Hebrews 3:6b
16 March 2025
And we are His house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
So in the second sentence in verse 6, it declares that we are His house.
Now, let's be clear. This is not saying that we are in His house. This is not saying that we have some involvement in this house. No. This verse, at the end of this significant passage contrasting the Lord Jesus being superior with Moses, is declaring that we here are His house. This is to the Christian. This is to the Church of Jesus Christ.
We've already noted that, in this passage here in Hebrews 3, the word "house" is one of the big focuses of what this is all dealing with in contrast between Jesus and Moses. The emphasis on house, of this household of God, has so far been with regards to what we see in the Old Testament, particularly in relation to Moses. But we also have considered, especially when it comes to Jesus being described as the builder of a house, that this is not simply pointing forward—it is also ultimately about what we now are today.
What we find in the New Testament is that this language of house, this language of household of God, is used to describe who we are as the Church. One such place is 1 Timothy 3:15: Paul emphatically declares, “If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” So here we have the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, this pillar and buttress of the truth.
This connects directly to what we unpacked last week, which is the main thrust of the argument in this passage in Hebrews. The main thrust is that Moses was faithful. We saw this in verse 2, “faithful in all God's house.” We've considered how he was, particularly in what we've already studied in the book of Exodus. But the contrast between Moses and even the glory which Moses beheld, which shone upon his face, cannot be compared with the Lord Jesus in the same way. For Jesus is ultimately superior.
As much as we see in verse 3: “The builder of a house has more honour than the house itself.” Who is the builder of the house? It isn't Moses. He is a member of this house. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is what we identified last week regarding the superiority of the Lord Jesus. And in the context of this house, we have Moses being faithful as a servant, but Jesus, beginning of verse 6, faithful over God's house as a Son.
Now we come to this declaration that we are His house, this house that the Lord Jesus builds. This is what we are. And this is what we're going to be unpacking in this evening's time.
To begin with, in helping to understand what this looks like, we're going to go through a few texts. If we just turn briefly to Ephesians 2, this should be relatively familiar to us, because in one of our Wednesday series, we are going through the book of Ephesians and we've dealt with this recently. We're on this subject of Christ building His house, and we are that house.
Have that in mind as we read Ephesians 2:19: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” So there it is then, verse 20: “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
This is an emphatic passage, especially in the context of what we're dealing with in Hebrews 3:6. We see it again, as we noted in 1 Timothy 3:15 and Ephesians 2:19. We are this household of God, Jew and Gentile. The household of God, built on a foundation where there's mention of apostles and prophets. But who's the chief cornerstone? Who is the ultimate foundation and reason for this? It is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice, because of the Lord Jesus, what we're being built into is in verse 21: this whole structure joined together as a whole holy temple in the Lord. Now again, think of the contrast between Old Covenant and New Covenant. In the Old Covenant, we have a temple. A temple is built, but it is a physical temple in which God would dwell, and the people would go, but only the high priest would go once a year into the most holy place where God would dwell because of man's sin, upon which there would be atonement for sin. That's the Old Covenant. Contrast that with the New.
Here there is the declaration that we are this temple. We are this house. We're going from a focus on the physical to now a spiritual here in the New Covenant. And that is because of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we work through this being of the house of God, we're going to quickly unpack in more detail what it means to be the house of God. And then we'll spend quite a bit of time considering how the house of God should function.
A few months ago, I was saying to one or two people in the Church that it would be good for me to set aside time to preach on the subject of Church membership again. And in the Lord's providence, as we come to this passage, elements of the subject of Church membership are what we're going to be dealing with as we work through this very important subject.
Look back again at Hebrews 3, remembering this context. It's saying that we are His house. That's what we are. We are the temple of the Lord. That's what we are as the Church.
Before we deal with anything else or unpack this further, what we should already have in our minds is the significance and weight of the Church. This is something that has been pressed on and addressed from this pulpit within this building. And this is why—because of the spiritual significance of what it means for us to do and to be what we are right now.
We are the Church. We are this house. We are this temple of the Lord. Let’s go to Ephesians 5:32, we'll first deal briefly with how we are this house: “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church”. This passage which is often the go-to passage for marriage, and there are certainly some very important applications about that. But here is what that metaphor or illustration depicts: Christ and His bride, which is the Church. And notice the language Paul uses to describe this union between Christ and His bride. It is described in verse 32 as a profound mystery. And this is where we come to the gospel. And understand just how it is that this togetherness between the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and the Church, which is the Bride can happen in the first place.
Think about what we magnify in the proclamation of the gospel. What we have been considering and unpacking so far in the book of Hebrews. The doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ; the doctrine of the incarnation; the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune God, clothing Himself in human flesh. Why did He come to this earth? For us, and that He would be glorified! That is why He came. What we must get into view is that when Christ came clothing Himself in human flesh, He came living under the Law – the Law which condemns us in our sin. It does not condemn the sinless One, the Lord Jesus Christ, which we’ve already unpacked in the first two chapters in the Book of Hebrews. And it’s because of this that the Lord Jesus would then go to the cross. And He would go to the cross for us. That why He came to Earth, and that is who He is on this Earth for.
