Hebrews chapter 4...greater than Joshua
The theme continues of Christ being greater than Israel’s spiritual leaders, and comparison is now with Joshua. The subject is God’s rest into which believers can enter, something which Joshua never fully accomplished. “For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not afterward have spoke of another day” (verse 8). The record of Joshua as a mighty leader in Israel against the enemies of God is not in question. He provided times of rest, and areas of rest, but, ultimately did not achieve the standard of rest required by God, all this is evident from the scriptures.
Joshua 1v13 “The Lord your God hath given you rest and hath given you this land.”
Joshua 13v1 “Thou art old and stricken in years and there remaineth yet much land to be possessed”.
Joshua 15v63 “...the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out”.
Joshua 16 v10 “And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer.”
Joshua 17 v12 “...the children of Manasseh could not drive those out.”
Joshua 18 v3 “How long are ye slack to possess the land?”
Great warrior, and, leader, though he was, Joshua was unable to give them rest and so, it is still to come through Jesus. The chapter is all about rest (v1,v3, v4, v5, v8, v9, v10, v11.) Again it is God’s rest (v1, v3, v4, v10, v11.) God’s rest is neither partial or temporal, God’s rest is perfect and eternal. Because of sin, this perfect, eternal rest has never been achieved, and can only come through the work of Christ. The writer introduced the aspect of rest in chapter 3 from the strong perspective of warning against apostasy “I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest” (v11v18); “today if ye will hear His voice harden not your heart”. In chapter 4, he introduces it in terms of encouragement to those who believe. There is a rest, perfect, eternal, to embrace, and he sprinkles the chapter with three lovely encouragements for us to live in the good of all that God has for us.
1) Verse 1 “Let us therefore fear lest....any of you should seem to come short of it”.
2) Verse 11 “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest..”
3) Verse 16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace...”.
These are difficult, if precious, scriptures to understand and we require a bible wide perspective to grasp the truth expounded here. The chapter can be divided as follows;
The principle of rest verses 1-11
The promise of rest verse 1 verse 6 verse 9 verse 11
The progressive nature of rest verses 3-7
The provision for rest verses 12-16
The principle of rest This principle was established as early as Genesis chapter 2 and reiterated throughout scripture including here in verse 4. It is the principle that God rested on completion of a finished work which He pronounced as “good”, that is, satisfying all the demands of His perfect being. The Sabbath was instituted as a memorial to Israel as a constant reminder that God will rest when the work is done, that is when the offending sin is finally removed and He rests after the work is complete. It is God’s rest and by His grace we can enter into it; it is future but we can enter into it now. God’s rest is the state of perfection realised on a finished work. It is the state of eternal and universal harmony, undisturbed by external forces which have been subjected to His will. In salvation we enter into it, but this is only the beginning of an unending bliss that will unfold in unhindered blessing and serenity. The unmistakeable description of God’s rest is featured in 2nd Chronicles 6v41”Now therefore arise O Lord God into thy resting place thou and the ark of thy strength; let thy priests 0 Lord be clothed with salvation and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.” God at rest with His people, all rebellion subdued!
The promise of rest All through holy scripture the promise of people entering into God’s rest was implicit in the law of the Sabbath. In Leviticus 23 the Feasts (or appointed seasons) of Jehovah began and ended with a Sabbath of rest and this prophetic programme. given as memorial feasts, was designed to enshrine the principle that God with His redeemed people were moving from the promise of rest to its fulfilment. Every Sabbath day, every memorial feast, was a pointer to God’s perfect rest. Here are some of the promises made throughout time:
Genesis 22 verses 16-18 “By myself have I sworn saith the Lord.....that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies...”.
Joshua 1 v13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying, “the Lord your God hath given you rest” and hath given you this land.”
Joshua 23 v7 “....Ye shall possess their land as the Lord your God has promised unto you.”
That promise by the sworn testimony of Almighty God, has never yet been realised, but it stands sure and invitation after invitation has been given through all the generations. The offer was made to the generation who left Egypt with Moses (Hebrews 3). It was made again to the generation under Joshua (Joshua 1&23). It was made in the generation of king David, and it is made to the present generation. The writer pleads with them not to miss it like the first generation from slavery in Egypt. They had the gospel (good news) preached to them) but they did not believe it in their hearts. Today the same gospel is preached and demands the response of faith. It is all too possible in spiritual matters to be carried along with the flow especially for personal benefit, but for there to be no real heart commitment to God.
