Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 3

Sharers

Hebrews 3:14

This verse calls Christians ‘sharers’. That is, people who share Christ. The author of Hebrews first used that word in Hebrews 1:9. That word did not seem important then. But he has used the same word a few times since then, and its importance has grown each time. So let us look carefully now at that word.

The word first appears in Hebrews 1:9, where many translations translate it ‘companions’. That verse comes from a wedding song, in Psalm 45:7. It was the ancient custom for a bridegroom to collect the bride from her parents’ home. But he did not go alone. His companions were with him (Mark 2:19-20). They were his friends, and especially, his brothers. The fact that Jesus calls Christians ‘brothers’ is important to the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 2:11). It helps to explain why Jesus, God’s Son, became a man. And it helps to show that all Christians belong to the same family: the family of God.

A form of this word, ‘share’, appears in Hebrews 2:14. Jesus shared our human nature. He became as human as we are.

The word ‘sharers’ appears again in Hebrews 3:1. We share as brothers in the invitation that we have received from heaven (or, to heaven).

And now in Hebrews 3:14, we have the same word again. We share in Christ. All that we have received comes from our relationship with him. And all that we must do is to continue our trust in him. God helped us to trust him when we first believed. That is how we obtained our relationship with Christ. So we must continue in the same way. We are his ‘sharers’, his ‘companions’, his brothers.

He gave up everything so that he could share our human nature. But we gain everything because of the things that he shares with us. We gain membership of God’s family. We gain an invitation to heaven. We gain our invitation from God himself.

Next part: Why the Bible repeats itself (Hebrews 3:15)

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