How To Receive Rest in Christ

VERLE STREIFLING, PhD | Minister, Author, and Missionary

“Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus gave His people a marvelous offer—His rest for their souls. While in context the offer was initially for Israel, yet it was certainly for the Gentiles too. Isaiah foretold Christ’s rest for all, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse…for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His rest shall be glorious” (11:10-11). 

The author of Hebrews expounds the reason why the Messiah made this offer and why it had not been received long before. Heb 3:7 to 4:11: “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, proved Me and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation…So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest’. ”

When was this ‘day of trial’ in the wilderness? The Hebrews passage quotes Psalm 95:7-11. The cross-reference connects Psalm 95:7-11 to Exodus 17:2-7, where Israel chided God and He gave water from the Rock. In Exodus 3&4 He had promised them His presence, His power, His provisions, and His protection. With miracles, signs, and wonders He freed them from Egyptian slavery, plundering the Egyptians. He vanquished Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea, purified the waters of Mara, gave shade at Elim and manna and quail to eat. Yet for all of these blessings, in their hardness of heart and unwillingness to believe or trust Him, they rebelled again in the wilderness, so God swore,  “They shall not enter into My Rest”. Yet He spoke of another day when His people would enter His rest, reminding them by David, and later, Isaiah, that Messiah will come, “and His rest will be glorious!”

What God’s rest IS NOT

What was God’s Rest that they failed to receive? It could not be Sabbath-keeping, because the rebellion in Ex 17 was after Ex 16 when God gave Israel the Sabbath. They already had the Sabbath rest, but they had not received His Rest! Centuries later, through Isaiah, God said, “Your New moons and your Sabbaths, My soul hates!” (1:13+14). Then He asked, “Where is the house you’ll build Me, and where is the place of My rest” (66:1)? This question shows that Solomon’s magnificent temple and the Sabbath were neither the real temple, nor the real rest He wanted for them. 

Israel sabbatized for 1500 years without receiving His Rest, until Christ offered it in Matt 11. Heb 4:4 says on the seventh day “God Rested”, but the Greek word katapausis (ceased) is used, rather than sabbata or sabbatidzo (sabbatize), and it is contextually defined in 4:10 as “God ceased from His (works)”. Paul quoted Gen 2:2+3, and the Septuagint translates this Genesis passage using the word katapausis (ceased), not “sabbatized.”  The Hebrew MT uses shahvath (ceased) rather than shabbathohn (sabbatize), saying “God ceased from all He had created and made” (Young’s Literal Translation, The Living Bible).

Some writers say that since sabbatismos appears in Heb 4:9, then God’s rest which is ‘left behind’ for the people of God (4:9) is “sabbatizing.” Addressing this argument, Dr. Ford’s Glacier View paper examining Daniel 8:14 relates an exchange of letters in 1957 between F. C. Clifford, then president of Austral-Asian Division, and F. D. Nichol regarding the galleys for their Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary. Clifford was distressed that the commentary didn’t support their sanctuary teaching very well. Nichol confirmed this complaint with advice to stay out of Hebrews when trying to show their sanctuary and investigative judgment doctrines. In closing he also noted regarding Heb 4:9, “If you will look again at the galleys, you will note that we do not believe that Hebrews 4:9 presents a valid argument for the Sabbath. I am sure some folks will grieve over this, and perhaps argue we have weakened the Sabbath doctrine… We simply believe Hebrews is not the place to try to establish the Sabbath doctrine.”

What God’s rest IS

Adventists’ comments in their Bible Commentary regarding Heb 4:9 are lengthy (vol VII p 421- 423), stating that Joshua’s failure to lead Israel into spiritual rest would provide no reason for Christians to observe the Sabbath. Further, “to declare that what remains for the people of God is the weekly Sabbath is to declare that what Joshua failed to lead Israel into was the weekly Sabbath”; and if the conclusion of this passage is that weekly Sabbath-keeping remains, then “the writer of Hebrews is guilty of a non-sequitur for the conclusion does not follow logically from the argument”. The text then cites Ellen White “(It) is the rest of Grace”(GC 253) and “It is the true rest of faith” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings 1) before concluding, “Accordingly, the promise and invitation to enter into God’s spiritual rest remains valid (vs 6,9).”

“We who have believed, relied on and trusted in Christ do enter that rest” for “he who has entered has ceased from his works (for salvation) as God did from His”

So Jesus offered His Rest using the word anapauo, also used for OT “sabbath resting” (LXX). Hebrews exhorts, “Let us labor to enter His rest, lest we fall after the same unbelief”, adding, “We who have believed, relied on and trusted (in Christ) do enter his rest” (4:3 Amplified), for “He who has entered into His rest, has ceased from works, even as God did from His” (4:10). Here the SDA Commentary adds, “has ceased from works (for salvation) as God did from His (at creation),” thus explaining the meaning of anapauo in its OT reference to Sabbath resting.

