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by Katie Erickson

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” -Hebrews 11:39-40

In our modern world, we tend to want instant gratification for everything – fast food, the speediest Internet service, quick travel across the country, immediate responses from too-connected friends, etc. But that’s the opposite of what the author of Hebrews points out in this conclusion to the great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.

First, in verse 39a he again commends all of them for their faith. This refers to not only the people he mentioned by name but also those he ran out of space to write about. For some, he just listed names, and for others, he gave descriptions of what happened to them or what they did in general terms because of their great faith in God. God never forgets any person who has lived by faith in Him. Whether they had great earthly significance because of their faith like Abraham or Moses or whether they had little earthly remembrance, ALL who have lived by faith have great significance in God’s eyes.

The Greek word translated here as “were commended” is the same root where we get our word “martyr” from, meaning one who has been killed for their faith. It can also mean to give testimony, testify, or be a witness. The NASB translates this as “having gained approval.” It is a passive form here, so those meanings do fit better than the more active meaning of giving testimony or testifying. But it is the same verb used in verse 4 where the author speaks of Abel being commended for his faith, the first person on his list. This acts as sort of “bookends” to this chapter – it both begins and ends with this commendation or approval because of the testimony of all of these who have lived by faith.

But even after looking at all those whose lives were lived by faith in God, we see that “none of them received what had been promised” (verse 39b). That’s the opposite of instant gratification; they never saw the fulfillment of God’s great promise in their lifetimes. But, that does not mean that they never saw any of God’s promises fulfilled. In fact, verse 33 told us that they “gained what was promised.” God always keeps His promises, so the people who lived their lives in faith did see some of God’s promises fulfilled – just not THE promise. That one great promise of God that they did not see was the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. God kept that promise unfulfilled until the proper time in history had arrived for Jesus to come to earth in human form and fulfill everything that was promised in the Old Testament.

Then in verse 40a, we see that “God had planned something better for us.” The author intentionally leaves this vague and unclear because God’s work has not yet been fully revealed. By the point in time when this letter was written, Jesus had already come to earth, lived His perfect life, died a terrible death, was raised again, ascended into heaven, and the early Church had begun to be formed. So the promise of God to send a savior for all people had already been fulfilled, but the author knows that this is not the end of God’s plan!

Not only does God have something better planned for us, but “only together with us would they be made perfect” (verse 40b). Jesus was the one who accomplished our salvation once and for all, but it still involves the entire Christian community. We are saved individually but we are also saved communally. Contrary to our highly individualistic society today, the perspective of the nation of Israel was a very communal one. What some people did (or didn’t do) could affect the entire nation. That still happens in our world today, but we have less national identity and tend to focus more on individuals.

All followers of Jesus Christ, including us today, are included in the “us” in verse 40. God has something better planned for us, and it will be “made perfect” in us as a whole people of God! That word translated as “made perfect” is from teleios, which contains the ideas of perfection, maturity, wholeness, and completeness. That is our goal as Christians, to become teleios in God – complete, mature, and whole.

This is impossible to achieve without Jesus Christ. It is only because of the work of Jesus on the cross that we have the opportunity to be in relationship with God and experience salvation. It’s not because of what we have done, and our actions will never lead us to teleios. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise made to all those who lived by faith in the Old Testament. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise to those who lived in the New Testament era. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise to all of His followers who have lived throughout history and to us who follow Him today.

Have you lived a life of faith that is worthy of being commended? What is your testimony and witness to what God has done in your life? We don’t have to be an Abraham or a Moses to be able to give God glory through what He has done in our lives and to show that we have lived by faith. We don’t even have to have a dramatic story of how God saved us from a terrible situation in life, though God does work in that way sometimes. Even a life lived by making daily choices to follow God in the small things is a great testament to His glory.

We can be encouraged and inspired by the “great” stories of what God has done and how so many people of old lived by faith. But every single person who lives by faith even in what may seem like an ordinary or mundane life is just as great as the stories we read about in this chapter of Hebrews. We likely won’t see instant gratification from it, but we will have a life lived for God as a witness to others.

What are you doing to live your life by faith in God?

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