As indicated by its content, this chapter was written with a view to a proper church life. Nearly everything mentioned here, such as brotherly love and hospitality, is for the church life, not only for the Christian life.

Or, remain.

This is to suffer with the suffering members of the Body of Christ, the church (1 Cor. 12:26).

In the church life, contact between brothers and sisters is unavoidable. Hence, to be protected from falling into defilement, we must hold marriage in honor and not behave loosely. This is a matter that seriously affects our birthright in God's economy. Reuben lost the birthright because of his defilement (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1), and Joseph received it because of his purity (1 Chron. 5:1; Gen. 39:7-12 see note Heb. 12:16¹). God will judge fornicators and adulterers, and the church too must judge them (1 Cor. 5:1-2, 11-13). Nothing damages the saints and the church life as much as this defilement.

Or, in every way.

This book concerns God's holiness. The holy God will not tolerate any defilement among us. He will judge His people (Heb. 10:30; 12:23).

Surely money lovers cannot enter into the reality of the church life. We should always be satisfied with what we have so that we cannot be distracted from the church life by mammon. Since we have the Lord as our Helper, we should be content and at peace that we may be kept fully in the enjoyment of the church life.

This is essential in the church life. The ministers of the word of God should have a manner of life that issues in an example of faith for the church members, the receivers of the word of God, to imitate. Then the church members not only will receive the word that the ministers minister but also will imitate the ministers' faith, which is expressed in their manner of life.

Verse 7 is a continuation of vv. 5-6. Manner of life must refer to the living and behavior pursued by those ministers of the word of God, in which they had no love of money and were satisfied with what they had (v. 5a). Their faith must refer to the fact that they trusted in the Lord, their Helper, for their living (vv. 5-6). The word that they ministered and the life that they lived must have been entirely Christ, and their faith must have been the faith in Christ, of which Christ is both the Author and the Perfecter (Heb. 12:2). Such a manner of life and such a faith were surely worthy to be imitated by the believers, who received the word of God that the ministers ministered and who considered the issue of their manner of life.

Christ, who is the word that the ministers of the word of God in v. 7 preached and taught, who is the life that they lived, and who is the Author and Perfecter of their faith, is perpetual, unchangeable, and unchanging. He remains the same forever (Heb. 1:11-12). There must not be another Jesus and another gospel preached in the church (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:8-9). For a true and steadfast church life, we must hold on to the Christ who is the same yesterday and today, and even forever, and must not be carried away by various strange teachings (v. 9).

Various strange teachings are always used by Satan to cause dissension and even division in the church. Because of this, the apostle charged people not to teach different things (1 Tim. 1:3). The various strange teachings must have been taught at that time by the Judaizers. The writer warned the Hebrew believers not to let the teachings of the Judaizers carry them away from the church life under the new covenant.

At that time, to be confirmed by grace was to remain in the new covenant to enjoy Christ as grace (Gal. 5:4) and not to be carried away back to Judaism to participate in the eating of food (sacrifices) in the Jews' religious ceremonies.

The food mentioned here, being in contrast to grace, is the food used in the ceremonial observances of the old covenant (Heb. 9:10; Col. 2:16). The Judaizers attempted to use such food to carry away the Hebrew believers from the enjoyment of grace, which is the participation in Christ in the new covenant.

This altar must be the cross on which the Lord Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:12). According to the regulations concerning the offerings in the Old Testament, the sacrifice for sin, or the sin offering, the blood of which was brought into the Holy of Holies or the Holy Place for propitiation, afforded the offering priest or the offerer nothing to eat; the entire offering had to be burned up (Lev. 4:2-12; 16:27; 6:30). Hence, those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat from the altar of the sin offering (which in the New Testament fulfillment is the Lord's cross). Verse 10 is a strong argument against the Judaizers' using of food in their strange teachings to attempt to carry away the new covenant believers from the enjoyment of Christ. The Judaizers' emphasis was on the food that they enjoyed in their religious services. But the writer of this book argued that in the sin offering, the basic offering for yearly propitiation (Lev. 16), there was nothing for anyone to eat. With the sin offering, it is not a matter of eating it but a matter of receiving its efficacy. Now the real sin offering is Christ, who offered Himself to God for our sin and accomplished full redemption (better than propitiation — see note Heb. 9:12²) for us that we may be brought into the enjoyment of God's grace in Him under the new covenant. What we need today is not to eat the food of the old covenant services but to receive the efficacy of Christ's offering and follow Him in the new covenant grace outside the camp, outside the Jewish religion.

The blood of the sin offering being brought into the Holy of Holies on the day of propitiation to make propitiation for the people and the bodies of the animals being burned up outside the camp (Lev. 16:14-16, 27) typify the blood of Christ, who is the real sin offering, being brought into the true Holy of Holies to accomplish redemption for us and the body of Christ being sacrificed for us outside the gate of the city of Jerusalem (v. 12).

This book unveils to us that God's heavenly calling is to make us a holy people (Heb. 3:1), a people sanctified unto God. Christ is the Sanctifier (Heb. 2:11). He suffered death on the cross, shedding His blood, and entered the Holy of Holies with His blood (Heb. 9:12) that by the heavenly ministry (Heb. 8:2, 6) of His heavenly priesthood (Heb. 7:26) He might be able to do the sanctifying work, and that we might enter within the veil by His blood to participate in Him as the heavenly Sanctifier. By participating in Him in this way, we are enabled to follow Him outside the camp by the sanctifying pathway of the cross. See note Heb. 13:12^2b and note Heb. 13:13^1b.

