Why the letter to the Hebrews was not written to the saints in the body of Christ

Introduction

According to the arrangement referred to in Gal. 2:6-10, the apostle Paul and his co-laborer, Barnabas, were to be “for the nations” while James, Peter and John were to be “for the Circumcision.” “The nations” refers to those among mankind who belong to a nation besides the chosen nation of Israel. In contrast, “the Circumcision” refers to God’s covenant people, Israel – i.e., the twelve-tribed descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whose covenantal relationship with God is signified by circumcision.

In accord with this arrangement, we find that the apostle Paul – who referred to himself as “the apostle of the nations” (Rom. 11:13) – is the only inspired writer who wrote to believers who could be referred to collectively as “the nations” (Rom. 1:13; 11:13, 25; 15:16, 18), and who belonged to what Paul referred to in Rom. 16:4 as ”all the ecclesias of the nations.” It is those who comprised these “ecclesias of the nations” that Paul (and Paul alone) referred to in his letters as “the body of Christ” (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:15-19; 10:16-17; 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4, 12-16; 5:23-24, 30; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19; 3:15).

In contrast with the “ecclesias of the nations” to which Paul wrote his letters, the ecclesias to which Peter, James and John wrote were composed primarily, if not exclusively, of believers among God’s covenant people, Israel. For example, we read that James wrote his letter “to the twelve tribes in the dispersion” (James 1:1). Similarly, Peter wrote “to the chosen expatriates of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia…” (1 Pet. 1:1). And in verse 7 of his third letter, John referred to “the nations” as a company of believers who were distinct from the saints on whose behalf he ministered.[1]

It’s further evident that the Jewish believers to whom Peter, James and John wrote were a continuation of the company of Jewish saints that predated the death and resurrection of Christ (and which Christ referred to as “the little flock” in Luke 12:32). As a continuation of this company of saints, the Jewish believers to whom Peter, James and John (as well as Jude) wrote had the same calling and expectation as that which will belong to the saints who will be on the earth during the future period of time when the events we find prophesied in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation will be occurring (e.g., the “great affliction” of Israel that’s referred to in Matt. 24:21 and Rev. 7:14 [cf. Jer. 30:7, Dan. 12:1]).[2]

On the other hand, the company of saints that comprised “the ecclesias of the nations” in Paul’s day – i.e., the body of Christ – was (and is) distinct from the company of saints that began to be formed during Christ’s earthly ministry. For, in contrast with the company of saints that Christ referred to as “the little flock” (and of which the company of saints referred to by James in Acts 21:20-21 was a continuation), the body of Christ did not begin to be formed until the administration that was given to Paul for the nations – i.e., “the administration of the grace of God” or “administration of the secret” (Eph. 3:1, 9) – began. And this administration began at around the time when “the evangel of which [Paul] became the dispenser” – i.e., “the evangel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) – began to be heralded by Paul among the nations (which was shortly after Paul and Barnabas were “severed” to God for the work to which God had called them; see Acts 13:2-3).

But what about the saints to whom the letter “To the Hebrews” (“Πρὸς Ἑβραίους”) was written? Would they have been included among the saints who comprised “all the ecclesias of the nations” in Paul’s day? Or did they belong to the company of primarily Jewish believers who comprised the ecclesias to which Peter, James and John wrote? Well, the very fact that this letter was written to people whom the author identified as “Hebrews” proves that he wrote to the same kind of believers to whom Peter, James and John wrote. We never once find the term “Hebrews” used in Scripture to refer to Gentiles. Nor do we find this term used to refer to Gentiles in any ancient, extra-biblical writings.

Instead, “Hebrews” is the original name of Judeans. Concerning this fact, the ancient Jewish historian Josephus wrote the following: “Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews” (Josephus' Antiquities of Jews Book 1, Chapter 6, Paragraph 4). It was after the Hebrews came back to Judea from Babylon that they became known as “Judeans” (or “Jews”).

