I see support here for an actual ongoing regular Sabbath keeping experience for believers in Jesus Christ.?
As well as the more wonderful idea, that the Sabbath,?since the Cross,(and our Great High Priest entering Heaven itself, with his own blood) represents an entering in to the Rest of Salvation.?
Therefore no need for personal labour to earn salvation through righteous activity. Only Rest in Jesus Christs, “Finished” work at Calvary.?
One day our faith will be sight.
So that Paul can say: “ we do not ignore the Law”(of ten commandments) but “establish it“(Romans 3:21-31) on the greater foundation of the “law if faith”. Justification.?
Series stuff. The making of Martyrs.
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On 5 Dec 2020, at 12:36 pm, Ray via groups.io <ray.sarlin@...> wrote:
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After the class on Thursday, 26 November 2020, Amanda Flynn wrote: "Hi there Ray .... I did want to ask a question regarding God resting on the 7th day. What was your explanation? It made sense but I couldn't recall it. Have a good week see you Thursday."
Sorry for my delayed response, but here it is.
The context was God’s
Rest, as in Hebrews 3:10-11: “Therefore I was angry with that
generation,?and said, ‘They always go astray in?their?heart, and they have not
known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, ‘They
shall not enter My rest.’”? This example
was given in conjunction with the epistle's second major warning on the danger of
disobedience.
The Israelites had
been saved from slavery in Egypt, and remained saved throughout their lives
throughout the 40 years in the Wilderness, but because of their disobedience at
Kadesh-Barnea they DID NOT get to enter into the Promised Land, Canaan, which
Hebrews metaphorically called “God’s Rest” or “Canaan Rest”.
Two Hebrew words are
used for “rest”: ?????? sabath (rest) and ???????? Manuka (place of rest). The Greek
used is κατ?παυσι? katapausis, which literally
means "calming of the winds or cessation of activity". Neither
sabath nor katapausis mean resting in terms of relaxing or
rejuvenating, but rather "desisting from exertion.” After all, God didn’t
rest on the 7th day because He was tired because, as Isaiah 40:28 states,
“God does not get tired!”? God rested to
provide an example for us!
I also mentioned how
the concept of God’s Rest has three tenses: the plain text of Hebrews 3:11
refers to the Promised Land, the fixed and tranquil abode in Canaan (and also
called “Canaan Rest”).? At the time that the letter to the Hebrews was written, both God’s Sabbath Rest (i.e., the 7th day of
Creation) and the Canaan Rest (the Israelites entering Canaan under Joshua) were past historical events (past tense).
But God’s
Rest also refers metaphorically to the heavenly blessedness wherein God dwells
(heaven), where persevering
believers in Christ are promised to become partakers after the toils and
trials of life on earth cease (future tense). The latter is also called “glorification.”
But the author will also see these rests as
illustrations of the ongoing spiritual experiences of believers as well: The
Sabbath rest is a picture of our rest in Christ through salvation
(justification – past tense) and the Canaan rest pictures our present rest as
we claim our inheritance in Christ by living in submission to Him
(sanctification – present tense).
The
message is that God’s rest is all around us, for us, and in us.
Blessings,
Ray
Ray