Enter God's Rest (Part 1)

Lesson Five

Enter God’s Rest

Hebrews 4:1–13

 

Theme: Since Christ Jesus, the Son of God, has completed the work of redemption and is at rest, we must accept it, rely on it and enter rest with Him. Accept Christ’s peace for the conscience, the heart, and the mind by faith.

 

Reflection

Begin your study by sharing thoughts on this question. 

1. What misconceptions do people have about finding true peace? 

There are several misconceptions related to true peace. One delusion is the notion that peace is primarily external and must be arranged or constructed in society through amicable interactions. While it is desirable to live in a peaceful society, God has far more in mind than social peace and political stability. Another misconception is that substantial peace must be earned or worked to secure through religious duties and rituals. Many religions, all based on this same flawed philosophy of works, exist in the world because of the quest of the human soul for peace with God. But real peace is ours through faith in Christ and by God’s grace and love, not our efforts to earn it or perform satisfactorily. Another approach is that people attempt to find a kind of peace in a liquor bottle, drugs, activities, or even a certain place. They want to escape the ugliness and dreadfulness of reality by numbing themselves to it…even for relatively short periods. The fact is their minds and perceptions are temporarily impaired, but reality remains uninfluenced in any positive ways. The truth is real peace can only be ours through faith (confidence, reliance, and trust) in Jesus Christ and the Word of God. God provides an inner rest and repose for the mind, heart, and soul of those who believe Him.

 

Bible Reading

Read carefully and thoughtfully Hebrews 4:1–13.   

To those who fail to see themselves as Jesus’ brothers, and to understand the thought of Hebrews 3 and 4, it may seem frightening. Such people might cringe as they imagine these verses describe God examining them, to highlight each hidden fault. But this is not the point at all! The writer has just explained rest. That rest goes beyond the promise of Palestine to Israel. God’s rest is a rest of soul and spirit, a rest of thought and attitude. The inner person is to be at rest as well. And we can rest, for nothing is hidden from God’s gaze. He knows our deepest, most secret needs, and with His Word lays bare that need—and guides us into rest. –The Teacher's Commentary

 

     Commentary

This chapter continues the theme of rest that was begun in 3:11. The word “rest” is used in five different senses in this section: (1) God’s Sabbath rest of Gen. 2:2 and Heb. 4:4, 10; (2) Canaan, the rest for Israel after wandering for forty years (3:11, etc.); (3) the believer’s present salvation rest in Christ (4:3, 10); (4) the overcomer’s present rest of victory (4:11); and (5) the future eternal rest in heaven (4:9). God’s Sabbath rest is a type of our present rest of salvation, following the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is also a picture of the “eternal Sabbath” of glory. Israel’s Canaan rest is similar to the life of victory and blessing we gain as we walk by faith and claim our inheritance in Christ. There are in this chapter four exhortations relating to the life of rest. –Wiersbe, Warren W.: Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament

The nature of rest. The word “rest” is used in Hebrews 3 and 4 in three distinct senses. First is the usage we’ve seen. Entry into the Promised Land, so large a feature of Old Testament history, is a portrait—a tangible example—of the idea of rest.

It was an appropriate picture. God had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants. During the years of Israel’s slavery in Egypt, pagan peoples had populated and improved the land. They had built houses, planted vineyards and orchards, and tamed the wilderness. Yet their lifestyle more and more evidenced the grossest of sins. The time of their judgment by God corresponded with Israel’s release from slavery. In coming into Canaan, Israel would be God’s instrument of judgment on sin—and would inherit riches for which she had not labored. The people would sit under trees they had not planted and drink wine made from grapes of vines they had not cultivated. They would come into a land where the work had been done—and they would rest.

Like Israel of old, you and I in Jesus have been delivered from slavery. Sin’s power in our lives has been broken, and we are called by God to enter a “Promised Land” experience, in which we will rest. We are to enjoy the benefits of the work Jesus has done for us. The Christian life is not one of struggle to carve out a bare living in the wilderness. The Christian life is one of appropriating all the benefits of the spiritual abundance that Jesus so richly provides.

A second connotation of “rest” is seen in the application of the term to God’s own rest on completion of Creation. The Jewish teachers had noted a fascinating feature of the Genesis account. For each of the first six days, the text speaks of “evening and morning.” The beginning and the end were clearly marked off. But the seventh day has no such demarcation. The rabbis took this to mean that God’s rest has no end. With the creative work complete, God is not inactive, but He no longer creates, for that work is done.

