The writer put his readers' sufferings in perspective so they might not overestimate the difficulty they faced in remaining faithful to God.
"Suffering comes to all; it is part of life, but it is not easy to bear. Yet it is not quite so bad when it can be seen as meaningful. . . . The writer points out the importance of discipline and proceeds to show that for Christians suffering is rightly understood only when seen as God's fatherly discipline, correcting and directing us. Suffering is evidence, not that God does not love us, but that he does."393
12:4 The readers had not yet resisted sin to the extent that their enemies were torturing or killing them for their faith, as had been Jesus' experience. Evidently there had been no martyrs among the readers yet, though the writer and the readers undoubtedly knew of Christians elsewhere who had died for their faith. Their striving against sin probably refers to both resisting sinful opponents and resisting temptations to sin in their own lives (v. 1).
12:5-8 We need to remember, too, that God allows us to experience some opposition to make us stronger in the faith (Deut. 8:5; Prov. 3:11-12; James 1).394Another value of divine discipline is that it prepares us to reign with Christ (cf. 2:10). God's discipline assures us that we are His sons. All believers are "partakers"(cf. 1:9; 3:1, 14; 6:4) of discipline. The "illegitimate children"in view seem to be genuine children of God but not approved sons.395
"A father would spend much care and patience on the upbringing of a true-born son whom he hoped to make a wealthy heir; and at the time such a son might have to undergo much more irksome discipline than an illegitimate child for whom no future of honor and responsibility was envisaged, and who therefore might be left more or less to please himself."396
Ishmael is an Old Testament example of an illegitimate child. He was the true child of Abraham. Yet because he was illegitimate (i.e., the son of Hagar rather than Sarah, Abraham's wife) he did not receive the inheritance that Isaac, the legitimate child, did (cf. Gen. 17:19-21; 21:12-14). Ishmael received some blessing because he was Abraham's son, but he did not receive the full inheritance because he was an illegitimate child.
The approved sons in view here in Hebrews are evidently those who persevere through discipline to the end of their lives whereas the illegitimate children do not but apostatize.397
"In the Roman world, an illegitimate child' had no inheritance rights."398
God deals with apostate believers in judgment, but He deals with persevering believers in discipline (cf. 5:8). The writer seems to be saying that God disciplines all Christians, but when a believer apostatizes God may let him go his own way without disciplining him further. God disciplines Christians to prepare us for future service, but when we apostatize He stops preparing us for future service. This is probably true only in extreme cases of departure from God and His truth (cf. 6:6, where we read that it is impossible to renew these apostates to repentance).
"The author does not specify what, in literal terms, would be involved in being an illegitimate member of God's family. The context does not refer, even indirectly, to false brethren secretly brought in' (Gal. 2:4). The wider context does suggest that such illegitimate offspring are apostates such as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, probably alluded to in v. 3; or more generally, those who do not keep faith firmly to the end (10:39)."399
Another view of the terms "sons"and "illegitimate children"is that they refer to true Christians and only professing but not genuine Christians respectively.400The reason I do not favor this view is that throughout this epistle I believe the writer is urging true Christians to remain faithful and not apostatize. In other words the context favors this interpretation. Moreover an illegitimate child is, after all, still a child of his father. We need to understand the legitimate and illegitimate distinction in the light of Jewish and Roman culture.
"The ancient world found it incomprehensible that a father could possibly love his child and not punish him. In fact, a real son would draw more discipline than, say, an illegitimate child for the precise reason that greater honor and responsibility were to be his."401
Perhaps this explains why committed Christians seem to experience more difficulties than non-committed Christians. God is preparing committed Christians for greater honor and responsibility in the future.
12:9-11 As Christians we need to submit to God's discipline in our lives because it will result in fullness of life and greater holiness and righteousness with peace.
". . . there may be an implied contrast between temporary human punishment and the permanent reward which is given to those who submit to divine discipline."402
God always designs discipline for our welfare even though it may not be pleasant to endure.
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."403
The title "Father of spirits"(v. 9) occurs only here in the New Testament (cf. Num. 16:22; 27:16). It probably means something like "our spiritual Father,"as some English versions translate it (TEV, NEB, JB), in contrast to our physical (earthly) fathers.
This is one of the great sections in the New Testament that clarifies the reason for the Christian's trials (cf. James 1; 1 Peter). It is essential that we view our sufferings as the Lord's discipline rather than as an indication of His displeasure, or worse, His hatred (cf. Deut. 1:26-27) if we would persevere faithfully. There is a real as well as a linguistic connection between "discipline"and "disciple"and "discipleship."
