Hebrews 4

This chapter belongs to the early part of Hebrews. It continues the warning of Hebrews 3, which quotes Psalm 95 to caution against the disobedience of the wilderness generation. At its close, it introduces the high-priestly theme that carries into Hebrews 5.

Outline

• Verses 1–2: A promise of entering God's rest remains. Yet those who, like the wilderness generation, do not mix the word they have heard with faith may fall short of it.
• Verses 3–5: Those who believe enter the rest. The author sets God's resting on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2–3) alongside the psalm's declaration that they "shall not enter into my rest."
• Verses 6–10: The psalm's appointing of another "To day" shows that Joshua did not give the true rest. Therefore a rest remains for the people of God.
• Verses 11–13: Readers are urged to labor to enter that rest. The word of God is living and sharp, laying bare the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• Verses 14–16: Because we have a great High Priest, Jesus, who has passed into the heavens, readers are urged to hold fast their profession and to come boldly before the throne of grace.

Key Verses

• Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful" (the Korean Revised Version renders the phrase with a term meaning "full of motion," while the New Korean Revised Version renders it "living and active"). This is the verse most often quoted in discussions of the power of Scripture.
• Hebrews 4:15: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (the Korean Revised Version uses a term meaning "to share in experience," while the New Korean Revised Version uses "to sympathize"). It serves as a basis for the teaching that Christ was tempted yet without sin.
• Hebrews 4:16: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace." This verse is widely used as an exhortation to approach God in prayer.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ: Presented as the great High Priest who has ascended and as the Son of God.
• David: Named in verse 7 as the author of Psalm 95.
• Joshua: The leader who succeeded Moses and led Israel into Canaan. The rest he gave in the land is described as incomplete.
• No places are mentioned directly; the background is the forty years in the wilderness.

Points for Reflection

• The meaning of "rest": Some interpreters read it as the rest enjoyed now through faith, while others read it as the eschatological rest to be consummated in the future. Many interpreters hold both meanings together.
• Relationship to the Sabbath: The Seventh-day Adventist Church cites verse 9 as one basis for keeping the Saturday Sabbath. Most Protestants regard this rest as fulfilled in Christ and observe the Lord's Day (Sabbath and Lord's Day).
• "Soul and spirit" in verse 12: The verse is sometimes cited in support of trichotomy, which divides the human person into spirit, soul, and body. Those who hold to dichotomy, by contrast, regard it simply as an expression emphasizing the piercing power of the word.
• "In David": Psalm 95 has no superscription in the Hebrew text. The Greek translation, the Septuagint, carries a superscription attributing it to David.
• The beginning of the high-priestly theme: Verses 14–16 form the starting point of the high-priestly Christology developed in chapter 5 and chapters 7–10.

In the Korean Church

Verse 12 is frequently used in sermons emphasizing the power of the word and as a Scripture memorization verse. Verse 16 is often quoted at prayer meetings to encourage prayer.