Introductory remarks:
This closing chapter of this Epistle is made up almost entirely of exhortations for the believer's life in Christ. "The Hebrew believers are instructed to continue in brotherly love, kindness to strangers, remembrance of the afflicted, pure marriages, contented living, relying on God, honoring their ministers, firmness of faith in Christ who never changes. He urges them to join Him who suffered outside the camp, knowing their future place in heaven and practice thankfulness, good living, and obedience to their leaders. The author asks them to pray for him that he will be free to visit them. He prays that God perfects them to do His will and please Him. He mentions that Timothy was released and he hopes he will be able to visit them with him and sends greetings from those in Italy" (A Survey of Hebrews - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Service well pleasing to God vv. 1-19: benediction and final greetings vv. 20-25.
Service Well Pleasing to God
Verse 1, "Let brotherly love continue."
LGT "Let love of the brethren continue."
I believe McGee translates this verse correctly when he wrote: "Let brother love continue." He rightly makes a distinction between brotherly love and brother love, by defining brother love as loving a fellow believer on the grounds that he is a believer, and brotherly love as loving someone as a brother would. Paul is telling the Hebrew believers to continue the love they have shown to one another, and not let the foolish Judaizers the opportunity to spoil them with their false teaching, which centers on self and not their brethren. Paul wants them to continue putting their brethren first in their thoughts.
Verse 2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
LGT "Be not forgetful of hospitality; for by this some unawares entertained angels."
The Greek idiom in this verse of entertaining angels unawares is simply that some of the O.T. saints entertained real angels without knowing they were angels; and so Paul is saying, don't be inhospitable, for you do not know who you are entertaining; you may be dealing with another brother, so you do not know until you get to know them; hospitality should be shown to all. He is simply using this example of the O.T. saints to illustrate his point. Paul is not telling them they might be entertaining angels, so they should watch how they treat strangers, that is, those who they have just met. There is another take on this phrase, and that is, the Greek word for angels, angelos also means messenger, and this is the way John addresses the leaders of the seven churches in the Revelation. So Paul could be saying that they should welcome the strangers in their midst, because they might be visiting leaders of some other group of believers.
Verse 3, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."
LGT "Be mindful of prisoners, as bound with [them], the ones being evil treated, as yourselves being in body."
Be mindful of prisoners, as bound with them: Paul knows about being in prison, for I believe he was in prison when he wrote this epistle (see verse 23). Paul says that they should pray for those who suffer in prison for the cause of Christ, and identify with them as if they also were fellow prisoners, that is, they should identify with them in spirit and in truth, by fellowshipping with them in prayer. The ones being evil treated: Paul does not mean that they should pray for all prisoners, just the ones who are there because of Christ. As yourselves being in body: the word body does not have the article, so I do not believe it means the Church, but it means being exposed to the possibility of being persecuted in like manner.
Verse 4, "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."
LGT "Let marriage [be held] honorable in every [way], and the bed [be] undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
The first thing we have to remember in connection with understanding the context of this verse is that Paul is talking to believers. There are two reasons God instituted marriage:1) procreation, and 2) recreation. Sexual intercourse among believers should only be enjoyed in the bounds of marriage. Fornication is having sexual intercourse before marriage, and adultery is having an extramarital affair. In both cases, when a believer thinks he or she can get away with not honoring marriage, and having sexual intercourse outside this blessed institution, They can be sure God will discipline them. The sin has already been judge on the cross; but the son whom God loves, he will discipline, in order to bring them back into fellowship.
Verse 5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, not forsake thee."
LGT "[Let your] manner of life [be] without love of money; being contented with the things which are at hand: for He has said, In no way will I leave you, nor in any wise will I forsake thee."
Let your manner of life be without love of money: this is probably the most unpopular subject under discussion among believers. If our love of money is central in our thinking we can never be contented in our present circumstances. One quote brings this lack of contentment home very vividly from the great automobile mogul, Henry Ford, when he was asked how much money was enough; Henry Ford answered, "just a little bit more." When our greed for more is occupying our manner of life, we have no time for spiritual things. Being contented with the things which are at hand: Paul said in another epistle, "I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be content" (Phil. 4:11). Don't lust after what others possess, for the one with the most toys does not win, he looses. When you are satisfied with your present circumstances, you will find yourself seeking to help others, who might not be as well off as you are. For He has said, In no way will I leave you, nor in any wise will I forsake you: everything we possess is from the Lord; if we are not contented in these simple things, we need to fix our minds on this wonderful quote from Deut 31:6, the Lord is always with us, so we need not get anxious over our condition; we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, and not get too attached with the details of this life. No matter what our circumstances might be, the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us.
