FOR WE WHO HAVE BELIEVED ENTER THAT REST: eiserchometha (1PPMI) gar eis
ten katapausin oi pisteusantes (AAPMPN):
(Heb
3:14;
Isaiah 28:12;
Jeremiah 6:16;
Matthew 11:28,29;
Romans 5:1,2)
For only we who believe God can enter into His place of rest. He has said,
"I have sworn in my anger that those who don't believe me will never get
in," even though
he has been ready and waiting for them since the world began. (TLB)
For (because) - firmly persuaded with the idea of hope and certain
expectation that God is able and willing.
Believed (4100)
(pisteuo)
refers not just to head knowledge (the "dead" faith of James 2:17, 26) but a
belief that is shown to be genuine saving faith by the fruit of a changed
life (not a perfect life but at least some evidence that there is a new life
which manifests a new heart). Saving faith
is dynamic and holds fast,
obeys, endures, brings forth fruit and conversely does not shrink back, drift away
or fall away.
Pisteuo
is derived from
pistis
(note)
pistos
(note);
(See related studies on
the faith, the
obedience of faith)
and means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s
trust. It means to accept as true, genuine, or real and so to have a firm
conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone.
Vincent notes that pisteuo...
means to persuade, to cause belief, to
induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the meaning of to
obey, properly as the result of persuasion
In secular Greek literature, as well
as in the New Testament, pisteuo (pistis, pistos) has a basic meaning
of an intellectual assent or a belief that something is true. Michel says
that this use arose during the Hellenistic period. During the struggle with
skepticism and atheism, it acquired the sense of conviction concerning the
existence and activity of the Greek gods. Thayer calls this the intransitive
use of the word which conveys the idea of to be sure or be persuaded that
something is a fact. This kind of faith does not require any action on the
part of the believer but only an intellectual acceptance. As discussed ,
James used this type of faith as an example of a dead faith stating that
"The devils also believe, and tremble" (Ja 2:19).
The other secular Greek meaning that
is the more common use in the New Testament is the transitive or active use
which means to "put faith in" or "rely upon" someone or something. Sometimes
it has even stronger meaning: "To entrust something to another." In
classical usage it denoted conduct that honored a previous agreement, such
as the honoring of a truce between opposing armies (Iliad 2.124). The
meaning of entrusting something to someone is found in Xenophon (Memorabilia
4.4.17). An example of this use in the New Testament is 2 Timothy 1:12. Paul
said
I know whom I have believed, and
am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day (see note
2 Timothy 1:12)
(Comment: Here pisteuo means to trust in or rely upon Christ to save
us)
Pisteuo then means to entrust
oneself to an entity in complete confidence. To believe in with the
implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted. Christ is the
object of this faith that relies on His power and nearness to help, in
addition to being convinced that His revelations or disclosures are true.
As noted above, pisteuo can
refer to an "heart belief" (saving faith, genuine belief that leads
to salvation, this believing involves not only the consent of the mind, but
an act of the heart and will of the subject) or an intellectual belief
(mental assent, "head" knowledge, not associated with bringing salvation if
it is by itself), both uses demonstrated by Jesus statement in John 11,
John 11:26 Everyone who lives and
believes (refers to genuine saving faith) in Me shall never die. Do
you believe (intellectually) this?
James 2:19 You believe
(pisteuo) that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe
(pisteuo), and shudder. (Comment: In this passage, James explains
that not all believing will result in salvation. The believing he is
describing in this passage is a mental or intellectual believing that is not
associated in a change in one's heart and thus in one's behavior or actions.
Belief in the New Testament sense that effects the new birth denotes
more than a "demonic" like, intellectual assent to a set of facts or truths.
The demons believe but they are clearly not saved. Genuine belief does
involve an intellectual assent and consent of one's mind, but also includes
an act of one's heart and will. Biblical saving faith is not passive assent
but an active staking of one's life on the claims of God. The respected
Greek lexicon author W E Vine defines belief as consisting of...
(1) a firm conviction which produces full
acknowledgment of God's revelation of Truth - (2Thes 2:11 -"in order that
they all may be judged who did not believe [pisteuo] the truth, but
took pleasure in wickedness.")
