Hebrews 4:10

Hebrews 4:10. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his works, Just as God rested from his; i.e, say some (Owen, Wardlaw, Ebrard), as Christ is entered into His rest, so also are we to be conformed to Him and to share His rest. But Christ is not named in the previous context, and is nowhere designated as ‘He who entered or is entered into His rest,' nor would the argument have force with those who were questioning His mission. The other view, adopted by Bleek and Delitzsch, is that the words describe the people of God, those who by believing enter that state of peace and blessedness which is begun on earth and perfected in heaven. They have fellowship with God; they rest even as God rests, and have a happiness that is of the same nature, and springs from the same source, as His. The phrase, ‘ceases from his own works as God did from His,' might then refer to the rest which men sought to no purpose under the Law or in Canaan. The true peace, the sacred rest of the Gospel, frees us from the necessity of seeking a righteousness of our own, and speaks peace to the conscience as the Law never did, making the whole life peaceful and joyous. This ‘is the rest, and this is the refreshing,' and it is shared by all who believe.

This explanation of the argument of this part of the Epistle throws light on the meaning of the rest, the Sabbath-rest, of which the writer speaks. Some (Owen, Wardlaw, etc.) hold that the three rests here spoken of are the Sabbath-rest of Paradise, the Jewish rest of Canaan, and the Christian Sabbath rest that commemorates the completion of the new creation and the deliverance of the people of God from a worse bondage than that of Egypt. Important as these rests are, it surely falls far below the dignity of the theme to suppose that the writer refers to any positive institution merely, however useful or blessed. Others think that the ‘rest which remains' must be heaven: we who believe enter it, all who enter it rest from their toils and work as God rested; and the conclusion seems sustained by the fact that the rest is ever spoken of as ‘still remaining.' But this interpretation mistakes the meaning of ‘remaining,' which is simply that it was not realized either in the Sabbath rest or in Canaan; while it is realized, is being realized, under the Gospel, as men believe. It includes, no doubt, the rest of heaven, which is the completion of our blessedness on earth; but the primary idea still is the rest which Christ gives to all who take His yoke upon them. and to whom, on their believing, old things are passed away, sins, character, burdens, unrest, and all things have become new. The words of C. Wesley are not even an adaptation of the sentiment they are an exposition of it:

‘Lord, I believe a rest remains

To all Thy people known

A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,

And Thou art loved alone.

‘Oh! that I now the rest might know,

Believe and enter in;

Now, Saviour, now the power bestow.

And let me cease from sin.

‘Remove the hardness from my heart,

This unbelief remove;

To me the rest of faith impart,

The Sabbath of Thy love.'