BUT
CHRIST
WAS FAITHFUL AS A SON
OVER
HIS
HOUSE:
Christos de
hos huios epi ton oikon autou: (Heb
4:14;
Psalms 2:6,7,12;
Isaiah 9:6,7;
John 3:35,36;
Revelation 2:18)
Remember that in the NASB, words in italics have been added by
the translators (e.g., "was faithful" is not found in the original
Greek text) usually to help the grammatical flow of the sentence.
Christ as a Son over His house is
a truth that would have been revolutionary to most first century Jews. The writer of Hebrews
seeks to lift his readers to views of
themselves which they had heretofore only dimly grasped, if they had even
grasped at all. And so this is the first time he uses "Christ",
the Greek term for the Hebrew Messiah.
"But" contrasts Jesus with Moses' faithfulness as a servant.
Jesus always perfectly carried out His Father’s will. He was the epitome of
faithfulness. Furthermore, the contrast is between Moses a servant IN
God’s house, with Christ a Son OVER God’s house, which echoes
the writer's opening description of Jesus, in which he says that God...
"in these last days has spoken to us
in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also
He made the world." (see note
Hebrews 1:2)
In psalm 2 God explained...
"But as for Me, I have installed My
King (the Messiah) upon Zion, My holy mountain...and I will surely
give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy
possession." (Psalms 2:6,8)
John the Baptist explained that
"The Father loves the Son, and has
given all things into His hand." (John 3:35)
WHOSE HOUSE WE ARE: hou oikos esmen (1PPAI) hêmeis:
(2,3;
Matthew 16:18;
1 Corinthians 3:16;
6:19;
2 Corinthians 6:16;
Ephesians
2:21,22;
1 Timothy 3:15)
House is a
metaphor
frequently used in the NT to
describe the redeemed of the Lord. For example, Peter describes believers...
"as living stones, are being built up
as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (see note
1 Peter 2:5)
IF WE HOLD FAST OUR CONFIDENCE: ean kataschômen
(1PAAS) ten parrhesian: (Perseverance;
Steadfastness)
(14;
4:11;
6:11;
10:23,35,38,39;
Gal
6:9;
Colossians
1:23;
Revelation
2:25;
3:11)
This note of contingency and doubt runs all
through the Epistle.
Hold fast (2722) (katecho
from katá = intensifies meaning + écho = have,
hold) means to retain whether by avoiding the relinquishing of something.
Katecho gives a beautiful picture
from its secular usage
where as a nautical term katecho means to steer
toward or land at. Luke uses katecho with this meaning in Acts
writing that...
"casting off the anchors, they left
them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the
rudders, and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for (katecho) the
beach." (Acts
27:40) They were “holding theirs course toward beach"
By the grace of God we need to each keep our rudders firmly in hand and our
faces fixed like flint toward Jerusalem so that our vessels are "headed for
the beach" of God's Eternal Kingdom. Remember we are not home yet! Lord give
us this seeking, holding fast heart please.
We "prove" we are God's house
if we do not desert His
way, His truth, His life. We can neither save ourselves nor
keep ourselves saved. The meaning is simply that continuance is the proof of
reality. We can tell if we are really the house of God because we stay
there. The one who falls away never belonged in the first place. This is
John's point in his first epistle where he writes that...
"They went out from us, but they
were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained
with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all
are not of us." (1John
2:19).
As noted earlier this theme on
perseverance of the true saint is woven throughout
the New Testament.
Jesus warned His disciples...
"you
will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has
endured to the end who will be saved."
(Matthew 10:22)
There are some who teach Jesus was not
associating genuine belief with perseverance. For example, one evangelical
author, Thomas Constable, commenting on
Jesus' warning in
Matthew 10:22 writes that
"this verse does not say that all
genuine believers will inevitably persevere in their faith and good works.
Rather it says that those who do during the Tribulation can expect God to
deliver them at its end. Jesus was not speaking about eternal salvation but
temporal deliverance. Temporal deliverance depended on faithful perseverance."
(Thomas Constable)
(Bolding added) (Ed note: In a similar manner Constable does not
interpret Hebrews 3:6 as a reference to the perseverance of the saints.)
Others such as John MacArthur
commenting on this same verse explains that...
"Endurance does not produce or
protect salvation, which is totally the work of God’s grace. But
endurance is evidence of salvation, proof that a person is truly
redeemed and a child of God." (MacArthur, J.
Matthew 8-15,
Matthew 16-23,
Matthew 24-28
or
Logos) (Bolding added)
C H Spurgeon in his sermon
Enduring to the End
on (Matthew 10:22)
writes that...
