As You Endure This Divine Discipline
Hebrews 12:7-9 New Living Translation
7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. The word endure is the Greek word hoop-om-en'-o and it means to stay under (behind), i.e. remain; figuratively, to undergo, i.e. bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere:—abide, endure, (take) patient(-ly), suffer, tarry behind. We are called to stay under the discipline of God. The suffering and persecution that laid ahead for these believers was referred to as discipline. None of us would raise our hand and say I really enjoy suffering. But often suffering is essential for growth and maturity in Christ. It is suffering that produces within us as we wait upon the Lord and rely upon Him, the character and nature of Almighty God.
The word discipline is the Greek word paideia and it means tutorage, i.e. education or training; by implication, disciplinary correction:—chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture. The suffering that lay ahead for these believers was going to be used by God to chasten and bring forth instruction. It was preparing them for greater things in God. We must surrender to the process that God has for us. When we claim to follow Jesus and become His disciple we must realize and understand that our lives no longer belong to us. They belong to Him. His grace is sufficient for everything we will face.
God is treating us as His own children. When we come to Christ we are adopted into God’s family. We go from being separated from God and a child of the devil to a child of Almighty God. Our salvation is a work of God’s grace. It is God who chooses to pursue, and it is God who draws us and opens our eyes to our need for Him. We are not able to do this on our own being spiritual dead and separated from God. But He will indeed work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). That includes the things that are enjoyable and the things that are very hard.
Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Any loving father will discipline his children. The purpose of discipline is instruction for the child. To teach them a better way. It isn’t simply punishment. Punishment is often mean spirited and usually is meant to inflict as much pain and suffering into the individual as possible. It is never done from a place of love. But a father who truly loves his children will discipline them.
If you have a child who is not willing to listen when his father tells them not to touch the hot stove, if discipline is not given, that child will eventually end up hurting themselves. But often a father who loves his children will give warnings in the beginning telling them not to touch the stove. But if the child continues in this behavior, the father may have to use physical discipline to teach and instruct the child. It is far better for the child to receive pain and suffering from their father who is motivated and driven by love than receive pain and suffering from a hot stove that has no feeling for that child and the pain and suffering that could take place could be extraordinary.
The word illegitimate is the Greek word nóthos and it means of uncertain affinity; a spurious or illegitimate son:—bastard. An illegitimate child is one who is with love and one who is not claimed or desired by a parent. A bastard is one who is without a father. All of us born into this world are separated from our Father in Heaven. When we live for ourselves, we don’t understand that we are destroying the plans and purposes that God has for us. The devil lies to us and convinces us that we should chase after the desires of our flesh. But when we come to God and our eyes are open to His love for us, we see our need for Him. But a key to walking with God is living for Him. We must be willing to daily crucify the desires of the sinful nature and be led by the Holy Spirit. In this world we will have trouble, but His grace is sufficient. It is the trouble we face that is used by Almighty God to shape and mold our lives.
Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? The word submit is the Greek word hupŏtassō means to subordinate; reflex. to obey:—be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto[1]. When we submit to Almighty God it means that we surrender our will to His will and purpose. If we are called to suffer for the name of Christ, we willingly surrender. Our sinful fleshly nature may want to flee from it. But this is why we are called to walk by the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. As we follow the leading of God, we will see the value in everything that we face. Great is the reward for those who willingly suffer for the name of Jesus. May we never forget our home is not this earth. It is by a breath and shadow compared to eternity.
Those of us who grew up with earthly fathers who disciplined us understood reflecting on our lives that their love was displayed through the discipline. Without their discipline we would have missed out on essential lessons that were important for things we would do in our lives. The same stands in our relationship with God. Everything we face today will prepare us for tomorrow. Every step with God is ordered and established (Psalm 37:23-24). Nothing happens by accident. This even includes the suffering we are appointed to. God allows it into our lives for a season and a reason.
The writer of Hebrews says and live at the end of verse nine. Our focus must be eternal life. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. To save us from our sins. To save us from being eternally separated from God. This life is not our focus. We are not called to live our best life now. A key to overcoming any trial we face is to live daily for Christ and to have our hearts and minds fixed on Him. He is coming soon and the suffering we face on this earth is discipline and instruction to teach and mold us.
Prayer
Father thank you for all things. Thank you for the suffering. Thank you for the persecution. Help me not to live in fear. Help me to surrender to the process and the journey you have for me. Help me to be the son or daughter you have called me to be. Thank you that you do all things out of love. That all you allow in my life has a purpose. I pray that my life would glorify you in all things. Father thank you for your goodness and may your grace immerse my life more and more. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
[1] James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 75.
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