The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 99

Life and the Source of all life and salvation. Ver. 14.-l!'or we are become partaker■ (or, The thought of the momentous consequence partneTs) of Christ, if only we hold fast the of the falling away of Christians after light beginning of our cou1ldence ftrm unto the enjoyed is prominent in the Epistle (see end. This is a repetition in onotber form of especially eh. vi. 4, etc.; x. 26, etc.). The the assertion of our position as Christie.us, expression," the living God," further directs with the e.ppeuded condition, in ver. 6. It attention to the revelation of God in the Old is e. question whether µfroxo1 Xpunoii means Testament, in which he is continue.lly so that we partake of Christ as being in com- designated, and to the thought that it is the munion with him, or that we are partakers same God who hes revealed himself fine.lly vrith him of the glory he has won for us (cf. in the SoN. Addressing Hebrew Christians, rTll"f1<A71pov&µo1 Xp,rr-roii, Rom. viii. 17). The the writer may mean lo say," In apostatizing first is undoubtedly the ordinary sense of from Christ yon would be cutting yourselves µhoxos with e. genitive in classical Greek, off from the God of your whole e.ncestral e.nd generally in the New Testameut (cf. e.g. faith." There may be an intended allusion, infra, eh. vi. 4, Mnoxous Tivttlµa-ros a;,fou), too, to the oath, e.lready referred to, of Numb. and is on this ground me.inte.ined by Bleek, xiv. 21, 28, the formofwhich in the original Alford, and others; but in the LXX. µfroxo,, is," All I live" ((w ,-y@,"-E"f" Kvp,os, LXX.). followed by e. genitive, is a.a undoubtedly Ver. 13.-But exhort one another (litero.lly, used for" partner" or" compe.nion; " cf. Ps. yourselves, as in Col. iii. 16, the idea. being oxix. 63, Mfroxo• l-yw ,Iµ, T4V'TOIV 'TWV <1>0/3ou- the.t of the responsibility of the believers µlvo,v rr,: Hos. iv.17, Mfroxos ,,6~;o...,v: e.ud themselves in keeping their own faith alive ; especio.lly Pa. xiv. 7, Mfroxous rrou, which has the Church must keep ii.self from apostasy been already cited (eh. i. 0), and justifies, by the mutual admonitions of its members), 118 it moy have suggested, the expression day by day, so long as it is oalled To-day in this seuse here. Of. also in the New (i.e. while the "To-day,'' 'TO rrf,11.<pov, of the Testo.ment, Luke v. 7, where µn&xo<, though psalm is still ce.lled so, icaA<i"Taa: whilo you without e.n expressed genitive following, are etill living day by day within the limit occurs in the sense of " portner." Further, of its mee.ning); lest any one of you be the second sense e.coords better thon the first hardened (still referring to the warning of with the viow of our relo.tion to Christ so the pee.Im) by the deoeitfuluess of sin. Here fe.r set forth in the Epistle. (2) Ou the word again, as in ver. 12, the possible result of lnr&rr-rarras (translated "confidence"), ace obdurate unbelief is distinctly traced to who.t was ea.id under eh. i. 3. All the moral culpability. Sin is II deceiver (cf, u.uoient interpreters uudorstood it here in Rom. vii. 11 ; Eph. iv. 22): it distorts the the same geuero.l sense e.s in the former spiritual vision, causes ns to take false views pn.ssage-tho.t of substance or su.bBistence, of things, and to lose our clear view of truth; either as deuoting our subsistence as aad continued de.lliance with sin may members of Christ, or our fu.ith rege.rded e.s have its result in final obdurncy, which, as the &ubsto.nce of our Christian life, or with above remarked, is our own doing 11s it olher modificntious of the geuerol mee.uing. comes of our sia, God's doing as it comes of Modern commeutl\tors agree in under:;to.nd- his judgmeat. The sin coutemploted in the ing merely the sense in which the word is case of tho Hebrew Christians o.s not uolili:cly found to be commonly used by the .Alexcrn- to he.ve its result in obdurocy was, not only drion writers-thu.t of confidence, dc1ivcJ imperfect a ppreciotion of the true cho.rncter from the physicol conception of I\ tirm of the gospel revele.tion, and consequent re- foundution. It thus corresponds with tbe missness in mutuo.l 11dmo11ition and atten- ,rap~11rrlav of vor. 6. (3) " 'l'he bcgiuuin;::" dance at Christian worship (oh. :x. 25), but ("T¾v apx¾v) of this confidence refors to tho e.lso, as a further consequence of such remiss- earlier etl\ge of the experiences of the ness, failure in the morul purity of life, the Hebrew Christions, before their faith hod active ohority, the disentanglement from the shown any signs of woveriag. There is no world, u.nd the endure.nee of persecution, sufficient ground for Ebrurd'e inference from required of Chrislio.ns. This o.ppee.rs from this expression, the.t the Epistle wos not ~he earnest c:xhortu.tions the.t follow ufter- addressed to the Hobrew Church u.t lorgo, wards against e.11 such shortcomings (see which WllB the oldest of e.11 Churches, but to espeoiall,: eh. x. 19-26, 32-39: xii. 1 " u. oirole of catechumens nod neophytes." -18; uii. 1-20). It was ospecinlly by The phre.ee does not imply thot the "begin- conscientious perstJVere.nce in the religious ning" was recent. All it need meo.n ie, life tbe.t they might hope lo keep their re- "Go on o.e you beg-on." Further, we find, ligious foith eteo.dfost e.nd unclouded to the in eh. v. 12, o. dietioct iutiml\tion tho.t the end: in nccord,rnl'e with Christ's own saying, Church addressed is ouo of old standing. "If e.ny mo.n will do (8iA11 ,roativ) his will, (4) ••Unto the end" mo.y hove au individual ho ~holl know of I.he doctriue, whether it be reference to tho end of life, or (the Church. of God." • being e.ddresscd o.s a oomw.unity expeQtiul(  90 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [CH, IU. 1-19.