Hebrews 4:3 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Hebrews 4:3

Comments

He quotes again from Psalm 95:11 (which in turn refers to Number 14:23; Deuteronomy 1:35; 12:9), but he quotes it to show what it does not mean, to eliminate all wrong interpretations. Entry into God’s rest spoken of in Psalm 95 is not entry into Canaan, neither is it the keeping of the sabbath commandment (though that is to be kept as part of the moral law). Neither of those get you into God’s rest. Only believing brings you into rest, that is, rest from the condemnation of sin, rest from the fear of death, rest from alienation from God so that you are united to him; rest from helplessness and weakness and entry into help from God, and conversion and blessing. It's a rest from all those negative things. They which have believed in Christ do enter into rest. As he said, ‘As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest.’ The word ‘if’ doesn't actually appear in Psalm 95 in the KJV. It's put slightly differently, but it's in the Hebrew, and it’s also in the Septuagint from which the writer of the letter to the Hebrews is working. In Psalm 95, the Lord is quoting his own words, and the KJV is making the quote agree with the original words in Numbers 14:23 where there is no conditionality – Israel had already disobeyed and was being judged. Nevertheless Psalm 95 has this conditional element: ‘As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest.’ It is raising the possibility of entering all over again. ‘Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.’ This is really a new section about God's work of creation. There should be more than a colon after the word ‘rest’, because this is a new idea. This is a new argument. The works of God were finished before the foundation of the world. The implication of this statement is this: the work of creation was of course finished at the foundation of the world. It was accomplished in six days. The sabbath day was ordained in recognition of God’s self-imposed pattern of work and rest. To keep the day of rest meant that you had the rest, the sabbath rest, and that was something that the godly had kept from the time of creation, so that that too could not be the new rest that Psalm 95 was talking about.

Application

Remember the picture, the father labours all the day and when the sun goes down and he comes home to his family and they have fellowship and intimacy together and the father is at their disposal and committed to them. That is the rest of God. Are you in that rest? Have you found the rest of God, rest from condemnation? We spend so much of our life under the condemnation of God because of our sin. But when you come to Christ and you truly find him and you're truly converted, you enter into the kingdom of God. You enter into this rest, rest from condemnation. You know you are no longer condemned. You are Christ's, you are going to heaven. It's a rest from uncertainty.

Questions

Although this is not part of the writer’s argument, we can say that, strictly speaking, salvation too was in place at the foundation of the world. We are used to thinking that salvation was accomplished when Christ came and suffered and died on Calvary's cross to bear away the punishment and sin for all who would be saved, but no, the salvation of God was actually ready from the very foundation of the world. Christ had not yet paid for our passage to heaven; Christ had not yet borne the punishment. But because Christ had been promised, and he was God, it was as good as done. God in his great kindness and love had the work of salvation at the ready even before man fell, and when he disobeyed God and there was the great fall and the curse, salvation was all ready to be put in motion. That's why we believe that Adam in due course was saved and possibly Eve, both of them together. They certainly gave godly names to their issue, and there was mercy operating and sins could be forgiven and souls could be transformed, because Christ would come and pay their debts and take their punishments. In the Old Testament salvation was being administered on account of what Christ would do; in our day it is being administered on account of what Christ did in the past.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Hebrews 4:3 Commentary and Bible Study