The progressive nature of rest In the bible, there is the rest of Creation, the rest of Canaan, the rest of the Christian, and all pointing to that eternal day of God’s perfect rest.
• The rest of creation Genesis 2v2 “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” It is not the thought of Him being tired but He was setting a pattern for man who would need to rest. The outstanding aspect here is that after six days of evening followed by morning, on the seventh day there is no evening, only endless day!
• The rest of Canaan Canaan, the promised land, was to be the resting place of God’s redeemed people from Egypt’s bondage. It was said to be a “land flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands” (Ezekiel 20v6). In modern language it was the best real estate in existence bar none. They were to possess it and rid it of all enemies and rest with their God. In the event it did not happen, but it remains to this day a symbol of God’s eternal rest with His people in a land of plenty, free from all intrusion.
• The rest of the Christian Spoken to His disciples and would-be disciples at a time of outward and burdensome religion, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11v28-29). This is personal and spiritual rest which can be enjoyed in the midst of troubles. This commences by placing our faith in Him and making Him the guide of our lives. This is the rest spoken of in Hebrews chapter 4.
The principle of rest remains from the beginning, that rest is ceasing from works and relying alone on Christ. God rested at the beginning on a finished work, and now so can we. This finished work will be expounded in the later chapters. The reality now for the believer is that every day can be a Sabbath, a day of rest spiritually until the eternal day when we rest forever. Paradoxically we are to labour now to enter into that rest and not allow any distractions. We live in a restless world symbolised by the turbulent waves of the sea (Isaiah 57 v20 “The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace saith my God to the wicked”. In God’s eternal rest there will be no more sea, no more unrest, no more turbulence, no more chafing at the land, no more wickedness or rebellion, only calm and peace and serenity. The work of salvation is finished and we can all rest on that. The work of subjugation goes on and will continue until all enemies of God and good are banished. God is still at work and we must labour to enter into His rest. It can best be summed up in the words of 1st Corinthians 15 v28 “And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God (the Godhead) may be all in all”. Past history is strewn with false profession, we are to make sure we are in His rest and that is only possible in Christ
The provision for rest This is in two parts; verses 12-13 the searching word of God; verses 14-16 the soothing high priestly work of the Son of God.
Verses 12-13 The introduction of the word of God here is significant, and must refer back to verse 2 “..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.” The word is the word of the gospel, which when obeyed, brings us into the realm of God’s rest. This word has supernatural qualities none other has, and diligence to understand it and to obey it is desirable, if we are to live in the good of it. This gospel is based, not on human works but on the finished work of Christ. On this alone God rests and so must we. If our salvation is real we will have experienced the scrutinizing power of the word and will continue to do so through life. Nothing but what is real can survive the searching power of this word. The word “for” links this to the previous verse; the rest into which we enter has it’s foundation in the word of God. Whether we think of the written word or the spoken word or the living word as in the person of Christ, our rest is based on the word of God. Anyone who knows the written word is aware that the study of it is a lifelong occupation, and the understanding of it requires diligence. It’s unique character is laid out in these two verses:
The living word The word for “quick” is used elsewhere to describe a resurrection from the dead, (e.g. Ephesians 2 v5) It can be rendered “life -giving”, the word of God not only is alive but it creates life, it imparts life. The existence of all life is from the word of God, as is made clear from the beginning in Genesis chapter 1. 1st Corinthians 15 v45 gives the force of this “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul: the last Adam a quickening (life-giving) spirit”. Adam received life, the Son of God imparts life, He is the life source. Peter adds his testimony “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.” (1st Peter 1v23)
The powerful word This is energes which is the Greek word for energy, or power in motion, power which is effective, it works, it produces results! The world is full of idle words, that is words spoken for the sake of image or effect, but which have no intrinsic value for the speakers are insincere. Jesus warned the Pharisees in Matthew 12 v36-37 “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment, for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” The phrase rema argos refers to empty, vain, words without power, clichés, rhetoric without true knowledge. God’s word is the opposite to that, He means what He says always and His word is life changing, the most powerful force on earth. His word always achieves the purpose for which it was uttered. A great illustration of this is in Isaiah 55 vv10-11, where He compares His word to the rain and the snow which falls to produce “seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” It is futile to resist the word of God.
