Hebrews 12:6

4 ^aYou have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
^a“My son, do not despise the¹ chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For ^awhom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 ^aIf¹ you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^bson is there whom a father does not chasten?

8 But if you are without chastening, ^aof 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 ^athe 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, ^athat we may be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no¹ chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^athe peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality

12 Therefore ^astrengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 ^aPursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^bwithout which no one will see the Lord:

15 looking carefully lest anyone ^afall short of the grace of God; lest any ^broot of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Hebrews 12:6 Mean?

Hebrews addressed people fading in their walk toward salvation, enduring difficult trials without facing them. Chastening, closer in meaning to "discipline," comes from the Greek paideuo, an active training directed toward moral and spiritual development to influence conscious will and action. It includes formal instruction, repetitive drill until a lesson is learned, chastisement (spanking, rebuke, stern correction) for those who refuse to get it, and encouragement. In a religious sense, it educates someone to conform to divine truth. God's sons should expect correction. He starts easy, but discipline grows sterner when they fail to respond, even extending to the Tribulation. Never sadistic, His discipline is always corrective, turning His sons in another direction and removing impediments to spiritual development, so discouragement is unnecessary.

Hebrews 12:4-11

Hebrews was written to a group of people who were fading away in their walk toward salvation. They were going through some pretty difficult trials, but they were not facing up to them. The underlying theme here is chastening. Many modern translations will use the word "discipline," and technically, it is closer in meaning to the Greek word.

Discipline covers formal instruction, but it also includes drill. Drill is associated with learning something repetitively—over and over again till we get it.

Discipline also includes punishment: spanking, rebuke, stern correction. Paul is saying that the sons of God should expect correction and rebuke. God has a way of starting off easy, but the punishment, the rebuke, the discipline become more stern as we fail to respond until He finally gets our attention. This could go so far as the Tribulation.

God's discipline is always corrective. He is not a sadist; He does not discipline for the fun of it. He disciplines us because we need to be turned in another direction. He is removing impediments to our spiritual development, so we do not need to become discouraged.

John W. Ritenbaugh
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Two)

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Hebrews 12:6:**

Habakkuk 2:2
John 9:2-3
John 15:1-5
John 15:1-5
John 15:1-8
Galatians 5:23
Titus 2:11-12
Hebrews 10:26-27
1 John 4:8
Revelation 19:7

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