New Testament Christians didn't have the New Testament. The books and letters that make up the New Testament were being written, but it was 3 centuries later before they were compiled into what we know today as the New Testament. However, they did have the Word.
The writer of Hebrews declared: "In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son." The writer goes on to point out that this Word, is greater than the word spoken through the prophets and the angels to the patriarchs of the old covenant. This Word, Himself, is greater than the angels. He is greater than Moses. He is greater than Aaron. He is the outward expression of the invisible God, the outshining of His glory. Therefore, He is worthy of our attention - "more abundant heed." He is worthy of our confidence. He is (He exists)! And He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. If we truly believe that, it will cause us to diligently seek Him. We will give more abundant heed. We will combine His Word with faith in our hearts. (The word the fathers received did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard.) We who have faithed (believed) enter His Sabbath Rest. The Word that we have heard, is the living Word, the Son of God, and the only Way to the Father in Heaven. To doubt this is to call God a liar. To doubt this is sin, and leads to other sins, and causes us to come up short of all He offers us. To fully accept this is our path to the abiding presence of God - and to Sabbath Rest.
Hebrews 4 ends with the reminder that nothing is hidden from God, but all things are open and laid bare to His eyes. This living Word is able to pierce to the depths of our hearts, to divide joint and marrow. He knows us in our innermost being. Makes sense. That's His home, His dwelling place. To think that anything we do is laid out before Him can be quite daunting. Some respond with shame and guilt and try to run. Hebrews reminds us that He is also our great high priest, and rather than run in shame, we should hold fast our confession. He was tempted just as we are, but did not sin. On the basis of His righteousness, He invites us to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, and find mercy and grace to help when we need it most.
There's nothing to hide from Him. There's nothing we can hide from Him! He sees our weakness, our temptation and our sin. To give us confidence to come before Him, He put His own Son on the throne. He was one of us. He lived here and faced everything we face, yet without sin. Now He is on the throne of heaven, ministering the life of heaven to all who draw near.
This is rest. When temptation comes, you identify it and choose to avoid it. You then, by your actions, more than by your words, draw near to God. You submit to God and rest in the victory of Jesus Christ on your behalf over even the temptation. If Satan persists with accusations and tempting, you can simply say, "If I struggle with you, I'm not resting. I choose rest." You do not simply resist the devil. Nor is it a two step approach: 1) Submit to God; 2) Resist the devil. Rather, you resist the devil by humbly yielding (submitting) to God's grace, administered by your sinless high priest from the throne of grace, and the devil will flee.
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