Verse 6, "So that we may boldly say, The lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."
LGT "So that we may boldly say, [The] Lord [is] a Helper to me, [and] I will not be afraid: What shall man do to me?"
Paul is quoting Psalm 118:6. These Hebrew Christians were abut to face trials and tribulations from the Jews and from the Gentile world; Paul says they are not to trust in money but to trust in the living God, who promised from ages past never to leave or forsake His own; this is where they should and must put all their trust. This is also to us, that is, the same principal exist for all time.
Verse 7, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith fellow, considering the end of their conversation."
"The following passage 7-15, presents many difficulties of detail, but its general sense is clear. It sums up in a striking way the main topic of the epistle, bringing them all to bear upon the conclusion that Judaism and Christianity are mutually exclusive, and thus enforcing the warning against a relapse into Judaism. It goes to show, in connection with other features of the epistle, the absurdity of the hypothesis that the epistle was intended as a warning to Gentile Christians against a relapse into Paganism" (Vincent).
LGT "Remember your leaders, who spoke to you the Word of God; of whom, considering the issue of [their] conduct, imitate their faith."
Remember your leaders: keep them in mind. These leaders are the apostles and prophets, many of which Paul mentioned in chapter eleven. We must keep this in context; it is not referring to present day pastors, who use this verse to control the people. Who spoke to you the Word of God: these men were inspired by the Holy Spirit, because this is before the Word of God was complete, for we do not have inspired men preaching today, we have the completed Word of God, and if any man does not strictly adhere to the Word, they must be rejected. Of whom, considering the issue of their conduct, imitate their faith: keep on imitating the faith of the inspired leaders of the past. The faith of the apostles and prophets was always in our God, and they did not fear what man could do to them.
Verse 8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever."
LGT "Jesus Christ yesterday and today [is] the same, and to the ages."
This verse means that Jesus Christ in being the God Man hasn't changed, that is, Christ's essence or fundamental divine nature. Christ is immutable as God is immutable, as the Holy Spirit is immutable. Vincent has supplied the [is] between Jesus and Christ, saying that the main point of the verse is teaching that Jesus the man, is Jesus the Christ, the long waited Messiah. This is an interesting observation, however, I'm not sure this is Paul's main thought, as true as it is.
Verse 9, "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."
LGT "Be not carried away with various and strange teachings: for [it is] good [for] the heart to be confirmed with grace, not meats, in which those who walk [therein] were not profited."
Be not carried away with various and strange teachings: false teachings were already being circulated about; the main error was Judaism's teaching that grace did not supersede the Law. For it is good for the heart to be confirmed with grace: the grace teaching that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone is the only teaching that can reaffirm and satisfy the believer. Not meats, in which those who walk therein were not profited: Judaism failed to satisfy and build up the believer in Christ. Paul wrote to the Galatians "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so say I again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:6-9 - ESV).
Verse 10, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle."
LGT "We have an altar, of which to eat they have not the authority who serve the tabernacle."
We have an altar: Paul is making a comparison between the physical earthly altar of the old economy, and the spiritual altar which we have in the age of grace which is in heaven, and that is, the throne of grace, where all Christian can enter boldly at any time and speak to our heavenly Father. Of which to eat they have not the authority who serve the tabernacle: this is referring to the animal sacrifices that were offered in the tabernacle at Pentecost of which what was not consumed by the fire was eaten by the Priests, and the peace and thank offerings were shared with the people. In the age of grace all believers become members of God's holy family, "But as many as received Him (Christ), to them He (God) gave the authority to become the children of His, even to those who believe on Him (Christ)" (John 1:12).
McGee wrote this in his commentary on Hebrews:
"I would like to say at this point that Christian fellowship is not a church banquet. For years while I was in the ministry I heard it said: 'Come to the banquet'. We are going to have some marvelous fellowship.' No, you're not, my friend. You are just going there for a good time and fill your little tummy. The only place you can have real Christian fellowship (koinonia) is around the Word of God. It is the Word of God, which brings you to the person of Christ and enables you to see Him in all His glory. It is then that you will have fellowship and a good time with other believers. Our Lord is wonderful, my friend - it is terrible to pass Him by."