"Perseverance Is The Badge Of
True Saints. It is their Scriptural mark. How am I to know a
Christian? By his words? Well, to some degree, words betray the man; but a
man’s speech is not always the copy of his heart, for with smooth language
many are able to deceive. What doth our Lord say? “Ye shall know them by
their fruits.” But how am I to know a man’s fruits? By watching him one
day? I may, perhaps, form a guess of his character by being with him for a
single hour, but I could not confidently pronounce upon a man’s true state
even by being with him for a week. George Whitfield was asked what he
thought of a certain person’s character. “I have never lived with him,”
was his very proper answer. If we take the run of a man’s life, say for ten,
twenty, or thirty years, and, if by carefully watching, we see that he
brings forth the fruits of grace through the Holy Spirit, our conclusion may
be drawn very safely. As the truly magnetized needle in the compass, with
many deflections, yet does really and naturally point to the pole; so, if I
can see that despite infirmities, my friend sincerely and constantly aims at
holiness, then I may conclude with something like certainty, that he is a
child of God. Although works do not justify a man before God, they do
justify a luau’s profession before his fellows. I cannot tell whether you
are justified in calling yourself a Christian except by your works; by your
works, therefore, as James saith, shall ye be justified. You cannot by your
words convince me that you are a Christian, much less by your experience,
which I cannot see but must take on trust from you; but your actions will,
unless you be an unmitigated hypocrite, speak the truth, and speak the truth
loudly too. If your course is as the shining light which shineth more unto
the perfect day, I know that yours is the path of the just. All other
conclusions are only the judgment of charity such as we are bound to
exercise; but this is as far as man can get it, the judgment of certainty
when a man’s life has been consistent through out... A simple faith
brings the soul to Christ, Christ keeps the faith alive; that faith enables
the believer to persevere, and so he enters heaven. May that be you." (Click
for entire sermon) (Bolding
added)
Steadfast faith marks the elect. Jonathan Edwards once said
that the sure proof of election is that one holds out to the end.
Persistence and hope characterize
members of God's family.
William MacDonald commenting on
this verse in Hebrews writes that...
"At first this might seem to imply that
our salvation is dependent on our holding fast. In that case, salvation
would be by our endurance rather than by Christ’s finished work on the
cross. The true meaning is that we prove we are God’s house if we hold fast.
Endurance is a proof of reality. Those who lose confidence in Christ and in
His promises and return to rituals and ceremonies show that they were never
born again. It is against such apostasy that the following warning is
directed." (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
J Vernon McGee comments that...
Paul had a way of using “ifs,” not
as a condition but as a method of argument and of logic. We would understand
him better if he had said, “Since we hold fast the confidence.” In other
words, if we are sons of God and if we are partakers of the heavenly
calling, we will be faithful and we will hold fast. This is the proof
that we are of God’s house." (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)(Bolding added)
Believer's Study Bible writes
that...
"perseverance in the Christian life is
the test of whether one’s Christian commitment is genuine." (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
S Lewis Johnson
has some interesting comments writing that...
Now the Christian, who has believed in
the security of the believer, has always been troubled by the "If's of the
Bible". I have heard, from very noble men, attempts to eliminate the "Ifs"
of the Bible, but we can't do it.
Whose house are we IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the
hope firm to the end.
You ARE in God's house IF YOU HOLD FAST. You ARE NOT
in God's house IF you don't hold fast. What he is saying is simply
this: continuance in the house of God, that is continuance in the
faith, is the proof of the reality of our faith. If we
continue, we have surely believed. If we do not continue, then we
have not truly believed....I want to tell you that I have been a
Christian for over 25 years and I have had the privilege of preaching to a
lot of people. I have preached the word for over 20 years in North Dallas.
Through the years I have seen some fall away for the pleasure of this world
which choke the seed, and they fall by the wayside. And I have seen the seed
fall on "good ground" and the fruit coming as 30 fold, 60 fold and 100 fold.
Our Lord explains that some seed falls on rocky ground and, springing up,
they wither and fall away, apostatize. They seem to be the reality. They
seem to have responded, but there was no perseverance to the end. Our
author says, "whose house we are IF we hold fast the confidence and the
rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. "I am grateful for that "if" because
I have been buffeted a good bit in my Christian life, and will surely be
buffeted in the future, but I know that in the final analysis that if I have
eternal life within me, I have assurance that He will preserve me. He will
hold me because I belong to Him." (Bolding added)
Donald Barnhouse once
illustrated this principle of perseverance by asking...
"remember the child’s toy that’s a big
vinyl doll with a heavy round weight of sand in the bottom? You punch it, it
bounces right up again. Punch it again and it comes back to the upright
position. Similarly those Christians in the early church kept bouncing back."
He is not saying you "become the house of God by holding fast" but if you
are the house of God you will hold fast. If you do not hold fast you are not
the house of God! He is telling us the end result of our
salvation...perseverance to the end.
FF Bruce writes:
“Nowhere in the New Testament more than here do we find
such repeated insistence on the fact that continuance in the Christian life
is the test of reality”. (Bolding added)
The life of a saint is the evidence of a new life
in the saint. Someone has quipped that they have always believed that God has permitted the cults to
come along to draw out of the churches those who are not really believers.
The cults serve as God’s strainer. The proof that you are a child of God is
that you hold to the faith.
If these Hebrews would hold their course in life steadfastly along the lines
of their present profession, that would show that they were saved. If they
veered away from that course, that would show that they never had been
saved, but that their profession of Messiah had been, not one of the heart
but of the head. Their perseverance did not save them but showed them to be
truly saved. You can have truth and even speak truth and still be lost
as Jesus taught about scribes and Pharisees declaring...
