“God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?”
The full verse · Hebrews 2:4 · KJV
also bearing them , with , with , of the , according his ?
Asked by
Author of Hebrews: the unnamed writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who shows that God has spoken through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), warning his readers not to neglect the salvation the Lord first spoke (Hebrews 2:3)
Asked to
Hebrews: the first readers of the letter, who received the gospel from "them that heard" the Lord (Hebrews 2:3)
The Scene
The writer has warned that if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, there can be no escape for those who "neglect so great salvation," first spoken by the Lord and confirmed by those who heard Him (Hebrews 2:2-3).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThis verse finishes the question of Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" The writer adds one more witness to the salvation: God Himself. The Lord spoke it, those who heard Him confirmed it, and God bore witness with them. Barnes explains God's witness as "Giving them the sanction of his authority, or showing that they were sent by him." Gill says God was "testifying to their mission and commission, and the truth of the doctrine they preached." The more witnesses stand behind the message, the more serious it is to drift from it (Hebrews 2:1).
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe question needs no spoken answer: there is no escape for those who neglect a salvation God Himself has confirmed. The writer has already given the right response: "we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip" (Hebrews 2:1). He then turns to "the world to come, whereof we speak" (Hebrews 2:5) and to Jesus, "crowned with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Bearing them witness" translates synepimartyreō, which the BibleHub interlinear glosses "bearing witness with." God's witness joined the witness of those who heard the Lord. Barnes says the miracles "were not of one class merely, but were various, so that all pretence of deception should be taken away."
"Gifts of the Holy Ghost" is literally "distributions" (merismois) of the Holy Spirit; the ESV adds "distributed." On "according to his own will," Barnes says: "He acted as a sovereign in this. He gave them where he pleased, and imparted them in such measure as he chose." Gill allows either the will of God or "the will of the Holy Spirit, who distributed them to men severally as he pleased," pointing to 1 Corinthians 12:11.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows that God does not ask people to believe without reason. He spoke salvation through His Son and then confirmed it with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says, "It was the will of God that we should have sure ground for our faith, and a strong foundation for our hope in receiving the gospel."
The gifts were given "according to his own will," not according to human demand. God chose how to confirm His word. That is why the writer's warning is so sober. The danger is not open rebellion but slow neglect, letting "slip" (Hebrews 2:1) a message that God Himself has signed.
Look Closer
Who confirmed the salvation first spoken by the Lord?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You confirmed Your salvation with signs and gifts by Your own will; where have I let Your word slip, and how can I give it more earnest heed?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think the writer warns about slowly drifting rather than openly rejecting the gospel?
- What has God used to confirm the truth of the gospel to you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Your faith rests on solid ground. The gospel was spoken by the Lord, passed on by those who heard Him, and confirmed by God Himself. You do not have to wonder whether the message is trustworthy.
The greater risk is drift: the writer warns against letting the things you have heard "slip" (Hebrews 2:1). Give the word you have heard "the more earnest heed": read it, talk about it, act on it. This doesn't mean you should demand new signs before you believe. God gave His gifts "according to his own will," and the witness He has already given is enough to trust.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation”
“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”