Hebrews 3:12-19
3:12
“See to it” is “Blepete” and is an exhortation for the Christians not to follow the Israelites in unbelief.
In the first century Christians were rebelling against
Jesus.
βλέπω ἀδελφός μήποτε εἰμί ἐν τὶς ὑμεῖς καρδία
See to it brothers that none you
in any you heart
πονηρός ἀπιστία ἐν ὁ ἀφίστημι ἀπό θεός ζάω
evil unbelief about
the to depart from God
lifetime
βλέπω
means to see When it is followed by the negative μήποτε
it expresses a warning and fear regarding a present inevitable reality. This indicates that the warning should be
taken very seriously.
πονηρός
means “evil, wicked” (This evil heart is characterized by unbelief as seen
next)
ἀπιστία
(apistia) involves active disloyalty and passive unbelief. Here it is used as a genitive of quality
indicating that unbelief characterized the evil heart.
ἀφίστημι
is to fall away, to depart, to leave, to step aside from. This is the Greek word for our word
“apostasy”. It means to a departure from and a repudiation of one’s position. The readers were ready to leave Jesus and
return to Judaism. They were not going
to become atheists. They were going to
reject the revelation of the living God that came through his Son.
See
John 8:47 and 10:27.
θεός ζάω
has no article which means the emphasis is on the character of the “God Life”
Unbelief involved:
1) Active sense – disloyalty, rebellion
2) Passive sense – unbelief
It is more serious of a problem when Christians Rebel
against Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of their faith
than it was for
3:13
“Today” of Psalm 95:7 becomes “Today” of 68 AD.
Actually the “Today” in this verse refers to the entire age
Important words:
1) “Encourage” (“parakaleite”)
a. Refers to encouraging words and not
to criticism or rebuke.
b. There is strength in numbers.
c. Christians are not meant to be
isolated from other believers
d. This was one of the problems of the
readers as seen in Heb. 10:25
e. Encourage daily because the problems
are daily
f.
Alone
we may be impressed and overtaken by worldly wisdom or the deceitful schemes of
men. Together we can be vigilant
2) “Hardened”
a. This is not a one time, sudden
sin. This is a long process that
involves an attitude or behavior over a period of time.
b. No believer would allow this to
happen unless they were deceived. Sin masquerades
in various forms.
3) “Sins Deceitfulness”
a. Mt. 13:22 mentions the deceitfulness
of riches.
b. Sin deceives because its effects are
not seen instantly. Consider the warning
for eating from the tree in the garden.
Punishment was death, but they did not die until many years later. The penalty was a simple bolt of
lightning. The sin resulted in entire
families, generations and the human race facing not only death but also having
to exist in the process of death that affects every part of our lives.
c. Since the penalty of sin is often
later and appears to have no direct attachment we are deceived into thinking
there is nothing wrong.
3:14
“have become”
(“gegonamen”)is in the perfect tense
which speaks of the present state that is a result of a past action. This is not a promise. The perfect shows that the readers have
become and consequently now are partakers of Christ.
μετοχοι γαρ γεγοναμεν του χριστου
partakers for we have become of Christ
εανπερ την αρχην της υποστασεως
if the beginning of the
assurance
μεχρι τελους βεβαιαν κατασχωμεν
until
end firm we hold fast
eanper - “eanper” - From ei and an; a conditional particle;
in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to
denote indefiniteness or uncertainty
upostasewV “upostaseos” – From a compound of hupo and histemi; a setting under or
support. It means confidence, assurance,
conviction and refers to the reality, essence, or nature of something. It refers to the groundwork or basis of hope.
metocoi “metoxoi” means “sharers” or “partakers”. It is the same term used in Heb. 3:1 to
describe believers who share in the heavenly calling. This is not making the same statement as
being “in Christ” as if it said “partakers of Christ”. This is saying we are partakers of something
with Christ. Most likely partakers of
the unshakable heavenly kingdom of 12:28.
Those who are “in Christ” will “partake” of the heavenly kingdom “with
Christ.”
The idea here is that believing is always now. True faith is not something you believed at a
point in the past. True faith occurred
in the past and continues today. Faith
in the past is simply a starting point of a continuous state of belief.
The “if” clause is conditional and is telling us how we know
we had faith in the past and became sharers.
If we continue we had faith.
It is not saying that if we do not continue we have lost our faith or
our salvation.
The Israelites left
3:16-19 – Unbelief
will become unfaithfulness