The Lord's blood, through which He entered into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:12), opened the new and living way, enabling us to enter within the veil to enjoy Him in the heavens as the glorified One (Heb. 10:19-20); and His body, which was sacrificed for us on the cross, cut the narrow way of the cross, enabling us to go outside the camp to follow Him on earth as the suffering One (v. 13).

This is the gate of the city of Jerusalem. The city signifies the earthly realm, while the camp signifies human organization. Together, the two signify one thing, the Jewish religion with its two aspects, the earthly and the human. Judaism is both earthly and human.

Outside the camp and within the veil (Heb. 6:19) are two very striking points in this book. To enter within the veil means to enter into the Holy of Holies, where the Lord is enthroned in glory, and to go outside the camp means to come out of religion, whence the Lord was cast in rejection. This signifies that we must be in our spirit, where experientially the practical Holy of Holies is today, and outside religion, where the practical camp is today. The more we are in our spirit, enjoying the heavenly Christ, the more we will come outside the camp of religion, following the suffering Jesus. Being in our spirit to enjoy the glorified Christ enables us to come outside the camp of religion to follow the rejected Jesus. The more we remain in our spirit to contact the heavenly Christ, who is in glory, the more we will go forth outside the camp of religion unto the lowly Jesus to suffer with Him. By contacting Christ in the heavens and enjoying His glorification, we are energized to take the narrow pathway of the cross on earth and bear the reproach of Jesus. First, this book gives us a clear vision of the heavenly Christ and the heavenly Holy of Holies, and then it shows us how to walk on the earth in the pathway of the cross, i.e., how to go forth unto Jesus outside the camp, outside religion, bearing His reproach. Even Moses, after the children of Israel worshipped the golden calf (Exo. 32), moved to a place outside the camp, where every one who sought the Lord went to meet with him; for both the Lord's presence and the Lord's speaking were there (Exo. 33:7-11). We must go outside the camp that we may enjoy the Lord's presence and hear His speaking. All these things are necessary for the practical and proper church life.

The Holy of Holies, the pathway of the cross (signified by the going forth unto Jesus outside the camp, bearing His reproach), and the kingdom are three crucial matters set forth in this book. The Holy of Holies with its rich supply enables us to take the narrow, difficult pathway of the cross, and the pathway of the cross ushers us into the kingdom in its manifestation that we may obtain the reward of glory.

See note Heb. 13:12³.

Or, permanent.

The writer of this book considered himself and his readers real river-crossing Hebrews, like the Patriarchs (Heb. 11:9-10, 13-16).

Verse 15 is a continuation of vv. 8-14. Since in the church life we enjoy the unchanging Christ as grace and follow Him outside religion, we should offer through Him spiritual sacrifices to God. First, in the church we should offer up through Him a sacrifice of praise to God continually. In the church He sings in us hymns of praise unto God the Father (Heb. 2:12). In the church we too should praise God the Father through Him. Eventually, in the church He and we, we and He, praise the Father together in the mingled spirit. He, as the life-giving Spirit, praises the Father in our spirit, and we, by our spirit, praise the Father in His Spirit. This is the best and highest sacrifice that we can offer to God through Him. This is greatly needed in the church meetings.

Lit., fellowshipping. Doing good refers to giving, and fellowshipping refers to sharing, i.e., having fellowship in the needs of the saints. This kind of doing good and fellowshipping with others also are sacrifices that we should offer to God. These too are necessary for a proper church life. It is truly improper if in the church some needy saints are not well cared for and ministered to. This means that the fellowshipping with others is absent or inadequate.

This is vitally necessary in the church life.

Praying for the apostles is another aspect of the church life.

The sheep here are the flock, which is the church. This confirms the view that the things covered in this chapter, with the experience of the unchanging Christ as our sin offering, through whom we were redeemed, and as our great Shepherd, by whom we are now being fed, are all for the church life.

This book does not concern temporal things, such as the things of the old covenant, but eternal things, things that are beyond the limit of time and space, such as eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), eternal judgment (Heb. 6:2), eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12), the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14), the eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15), and the eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20).

The new covenant is not only a better covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6) but also an eternal covenant. It is eternally effective because of the eternal efficacy of Christ's blood, with which it was enacted (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20).

God is doing in us that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ that we may be able to do His will. God works in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). From beginning to end this book presents to us a heavenly Christ. Only here, with the word "God...doing in us...through Jesus Christ," does this book imply the indwelling of Christ. It is through the indwelling Christ that God works in us so that we can do His will.

I.e., endure and receive. To bear with the word of the apostle also is needed in the church life (Acts 2:42).

The mentioning of Timothy in such an intimate way is a strong proof that this book was written by the apostle Paul. See 1 Tim. 1:2 and 2 Tim. 1:2.

The greetings in this verse are a form of fellowship in the church and among the churches.

To realize and participate in all the things unveiled in this book, we need grace. To have grace (Heb. 12:28) we need to come forward to the throne of grace that we may find grace for timely help (Heb. 4:16). It is when we touch the throne of grace in the Holy of Holies through the exercise of our spirit that we enjoy the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29) and that our heart is confirmed by grace (v. 9). By such an enjoyment of grace we run the race set before us (Heb. 12:1) that we may reach the goal of God's economy.