Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 3:6
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
6. as a Son over his own house ] Rather, “over His (i.e. God’s) house.” In the words “Servant” and “Son “we again (as in Heb 1:5; Heb 1:8) reach the central point of Christ’s superiority to Moses. The proof of this superiority did not require more than a brief treatment because it was implicitly involved in the preceding arguments.
whose house are we ] This is a metaphor which the writer may well have learnt in his intercourse with St Paul (2Co 6:16; Eph 2:21-22. Comp. 1Pe 2:5).
the confidence ] Literally, “our cheerful confidence,” especially of utterance, as in Heb 10:19; Heb 10:35. The word rendered “confidence” in Heb 3:14 is different. This boldness of speech and access, which were the special glory of the old democracies, are used by St John also to express the highest Christian privilege of filial outspokenness (1Jn 3:21). Apollos, the probable writer of this Epistle, was known for this bold speech (Act 18:26), and evidently feels the duty and privilege of such a mental altitude (Heb 4:16; Heb 10:19; Heb 10:35).
the rejoicing of the hope ] Rather, “the glorying of our hope.” The Greek word means “an object of boasting,” as in Rom 4:2; 1Co 5:6, &c. The way in which the writer dwells on the need for “a full assurance of hope” (Heb 6:11; Heb 6:18-19) seems to shew that owing to the delay in Christ’s coming his readers were liable to fall into impatience (Heb 10:36, Heb 12:1) and apathy (Heb 6:12, Heb 10:25).
firm unto the end ] The same phrase occurs in Heb 3:14. The word “firm” being feminine does not agree with the neuter word “object of boast,” and the repetition of the phrase by a writer so faultlessly rhetorical is singular. It cannot however be regarded as a gloss, for it is found in all the best Manuscripts.
unto the end ] That is, not “until death,” but until hope is lost in fruition; until this dispensation has attained to its final goal. This necessity for perseverance in well-doing is frequently urged in the N. T. because it was especially needed in times of severe trial. Mat 10:22; Col 1:23, and see infra Heb 10:35-39.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But Christ as a Son over his own house – He is not a servant. To the whole household or family of God he sustains the same relation which a son and heir in a family does to the household. That relation is far different from that of a servant. Moses was the latter; Christ was the former. To God he sustained the relation of a Son, and recognized Him as his Father, and sought in all things to do his will; but over the whole family of God – the entire Church of all dispensations – he was like a son over the affairs of a family. Compared with the condition of a servant, Christ is as much superior to Moses as a son and heir is to the condition of a servant. A servant owns nothing; is heir to nothing; has no authority, and no right to control anything, and is himself wholly at the will of another. A son is the heir of all; has a prospective right to all; and is looked up to by all with respect. But the idea here is not merely that Christ is a son; it is that as a son he is placed over the whole arrangements of the household, and is one to whom all is entrusted as if it were His own.
Whose house we are – Of whose family we are a part, or to which we belong. That is, we belong to the family over which Christ is placed, and not to what was subject to Moses.
If we hold fast – A leading object of this Epistle is to guard those to whom it was addressed against the danger of apostasy. Hence, this is introduced on all suitable occasions, and the apostle here says, that the only evidence which they could have that they belonged to the family of Christ, would be that they held fast the confidence which they had unto the end. If they did not do that, it would demonstrate that they never belonged to his family, for evidence of having belonged to his household was to be furnished only by perseverance to the end.
The confidence – The word used here originally means the liberty of speaking boldly and without restraint; then it means boldness or confidence in general.
And the rejoicing – The word used here means properly glorying, boasting, and then rejoicing. These words are used here in an adverbial signification, and the meaning is, that the Christian has a confident and a rejoicing hope. It is:
(1)Confident – bold – firm. It is not like the timid hope of the Pagan, and the dreams and conjectures of the philosopher; it is not that which gives way at every breath of opposition; it is bold, firm, and manly. It is.
(2)Rejoicing – triumphant, exulting. Why should not the hope of heaven fill with joy? Why should not he exult who has the prospect of everlasting happiness?
Unto the end – To the end of life. Our religion, our hope, our confidence in God must he persevered in to the end of life, if we would have evidence that we are his children. If hope is cherished for a while and then abandoned; if people profess religion and then fall away, no matter what were their raptures and triumphs, it proves that they never had any real piety. No evidence can be strong enough to prove that a man is a Christian, unless it leads him to persevere to the end of life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. But Christ as a Son over his own house] Moses was faithful as a servant IN the house; Jesus was faithful, as the first-born Son, OVER the house of which he is the Heir and Governor. Here, then, is the conclusion of the argument in reference to Christ’s superiority over Moses. Moses did not found the house or family, Christ did; Moses was but in the house, or one of the family, Christ was over the house as its Ruler; Moses was but servant in the house, Christ was the Son and Heir; Moses was in the house of another, Christ in his own house.
It is well known to every learned reader that the pronoun , without an aspirate, signifies his simply; and that with the aspirate, , it signifies his own: the word being in this form a contraction, not uncommon, of . If we read without the aspirate, then his must refer to God, Heb 3:4.
But Christ as a Son over his (that is, God’s) house: if we read , with the aspirate, as some editions do, then what is spoken refers to Christ; and the words above convey the same sense as those words, Ac 20:28: Feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Some editions read the word thus; and it is evident that the edition which our translators used had the word , his own, and not , his. The Spanish and London Polyglots have the same reading. From the most ancient MSS. we can get no help to determine which is to be preferred, as they are generally written without accents. The two first editions of the Greek Testament, that of Complutum, 1514, and that of Erasmus, 1516, have , his; and they are followed by most other editions: but the celebrated edition of Robert Stephens, 1550, has , his own. The reading is certainly important; but it belongs to one of those difficulties in criticism which, if the context or collateral evidence do not satisfactorily solve it, must remain in doubt; and every reader is at liberty to adopt which reading he thinks best.
