Hebrews 3:1-4:13
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
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.)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
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.
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.
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.
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.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
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.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
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.
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.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Hebrews 3:6, 3:14, 4:1-11
3:6 By way of comparison Christ's involvement with God's house is far greater than Moses. Moses obeyed as a servant in the house, but Christ as a Son. Moses was faithful in all His house, but Christ is faithful over His own house. Moses' ministry related to the symbol, but Christ's to the reality itself. And the reality is that believers are His house…if we hold fast. Thus there is more at stake under the New Covenant, and the readers must respond appropriately. The readers must be prepared to meet the condition of "holding fast." There are two crucial questions here. Who is it that "holds fast?" What danger is there for failing to do so?
First, the context emphasizes the house (= tabernacle) as a place where priestly activities took place. In light of 1 Pet 2:5 we are "being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices." Believers have these priestly responsibilities in this New Covenant "house" (cf. Heb 12:28; 13:15-16). Only as one faithfully fulfills these obligations is he being "the house." This has nothing to do with proof of being one of "the elect." Obviously any withdrawal in faith (especially abandoning their confession) would mean they were falling short of their goal.
Second, this paragraph has a striking similarity to 10:19-25. Both emphasize the readers as "brethren" and Christ as High Priest over the house. Also both refer to the "confession" and "hope" of the readers. The latter passage, however, indicates that the need of the readers is not to believe the gospel, but to "draw near" and "hold fast." In Hebrews 10:23 "holding fast" is not merely a conditional matter but an exhortation. Holding fast is an obligation for believers. In neither passage is loss of personal salvation presented as the danger for failure. The danger is a failure to grow up into the building (house) of God in Christ. Such failure may lead to temporal judgment from God (Heb 3:7-19).
Thus v 6 confronts the readers with a grave concern. Will they remain faithful believer-priests of Christ's house over which He is High Priest? Their status as genuine believers does not guarantee this. In their earthly pilgrimage to the Son's kingdom, they must be sure to hold fast. This must be accompanied by endurance and doing the will of God (cf. Hebrews 10:36). Though failure to do so may bring temporal judgment (Hebrews 3:7-19), faithfulness in doing so will ensure them of successfully entering the "rest" to come where blessings and rewards await them (Hebrews 4:1-13).
3:14 The author firmly warns his readers to stick with what they have undertaken. The words partakers of Christ echo the thought in v 1 of being "partakers of the heavenly calling." The word partakers or "partners" (metochoi) is the same in each verse. When they believed in Jesus Christ for everlasting life, they embarked on a partnership with Him involving their pilgrimage to His kingdom and the heavenly Jerusalem. To share in His dominion and inheritance they need to endure in a life of faith, doing the will of God (cf. Heb 6:11-12; 10:36).
Remaining Christ's partners is conditional. We do so, only if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. The word translated confidence (hupostaseōs) can have the idea of "an undertaking or endeavor to which one has obligated himself." By sticking with their original undertaking, they will enter the kingdom successfully, inheriting great rewards. Failure to do so will not mean loss of salvation, but rather loss of reward (and possibly temporal judgment while on earth). Hence the author closes this paragraph with some final reminders about possible judgment from God.
4:1-2 The author's question "how shall we escape?" in Hebrews 2:3 has now been strengthened to let us fear. There is a rest yet remaining (cf. Hebrews 4:6, 9, 11) above and beyond the "rest" of Joshua's day. The words the gospel was preached to us translate one Greek verb euēngelismenoi, used here in a nontechnical sense of "preaching good news" rather than the gospel specifically (cf. Luke 1:19: 1 Thess 3:6). The wilderness generation heard the good news of the offer to inherit Canaan (see especially Num 13:30; 14:7-9), but New Covenant Christians have been offered a far superior good news - the privilege to reign with Jesus. In both cases, however, a response of faith and obedience is required (cf. Hebrews 3:18-19).
4:3-5 The author gives the basic principle for entering the greater rest. This rest is for we who have believed (the aorist participle pisteusantes is best viewed as a "durative aorist," stressing the progress of the action in past time). It is we who have persevered in faith who will enter this rest, as the preceding context indicates (cf. Hebrews 3:6, 14). The present tense of the verb eiserchometha ("enter") is probably a gnomic present, stressing the principle involved and not the time of fulfilment. His appeal in Hebrews 4:3 to the words from Psalm 95 supports this conclusion. Likewise the principle has a corollary - failing to respond in faith may disqualify one from entering God's rest.
God Himself entered into rest when He completed His work of creation. Two conclusions are drawn from this. (1) Any subsequent offer of rest on God's part reveals that even the creation rest foreshadows something greater. (2) Rest is to be enjoyed by those who complete their works (as God modeled). The latter suggests that "works" should not be viewed negatively. Works - those done in faith through the enabling Holy Spirit - are what believers should be doing faithfully (cf. John 14:12; Eph 2:10: 2 Tim 2:21). Faithfulness in doing the good works God has ordained for us is related to ruling with Christ after His return (cf. Rev 2:25-27). Just as God rested after His creation work, so this greater rest is offered to believers who faithfully endure and complete their works (note Heb 4:10).
