Hebrews 12:3-11
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
An oft neglected lesson of the scriptures, and one that is frequently misunderstood by Christians, is the correction, or chastening of the Lord. I know I instinctively shrink back from the subject, like I am almost afraid to look into it. However, ignorance in the Kingdom of God is not bliss. We need to understand why the Lord corrects us, and what is the purpose behind it.
The scriptures in Hebrews that we read speak of chastening and scourging. The word chasten in the greek is the word
pī-dā'-ä
the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
We see that the purpose of chastening by the Lord is not negative, although we already knew that from the text; the Lord chastens those He loves. But is encouraging to know that the very meaning of the word is to train children to grow into what they ought to be. That is what the Lord is doing with us; He is correcting certain behavior of ours, and sin which is leading to death, so that we may grow and mature and that His life through His Spirit may flourish in us.
Now you may not feel or look like a child, but if we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and are indwelt by the blessed Spirit of God, we are His children. We are admonished this by the Lord Jesus:
Mark 10:15
Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it
Have you ever told a child about something, and they believed it wholeheartedly without any further explanation or justification? That's how God wants us to receive His Kingdom. He says it and we believe. Why did the child believe you? Because they trusted you, and so we must trust our heavenly Father.
Something else interesting about the word chasten is that it is used elsewhere in the scripture differently.
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
It has to do with training your children correctly, not provoking them to wrath. There is a way to raise your children which isn't right, sternly punishing them for disobedience without showing them way of forgiveness and reconcilliation that the Lord offers us. That isn't the Lord's way, so when we are corrected we should never think the Lord is provoking us, or is cutting us off from forgiveness.
Here is another usage:
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
The word here is instruction, and we see it is instruction for righteousness. The Lord, by correcting us, is showing us the right way to live. He is showing us how to please Him and live a righteous life.
Now let us look at scourging, because that has a much heavier connotation to it. The greek word for scourging is mastegaoo. In this case, there is no different definition. Scourging is scourging. It was used in John 19:1
John 19:1
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
There are different levels of scourging. Some of them involve being beaten with a lash or a whip. In Jesus case, they used an instrument called a flagrum which was a short whip made of two or three leather (ox-hide) thongs or ropes connected to a handle. The leather thongs were knotted with some pieces of metal that would lacerate the flesh.
Why would God scourge us? I think God would use this in an area of persistent disobedience, where our hearts were totally hardened to obeying Him. Where do I get this from?
Proverbs 20:30
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart
We also see this principle in raising children:
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him
Sometimes God must punish us this way for us to get it. It doesn't mean that He is going to physically beat you, but He may bring things into your life which are on that level of punishment. I remember when I was persistently disobeying the Lord in a certain area. The first time my prized headphones broke. The second time my car broke down. The third time something else happened which cost me a bit of money and the fourth time my car didn't just break down, it died completely. I considered that to be a scouraging, and it certainly got my attention.
Let's look at these verses more closely:
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
Whom are we considering? The Lord Jesus Christ. We know what He went through by our reading of the scriptures, but do you know that He had to learn obedience through suffering?
Hebrews 5:7-10
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered, 9and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him 10and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Why should we consider ourselves to be different than Jesus? Often, it has been the hardest times I've gone through which have taught me the most about God. The scripture goes on:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
This is our first instinct, to despise being corrected. The hardest thing to do bear in my opinion is that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You have to deal with the fact that God is right and you are wrong. You want to get angry but you know you're the one who is to blame. It takes humility to swallow that and go to God and ask for forgiveness.
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
By being corrected we know we are Gods children, whom He loves. Seems almost counter intuitive doesn't it? Yet, we see that reflected even in the world. The parents who let their kids do whatever they want turn out to be the biggest rebels. The scripture says they don't really love their children if they don't correct them. Often times, parents try to be their children's friends instead of the authority figure. That isn't the kind of Father that God is; He wants us to grow into the man or woman He created us to be, and He best knows how to accomplish that.
And again, if He doesn't correct us, it means we don't belong to Him. We see that in the world too; wicked people who just seem to prosper more and more. They aren't being corrected by God for their wicked behavior because they don't belong to Him. One day they will meet God but it will be too late.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
Even if our fathers were ungodly, as mine was, we respected their authority over us. We knew that if we crossed the line, there would be consequences, and we knew right where every line was. Well, the scripture is telling us that even more than that, we should be in subjection to God and live. The definition for subjection is this:
a person who is under the dominion or rule of a sovereign
We acknowledge Him as Lord and obey His every command because He is the King. We also have to remember that to have proper fear and reverence for the Lord, we must understand His love:
1 John 4:16-18
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
We shouldn't be constantly afraid that God is going to hurt us or send us to hell. He doesn't want to hurt us, in fact the scripture says He longs to be gracious to us.
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
God wants us to partake of His holiness. The proper reaction to the correction of the Lord is to be thankful because it demonstrates His love and proves that we are His true children. How that should play out is by a submissive heart which acknowledges the correction and determines to change the behavior with the help of the Holy Spirit. The scripture tells us in Romans 8 that it is the Spirit who puts to death the deeds of the body. Something good to pray would be this:
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I have done wrong and I thank you for correcting me, because I know this shows that you love me and I belong to you.
Holy Spirit please move with power to fulfill Gods word which says that you put to death the deeds of my body. Strengthen me to be victorious over my sin.
King Jesus, please be strong where I am weak, because I know apart from you I can do nothing. As my Shepherd please lead me to green pastures and away from the filth I am trying to consume.
If you move this way, humbling yourself with a repentant heart, God will deliver you. You will begin to see the fulfillment of this scripture, the peaceable fruit of righteousness growing in you and bearing much fruit. God bless!