Whose house are we] We Christians are his Church and family; he is our Father, Governor, and Head.
If we hold fast the confidence] We are now his Church, and shall continue to be such, and be acknowledged by him IF we maintain our Christian profession, , that liberty of access to God, which we now have, and the rejoicing of the hope, i.e. of eternal life, which we shall receive at the resurrection of the dead. The word , which is here translated confidence, and which signifies freedom of speech, liberty of access, c., seems to be used here to distinguish an important Christian privilege. Under the old testament no man was permitted to approach to God: even the very mountain on which God published his laws must not be touched by man nor beast and only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies, and that only once a year, on the great day of atonement; and even then he must have the blood of the victim to propitiate the Divine justice. Under the Christian dispensation the way to the holiest is now laid open; and we have , liberty of access, even to the holiest, by the blood of Jesus. Having such access unto God, by such a Mediator, we may obtain all that grace which is necessary to fit us for eternal glory; and, having the witness of his Spirit in our heart, we have a well grounded hope of endless felicity, and exult in the enjoyment of that hope. But IF we retain not the grace, we shall not inherit the glory.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But Christ as a son over his own house; the anointed gospel Prophet by God the Father, Heb 1:9, who was eminently faithful and true to his trust, who is Heir and Lord of all, and therefore by the law of nature and nations is above the best servant, Gal 4:1. Who is the Head and Lord over his own church, which he purchased by his own blood, Act 20:28, and built for himself. Moses was in it but a servant, fulfilling his Masters will and pleasure, and ordering all in it agreeable to it.
Whose house are we; the Hebrews personal privilege, as well as the Prophets excellency, persuading and obliging them to know by consideration what is represented to them, and to influence their hearts to a perseverance under his teaching and government in their Christian course, because they are parts of his house, and members of his church; a particular house, and body, and church to him, and members of the catholic one. A temple, wherein God doth inhabit and dwell by his Spirit, 1Co 3:16,17; compare Eph 2:21; 3:17; 1Ti 3:15. A house he will glorify and perfect with his own presence, and which he will fill with transcendently more glory than he did the literal temple, Exo 40:34,35; 2Ch 7:1,2; Isa 6:1,5; compare Hag 2:6. But how completely shall it be filled with his glory in heaven! Phi 3:21. How should such a glorious state influence them to a sincere perseverance in his religion!
If we hold fast the confidence; a tenacious holding, as with both hands, with our utmost strength, against all insinuations and temptations of all adversaries whatsoever, which would either entice or force them from it. , is an ingenuous, bold, and confident profession of our hope before all the world, without doubting, wavering, or fearful shaking about what is the true object of it, let the persecutions or sufferings for it be what they will.
And the rejoicing of the hope: hope here is a firm expectation of salvation in eternal glory by Jesus Christ. It necessarily includes in it faith, for we cannot hope for that we do not believe; and faith representing to the soul from the gospel, Christ purchasing, and the Father in him covenanting and promising to give it to us, if we truly believe in and sincerely obey him, so as we may on the surest and best grounds look out for it, and expect it, Heb 3:14; 6:11; Act 26:6,7; compare Col 1:5,23; Tit 2:13; 1Pe 1:3. This hope keeps up the soul in a joyous and glorious condition under all threatening evil; it makes Christians glory in tribulation, Rom 5:2,3; 12:12; rejoicing in want of sensible good, 2Co 6:10; compare 1Pe 5:10.
Firm unto the end; both this confidence and glorying of hope must be retained firm to the end. Persevere they must in the exercise of them with stability and constancy, till they reach the salvation of their souls, Col 1:23; 1Pe 1:5-10; which Christians are not to trust to their own power to compass, but on the continued assistance of God in the use of those means that he hath appointed thereunto, who will never be wanting to such who do so rely on him, and constantly seek it from him, 1Co 1:8,9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. But Christwas and isfaithful (Heb 3:2).
as a son over his ownhouserather, “over His (GOD’S,Heb 3:4) house”; andtherefore, as the inference from His being one with God, overHis own house. So Heb 10:21,”having an High Priest over the house of God.“Christ enters His Father’s house as the Master [OVERit], but Moses as a servant [INit, Heb 3:2; Heb 3:5][CHRYSOSTOM]. Anambassador in the absence of the king is very distinguishedin thepresence of the king he falls back into the multitude [BENGEL].
whose house are wePauland his Hebrew readers. One old manuscript, with Vulgate andLUCIFER, reads, “whichhouse”; but the weightiest manuscripts support EnglishVersion reading.
the rejoicingrather,”the matter of rejoicing.”
of the hope“ofour hope.” Since all our good things lie in hopes, weought so to hold fast our hopes as already to rejoice, as though ourhopes were realized [CHRYSOSTOM].
