Hebrews 3:6
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
But Christ is faithful
The phrase "But Christ is faithful" sets a contrast with Moses, who was a servant in God's house. The Greek word for "faithful" is "pistos," which conveys reliability and trustworthiness. In the context of the New Testament, this faithfulness is not just a passive attribute but an active, ongoing commitment to God's will. Christ's faithfulness is foundational to the Christian faith, as it assures believers of His unchanging nature and His fulfillment of God's promises.

as the Son
The term "Son" here is significant, emphasizing the unique relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Unlike Moses, who was a servant, Jesus is the Son, indicating a position of authority and inheritance. The Greek word "huios" is used, which denotes not just a child but an heir, one who possesses the rights and privileges of the family. This highlights the superiority of Christ over all previous messengers and leaders in the biblical narrative.

over God’s house
"Over God’s house" signifies Christ's authority and leadership. The "house" refers to the people of God, the community of believers. In the Old Testament, the house of God was often associated with the temple or the tabernacle, but in the New Testament, it represents the spiritual community. Christ's role "over" the house indicates His supreme authority and care for His people, guiding and protecting them as a shepherd over his flock.

And we are His house
This phrase identifies believers as the dwelling place of God. The Greek word "oikos" for "house" implies a household or family, suggesting intimacy and belonging. This is a profound truth that believers are not just followers but are integrally part of God's family, His spiritual house. This concept is echoed in other New Testament writings, such as 1 Peter 2:5, where believers are described as living stones being built into a spiritual house.

if we hold firmly
The conditional "if" introduces a requirement for believers. The Greek word "katecho" means to hold fast or retain. This implies perseverance and steadfastness in faith. The Christian journey is not passive; it requires active engagement and commitment to the truths of the Gospel. Holding firmly is a call to remain steadfast in the face of trials and temptations, reflecting the perseverance of the saints.

to our confidence
"Confidence" here is translated from the Greek word "parrhesia," which means boldness or assurance. This confidence is not self-derived but is rooted in the work and person of Christ. It is the assurance of salvation and the boldness to approach God, knowing that we are accepted and loved. This confidence is a hallmark of the Christian faith, enabling believers to live boldly and witness courageously.

and the hope of which we boast
The "hope" mentioned is the confident expectation of what God has promised. The Greek word "elpis" for hope is not wishful thinking but a firm assurance based on God's faithfulness. "Boast" translates from "kauchema," which means to glory or take pride in. This boasting is not in human achievement but in the hope and promises of God. It is a declaration of trust in God's future fulfillment of His promises, encouraging believers to live with an eternal perspective.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Christ
The central figure in this verse, Jesus Christ is depicted as the faithful Son over God's house, emphasizing His divine authority and leadership.

2. God's House
This refers to the spiritual household of God, which includes all believers who are part of the body of Christ.

3. Believers
Those who are part of God's house, called to hold firmly to their confidence and hope in Christ.
Teaching Points
Christ's Faithfulness
Jesus is faithful as the Son over God's house, which assures us of His reliability and trustworthiness. We can have confidence in His leadership and care for us.

Our Identity as God's House
As believers, we are collectively God's house. This identity calls us to live in unity and holiness, reflecting the character of Christ.

Holding Firmly to Confidence and Hope
The verse challenges us to maintain our confidence and hope in Christ. This involves a steadfast faith and an unwavering commitment to the gospel.

The Conditional If
The word "if" indicates that being part of God's house requires perseverance in faith. It is a call to active and ongoing faithfulness.

Boasting in Hope
Our hope in Christ is something to boast about, not in arrogance, but in joyful assurance of what He has done and will do.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean for Christ to be "faithful as the Son over God’s house," and how does this impact your daily walk with Him?

2. How can you actively participate in being part of God's house, and what practical steps can you take to reflect this identity in your community?

3. In what ways can you "hold firmly to your confidence and the hope" in Christ, especially during challenging times?

4. How does understanding your role as part of God's house influence your relationships with other believers?

5. Reflect on a time when you boasted in the hope of Christ. How can you share this hope with others in your life today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
This passage also speaks of believers as God's temple, emphasizing the holiness and sacredness of being part of God's house.

