in quotes, from J.Patrick, "Hastings Biblical Dictionary," as quoted by WEVine]
is entered (present tense)... hath ceased (past tense)... (v.10)-
Compare the tenses in v.3: 'have believed... do enter...'
Rest, in the finished work of God, is present reality, for 'we who have believed.'
When faith puts all its weight upon the Lord, rest is obtained.
4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
labor - GK=spoudazo, be diligent.
Rest is entered by faith, not by our own efforts. But we, like Israel in the wilderness, are in danger of being excluded through unbelief. Peter uses this word to remind believers to diligently test themselves against Scripture. 2Pet 1:10-15; 3:14-18; also see Heb 12:12-16
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.
the word of God - is ascribed personal characteristics in v.12,13.
Therefore, some see this as a reference to God the Son (the living Word, cp. 1:2) as opposed to the Bible (the written Word). However, in the arguments of this epistle, Scripture is set forth as the direct utterance of God (who speaks authoritatively and powerfully to each issue in a manner that is both timeless and timely).
     Because God actively speaks to men's hearts through the Scriptures, the written Word is inseparable from the living Word. The Word of God is...
quick - ie., living. 1Pet 1:23
powerful {GK=energes, active, energized} - Isa 55:11; Jer 23:29
sharp... two-edged sword... piercing...-
The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17).
When the Holy Spirit wields His Sword, the Word will cut to the heart of both the preacher and the congregation. Isa 49:2; 1Cor 2:4,5; 1Thes 2:13
a discerner {GK=kritikos, a critic, a judge} - Many men are critics of the Bible.
But the Bible critiques all men and determines their true condition.
of the heart - "Men are not kept from faith in God by intellectual problems of the head,
     but by sin problems of the heart." [McGee]
Because men "err in heart" (Heb 3:10) and "harden their hearts" (eg. 3:8), this is the site of surgery performed by God's Word.
thoughts and intents - The heart of man cannot discern its own motivations.
But God's Word reveals our true inner condition. Jer 17:9,10; Mat 15:19
dividing [between] soul and spirit, and [between] joints and marrow -
The soul is -the mind of man | The Spirit is -the mind of God
-the power of flesh | -the power of God
(See Rom 8:5-8)| (See Rom 8:9-17)
The joints are-articulate,| The marrow is-hidden
-mechanical | -vital, central to life
God's Word reveals the root of our religion and rest, as either 'of man' or 'of God.'
2Tim 3:2-5; Joh 4:23,24
4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:
Psa 33:13-15; 90:8; 139:11,12
but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Prov 15:11; Psa 139:23,24
Can I hide my secret sins, or the motives of my heart from Him? No.
Then, I must confess them to Him, and seek rest in Him, from my sin. Psa 51:1-12
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