firm unto the endomittedin LUCIFER and AMBROSE,and in one oldest manuscript, but supported by most oldestmanuscripts.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But Christ as a Son over his own house,…. As Moses was not, though the Jews say that he was a and b, “lord and master of the house”; yea, and , “the Son of the house” c; but this he was not: Christ is the Son and heir, the Lord and master; he is a Son, not by creation, or by adoption, or by office, but by nature: hence it appears that he is God, and is equal with God; and this his sonship is the foundation of his office, and he becomes the heir of all things: and when he is said to be “as a Son”, it does not intend mere resemblance; but is expressive of his right to heirship and government, and of the esteem and reverence he had in his house, and of his fidelity as a Son there; and though he was a servant, as man and Mediator, and had a great piece of service to perform, and which he has performed with diligence and faithfulness, yet he was also a Son, Lord and heir, as Moses was not; and he is over the house of God, as King, priest, and prophet in it, and as the firstborn, Son and heir, and as the master and governor of it; and which is called his own, because given him by the Father, purchased by himself, and which he has built, and in which he dwells:
whose house are we; believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles; who, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, in whom Christ dwells by faith, and over whom he presides and reigns:
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. These words are not to be understood as a condition of the former assertion; nor is a final falling away from grace to be inferred from hence, for the supposition proves not such an inference, but the contrary; namely, that they that have true faith, hope, and confidence, shall keep them to the end; and therefore are the house of Christ: besides, the doctrine of apostasy is quite repugnant to the apostle’s argument; according to which, Christ might have no house, and can have none till men have persevered: but the apostle’s design is to give a word of exhortation to himself and others, to hold fast the confidence; and so the words are rather descriptive of the persons, who are the house of Christ; such who have a good hope, through grace, wrought in them, and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and can use freedom of speech and boldness at the throne of grace; and have an holy confidence of interest in the love of God, and salvation by Christ, and go on in the exercise of these graces to the end of their days.
a Zohar in Lev. fol. 2. 2. b Tzeror Hammor, fol. 35. 2. c Lexic. Cabalist. p. 203.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whose house are we ( ). We Christians (Jew and Gentile) looked at as a whole, not as a local organization.
If we hold fast ( ). Condition of third class with and second aorist (effective) active subjunctive of . This note of contingency and doubt runs all through the Epistle. We are God’s house if we do not play the traitor and desert.
Boldness ()
and glorying ( ) some had lost. The author makes no effort to reconcile this warning with God’s elective purpose. He is not exhorting God, but these wavering Christians. All these are Pauline words. B does not have (firm unto the end), but it is clearly genuine in verse 14. He pleads for intelligent confidence.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
But Christ. Replacing the human name Jesus, and being the official name which marks his position over the house.
As a son [ ] . The fidelity of Moses and the fidelity of Christ are exhibited in different spheres : of Moses in that of servant; of Christ in that of son.
Over his own house [ ] . Comp. ch. Heb 10:21, and notice ejpi over his house, and ejn in all his house, of Moses. For “his own house” rend. “his house,” referring to God. Reference to Christ would destroy the parallel. It is said by some that the matter of respective positions is irrelevant : that the main point is fidelity, and that therefore it does not matter whether Moses was a son or a servant, provided he was faithful. But the writer evidently feels that Christ ‘s position as a son enhanced his fidelity. Comp. ch. Heb 5:8. The implication is that Christ ‘s position involved peculiar difficulties and temptations.
Whose house [] . God ‘s house. The church is nowhere called the house of Christ.
We [] . Even as was the house in which Moses served. The Christian community is thus emphatically designated as the house of God, implying the transitoriness of the Mosaic system. Comp. 1Co 3:16, 17; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:22; 1 Peter 4. 17.
Hold fast [] . The verb is used in N. T. as here, 1Th 5:21; Phl 1:13; of restraining or preventing, Luk 4:42; of holding back or holding down with an evil purpose, Rom 1:18; 2Th 2:7; of holding one’s course toward, bearing down for, Act 27:40.
The confidence and the rejoicing of the hope [ ] . The combination confidence and rejoicing N. T. o. Rejoicing or boasting of hope N. T. o, but comp. 1Th 2:19. For parrhsia confidence see on 1Ti 3:13. The entire group of words, kauchma ground of glorying, kauchsiv act of glorying, and kaucasqai to glory, is peculiarly Pauline. Outside of the Pauline letters kaucasqai occurs only Jas 1:9; Jas 4:16; kauchsiv only Jas 4:16; and kauchma only here. The thought here is that the condition of being and continuing the house of God is the holding fast of the hope in Christ (ejlpidov of the object of hope) and in the consummation of God ‘s kingdom in him; making these the ground of boasting, exultantly confessing and proclaiming this hope. There must be, not only confidence, but joyful confidence. Comp. Rom 5:3; Eph 3:12, 13; Phi 3:3. Firm unto the end [ ] . Textually, there is some doubt about these words. Westcott and Hort bracket them. Tischendorf retains, and Weiss rejects them. The latter part of this verse marks the transition to the lesson of the wilderness – life of the exodus; the writer fearing that the fate of the exodus – generation may be repeated in the experience of his readers. We are God ‘s house if we steadfastly hold fast our Christian hope, and do not lose our faith as Israel did in the wilderness. The exhortation to faith is thrown into the form of warning against unbelief. Faith is the condition of realizing the divine promise. The section is introduced by a citation from Psa 95:7, 8.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Exhortation Against Doubt or Unbelief)
1) “But Christ as a son,” (Christos de hos huios) “Yet Christ as a son,” as, or in an heir-manner; as one presiding over an heritage which he purchased with his own blood, Act 20:28, Eph 3:21; Eph 5:25.
2) “Over his own house,” (epi ton oikon autou) “Over his household;’ his program of worship, praise, and service (the church) in the midst of which he walks, over which he is the head, for which he will one day return; He left his house, . It is the pillar and the ground of the truth, 1Ti 3:15.
3) “Whose house are we,” (hou oikos esmen hemeis) “Whose house (household, church) we are; The “we” to whom Paul wrote as “Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,” were, like Paul, members of His church body, or house, perhaps at Jerusalem, Heb 3:1.
