Hebrews 4:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Hebrews 4:3
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
1 Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away si…
Isaiah 28:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find re…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hebrews 4:1-10
Here, I. The apostle declares that our privileges by Christ under the gospel are not only as great, but greater than those enjoyed under the Mosaic law. He specifies this, that we have a promise left us of entering into his rest; that is, of entering into a covenant-relation to Christ, and a state of communion with God through Christ, and of growing up therein, till we are made perfect in glory. We have discoveries of this rest, and proposals, and the best directions how we may attain unto it. This promise of spiritual rest is a promise left us by the Lord Jesus Christ in his last will and testament, as a precious legacy. Our business is to see to it that we be the legatees, that we lay our…
For--justifying his assertion of the need of "faith," Heb 4:2.
we which have believed--we who at Christ's coming shall be found to have believed.
do enter--that is, are to enter: so two of the oldest manuscripts and LUCIFER and the old Latin. Two other oldest manuscripts read, "Let us enter."
into rest--Greek, "into the rest" which is promised in the ninety-fifth Psalm.
as he said--God's saying that unbelief excludes from entrance implies that belief gains an entrance into the rest. What, however, Paul mainly here dwells on in the quotation is that the promised "rest" has not yet been entered into. At Heb 4:11 he again, as in Heb 3:12-19 already, takes up faith as the indispensable q…
For we which have believed do enter into rest - The great spiritual blessings, the forerunners of eternal glory, which were all typified by that earthly rest or felicity promised to the ancient Israelites, we Christians do, by believing in Christ Jesus, actually possess. We have peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost; are saved from the guilt and power of sin; and thus enjoy an inward rest.
But this is a rest differing from the seventh day's rest, or Sabbath, which was the original type of Canaan, the blessings of the Gospel, and eternal glory; seeing God said, concerning the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness, I have sworn in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest, no…
The Church Fathers
He wants to make clear three rests mentioned in the divine Scripture: first, the seventh day, on which God finished creating; second, the land of promise; and third, the kingdom of heaven. He provides proof of this from the inspired testimony: If there is no other rest (he is saying), why on earth does he also urge those in receipt of the second kind not to harden their hearts, threaten punishment and make mention of those who spurned the second kind? He cites them in order, and firstly the rest on the seventh day.
For "we who have believed," he says, "do enter into rest." From what this is evident, he adds: "as He said, as I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." This indeed, is not evidence that we shall enter in, but that they did not enter in. What then? Thus far he aims to show that as that rest does not hinder the speaking of another rest, so neither does this exclude that of Heaven. Up to this point then, he wishes to show that they the Israelites did not attain to the rest.
The testimony also judges from which it makes that apparent. And see how it establishes that. In any case, he says, it is necessary that some enter into the rest of God, lest the promise be made in vain and rashly. Therefore, since they did not enter (for he swore that they shall not enter), it is necessary for us, as long as we wish, to enter, not now into a figurative rest, but into the true kingdom of heaven. For although their children entered the promised land, now another rest is defined through David. For what else does it mean: "Today, if you hear his voice"? (Heb. 3:15) As I swore in my wrath. But this testimony is not meant for those of us who have believed, who enter into the rest of God, but for those who do not enter: indeed, he says, since they did not enter, we must enter. For he speaks more openly in this progression. Now, indeed, besides this, he wishes to show that just as the rest of the Sabbath does not prevent another rest of the promised land from being called rest, so neither does the rest of the promised land prevent the kingdom of heaven from being called rest. Therefore, he also adds: although his works were finished from the foundation of the world, from which God rested, did not prevent the land of promise from being called rest.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
For we which have believed do enter into rest,.... Not eternal rest; all believers shall enjoy this, and they only; but this is not now, or at present enjoyed, unless things future may be said to be present, because of faith in them, and the certainty of them but spiritual rest in Christ under the Gospel dispensation, which is a rest from the burden of the law of Moses, and from all toil and labour for life, and salvation by works, and lies in an enjoyment of much inward peace of soul, notwithstanding the world's troubles and Satan's temptations; and such who believe the word or Gospel preached, and Christ in it, not with a general and historical high, or only in profession, but with the hea…
Hebrews 4:3-10
3. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
3. Ingredimur enim in ejus requiem postquam credidimus: sicut dixit, Itaque juravi in ira mea, si introibunt in requiem meam; tametsi operibus a creatione mundi perfectis.
4. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
4. Dixit enim alicubi sic de die septimo, Et requievit Deus septimo die ab omnibus operibus suis:
5. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
5. Et in hoc rursum, Si introibunt…
People who believe the Good News are the true heirs of God’s rest, the salvation that God offers through Christ’s sacrifice. • God said: The quotation of Ps 95:11 reminds the reader that the unbelieving rebels in the wilderness would never enter God’s place of rest (cp. Heb 11:8, 10, 14-16; 12:22-24). • since he made the world: God’s rest means much more than physical entry into Canaan (see study note on 4:4).