Verse 11, "For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp."
LGT "For of those living creatures whose blood is brought [as sacrifices] for sin into the Holy Place by the high priest, of these the bodies are burned outside the camp."
This was the animal sacrifice on the Great Day of Atonement, when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year to offer the blood of the sacrifice, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat for the sins of the people. The carcass of that animal was taken outside the camp and burned in a clean spot, for neither the priests nor the people were allowed to eat the flesh of that animal.
Verse 12, "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate."
LGT "Wherefore also Jesus, in order that He might sanctify by His own blood the people, suffered outside the gate."
Jesus shed His own blood on the cross, in contrast to the animal sacrifice, that He might set apart His own people, the Jews, as holy unto Himself. Paul is speaking to the Hebrew Christians; however, it applies to everyone who believes in Christ, that is, we are all set apart unto Christ for all eternity. Suffered out side the gate: the animal sacrifice being burned outside the gate of the temple was but a symbol of Christ being crucified on Calvary's hill outside the temple gate.
Verse 13, "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach."
LGT "Therefore we should go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach:"
Therefore we should go forth to Him outside the camp: Paul is telling these Hebrew Christians to separate themselves from Judaism, and take up the cause of Christ. Christ died on the cross outside the temple, in order that He might save them by His wonderful grace, and to deliver them from the bonds of Judaism. Bearing His reproach: bearing the reproach of the commonwealth of Israel, which is Christ Himself. The Jews to this day are still rejecting Christ as their Messiah. "No one is quite so blind as one who refuses to see."
Verse 14, "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."
LGT "For we have not here an abiding city, but the coming one we are seeking for."
For we have not here an abiding city: these Christians who have embraced Christ as their Savior, have not only left the temple and its services, but they are rejected by those who still cling to its laws and precepts. They no longer have any ties to the old economy. But the coming one we are seeking: We are now looking forward to the New Jerusalem. Vincent has three paragraphs that brilliantly describes Paul's teachings in verse 9-14:
"The course of thought in vv. 9-14 is as follows: Be not carried away with divers and strange teachings, for example, those concerning meats and drinks and sacrificial feasts. It is good that the heart be established, rather than that the body should be ceremonially pure; and that the heart be established by the grace of God in Christ, which alone can give inward peace, a pure conscience, an established rest and security - rather than by the consciousness of having partaken of meats ceremonially clean: for those whose religious life was under the regimen of this ceremonial system derived no permanent profit from it. Not only so, the two systems exclude each other. You cannot hold by the Levitical system and enjoy the blessings of Christian salvation. It is the sacrifice of Christ through which you become partakers of grace. It is impossible to obtain grace through meats; for meats represent the economy, which denies Christ; and, by seeking establishment through meats, you exclude yourselves from the economy, which is the only vehicle of grace.
Accordingly, we have an altar and a sacrifice from which the votary of Leviticalism is excluded. By the Levitical law it was forbidden to eat the flesh of the victim offered on the Great Day of Atonement; so that, if the Levitical law still holds for you, you cannot partake of the Christian's atoning victim. The law under which you are prohibits you. According to the law, there is nothing to eat of in an atoning sacrifice, since the body of the victim is burned. Neither priests nor people have anything more to do with it, and, therefore, it is carried outside of the camp or city, outside of the region of O.T. covenant-fellowship. Similarly, so long as you hold by Judaism, participation in Christ's atoning sacrifice is impossible for you. It is outside your religious sphere, like the body of the victim outside the gate. You cannot eat of our altar.
The blood of the Levitical victim was carried into the holy of holies and remained there. If you seek the benefit of that blood, it must be within the camp, at the Levitical tabernacle or temple. And you cannot have the benefit of Christ's blood, for that compels you to go outside the gate, where He suffered. According to the O.T. law, you could partake of the benefit of the blood, but you could not eat of the body. Christ's sacrifice gives you both body and blood as spiritual food; but these you must seek outside of Judaism. Thus, by means of the O.T. ritual itself, it is shown that the Jewish and the Christian systems exclude each other. Christ must be sought outside the Jewish pale."
Verse 15, "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."
LGT "Through Him we should offer [the] sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, fruit of [the] lips, which made confession to His name."
