Whose house are we, etc. As Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, after having prefaced that he was appointed to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, adds, for the sake of gaining credit among them, that they were of that number; so now the author of this epistle exhorts the Jews who had already made a profession of Christ to persevere in the faith, that they might be deemed as being in Gods household. He had said before that God's house was subject to the authority of Christ. Suitably to this declaration is added the admonition that they would then have a place in God's family when they obeyed Christ. But as they had already embraced the gospel, he mentions their condition if they persevered in the faith. For the word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith. He mentions confidence and rejoicing, or glorying, in order to express more fully the power of faith. [1] And we hence conclude that those who assent to the Gospel doubtfully and like those who vacillate, do not truly and really believe; for faith cannot be without a settled peace of mind, from which proceeds the bold confidence of rejoicing. And so these two things, confidence and rejoicing, are ever the effects of faith, as we stated in explaining Romans the5^th chapter, and Ephesians the3^rd chapter But to these things the whole teaching of the Papists is opposed; and this very fact, were there nothing else, sufficiently proves that they pull down the Church of God rather than build it. For the certainty by which alone we are made, as the Apostle teaches us, holy temples to God, they not only darken by their glosses, but also condemn as presumption. Besides, what firmness of confidence can there be when men know not what they ought to believe? And yet that monstrous thing, implicit faith, which they have invented, is nothing else than a license to entertain errors. This passage reminds us that we are always to make progress even unto death; for our whole life is as it were a race.

Footnotes

1 - It is better for "hope" here to be retained in its proper meaning; for in verse 12 the defect of it is traced to unbelief. Were the words "confidence" and "rejoicing" rendered adjectivally, the meaning would be more evident, -- "If we hold firm our confident and joyful hope to the end." So we may render a similar form of expression in verse 13, "through deceitful sin," as "newness of life" in Romans 6:4, means "new life." The most common practice is to render the genitive in such instances as an adjective, but this is not always the case. Hope is "confident" or assured, while it rests on the word of God, and is "joyful" while it anticipates the glory and happiness of the heavenly kingdom. But Beza and Doddridge take words apart, "freedom of profession and boasting of hope," or according to Beza, "the hope of which we boast." Macknight renders them "the boldness and the glorifying of the hope." The secondary meaning of the word parresia is confidence, and of kauchema, joy or rejoicing, and the most suitable here, as it comports better with holding fast, or firm. -- Ed.

But Christ as a Son over his own house - He is not a servant. To the whole household or family of God he sustains the same relation which a son and heir in a family does to the household. That relation is far different from that of a servant. Moses was the latter; Christ was the former. To God he sustained the relation of a Son, and recognized Him as his Father, and sought in all things to do his will; but over the whole family of God - the entire Church of all dispensations - he was like a son over the affairs of a family. Compared with the condition of a servant, Christ is as much superior to Moses as a son and heir is to the condition of a servant. A servant owns nothing; is heir to nothing; has no authority, and no right to control anything, and is himself wholly at the will of another. A son is the heir of all; has a prospective right to all; and is looked up to by all with respect. But the idea here is not merely that Christ is a son; it is that as a son he is placed over the whole arrangements of the household, and is one to whom all is entrusted as if it were His own.
Whose house we are - Of whose family we are a part, or to which we belong. That is, we belong to the family over which Christ is placed, and not to what was subject to Moses.
If we hold fast - A leading object of this Epistle is to guard those to whom it was addressed against the danger of apostasy. Hence, this is introduced on all suitable occasions, and the apostle here says, that the only evidence which they could have that they belonged to the family of Christ, would be that they held fast the confidence which they had unto the end. If they did not do that, it would demonstrate that they never belonged to his family, for evidence of having belonged to his household was to be furnished only by perseverance to the end.
The confidence - The word used here originally means "the liberty of speaking boldly and without restraint;" then it means boldness or confidence in general.
And the rejoicing - The word used here means properly "glorying, boasting," and then rejoicing. These words are used here in an adverbial signification, and the meaning is, that the Christian has "a confident and a rejoicing hope." It is:
(1) confident - bold - firm. It is not like the timid hope of the Pagan, and the dreams and conjectures of the philosopher; it is not that which gives way at every breath of opposition; it is bold, firm, and manly. It is.
(2) "rejoicing" - triumphant, exulting. Why should not the hope of heaven fill with joy? Why should not he exult who has the prospect of everlasting happiness?
Unto the end - To the end of life. Our religion, our hope, our confidence in God must he persevered in to the end of life, if we would have evidence that we are his children. If hope is cherished for a while and then abandoned; if people profess religion and then fall away, no matter what were their raptures and triumphs, it proves that they never had any real piety. No evidence can be strong enough to prove that a man is a Christian, unless it leads him to persevere to the end of life.

