Hebrews 11:4

From the proposition of the nature of faith in general, and a declaration of its efficacy with respect unto things believed, the apostle proceeds to give instances of its power and efficacy in particular persons, whose example in believing he proposeth unto the Hebrews for their encouragement. And he begins with Abel, suitably on all accounts unto his design. For,

1. He was the first whose faith is expressly recorded and commended in the Scripture, and so meet to be mentioned in the first place. He was the first in the distribution of the ages of the church that he makes.

2. He was the first that expressed his faith in duties of worship, or made public, solemn profession thereof, the duty which he calls the Hebrews unto.

3. He was the first that suffered in the cause of Christ, or for a testimony given unto faith in him.

4. He suffered the utmost of what any among them could fear, even death itself, by the shedding of his blood; which they had not yet undergone, they had “not yet resisted unto blood.” Wherefore on all accounts this was the meetest instance to begin withal, wherein his whole cause and argument, in all the parts of it, is confirmed.

Hebrews 11:4 . Πίστει πλείονα θυσίαν ῎Αβελ παρὰ Κάϊν προσήνεγκε τῷ Θεῷ, δι᾿ ἧς ἐμαρτυρήθη ει῏ναι δίκαιος, μαρτυροῦντος ἐπὶ τοὶς δώροις αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦκαὶ δι᾿ [4] αὐτῆς ἀποθανὼν ἔτι λαλεῖται.

[4] VARIOUS READING. There is a great preponderance of critical authority in favor of λαλεῖ, Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, and Tischendorf. Ebrard in confirmation of this reading refers to Hebrews 12:24, as somewhat parallel, and remarks that Cain “is spoken of” as well as Abel, so that to read λαλεῖται would express no distinction. ED.

Πλείονα θυσίαν . Vulg. Lat., “plurimam hostiam;” using a word in the superlative degree, because “plurem” in the comparative is not usual. “A greater host,” say the Rhemists, attending to the first signification of the word, but forsaking its sense. The Syriac, דֶּבְחָתָא דַּמְיַתְּאָּא טָב, “a sacrifice more (far more) excellent,” or “precious.” “Hostiam majoris pretii,” Beza; “a sacrifice of more worth” or “value,” referring it to the matter of the sacrifice. “Gratiorem,” “more acceptable.”

᾿Εμαρτυρήθη. Vulg. Lat., “testimonium consecutus est;” “he obtained testimony.” Syr., הֲוָת עֲלַוְהִי סָהֲדוּתָא, “there is extant (recorded) concerning him a testimony.” “Testimonium obtinuit,” “testimonio est ornatus;” he “obtained witness,” he was “adorned with this testimony.” See of the word, verse 2.

᾿Επὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ, “muneribus ejus,” “de donis ejus.” Syr., קיּוְבָּנֵהּ על, “concerning his offering,” “the sacrifice that he offered.”

Hebrews 11:4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent [acceptable] sacrifice than Cain; by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of [unto or concerning] his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaketh, [or is spoken of].

1. The person instanced in is Abel, the second son of Adam, and first son of the promise, and that under the considerations mentioned before.

2. It is affirmed of him, that he “offered sacrifice unto God.”

3. The manner of it is declared in comparison with that of Cain; he “offered a more excellent sacrifice.”

4. Hereon there was with respect unto him a double consequent:

(1) When he was alive, that “he obtained witness that he was righteous;”

(2.) When he was dead, that “he yet speaketh.”

1. The person instanced in is Abel; he who was without example, without outward encouragement, without any visible theater, without any witness of his sufferings to transmit them unto others, but God alone; the first in the world who suffered death in the cause of Christ and his worship. And this he did from his own brother, from one that joined with him in the outward acts of divine worship; to give an example of the two churches, the suffering and the persecuting, to the end of the world. This hath made him famous in all generations; which, as Chrysostom thinks, is intended in the last clause of the words, ἔτι λαλεῖται, “he is yet spoken of;” that is, with fame and renown.

Obs. 1. Every circumstance in suffering shall add to the glory of the sufferer; and those who suffer here for Christ without witness, as many have done to death in prisons and dungeons, have yet an all- seeing Witness to give them testimony in due season. “The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance;” and nothing that is done or suffered for God shall be lost for ever. sacrifice to God,” and that he did it “by faith:'An account hereof is given us, Genesis 4:3-5, which the apostle hath respect unto. And it is there declared,

(1.) What time he offered this sacrifice; it was מִקֵּצ יַמִים “after the expiration of some time” or days, namely, after he and Cain were settled in their distinct callings, verse 3. Until then they had been under the instruction of their parents; but being now fixed in their own peculiar stations and callings, they made their distinct solemn profession of the worship of God; which is the sense of the place, though not observed by any expositors.

(2.) The matter of his offering was “the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.”