(2) a personal surrender to the Truth (Jn
1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe [pisteuo] in His name")
and
(3) a conduct inspired by and consistent
with that surrender.
Enter
(1525)
- Emphatic (first word in Greek) and in the
present tense
expresses the
idea that we continue to enter that rest. The
middle voice
adds the idea that is our own choice and we participate in the
results/effects of the entering. So the rest of God does not cease when you
enter into salvation, but is a dynamic entering, even as walking in the
Spirit is a continual need (present
tense)
lest we walk in the flesh.
Rest
(2663)
- A ceasing from one form of activity IN ORDER TO give oneself
to a wholly new enterprise, in the context, to believe God's promise.
(See excursus on
Rest in Hebrews 4)
Psalm 95:11
"Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest."
Since the Israelites were already established in Canaan when David
wrote the Psalm 95, its warning about missing out on God's rest must refer
to something beyond that material possession.
Matthew Henry elaborates on this temporal distinction (ie, written in
the time of David, some 400 years after the Exodus and wilderness wandering
and at a time when Israel was now in the physical land of Canaan, "the land
of milk and honey") commenting that...
Now
this case of Israel may be applied to those of their posterity that lived in
David's time, when this psalm was penned; let them hear God's voice, and not
harden their hearts as their fathers did, lest, if they were stiff-necked
like them, God should be provoked to forbid them the privileges of his
temple at Jerusalem, of which he had said, This is my rest. But it must be
applied to us Christians, because so the apostle applies it.
There is a spiritual and eternal rest set before us, and promised to us, of
which Canaan was a type; we are all (in profession, at least) bound for this
rest; yet many that seem to be so, come short and shall never enter into
it. And what is it that puts a bar in their door? It is sin; it is
unbelief, that sin against the remedy, against our appeal. Those that,
like Israel, distrust God, and His power and goodness, and prefer the garlic
and onions of Egypt before the milk and honey of Canaan, will justly be shut
out from His rest: so shall their doom be; they themselves have decided
it. Let us therefore fear,
Hebrews 4:1.(see
note)
C H Spurgeon wrote the following comments regarding Psalm 95:11...
There can be no rest to an unbelieving heart. If manna and miracles
could not satisfy Israel, neither would they have been content with the land
which flowed with milk and honey. Canaan was to be the typical resting place
of God, where His ark should abide, and the ordinances of religion should be
established; the Lord had for forty years borne with the ill manners of the
generation which came out of Egypt, and it was but right that He should
resolve to have no more of them. Was it not enough that they had revolted
all along that marvellous wilderness march? Should they be allowed to make
new Massahs and Meribahs in the Promised Land itself? Jehovah would not have
it so. He not only said but swore that into His rest they should not
come, and that oath excluded every one of them; their carcasses fell in the
wilderness.
Solemn warning this to all who leave the way of faith for paths of
petulant murmuring and mistrust. (Ed note: Spurgeon is not saying
one can "lose salvation" but that their "faith" was not genuine saving faith
in the first place.) The rebels of old could not enter in because of
unbelief, "let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering
into his rest, any of us should even seem to come short of it."
One blessed inference from this psalm must not be forgotten. It is clear
that there is a rest of God, and that some must enter into it: but "they to
whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief, there
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." The unbelievers
could not enter, but "we which have believed do enter into rest." Let
us enjoy it, and praise the Lord for it for ever. Ours is the true
Sabbatical rest, it is ours to rest from out own works as God did from His.
While we do so, let us "come into his presence with thanksgiving, and make a
joyful noise unto him with psalms." (Bolding added)
Spurgeon in his hints to pastors and laypersons on Psalm 95:11 adds
that...
Verse 11. The fatal moment of the giving up of a soul, how it may be
hastened, what are the signs of it, and what are the terrible results.
Verse 10-11. The kindling, increasing, and full force of divine
anger, and its dreadful results.
JUST AS HE HAS SAID, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY
REST": mou kaitoi ton ergon apo kataboles kosmou genethenton (AAPNPG):
(Heb
3:11;
Psalms 95:11)
Said
(3004)
(ereo) is in the
perfect tense
which emphasizes the permanent value of
God's word (the
perfect tense
is used in Heb 1:13; 4:4; 10:9; 13:5). The point is that God has spoken. That
settles it! What He said endures forever.
