By Faith These All, Again
Friday, July 16, 2010 at 11:32AM For the past few months, I’ve been editing and reposting a series of posts on Hebrews 11 from my old blog. This post, the eighteenth one, concludes the series. You’ll find all the other posts listed in the sidebar, or you can look here.
The writer of Hebrews has completed his list of faithful people of old, and he finishes this chapter with a summary statement.
And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. (Hebrews 11:39,40; NET)
Everyone on this list, he says, was commended for their faith. The chapter starts by telling us that the people of old received God’s commendation by faith, and now it concludes in the same way.
All the listed faithful ancients were commended for their faith, and as a result they received many blessings and had many promises fulfilled; yet, the writer tells us, there was something held back from them. There was something promised to them that they did not receive, and that they could not receive it without us. This final blessing, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise, our being made perfect, comes to all saints together.
What is this better thing that God has provided for us? The next step in the fulfillment of God’s promises and the centerpiece of the book of Hebrews is the saving work of Christ. The people of old anticipated it and we look back on it. Our perfection, in one sense, has already been worked through what Christ has done.
But still we wait, like they waited, for the final fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ’s return and the fullness of the kingdom. We continue to live by faith like those who’ve gone before us. We can grow tired in the difficulties of this life, just as they must have, but we have their testimonies as examples to to encourage us to stand firm in our faith. They hadn’t seen, yet they trusted; and they spur us on to keep trusting in what we’ve not seen. We can pattern our lives after them.
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