In accord with the historical meaning of the term “Hebrew,” Paul – when referring to his Jewish ethnicity in Philippians 3:5 – referred to himself as being ”of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.” And while there is a sense in which all who are in the body of Christ can be considered as being “of Abraham’s seed” (see my two-part study The Seed of Abraham for an explanation of Paul’s use of this terminology), Paul never once referred to those in the body of Christ as “Hebrews” in his letters (whether literally or figuratively).

The ethnic identity of the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews is further confirmed from the fact that the recipients of the letter are implied to be those who were descendants of “the fathers” to whom God spoke “in the prophets” (Heb. 1:1). This refers to Israel rather than the nations. We further read that the recipients of this letter belonged to “the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). What we read in Hebrews 10:28-30 (in which Deut. 32:36 is quoted) and 11:25 makes it clear that “the people of God” to whom the recipients of this letter belonged are the same “people of God” who are in view in Deut. 32:36, and with whom we’re told Moses preferred to be maltreated. Thus, when the author of the letter to the Hebrews referred to the recipients of his letter as belonging to “the people of God,” he was referring to the people to whom God was referring when he identified himself as “Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews” (Ex. 3:18; 5:1; 7:16).

The salvation of those in the body of Christ

Although Paul’s letters are filled with exhortations for those in the body of Christ regarding how we should live and act, Paul was also clear that our eonian salvation does not in any way depend on anything we must do, obey or live out. Because God’s grace “reigns” over every member of the body of Christ, we cannot “out-sin” God’s grace; the more that we sin, the more God’s grace “super-exceeds” for us, resulting in life eonian (Rom. 5:20-21).

In Romans 6:23 we read that the life eonian that every member of the body of Christ is destined to enjoy is “the gracious gift of God…in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” In accord with this truth, we’re told in 2 Thess. 2:16 that “God, our Father, Who loves us” is “giving us an eonian consolation and a good expectation in grace.” Notice that the “eonian consolation” and “good expectation” to which Paul was referring is given to us “in grace.”

The measure of divine grace that’s being given to those called to be members of the body of Christ is referred to in Eph. 1:7 as “the riches of [God’s] grace, which He lavishes on us,” and is such that works/acts have no part whatsoever in our salvation (Rom. 3:22; 4:4-5; 2 Tim. 1:8-11; Titus 3:3-7). According to what we read in Eph. 2:4-9, the salvation that every believer in the body of Christ will be enjoying (and which will involve God’s “displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus”) is not “out of” us. It is in no way dependent on or conditioned upon our will or effort. Rather, our salvation is said to be “in grace.” It is “God’s approach present” (or “gift”), and is thus “not of works, lest anyone should be boasting.”

Upon being given the faith to believe “the word of truth, the evangel of [our] salvation,” those called by God are then “sealed with the holy spirit of promise,” which is “an earnest of the enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been procured” (Eph. 1:13-14). No precept-keeping obedience, acts of righteousness or Godly living is required for any member of the body of Christ to receive the “deliverance” of which Paul wrote in the above verses (and which, according to Eph. 2:4-7, will involve being vivified together and seated together “among the celestials in Christ Jesus”). This salvation is as certain to occur as anything else God has promised to do.

There is, therefore, nothing that anyone in the body of Christ could do (or fail to do) that could possibly result in our not receiving this eonian salvation. Although Paul exhorted believers to “walk worthily of the calling with which [we] were called,” a failure to do so will not jeopardize our eonian salvation. Our having been spiritually baptized into the body of Christ (and thus “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”) guarantees our inclusion in the future event that will involve the saints in the body of Christ being vivified in Christ and snatched away to meet the Lord in the air (Rom. 8:15-25; 1 Cor. 15:50-57; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:1-4; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; 5:9-11; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).

