PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

Verse 7 says, "It is for discipline that you are enduring; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom the father does not discipline?" A father will scourge his own children, not the children on the street. For God to scourge us does not mean that we lose our eternal security. The more a child is disciplined by his parents, the more secure he is. Verse 8 says that "if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are bastards and not sons." I am afraid that if God the Father would not discipline me, it would mean that I am a bastard, not a son. Verse 9 says that "we have had the fathers of our flesh as discipliners and we respected them; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?" Being in subjection to the Father of spirits gives us more life. Verse 10 says, "For they indeed disciplined us for a few days as it seemed good to them, but He for our profit that we might partake of His holiness." To partake of His holiness means to partake of His holy nature. This implies the growth in life. The discipline that we receive of our Father helps us to grow. (Life-Study of Hebrews, Message #24, p. 260-261, Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry 1984.)

God's Discipline or Chastening

Although the believers cannot be lost, they may suffer some dispensational punishment for their failures (Hebrews 10:29). In these days we all have heard the call to come forward and not to shrink back. But suppose some would shrink back. They would not be lost, but they would be dealt with by God, undergoing some dispensational punishment. In the Bible dispensational punishment is called chastening, discipline, or chastisement.

God's punishment is His discipline. When parents punish their children, it does not mean that they permanently cast them away. Rather, parents discipline their children with a good intention. I know of one Christian couple who warned their children about their schoolwork. They told their children that everything had been prepared for them and that it was their responsibility to do well in school. If at the end of the school year they had earned A's, they would receive a great reward, but if they failed, they would be put into a dark room for a day. This Christian couple kept their word. At the end of the year, the child who earned the A's received a reward, while the one who failed received some punishment. One of the parents disciplined him, even shedding tears, saying, "Child, I love you, but I cannot help it. You must go to that room for the day and have nothing to eat." They did not cast him away. That dark room was not even a temporary prison—it was a closet of love. The child's parents displayed the best love for him, and the next semester he also received A's in school. This is an illustration of dispensational punishment.

Our heavenly Father is loving and wise. Do you think that He will always allow us to fail? Certainly not. What then will He do if we fail? He will give us a loving discipline and put us in a dark room of love for a time. There, in the darkness, His children will be disciplined for their own good.

(Life-Study of Hebrews, Message #45, p. 505-506, Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry 1984.)

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