Lesson #9 [2c1]: Both Were Faithful (Hebrews 3:1-2) Series

6/30/19

Tom Lowe

Lesson #9 [2C1]: BOTH WERE FAITHFUL (HEBREWS 3:1-2)

Introduction:

At least some of the first readers of the Book of Hebrews were believers who came to Christ out of a background of Judaism. They were steeped in Old Testament understanding. When they heard the Gospel, they believed in Jesus as Messiah and Lord.

Now, however, their confession of Christ had begun to prove costly. They encountered hostility and suffered hardships because of their faith. Therefore, some of them had stopped gathering with other believers for worship in fear of being identified and targeted as Christians. They showed signs of retreating from their confession of Christ.

Next to Abraham, Moses was undoubtedly the man most revered by the Jewish people. To go back to the Law meant to go back to Moses, and the recipients of this letter to the Hebrews were sorely tempted to do just that. It was important that the writer convince his readers that Jesus Christ is greater than Moses, for the entire system of Jewish religion came through Moses. One of the things we will learn in this chapter is that Jesus Christ is greater than Moses in at least three respects.

Scripture: Hebrews 3:1-2 (NIV)

(Heb.3:1) Therefore{1] holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

Therefore{1], holy{2] brothers and sisters,

The twofold description of the readers makes it clear that they were saved people. The words “Holy brothers and sisters” could only be applied to people in the family of God, set apart by the grace of God. It is also clear from the words, “who share in the heavenly calling”{3] that the writer was referring to people in the Church, the body of Christ. No unconverted Jew or Gentile could ever claim that blessing!

“Therefore{1], holy brothers and sisters.” The word “brothers” means those who were Hebrews like Paul was. Paul after the flesh was a Hebrew. He called the Hebrews his brothers after the flesh. They are called

Holy brothers in this verse, not because of the things they did, but because the word holy means “separated”?they were separated unto God. They belonged to Him.

who share in the heavenly calling,

The nation Israel had an earthly calling. All the promises of the Old Testament given to Israel had to do with this earth. He promised them rain from heaven; He promised them fertility of the soil and bountiful crops. These are physical blessings. He promised them spiritual blessings as well. Today the idea that anything physical cannot be used in a spiritual way is wrong. It is spiritual to give; that is one of the ministries a priest performs. He offers up spiritual sacrifices. Giving is one of them, and the praise of our lips is another.

The “brothers and sisters” who share in the “heavenly calling” previously had an earthly calling, but now they have come up to date and they belong to the “now” generation of those of Israel who have turned to Christ. The writer to the Hebrews will be making it very clear that they have moved into a different age. In the past, they offered animal sacrifices according to the Mosaic system, and it was right for them to do so. But now it is wrong because the sacrificial system has all been fulfilled in Christ and they have a heavenly calling. The earthly calling hasn’t disappeared, but it has been changed for the heavenly calling?so that they are partakers of the heavenly calling.

When witnessing to a Jew we tend to give the impression that he will have to cease being a Jew. I don’t know why we do this. A man can still be a Jew and be a Christian. If we are German, English or French, we are still that when we become a child of God. Nobody asks us to give up our nationality. And a Jew is still a Jew after he has come to Christ. He has moved along with the revelation of God, and he is now a partaker of the heavenly calling. This is important to see. The Epistle to the Hebrews becomes almost meaningless if you don’t consider to whom it was written?and also when it was written.

True Christians not only share in a “heavenly calling,” but they also share in Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:14). Through the Holy Spirit, we are “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Eph 5:30). True believers also “share in the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4). “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). “Because we are God’s children, we are also partakers of God’s loving chastening” (Heb. 12:8). If a person is not chastened, that is a sign that they are not one of God’s children.