4:6-9 That this greater rest is still available implies believers should pursue it. The author is thinking primarily of Psalm 95 and particularly the word "Today." If God's rest had been fulfilled in Joshua's day, the psalmist (writing years later) would not have made the same offer and warning to his generation. So both the rest associated with creation as well as the rest in Joshua's day point toward a greater rest in God's program which He has promised. And since God has promised that some will enter this rest, it remains that some must enter it, that is, the opportunity to successfully receive an inheritance in God's ultimate Sabbath rest remains available to New Covenant believers, unless they disqualify themselves.
4:10-11 The author again highlights the importance of works. When believers complete their earthly pilgrimage, the opportunity for works is over, and they will not get another try. Hence, he says, Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. The word diligent (spoudasōmen) means "to make every effort." Obviously one does not do this to merit forgiveness and eternal life, because these are a free gift on the basis of faith alone in Christ alone (Rom 6:23). But diligent effort is appropriate for successfully entering this future rest where our inheritance in Christ's kingdom is at stake. This is not a call to self-effort, for the author makes clear throughout the epistle that this diligent effort is through a life of faith, endurance, and reliance on the enabling grace of our High Priest. The believer who neglects this is in danger of "falling," if he follows the example of disobedience exhibited at Kadesh Barnea. The term fall (piptō) is a deliberate allusion back to Heb 3:17 - "whose corpses fell in the wilderness."
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Entering His Rest, Hebrews 3:18-19
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who disobey do not believe and do not hold fast to their confession of faith in Christ, so they will not go to heaven.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Those who disobey do not believe and do not hold fast to their confession of faith in Christ, so they will not experience God's reward of rest.
In the description of the Israelites' rebellion against God in the wilderness and their failure to enter the Promised Land in Hebrews 3, disobedience in Hebrews 3:18 seems to be used synonymously with unbelief in Hebrews 3:19. This unbelief is equated with the readers not holding fast their confidence in Christ (Hebrews 3:12, 14) and departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12), and is what kept the Israelites from entering into their promised "rest" (Hebrews 4:6). Put all together, some have come to the conclusion that faith is obedience, and that rest (which they interpret here as the Promised Land) is heaven or the kingdom of God. Thus, those who do not obey Christ will not be saved - a (Salvation truth).
Clearly, there is a close relationship between unbelief and disobedience, and faith and obedience. The relationship is one of cause and effect, but that does not make unbelief and disobedience or faith and obedience the same thing. Disobedience is evidence of unbelief and obedience is evidence of belief. In this account, unbelief is described as disobedience because when the Israelites did not believe God's promise concerning the Promised Land, they consequently refused to obey His command to possess it.
But since the readers are believers (Hebrews 3:1, 12, and the use of "we" in Hebrews 3:6, 14, 19), the conditional and still future experience of rest is not salvation from hell. Rest can refer to the experience of blessings by faithful believers today (Hebrews 4:1, 6, 9, 11), but also to the experience of kingdom rest in the millennium. For the Israelites, rest was not just entering the Land, but enjoying the benefits of it, such as a cessation of strife with their enemies (Josh. 11:23; Judg. 3:11, 30; 5:31). So believers who live by faith and persevere in their Christian faith enjoy peace as they rest in the promises, provisions, and power of God. This is a blessing that can be forfeited now and in the kingdom by disobedience born of unbelief, unbelief in the superiority of Christ over Judaism, and His promise of future blessings in the kingdom.
The future aspect of the believers' rest is a major theme of Hebrews. The author is concerned with their experience in the kingdom, not their entrance. He is writing to saved people whom he calls "partakers" (metachoi, Hebrews 3:1). We first see the word used in Hebrews 1:9 in a quote from Psalm 45:7, but translated "companions" (NKJV). The point from the Psalm is that the Son of God will rule in His kingdom with his "companions." Angels will not have this privilege, but will minister to these companions "who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:13-14; 2:5). The future tense "will inherit" does not refer to their past justification, but their future reward in the kingdom. After chapter 2 introduces Christ's high priesthood, chapter 3 explains that He is a priest over His "house" like Moses was a priest over the tabernacle (Hebrews 3:2-5; cf. Num. 12:7). Christ's house is sometimes misunderstood as the church or the body of Christ, but the condition for being in Christ's house is not faith in Him as Savior; it is holding fast to their faith (Hebrews 3:6; 14). The word "companions" is used for those who are faithful to the end of their lives (Hebrews 3:14) and will inherit the reward of sharing in Christ's dominion over the world (Hebrews 6:12, 17; cf. 2 Tim. 2:12). This is important because the discussion of this role leads up to the discussion of rest. To enter into one's future rest is dependent on the believer's performance, that is, holding fast to their profession of faith (not turning back to Judaism). This is (Discipleship truth).
The (Discipleship) interpretation leaves us with a sobering application. We must hold fast to our hope in Christ lest we lose the blessings of God's rest in this life and the reward of His rest in the kingdom. It would be the worst kind of unbelief and disobedience to turn aside from Christ to something else, because no other religion, person, or system can give us these blessings.