Hebrews 1:13 (note)
- But to which of the angels has He
ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A
FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET "?
Hebrews 4:4 (note)
- For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "AND GOD
RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS ";
Hebrews 10:9 (note)
- then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL ." He takes away
the first in order to establish the second.
Hebrews 13:5 (note)-
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content
with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT
YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
Swore
(3660)
(omnuo) means to affirm the truth of a statement by calling on God to
execute sanctions against a person if the statement in question is not true.
However in the present context it is God Himself takes an oath and by doing
this, His divine being is then regarded as validating the statement.
Hebrews has six of the 21 NT uses of omnuo as shown in the following
verses...
Hebrews 3:11 (note)
AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH (orge),
'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST'
Hebrews 3:18 (note)
And to whom did He swear that
they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?
Hebrews 4:3 (note)
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.
Hebrews 6:13 (note)
For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no
one greater, He swore by Himself,
Hebrews 6:16 (note)
For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath
given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.
Hebrews 7:21 (note)
(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through
the One who said to Him, "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS
MIND, 'YOU AREA PRIEST FOREVER' ");
Commenting on the fact that God swore in Psalm 95:11 Robert
South writes that...
The word swearing is very significant, and seems to import these two
things.
First, the certainty of the sentence here pronounced. Every word of
God both is, and must be truth; but ratified by an oath, it is truth with an
advantage. It is signed irrevocable. This fixes it like the laws of the
Medes and Persians, beyond all possibility of alteration and makes God's
word, like his very nature, unchangeable.
Secondly, it imports the terror of the sentence. If the children of
Israel could say, "Let not God speak to us, lest we die, what would they
have said had God then sworn against them?"
It is terrible to hear an oath from the mouth but of a poor mortal, but from
the mouth of an omnipotent God, it does not only terrify, but confound. An
oath from God is truth delivered in anger; truth, as I may so speak, with a
vengeance. When God speaks, it is the creature's duty to hear; but when he
swears, to tremble. --Robert South.
Wrath
(3709)
(orge
from orgaô = to teem, to swell) conveys the picture of a
swelling which eventually bursts, and thus describes an anger that proceeds
from one’s settled nature. Orge does not refer to uncontrollable
anger to which men are so prone but to God's settled indignation and
controlled passionate hostile feeling toward sin in all its various
manifestations. Settled indignation means that God’s holiness cannot and
will not coexist with sin in any form whatsoever. Orge is not the momentary,
emotional, and often uncontrolled anger (thumos -
2372) to which human
beings are prone. Orge is used primarily of God's holy, righteous
wrath but occasionally refers to the wrath of men (see note
Ephesians 4:31)
Orge refers to to an inner,
deep resentment that seethes and smolders. Orge as used of God refers to His
constant and controlled indignation toward sin, while thumos (which
originally referred to violent movements of air, water, etc., and
consequently came to mean “well up” or “boil up”) refers more to a
passionate outburst of rage. Thumos type anger represents an
agitated, vehement anger that rushes along relentlessly. The root meaning
has to do with moving rapidly and was used of a man’s breathing violently
while pursuing an enemy in great rage!
Orge is...
God’s settled
opposition to
and displeasure with sin
God’s wrath is his
holy hatred of all that is unholy. It is His righteous indignation at
everything that is unrighteous. It is the temper of God towards sin. It is
not God's uncontrollable rage, vindictive bitterness or a losing of His
temper, but the wrath of righteous reason and holy law.
Thomas Brooks wrote...
Reader, remember this: if thy knowledge do not now affect thy heart, it will
at last, with a witness, afflict thy heart; if it do not now endear Christ
to thee, it will at last provoke Christ the more against thee; if it do not
make all the things of Christ to be very precious in thy eyes, it will at
last make thee the more vile in Christ's eyes.
Westcott makes the horrible observation that,
The Old Testament is in fact a record of successive judgments of Israel out
of which a few only were saved.
Davidson reminds us
that
Israel’s defection was universal, and that it happened when the memory of
their deliverance from Egypt was fresh.