In accord with the super-exceeding, super-abundant grace that characterizes the salvation of the saints in the body of Christ, Paul further revealed in his letters that the location in which we are going to be enjoying our eonian allotment is “the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1-2; Phil. 3:20; Col. 1:5). Heaven is, of course, where the Lord is presently located (Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 9:24), and it’s thus here that we will be “at home with the Lord” after we’ve become “celestials” (2 Cor. 5:4-8; 1 Cor. 15:47-49). In accord with this fact, it is “among the celestials” that we will be enjoying “every spiritual blessing” during “the oncoming eons” (Eph. 1:3; 2:6-7), and it is “[the Lord’s] celestial kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18) – i.e., the kingdom of God in which “flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an allotment” (1 Cor. 15:50) – for which we are being saved (2 Tim. 4:18). For a more in-depth defense of this understanding of the location of the eonian allotment of the body of Christ, click here and here.

The salvation of those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written

In contrast with what Paul revealed concerning the eonian allotment of the saints in the body of Christ, we know from Hebrews 2:5 that the salvation to which the recipients of this letter looked forward (i.e., the “allotment of salvation” referred to in Heb. 1:14) is a salvation that is going to be enjoyed on “the impending inhabited earth.” Their eonian salvation is, in other words, in accord with Israel’s prophesied expectation.

The very fact that there is a difference in the locations of the eonian allotment of those to whom Paul wrote and those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written proves that the letter to the Hebrews was not written to believers in the body of Christ. But this isn’t the only difference between the salvation of those in the body of Christ and the salvation of those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written.

In contrast with what Paul revealed concerning the nature of the salvation of those in the body of Christ, the eonian salvation of those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written is not something that God was unconditionally bestowing on these believers as an expression of his super-abundant grace. Instead, the recipients of this letter had to meet certain conditions in order to qualify for the salvation that we find promised throughout the letter.

For example, in Hebrews 2:1-4 we read the following concerning what was expected of these Jewish believers with regard to their salvation:

“Therefore we must more exceedingly be heeding what is being heard, lest at some time we may be drifting by. For if the word spoken through messengers came to be confirmed, and every transgression and disobedience obtained a fair reward, how shall we be escaping when neglecting a salvation of such proportions which, obtaining a beginning through the speaking of the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who hear Him, God corroborating, both by signs and miracles and by various powerful deeds and partings of holy spirit, according to His will?” 

The “salvation of such proportions” of which we read in this passage was previously referred to as “the allotment of salvation” in Heb. 1:14. In Heb. 5:9 it’s referred to as an “eonian salvation” that will be received by “all who are obeying [Christ].” In order for those to whom this letter was written to not be “neglecting” this eonian salvation (and thus “drifting by”), it was necessary that they “more exceedingly be heeding” what they’d heard (the necessity of the “heeding” is evident from the author’s use of the word “must” in v. 1, above). And as is evident from Heb. 5:9, the “heeding” that the author had in mind necessarily involved obeying Christ.[3]

This is not to say that faith was unimportant or unnecessary for those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written. Faith was absolutely essential to the salvation of these believers. However, the faith that the recipients of this letter needed to have in order to be saved could not be separated from, and fail to find its expression in, obedience. Even in the well-known part of this letter in which we find faith emphasized (i.e., chapter 11), the emphasis is not on “faith only” but on what certain notable people had done by faith.

Noah, for example, is said to have become “an enjoyer of the allotment of the righteousness which accords with faith” because of what he did by faith (Heb 11:7). Although Noah’s righteousness was “in accord with” faith, it wasn’t based on “faith only,” but on what he did as an expression of his faith (which was construct an ark). This faith-based obedience is the source of the righteousness of those to whom the author of Hebrews wrote, and it is the same sort of righteousness of which James wrote in his letter to the twelve tribes. Everything the author of Hebrews wrote is perfectly consistent with what James taught in his letter concerning the necessity of faith and works (both of which were required for the justification and salvation of those to whom these letters were written).

