Entering God’s Rest

(Hebrews 4:3-8 – Entering God’s Rest)

If there is one thing you can guarantee on this earth it’s that there is no rest. There is the old saying, “There’s no rest for the wicked,” but they’ve got it wrong. There is even less rest for the righteous because the righteous stand in direct opposition to the ways of this world.

But in these scriptures today we see that there is an opportunity to enter into God’s rest. There is a time of rest offered to all who come to God and to Jesus Christ. This is applicable now, and it is also an offer to enter into God’s rest in the future.

So, today we will look at this matter and seek out how we might enter God’s rest, both now and forever.

The scripture today about entering God’s rest

This is the scripture we are looking at today, and there is much we can learn from it.

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall never enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this place he said, “They shall never enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day. (Hebrews 4:3-8)

Entering God’s rest: Paradise

Most Christians are familiar with the proposition for entering God’s future rest. Everyone talks about “going to heaven,” although that is technically incorrect. When we die we do go to one of two spiritual realms, one for those who did good, and one for those who did not.

The good go to a resting place called Paradise. This was where Jesus went after He died, and where He said the thief who died with Him would be that day. As for those who do not believe, their lot is to go into Hades.

We also see much about what these two places are like from the following scriptures.

19 “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Laz’arus, full of sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Laz’arus in his bosom. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz’arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz’arus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)

Paradise versus Hades

Paradise is a place where all suffering and torment is over. Those who enter Paradise cease to suffer and find the peace of God. It is a place of rest. But it is only temporary until after the final judgement when all who are accepted by God will enter His final rest in the new heavens and new earth when God lives with man.

As for those who go into Hades, we see from the description above that it is not a place of rest. It is a place of torment where the wicked will suffer until the Lord returns and the Last Judgement takes place. These people will be judged and if found wanting, will be thrown into the lake of fire where all sinners and all causes of sin will be destroyed.

This is present situation for everyone on this earth. When they die, they will go to one of these two places to await the Day of Judgement where they will either enter God’s rest, or be destroyed.

What this means for the Creation in Genesis 1 and 2

Now, harking back to the scripture in Hebrews 4 quoted above, there is an implication for the description of the Creation in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis chapter 1 lays out God’s Creation. It is the high level plan of what He is creating and has created.

However, the Creation isn’t yet finished. In the first two verses of Genesis 2, it says that on the seventh day God rested from all of His works. It says that His work is finished, and so He rested.

But God has not yet finished all of His works, and Jesus made the point that both He and the Father are still working.

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working still, and I am working.” (John 5:17)

So, if both the Father and the Son are still working, then entering God’s rest is still to happen. It is still available to all of mankind.

So, what we have to understand about Genesis chapter 1 is that it is the plan God has for the Creation. It is the high level “bullet points” on what will be created as part of His work. But it is not the process that all of these things are necessarily being rolled out under.

For example, it says on the sixth day that God will create man in His own image. But man is not currently in the image of God because of sin.

Man has been created in the “likeness” of God, but we do not bear the image of God. That is, we do not think as God thinks or behave as God would behave. And this process of coming into the image of God is what is happening in this age through Jesus Christ. It is by His gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit that we are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, who is in the image of God the Father.

Entering God’s rest now

So, is it then possible to enter God’s rest now?

Yes, it is.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to do just that thing. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can have victory over the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh, to be transformed into the image of God. And when we have victory over the flesh, we are at peace and at rest.

It is by the Holy Spirit that we learn to walk in the Spirit and to walk in love as God is love. These things are the work of the Spirit in those who believe.

Add to this the accomplishment that God achieved for us in sending His Son to die for us so that we could be set free from sin, so that the process is able to come fully to completion. This work is completed in Jesus Christ when we have faith and are baptised in His name, taking on His death and resurrection as our own.

This is also why it says in the Hebrews 4 scripture, quoting King David who said, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Vs 7) If we are to enter God’s rest, we need to make the changes “today.” Not tomorrow, but today, because today is the only time we have.

How to enter God’s rest

So, how do we enter God’s rest now?

Through faith. It is by believing in the power of God, who resurrected Jesus from the dead that we are saved. And it is by our faith that we learn to obey the commands of God, learning from Jesus and the Bible God has given us, so that we can learn what is right and what is pleasing to Him.

When we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and we confess Jesus as our Lord, then we are saved. But this is just the beginning. In these simple things, God has accepted us and He declares us righteous by faith, just as He declared Abraham righteous by faith when he believed God.

The next critical step after believing and accepting God’s righteousness by faith, is to be baptised in water, and in the Holy Spirit, following the example of Jesus.

Baptism is a critical step as Jesus Himself showed. We already have righteousness by faith when we believe, but baptism is necessary to complete the process of righteousness.

14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. (Matthew 3:14-15)

Baptism was not necessary to “receive” righteousness, but to fulfill or complete righteousness. It is through baptism in water that we take Christ’s death as our own, so that the death penalty for sin is paid and our sins are taken away, and so that we are set free from the law, because the law is only binding on people while they are alive (see Romans 7:1) When we take the death of Jesus as our own in baptism, God sees us as having died, and so removes our sin and the law by His grace.

Then when we are baptised in the Holy Spirit, we receive the Spirit as teacher, counselor, comforter, protector, and guide who then begins the lifelong work of transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ, and teaches us how to have victory over the passions of the flesh.

This is how we enter into God’s rest now.

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