This is very specific and deliberate because there is a bride for whom He is going to lay down His life for. That’s not a free will plea bargain for anyone who makes a decision. It is for a chosen people, His bride. That Christ would come and what would He do for this bride? He would bear the sins of His bride at Calvary. Now please be reminded again of what kind of bride you are – what kind of bride we are. This is not the Lord Jesus saying that we are the most beautiful, spectacular, wonderful bride – who wouldn’t want this church? But we are a vile, wretched, unworthy, corrupted, sinful people. That’s what this bride is and that is who Christ has come for. That is who Christ bled for. That’s who Christ died for. That’s you and me. That is the mystery of the gospel.
That Christ would come in His grace for an undeserving people and lay down His life for. Laying down His life because the justice of Yahweh demands it. And sword of judgment will either be faced by Christ on that cross or eternally for those who will be in hell. This is what Christ has done for us. This is the gospel. This is His love: agape, as we briefly considered this morning. And it is something that is truly glorious to behold. And even further, what we can also unpack even more about Ephesians 5:32 regarding this mystery is that our very existence as a church depends upon Christ doing this very thing. There is no bride, there is no house of God, there is no temple of the Lord unless the Lord Jesus Christ comes to this earth, lives a sinless life, and dies a sacrificial death for her. This is the only way be which we can exist, and by which we do exist. It's all because of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is how we become the house of God. Everything depends upon Christ and the gospel.
Now, furthermore, this then should be in and of itself and as the strongest foundation imaginable, help us to see why the church is not separated from our Christian lives. Again, we go back to this thing, we refer to it on many occasions and different points: when any professing Christian talks distinctions of loving Christ but not the Church, that is one the contradictions we can find if we were to actually open up our Bibles. Because it is the Church that Christ came for. This is His bride that He will welcome at the marriage supper of the Lamb. That’s what we are. So there is absolutely no separating Christ from the Church.
And this is why as we look at Hebrews 3:6 when it declares, “we are His house,” well we are now seeing more clearly how significant that is. For the word of God to declare what we are, this is how we are what we are. Namely, Christ and the gospel, coming for His Bride. That is how we are His house. So, therefore, this matters. There is something truly precious about the individual nature of when an individual person becomes a born-again believer, by repenting of their sin and believing in Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Because of the regenerating work the Spirit of God has done in their lives. But this does not then produce an individual walk with the Lord distinct from and devoid of the fellowship with the house of God. Because not only do we become part of that but this is what we are, and it’s because of Christ. So we come now to consider how we should function as this house, and this is why Church membership is so important.
And we are going to go to a few texts and we are going to be brief with these because most of you should be familiar with them. Anyone who has come into membership has already looked at them in our membership course. In Matthew 16, this is when the Lord Jesus first mentions “church” and if we have already got into view this profound mystery, the house of God, the temple of the Lord, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, where this begins is with Christ. And here we have Him mentioning the instituting of it. So not only is there this spiritual significance of what Christ is going to do on the cross and how we become this spiritual people, but here we start to see practically what this is going to look like.
Matthew 16, speaking to the apostles and disciples at this point, we read from verse 18: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Here we have this important and formative text, which points to what the apostles will do in the New Testament. This "rock" refers to the proclamation of the Gospel through the authority of these apostles. The Church is going to be built through what Christ will do on Calvary, by Him laying down His life. This is the means by which we can be saved and become the Church. Therefore, this message must be proclaimed. There is a going forth, a preaching of the Gospel, and a making of disciples. And this is where the church will be built. On that foundation and with this focus. And note even the authority being given to the apostles. The keys of the kingdom of heaven are being given to the apostles. This is like when rabbis were granted authority to govern and lead within the synagogue. In the same way, these apostles are given authority, represented by the keys of the kingdom of heaven. What they do, therefore, matters.
Now, let’s turn briefly to Acts 2, to see this clearly in the Word of God. What do the apostles do? They preach the Gospel. They begin making disciples. As we read in verse 41, after the preaching of gospel of Christ crucified, the first 3,000 converts are added: “So those who received His word were baptised, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
What has begun? The Church—the very work Christ has called and commissioned these apostles to do, this is now what they are doing. They have the authority given to them, and so they are now doing it. And in the New Testament, we see churches beginning to form, because as the number grows, thousands and thousands are being saved in different locations. Eventually we have from Acts 14 onwards, elders are being appointed in different areas such as Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. These elders are granted authority over specific local churches, with that authority coming directly from the apostles, who themselves received it from the Lord Jesus Christ.
And just to emphasise this is how church planting is done. It is not done by a group of random people deciding well I’m fed up with this church, I’ll go and start a Church. On whose authority would they act? If people want to follow the New Testament model for Church, then here is New Testament Church 101: Christ has instituted an authority structure.
Now these things are important to stress. It’s not that we are suddenly becoming overly pietistic, though it is a spiritual thing. This is about order, because the Lord is a God of order, as we see throughout 1 Corinthians. This structure is integral to how the Church—the house of God—is meant to function.