The searching word “Sharper than any (every) two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow..” The thought behind the “mahaira”, the sharp sword, is that of a surgeons scalpel or a butcher’s knife used for cutting animal flesh into distinct individual parts. The idea is in Leviticus 1v6 in connection with the burnt offering to the Lord, “...he shall cut it into his pieces”. This surgical penetration of the word of God can differentiate what no man can distinguish, the dividing line between the soul of a man (consciousness of the natural world), and the spirit of a man (awareness of the spiritual world). So closely linked are these they are like the joints and marrow of our physical frame, virtually inseparable. God’s word is able to penetrate the innermost being, He knows us better than ourselves and His word exposes the “refuge of lies”, the bubble in which most of us live.
The discerning word “...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The word kritikos means that the word of God is an instrument of criticism of our lives. It assesses us, it convicts us by proving our faults, it judges us. It warns us. It is our greatest and most honest critic. A sign of maturity is the ability to accept criticism and God’s word is elsewhere presented as a mirror by which we can properly see ourselves for what we are. God knows exactly what we are when all the layers of hypocrisy are peeled away. His discernment of us is deeper than the externals for His word searches the thoughts and the intents of the heart. He knows not only what we are thinking, but the motivation behind those thoughts. This makes the word of God a supernatural power beyond anything in existence. The reading of it, the obeying of it, changes motivations attitudes and actions. The readers should know this for they have had the words of Psalm 139 drummed into them from youth...a reading of this Psalm will illustrate perfectly the point here. None of us are perfect, David the psalmist was not perfect, but he allowed the word to change him, and will we follow his example? The prayer of David at the end of that Psalm should be the prayer of every penitent heart, “Search me O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Verse 13 The power of this is that behind this living, powerful, searching, and critical word is the God with whom we all have to do, and to whom we must all give account. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened (laid bare...exposed) unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Note the progression of awesome Omniscience and Omnipresence, and Omnipotence, of the one who is speaking to us....all creatures everywhere (omnipresence)....all things laid bare (omniscience)....Him with whom we have to do ( omnipotence).!
Verses 14-16 The structure of these verses is just lovely....”Seeing we have.....let us hold fast”....”For we have.....let us come boldly.” God has not only provided the searching power of His word to become effective in us He has also given us the succouring work of His Son to soothe us. He now introduces an expansion of the high priestly role of Christ as a sympathetic aid in the task that lies before us. There is a work that is finished, and God rests, and we can rest; there is a work still going on and we must rise to the call.
He is a great high priest The idea is that He is mighty, powerful to carry us through to glory. He represents us powerfully before God, He succours us in our weakness because He has been here and He knows the trials.
He has passed through the heavens This is much more than just “gone into heaven”, He passed through the heavens, the point being the domain occupied by Satan and his hosts who would be the tormentors of His people. He passed through them victoriously, unhindered, into heaven itself, to the very pinnacle of universal power. He is in heaven and His victory can be our victory. Our greatest enemy has been disarmed (see chapter 2 v15).
He is Jesus the Son of God No less a person than the Son of God (the same one described in chapter 1). He has passed through the heavens as man (Jesus the title of His humanity). A man is our high priest, who is the Son of God, who has conquered the heavens, and appears in heaven for us in all the authority of His person and the efficacy of His work.
We have powerful representation in heaven, and it only takes cooperation from us to hold fast. He focuses now on the weaker side of humanity and asserts that Jesus, our great high priest, although now glorified, and holding highest office in heaven, yet His compassion is with us here in all our struggles. He is not unmindful of the trials of earth for the godly and He “can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities”. In chapter 2v17 He made propitiation for our sins, now He feels our weaknesses and invites us to come to Him. Human weakness (infirmities) rob us of our spiritual enjoyment, and rob God of true devoted worship due to Him. “Let us therefore come boldly (not bashfully, or arrogantly) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The reference to mercy before grace is important, since it reminds all who approach the throne, that in seeking God’s grace (His unmerited favour), we are utterly dependent on His mercy for all things. This should breed within us that sense of reverence as we approach Him.
