TEACHING

Daryl Wood

(Daryl is a fivefold teacher on Don Atkin’s apostolic team.)

ENTERING HIS REST

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience (Heb. 4: 9-11, NKJV).

Canaan awaits! It is not merely a place to visit, as the spies did, but it is a place to inhabit, within which to take up permanent residence. It is a land devoid of sweating and striving, and where the same rest to which God Himself has attained is an experiential reality for the believer.

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister (Col. 1:21-23, NKJV).

The vast majority of Christians entertain no real hope of ever becoming firmly established in the faith, at least this side of the grave. Instead of knowing His rest, they suffer from a recurrent, gnawing anxiousness about where they really stand before God. Their anticipation is that through death, and subsequently being clothed with immortality, they will instantly and gloriously find themselves cured of all instability. But is this expectation realistic? And equally important, is this even the way that the Lord has designed for his people to be perfected?

In part, the widespread acceptance of the "fixed through death" paradigm is rooted in their own experiences, as well as those of others whom they deem faithful. After all, nobody’s perfect . . . right? With all eyes riveted on past performance, a repeat of history is guaranteed. How different this is, though, than focusing our attention squarely on the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2)!

When the Word of God is interpreted through the lens of personal experience (as opposed to measuring and evaluating one’s experiences in the light of what He has said), faith is effectively short-circuited. Past practice, though failing to attain to what God has promised, is rationalized and passively embraced as the will of God. In the process, a fresh opportunity to grow in His grace and be molded into His image is lost. Next, through continual reinforcement, the door is now not just closed—it is welded shut.

This describes the basic dynamic that has led to the acceptance of this false and dysfunctional doctrine, but what of the other contributing aspects? Certainly, one of these factors centers on certain expectations that are not only unrealistic but are also well outside the confines of the actual promise. It plays out this way: If one ever was to be really established in the faith (some might insert the term "entirely sanctified"), then he would never sin . . . in fact, he would never even be seriously tempted, because he would have risen to a spiritual plane that transcends all that. Since I know of no one who even approaches touching that place, it must be reserved for the hereafter.

To start, the scenario is flawed from several standpoints First, it assumes that "entering His rest" guarantees perpetuity, ala "once-established-always-established." It supposes that upon entering His rest, the recipient of this blessing now "flies on autopilot" with no further need for the exercise of faith. In actuality, the conditions of the promise require the exact opposite. In the rest of faith human volition does not dissolve; rather it melds with His will. The effect is not a disabling of our ability to choose, but an empowered consistency that accompanies our choices.

Secondly, one’s being established in the faith says nothing about freedom from temptation, much less a warranty that he never could, never would, or never will henceforth sin. Since Jesus Christ was tempted in all points just as we are (though He never yielded to temptation), it is most unrealistic to suppose that the student would ultimately be above his master (Heb. 4:15). Further, one’s continuance in being settled in faith is still predicated on his active involvement in remaining intimate with The Sanctifier. Should a distraction lure his attention away from the Lord, resulting in a stumble, his misstep doesn’t disprove or invalidate God’s promise. It merely provides an occasion for him to allow the Lord to dust him off, so that he can settle back into the saddle.

Finally, for one who would enjoy His rest, the overly idealized model subtly considers man’s own power or ability as the driving force in sustaining such a state, rather than the Keeper’s. Instead of confidence in Him who is able to keep you from falling (Jude 24), it rather asks, "How could I ever expect to continue refraining from sinning?" Cooperation with the captain of the ship is one thing; grabbing the helm and attempting to steer it is quite another.

Departing from further discourse on this erroneous view of these promises, the Scriptures do offer us an assortment of word pictures that take us to the same end point. The following conceptual expressions allow us to consider, from different angles, the same promise of entering His rest:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you (1 Pet. 5:10, NKJV).

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3: 14, 17-19, NKJV).

Once one is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, he enjoys a new-found security in God’s love and a resultant stability that settles his walk. It is the embracing of the revelation of His love that transforms us and fills us with Him—not increased self-effort. Just as concrete sets and hardens over time, being established, settled, strengthened and perfected in a revelation of the love of God serves to solidify one in His nature.

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all . . . . And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Gal. 4: 1, 6, 7, NKJV).

Before obtaining assurance of one’s standing before God as His son, obedience is largely inspired by legal motives. A fear of the consequences of displeasing the Lord, along with the hope of obtaining His smile and His reward become the prompting incentives to keep one on track. However, when God sends into our hearts the founded confidence that we are His sons (huios) a significant shift takes place. The love of Christ now constrains us (2 Cor. 5:14), supplanting self-serving considerations as the lead determinant for our choices. One child adapts his performance, as he constantly looks over his shoulder to see whether or not his father approves of his behavior. The other simply loves his daddy, and lives accordingly in the security and freedom of being his son. Both are children of their father, and both obey him. However, the latter enjoys a more open and mature relationship with Dad than the former. (He also enjoys a host of intangible personal benefits due to the rest that comes through the knowledge that his father’s approval is not somehow in question.) This describes the difference between those who live, at least to some degree, in slavish fear, verses those who have begun to reign as heirs of God, with the Spirit of his only Begotten crying out through them to the Eternal Father.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thess. 5: 23, 24, NKJV).

It is possible to read into this verse the conclusion that the complete sanctification and the preservation of a saint occurs only after death. While this may ultimately be the experience for many, the text in no way suggests that it is God’s highest purpose to withhold or limit commencement of sanctification and preservation until after one leaves his earthly tent. Furthermore, a more careful consideration of what is written lays the emphasis upon the completeness and permanence of the Lord’s work in the believer, and the maintenance of what Christ has performed carrying forward to His return—not on any starting point for such a work.

Summarizing, some of the confusion and resistance in taking these promises at face value rests with a presumption that to do so would imply a state where it would be impossible for one to ever sin again. Clearly, that is not implicit in the promises, nor is sin even their focal point. Rather, these assurances from His Word underscore the full extent to which God is willing and desirous to get a hold of us. They map the way to the Promised Land, and ensure us that we can have every bit as much of Him as we choose to receive. For many of His people defeat is the rule, and victory is the exception in their experience. God would bring us to a place where abiding under the shadow of His wing is the constant reality, and any deviation from His nearness is an anomaly. Any preoccupation with sin issues then fades before the Conquering King, who is the Lover and Sanctifier of our souls.

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen (Heb. 13: 20, 21, NKJV).

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.