4) “If we hold fast,” (ean kataschomen) “if we hold fast or steadfastly,” if we hold to, embrace, and espouse the work Christ left for us to do in his house, , 1Ti 3:14-15; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9-10.
5) “The confidence and the rejoicing of the hope,” (ten parresian kai to kauchema tes elpidos) “The confidence (the Trust, commission of his work, Mat 28:18-20) and the (kauchema) “the occasion of our boasting,” that as he went away with outstretched hands, blessing his church, his bride, even so he will return; This is our hope, Act 1:11; Tit 2:13-15; Heb 6:19-20.
6) “Firm unto the end,” (mechri telous bebaion) “Firm, holding infidelity, until the end of the household era of the church,” when he shall return, as he went away, Act 1:10-11; Rev 22:11-12; 2Co 11:2; Rev 19:5-9. Special Glory awaits every faithful member of the Lord’s church, at his coming.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Whose house are we, etc. As Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, after having prefaced that he was appointed to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, adds, for the sake of gaining credit among them, that they were of that number; so now the author of this epistle exhorts the Jews who had already made a profession of Christ to persevere in the faith, that they might be deemed as being in Gods household. He had said before that God’s house was subject to the authority of Christ. Suitably to this declaration is added the admonition that they would then have a place in God’s family when they obeyed Christ. But as they had already embraced the gospel, he mentions their condition if they persevered in the faith. For the word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith. He mentions confidence and rejoicing, or glorying, in order to express more fully the power of faith. (59) And we hence conclude that those who assent to the Gospel doubtfully and like those who vacillate, do not truly and really believe; for faith cannot be without a settled peace of mind, from which proceeds the bold confidence of rejoicing. And so these two things, confidence and rejoicing, are ever the effects of faith, as we stated in explaining Romans the 5 th chapter, and Ephesians the 3 rd chapter
But to these things the whole teaching of the Papists is opposed; and this very fact, were there nothing else, sufficiently proves that they pull down the Church of God rather than build it. For the certainty by which alone we are made, as the Apostle teaches us, holy temples to God, they not only darken by their glosses, but also condemn as presumption. Besides, what firmness of confidence can there be when men know not what they ought to believe? And yet that monstrous thing, implicit faith, which they have invented, is nothing else than a license to entertain errors. This passage reminds us that we are always to make progress even unto death; for our whole life is as it were a race.
(59) It is better for “hope” here to be retained in its proper meaning; for in verse 12 the defect of it is traced to unbelief. Were the words “confidence” and “rejoicing” rendered adjectivally, the meaning would be more evident, — “If we hold firm our confident and joyful hope to the end.” So we may render a similar form of expression in verse 13, “through deceitful sin,” as “newness of life” in Rom 6:4, means “new life.” The most common practice is to render the genitive in such instances as an adjective, but this is not always the case.
Hope is “confident” or assured, while it rests on the word of God, and is “joyful” while it anticipates the glory and happiness of the heavenly kingdom.
But Beza and Doddridge take words apart, “freedom of profession and boasting of hope,” or according to Beza, “the hope of which we boast.” Macknight renders them “the boldness and the glorifying of the hope.” The secondary meaning of the word παρρησία is confidence, and of καύχημα, joy or rejoicing, and the most suitable here, as it comports better with holding fast, or firm. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) But Christ as a son over his own house.Rather, over His house. Throughout this passage (Heb. 3:2; Heb. 3:5-6) His house must be taken in the sense of the quotation, as the house of God. Whereas Moses was faithful as a servant in this house of God, Christ was faithful as a son set over His Fathers house. The antithesis is complete: the one is a servant for witness, the other a Son having a natural right to rule. The concluding words in Heb. 3:5 have no formal answer here, but the contrast is not the less distinctly expressed. The name Christ (which here occurs for the first time) is in this Epistle never a mere name: it contains implicitly the thought that all that to which Moses bore witness has reached its fulfilment now. Christ has come: Gods house, formerly typified by Israel, is now manifested as it really is, containing all sons whom God leads to glory (Heb. 2:10). The terms applied by constant usage to the one nation are thus successively enlarged: the seed of Abraham (Heb. 2:16), the people (Heb. 2:17), the house of God (see Heb. 10:21).
If we hold fast the confidence.Better, If we hold the boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end. Faithful to his practical purpose, the writer adds to the words whose house are we the indispensable condition. The house exists (are we), to it belong all who possess the Christian hope; but for assured and final appropriation of the promise there must be steadfastness unto the end. This exhortation differs from that in Heb. 2:1-4, in that it more distinctly implies that those who are addressed have a possession which they may lose. The Christian hope, that aspect of faith which is turned towards the future, is naturally often in the writers thoughts. The words associated are very striking: hope gives us boldness (see 2Co. 3:12), and of this hope we make our boast. Boldness is spoken of again (in Heb. 4:16; Heb. 10:19; Heb. 10:35): properly meaning freedom of speech, it denotes the confident, bold feelings and demeanour which connect themselves with the free utterance of thought.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. But After this conceded tribute to Moses we next have Christ’s superiority. Moses was in, Christ is over, the house. Own expresses an emphasis not in the Greek; the same pronoun for his is used of Moses (Heb 3:5) and of Christ here.
Whose Referring to Christ. For having established under this striking image of house Christ’s superiority as proprietor of the dispensations, our apostle makes a beautiful transition from this divine proprietorship to the solemn warning against apostasy from Christ, which now follows. We The writer and his Hebrew Christian brethren. They are now part of the house; they will be permanent part, if. For it is clear that the writer assumes that they are now in possession of a true confidence and rejoicing, which they have only to hold fast. The whole of the remainder of the chapter assumes that they are now true Christians; the exhortation is, to stay just as they are: the great fear is that they will not, but that they will apostatize and finally perish.