In Heb. 3:12-15 the author went on to warn the believing Israelites to whom he wrote as follows:

“Beware, brethren, lest at some time there shall be in any one of you a wicked heart of unbelief, in withdrawing from the living God. But entreat yourselves each day, until what is called ‘today,’ lest anyone of you may be hardened by the seduction of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, that is, if we should be retaining the beginning of the assumption confirmed unto the consummation, while it is being said, ‘Today, if ever His voice you should be hearing, You should not be hardening your hearts as in the embitterment.’”

Notice that developing a “wicked heart of unbelief” and “withdrawing from the living God” was understood by the author as the result of being “hardened by the seduction of sin” (which is the opposite condition referred to by the words, “retaining the beginning of the assumption confirmed unto the consummation”). In accord with his warning against being “hardened by the seduction of sin,” we later read in Heb. 12:14 that “holiness” was something that the recipients of this letter had to “pursue” in order to be saved (for we’re told that “no one shall be seeing the Lord” apart from it).

Continuing with his exhortation and warning, the author went on to write the following in Hebrews 4:9-11:

Consequently a sabbatism is left for the people of God. For he who is entering into His stopping, he also stops from his works even as God from His own. We should be endeavoring, then, to be entering into that stopping, lest anyone should be falling into the same example of stubbornness.

The term translated “sabbatism” in v. 9 is the noun “sabbatismos,” and is derived from the cognate verb “sabbatizo.” This latter term is found in the Septuagint translation of several verses (e.g., Ex. 16:30; Lev. 23:32; 26:34; 2 Chron. 36:21), and means “to observe/keep the Sabbath.” Insofar as this is the case, the noun sabbatismos can be understood to mean, “a Sabbath-observance” or “a Sabbath-keeping period.” Since all Sabbaths are preceded by six equal periods of time (Ex. 20:8-11; 23:10-11; Lev. 25:4), it’s reasonable to believe that the “sabbatism” referred to in v. 9 is a future period of time that will also be preceded by six equal periods of time. But how long is the “sabbatism” that the author had in view going to last?

Answer: In Daniel 7:27 we read that, after Christ returns to earth and establishes the kingdom of God on the earth, the kingdom “shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” And in Revelation 5:10 and 20:4-6, it’s revealed that those who are going to be reigning on the earth with Christ will be reigning as kings and priests for “a thousand years.” Thus, the “sabbatism” referred to in Heb. 4:9 is going to be a thousand years in duration, and will be preceded by six equal periods of time (i.e., 6,000 years).

The “stopping” and “sabbatism” referred to in v. 9 was thus not a present, fulfilled reality for those to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written. Rather, it was something into which the recipients of this letter expected to enter at the time of Christ’s return to earth (Heb. 9:28; 10:25, 35-39), when the kingdom is restored to Israel (Heb. 12:28; cf. Luke 21:27-31; Acts 1:6). It is at this time that the new covenant will be concluded “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Heb. 8:1-13), and those constituting what Paul referred to as “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16) and “all Israel” (Rom. 11:26-27) will be receiving “eonian salvation” (Heb. 5:8-10), and “obtaining the promise of the eonian enjoyment of the allotment” (Heb. 9:15-17; cf. 11-12).

Concerning what was in store for those believers who became “hardened by the seduction of sin” and developed “a wicked heart of unbelief” (resulting in withdrawing from the living God), the author went on to write the following in Heb. 6:4-8:

“For it is impossible for those once enlightened, besides tasting the celestial gratuity and becoming partakers of holy spirit, and tasting the ideal declaration of God, besides the powerful deeds of the impending eon, and falling aside, to be renewing them again to repentance while crucifying for themselves the Son of God again and holding Him up to infamy. For land which is drinking the shower coming often on it, and bringing forth herbage fit for those because of whom it is being farmed also, is partaking of blessing from God; yet, bringing forth thorns and star thistles, it is disqualified and near a curse, whose consummation is burning.”