MacArthur
Those who sinned while wandering in the wilderness not only forfeited
Canaan. Unless they exercised personal faith in God sometime during the
forty years, they also forfeited eternal life-of which Canaan was only a
symbol.
Other conservative, evangelical writers such as Ray Stedman agree
that although individual Israelites like
Moses, Aaron and Miriam who died in the wilderness did not enter Canaan,
their failure to enter the promised land did not indicate that they died
eternally. On the other hand Stedman feels that the majority of Israel who
came out of Egypt and physically died in the wilderness, not entering the
physical land of Canaan, did perish eternally because they did not believe
in the Messiah. (See Stedman's comments in
Hebrews: Commentary Part I)
As Dr Charles Ryrie rightly emphasizes in his comments on this
section that...
Only believers enter into salvation rest. (The
Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)
Rest (2663) (katapausis from kata = prefixed preposition in its local use means “down,” and
speaks of permanency + pauo = Cease, stop, pause, make an end.
(See excursus on
Rest in Hebrews 4)
Applied to men entering God’s rest, this word speaks of no
self-effort as far as salvation is concerned. It means the end of trying to
please God by feeble, fleshly works. God’s perfect rest is a rest
based on free albeit costly grace laid hold of by genuine saving faith.
Two other dimensions of spiritual rest are not found in the usual
English dictionary include the following...
(1) The Kingdom rest in the
Millennium
and
(2) the eternal rest in the new heaven and earth. John alludes to the
latter rest in the Revelation recording...
And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may
rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." (see note
Revelation 14:13)
ALTHOUGH HIS WORKS WERE FINISHED FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD: kaitoi
ton ergon apo kataboles kosmou genethenton (AAPNPG):
(Genesis
1:31;
Exodus 20:11)
(Heb
9:26;
Matthew 13:35;
Ephesians 1:4;
1 Peter 1:20)
Finished
(1096)
the processes we observe today are not creation or evolution but in
fact reflect devolution and disintegration (enunciated in the 1st and 2nd
Laws of Thermodynamics).
The spiritual rest which God gives was made available for us in
eternity past when He chose us in Christ and was made effective by His Son
on the Cross...
When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!"
And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.
(Jn 19:30)
It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not
because we deserved it, but because that was His plan (NASB "His own purpose
and grace") long before the world began (NIV "before the beginning of
time")--to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. (see
note
2 Timothy 1:9)
(Comment: All that is left for the believer to do is to enter the
rest God prepared for us before time began and which His Son procured
for us with His finished work on the Cross).
Foundation
(2602) (katabole
from kataballo = to throw down from kata = down + ballo
= throw, cast) is literally a casting down or laying down. The original idea
was the laying down of the foundation of a house.
Katabole was a technical term for putting seed into the ground, it is
also used of the role of the male in impregnating the female and there is
one such use in
Hebrews 11:11,
referring to the casting in or sowing of seed, conveying the idea of
begetting.
TDNT adds that katabole meant...
“laying down,” is used for, e.g., the casting of seed, human begetting, the
sowing of war, and the establishment of government.
Ten of the 11 NT uses of katabole (there are no uses in the
LXX) are in the phrase "foundation of the
world".
Matthew 13:35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be
fulfilled, saying, "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things
hidden since the foundation of the world."
Matthew 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come,
you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world.
Luke 11:50 in order that the blood of all the prophets, shed since
the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,
John 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me,
be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou
hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4 (note)
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Hebrews 4:3 (note)
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.
Hebrews 9:26 (note)
Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the
world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested
to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Hebrews 11:11 (note)
By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the
proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised;
1 Peter 1:20 (note)
For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in
these last times for the sake of you
Revelation 13:8 (note)
And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not
been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the
Lamb who has been slain.
Revelation 17:8 (note)
"The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the
abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will
wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they see the beast, that he was and is not and
will come.
Believers have entered into a finished work, something finished from the
foundation of the world…all that is necessary to rest has been provided.
World
(2889)
(kosmos) means the world with
its primary meaning being order, regular disposition and arrangement, here
referring in essence to God's creation of the heavens and earth that we know
today.
