Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Hebrews 3:2:
Hebrews 3:1-13
Jesus Christ is the epitome of loyalty and faithfulness. He is called a merciful high priest and He fulfills the role finally and ultimately in the service of God to make expiation for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ is faithful in Moses' role.
He surpasses and fulfills the faithfulness and loyalty of Moses in building and ruling the household of God and the church of God. We are in danger of being depersonalized, of having our hearts hardened. Unbelief is faithlessness, and part of faith is loyalty; therefore disloyalty equates to unbelief, to faithlessness.
It is loyalty to God and Jesus Christ first, and then to our brethren, as long as we are following God and doing what He says in His inspired holy written word. The servant owns nothing, is heir to nothing, has no authority and no right to control anything and is himself wholly at the will of another. A son, however, is the heir of all, has a prospective right to all and is looked up to by all with respect if he is a good son or righteous son.
The idea is not merely that Christ is a son; it is that as a son, He is placed over the whole arrangements of the household and is one to whom all is entrusted as if it were His own. We are part of God the Father and Jesus Christ's family. We belong to the family over which Christ has been placed as the Firstborn Son.
Jesus Christ is the consummation of God's determined loyalty to His gracious covenant relationship with His people. Christ is faithful and loyal to the Father and the Father to Him. We have the wonderful opportunity to be part of this faithful and loyal family.
The training ground for it is here and now, in our own households, and in the household of God. Loyalty means enduring commitment to a person over a long period of time, often with the implication of the commitment persisting in the face of obstacles that threaten the lasting commitment. Jesus Christ's words on loyalty and faithfulness suggest complete sacrifice for others, which is exactly what Jesus Christ did.
Christ Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house. This Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses.
Moses built a tabernacle. Christ is going to build a House, a Tabernacle, a Temple. The ground has been prepared by John the Baptist.
He who has built the house has more honor than the house. Every house is built by some man, but He who built all things is God. Moses truly was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.
Christ is as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Paul called himself a wise master-builder. Jesus Christ is the wise Master-builder.
He builds by means of His Spirit, His Word, His interventions, and His gifts. Jesus did a much better job than John did. Something interesting happened along the way.
Jesus preached to thousands of people during His ministry. A strange thing happened along the way to this Man, the greatest Man, the greatest Builder who ever walked the face of the earth. An amazing turn of events occurred that one would hardly expect to occur to the One who deserves more glory than any person who has ever lived.
There is a great difference between Moses and Jesus Christ. Moses was simply a servant, and he served in the house that was built by another. Jesus Christ built the house, and He is the Son of the Owner.
He has the power and the glory, and He receives the greater of everything because He is the Son and not just a servant. Because He is greater, He is more worthy of honor and attention. When we have something that Moses said versus something that Jesus Christ said, they are not going to disagree, but what Jesus Christ said is the governor for what Moses said.
What Jesus said is the bedrock on which everything else sits. He is the chief cornerstone, and the prophets and the apostles hang together on Him. He is like the keystone of an arch, which will fall without the keystone being in place, and it is the keystone that everything is balanced off of.
When there is something in the Old Testament that we do not understand, if we find what Jesus said on that subject, that should be the baseline of our understanding. Then we go back to the Old Testament and see how that fits in with what Jesus said. Jesus is the key, and He is the One who is the most important.
Christ is greater, better, superior to Moses! Whoever the author was, he handled this very delicately - very nicely. He could have caused offense by seemingly putting Moses down. Moses was held in very high regard by the Hebrew people, but here was One greater than Moses. And yet he was able to put it across in such a way that he showed that Moses, indeed, was faithful; but he was faithful as a servant within the house of which Jesus Christ is the Builder.
But notice the word confidence in verse 6. In Hebrews 4:16, the exact same word is translated boldness! These people were not rejoicing. And they were not bold any longer. Their apathy had them just sort of lying there, taking life in. They were observers, but they were not doers. They were neglecting what had been given to them. And so here is an exhortation: Be bold in overcoming and growing. Be confident in doing those things. And rejoice in the greatness of the message that we have been given. Like I said, you cannot receive a greater message than the one that you have been given. It just is not possible to hear any news that is any greater than what God is preparing for His children.
As with so many things, the symbol of the house points us back to Christ as well. He has built and is building a spiritual house, and we are that house, as long as we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. We are that house because we are in Him. Jesus promised that the gates of the grave would not prevail against the church - this house. The individual members die physically, but this house has continued for some 2,000 years. It has a sure foundation. This does not mean that this house is always tranquil inside, because it consists of still-imperfect people, and the carnality that remains tends to cause friction. But in the long view, the house is far more stable than anything that spiritual Egypt can offer because it is founded on and upheld by the Son of God. The spiritual house is a shelter from the storms that rage outside. So, part of our duty is not to bring corruption, symbolized by leaven, into either our own homes or into this spiritual house, but to prioritize feeding on the Bread of Life and helping other members of the household do the same.
The church is both God's home on earth and our home as members of His household. There is a qualification for each one of us, even each household, to be part of that household of God. Jesus is contrasted with Moses as a Son over God's house.
Moses was no more than a member of the house. He was essentially one with all others. Christ has an innate superiority.
He is the Son and as such is over the household. The spiritual or symbolic sense of household shows us united by God's election and salvation through Jesus Christ, therefore, we are included in God's household of faith. The spiritual household is first of all a relational image, a large and extended family including various associates and household servants known affectionately as brothers and sisters, or in general brethren.
Closely related is the architectural imagery of the church as pillar and foundation of the truth. In contrast to the pagan temples and even the stone Temple in Jerusalem, we are a spiritual house, built by Jesus Christ with living stones. In this house of God is the pillar of the truth.
Moses is a forerunner of Christ. It is interesting that Moses' Egyptian name means son. He was a type of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, and both of them were considered faithful in their house.