Confidence Greek, free, bold utterance; of which the inward foundation is confidence of faith and feeling.
Rejoicing Or, exultation. Confidence is the firm, solid assurance; rejoicing is the joyful hope and glorying built on that solid foundation.
Firm With unmovableness. End of our probationary life. At that end all danger is at an end. We then cannot fall. For though we still be free agents, intrinsically able to choose wrong in the blessed paradise, there is no wrong to choose. Our hearts will be so attuned with the heart of the holy Christ that an unholy emotion cannot enter. Our spirits, filled with the blessed Spirit, can give no entrance to an unholy thought. We are no longer “prisoners of hope,” but prisoners of everlasting joy. We are immovable parts of Christ’s eternal house. The clause unto the end, has been rejected, as being really inserted here from Heb 3:14. Delitzsch thinks our apostle would not use the phrase twice. Unreasonably, for it is truly an emphatic repetition, a repetition of what is really the point of the whole epistle. It is retained by the best authorities; by Tischendorf in the fourth edition of his Testament.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’
And we who are his are His house, one with Him and in receipt of all His saving benefits, as long as we are truly responsive to Him, as long as ‘we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ His house includes the house of which Moses was a part, and over which Moses had authority, for He built it, but His house has expanded far beyond that of Moses.
We should note that it is not a question of comparison between Moses’ house and Messiah’s house. Moses was a part of the house, which could be called ‘his’ because of that fact, because he belonged to it. But Messiah was over the house, and it was totally His, and is called ‘His’ because it belonged to Him. The house is true Israel, the Israel of God, for the early church also saw themselves as the true Israel and the unbelieving Jews as having broken off from the true Israel (Rom 11:13-32; Gal 6:16; Eph 2:11-22).
We should note also that here in a second major exhortation he stresses the human side of salvation, ‘if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ For the test of whether we are truly His is that we remain, not necessarily perfect, but faithful. Let them therefore so consider Him that they do remain faithful. That they continue to boldly proclaim Him in the face of persecution, that they continue to glory in the certain hope which they have in Christ and His sacrifice for us (Heb 6:18-20) and in the eternal future which is theirs, and retain that hope to the end. Let there be no going back.
We must remember as we consider this that he has already emphasised the divine side in chapter 2. He has already spoken of the Sanctifier, the Trek Leader, the High Priest, and he knows that they cannot fail. But he is also aware of how men can deceive themselves, and imagine they are what they are not. A devout Christian was once asked, “Do you believe in the perseverance of the saints?”, and he quietly replied, “No, I believe in the perseverance of the Saviour”. It was that too in which the writer believed. While he wants to stir them against thinking of ‘going back’, he has no doubt in his heart that if they are truly Christ’s He will fulfil His work within them, working within them to will and do of His good pleasure (Php 2:13). He will make them holy before God. He will Trek-lead them to glory. He will assure their acceptability to God through His own sacrifice. But he nevertheless understands the need for a firm warning. He does not forget Jesus’ teaching which clearly linked being true believers with lives that revealed the fact in obedience to God’s word and satisfactory behaviour (compare Mat 7:21-27).
We should, however, carefully note that important early witnesses (for example P13, P45; B) omit ‘firm to the end’, although the phrase is still implied by the sense, which may be why it was added from Heb 3:14.
‘If we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ Here is the test of whether someone is truly His. They are known by their fruits. They remain bold, they continue glorying in their hope. There may be hiccups, there may be times of failure, but in the end they remain firm because God is at work within them. This now leads on to an example of those who did neither, and the warning that Christians should not be like them but should enter into God’s rest.
A Warning Against Turning Back On The Basis of an Example From Israel’s Failure In The Wilderness (Heb 3:7 to Heb 4:13).
Having compared Jesus Christ with Moses and Aaron (Sent One and High Priest), and especially with the great Moses, the writer now takes the example of the behaviour of Israel under Moses and Aaron, against God (Psa 95:9) and against Moses (Exo 17:1-7), and warns against similar behaviour by professing Christians against Jesus Christ. The faith which perseveres is the condition of God’s blessing while unbelief can only result in losing the promises (Heb 3:7-19). For God now has a Rest for His people, and we must not fail to enter into it (Heb 4:1-13).
That this is intimately connected with the saving work of Christ as God’s Sent One (Apostle; including Sanctifier and Trek Leader) and especially as High Priest, which is all intimately connected with His suffering (Heb 2:9-11; Heb 2:17), comes out in that the idea of High Priesthood both introduces it (Heb 2:17 to Heb 3:1) and finalises it (Heb 4:14 onwards), leading on to more detail about His High Priestly work. What is said must therefore be seen in the light of His saving and High Priestly work.
