In Hebrews, the Spirit confronts us with a decisive truth: God has not left us to the cold distance of rituals or the terror of Sinai. He has spoken—finally and fully—in the Son. This is not a mere change in communication style; it is the unveiling of God’s heart and the foundation of our deliverance. Sonship is not a theological accessory. It is the very means by which God breaks the chains of bondage and fear that once held us captive.
Sonship: The End of Bondage and Fear
The root of spiritual bondage is not ignorance or lack of effort, but alienation from God as Father. Hebrews insists: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
God’s answer is not a new law, but a new relationship. He establishes sonship and speaks to us in the Son—intimately, comfortingly, and with the authority of One who has finished the work. The prodigal son did not return because he perfected his confession, but because he remembered the goodness of the Father’s house. Repentance is not groveling; it is agreeing with God that it is better to be a son in His presence than a slave in the far country.
This is the atmosphere God creates: not thunder and dread, but the warmth of acceptance and the call to come boldly. The voice of the Son draws us out of fear and into confidence.
The High Priest and the Everlasting Covenant
Our confidence is not grounded in our fluctuating performance, but in the everlasting covenant God made with David’s seed—Christ Himself. This covenant is the unbreakable legal basis for our justification and salvation. Christ, as our High Priest, does not merely represent us in theory; He actively ministers His victory to us. He intercedes, He supplies, and He brings us into the reality of sonship.
We do not approach a throne of judgment, but the throne of grace, where the Son confesses “Abba, Father” on our behalf. This is not a sentimental abstraction. It is the finished work applied: the Son, over His own house, securing our place and our inheritance.
To lose sight of this covenantal foundation is to lose everything. If you make your standing before God depend on your works, your progress, or your emotional state, you forfeit the very confidence and access Christ died to secure. The error is not minor; it is a collapse of justification and a return to bondage.
Edification: The Building Up of the Body
Christ is not only the Son over His house; He is the builder of that house. The gifts He gives are not for spectacle, but for the edification of the body. The goal is unity, maturity, and the full enjoyment of our inheritance. As we are built up, we grow in confidence and hope—not because we are improving ourselves, but because we are being rooted ever more deeply in the doctrine of Christ.
Edification is not optional. Without it, the body remains weak, tossed by every wind of doctrine and vulnerable to the spirit of bondage. The gifts are given so that we might come to the unity of the faith, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Anything less is a denial of God’s purpose in the church.
The Danger of Drifting
Hebrews issues a sober warning: “We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2:1). To drift from the present truth of Christ’s finished work is not a neutral mistake—it is a return to fear, a forfeiture of confidence, and a step toward apostasy. The consequences are not theoretical. Where sonship is neglected, bondage returns. Where the doctrine of Christ is abandoned, the church is left exposed and powerless.
This is why the reduction of God’s heart to mere glory-reception, as in much Calvinistic teaching, is not a harmless nuance. It misrepresents the gospel, obscures the Father’s desire to win our hearts, and leaves believers in confusion and fear. The loss is incalculable: the collapse of assurance, the erosion of hope, and the suffocation of the church’s true life.
Hold Fast: Confidence and Rejoicing
“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6). This is not a call to self-effort, but to steadfastness in the doctrine of Christ. Our hope, our confidence, and our edification are all found here: God has spoken in the Son, established us as sons, and secured us by an everlasting covenant.
To trade this for anything else is to return to slavery. To remain in it is to enjoy the full liberty, confidence, and maturity that God intends for His house. God is not seeking slaves who perform; He is gathering sons who rejoice in the finished work of Christ and are built up together as His dwelling place.
Let us not drift. Let us hold fast to the Son, over His house, and to the confidence He alone provides.
