Hebrews 3

"The word 'apostle' is an Anglicized form derived from the Greek apostolos, meaning literally 'one who is sent,' and connoting an envoy or official messenger, who speaks and acts by the authority of one superior to himself. In this sense Paul afterward applied the title to Christ as one specially sent and commissioned of the Father." (Jesus the Christ, 212)

 

"The first officers placed in the kingdom of God are apostles...Paul informs us (Heb. 3:1) that Jesus Himself was an apostle. Holding the office Himself, He had the most perfect right to confer the same calling upon others; hence He first chose them, and then ordained them; after this He sent them forth to preach (Matthew 10)." (Orson Pratt's Works [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1945], 41 - 42.)

 

"The epistle to the Hebrews was probably written to Jewish Christians who were struggling with the issue of the Law of Moses and its fulfillment in the gospel of Christ. This epistle is an extended essay on the superiority of Christ and the gospel to Moses and the institutions of the Mosaic Law. The author emphasizes the superiority of Christ to angels (Heb. 1-2) and to Moses (Heb. 3), his superiority as a high priest to the Jewish high priests (Heb. 4-5), the superiority of his Melchizedek Priesthood to the priesthood of Aaron (Heb. 7), and the superiority of his sacrifice and covenant to those of the Mosaic Law (Heb. 8-9)." (Stephen E. Robinson, "The Law after Christ," Ensign, Sept. 1983, 72)

 

"To admit the existence of a designer in the evidence of design, to say there must be a contriver in a world of intelligent contrivance, to believe in an adapter when man's life is directly dependent upon the most perfect adaptations conceivable, is but to accept self-evident truths. The burden of proof as to the non-existence of God rests upon him who questions the solemn truth that God lives. 'Every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.' Plain as is the truth so expressed, there are among men a few who profess to doubt the evidence of reason and to deny the author of their own being. Strange, is it not, that here and there one, who finds in the contrivance exhibited by the ant in building her house, in the architecture of the honey-comb, and in the myriad instances of orderly instinct among the least of living things, a proof of intelligence from which man may learn and be wise, will yet question the operation of intelligence in the creation of worlds and in the constitution of the universe?" (Articles of Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 29.)

 

"We sometimes feel great respect and reverence for creative genius as expressed in great art or music. How much more should we revere the power and majesty of our Divine Creator? We may stand in awe of man's creations of beautiful buildings or bridges. But remember the Apostle Paul's words to the Hebrews:

 

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God' (Heb. 3:3-4).

 

"Those who feel no reverence for the creations and the divine attributes of God likely will have little appreciation for other sacred things. Such a lack of veneration for God's creations may diminish until a person becomes totally insensitive to the feelings of others. This, I am afraid, is the condition in some parts of the world." ("God's Love for His Children," Ensign, May 1988, 58)

 

"Now Paul is saying that the Meridian Saints are the Lord's house, among whom is Christ the Lord who excels even Moses in glory and greatness. Moses was the servant in the house for his day and age, but Christ is the Son who made the house and whose it is." (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:147)

 

Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also' (DC 84:23-25).

 

"Camped in the hot, waterless wilderness of southern Palestine, the Israelites challenged Moses, saying, 'Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?' (Exodus 17:3). This complaint might have been understandable had these people never seen the hand of God in their lives, but this incident occurred after the miraculous Passover, after their passage through the Red Sea dry shod, and after the outpouring of manna and quail from heaven. In response to the Israelites' faithlessness, an exasperated Moses cried out to the Lord, 'What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me' (Exodus 17:4). The Lord answered: 'Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah' (Exodus 17:6-7).

 

"Psalm 95 provides the linguistic link that identifies this incident as the Provocation: (quotes Psalm 95:7-11; Heb. 3:8-15).

 

"The event at Meribah is the Provocation mentioned throughout the Bible. In that incident, the Lord tested the faith of the children of Israel and their willingness to accept his love and grace. Grace is the Lord's divine enabling power, given to humankind to help them with all the challenges of their lives; grace ultimately empowers them to lay hold on heaven itself. But the Israelites' response to the Lord's abundant generosity illustrates a religious paradox: God offers his children grace, but the children will not seek it; God offers his children heaven, but the children will not enter in." (M. Catherine Thomas, Thy People Shall Be My People and Thy God My God: The 22d Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994], 167.)

 

Disobedience and rebellion are heinous sins, but the underlying cause of both is usually unbelief. Paul, who has championed the cause of faith and the importance of believing, here identifies the fundamental problem with his forefathers. So we may apply the same principle to the disobedience and rebellion we see around us. Faith is the first principle of revealed religion and becomes the great motivating factor behind all religious acts. Hence, without it, we have no motivation to do the right. Therefore, the disobedient and rebellious often behave as they do simply because they lack faith. They don't really believe in Christ enough to see an advantage in following him. Paul gives us an example of how salvation depends on faith, for neither his forefathers nor we can enter into the rest of the Lord without the fundamental principle of faith.