This Psalm quoted here, Psalms 95, was central to synagogue worship, and thus engraved deeply into the memory of every Jew, and may well also have featured importantly in Christian gatherings. Certainly it would be well known to his readers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Heb 3:6. But Christ as a Son over his own house, &c. Over the church; in which, as Heir or Lord of all things, he has not only a trust and office, but also a property. See Heb 3:4. Instead of the confidence, some read, our freedom of profession; and others, the liberty, that is, of access to God. See ch. Heb 4:16 ch. Heb 10:19; Heb 10:35. In all which places the word , says Sykes, should be rendered liberty. The Jews were all absolutely prohibited from entering into theholy of holies,which represented the throne of God (the high-priest onlyexcepted; andhe having this restraint laid upon him, that he could enter it but once a year). But now the true holy of holies was opened to all, through Christ, and all Christians might have free access to the throne of God, in the highest sense in which we are capable of approaching it here below. And this freedom, without any restraint, was the , the liberty which they might use without any fear of death or harm for entering within the veil. In this place then of this Epistle the word is the liberty of access to the throne of God;an advantage which no Christian is to give up. It is an access to the Lord and Master of the house; not by any others, as mediators in the family, but by and through the Son alone. The rejoicing of the hope, means the open avowal of the hope which we have of a future reward. This is the thing openly to be professed, and steadily to be adhered to, even to the end. See ch. Heb 10:23; Heb 10:26-27; Heb 10:31.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Heb 3:6 . ] Christ, on the other hand, in His capacity as Son, sc . . Upon this supplement depends (comp. Mat 25:21 ; Mat 25:23 ); and as forms an ascent from the preceding , so does form an ascent from the preceding . Erasmus, Paraphr .; Vatablus, Piscator, Grotius, Delitzsch, Moll, and others supply to simply , whereby, however, the relation of just proportion between Heb 3:5 and Heb 3:6 is destroyed. The opening words of Heb 3:5 , moreover, inasmuch as they attach themselves not only to Heb 3:3 , but also again to Heb 3:2 , manifestly point to the fact that the author will indicate not the mere difference between Christ and Moses, but their difference within the quality common to both. Yet others, as Bleek, de Wette, and Bisping, supply a double , the first after , the second after ; since, as the Vulgate, Beza, Estius, Grotius, Owen, Er. Schmid, Calov, Wolf, Carpzov, Cramer, Baumgarten, Gabler, Valckenaer, Bhme, Kuinoel, Klee, Tholuck, and others, they refer back to : Christ, however, is faithful, as a son is faithful over his house. But a satisfactory ground for taking , Heb 3:6 , otherwise than the same expression Heb 3:5 , is not to be found. The house of God, or the divine kingdom, is for Moses and Christ the common sphere of operation; only by the position which the two occupy towards this house, are they distinguished the one from the other.
As , Heb 3:6 , so is the relative , with which the author prepares the way for a transition to the paraenesis, not to be referred to Christ (Oecumenius, Jac. Cappellus, Piscator, Owen, Whitby, Bleek, de Wette, Bisping, Woerner, al .), but to God (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Calvin, Stengel, Stuart, Delitzsch, Alford, Maier, Moll, Kurtz, Hofmann, and others); although as regards the matter itself even the former reference would not be incorrect, since the house of God, Heb 3:2 , is likewise characterized as the house of Christ, Heb 3:3 .
The article before was not imperatively required, although the whole Christian community forms a single indivisible house of God, since the notion of the word was one sufficiently well known, and, moreover, adequately defined by that which precedes.
The absolute declaration: , on the import of which 1Co 3:9 ; 1Co 3:16 , 2Co 6:16 , Eph 2:20 ff., 1Ti 3:15 , 1Pe 2:5 ; 1Pe 4:17 , is to be compared, [57] and which is taken in a strangely perverted way by Ebrard (p. 137) and Delitzsch as the logical antithesis to , Heb 3:5 , the author limits by a condition.
The fuller is foreign to the epistles of Paul.
] not the bold confession (Cornelius a Lapide, Grotius, Hammond, Limborch, Whitby, Heinrichs, and others), to which would not be fitting, but cheerful confidence as a disposition. Comp. Heb 4:16 , Heb 10:19 ; Heb 10:35 . , to which [58] belongs in like manner as to (against Riehm, Lehrbegr. des Hebrerbr . p. 739), is the main idea, whereas adds only an explicative subsidiary factor. That is manifest from the feminine (which Stengel wonderfully refers back, in a constructio ad sensum , to ). Instances of the agreement of the adjective in point of gender with the remoter substantive, in cases where this forms the principal idea, occur also with the classics. Comp. Hom. Il . xv. 344: ; Hesiod. Theogon . 972 f.: , , ; Xenophon, Anab . 1:5, 6 : ; Thucydides, 8:63: . See Bernhardy, Syntax , p. 431.
The is the Christians’ hope of the consummation of the kingdom of God, and the glorification of the Christians bound up therewith. Comp. Rom 5:2 , also Heb 6:11 ; Heb 6:18 ; Heb 7:19 ; Heb 10:23 .
, however, is not here either equivalent to (Bleek, de Wette, Tholuck, Stengel, Bisping, Maier, and others), any more than 2Co 5:12 ; 2Co 9:3 , which have been unwarrantably appealed to (see Meyer ad loc .), but denotes the subject of the boasting. Sense: provided we shall have maintained the Christians’ hope as a cheerful confidence and subject of boasting firm unto the end .
] not: until the death of each individual (Schlichting, Grotius, Kuinoel); not: “until the final decision of the readers in favour of going over to Christianity” (!Ebrard), but as Heb 3:14 ; Heb 6:11 , 1Co 1:8 , al., unto the end of the present order of the world , intervening with the coming again of Christ, and thought of as in the near future (comp. Heb 10:25 ; Heb 10:37 ), at which time faith shall pass over into sight, hope into possession.
[57] Philo, too, often employs the same figure, applying it to the human soul. Comp. de Somn . p. 587 E (ed. Mangey, I. p. 643): , , , . . . De resip. No , p. 282 E (ed. Mangey, I. p. 402): ; ( ), .
[58] Both words are found combined in Josephus likewise, Antiq . xvi. 3. 3 : , , , . . .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Ver. 6. Whose house are we ] And he is bound (by his own promise) to repair. He also is our dwelling house, Psa 90:1 ., and by the civil law, De domo sun nemo extrahi debet, aut in ius vocari. A man’s house is his castle.