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
An oft neglected lesson of the scriptures, and one that is frequently misunderstood by Christians, is the correction, or chastening of the Lord. I know I instinctively shrink back from the subject, like I am almost afraid to look into it. However, ignorance in the Kingdom of God is not bliss. We need to understand why the Lord corrects us, and what is the purpose behind it.
The scriptures in Hebrews that we read speak of chastening and scourging. The word chasten in the greek is the word
pī-dā'-ä
the whole training and education of children (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment) It also includes the training and care of the body
We see that the purpose of chastening by the Lord is not negative, although we already knew that from the text; the Lord chastens those He loves. But is encouraging to know that the very meaning of the word is to train children to grow into what they ought to be. That is what the Lord is doing with us; He is correcting certain behavior of ours, and sin which is leading to death, so that we may grow and mature and that His life through His Spirit may flourish in us.
Now you may not feel or look like a child, but if we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and are indwelt by the blessed Spirit of God, we are His children. We are admonished this by the Lord Jesus:
Mark 10:15
Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it
Have you ever told a child about something, and they believed it wholeheartedly without any further explanation or justification? That's how God wants us to receive His Kingdom. He says it and we believe. Why did the child believe you? Because they trusted you, and so we must trust our heavenly Father.
Something else interesting about the word chasten is that it is used elsewhere in the scripture differently.
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
It has to do with training your children correctly, not provoking them to wrath. There is a way to raise your children which isn't right, sternly punishing them for disobedience without showing them way of forgiveness and reconcilliation that the Lord offers us. That isn't the Lord's way, so when we are corrected we should never think the Lord is provoking us, or is cutting us off from forgiveness.
Here is another usage:
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
The word here is instruction, and we see it is instruction for righteousness. The Lord, by correcting us, is showing us the right way to live. He is showing us how to please Him and live a righteous life.
Now let us look at scourging, because that has a much heavier connotation to it. The greek word for scourging is mastegaoo. In this case, there is no different definition. Scourging is scourging. It was used in John 19:1
John 19:1
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
There are different levels of scourging. Some of them involve being beaten with a lash or a whip. In Jesus case, they used an instrument called a flagrum which was a short whip made of two or three leather (ox-hide) thongs or ropes connected to a handle. The leather thongs were knotted with some pieces of metal that would lacerate the flesh.
Why would God scourge us? I think God would use this in an area of persistent disobedience, where our hearts were totally hardened to obeying Him. Where do I get this from?
Proverbs 20:30
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart
We also see this principle in raising children:
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him
Sometimes God must punish us this way for us to get it. It doesn't mean that He is going to physically beat you, but He may bring things into your life which are on that level of punishment. I remember when I was persistently disobeying the Lord in a certain area. The first time my prized headphones broke. The second time my car broke down. The third time something else happened which cost me a bit of money and the fourth time my car didn't just break down, it died completely. I considered that to be a scouraging, and it certainly got my attention.
Let's look at these verses more closely:
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
Whom are we considering? The Lord Jesus Christ. We know what He went through by our reading of the scriptures, but do you know that He had to learn obedience through suffering?
Hebrews 5:7-10
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered, 9and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him 10and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Why should we consider ourselves to be different than Jesus? Often, it has been the hardest times I've gone through which have taught me the most about God. The scripture goes on:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
This is our first instinct, to despise being corrected. The hardest thing to do bear in my opinion is that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You have to deal with the fact that God is right and you are wrong. You want to get angry but you know you're the one who is to blame. It takes humility to swallow that and go to God and ask for forgiveness.
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
By being corrected we know we are Gods children, whom He loves. Seems almost counter intuitive doesn't it? Yet, we see that reflected even in the world. The parents who let their kids do whatever they want turn out to be the biggest rebels. The scripture says they don't really love their children if they don't correct them. Often times, parents try to be their children's friends instead of the authority figure. That isn't the kind of Father that God is; He wants us to grow into the man or woman He created us to be, and He best knows how to accomplish that.
And again, if He doesn't correct us, it means we don't belong to Him. We see that in the world too; wicked people who just seem to prosper more and more. They aren't being corrected by God for their wicked behavior because they don't belong to Him. One day they will meet God but it will be too late.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
Even if our fathers were ungodly, as mine was, we respected their authority over us. We knew that if we crossed the line, there would be consequences, and we knew right where every line was. Well, the scripture is telling us that even more than that, we should be in subjection to God and live. The definition for subjection is this:
a person who is under the dominion or rule of a sovereign
We acknowledge Him as Lord and obey His every command because He is the King. We also have to remember that to have proper fear and reverence for the Lord, we must understand His love:
1 John 4:16-18
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
We shouldn't be constantly afraid that God is going to hurt us or send us to hell. He doesn't want to hurt us, in fact the scripture says He longs to be gracious to us.
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
God wants us to partake of His holiness. The proper reaction to the correction of the Lord is to be thankful because it demonstrates His love and proves that we are His true children. How that should play out is by a submissive heart which acknowledges the correction and determines to change the behavior with the help of the Holy Spirit. The scripture tells us in Romans 8 that it is the Spirit who puts to death the deeds of the body. Something good to pray would be this:
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I have done wrong and I thank you for correcting me, because I know this shows that you love me and I belong to you.
Holy Spirit please move with power to fulfill Gods word which says that you put to death the deeds of my body. Strengthen me to be victorious over my sin.
King Jesus, please be strong where I am weak, because I know apart from you I can do nothing. As my Shepherd please lead me to green pastures and away from the filth I am trying to consume.
If you move this way, humbling yourself with a repentant heart, God will deliver you. You will begin to see the fulfillment of this scripture, the peaceable fruit of righteousness growing in you and bearing much fruit. God bless!