Strikingly, it is His rest (4:5) that believers are invited to enter! We are to come to the place where we appropriate fully what God has done, and while never becoming inactive, we do stop laboring. The load of a Christian life that some experience as a struggle is lifted. The pressure of trying harder is gone. –The Teacher's Commentary

      Outline

In this section, there are three primary segments.  First is a review of Israel’s example of unbelief and their consequent failure to enter God’s rest (Heb. 4:1-9). Secondly, as Christians we are challenged to follow Christ (Heb. 4:7-11), and thirdly, submit our inner most hearts to the scrutiny (examination, search, analysis, laying bare) of the Word, and believe (trust) God to personally appropriate—fittingly adopt and depend on without reservation—the heavenly and spiritual blessings of His everlasting rest (Heb. 4:12-13).

 

I.                 Understand that God Still Offers the Promise of His Rest to His People (Heb. 4:1-6, 9).

a.      Fear the Possibility of Coming Short of God’s Rest (4:1).

b.      Take Advantage of the Good News of Rest by Exercising Faith in this Promise (4:2-3).

c.      Bear in Mind God’s Rest is Still Available (4:4-6, 9).

d.      Beware of Unbelief and Unresponsiveness to God’s Word (4:6)

II.               Respond Now in Faith to God’s Offer; Let us Labor to Enter His Rest (Heb. 4:7-11).

a.      God Has Been Patient with Israel’s Slow Respond to His Offers (4:7, 8).

b.      God Expects an Immediate Response to His Offer of Rest (4:7).

c.      We must Labor to Enter into His Rest to Avoid Falling in Unbelief (4:11).

III.             Trust God’s Word to Reveal Unbelief, Detect Genuine Faith, and the Needs of our Hearts (Heb. 4:12-13).

a.      Trust the Word to Expose the Thoughts and Motives of our Hearts (4:12).

b.      Trust God to Help You Understand the Condition of Your Heart (4:13).

 

Discovery

Explore the Bible reading by discussing these questions.

2.  Why didn't the Hebrews enter God's rest? (Heb. 4:1-3)                                      

Having reminded his readers that the generation which came out of Egypt did not enter into the rest of Canaan because of unbelief, the writer now proceeds to warn them of a possible failure on their part of entering into rest in Messiah. —Wuest, Kenneth S.:

A.    A Reflective Command for Believers to Follow (v. 1-9)

1.      Our Recourse—“Let us therefore fear”

a.      Should be influenced by our focus on Christ as Apostle and High Priest (3:1)

b.      Should be influenced by the superiority of Christ’s revelation over Moses’ (3:2)

c.      Should be influenced by the failure of Israel to enter rest because of unbelief and hardened hearts (3:7-19)

d.      Should be influenced by the fact that the opportunity to enter God’s rest still stands (4:1)

                                                              i.     Believers today may enter and enjoy their spiritual inheritance in Christ. We must be careful lest we fail to believe God’s Word, for it is only as the Word is “mixed with faith” that it can accomplish its purposes.

1.      The phrase, “let us fear” means both reverential respect for the judgment of God upon unbelief, and the attitude in which the believer examines his own heart.

2.      If these Hebrews forgot Christ’s ultimate triumph over His enemies and theirs (Heb. 1:13-14), then they will fail to continue in faith.  If they lack faith in the power of God to bring them victory, their unbelief will forfeit God’s rest. Paul urges them therefore, to “fear”—to take it to heart that unbelief—lack of confidence in God—is the reason Israel did not enter the land.

3.      It is with reverential fear all are to examine their own spiritual condition (1 Cor. 10:12; 2 Cor. 13:5) and to actively press for commitment on the part of others (Jude 23). 

                                                            ii.     The Canaan rest for Israel is a picture of the spiritual rest we find in Christ when we surrender to Him.

1.      When we come to Christ by faith, we find salvation rest (Matt. 11:28).

2.      When we yield and learn of Him and obey Him by faith, we enjoy submission rest (Matt. 11:29–30).

3.      The first is “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1); the second is the “peace of God” (Phil. 4:6–8). It is by believing that we enter into rest (Heb. 4:3); it is by obeying God by faith and surrendering to His will that the rest enters into us. –The Bible Exposition Commentary

2.      Our Reasons (4:1b-9)

a.      The Assurance of an Available Promise of Rest (v. 1)

                                                              i.     No one should conclude that the promise of rest is no longer valid. It has never had a complete and final fulfillment in the past; therefore the offer is still in effect.