If we hold fast ] See here a just description of the invisible Church of Christ.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Christ. App-98.
a Son = Son. App-108. See Heb 1:2.
own. Omit.
if. Greek. ean. App-118.
hold fast. Greek. katecho. See 2Th 2:6.
confidence. Greek. parrhesia. See Act 4:13; Act 28:31.
rejoicing. Greek. kauchema. See Rom 4:2.
firm. Same as “stedfast”, Heb 3:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Heb 3:6. , but Christ) Moses yields to Him. An ambassador, in the absence of the king, is very highly distinguished-in the presence of the king, he falls back among the multitude. Here also supply , is faithful. The Son shows His faithfulness in all that belongs to His Father and in all that is His own.-, over) This , , over, shows His surpassing power: , in, is applied to Moses, Heb 3:5.-, His, of Him) of GOD, ch. Heb 10:21.-) This reading is very old.[23] Some read , from its alliteration with . In this case Paul should have written , as Erasmus showed at the beginning. For we say, , , , , , , , . The question here is not, Whose house is it? for that very point is just now denoted by the . His; but, What is the house? as distinguished from that of which Moses was a portion.-, if) The same sentiment is found at Heb 3:14. An abbreviated expression: the house are we, since we have confidence: the house we shall be, if we retain our confidence. There is an expression of Pauls very similar, Col 1:23, note.- ) A word of frequent occurrence in this epistle: , ch. Heb 4:16, Heb 10:19; Heb 10:35; and ch. Heb 6:11; Heb 6:18, Heb 7:19, Heb 10:23, in like manner , , , confidence, viz. towards GOD: , glorying, with respect to enemies.-, if we hold fast) So Heb 3:14; ch. Heb 10:23. So , Heb 4:14, Heb 6:18.
[23] The Gnomon here agrees with the 2d Ed. and the Germ. Vers., having changed the decision of the older Ed., which had given the preference to the reading .-E. B.
is the reading of ABC and Rec. Text; of D() corrected, f Vulg. Lucif.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Whose house we are, if
The children of Israel were led out of the darkness and bondage of Egypt by the hand of Moses. The Lord God did many miraculous things before their eyes. Time and again he performed mighty works on their behalf. He defeated their enemies. He fed them with manna. He gave them water out of the rock. By day and by night he led them, comforted them, and protected them. For forty years the Israelites had seen the hand of the Lord in all their affairs. They murmured and complained. But God was merciful and long suffering.
At last the nation stood within sight of Canaan. Many had fallen already in unbelief. But these people had persevered up to the very brink of victory and rest. Yet, at the last, with the promise in sight, we are told that their carcasses fell in the wilderness. At the last, They could not enter in because of unbelief.
In another place, Paul tells us that All these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Perseverance
In other words he says to us, Be not high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed, lest he also spare not thee. Paul is telling us that it is necessary that we persevere in the faith. It is not the person who begins and lives for a long while in faith who is saved and enters into glory. It is the person who begins, and lives, and dies in faith who enters into eternal rest. Not everyone who says to Christ, Lord, Lord, is saved; but those who do the will of God, believing on Christ, and enduring in that faith to the end.
The purpose of God the Holy Spirit in this third chapter of Hebrews is to show us the necessity of persevering faith. He is telling us that we must go on, steadfast in the faith. If we do not, if we forsake Christ, like those Jews who fell in the wilderness, we will perish and miss eternal glory.
Eternal Security
I know that all true believers are eternally saved. Not one of God’s elect shall ever perish. No true believer will ever cease to believe. No true follower of Christ will ever cease to follow Christ (Ecc 3:14; Joh 10:28).
False Faith
Still, all is not gold that glitters; and all who profess faith do not have real faith. Therefore, I am compelled to constantly examine myself; and in faithfulness to you, I must warn you that there is such a thing as false faith, by which multitudes are deceived.
Many people have a temporary faith which seems, to all outward appearance, real. But in the end they are found among the damned (Mat 13:18-23). Nothing is more dangerous than a false faith which produces carnal, presumptuous security. True peace is most blessed; but false peace is most deadly.
Let me be very clear. The Word of God emphatically teaches the eternal security of Gods elect and the final perseverance of the saints. True believers shall never cease to be true believers. But I do not know, nor can any man know, how near a person may come to the character of a true believer and yet perish.
I take the warnings of Holy Scripture seriously (Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26; Heb 10:29; Heb 10:38; 2Pe 2:20-22; Joh 15:1-7; 2Pe 3:17; Heb 3:12). I know that many who once appeared strong in the faith have, in the end, left the faith (1Ti 1:18-20). Therefore, I am compelled to be honest, sincere, and diligent to make my calling and election sure (1Co 9:27). Let us consider these things seriously.
A Question
Are we truly born of God? Are we true believers? Do we have the faith of Gods elect? Or, are we simply deceiving ourselves with carnal security? I would do nothing to shake the true assurance of any child of God. But, somehow, if you are deceived, if I am deceived, I pray that God will make us to know it and cause us to seek the faith of Gods elect. I am quite certain that the man is much more likely to seek God’s salvation who knows that he is naked, and poor, and miserable, than the man who says, I am rich and increased with goods.
There is a difference between faith and assurance. I know that many say, “If you doubt, you’re damned.” Others tell us, “If you don’t doubt you’re damned.” For my own part, I would rather go to heaven doubting the sincerity and truthfulness of my own heart and my faith in Christ, than go to hell presuming.
