The author’s assertion that through his offering Jesus has
perfected those who are sanctified, which includes the addresses (3:1), stands
in tension with his charge that they are not among the mature (5:14) and
need to press on to perfection (6:1). The same difficulty applies to how he
names them as those who are being sanctified. As a present passive participle,
it conveys continuous action or a process of sanctification, but the author has
previously said that they are those who have been sanctified (10:10).
The key to the riddle, it seems to me, lies in the
intervening phrase forever, appearing here for the third time in this
section. In each instance, it indicates continuous action instead of a static
state. The continual multiple offerings (10:1) stand in contrast to the
singular perpetual offering of Christ (10:12). This occurrence in 10:14
asserts that the perfection that Christ has secured for all time is available
continually. This is how to solve the tension between the completion of
Christ’s work with regard to sin and the continuing battle with sin in the
lives of Christ’s followers. By this one-time, ever-effective offering, they
have access to continual perfection and continual sanctification. As lone as
confessors stay tethered to him, they can approach God’s throne of grace (4:16)
to have access to the perfection and holiness he offers. (Amy Peeler, Hebrews
[Commentaries for Christian Formation; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2024],
272-73, emphasis added)