The author was not warning unbelievers against “falling aside” and the fearful consequences that would follow from this. Rather, he was warning believers – i.e., those who, we’re told, had been “enlightened” and became “partakers of holy spirit” (cf. Heb. 10:32). The author then balanced his warning with the following encouraging exhortation:

“Yet we are persuaded of better things concerning you, beloved, and those which have to do with salvation, even if we are speaking thus. For God is not unjust, to be forgetting [your faith? No, but rather] your work and the love which you display for His name when you serve the saints, and are serving. Now we are yearning for each one of you to be displaying the same diligence toward the assurance of the expectation until the consummation, that you may not be becoming dull. Now be imitators of those who through faith and patience are enjoying the allotment of the promises.”

Although the author followed his words of warning with words of hope, even his encouragement presupposed that the future salvation of the believers to whom he wrote depended on their “work and the love which [they] display for His name when [they] serve the saints, and are serving” (which is precisely the kind of faith-perfecting works of love that James had in mind in the second chapter of his letter). As if this doesn’t make it clear enough that their future salvation was conditional and involved their conduct, we find that their “assurance of the expectation” (i.e., enjoying the allotment of the promises) required “displaying the same diligence toward the assurance of the expectation until the consummation” (v. 11). And, from the context, it’s evident that this “diligence” involved doing the things which the author described in v. 10 (which, of course, involved works of love and not “faith only”).

In other words, those to whom the author wrote could have assurance that they would be saved at the consummation (i.e., at the return of Christ) if they faithfully continued doing what they had been doing – which meant being “imitators of those who through faith and patience are enjoying the allotment of the promises” (v. 12). But what was the author referring to by the word “patience” here (or, we might ask, patience doing what?)? Again, the context makes it clear what this “patience” referred to: “…displaying the same diligence toward the assurance of the expectation until the consummation.” If they were to be saved at the consummation, their faith required works just as their works required faith. Otherwise, they would find themselves facing the fearful fate described later, in Heb. 10:24-31. In these verses we read the following:

For at our sinning voluntarily after obtaining the recognition of the truth, it is no longer leaving a sacrifice concerned with sins, but a certain fearful waiting for judging and fiery jealousy, about to be eating the hostile. Anyone repudiating Moses' law is dying without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, are you supposing, will he be counted worthy who tramples on the Son of God, and deems the blood of the covenant by which he is hallowed contaminating, and outrages the spirit of grace? For we are acquainted with Him Who is saying, Mine is vengeance! I will repay! the Lord is saying, and again, "The Lord will be judging His people." Fearful is it to be falling into the hands of the living God!”

Note that it is believing Israelites – i.e., those who’d obtained the “recognition of the truth” and had been hallowed by “the blood of the covenant” – who were being warned of the possibility of suffering an even worse punishment than that which was inflicted upon those who repudiated Moses’ law (compare this with the author’s warning in Heb. 12:25).

The author went on to refer to this “much worse punishment” as “destruction,” and contrasted it with the salvation (the “procuring of the soul”) that the Hebrew believers hoped to receive at Christ’s return (see Heb. 10:35-39 and compare with 1 Pet. 1:3-9). Given that the salvation in view is that which will be received when Christ arrives and “is seen a second time” (Heb. 9:28), and the “punishment” and “vengeance” of which the author wrote is contrasted with this salvation, we can reasonably conclude that the author had in view the vengeance of God that will be poured out on unbelieving Jews and Gentiles alike during the “day of the Lord.” 

It is simply not possible to reconcile these words of warning and exhortation with Paul’s words to the body of Christ in Romans 5:9 and 8:1, or with what he wrote in 1 Thess. 1:10 and 4:9-11. If the believing Israelites to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written were “in Christ” in the same sense in which every believer in the body of Christ is “in Christ,” it would not have been remotely possible for them to suffer the divine vengeance and judgment that unbelievers will suffer during the day of the Lord. No one who is a member of the body of Christ is appointed to God's indignation; rather, we are all destined to be rescued by Christ (via the event referred to in 1 Thess. 4:15-18 and elsewhere) from the very time of indignation through which the believers among God’s covenant people must endure in order for them to be saved at the time of Christ’s return to earth (Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; cf. Rev. 12:17; 13:10; 14:12).

