Hebrews 13:22 "And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words."
Paul is encouraging the Hebrews, and you and me, to hold close and recall these
words over and over. It is interesting to see the words, "beseech
and exhortation" come from the same root word. It is as though the Apostle
Paul is strongly encouraging through his own words to hold close and repeatedly
bring to mind the things that were written under the influence of the Holy
Spirit. One more surface thought concerning this verse which will finish
our study of the book of Hebrews. Paul said, "I have written a letter unto
you in few words." My carnal mind kicked in when I first read those
words. My mind said, on a lighter note, "If these are few words,
what would a long letter from Paul look like?" Forgive my thoughts
on that, for the Lord soon spoke to my heart concerning the truth of that
statement.
What did Paul mean when he said, "I have written unto you in few
words." Let's look at something in verse 21 that was said just prior to
this: "Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
How do these two thoughts connect? If we could truly see the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would know there are not enough words in our vocabulary
to speak of His glory. I do not think Paul was speaking of the length of
the letter he had just written; rather, he was speaking of the fact that there
just is not enough time to talk of all His wondrous glory. We will speak
of Him in all eternity and never fully give glory and honor to Him. He is that
marvelous!
Recently, I wrote concerning the fact we are the workmanship of God and we are
to do those things for which God created us. Again, I go back to verse 21,
"Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Even
in accomplishing those things for which God has created us, we must give all
glory and honor and praise unto the Lord. It is an impossibility to give
glory to God and try to take credit for any good action in our lives.
Glory is not given to Christ if man is given credit for bringing about any good
accomplishment. Proper glory is not given even if it is intimated that
God could not, or would not, do anything unless man completed his part. Whether
the subject be salvation or good works, all glory and honor and praise must go
unto the Lord God Almighty.
Paul had spent his entire life trying to be "good enough". Maybe to
other humans, he could have been spoken in terms of being a "good
man" or even a "righteous man." In Philippians chapter 3,
Paul spoke of himself in this manner: "touching the righteousness which is
in the law, blameless." Others might have seen him as being
righteous according to the law, but there is one problem with that. The law
could make no one righteous. Our actions cannot make us righteous.
Speaking of his "pedigree" in the Jewish religion, Paul ultimately
had to say, "... what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ." See Philippians chapter 3. When Paul saw a glimpse
of the glory of Jesus Christ, he knew there was nothing good about him in
comparison to that which he was now blessed to see.
Holding that in his heart, he concludes the book of Hebrews with these words of
encouragement. Hold fast that which you have been blessed to see in
Christ Jesus. All glory, honor and praise belongs unto Him Who has saved us
according to His mercy and grace.