Great post, Dr Phinney. I believe Hebrews 4 tells us that we should work at one thing: resting. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it definitely isn’t. It takes work to enter His rest, because we are bent on working for our salvation. It comes naturally to us. That, I believe is why the author of Hebrews says he “fears” that some may miss it. We want to work for salvation. God says for us to rest, because it is finished.
God gives us his Rest every week, as he is the Lord of the Sabbath, if we keep his Sabbath we will begin to understand what he wants us to do to rest in him. The Sabbath is not the end of his rest, but just the begining of understanding God, for it was created for us from the beginning. (Gen 2.3, Exo 20:11)
I agree that "rest" is a principal foundation in how we love God, requiring trust in God and his word.
As Jesus is the Lord of The Sabbath, and as Sabbath means 'rest', then he is the Lord of REST in him.
As Hebrews says "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,":
The word Sabbath means rest. So it could be stated as a REST of a REST.
The actual word however is "Sabbathing"- a keeping of the Sabbath, a time of resting, but in the context of the Sabbath for the People of God.
This is talking about the seventh Day, known as Saturday, not Sunday or the first Day of the week.
The Sabbath is God's Day of Rest from creation, and it is the Day that God wants us to keep, for it is for the People of God. (Gen 2:3, Exo 20:11)
Yet most who claim to follow Christ don't keep his Sabbath day of rest, but Sunday, for which there is no commandment or direction or example from Christ or the Apostles for doing so.
They are not getting true REST as God intended, as they are not following the Lord of the Sabbath, but their own laws and their own interpretations of God's laws. (Matt 15:9 and Mark 7:7)
You said "Anytime believers choose to rest, they stop exhausting themselves by trying to have control."
This is true, if you choose to follow God's Day of Rest that he gave for all humanity to Rest upon and to keep holy as he commanded us and as Jesus and the Apostles set us the example of doing.
We need to choose to REST in the way God tells us and then we will have a true and regular rest and not get confused with our own interpretations of Gods word, by trying to control God by telling him which Day we should be resting on.
As Paul said "So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good." (Rom 7:12)
An added point re the sabbath. God rested after completing His physical creation, the last thing He made being two human beings. The whole creation was made for human beings to live in. The sabbath was made for we human beings. Why? Because the physical creation is just stage one of the creation. The second stage of the creation is the Spiritual - that is, that God wants us to rest on the sabbath from our physical work, and be with Him while He makes us into His Spiritual creation - namely, His children. The sabbath isn't just for us to have a rest because we're tired from our physical work. It's the day set aside by God for us to become His Spiritual children, putting aside all our phsyical endeavours and focusing on being changed by God into being like Him, being His children. Eventually, when as many as will become the children of God are changed into Spirit, there will be no need for the physical earth any more and it will be replaced by a New Heaven and New Earth. That will be the end result of God's creating us. Let us look forward with great joy to this wonderful time.
Very true. However, there is a Sabbath rest on Heaven’s side. Each day to the Lord is 1,000 years for humanity. When Jesus returns to reign for 1,000 years, it is called The Lord’s Sabbath, which is why those years of His reign will be in perfect peace.
Martin, it is based on the Hebrew Calander & the scripture that states a thousand years is one day to the Lord. Humanity gets 6,000 years to self-rule, then the Rapture, the Seven Year Tribulation, and then Christ returns to earth to reign on God the Father’s Sabbath day of rest. Seven days to the Lord, and 7,000 years for the earth.
so when you said "When Jesus returns to reign for 1,000 years, it is called The Lord’s Sabbath" You are assuming that Heb 4 is talking about this 1,000 year "Sabbath" and not the weekly Sabbath?
Great post, Dr Phinney. I believe Hebrews 4 tells us that we should work at one thing: resting. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it definitely isn’t. It takes work to enter His rest, because we are bent on working for our salvation. It comes naturally to us. That, I believe is why the author of Hebrews says he “fears” that some may miss it. We want to work for salvation. God says for us to rest, because it is finished.
Thank you, Rick. You nailed it. If there is anything we should labor in, it IS in laboring to enter His rest.
God gives us his Rest every week, as he is the Lord of the Sabbath, if we keep his Sabbath we will begin to understand what he wants us to do to rest in him. The Sabbath is not the end of his rest, but just the begining of understanding God, for it was created for us from the beginning. (Gen 2.3, Exo 20:11)
Excellent point, Martin.
Thanks Stephen
I agree that "rest" is a principal foundation in how we love God, requiring trust in God and his word.
As Jesus is the Lord of The Sabbath, and as Sabbath means 'rest', then he is the Lord of REST in him.
As Hebrews says "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,":
The word Sabbath means rest. So it could be stated as a REST of a REST.
The actual word however is "Sabbathing"- a keeping of the Sabbath, a time of resting, but in the context of the Sabbath for the People of God.
This is talking about the seventh Day, known as Saturday, not Sunday or the first Day of the week.
The Sabbath is God's Day of Rest from creation, and it is the Day that God wants us to keep, for it is for the People of God. (Gen 2:3, Exo 20:11)
Yet most who claim to follow Christ don't keep his Sabbath day of rest, but Sunday, for which there is no commandment or direction or example from Christ or the Apostles for doing so.
They are not getting true REST as God intended, as they are not following the Lord of the Sabbath, but their own laws and their own interpretations of God's laws. (Matt 15:9 and Mark 7:7)
You said "Anytime believers choose to rest, they stop exhausting themselves by trying to have control."
This is true, if you choose to follow God's Day of Rest that he gave for all humanity to Rest upon and to keep holy as he commanded us and as Jesus and the Apostles set us the example of doing.
We need to choose to REST in the way God tells us and then we will have a true and regular rest and not get confused with our own interpretations of Gods word, by trying to control God by telling him which Day we should be resting on.
As Paul said "So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good." (Rom 7:12)
An added point re the sabbath. God rested after completing His physical creation, the last thing He made being two human beings. The whole creation was made for human beings to live in. The sabbath was made for we human beings. Why? Because the physical creation is just stage one of the creation. The second stage of the creation is the Spiritual - that is, that God wants us to rest on the sabbath from our physical work, and be with Him while He makes us into His Spiritual creation - namely, His children. The sabbath isn't just for us to have a rest because we're tired from our physical work. It's the day set aside by God for us to become His Spiritual children, putting aside all our phsyical endeavours and focusing on being changed by God into being like Him, being His children. Eventually, when as many as will become the children of God are changed into Spirit, there will be no need for the physical earth any more and it will be replaced by a New Heaven and New Earth. That will be the end result of God's creating us. Let us look forward with great joy to this wonderful time.
Very true. However, there is a Sabbath rest on Heaven’s side. Each day to the Lord is 1,000 years for humanity. When Jesus returns to reign for 1,000 years, it is called The Lord’s Sabbath, which is why those years of His reign will be in perfect peace.
Thanks Stephen
I don't recall where it says that the 1,000 year reign of Christ is called the Lords Sabbath? Is that in scripture?
Martin, it is based on the Hebrew Calander & the scripture that states a thousand years is one day to the Lord. Humanity gets 6,000 years to self-rule, then the Rapture, the Seven Year Tribulation, and then Christ returns to earth to reign on God the Father’s Sabbath day of rest. Seven days to the Lord, and 7,000 years for the earth.
so when you said "When Jesus returns to reign for 1,000 years, it is called The Lord’s Sabbath" You are assuming that Heb 4 is talking about this 1,000 year "Sabbath" and not the weekly Sabbath?
It is my honor, Bryan.