Jesus has figuratively applied ‘sabbath resting’ to our souls, showing it is our Spiritual Rest. By making this application He has shown that the Sabbath was a shadow which was to be fulfilled in receiving His (God’s) rest (katapausis). Thus Heb 4:6-11 says that there remains a Spiritual Rest for the people of God…Let us endeavor to receive and enter into that rest, lest we, too, fall after the same manner of unbelief as did Israel! 

The Amplified Bible  states it this way: “We who have believed, relied on and trusted in Christ do enter that rest” for “he who has entered has ceased from his works (for salvation) as God did from His”. In John 6 Jesus’ disciples asked him, “What works shall we do, that we may do the works of God?” to which He responded, “These are the works of God, that you believe in Him whom He hath sent!” Paul emphasizes this “work” of belief in Ephesians 2:8, “By grace you have been saved through believing…not of works lest any man should boast”, and in Romans 3:21-28: “what of works? It is excluded!—especially not the works of the Law! For we are justified by faith / believing—apart from works”!

What God’s Rest Includes

Thus, when we believe in Christ to enter His rest, we must put our trust in Him alone for our cleansing from all sin. 1 John 1:7 says, “the blood of Christ keeps on cleansing us from all sin”, and Col 2:13 declares, “(God) has made us alive together with Him (Christ) having forgiven all our trespasses”.

When we believe in Christ and enter His rest, we must put our trust in Him alone for our bridge to God. In Eph 2:18 we read, “For through Him we have access… to the Father,” and again in 3:12, “…we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” Believing in Christ, to enter His rest we must trust Him alone for our Peace with God. Eph 2:14 says, “He Himself is our peace,” and Rom 5:1 emphasizes, “having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. When we believe in Christ, to enter His rest we must put our trust in Him alone for our righteousness, as Rom 4:3-6 says: “but he who does not work…his faith is accounted for righteousness”. And 10:4 reiterates, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to all who believe (in Him)”. Also, 4:22-25 illustrates this fact, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness…this was written for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him.”

Further, in entering His rest we must rely on Him alone for our justification. Romans 4:25: “(Christ) was delivered up for our sins, and raised for our justification”…(5:1) “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God…” 

As we believe in Christ and enter His rest, we must rely wholly in Him for our holiness, as we read “…so He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God” (1Ths 3:13). Romans restates this truth, “having been set free from sin…you have your fruit to holiness” (Rom 6:22); and again, “but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness”(Heb 12:10).

To enter His rest by believing in Christ, we must trust Him alone for our saving and sustaining faith. Eph 2:8 says by grace you have been saved through faith and adds, “and that (faith) is not of ourselves, it is the Gift of God”. When Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ,” he adds, “the life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). In Rom 3:22 he says “the righteousness of God which is through the faith of Jesus Christ…on all who believe”; and in verse 26, “that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has the faith of Jesus”. In these texts, the Greek text is in the possessive case (of Jesus) rather than locative (in Jesus).

Acting in the faith of Jesus was so well illustrated that stormy night on Galilee when Jesus invited Peter to walk with Him on the water. When Peter’s faith failed and he began sinking, Christ caught him, and Jesus’ faith carried Peter back into the boat. John gives the rest of the story. The disciples had toiled into the third watch of the night, and they hadn’t progressed even half-way across the sea. But once Jesus entered the boat, they immediately reached shore! Jesus’ faith hyper-superceded all their works of that night—in a moment of time! So too for us His faith is perfect in our weakness, and it exceeds our works by infinite measure!

When we believe in Christ, to enter His rest we must depend on Him alone for our eternal life. Col 3:3-4 reads, “When Christ, Who is our life shall appear, you will also appear with Him in glory”. Peter declared, “You (Jews) slew Him who is the Prince of life” using the Greek Arkay meaning ‘source’ of eternal life. John 3:16 states, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

To believe in Christ and enter His rest, we must trust in Christ alone for our perfection. After saying Christ is the fullness of Deity in bodily form, Paul adds, “and you are complete in Him” (Col 2:9-10); in 4:12 he states again, “…that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God”. Thus, once you’re in Christ, there’s nothing that you lack in measuring up to God’s perfection! Only in Christ alone, can anyone fulfill God’s command, “Be ye perfect, as I am perfect”. Believing in Christ, we must trust entirely in Him and His finished works on our behalf. Titus 3:5 says it is “not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy He saved us”. Heb 4:10 also emphasizes, “he who has entered His rest, has himself also ceased from works, as God did from His.”