Let us therefore fear.....Let us be diligent.....Let us come boldly
The theme continues of Christ being greater than Israel’s spiritual leaders, and comparison is now with Joshua. The subject is God’s rest into which believers can enter, something which Joshua never fully accomplished. “For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not afterward have spoke of another day” (verse 8). The record of Joshua as a mighty leader in Israel against the enemies of God is not in question. He provided times of rest, and areas of rest, but, ultimately did not achieve the standard of rest required by God, all this is evident from the scriptures.
Joshua 1v13 “The Lord your God hath given you rest and hath given you this land.”
Joshua 13v1 “Thou art old and stricken in years and there remaineth yet much land to be possessed”.
Joshua 15v63 “...the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out”.
Joshua 16 v10 “And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer.”
Joshua 17 v12 “...the children of Manasseh could not drive those out.”
Joshua 18 v3 “How long are ye slack to possess the land?”
Great warrior, and, leader, though he was, Joshua was unable to give them rest and so, it is still to come through Jesus. The chapter is all about rest (v1,v3, v4, v5, v8, v9, v10, v11.) Again it is God’s rest (v1, v3, v4, v10, v11.) God’s rest is neither partial or temporal, God’s rest is perfect and eternal. Because of sin, this perfect, eternal rest has never been achieved, and can only come through the work of Christ. The writer introduced the aspect of rest in chapter 3 from the strong perspective of warning against apostasy “I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest” (v11v18); “today if ye will hear His voice harden not your heart”. In chapter 4, he introduces it in terms of encouragement to those who believe. There is a rest, perfect, eternal, to embrace, and he sprinkles the chapter with three lovely encouragements for us to live in the good of all that God has for us.
1) Verse 1 “Let us therefore fear lest....any of you should seem to come short of it”.
2) Verse 11 “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest..”
3) Verse 16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace...”.
These are difficult, if precious, scriptures to understand and we require a bible wide perspective to grasp the truth expounded here. The chapter can be divided as follows;
The principle of rest verses 1-11
The promise of rest verse 1 verse 6 verse 9 verse 11
The progressive nature of rest verses 3-7
The provision for rest verses 12-16
The principle of rest This principle was established as early as Genesis chapter 2 and reiterated throughout scripture including here in verse 4. It is the principle that God rested on completion of a finished work which He pronounced as “good”, that is, satisfying all the demands of His perfect being. The Sabbath was instituted as a memorial to Israel as a constant reminder that God will rest when the work is done, that is when the offending sin is finally removed and He rests after the work is complete. It is God’s rest and by His grace we can enter into it; it is future but we can enter into it now. God’s rest is the state of perfection realised on a finished work. It is the state of eternal and universal harmony, undisturbed by external forces which have been subjected to His will. In salvation we enter into it, but this is only the beginning of an unending bliss that will unfold in unhindered blessing and serenity. The unmistakeable description of God’s rest is featured in 2nd Chronicles 6v41”Now therefore arise O Lord God into thy resting place thou and the ark of thy strength; let thy priests 0 Lord be clothed with salvation and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.” God at rest with His people, all rebellion subdued!
The promise of rest All through holy scripture the promise of people entering into God’s rest was implicit in the law of the Sabbath. In Leviticus 23 the Feasts (or appointed seasons) of Jehovah began and ended with a Sabbath of rest and this prophetic programme. given as memorial feasts, was designed to enshrine the principle that God with His redeemed people were moving from the promise of rest to its fulfilment. Every Sabbath day, every memorial feast, was a pointer to God’s perfect rest. Here are some of the promises made throughout time:
Genesis 22 verses 16-18 “By myself have I sworn saith the Lord.....that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies...”.
Joshua 1 v13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying, “the Lord your God hath given you rest” and hath given you this land.”
Joshua 23 v7 “....Ye shall possess their land as the Lord your God has promised unto you.”
That promise by the sworn testimony of Almighty God, has never yet been realised, but it stands sure and invitation after invitation has been given through all the generations. The offer was made to the generation who left Egypt with Moses (Hebrews 3). It was made again to the generation under Joshua (Joshua 1&23). It was made in the generation of king David, and it is made to the present generation. The writer pleads with them not to miss it like the first generation from slavery in Egypt. They had the gospel (good news) preached to them) but they did not believe it in their hearts. Today the same gospel is preached and demands the response of faith. It is all too possible in spiritual matters to be carried along with the flow especially for personal benefit, but for there to be no real heart commitment to God.