Through Him: through Jesus, the one we are identified with in His death, burial, and resurrection. We should offer the sacrifice of praise continually to God: this praise of thanksgiving for God's grace is to take the place of the O.T. sacrificial ritualistic system. That is, fruit of the lips, which made confession to His name: the word 'confession' (homologeo) means saying the same thing God has said about His Son; we are to praise God with thanksgiving for all that Christ has done in and for us. We will be praising the name of Jesus throughout all eternity, with thankfulness to God for His wonderful grace.
Verse 16, "But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
LGT "But be not forgetful of doing good and communicating: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
But be not forgetful of doing good and communicating: this phrase means that they were to be ready and willing to share what they had with those in want. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased: this pleases God when the believer is willing to sacrifice what they possess with others.
Verse 17, "Obey them that have rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."
LGT "Obey your leaders, and be submissive, for they watch for your souls, as about to render account; in order that with joy this they may do, and not groaning."
This verse has reference to the body of Christ and not civil rulers. The Holy Spirit gifted the teachers in the first church, and they were to be listened to, and the Word of God, which they teach, should be adhered to. The Spirit ordained these first teachers, and they would have to answer for their teaching at the Bema Seat of Christ. This is not teaching that the modern day ministers have any authority whatsoever over the body of Christ; every believer will give an answer someday to Christ, and Christ alone. The next verse clears this all up.
Verse 18, "Pray for us: for we trust we have good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly."
LGT "Pray for us: for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves."
Paul obviously heard the rumors tossed about by the Judaizers that Paul was antinomian, that is, they assumed his teaching the grace of God was against the law; Paul was not against the law, he simply taught that the law could not save, and that all the legalism in the world would leave them lost for all eternity. Paul sought to convince his readers that he did not live lawlessly, but that he and his partners conducted themselves with honor and integrity.
Verse 19, "But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner."
LGT "But I exhort [you] more abundantly to do this, in order that I may be restored to you more quickly."
I believe Paul not only wrote this epistle, but that he was in prison when he wrote this letter. He wrote to them to pray for him and the ones in prison with him (vs. 18) that they might be released soon, in order that they might be able to come and fellowship with them in person.
Benediction and Final Greetings
Verse 20, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,"
LGT "And the God of peace, who brought again from among [the] dead, the shepherd of the sheep, the great [One] in [the power of the] blood of [the] eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus:"
The eternal covenant is grace, based on the blood of Christ and the fact that God raised Him again from among the dead. The old covenant simply pointed to the covenant of grace, and it is of no more use, for it has been superseded by God's free gift of His Son, culminating in the riches of His grace.
Verse 21, "Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
LGT "To perfect you in every good work, for to do His will, doing in you that which [is] well-pleasing before Him through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory to the ages of the ages. Amen."
To perfect you in every good work: this is a continuation of the last verse. Christ is perfecting all believers through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and this is how he abides in us. For to do His will: the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to teach us His will for us; we can never know His will if we ignore His Word. Doing in you which is well-pleasing before Him: adjusting our lives, by the power of the holy Spirit, to Bible Doctrine, is the only way we are able to do His will, and therefore please Him; if we try by our own flesh, we will fail. Through Jesus Christ: this is by the power of the Holy Spirit. To whom be glory to the ages of the ages: it is because of Christ that we are His, and He bought us with the price of His own blood; so we are to yield our members to Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. Amen: let it be!
Verse 22, "And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words."
LGT "But I exhort you, brethren, to bear the word of exhortation: for also in few words I have written unto you."
Paul calls this epistle few words. Paul is exhorting these Hebrew Christians to bear up to the entire epistle, for it is for their own good that they take it to heart; for by these words, Christ is able, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit to mature them unto adults, well-pleasing to the Father.
Verse 23, "Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you."
LGT "Know ye that brother Timotheus has been released: with whom, if sooner he should come, I will see you."
Timothy had been in prison with Paul, and now he is being released. Paul also expected to be released soon, and that he would come with Timothy and visit them.
Verse 24, "Salute all them that have rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you."
LGT "Salute all your leaders, and all the saints. They from Italy salute you."
Paul is extending Greetings to the teachers as well as all the believers. Paul says that the Christians in Italy send their love.
Verse 25, "Grace be with you all. Amen.
LGT "Grace [be] with you All."
Paul signs off with His usual grace offering.
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