Today In Hebrews: Exhort One Another Every Day

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. – Hebrews 3.13, NRSV

This verse stands on its own as a sentence. I have started chasing the theme Today or This Day in Hebrews.

To read Today in Hebrews: This Day or Today CLICK HERE

One of the reasons why this verse is important is because it uses the term Today, but it also introduces some parallel thoughts.

Hebrews 3.13

There are 4 parallel thoughts in this verse, to the ideal of Today in Hebrews.

1. Instead of emphasizing Today, there is a slight shift. Now we are talking about every day. We are discussing an ongoing daily commitment. This language reflects a way of life. We could translate it each and every day.

2. By contrast, the danger of turning away from the Son can sneak up on us. We must guard against various sins, or even doubt. We must guard every day against – the deceitfulness of sin.

3. There is a dire urgency to this language. There is an urgency because if we do not keep our guard up against sin, then there are no guarantees.

On the other hand, there is an urgency produced by hope

Every day we hope in Christian community. Each and every day we have the hope that our unsaved loved ones will come to a turning point. Every day Christians who face despair and difficulties can find encouragement. When we need answers, we are never far from each other. As the people of God, we are called to each other, each and every day.

4. We are called alongside of each other every day. To exhort is the Greek word parakaleo. It’s related to the word parakletos. Parakletos is a name for the Holy Spirit, the Advocate or Counselor (John 14.16). So when we exhort one another, we participate in the Spirit’s work. It means we are literally called alongside each other, like counselors or mentors.

Hebrews 3.14-15

For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

In the Greek, verses 14-15 are 1 sentence. We see some unique language in verse 14. I’m not sure our translations capture what is being said. We have a choice to be partners of Christ, a concept we can all understand. However, it can also be translated partakers. In some way this is like joining ourselves to the very being of Christ.

This concept of joining with Christ is further clarified, or confused based on your perspective, by the term confidence. Confidence is the Greek word hypostasis, which means the very essence of something.

This verse can be translated an entirely different way

For we be made partners of Christ, if nevertheless we hold the beginning of his substance firm into the end. – Wycliffe Bible

So instead of holding on to our confidence, we are holding on to His substance (or hypostasis). Hypostasis is a hot topic in the Early Church because it becomes the very term that is used to define concepts about Christ and the Trinity. The Early Church eventually comes to define the Trinity as 3 Persons with 1 Substance or Essence (hypostasis).

In other words, we are not holding on to our own confidence. The author of Hebrews may be saying that we have the option to join ourselves to the very essence of Christ.

We are joining ourselves to Christ’s hypostasis

If we combine the thoughts partakers and essence, we have a different translation. We can become partakers of Christ – take on His traits, His nature. We can guard or hold on to His very essence – who He is.

So we experience an ontological transformation as our interior life is joined with His.

That is what we preserve and guard.

That is why Today is important in this portion of the chapter.

We have a choice to make.

We may not always have the opportunity to join ourselves to Christ, the opportunity for such an ontological transformation.

Consider this:

This is not your typical self-help, 3-step formula

It’s an opportunity to literally be changed as a person – to be like Jesus Christ.

However, the author of Hebrews says the deal is only good for Today . . . in The Now. There is no other time, You don’t want to miss this.

Christ can do something Today that you can’t imagine

He is not going to make you into a better you . . . but a new you.

He’s can do it Today. Don’t miss what He wants to do in The Now.

notes:

Meet Jared

This is the 2nd in a series. To read Today in Hebrews: This Day or Today CLICK HERE

Instead of footnotes, I’m listing the various references from the whole study. My thoughts are so colored by theirs at this point, that it is difficult to separate them into neatly packaged quotes. Furthermore, most of these are reference works anyway, so I am fulfilling their intended purpose.