Ephesians 2:19-22
Paul describes believers as members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

1 Peter 2:5
Believers are described as living stones being built into a spiritual house, highlighting the communal and spiritual nature of God's house.
The Church, God's TempleW. Jones Hebrews 3:6
What We are to ChristD. Young Hebrews 3:6
The Superiority of ChristJ.S. Bright Hebrews 3:1-6
The Superiority of Christ to Moses the Reason Why They Should Cleave to ChristC. New Hebrews 3:1-6
Christ as a Son Over His Own HouseJohn Smyth, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Christ in Relation to the True ChurchHomilistHebrews 3:3-6
Christ the Lord, and Moses the ServantA. Saphir.Hebrews 3:3-6
Christian StabilityW. Arnot, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Christians are God's HouseW. Jones, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Confidence in DeathHebrews 3:3-6
Confidence to the EndHebrews 3:3-6
Divine SocialismJohn Clifford, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Example of StabilityJ. Hartwig.Hebrews 3:3-6
God in HistoryA. T. Pierson, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Holding FastA. Maclaren, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
If We Hold Fast the ConfidenceD. Dickson, M. A.Hebrews 3:3-6
Marks of the Church of GodE. Deering, B. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
Means for PerseveranceW. Gouge.Hebrews 3:3-6
Means of StabilityJohn Arndt.Hebrews 3:3-6
Of Those Who are the House of ChristW. Gouge.Hebrews 3:3-6
The Being and Attributes of God Proved from His WorksN. Emmons, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
The Church Christ's HouseM. Henry.Hebrews 3:3-6
The Nature and Advantages of the Believer's ConfidenceDonald Fraser, D. D.Hebrews 3:3-6
The Spiritual HouseC. Molyneux, M. A.Hebrews 3:3-6
People
Hebrews
Places
Egypt, Jerusalem
Topics
Authority, Boast, Boldness, Christ, Confidence, Courage, Faithful, Fast, Firm, Fixed, Glad, Glorying, God's, Hearts, Hold, Hope, House-whose, Indeed, Ours, Pride, Rejoicing, Till
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hebrews 3:6

     2021   Christ, faithfulness
     5569   suffering, hardship
     6121   boasting
     7024   church, nature of
     7142   people of God, NT
     7382   house of God
     8203   character
     8221   courage, strength from God
     9613   hope, as confidence
     9615   hope, results of

Hebrews 3:1-6

     2422   gospel, confirmation
     5340   house
     6684   mediator

Hebrews 3:2-6

     1035   God, faithfulness
     6610   adoption, descriptions

Hebrews 3:3-6

     2069   Christ, pre-eminence
     7027   church, purpose

Hebrews 3:5-6

     5103   Moses, significance

Library
March 22. "Hold Fast the Confidence and the Rejoicing of the Hope Firm unto the End" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb. iii. 6). The attitude of faith is simple trust. It is Elijah saying to Ahab, "There is a sound of abundance of rain." But then there comes usually a deeper experience in which the prayer is inwrought; it is Elijah on the mount, with his face between his knees, travailing, as it were, in birth for the promised blessing. He has believed for it--and now he must take. The first is Joash shooting the arrow out of the windows,
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 10. "Hold Fast the Confidence" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence" (Heb. iii. 6). Seldom have we seen a sadder wreck of even the highest, noblest Christian character than when the enemy has succeeded in undermining the simple trust of a child of God, and got him into self-accusing and condemnation. It is a fearful place when the soul allows Satan to take the throne and act as God, sitting in judgment on its every thought and act; and keeping it in the darkness of ceaseless condemnation. Well indeed has the apostle told us to hold firmly
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Persuasive to Steadfastness
We shall have to show the value of faith while we try to open up the text before us, in which I see, first, a high privilege: "we are made partakers of Christ;" and secondly, by implication, a serious question--the question whether or no we have been made partakers of Christ and, then, in the third place, an unerring test. "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." I. First, then, here is A VERY HIGH PRIVILEGE. "We are made partakers of Christ."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Mind of Jesus.
THE MIND OF JESUS! What a study is this! To attain a dim reflection of it, is the ambition of angels--higher they can not soar. "To be conformed to the image of His Son!"--it is the end of God in the predestination of His Church from all eternity. "We shall be like Him!"--it is the Bible picture of heaven! In a former little volume, we pondered some of the gracious Words which proceeded out of the mouth of Jesus. In the present, we have a few faint lineaments of that holy Character which constituted
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Discourse II.
Chapter XIV.--Texts explained; Fourthly, Hebrews iii. 2 Introduction; the Regula Fidei counter to an Arian sense of the text; which is not supported by the word servant,' nor by made' which occurs in it; (how can the Judge be among the works' which God will bring into judgment?') nor by faithful;' and is confuted by the immediate context, which is about Priesthood; and by the foregoing passage, which explains the word faithful' as meaning trustworthy, as do 1 Pet. iv. fin. and other texts. On the
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Exercise of Mercy Optional with God.
ROMANS ix. 15.--"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." This is a part of the description which God himself gave to Moses, of His own nature and attributes. The Hebrew legislator had said to Jehovah: "I beseech thee show me thy glory." He desired a clear understanding of the character of that Great Being, under whose guidance he was commissioned to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. God said to
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Of the Creation 0F Man
Gen. i. 26, 27.--"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them."--With Eph. iv. 24.--"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."--And Heb.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Weighed, and Found Wanting
'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4. And they said one
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And if any Man Sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,",
1 John ii. 1.--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,", &c. There is here a sad supposition, but too certain, that any man may sin, yea, that all men will sin, even those who have most communion with God, and interest in the blood of Christ. Yet they are not altogether exempted from this fatal lot of mankind. It is incident even to them to sin, and too frequently incident, but yet we have a happy and sweet provision, for indemnity from the hazard of sin,--"we have an advocate
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
OR, THE THRONE OF GRACE ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The churches of Christ are very much indebted to the Rev. Charles Doe, for the preservation and publishing of this treatise. It formed one of the ten excellent manuscripts left by Bunyan at his decease, prepared for the press. Having treated on the nature of prayer in his searching work on 'praying with the spirit and with the understanding also,' in which he proves from the sacred scriptures that prayer cannot be merely read or said, but must
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ Himself is the one perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in man. 1. Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke i. 35, R. V., "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee; and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God." As we have already seen, in regeneration the believer is begotten of God, but Jesus Christ was
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

