True to our calling
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast. Hebrews 3:5-6 CSB
Closing this section on Jesus being superior to Moses, the author gives one more example to prove the point. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.” The Greek word for servant here, “therapon,” appears only here in the entire New Testament, and it means a person willingly completing the task or service expected of them. The picture painted here of this word is an individual who is very dedicated to their act of service regardless of the position of a lowly servant. Moses was faithful to God’s household, Israel. He completed his task to the best of his ability, testifying of what would be done in the future through Jesus Christ. So, Moses was a faithful servant in God’s household, yet, “Christ was faithful as a Son over His household.” The metaphor that describes the people of God as a house or a building occurs rather frequently in the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:5). We are the house of God, says the author of Hebrews. This means that now the believers in Jesus Christ, constitute the household of God (see Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Timothy 3:15). Only Christians acknowledge Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone. For only in him “the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God” (Colossians 2:19). Christ was the Son, a higher position than a servant, carrying the direct responsibility of the household, establishing the church, being the chief cornerstone of it through His death and resurrection. Then, the author shows that “we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.” There is a conditional statement here. You are a part of the household of God if you remain faithful to Christ. Thomas Lea comments on this saying, “We prove the genuineness of our profession of faith by our endurance in Christian commitment.” The original readers of this passage may have been tempted to leave Jesus’ teachings and follow after Moses again, but Moses pointed to Jesus Christ who completed the Law and provided them eternal life through His complete sacrifice of Himself on the cross. Believers need to resist the temptation of sin and continue on the path of righteousness after Christ, confidently proclaiming it, boasting it to the world, and follow Christ only. If the readers who claim they are Christians and will not hold on to the hope of which they boast, then they are no longer part of the, household of God. As God is true to his purpose and being, so the Christian must be a true reflection of his Creator and Redeemer. We need to be true to our calling if we belong to the household of God.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
Comments