The writer of Hebrews combines the two themes of athletics and citizenship in this important twelfth chapter. The atmosphere is that of the footraces in the arena. We can see the runners laying aside their training weights and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint, while others endure to the end and win the prize. First, the writer pictures the race (Heb. 12:1–13) and then emphasizes citizenship in the heavenly city (Heb. 12:14–29). In the minds of the readers, these two themes would go together because no one could take part in the official games unless he was a citizen of the nation.
Verse 4 puts the struggles of the readers of Hebrews in perspective. Although they had experienced intense hardship, they had not yet faced resistance to the “point of shedding blood.” None of them had suffered martyrdom. Their sufferings had by no means reached the severity of those that Jesus endured. Verse 4 implies that they had not truly shown serious commitment in their resistance to the sin of apostasy. Others had remained faithful to Jesus in the face of far worse sufferings than theirs.
In verses 9-11, the author draws on the analogy of the discipline of earthly fathers and encouraged a submissive spirit to the discipline of the Father of our spirits which is life-preserving as well as productive of an experience of His holiness, which involves a rich harvest of righteousness and peace. But Christians must let this discipline have its full effect and be trained by it.
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are punished by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He punishes every son whom He accepts.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- The Father does not enjoy having to discipline His children, but the benefits afterward make the chastening an evidence of His love. God’s discipline is proof that we are indeed His children.
- The writer viewed the trials of the Christian life as spiritual discipline that could help a believer mature. Instead of trying to escape the difficulties of life, the writer says we should rather be “exercised” by them so that we might grow (Heb. 12:11).
- When we are suffering, it is easy to think that God does not love us. The writer gave proofs that discipline comes from the Father’s heart of love.
- The fact that the Father chastens us is proof that we are maturing, and it is the means by which we can mature even more.
Closer Look:
Verse 4: God uses discipline to produce holiness in His people. Unlike Jesus, they “had not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” By “sin” the author probably primarily meant that of “sinful” individuals who opposed them, but doubtless also had their own sin in mind, which they had to resist in order to maintain a steadfast Christian profession.
Verse 4 said the readers had not yet suffered “to the point of shedding of blood” like the people in chapter 11. Those in chapter 11 died (some naturally and some through persecution). The author writes if “you have not yet resisted the point of shedding blood” is once again probably an indication the letter was not addressed to believers in Jerusalem.
Verses 5–6: The readers also seemed to have forgotten the encouragement (“exhortation” is used but it is the same word as “encouragement”) found in Proverbs 3:11–12, which presents divine discipline as evidence of divine love. When we look at this, we have “You have forgotten the encouragement, which is addressed to you as sons.” There is encouragement in that and this would be the point the author is encouraging them.
Notice also that the writer says once again and look carefully, “you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons.” The phrase “to you as sons” is quoted from Proverbs, which indicates the Old Testament speaks to us in the church today. This is very interesting especially against those in our faith that say the OT does not have a place in our Christianity. So, the author says this passage speaks to you as to sons; the Old Testament speaks to us.
Together these verses urge us not to belittle God’s discipline and not to lose heart in the face of God’s rebuke. We should not see trials as cause for discouragement but as a sign of God’s determined love. We must reflect on the long-term benefits of our trials and recognize that discipline represents God’s method of developing our maturity. We must respond to afflictions by searching out the faults or failures that hinder our spiritual growth.
Verses 7–10: These verses compare and contrast God’s discipline of His children with parental discipline of their children. Pursuing this further, verse 9, says “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live.” This is an example of an “a fortiori” argument, where it argues from the lessor to the greater.
Back to verse 7, the readers should not lose heart (cf. Heb. 12:3) but should endure hardship (hypomenete, lit., “persevere”; cf. vv. 1–3) as discipline and regard it as an evidence of sonship, that is, that they are being trained for the glory of the “many sons” (cf. 2:10). Also, notice again in verse 7 the word “endure” again. All God’s children are subject to His discipline, and in the phrase “of which all have become partakers,” the writer for the last time used the Greek metochoi (“companions, sharers”), also used in 1:9; 3:1, 14; 6:4. In speaking of those who are not disciplined and are thus “illegitimate children,” the writer was probably thinking of Christians whose disloyalty to the faith resulted in their loss of inheritance (i.e., reward) which is acquired by the many sons and daughters.[1] What such Christians undergo, the author had shown, is severe judgment. On the other hand, believers who undergo God’s “discipline” are being prepared by this educational process (paideia, “discipline,” literally, “child-training”; cf. Eph. 6:4) for millennial reward.
Good parents provide training and instruction for their children. Such training demonstrates that they were “sons” (NIV – “true sons”) and not “illegitimate children.” A good God, like a good parent, will show love by providing nurture, guidance, and direction for the child.
Children respect their human parents because of their discipline. Believers must also be submissive to the “Father of spirits.” Instead of turning away from God in apostasy, we must turn to Him in obedience.
Verse 10 turns from comparison to contrast. Earthly parents discipline their children only “for a short time.” Children grow up, leave home, and move beyond the discipline of their parents. God, however, never finishes with His children. God disciplines us for a lifetime. For this, we should be thankful rather than complaining. Discipline is not and never is easy, but we know that God does it in love.
Earthly parents discipline their children as they think best. All of us have made dreadful mistakes in our efforts to discipline our children. Fortunately, God knows precisely what He is doing and disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. God will never commit an overkill, nor will He neglect to give discipline. The fact that we receive discipline from a wise, omniscient God who never errs in His work gives us cause for commitment to His loving discipline.
When we think about this passage and God’s discipline in general, we sometimes wish He did not love us so much. I am teasing when I say this, but I have definitely had that thought cross through my mind.
Verse 11: This verse contrasts a short-term and a long-term response to discipline. Whenever discipline hits us, it causes pain. We tend to complain under its weight. We find nothing pleasant about the experience. Later, for those who submit to its training, “it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
In verse 11 we see the pain and hurt in the moment during discipline, but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. When we stop and think about it, we can really agree with how true this is. If you have seen people who have suffered there is afterwards a peace. It is peaceable that they are not all in turmoil and hardship. It is peaceful and it is also a life of righteousness.
[1] In the Roman world, an “illegitimate child” had no inheritance rights. Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 810.