A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” Hebrews 4:8-13

Word of God means something said and describes a communication whereby the mind finds expression in words…the Greek understanding of lógos is somewhat…complex. To secular and philosophical Greek writers, logos did not mean merely the name of an object but was an expression of the thought behind that object’s name.

Lógos is a word uttered by the human voice which embodies an underlying concept or idea. When one has spoken the sum total of their thoughts concerning something, they have given to their hearer a total concept of that thing. Thus the word lógos conveys the idea of “a total concept” of anything. Lógos means the word or outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and made known. It can also refer to the inward thought or reason itself…in classical Greek, lógos never meant just a word in the grammatical sense as the mere name of a thing, but rather the thing referred to, the material, not the formal part. In fact, the Greek language has 3 other words (rhema, onoma, epos) which designate a word in its grammatical sense. Lógos refers to the total expression whereas rhema is used of a part of speech in a sentence. In other words rhema, emphasizes the parts rather than the whole…logos is used of the living, spoken word, the word not in its outward form, but with reference to the thought connected with the form,… in short, not the word of language, but of conversation, of discourse; not the word as a part of speech, but the word as part of what is uttered.

So what is the writer referring to by the word of God? In the present context, Hebrews 3-4, the author has been emphasizing that it is urgent that his readers enter God’s “rest” (“today”). He emphasizes that the way in which one enters His rest is by faith, faith that obeys and perseveres and holds fast until the end (holding fast doesn’t save anyone – but it does show that such a person is saved for otherwise they would not be able to hold fast solely by their efforts). The immediate context indicates that some of the readers were in danger of seeming to fall short of entering God’s rest and even falling back into Judaism. It is in this background that he warns the readers that the “word of God” they have just heard is alive and can pierce right down into the innermost part of the heart to see if their belief is real or not. (Commentary on Hebrews 4, Precept Austin, October 2, 2017)

What else can I say but that the “Word of G-d” is something not to be trifled with. The “Word of G-d” is living and active — that is why the Gospel writer John referred to Jesus as the “Logos”. “In the beginning was the word….” — who was with G-d and who is G-d. We read the word of G-d when we read the Bible, and we take the word of G-d into us when we consume the bread and wine of communion. The word of G-d is active, it is living, it is able to pierce our hearts, our minds, and our souls. But for it to have that effect, we need to be exposed to the word. We need to hear the word, speak the word, eat and drink the word, and live into the very essence of the true meaning of the “Word of G-d”.

If you are having trouble with understanding the “Word of G-d”, then come and join us at one of our bible studies — or find a bible study that fits your schedule and your comfort level. You do not need to have any “pre-requisite” knowledge about the word, just a hunger for understanding and knowledge.

Pastor Dave

 A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “As in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day—“today”—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”  Hebrews 4:1-7        

“We who have believed – So you say that you understand His offer of rest and the writer’s urgent call to enter this blessed state, but you might still wonder “How do I enter?”. This verse (among others in this section, e.g., He 4:2) tells us we enter by trusting, and in context, that trust is to be in the Messiah. Joining a church won’t bring you rest (in fact most of us who have been in churches for a while would sadly have to testify to quite the opposite experience!) any more than being a member of the 12 tribes of Israel guaranteed entrance into the Promised Land. It is not enough simply to hear the gospel (which sadly is becoming more and more “watered down” in the American evangelicalism!) or even to understand the gospel. The gospel must be received by grace through faith.” (Commentary on Hebrews 4, Precept Austin, February 17, 2015)

There is an urgency to the words, including “Today” — that today we should enter into the rest of G-d through the words of eternal life that come through the good news of Jesus Christ. So we have two things we should do “today” and not wait for tomorrow. We should open the Bible “today” and remind ourselves why we have this feeling in our lives that something is missing. If you feel something is missing, perhaps it is that you have not worked on your relationship with G-d. The best place to begin to work on that relationship is in reading what G-d has promised to all people. The second thing we should do “today” is count our blessings — because we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. We should be glad G-d gave us today. We should be glad G-d gave us this very minute to be reading and relating to a G-d who loves us so much.

If today is giving you a lot of unrest, open your bible and read 1 Corinthians 10:13 — and realize that G-d does not abandon us — nor forsake. G-d is there to help us through the valleys and the pitfalls.

Pastor Dave