John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 4

Let us therefore fear, etc. He concludes that there was reason to fear, so that the Jews to whom he was writing might not be deprived of the blessing offered to them. And then he says, for fear that anyone, suggesting that it was his anxious desire to lead them, one and all, to God.

For it is the duty of a good shepherd, in watching over the whole flock, to care for every sheep in such a way that no one might be lost. Indeed, we ought also to feel for one another in such a way that everyone should fear for his neighbors as well as for himself.

But the fear which is recommended here is not that which shakes the confidence of faith, but is such as fills us with such concern that we do not become sluggish with indifference. Let us then fear—not that we ought to tremble or to entertain distrust as if uncertain about the outcome—but so that we are not unfaithful to God’s grace.

By saying, Lest we fall short of the promise left to us, he implies that no one falls short of it except the one who, by rejecting grace, has first renounced the promise. For God is so far from changing His mind about doing us good that He does not cease to bestow His gifts, except when we despise His calling. The inferential word therefore, or then, means that by the fall of others we are taught humility and watchfulness, according to what Paul also says:

These through unbelief have fallen; do not then be high-minded, but fear (Romans 11:20).

For to us, etc. He reminds us that the doctrine by which God invites us to himself today is the same as that which he formerly delivered to the fathers. Why did he say this? It is so that we may know that God's calling will not be any more profitable to us than it was to them, unless we make it sure by faith.

So, he concedes that the Gospel is indeed preached to us. But lest we boast in vain, he immediately adds that the unbelieving, whom God had formerly favored with participation in such great blessings, still received no fruit from them. Therefore, we also will be destitute of his blessing unless we receive it by faith.

He repeats the word hear for this purpose: so that we may know that hearing is useless unless the word addressed to us is received by faith.

But here we must observe the connection between the word and faith. This connection is such that faith is not to be separated from the word, and the word separated from faith can confer no good.

This is not to say, indeed, that the efficacy or power of the word depends on us; for even if the whole world were false, he who cannot lie would still never cease to be true. However, the word never puts forth its power in us unless faith gives it an entrance.

It is indeed the power of God unto salvation, but only to those who believe (Romans 1:16). In it the righteousness of God is revealed, but it is from faith to faith. Thus, the word of God is always efficacious and saving to people when viewed in itself or in its own nature; but no fruit will be found except by those who believe.

Regarding a former statement—when I said that there is no faith where the word is lacking, and that those who make such a separation wholly extinguish faith and reduce it to nothing—this subject is worthy of special notice. For it is therefore evident that faith cannot exist in anyone except the children of God, to whom alone the promise of adoption is offered. For what sort of faith do devils have, to whom no salvation is promised? And what sort of faith do all the ungodly have who are ignorant of the word? Hearing must always precede faith, so that we may indeed know that God speaks and not men.

He now begins to embellish the passage he had quoted from David. He has until now taken it, as they say, according to the letter—that is, in its literal sense—but he now amplifies and decorates it. Thus, he alludes to rather than explains the words of David.

Paul employed this sort of decoration in Romans 10:6, when referring to these words of Moses: “Say not, who shall ascend into heaven!” etc. Nor is it indeed unsuitable, when applying Scripture to the subject at hand, to illustrate with figurative terms what is delivered more simply. However, the sum of the whole matter is this: what God threatens in the Psalm regarding the loss of His rest also applies to us, since He also invites us today to a rest.

The chief difficulty with this passage arises from the fact that many pervert its meaning. By declaring that there is a rest for us, the Apostle had no other aim than to rouse us to desire it and also to make us fear that we might be shut out of it through unbelief. However, He also teaches us at the same time that the rest into which an entrance is now open for us is far more valuable than that in the land of Canaan. But let us now come to particulars.

For we which have believed do enter into rest, or, for we enter into the rest after we have believed, etc. This is an argument from the contrary. Unbelief alone shuts us out; therefore, faith alone opens an entrance. We must indeed remember what he has already stated: that God, being angry with the unbelieving, had sworn that they should not partake of that blessing. Therefore, they enter in where unbelief does not hinder, provided only that God invites them. But by speaking in the first person, he allures them with greater sweetness, separating them from outsiders.

Although the works, etc. To define what our rest is, he reminds us of what Moses relates: that God, having finished the creation of the world, immediately rested from His works. He finally concludes that the true rest of the faithful, which is to continue forever, will be when they will rest as God did.

And undoubtedly, as the highest happiness of man is to be united to his God, so this union ought to be his ultimate end, to which he should direct all his thoughts and actions.

This he proves because God, who is said to have rested, declared a long time afterward that He would not give His rest to the unbelieving. He would have declared this to no purpose if He had not intended that the faithful should rest after His own example.

Hence he says, It remaineth that some must enter in: for if not entering in is the punishment for unbelief, then an entrance, as has been said, is open to believers.

However, there is some more difficulty in what he immediately adds: that another today is appointed for us in the Psalm because the former people had been excluded. But David's words, one might say, seem to express no such thing and mean only this: that God punished the people's unbelief by refusing them possession of the land.

To this I answer that the inference is correct: what was denied to them is offered to us. For the Holy Spirit reminds and warns us not to do the same thing, lest we incur the same punishment. For how does the matter stand? If nothing were promised today, how could this warning be suitable: Take heed lest the same thing happen to you as to the fathers. Therefore, the Apostle rightly says that just as the fathers’ unbelief deprived them of the promised possession, the promise is renewed to their children, so that they may possess what their fathers had neglected.

For if Jesus had given them rest, or, had obtained rest for them, etc. The Apostle did not mean to deny that David understood rest as the land of Canaan, into which Joshua led the people. However, he denies that this is the final rest to which the faithful aspire, and which we also have in common with the faithful of that age.

For it is certain that they looked higher than that land. Indeed, the land of Canaan was valued so much primarily because it was an image and a symbol of the spiritual inheritance.

Therefore, when they obtained possession of it, they should not have rested as though they had attained the summit of their desires. On the contrary, they should have meditated on what was spiritual, as suggested by it. Those to whom David addressed the Psalm were in possession of that land, but they were reminded of the duty of seeking a better rest.

We then see in what way the land of Canaan was a rest: it was indeed evanescent, beyond which it was the duty of the faithful to advance. In this sense, the Apostle denies that Joshua gave that rest, for the people under his guidance entered the promised land for this purpose: that they might with greater eagerness advance towards heaven.

And from this we may easily learn the difference between us and them. For though the same purpose is intended for both, they had external types added to guide them. We do not have such types, nor do we indeed need them, for the naked truth itself is set before our eyes.

Though our salvation is still in hope, yet the truth itself leads directly to heaven. Nor does Christ extend His hand to us to lead us by the indirect course of types and figures, but rather to withdraw us from the world and raise us to heaven.

The Apostle separates the shadow from the substance for this reason: because he was dealing with the Jews, who were too much attached to external things.

He draws the conclusion that there is a 'sabbath-keeping' reserved for God's people, that is, a spiritual rest, to which God daily invites us.