[1.] It was of living creatures, and therefore was made by mactation, or the shedding of blood; whence the apostle calls it θυσία, “a sacrifice by mactation;” זֶבַח, though in the text it comes under the name of מִנְחָה, which he renders by δώρον, “a gift.”

[2.] It was of the best.

1 st . Whilst they were alive, “the firstlings of the flock;” which God afterwards took as his portion, Exodus 13:12.

2 dly . When it was dead, it was of “the fat of them;” which God also claimed as his own, Leviticus 3:16; Leviticus 7:25; that is, the fat of those firstlings.

For his sacrifice was a holocaust, wherein, after the blood was shed at the altar, and offered unto God, the fat was burned on the altar, and the whole body at a distance from it it appears, therefore, that the sacrifice of Abel was, as unto the matter of it, both in itself and in God's esteem, of the most precious and valuable things in the whole creation, subject unto man and his use. And even hence it may be called πλείονα θυσίαν παρὰ Κάϊν, “a more excellent sacrifice than that of Cain,” which was only “of the fruit of the ground,” and that, it may be, gathered “raptim,” without choice or judgment of what was most meet to be offered unto God. And it is for ever dedicated as a rule for the church in all ages, that, that is in our power, with the best of our spiritual abilities; which God afterwards fully confirmed.

(3.) And he offered this sacrifice “to God,” τῷ Θεῷ, ליהָֹוה, Genesis 4:3. This was, from the first institution of it, the highest and most peculiar way of owning and paying homage unto the Divine Being. Unto whomsoever sacrifice is offered, he is owned as God. And therefore when the Gentiles sacrificed to the devil, as they did, 1 Corinthians 10:20, they owned him thereby as “the god of this world,” 2 Corinthians 4:4. And there are many superstitious observances in the Papacy that intrench on this idolatry.

(4.) He offered it “by faith.” Now faith herein respects,

[1.] The institution of the worship; and,

[2.] The heart or mind of the worshippers.

[1.] He did it by faith, because he had respect in what he did unto God's institution, which consists of a command and a promise, which faith hath regard unto. It was not a service that he himself invented; for if it were, he could not have performed it in faith, unto whose formal nature it belongs to respect a divine command and promise.

[2.] He did it in faith, in that he did it in the exercise of saving faith in God therein. He did it not hypocritically, he did it not in a mere attendance unto the outward duty; but it was kindled in his own heart by the Holy Spirit, before it was fired on the altar from heaven. For,

Obs. 3. God gives no consequential approbation of any duties of believers, but where the principle of a living faith goes previously in their performance.

3. It is observed by the apostle, that he thus offered “a better, a choicer, a more excellent sacrifice than Cain;” for the “plurimam” of the Vulgar Latin is not capable of any good interpretation. And the reason whence it was so must be inquired into. And,

(1.) We observed before, that as to the matter of it, it was better, more valuable and precious, than that of Cain. But this is not a sufficient cause of ascribing such an excellency and preference unto it, as that on the account thereof Abel should obtain such acceptance with God, and a testimony from him. “Firstlings of the flock, and their fat,” were better than ordinary “fruits of the ground;” but yet not so as to constitute such a difference. Besides, the design of the apostle is to declare the efficacy and prevalency of faith, and not of any especial kind of sacrifices. Wherefore δι᾿ ἧς, “for which,” or “whereby,” in the next words, is to be referred unto πίστει, “faith,” and not unto θυσίαν, or “sacrifice,” though that be the next antecedent. Wherefore,

(2.) This difference was from his faith. And two things did depend thereon:

[1.] That his person was justified in the sight of God antecedently unto his sacrifice, as we shall see immediately.

[2.] On the account thereof his sacrifice was grateful and acceptable unto God, as is commonly observed from the order of the words, “The LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.”

But yet it is not evident where the great difference lay. For Cain also no doubt brought his offering in faith: for he believed the being of God, that God is, with his omnipotent power in the creation of the world, as also his government of it with rewards and punishments; for all this he professed in the sacred offering that he brought unto the Lord. And it is a vain fancy of the Targumist, who introduceth Cain and Abel disputing about these things, and Cain denying them all: for he made profession of them all in his offering or sacrifice. Wherefore it is certain that the faith of Abel and Cain differed, as in their especial nature, so in their acts and objects. For,

(1.) Cain considered God only as a creator and preserver, whereon he offered the fruits of the earth, as an acknowledgment that all these things were made, preserved, and bestowed on man, by him; but he had no respect unto sin, or the way of deliverance from it revealed in the first promise. The faith of Abel was fixed on God, not only as a creator, but as redeemer also; as him who, in infinite wisdom and grace, had appointed the way of redemption by sacrifice and atonement intimated in the first promise. Wherefore his faith was accompanied with a sense of sin and guilt, with his lost condition by the fall, and a trust in the way of redemption and recovery which God had provided. And this he testified in the kind of his sacrifice, which was by death and blood; in the one owning the death which himself by reason of sin was obnoxious unto; in the other the way of atonement, which was to be by blood, the blood of the promised Seed. (2.) They differed in their especial nature and acts. For the faith of Abel was saving, justifying, a principle of holy obedience, an effect of the Holy Spirit in his mind and heart: that of Cain was a naked, barren assent unto the truths before mentioned, which is usually described under the name of a common and temporary faith; which is evident from the event, in that God never accepted his person nor his offerings.

And these are the things which still make the hidden difference between the professors of the same faith and worship in general, whereof God alone is the judge, approving some, and rejecting others. So from the foundation of the world there was provision laid in to warn the church in all ages, that the performance of the outward duties of divine worship is not the rule of the acceptance of men's persons with God. A distinction is made from the inward principle whence those duties do proceed. Yet will not the world receive the warning unto this day. Nothing is of a higher provocation, than that the same duty should be accepted in some, and rejected in others, and that because the persons of the one are accepted, and not of the other. Many have no greater quarrel at religion, than that God had respect unto Abel and his offering, and not to Cain and his.

4. As to the consequences of Abel's faith,

The first consequent of this efficacy of faith in Abel is, that “he obtained witness that he was righteous.”

“By which;” that is, by which faith, as we showed before.

“He was testified unto;” “he obtained witness;” that is, from God himself. And this was so famous in the church, that he seems commonly to be called by that name, “the righteous Abel;” as he is by our Savior, speaking of him, Matthew 23:35. But we do not find any such testimony in express words given unto him in the Scripture. Wherefore the apostle proves his assertion by that wherein such a testimony is virtually contained. “For God,” saith he, “testified unto his gifts;” wherein he allegeth those words in Moses, “The LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” He testified, in the approbation of his offering, that he had respect unto his person: that is, that he judged, esteemed, and accounted him righteous; for otherwise God is no respecter of persons. Whomsoever God accepts or respects, he testifieth him to be righteous; that is, to be justified, and freely accepted with him. This Abel was by faith antecedently unto his offering. He was not made righteous, he was not justified by his sacrifice; but therein he showed his faith by his works: and God by acceptance of his works of obedience justified him, as Abraham was justified by works; namely, declaratively; he declared him so to be.

Obs. 4. Our persons must be first justified, before our works of obedience can be accepted with God; for by that acceptance he testifies that we are righteous.

By what way God gave this testimony unto the gifts or sacrifice of Abel, is not expressed. Most do judge that it was by causing fire to fall from heaven to kindle and consume his sacrifice on the altar. Certain it is that it was by some such assured token and pledge, as whereby his own faith was strengthened, and Cain provoked. For God did that with respect unto him and his offering which he did not towards Cain and his; whereby both of them knew how things stood between God and them. As Esau knew that Jacob had gotten the blessing, which made him resolve to kill him; so Cain knew that Abel and his offering were accepted with God, whereon he slew him.

And here we have the prototype of the believing and malignant churches in all ages; of them who, under the profession of religion, are “born after the Spirit,” or after the promise; and those that are “born after the flesh” only. Then that began which the apostle affirms still to continue: “He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit; even so it is now,” Galatians 4:29. This was the first public, visible acting of the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent; for “Cain was of the wicked one” (the seed of the serpent), “and slew his brother,” 1 John 3:12. And a pledge or representation it was of the death of Christ himself from the same principle. And it being the first instance, and consequently the pattern and example of the two seeds in all ages, we may give a brief account of it.

(1.) The foundation of the difference lay in their inward different principles. The one was a true believer, born of the Spirit, and heir of the promise; the other was of the evil one, under the power of the principles of sin and malice. Yet notwithstanding these different internal principles, they lived together for a season in outward peace, as believers and unbelievers may do, and as yet do.

(2.) The occasion of acting this enmity in Cain, was the visible worship of God. Until that was undertaken and engaged in, he carried things quietly with his brother; as others walking in his way and spirit continue to do. But from hence, on many accounts, they take occasion to act their enmity.

(3.) In this public worship Abel attended diligently unto the mind of God and conduct of faith, as we have showed; Cain trusted unto the formality of the outward work, without much regard to either of them. And there is nothing wherein true believers do more carefully act faith according to the mind of God than in his solemn worship, according to the example of Abel, others adhering for the most part unto their own inventions.