But Christ as a Son over his own house - Moses was faithful as a servant In the house; Jesus was faithful, as the first-born Son, Over the house of which he is the Heir and Governor. Here, then, is the conclusion of the argument in reference to Christ's superiority over Moses. Moses did not found the house or family, Christ did; Moses was but in the house, or one of the family, Christ was over the house as its Ruler; Moses was but servant in the house, Christ was the Son and Heir; Moses was in the house of another, Christ in his own house.
It is well known to every learned reader that the pronoun αυτου, without an aspirate, signifies his simply; and that with the aspirate, αὑτου, it signifies his own: the word being in this form a contraction, not uncommon, of ἑαυτου. If we read αυτου without the aspirate, then his must refer to God, Hebrews 3:4.
But Christ as a Son over his (that is, God's) house: if we read αὑτου, with the aspirate, as some editions do, then what is spoken refers to Christ; and the words above convey the same sense as those words, Acts 20:28 : Feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Some editions read the word thus; and it is evident that the edition which our translators used had the word αὑτου, his own, and not αυτου, his. The Spanish and London Polyglots have the same reading. From the most ancient MSS. we can get no help to determine which is to be preferred, as they are generally written without accents. The two first editions of the Greek Testament, that of Complutum, 1514, and that of Erasmus, 1516, have αυτου, his; and they are followed by most other editions: but the celebrated edition of Robert Stephens, 1550, has αὑτου, his own. The reading is certainly important; but it belongs to one of those difficulties in criticism which, if the context or collateral evidence do not satisfactorily solve it, must remain in doubt; and every reader is at liberty to adopt which reading he thinks best.
Whose house are we - We Christians are his Church and family; he is our Father, Governor, and Head.
If we hold fast the confidence - We are now his Church, and shall continue to be such, and be acknowledged by him If we maintain our Christian profession, την παρῥησιαν, that liberty of access to God, which we now have, and the rejoicing of the hope, i.e. of eternal life, which we shall receive at the resurrection of the dead. The word παρῥησια, which is here translated confidence, and which signifies freedom of speech, liberty of access, etc., seems to be used here to distinguish an important Christian privilege. Under the old testament no man was permitted to approach to God: even the very mountain on which God published his laws must not be touched by man nor beast; and only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies, and that only once a year, on the great day of atonement; and even then he must have the blood of the victim to propitiate the Divine justice. Under the Christian dispensation the way to the holiest is now laid open; and we have παρῥησιαν, liberty of access, even to the holiest, by the blood of Jesus. Having such access unto God, by such a Mediator, we may obtain all that grace which is necessary to fit us for eternal glory; and, having the witness of his Spirit in our heart, we have a well grounded hope of endless felicity, and exult in the enjoyment of that hope. But If we retain not the grace, we shall not inherit the glory.

But Christ as a son over his own house; (6) whose (d) house are we, if we hold fast the (e) confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
(6) He applies the former doctrine to his purpose, exhorting all men by the words of David to hear the Son speak, and to give full credit to his words, seeing that otherwise they cannot enter into that eternal rest.
(d) That is, Christ's.
(e) He calls confidence the excellent effect of faith (by which we cry Abba, that is, Father), and to confidence he adds hope.

But Christ as a Son over his own house,.... As Moses was not, though the Jews say that he was (a) and (b), "lord and master of the house"; yea, and , "the Son of the house" (c); but this he was not: Christ is the Son and heir, the Lord and master; he is a Son, not by creation, or by adoption, or by office, but by nature: hence it appears that he is God, and is equal with God; and this his sonship is the foundation of his office, and he becomes the heir of all things: and when he is said to be "as a Son", it does not intend mere resemblance; but is expressive of his right to heirship and government, and of the esteem and reverence he had in his house, and of his fidelity as a Son there; and though he was a servant, as man and Mediator, and had a great piece of service to perform, and which he has performed with diligence and faithfulness, yet he was also a Son, Lord and heir, as Moses was not; and he is over the house of God, as King, priest, and prophet in it, and as the firstborn, Son and heir, and as the master and governor of it; and which is called his own, because given him by the Father, purchased by himself, and which he has built, and in which he dwells:
whose house are we; believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles; who, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, in whom Christ dwells by faith, and over whom he presides and reigns:
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. These words are not to be understood as a condition of the former assertion; nor is a final falling away from grace to be inferred from hence, for the supposition proves not such an inference, but the contrary; namely, that they that have true faith, hope, and confidence, shall keep them to the end; and therefore are the house of Christ: besides, the doctrine of apostasy is quite repugnant to the apostle's argument; according to which, Christ might have no house, and can have none till men have persevered: but the apostle's design is to give a word of exhortation to himself and others, to hold fast the confidence; and so the words are rather descriptive of the persons, who are the house of Christ; such who have a good hope, through grace, wrought in them, and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and can use freedom of speech and boldness at the throne of grace; and have an holy confidence of interest in the love of God, and salvation by Christ, and go on in the exercise of these graces to the end of their days.
(a) Zohar in Leviticus. fol. 2. 2. (b) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 35. 2. (c) Lexic. Cabalist. p. 203.

But Christ--was and is faithful (Hebrews 3:2).
as a son over his own house--rather, "over His (GOD'S, Hebrews 3:4) house"; and therefore, as the inference from His being one with God, over His own house. So Hebrews 10:21, "having an High Priest over the house of God." Christ enters His Father's house as the Master [OVER it], but Moses as a servant [IN it, Hebrews 3:2, Hebrews 3:5] [CHRYSOSTOM]. An ambassador in the absence of the king is very distinguished--in the presence of the king he falls back into the multitude [BENGEL].
whose house are we--Paul and his Hebrew readers. One old manuscript, with Vulgate and LUCIFER, reads, "which house"; but the weightiest manuscripts support English Version reading.
the rejoicing--rather, "the matter of rejoicing."
of the hope--"of our hope." Since all our good things lie in hopes, we ought so to hold fast our hopes as already to rejoice, as though our hopes were realized [CHRYSOSTOM].
firm unto the end--omitted in LUCIFER and AMBROSE, and in one oldest manuscript, but supported by most oldest manuscripts.

But Christ was faithful as a Son; whose house we are, while we hold fast, and shall be unto the end, if we hold fast our confidence in God, and glorying in his promises; our faith and hope.