"therefore
all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their
deeds; for they say things, and do not do them."
(Matthew
23:3)
Confidence (confidence) (parrhesia from pas
= all + rhesis = speech) literally means "all speech" and
thus refers to freedom of speech or an attitude of openness that stems from
freedom and lack of fear. The result is a state of boldness and confidence.
The Greeks used parrhesia to describe those with the right to
speak openly in the assembly.
Parrhesia is a
key
word in the epistle to the Hebrews...the writer exhorts his
readers...
"Let us therefore draw near with
confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find
grace to help in time of need." (see note
Hebrews 4:16)
"Since therefore, brethren, we have
confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near
with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (see
notes
Hebrews 10:19;
10:20;
10:21;
10:22)
"For you showed sympathy to the
prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that
you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore,
do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward." (see
notes
Hebrews 10:34;
10:35)
When you are free to speak, then there is no fear and you have
confidence. We should not have confidence in ourselves,
because we are too prone to fail, but we should have confidence in Jesus
Christ who never fails.
Those who lose confidence in Christ and in His promises and return to
rituals and ceremonies show that they were never born again. It is against
such apostasy that the following warning is directed.
THE BOAST
(KJV = "rejoicing") OF OUR HOPE: kai to kauchema tes elpidos:
(Ro
5:2;
12:12;
15:13;
1 Thes
5:16;
2 Thes 2:16;
1 Pe 1:3-6,8) (See
in depth study on hope at
elpis;
elpis (2)
Believer's Blessed Hope)
"Boast"
(kauchaomai from a root word auchen = neck which
vain persons are apt to carry in proud manner) means to boast over a
privilege or possession. This word conveys the idea of triumphant, rejoicing
and can include the feeling of joy or great delight. And so kauchaomai
combines the ideas of jubilation and confidence into one word that we could
sum up as "joyful confidence". Webster has a picturesque definition of boast
as "to leap for joy", "be extremely joyful". Clearly boasting can be bad as
exemplified by the basic attitude of many of the Jews who wee self-confident
and seeking their glory before God's glory. And so we see that many Jews
found their source of boasting in the law, Paul recording for example...
You who boast (kauchaomai) in the Law,
through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? (see note
Romans 2:23).
Kauchaomai
expresses an unusually high degree of confidence in someone or something
being exceptionally noteworthy. As used in the positive sense
self-confidence is radically excluded and all self-boasting is abandoned.
Faith in fact implies the surrender of all self-glorying. Thus Paul in
explaining the effect of his having placed his faith in Christ wrote that
...
"we are the true circumcision, who
worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no
confidence (kauchaomai) in the flesh," (see note
Philippians 3:3).
Most
human boasting issues from pride and is always warned against. But when God
is the subject we are allowed to boast. And so Jehovah speaking through Jeremiah says...
"Let not a wise
man boast (Lxx = kauchaomai is used 5 times in these 2 verse) of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let
not a rich man boast of his riches but let him who boasts boast of this,
that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises
lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these
things," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah
9:23-24)
To boast in this sense is equivalent
to rejoicing in the Lord.
In the present context boasting in
one's "hope" has eschatological significance, as alluded to in Romans where
Paul writes...
Therefore having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we
stand; and we exult (kauchaomai) in hope of the glory of God
(i.e., the return of Christ Jesus, our "Blessed
Hope", our gathering together to Him and our then
being made like Him in glory!). And not only this, but we
also exult (kauchaomai) in our tribulations
(thlipsis = pressing circumstances. Thlipsis originally meant
crushing beneath a weight!), knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance; and perseverance, proven character
(dokime: see related word
dokimon); and proven character, hope
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (see notes
Romans 5:1;
5:2;
5:3;
5:4;
5:5)
Hope
(1680)
(elpis)
in
Scripture is not the world's definition of "I hope so", with a few
rare exceptions (e.g.,
Acts 27:20)
but is is an absolute certainty of future good. Hope is defined as a
desire for some future good with the expectation of obtaining it. Hope
is confident expectancy. Hope is the looking forward to something
with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment. See related study on
the
Believer's Blessed Hope.
Hope as the
world typically defines it is a desire for some future occurrence of which
one is not assured of attaining. The ancient world did not generally regard
hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion. Historians tell
us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world.
Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were
powerless to help men face either life or death. People longed to pierce the
veil and get some message of hope from the other side, but there is none
outside of Christ.
it. In the OT there
are several Hebrew words translated
"hope"
but each has the idea of inviting us
to look ahead eagerly
with confident expectation, the
same idea conveyed by
elpis.
Each Hebrew word for "hope"
calls for patience,
reminding us that the fulfillment of our hope lies in the future ("hold
on...the best is yet to come").
Hope
is a repeated theme in Hebrews. Study the 5 uses in context...
Hebrews 3:6 (note)
- but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house --whose house we are,
if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until
the end.
Hebrews 6:11 (note)
- And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to
realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
Heb