Heavenly Mindedness (77)

 

Continuing from the last post with the question, “What role do verses 12 and 13 play in Hebrews Chapter 4?

 

Remembering that there were no chapter or verse divisions in the original text of the Bible, Hebrews Chapter 4 is a continuation of Hebrews Chapter 3, and in Chapter 3 the author introduces Moses and the people of Israel, contrasting Moses with Jesus and comparing his readers to the people of Israel; as we ponder this passage we ought to be identifying with both the people of Israel and also with the original readers and hearers of Hebrews, for what is written about Moses and Israel was written for us as well as for the first century church. What are we supposed to learn from Moses and Israel?

 

Central to this passage is the idea of rest in the Promised Land, faith in the Word of God, and obedience and disobedience to God’s Word. Israel and the recipients of the letter that we call “Hebrews” both had good news preached to them (Heb. 4:2), but Israel did not believe God’s Word, His promises, while the recipients of the letter we’re reading did believe (Heb. 4:3).

 

Much of Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 is anchored in Psalm 95 which is quoted in 3:7 – 11, 15; 4:3, 5, 7. The author is arguing that since God through David in Psalm 95, who lived long after Moses and Joshua, is speaking of a “rest” for His people, that therefore “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). His reasoning is, “For if Joshua has given them rest, He [God] would not have spoken of another day after that” (4:8).

 

While there are many treasures in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, for our purposes I want to focus on 4:8 – 16.

 

After making the case that “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,” we read in verse 10, “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” Note 4:3b – 4, “…although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.’”

 

A defining characteristic of the Sabbath rest that God has for His people is that we rest, or cease, from our own works. Is this not at the heart of the Gospel? Christ does everything and we can do nothing. We enter into the finished works of God from the foundation of the world, most especially those works manifested on the Cross, and we also come to know resting in Christ, abiding in Christ, living in Christ, as our Way of Life (John 15:1ff; Galatians 2:20).

 

As with many elements of the Word of God and our life in Christ, there are enigmatic dimensions to it, for we are told in Hebrews 4:11, “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience” [as seen in the people of Israel in the Wilderness]. This is followed by, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword…” That is, here our core verses 12 – 13 come into play. Why?

 

I think there is a similar paradigm in Philippians 2:12 – 13 in which we’re told to work out our “own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In much the same way, we are to be diligent to enter the Sabbath rest which God has for us, but how do we do this?

 

I believe we do this by allowing the living Word of God to work deep within us; this means that we submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ through His Word – a Word that penetrates deep within us and reorders our inner person; both encouraging us and bringing to light elements of our lives and inner beings that need to be confessed and put to death at the Cross. We see in verse 12 that the Word judges “the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

Enigmatically there is a Sabbath rest in this transformative process, for Jesus Christ is indeed our Sabbath, He is our rest, and while we rest in Him and submit to His Word we are being transformed into His image. The “work” belongs to Christ and not to us, we are indeed, by His grace, participants – but Jesus Christ is the lead partner on the dance floor.

 

But what do we do when the living Word reveals elements of our lives that are too much for us to bear? What do we do when we “see” elements of our core person, things in our hearts and souls, that are disgusting and vile? How do we respond when we realize how we have hurt others, used others, and look into the abyss of our selfishness?

 

Here what follows Hebrews 4:12 – 13 comes into play:

 

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:14 – 16.

 

In other words, when we are tempted, including when we are tempted to despair when we see the depths of our wickedness and sin, when we need spiritual and holistic healing of the inner person – Jesus our High Priest awaits us. Yes, His Word can and will wound us, but He wounds us to heal us; He reveals the cancer of sin in order to remove it. He shows me my narcissism in order to drive me to the Cross for forgiveness and deliverance and transformation into His image.

 

The living Word which we see in 4:12 – 13 is doing a deep work within us, it is not dealing with superficialities, it is dividing soul and spirit and joints and marrow – it is doing a work which counseling (Christian or not) cannot do, it is doing a work which man cannot do, it is doing a work that the best intentioned “iron sharpening iron” cannot do (though God may certainly use our relationships with others in these matters).

 

The living Word of God will bring us into the Sabbath rest of God in Christ, it will keep us in that Sabbath rest, and our High Priest Jesus will be with us throughout this process, this pilgrimage.

 

This is a dimension of what it means to be heavenly – minded and on pilgrimage to the City of God; for only God can call us, protect us, transform us, and ultimately bring us to our destination. This is why it is critical that we know the Bible, live the Bible, breathe the Bible, submit to the Bible, and allow the living Word to work deep within us – we, in and of ourselves, are not capable of any of this. We are not capable of really and truly knowing ourselves, and if we had such capacity, it would kill us. God alone knows what we can stand to see of ourselves and He alone knows how to heal us as He reveals things within us – and He knows not only how to heal, He knows how to transform us into the image of His Son.

 

How is Hebrews 4:12 – 13 working in my life? In our lives? In our congregations?

 

In your life?