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NASB | Matthew 7:24 ¶ "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 7:24 ¶ "So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. [Luke 6:47-49] |
Bible Question:
Joe, What would you say that Heb 10:14 means then? It says that Christ's offering has perfected us for all time (those of us who are being sanctified). If we have not been made perfect yet, then why does the writer say that we have been (past tense) for ALL time? Thanks for your input. McGracer |
Bible Answer: You wrote: "f we have not been made perfect yet, then why does the writer say that we have been (past tense) for ALL time?" There are a number of ways that Hebrews 10:14 could be interpreted in light of the rest of Scripture. First of all, you mention this as past tense, which undoubtedly it is. The question is when this perfection actually takes effect in the life of the believer. If we look at the verse carefully, it is Christ's sacrifice that has made His saints perfect. Christ's sacrificed secured that. But was I perfect from the moment that Christ's sacrifice was made? Was I perfect almost 2000 years before I was born? Was I born in a state of perfection? Note that our faith is not mentioned here as perfecting us, but Christ's sacrifice. Secondly, it is obvious to us that we are not yet perfect. Not only do we still sin, but there still remains for all of God's people the final aspect of our salvation: our glorification at the end of the age, when Christ returns and we become in nature everything that Christ is in His human nature. We will be unable to sin and possess a glorified body in conformity with Christ's own. If we are already, really and truly "perfect," then we couldn't really say that there is any improvement that is coming, because it is possible by definition to improve on something that is already "perfect." So we could very well conclude that the past tense is used here to show that Christ's sacrificed has once for all secured the perfection of God's people. Christ's sacrifice has accomplished the task, but it is still a future application to us. This is seen in other passages of Scripture, such as when Paul states in Romans 8:30 that God "glorified" us. Taking that verse in isolation, we could conclude that we are already glorified (which would be a pretty sad state of affairs if this is the best it is going to get!). However, in the same chapter Paul writes: "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." --Romans 8:16-17 Here glorification is presented as a future reality hinging upon our suffering with Christ. In the same chapter he writes that "we may be glorified" and that "those whom He justified He also glorified." Is our glorification a future event or a past one? The best understanding of this, and the one that conforms to the rest of Scripture, is that glorification is a future event, guaranteed in eternity past, according to God's foreknowledge and on the grounds of the atonement of Jesus Christ. And I hold that our glorification is what is being referred to in Hebrews 10:14. It is grounded in Christ's sacrifice 2000 years ago (the past), but awaiting its full realization at the end of the age (future). --Joe! |