The Thing to Examine
The thing to be examined is not What have I experienced? or What have I done? or What do I feel? or How do I live? This issue is whether ye are in the faith (2Co 13:5). The one issue to be determined is this Do I, or do I not, trust Christ alone for my acceptance with God? Do I trust Christs blood alone to atone for my sins, or am I yet trying to atone for my own sins. Do I trust Christs obedience alone for my righteousness before God, or am I yet trying to establish a righteousness of my own? If Christ is not all in all as the solitary object of our faith, as the solitary object of our trust, we are not yet in the faith.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
as: Heb 1:2, Heb 4:14, Psa 2:6, Psa 2:7, Psa 2:12, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7, Joh 3:35, Joh 3:36, Rev 2:18
whose: Heb 3:2, Heb 3:3, Mat 16:18, 1Co 3:16, 1Co 6:19, 2Co 6:16, Eph 2:21, Eph 2:22, 1Ti 3:15, 1Pe 2:5
if: Heb 3:14, Heb 4:11, Heb 6:11, Heb 10:23, Heb 10:35, Heb 10:38, Heb 10:39, Mat 10:22, Mat 24:13, Gal 6:9, Col 1:23, Rev 2:25, Rev 3:11
rejoicing: Rom 5:2, Rom 12:12, Rom 15:13, 1Th 5:16, 2Th 2:16, 1Pe 1:3-6, 1Pe 1:8
Reciprocal: Exo 25:8 – I may dwell Num 4:16 – the oversight Num 9:8 – I will Deu 34:10 – there arose Jos 1:2 – Moses 2Ki 18:12 – Moses 1Ch 17:14 – in mine 1Ch 28:6 – he shall Isa 56:5 – will I Eze 46:10 – General Zec 14:21 – in the Mat 12:41 – behold Luk 10:2 – the Lord Joh 1:17 – the law Joh 8:35 – but Joh 13:1 – unto Joh 17:6 – they Rom 11:22 – if thou 1Co 3:9 – ye are God’s building 1Co 15:2 – keep in memory 2Co 3:9 – exceed Gal 5:1 – Stand Gal 6:10 – especially 2Ti 1:13 – Hold Heb 5:8 – he were Heb 7:28 – maketh the Heb 12:28 – have Jam 5:11 – we count 1Pe 1:13 – hope 1Pe 3:15 – the hope 1Jo 5:14 – this Rev 2:13 – thou holdest
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Heb 3:6. Christ was even more than a faithful servant; he was a son, and was given the honor of presiding over His own house (the church), which his Father gave to him. Whose house are we refers to Paul and all others who are faithful. The faithfulness consists in maintaining our confidence or trust in Christ, which causes us to rejoice in the hope that such a divine house contains. It is necessary that our conduct in these matters be continued unto the end (of life).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 3:6. His own house; rather, perhaps, His, i.e Gods house, the contrast being between a servant in the house and a son over it. The Greek, however, may mean that while the house is Gods, it is also emphatically the Sons, whereas over His (i.e Gods) house means that it is Christs only by implication, i.e because He is over the house and is Son.
Whose house (i.e Gods, or by emphasis or by implication Christs) are we, i.e (as the absence of the article shows) of whose housepart, not all of itare we provided, if so be that (a strong particle) we hold fast the confidence as shown in speech and acts (not boldness, which is too much a description of outward manner or profession only); and the ground, the matter of exultation (blended joy and boasting) which hope supplies. As the blessings are even still largely future, hope even more than faith is the requisite grace.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 6
Whose house are we; that is, we, the community of believers under the gospel.–Confidence; faith.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; {6} whose {d} house are we, if we hold fast the {e} confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
(6) He applies the former doctrine to his purpose, exhorting all men by the words of David to hear the Son speak, and to give full credit to his words, seeing that otherwise they cannot enter into that eternal rest.
(d) That is, Christ’s.
(e) He calls confidence the excellent effect of faith (by which we cry Abba, that is, Father), and to confidence he adds hope.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God’s household consists of people, not boards, bars, and curtains. The writer was thinking of priestly functions, as is clear from the context. His concern was that his readers might not remain faithful to God (cf. Mar 4:5-6; Mar 4:16-17). This would result in their losing their privilege as priests that included intimate fellowship with God and the opportunity to represent God before people and people before God. This is what the Israelites as a whole lost when they turned away from the Lord and built the golden calf at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32). Instead of all the Israelites being priests (Exo 19:6) God limited this privilege to the Levites who remained faithful when the other Israelites apostatized (Exo 32:26-29; cf. Num 3:12-13). Just so today it is possible for us to forfeit the privilege of functioning as a priest in the future (cf. 1Pe 2:5). The writer shifted from using "house" to refer to the place where priestly functions take place, to using "house" to refer to the people engaged in those activities, namely, a household.
The writer’s point in this pericope was that his readers should follow the example of faithfulness to God that Moses and Jesus set or they could lose their privilege as priests. Essentially priests represent people to God. They exercise leadership of people God-ward. The writer had previously warned his readers that unfaithfulness could result in their drifting away from God’s truth (Heb 2:1-4). Moreover by contrasting Jesus and Moses he helped his Jewish readers appreciate the superiority of Jesus over Moses and so discouraged them from departing from Christianity and returning to Judaism. [Note: See Brett R. Scott, "Jesus’ Superiority over Moses in Hebrews 3:1-6," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:618 (April-June 1998):201-10.]
"When we withdraw from the exercise of our priestly New Testament worship, we are no longer fellowshipping with the other believers. But this does not mean we are not saved or that we had salvation and lost it." [Note: Dillow, p. 458.]