So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9 I've heard Witness Lee say over and over how essential it is to interpret the Bible with the Bible. So I was not surprised when he said in order to get this you have to look back at the first mentioning of this word in the Bible and then trace that meaning throughout Scripture. I always enjoy it when he does this. So in chapter 18 of the Life-Study of Hebrews he gives the background of the Sabbath which was really eye opening to me:
At the end of the sixth day, seeing man in His image to express Him and committed with His authority to represent Him, God was satisfied and said, 'Very good.'…This is why I say again and again that we must return to the pure word and reread and restudy it….If you reread Genesis 1 and 2, you will see that God rested on the seventh day not mainly because His work was finished but because He had attained what He desired. What God desired was not a finished work. Rather, He wanted mankind to be on earth expressing and representing Him. This is His heart's desire (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Hebrews. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print).I know I would never have seen this on my own. I was going wow a lot as I was reading these chapters. Did you ever hear that after the fall of man in Genesis 3, this Sabbath rest got lost? But God never gave up His intention of having man express and represent Him even if it would take centuries to regain it. God didn't regain this rest until the children of Israel came back to the land of Canaan and built God's dwelling place.
And I saw as I was reading these chapters that this same thought carries over into the New Testament. Today God rests in all of His believers, the church. Brother Lee points out that there are actually three stages to this rest. Besides God's rest in the church age, there is a coming millennial kingdom where through the overcomers, those believers who allowed God to fully gain them in this age, God will have His expression (Revelation 20:4).Ultimately God will gain His complete rest in the new heaven and new earth where the Bible tells us He will be fully expressed and represented in all of His redeemed people forever (Revelation 20:1). So I'm touched that today we all need to endeavor to enter into the coming Sabbath rest. And he said we can do this by just allowing the Lord to grow in us and bring us to maturity so that God can have a way to bring in His kingdom.
You can also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Hebrews on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. You will enjoy listening to both the excerpts from these spoken messages and the helpful and enlightening commentary of the radio hosts. (There's about 6 messages on the Sabbath rest, and they are both encouraging and enlightening! I like to listen to them while preparing meals.)
Other Posts on the Life-Study of Hebrews:
Why is the Background of the Book of Hebrews Important?
What Does God's Speaking Show us In Hebrews 1:1-2?
What Does Hebrews 2:10 Say About Christ?
How Does the Lord Sanctify Us In Hebrews 2:11?
Why the High Priest in Hebrews 2:17 Makes Me Think of the Poem Footprints
Why is the Sabbath Rest Mentioned in Hebrews 4:9?
Why Unbelief in Hebrews 3:12 is the Biggest Offense to God
How Do We Come Forward in Hebrews 4:16?
What Hebrews 6:1 Says About Christian Maturity
What Does Hebrews 8 Tell Us About the Differences Between the Old & New Testaments?
What Does It Mean to Gain our Soul in Hebrews 10:39?
Have You Seen God's Silence in Hebrews 11?
How Do You Run the Christian Race in Hebrews 12?
What is the Birthright About in Hebrews 12:16?
From the Life-Study of Hebrews - What is the Central Concept of the Bible?
What's the Focus of the Book of Hebrews?
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