Hebrews 3:1 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Hebrews 3:1

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What the word of God calls us is what we should be: ‘holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling’. This is not because we are already made perfect, but because we have started out on a road that leads to perfection once we have received our resurrection bodies. Our calling is of such great importance, because it is the indication of the Lord’s willingness to transform us from what we were into what he is going to make of us. It is the new direction which God commands us to go in. It is a call to leave behind forever what we were and to be willing to change entirely. It is a call away from the earth, away from the dust from which we were made, to the spiritual life of heaven where our Saviour has gone before us. It is a calling that lifts us up far above the natural life in which we were born. God does not call in vain, or without the intention of following through. His call is a promise to prepare us for heaven by giving us the new character we need to enter that holy place. This is a lifetime’s work and God never ceases to sanctify us throughout the course of our lives, until that work is complete at death. Righteousness is already ours by imputation as God has justified us in Christ, but regeneration also began a life-long change, which will finally lead to complete holiness.‘Partakers of the heavenly calling’ – that means those who are sharing together. We are not going to heaven as individuals. The word ‘partakers’ indicates partners in this heavenly calling. We are saved as individuals, and we are set together as the Lord's people in churches to be a blessing to each other. It is a heavenly calling for two reasons. It is a call from heaven that has the authority of God. It is also a call that beckons us to come to heaven. We would not dare to set out on such a path if God had not invited us to come to him, for it would be impossible that we could enter such a place. His call is the guarantee that we will be received. Every believer has heard the voice of God and responded to it. The world has never heard that voice; there is no authority to man-made religion. Our calling is to follow Christ Jesus, the Apostle and high priest of our confession. Only here is Christ called an Apostle. The word means one who is sent. He is sent down from heaven by the Father’s explicit commandment. He has gone before us on the way that we must follow. He has lived a life of perfect obedience. He has suffered at the hands of Satan and of sinful men but finally triumphed over them. He has risen from the dead, never to die again since death no longer has power over him. Being sent he has all the authority of the Father. He is the ultimate high priest. The high priest of the law was just a symbol and a prophecy of the great high priest who would come: the Lord Jesus Christ. That Old Testament priesthood would come to an end and God would reveal the great high priest who would represent God to man and man to God. Christ came and brought God's message of mercy, and then on our behalf he suffered and died on Calvary. He takes the guilt of all his people and he suffers in their place and having lived a perfect life. He offers these things on behalf of man, and God the Father accepted it and therefore raised him from the dead.We are people of a profession; what does the word mean? Most modern versions translate it confession. There are not miles of difference between the two words but profession is much better. A profession of faith means that I have assented to the truth of the word of God, but I also assent that this message has been true in my own particular case and I have found him. I have repented, believed in him, and as a result of that I have consciously experienced reconciliation with God. I have tasted his power and I walk with him. It's our acknowledgement that these things are true and real, and my profession embraces and includes my pledge to him. I have proved this to be true. It's something that goes on every day you live out your profession. You are representing him you are making a statement you are affirming his power to those around you.

Application

Consider the Lord. This is the solution to so much in the Christian life. How do we maintain assurance? How do we maintain strength against temptation? How do we face our trials and our difficulties? How do we carry out service for the Lord and his witness? By considering him. This is the great strengthening means of believers.

If we trusted in Christ and experienced salvation, we are holy brethren, those who are set apart by God. We are set apart and distinct from the world in the mind of God, because Christ has died for us and lived a righteous life and that righteousness has been imputed to his people. In the mind of God, it as though we have experienced final redemption and purification and are in heaven already. Never has the world pressed in upon believers as it does today with all the means of communication and the television and every other electronic device, and yet we are to be separate from it in our standards, our views, our desires, and our lifestyle – holy brethren set apart for the Lord. That is often lost sight of so today. The cry among many – even earnest Christians – is that we've got to be more like the world in order to win the world. But we are described as holy, sacred utensils in the temple of God. Those utensils for worship that had been cleansed and set apart, and sacred, dedicated, to holy use. That's the picture language of the Old Testament.

Either by preaching of the word of God, by reading Scripture, or through the witness of believers, the Holy Spirit has moved in the heart and you have been arrested and called. You have been called intelligently by the word you have understood your spiritual need and what Christ has done to redeem you. You have virtually been called by name; it is a wonderful thing about conversion that when God works in our hearts we feel a personal obligation to respond. It is the as though God is dealing with us and us alone. I become deeply concerned about my eternal destiny, my standing before God, and whether there is mercy for a sinner like me. The call indicates God's initiative. He calls to us, he stirs our hearts, and our foolish pride falls in tatters and we see our need of forgiveness and salvation. It wasn’t me. I didn't have the bright idea one day to begin to consider the things of God; I was heedless, proud and indifferent. I didn't see the work of the tempter in my heart. I thought the world was a great place, and I was in contemptuous of the gospel. It was God who made me feel my inadequacy and spiritual bankruptcy. It is a call to join the heavenly road, a call to eternal glory. Coldness in the Christian life begins when we cease to have that experience of calling. As we read the Scripture in our private devotions, we say, I must respond to this. The heavenly calling wasn't just the call of the gospel at the very beginning; it’s a call that goes on, echoing in your life. Whenever you pray and confess your sin, a challenge will come, a sense of obligation to respond to this yourself. Somebody may be praying for a loved one, that that person will find the Lord, and suddenly there will enter into you this uneasy realisation, ‘But I am to be the instrument and I haven't said anything.’ There is interaction between the Spirit and yourself. All through the Christian life we are aware that we are preparing for eternal glory, and we are moving to heaven. It’s a mighty strength to us, because all the difficulties and the hardships are greatly softened by the fact that we are heaven bound. We are called to learn of Christ. We are called to serve him, obviously. We are called to fellowship with Christ and one with another. We are called to represent him and to speak for him. We are also called to holiness.

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Hebrews 3:1 Commentary and Bible Study