                                                            ii.     The argument in this section is given in several propositions:

1.      God finished His work and rested, so that His rest has been available since Creation (4:4).

2.      The Jews failed to enter into their rest (4:6).

3.      Many years later (Ps. 95), God said that a rest was still available (4:7). That “today” is still here!

4.      This means that Joshua did not lead Israel into the true rest, because a rest still remains (4:8-9).

                                                           iii.     The promise stands. This is the thought with which the chapter begins (v. 1). Even though a later, obedient generation did enter the Promised Land, that entry did not completely fulfill the promise of a “rest” for God’s people. In fact, much later, in the time of David, the promise and the warning were repeated: “Today, if ye will hear His voice” (v. 7). If God’s full blessing for His people had been granted when Joshua led Israel into Palestine, then the promise of a rest would not have been repeated much later to the people of David’s day, or by the writer of Hebrews to Christians then and now. –The Teacher's Commentary

                                                           iv.     The promise is “entering into His rest.” This is the rest God gives to believers involving His peace, confidence of salvation, dependence on His power, and assurance of a future home in heaven (Matt. 11:29). Since there remains a rest, don’t think that believers have missed entirely their opportunity to take advantage of it (Heb. 12:15).

1.      Christ invites us to the rest of salvation (Matt. 11:28). Notice that rest here is a gift; it is unearned and unmerited. This is the rest of salvation that comes from realizing that Christ finished the work of redemption on Calvary’s cross. It is the rest of conscience that follows the realization that the penalty of one’s sins has been paid once for all and that God will not demand payment twice.

2.      Christ invites us to the rest of service (Matt. 11:29-30). In verses 29 and 30, the invitation changes from salvation to service.

(1)   Take My yoke upon you. To “take a yoke” in that day meant to become a disciple. When we submit to Christ, we are yoked to Him. Enter into submission to His will; turn over control of your life to Him (Rom. 12:1, 2).

(2)   and learn of Me. This command does not represent a crisis as we come and yield to Christ; but this step is into a process. As we learn more about Him, we find a deeper peace, because we trust Him more. Life is simplified and unified around the person of Christ. This invitation is for “all”—not just the people of Israel (Matt. 10:5–6).  As we acknowledge His lordship in every area of our lives, He trains us in His ways.

(3)   for I am meek [gentle] and lowly in heart. In contrast to the Pharisees who were harsh and proud, the true Teacher is meek and lowly. Those who take His yoke will learn to take the lowest place.

(4)   and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Here it is not the rest of conscience but the rest of heart that is found by taking the lowest place before God and man. It is also the rest that one experiences in the service of Christ when he stops trying to be great.

(5)   “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees (Matt. 23:4).  Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”  The word “easy” means “well-fitting”; He has just the yoke that is tailor-made for our lives and needs. The burden of doing His will is not a heavy one (1 John 5:3).

(6)   His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom.

                                                             v.     The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.” –J. H. Jowett

b.      The Possibility of Coming Short of the Goal of Rest (v. 1)

                                                              i.     All who profess to be believers should make sure that they do not come short of the goal. If their profession is empty, there is always the danger of turning away from Christ and embracing some powerless religious system that cannot save.

                                                            ii.     We should be careful that none of us suppose that we have missed the Lord’s Rest.

1.      Moses showed clearly (Deut. 3:18-20; 12:9-11) that for Israel their rest was their inheritance. In the same way it is natural to suppose that the term “rest” also refers to the functional equivalent for a Christian’s inheritance.

2.      That Christians are “heirs” has already been affirmed (Heb. 1:14) and this will be repeated (6:12, 17; cf. 9:15). The inheritance cannot be separated from Messiah’s kingdom and His “partners’” share in it (12:28).

3.      The concern is that no one would think they had missed their “inheritance- rest.” Some struggled with the problem of the delay in the Second Coming, and needed to exercise patience—Christ is coming and will not delay (10:36-37). If this was God’s concern, it was urgent to show that this promised “rest” is still available.

 

 Response

Use these questions to share more deeply with each other.

3.  What is the rest God offers his people?

 

4.  How can we experience God's rest both now and in the future?

 

 Journaling

Take a few moments to record your personal insights from this lesson.

5. What steps can I take to more fully enjoy God's rest this week?