Now that, beloved, is the true rest for our souls! It’s His perfection that completes us; and it’s His finished work that ends all of our works for salvation! As John the beloved wrote, “God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life…These things I have written to you…that you may know that you have eternal life”. (1Jn 5:11-13). We’re also told that we’ve “passed from death to life”, we “shall not come into judgment”, we’re now “sons of God’; if we do sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins”, and “His blood continues cleansing us from all sin”! All we must do is continue believing in Him!

Jesus applied the figure of Sabbath resting to the rest for our souls by saying, “Come to Me…I’ll give you rest anapauo for your souls”. He used this metaphor because the Sabbath command forbade any and all work —whether good works or not—it was all outlawed! Likewise, for our salvation, our cleansing, our access to God, our peace with God, our righteousness, our holiness, our faith, our life, our perfection and all our spiritual needs, Christ calls us to come to Himself. He forbids us to do any works but tells us to only rest and trust in Him and all of His finished work for us!

This offer ought to make everyone shout, “Hallelujah!” We who formerly had less than nothing to offer God now, in Christ, have more than everything we need because of “Him who loved us and gave himself for us”! Small wonder the Bible says we’ll praise Him through eternity! 

God’s TRUE Temple, Worship, and Rest

We return to God’s indictment on Israel in Isa 66:1, “Where is the house you’ll build Me, and where is the place of My rest?” Quoting this passage to the Jews in Acts 7, Stephen told them, “God does not dwell in temples built with hands”. So where is His Temple?  Jesus revealed this mystery to the Samaritan lady in John 4. When she asked, “Where is the right place to worship God?” He answered, “The hour now is, when the true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in reality…God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (Gk, alethia)” (vs 23+24). Here He ended all the OT externals of worship, pointing out that true, genuine, and real worship must come from within Man’s spirit. The old periphery of when, where, and how were all of the past, for God wants reality worship from the heart in lieu of ritual lip-service. Isaiah and Jesus decried ritual worship also: “They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” Mere shadow worship is inadequate—God desires genuine substance worship!

We are told, “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.” 1 Cor 3:16).  In the ritual sanctuary the Holy Spirit came down to dwell in shekinah glory on the mercy seat of the Holy of Holies, but only once a year. Now He continually dwells in man’s spirit which is “the temple of God, as He has said, ‘I will dwell IN them’” (2 Cor 6:16). In Galatians, Paul exhorts, “We are the true circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh”; and in 1Cor 14, “I will sing in the Spirit…I will pray in the Spirit…I will bless God in the Spirit” Heb 13 also states, “Let us offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually…giving thanks to His name”. The true sacrifices to God are spiritual sacrifices!

David foresaw these things also, stating in the Psalms, “Let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O Lord, to Your rest…Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout aloud for Joy!” to which God responds, “This is My resting place forever, here will I dwell for I have desired it…I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will shout aloud for joy!” Indeed, beloved, we are His priests as 1 Pet 2:4-10 says, we are His royal priesthood, His holy nation and His special people called to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.

God’s true temple is not a building, but man’s spirit—a spiritual temple.

God’s true temple is not a building, but man’s spirit—a spiritual temple. True worship is not rituals but ‘worship in the Spirit’, or Spirit-led worship. True sacrifices are not things, but spiritual sacrifices including praise and a contrite heart. Finally, His true rest is not ‘sabbath keeping’, but the Spiritual Rest for our souls that Jesus freely gives us when we’ve put our complete faith and trust entirely in Him and all the Spiritual blessings He alone provides us, as our only mediator to God (1 Tim 2:5).

Jesus provides more than everything we need to be completely saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. In Him we lack nothing to meet the gaze of the Great Law Giver—God Himself! The Scripture says, “If you confess Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved…Whoever puts his trust IN HIM, will not be put to shame!” (Rom 10:9-13).

Have you, beloved reader, put your total trust in Christ, and in Him alone, that you too can experience His Rest for your soul? Isaiah promised, “unto Him shall the Gentiles seek, and His Rest shall be glorious!” †

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Verle Streifling was raised in a devout Adventist family and graduated from Adventist schools. At age 26 he was born again, and intensive Bible study and the Holy Spirit led him out of Adventism and into Evangelical Christianity. In 1984 he was ordained for ministry, and by 1990 he earned his Ph.D. Over the past 25 years he has written numerous tracts and articles, a number of booklets and manuscripts, and his Bible Answers for Sabbath Questions is now being edited for publication. He and his wife plan to retire into full-time ministry in the Philippines next year. [2002]

—Republished from Proclamation!, May/June, 2005.