But we do need to press on… the spiritual significance, because that is explicitly what this texts is dealing with in this language of being the house of God. Let’s turn to 1 Peter 2:5: “You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
This is a powerful text and one that highlights why each of you matters so much. This is not just about giving encouragement or relevance. Spiritually, in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, you hold immense significance. You are described as living stones. Think about a building—it needs stones joined together to form the house. We, as believers, are these stones, being built together spiritually into a spiritual house.
As we saw in Ephesians 2, Christ is the chief cornerstone. He is the foundation. The Gospel is the hope, the reason, and the life of this house. When we come together in this building, at this very hour, we are entering into the church building, but we are living our lives as this house, this spiritual house, as living stones. How we function is very important. As we've considered, from the context of how it is established in the New Testament. This is why everything we do in the way we function matters. For example, there are exhortations to submit to your leaders, teachings on how we are to function in the context of the way we pray, opportunities to evangelise, how our spiritual gifts are recognised, where we are being used and sent out. All of these things are integral to how we live as Christians within the house of God. This happens in the context of the local church setting. It is where the house of God gathers, lives, and functions together. This is why I often use the illustration of a local church being like a sheep pen. There are shepherds in the middle, caring for, teaching, and protecting the sheep. Then we have deacons standing around the sides, watching over and addressing the practical needs of the sheep. This is how a church is to function.
Now consider the contrast. When we understand from Hebrews 3:6 that we are God's house, we are living stones being built together. Consider that contrast between committed to a local church, knowing who your shepherds are, and being part of the same flock. Compare this to being a wandering sheep, going from one pen to another, or perhaps not going anywhere at all. What happens to a wandering sheep? They quickly find themselves wandering into sin—unchecked and unaccounted-for sin. This leads to a concerning spiritual trajectory.
Naturally, our flesh resists some aspects of being part of a local church. If we are engaging in sin, we don’t want others holding us accountable or getting involved in our lives. Even as professing Christians, we might prefer to set our own standards rather than submit to the Bible’s standards. But that is not how Christ has instituted the Church.
The reason for this is that we are living stones, part of a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, being washed with the water of the Word. The Lord is doing a work in us. And if we have a rebellion to even being part of His Church, then we are in direct rebellion against Christ. That is the problem. If you are not committed to a local church, this quickly becomes rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if we look back at Hebrews 3:6 and how the verse continues, it says, “And we are His house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” So, what is our confidence? It is the Gospel. What is the hope that we boast in? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what the book of Hebrews is all about.
This is why we are commanded in Hebrews 3:1 to pay closer attention and to consider Jesus. And as Jesus Himself says in John 8:31: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples.”
So, are we holding fast? Are we abiding in God's Word and in Christ? This is not a matter of boasting in our own ability to hold on. It is not as though our endurance is what gets us to Heaven. No, our salvation is entirely by the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
When we are called to abide in His Word, it is not a call to try to become something we are not. It is a call to be who we are because of Christ. And who we are is this: branches abiding in the vine, which is Jesus Christ. This is how our hope is in Him. We are spiritually alive in Him because our corrupted hearts have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. We now have faith; we believe in Him.
And this is what makes us the House of God. We are a spiritual people, being built up together as living stones. This is what it means to hold fast our confidence and boast in our hope—it is in Christ, and it is because of Christ. This confidence and boasting in our hope is rooted entirely in Christ and the Gospel. As the House of God, this is who we are, and this is what we do together. This is the Church Christ has come for. Knowing who we are and how we are to function is of fundamental importance. This is why teaching on Church membership is so critical. If membership is reduced to having your name on a list, then it is utterly meaningless. But when you covenant together with a local church, you are making a spiritual commitment—not just publicly before others in a building, but also before and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being part of this spiritual house means being someone who is counted on. Counted on as one who submits to the Lord Jesus Christ, as His disciple. Counted on as part of a local church, where you regularly gather with your church family, as we see in Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
It means being committed to spurring one another on, as fellow living stones, to love and good works. It means serving your local church by praying for others, carrying their burdens, and being a part of their lives. This is what it means to be the House of God and how we are to function with one another. Because we are the bride, the temple, the Church. We are God's house. That is how much we matter. How we live as His house is not something we take lightly. It is something that requires clear teaching and biblical application.
When Hebrews 3:6 says, “We are His house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope,” it reminds us once again that it is the Gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ, our living head and bridegroom, that make us His house. We come to Him this very hour, this coming week, and on every Lord’s Day that follows, knowing we are the household of God, being built up and knit together.
This is both significant and precious. Look around your church and recognise a group of people who are precious—not just to one another, but to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. This love of Christ and the glory of the Gospel call us to live in this way, in unity and service. Oh yes, we can and rightly should lament that all too often, so-called local churches are not functioning anything like this. But, may it be that, as the Word of God is taught and as the Gospel is proclaimed, there would be a greater hunger and a greater appetite to live in service to our Lord and King in this way.
This includes living with each other, sharing our lives, growing together, and being built up as these living stones in the household of God. Because we are His house. We are Christ’s house.
What a blessing this is. What a Saviour we worship.