Apostles To-Day?
"Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are ye not my work in the Lord?"--1 Cor. ix. 1. We may not take leave of the apostolate without a last look at the circle of its members. It is a closed circle; and every effort to reopen it tends to efface a characteristic of the New Covenant. And yet the effort is being made again and again. We see it in Rome's apostolic succession; in the Ethical view gradually effacing the boundary-line between the apostles and believers;
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Introduction to Four Discourses against the Arians.
Written Between 356 And 360. There is no absolutely conclusive evidence as to the date of these Discourses, in fact they would appear from the language of ii. 1 to have been issued at intervals. The best judges, however, are agreed in assigning them to the fruitful period of the third exile.' The Discourses cannot indeed be identified with the lost account of the Arian heresy addressed to certain Egyptian monks (see Introd. to Arian Hist. supra); but the demand for such a treatise may have set Athanasius
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Predestination and Calling
Eternal Father, who shall look Into thy secret will? None but the Lamb shall take the book, And open every seal. None but he shall ever unroll that sacred record and read it to the assembled world. How then am I to know whether I am predestinated by God unto eternal life or not? It is a question in which my eternal interests are involved; am I among that unhappy number who shall be left to live in sin and reap the due reward of their iniquity; or do I belong to that goodly company, who albeit that
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

How Shall the Soul Make Use of Christ, as the Life, which is under the Prevailing Power of Unbelief and Infidelity.
That we may help to give some clearing to a poor soul in this case, we shall, 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider what the causes hereof are. 3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case; and, 4. Give some directions how a soul in that case should make use of Christ as the Life, to the end it may be delivered therefrom. And, first, There are many several steps to, and degrees of this distemper. We shall mention a few; as, 1. When they cannot come
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Coming of the Called.
"That the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth."--Rom. ix. 11. The question is, whether the elect cooperate in the call. We say, Yes; for the call is no call, in the fullest sense of the word, unless the called one can hear and hears so distinctly that it impresses him, causes him to rise and to obey God. For this reason our fathers, for the sake of clearness, used to distinguish between the ordinary call and the effectual call. God's call does not
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Shepherd and the Fold
... Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.' EXODUS XV. 13. What a grand triumphal ode! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! We belong to a better time, but still we can feel its grandeur. The deliverance has made the singer look forward to the end, and his confidence in the issue is confirmed. I. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. The original is 'lead gently.' Cf.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

After Prayer Jesus Selects Twelve Apostles.
(Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. X. 2-4; ^B Mark III. 13-19; ^C Luke VI. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain ^b 13 And he goeth up into the mountain, ^c to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God. [It was a momentous occasion. He was about to choose those to whom he was to entrust the planting, organizing, and training of that church which was to be the purchase of his own blood. Jesus used such important crises, not as occasions for anxiety and
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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