Echoing his warning from chapter 2, the author later warned the recipients of his letter as follows:

“Beware! You should not be refusing Him Who is speaking! For if those escaped not, refusing the One apprizing on earth, much rather we, who are turning from the One from the heavens, Whose voice then shakes the earth. Yet now He has promised, saying, Still once more shall I be quaking, not only the earth, but heaven also. Now the ‘Still once more’ is making evident the transference of that which is being shaken, as of that having been made, that what is not being shaken should be remaining. Wherefore, accepting an unshakable kingdom, we may have grace through which we may be offering divine service in a way well pleasing to God, with piety and dread, for our God is also a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:25-29

In this passage (as in Heb. 2:1-4), that from which those being addressed were in need of escaping was the indignation of God that is going to come upon the wicked and unbelieving inhabitants of the earth during the “day of the Lord” (and which will prepare the earth and its inhabitants for the “unshakable kingdom” that is in view in v. 28). And the salvation that will be given to those who heed the warnings found throughout the letter to the Hebrews will involve the enjoyment of an allotment in this future kingdom.

In contrast with those who are members of the body of Christ (and whose justification and eonian salvation is not based on anything we do or don’t do), those to whom the author of Hebrews wrote were told that they comprised the “house” of Christ “IF [they] should be retaining the boldness and the glorying of the expectation confirmed unto the consummation” (Heb. 3:6). Note the conditional “if” of this verse. The clear implication is that it was possible for the Jewish believers to whom this letter was written to fail to retain “the boldness and the glorying of the expectation confirmed unto the consummation” (which would result in them ceasing to be included among those who comprised the “house” of Christ). 

Conclusion

It is only when Christ “is seen a second time by those awaiting Him” (Heb. 9:28) that the exhortations and warnings with which the letter to the Hebrews abounds will no longer be needed for believers among God’s covenant people. For it is only at this time – i.e., at “the consummation” that we find referred to in this letter (Heb. 3:14; 6:11; cf. 10:35-39) – that their eonian salvation will be an experienced reality rather than an expectation that requires their continued obedience and endurance. It is only at this future time that their diligence and patience in avoiding and “contending against sin” (12:4) will no longer be necessary for salvation (since they will have been saved and will be enjoying their deserved “rest” or “stopping”). But until this time comes, the Jewish brethren to whom the author wrote had reason to “Beware, lest…anyone of you may be hardened by the seduction of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, that is, IF we should be retaining the beginning of the assumption confirmed unto the consummation…” (Heb. 3:12-15). 

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[1] It’s unlikely that John was referring to unbelieving Gentiles here, since there’s no good reason to think that John – or any of the Jewish believers to whom he wrote – would’ve expected unbelieving Gentiles to provide financial assistance to any of the Jewish ecclesias. On the other hand, we know for a fact that, in accord with the agreement referred to by Paul in Gal. 2:10, the “ecclesias of the nations” to which Paul wrote had been doing just that (Rom. 15:25-31; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1-9:15). 

[2] Since John was also the writer of the prophetic work commonly known as “Revelation” (Rev. 1:1, 9), we can conclude that “the seven ecclesias” to which John was commanded to write (Rev. 1:4, 11) – and which will be in existence during the future “day of the Lord” or “Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10) – will be just as Jewish in composition as the first-century ecclesias to which Peter, James and John wrote (for a defense of the view that “the Lord’s day” in Rev. 1:10 most likely refers to the future period of time that we find referred to elsewhere as “the day of the Lord,” see the following study: Why the snatching away will precede “the Lord’s day”).

[3] Concerning what it meant for the believers among God’s covenant people to be “obeying Christ,” see my article “John’s expectation and doctrinal position concerning salvation.“ As noted earlier, John wrote to believers who belonged to the same company of saints as those to whom the author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote.