A lot of discussion regarding the sabbath day going on. I posted this under another thread, but will post it here for those who have not read the other thread I am talking about. Lets get a clear understanding of what Sabbath we are to rest. There is a spiritual symbolism in God resting on the seventh day because of its use as an illustration in Hebrews 4:4, For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works. As you can see below, in the context of Hebrews chapter 4 the apostle Paul is talking about the spiritual rest the believer has in Christ. Hebrews 4:1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.3For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.4For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:7Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.8For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Now, regarding Hebrews 4:7, let’s see what DAY was being spoken of to David: Psalm 95:…6Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness. Do you see how TODAY is the day that the Lord our God spoke to David about. You may have heard or read Luke 9:19 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. Why was he a son of Abraham? Galatians 3:7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Hebrews 3:7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice, Hebrews 3:15 As has just been said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Was the seventh day somehow a more special, holy, or spiritual day than the other days of creation? Absolutely not. One day is certainly not more special than another day because the Bible says in Romans 14:5-6, One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and He that regardeth not the day, to the Lord He doth not regard it. To suggest that one day is more holy than another, is to suggest that one day is less holy than another. But God is Holy, which means that He is perfect. And When God finished His creation; His work was perfect. Genesis 2:3 tells us that God blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it. When Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove, the mighty voice of God shouted from the eternal heavens and said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. God was blessing Jesus in this instance just as God blessed the seventh day. The great spiritual work of God in the souls of men was completed as Christ, the Author of our salvation, wrote the great novel with His own blood. So spiritually speaking: Christ is that seventh day that is blessed and sanctified, and was used to symbolize the perfect, Holy work of God. 2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. See the word BLESSED? And, Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed. Again, the word BLESSED. And here, we are sanctified by the blood of Jesus: Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? And 1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Hebrews 4:10 says, For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Letting Christ be ones rest, because of His perfect work, is the secret to experiencing the fullness of Gods salvation and Gods fellowship in this life. It is all about understanding and believing the promises of God. Spiritually speaking, there is a Canaan rest for the New Testament Jew. Jesus said in John 10:10, I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. And Hebrews 4:6 says, Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. The Bible says in John 1:17, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law is external. The law is a list of rules and regulations. The law can only condemn. And the law is symbolic in nature. It is an external or physical symbolism of spiritual and internal things that apply in the heart of man and come from the heart of God. For example, the commandment, thou shalt not kill, is symbolic for the internal thou shalt not hate. And the Sabbath is symbolic by its very nature. The Bible says in Colossians 2:16-17, Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Hebrews 10:1 says the law has a shadow of good things to come but not the very image of the things. Jesus said in Mark chapter 2:27-28, And He said unto them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. There are countless incidents recorded in the life of Jesus when Jesus did something on the sabbath day, whether it be plucking food to eat or especially healing the sick and the lame. And in these incidents, the self-righteous Pharisees always sought to condemn and to criticize him (Jesus). Count your blessing one by one if you have entered into that Sabbath rest (The Lord Jesus Christ), which is a day (every day) to enjoy the blessing of God found through forgiveness in His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ is our Sabbath. If Christ is in your heart, then you remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Jesus died for the sins of the world. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law. Jesus defeated death and the devil. All the riches of the kingdom of God are made available to the believer in Jesus. Galatians 2:20 says, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. Because of the Spiritual work that was completed in Christ, there is rest. There is rest from the temptations of the flesh. There is rest from the sorrows, pains, and fears of this life. There is rest from the persecution of the world. And above all there is rest from the condemnation of the law, and rest from the need to make things right with God (which no man has ever been able to do). Jesus Christ has made peace with God for us. I John 5:4 says And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Faith in the promises of God is our rest. Christ is that promise and Christ is our rest. The law shows us our own weakness and the righteous condemnation of the law. Grace then appeared on the scene, when God himself came in the flesh to teach us the true meaning of the Sabbath. There is now an eternal rest that we can have if we only believe, I mean truly be
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 16:59:21 +0000
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