The progressive nature of rest In the bible, there is the rest of Creation, the rest of Canaan, the rest of the Christian, and all pointing to that eternal day of God’s perfect rest.
• The rest of creation Genesis 2v2 “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” It is not the thought of Him being tired but He was setting a pattern for man who would need to rest. The outstanding aspect here is that after six days of evening followed by morning, on the seventh day there is no evening, only endless day!
• The rest of Canaan Canaan, the promised land, was to be the resting place of God’s redeemed people from Egypt’s bondage. It was said to be a “land flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands” (Ezekiel 20v6). In modern language it was the best real estate in existence bar none. They were to possess it and rid it of all enemies and rest with their God. In the event it did not happen, but it remains to this day a symbol of God’s eternal rest with His people in a land of plenty, free from all intrusion.
• The rest of the Christian Spoken to His disciples and would-be disciples at a time of outward and burdensome religion, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11v28-29). This is personal and spiritual rest which can be enjoyed in the midst of troubles. This commences by placing our faith in Him and making Him the guide of our lives. This is the rest spoken of in Hebrews chapter 4.
The principle of rest remains from the beginning, that rest is ceasing from works and relying alone on Christ. God rested at the beginning on a finished work, and now so can we. This finished work will be expounded in the later chapters. The reality now for the believer is that every day can be a Sabbath, a day of rest spiritually until the eternal day when we rest forever. Paradoxically we are to labour now to enter into that rest and not allow any distractions. We live in a restless world symbolised by the turbulent waves of the sea (Isaiah 57 v20 “The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace saith my God to the wicked”. In God’s eternal rest there will be no more sea, no more unrest, no more turbulence, no more chafing at the land, no more wickedness or rebellion, only calm and peace and serenity. The work of salvation is finished and we can all rest on that. The work of subjugation goes on and will continue until all enemies of God and good are banished. God is still at work and we must labour to enter into His rest. It can best be summed up in the words of 1st Corinthians 15 v28 “And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God (the Godhead) may be all in all”. Past history is strewn with false profession, we are to make sure we are in His rest and that is only possible in Christ
The provision for rest This is in two parts; verses 12-13 the searching word of God; verses 14-16 the soothing high priestly work of the Son of God.
Verses 12-13 The introduction of the word of God here is significant, and must refer back to verse 2 “..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.” The word is the word of the gospel, which when obeyed, brings us into the realm of God’s rest. This word has supernatural qualities none other has, and diligence to understand it and to obey it is desirable, if we are to live in the good of it. This gospel is based, not on human works but on the finished work of Christ. On this alone God rests and so must we. If our salvation is real we will have experienced the scrutinizing power of the word and will continue to do so through life. Nothing but what is real can survive the searching power of this word. The word “for” links this to the previous verse; the rest into which we enter has it’s foundation in the word of God. Whether we think of the written word or the spoken word or the living word as in the person of Christ, our rest is based on the word of God. Anyone who knows the written word is aware that the study of it is a lifelong occupation, and the understanding of it requires diligence. It’s unique character is laid out in these two verses:
The living word The word for “quick” is used elsewhere to describe a resurrection from the dead, (e.g. Ephesians 2 v5) It can be rendered “life -giving”, the word of God not only is alive but it creates life, it imparts life. The existence of all life is from the word of God, as is made clear from the beginning in Genesis chapter 1. 1st Corinthians 15 v45 gives the force of this “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul: the last Adam a quickening (life-giving) spirit”. Adam received life, the Son of God imparts life, He is the life source. Peter adds his testimony “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.” (1st Peter 1v23)
The powerful word This is energes which is the Greek word for energy, or power in motion, power which is effective, it works, it produces results! The world is full of idle words, that is words spoken for the sake of image or effect, but which have no intrinsic value for the speakers are insincere. Jesus warned the Pharisees in Matthew 12 v36-37 “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment, for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” The phrase rema argos refers to empty, vain, words without power, clichés, rhetoric without true knowledge. God’s word is the opposite to that, He means what He says always and His word is life changing, the most powerful force on earth. His word always achieves the purpose for which it was uttered. A great illustration of this is in Isaiah 55 vv10-11, where He compares His word to the rain and the snow which falls to produce “seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” It is futile to resist the word of God.
