READING TIME: 2-3 MINUTES
Sept 20, 2019
David, is Hebrews 3:14 teaching that we are only partakers of Christ if we live a certain way?
MEANING OF “PARTAKERS”
The statement in verse 14 that “we have become partakers of Christ” does not refer to partaking of eternal salvation as proved by a persevering faith, but to fellowship and partnership with Christ, especially in suffering.
Believers share fellowship, communion, or partnership with Christ by continuing to walk by faith in Him and do His will. This also involves sharing in His sufferings, which is a prominent theme running throughout the book of Hebrews (2:10; 5:8; 10:32-34; 11:25-26, 35-38; 12:2-4; 13:3, 23). The readers of Hebrews needed to embrace this aspect of God’s revealed will, but they would only partake of fellowship with Christ and suffering for Him if they continued to walk in daily dependence on Him as their strength (Heb 2:16, 18; 4:16).
ISRAEL’S UNBELIEF AT KADESH BARNEA
The writer of Hebrews knew that genuine believers, such as his readers, were not immune to spiritual arterial sclerosis—a hardening of the heart toward God in unbelief. The fact that the writer of Hebrews applies this example from Israel’s history to his first-century readers presents a serious problem for the Calvinist doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
The example of the Exodus generation of Israelites does not fit the Calvinist paradigm, for Scripture states that these Israelites initially had genuine faith but then they departed from that faith at Kadesh Barnea. Israel’s example confirms the truth of eternal security rather than the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints for salvation.
ISRAEL’S PRESENT “REST”
Although Israel was redeemed, justified, and eternally saved, they were under temporal discipline by God. New Testament believers can become “partakers of Christ” (Heb 3:14) by continuing steadfastly in their faith despite antagonism from those in unbelief. If believers will continue believing, they will experience the peace and rest of the soul that God offers to all believers in the present. This is the type of “rest” spoken of in Hebrews 3-4 that believers must still “enter” into daily (“today”) by faith (Heb 3:18-19; 4:1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11).
Thus, we conclude that the rest referred to in Hebrews 4:1 is that faith/life rest into which a believer enters by faith, and in which he enjoys the promised blessings that God gives to those who believe and obey Him.
CONCLUSION
Based on the Old Testament background to Hebrews 3-4, we can conclude that those warned by the author were genuinely redeemed like the people of Israel in the Exodus. The readers were warned against committing the same sin of unbelief in the life-sustaining presence of God that Moses, Aaron, and the wilderness generation committed. This generation failed to be faithful and as a result, they suffered from temporal discipline. They failed to enter into “God’s rest,” which meant that they would lose the opportunity to worship God joyfully in the safety of His presence and to enjoy the covenantal blessings. A royal enthronement psalm (Ps. 95), with its past and future perspectives, was used as the basis for explaining Israel’s failure.
The readers experiencing rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ depends on their faithfulness in doing good works. As “companions” of Christ, they must be diligent to receive those rewards. Failure to persevere does not result in loss of salvation and perseverance is also not necessarily proof that the person is a believer, but failure to persevere may result in temporal discipline (Heb 12:4–11) along with the loss of future rewards and authority to rule with Jesus in the millennium.
Sources Used
Gleason, Randall C. “The Old Testament Background of Rest in Hebrews 3:7-4:11.” Bibliotheca Sacra 157:627 (July 2000): 281-303.
Oberholtzer, Thomas Kem. “The Warning Passages in Hebrews Part 2 (of 5 Parts): The Kingdom Rest in Hebrews 3:1–4:13.” Bibliotheca Sacra 145 (April 1988): 196.
Rokser, Dennis. Shall Never Perish Forever. Grace Gospel Press.
Stegall, Tom. Must Faith Endure for Salvation to Be Sure?: A Biblical Study of the Perseverance versus Preservation of the Saints. Grace Gospel Press, chapter 12.