(4.) Hereon God manifested his approbation of the one and his disapprobation of the other; which provoked Cain to exercise his rage and malice unto the death of his brother. Their worship was different in the matter and manner of it. This provoked not Cain; he liked his own way better than his brother's. But when there was testimony given of God's acceptance of his brother and his worship, with a disapprobation of him and his, this he would revenge with the blood of his brother. God did not afterwards continue to give, nor doth he now give, any outward testimony of the approbation of one, and the disapprobation of another. Howbeit, a secret sense and fear hereof ariseth in the hearts of evil men, whence Satan fills them with envy and malice, and stirs them up unto persecution. For in themselves they find nothing of that spiritual advantage and refreshment which ariseth in the true worship of God unto sincere believers. And they on the other side do openly avow such a satisfaction in an apprehension of God's acceptance of them, as that they can undergo any persecutions on the account thereof. This provokes the world; this was the rise, this is the progress of persecution. And we may learn,

Obs. 5. That those whom God approves must expect that the world will disapprove them, and ruin them if it can.

Obs. 6. Where there is a difference within, in the hearts of men, on the account of faith and the want of it, there will for the most part be unavoidable differences about outward worship. So there hath been always between the true church and false worshippers.

Obs. 7. God's approbation is an abundant recompence for the loss of our lives. All which are plain in this instance of Abel.

The second consequent of the efficacy of the faith of Abel, was after his death: “And by it he being dead yet speaketh.” “By it;” that is, by the same faith; by the means of that faith that was the ground of his acceptance with God, whereon that which is ascribed unto his faith doth depend. And this is, that “he, being dead, yet speaketh.” Λαλεῖται, being of a middle form, may be rendered either “he speaketh,” or “he is spoken of.” And accordingly this expression is variously interpreted. Some take it for the good fame and report that Abel had in all generations; he was celebrated, well spoken of, and yet continueth so to be. And this way the word is applied by most of the ancients. But it is not according to the mind of the apostle. For,

(1.) It is evident that he ascribes something peculiar unto Abel, wherein others were not to be joined with him; but this of a good report is not so, but common to him with Noah, Abraham, and all the patriarchs, they were spoken of, and their praise celebrated in the church no less than Abel's.

(2.) The apostle plainly proceeds in representing the story concerning him, and what fell out after his death, as expressed in the words of God himself, Genesis 4:10, “The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.” This is the speaking of Abel after his death which is here intended; and this was peculiar unto him, it is not affirmed of any one besides in the Scripture.

(3.) The apostle interprets himself, Hebrews 12:24, where he directly ascribes this speaking unto the blood of Abel, as we shall see on that place, if God permit.

Obs. 8. There is a voice in all innocent blood shed by violence . There is an appeal in it from the injustice and cruelty of men unto God as the righteous judge of all. And of all cries, God gives the most open evidence that he hears it, and admits of the appeal. Hence most murders committed secretly are discovered; and most of those that are openly perpetrated, are openly avenged sooner or later by God himself. For his honor and glory are concerned to appear, upon the appeal to his justice which is made by innocent blood. Especially he is so, when men, in taking away the lives of others, would entitle him unto it, by doing it under a pretense of judgment (which is his), by wicked judges and false witnesses, as it was in the case of Naboth; which he will not bear withal. Wherefore this voice, this speaking of blood, ariseth from the eternal law which God hath given unto mankind for the preservation of life from violence, whereof he hath taken on himself the supreme conservation and guarantee, Genesis 9:5-6.

But there is somewhat more in this speaking of the blood of Abel. For by the record of the Scripture God hath designed it unto other ends, in the way of an ordinance; as,

(1.) That it should be a type of the future persecutions and sufferings of the church.

(2.) That it might be a pledge of the certain vengeance that God will take in due time on all murderous persecutors. Abel, being dead, speaketh these words of our Savior, “Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily,” Luke 18:7-8.

(3.) That it might be instructive unto faith and patience in suffering, as an example approved of God, and giving evidence unto future rewards and punishments.

And from this first instance the apostle hath given a mighty confirmation of his intention concerning the power and efficacy of faith, enabling men with blessed success to do and suffer according to the mind of God. For Abel did, by faith alone,

1. Obtain the blessing of the promise from his elder brother, as did Jacob afterwards.

2. By it, as apprehending the promise, his person was justified and accepted with God.

3. He was directed thereby to worship God, both as to matter and manner, according unto his own will.

4. He had a divine testimony given both as unto his person as righteous, and his duties as accepted, to his unspeakable consolation.

5. He had this honor, that God testified his respect unto him when he was dead, and made his blood as shed an ordinance unto the instruction of the church in all ages.

From these considerations this example was of great force to convince the Hebrews, that if indeed they were true believers, as he supposed of them, Hebrews 10:39, that faith would safely carry them through all the difficulties they had to conflict withal in their profession, unto the glory of God and their own eternal salvation. And we may learn, that,

Obs. 9. Whatever troubles faith may engage us into in the profession of it, with obedience according to the mind of God, it will bring us safely off from them all at last (yea, though we should die in the cause), unto our eternal salvation and honor.