The searching word “Sharper than any (every) two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow..” The thought behind the “mahaira”, the sharp sword, is that of a surgeons scalpel or a butcher’s knife used for cutting animal flesh into distinct individual parts. The idea is in Leviticus 1v6 in connection with the burnt offering to the Lord, “...he shall cut it into his pieces”. This surgical penetration of the word of God can differentiate what no man can distinguish, the dividing line between the soul of a man (consciousness of the natural world), and the spirit of a man (awareness of the spiritual world). So closely linked are these they are like the joints and marrow of our physical frame, virtually inseparable. God’s word is able to penetrate the innermost being, He knows us better than ourselves and His word exposes the “refuge of lies”, the bubble in which most of us live.
The discerning word “...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The word kritikos means that the word of God is an instrument of criticism of our lives. It assesses us, it convicts us by proving our faults, it judges us. It warns us. It is our greatest and most honest critic. A sign of maturity is the ability to accept criticism and God’s word is elsewhere presented as a mirror by which we can properly see ourselves for what we are. God knows exactly what we are when all the layers of hypocrisy are peeled away. His discernment of us is deeper than the externals for His word searches the thoughts and the intents of the heart. He knows not only what we are thinking, but the motivation behind those thoughts. This makes the word of God a supernatural power beyond anything in existence. The reading of it, the obeying of it, changes motivations attitudes and actions. The readers should know this for they have had the words of Psalm 139 drummed into them from youth...a reading of this Psalm will illustrate perfectly the point here. None of us are perfect, David the psalmist was not perfect, but he allowed the word to change him, and will we follow his example? The prayer of David at the end of that Psalm should be the prayer of every penitent heart, “Search me O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Verse 13 The power of this is that behind this living, powerful, searching, and critical word is the God with whom we all have to do, and to whom we must all give account. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened (laid bare...exposed) unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Note the progression of awesome Omniscience and Omnipresence, and Omnipotence, of the one who is speaking to us....all creatures everywhere (omnipresence)....all things laid bare (omniscience)....Him with whom we have to do ( omnipotence).!
Verses 14-16 The structure of these verses is just lovely....”Seeing we have.....let us hold fast”....”For we have.....let us come boldly.” God has not only provided the searching power of His word to become effective in us He has also given us the succouring work of His Son to soothe us. He now introduces an expansion of the high priestly role of Christ as a sympathetic aid in the task that lies before us. There is a work that is finished, and God rests, and we can rest; there is a work still going on and we must rise to the call.
He is a great high priest The idea is that He is mighty, powerful to carry us through to glory. He represents us powerfully before God, He succours us in our weakness because He has been here and He knows the trials.
He has passed through the heavens This is much more than just “gone into heaven”, He passed through the heavens, the point being the domain occupied by Satan and his hosts who would be the tormentors of His people. He passed through them victoriously, unhindered, into heaven itself, to the very pinnacle of universal power. He is in heaven and His victory can be our victory. Our greatest enemy has been disarmed (see chapter 2 v15).
He is Jesus the Son of God No less a person than the Son of God (the same one described in chapter 1). He has passed through the heavens as man (Jesus the title of His humanity). A man is our high priest, who is the Son of God, who has conquered the heavens, and appears in heaven for us in all the authority of His person and the efficacy of His work.
We have powerful representation in heaven, and it only takes cooperation from us to hold fast. He focuses now on the weaker side of humanity and asserts that Jesus, our great high priest, although now glorified, and holding highest office in heaven, yet His compassion is with us here in all our struggles. He is not unmindful of the trials of earth for the godly and He “can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities”. In chapter 2v17 He made propitiation for our sins, now He feels our weaknesses and invites us to come to Him. Human weakness (infirmities) rob us of our spiritual enjoyment, and rob God of true devoted worship due to Him. “Let us therefore come boldly (not bashfully, or arrogantly) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The reference to mercy before grace is important, since it reminds all who approach the throne, that in seeking God’s grace (His unmerited favour), we are utterly dependent on His mercy for all things. This should breed within us that sense of reverence as we approach Him.
Let us therefore fear.....Let us be diligent.....Let us come boldly
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