What It Means That You Are A Spiritual Hebrew | Jonathan Cahn Sermon

The Deeper Meaning of Being a Spiritual Hebrew

To be a spiritual Hebrew means recognizing that this world is not your final home. You are a traveler, a tent-dweller, someone passing through on divine assignment. You live here—but you don’t belong here anymore. You were born once into the world, but through Messiah you were born again into a new identity and a new destiny.

The Scriptures first use the word “Hebrew” when speaking of Abram the Hebrew. This is the first time in human history that the word appears. And according to Galatians, everyone who belongs to Messiah becomes a child of Abraham—a spiritual heir of his promise. That means you are spiritually part of Israel, and you share Abraham’s identity as a Hebrew.

But what is a Hebrew?

In Hebrew, the word comes from the root avar—meaning to cross over. Abraham crossed over from his homeland into the place God called him. The people of Israel crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. Moses, although not allowed to step into the land, was taken to Mount Abarim—literally “the mountain of the crossing over.” His earthly crossing ended there, but his heavenly crossing had just begun.

A Hebrew is one who leaves the old behind and steps into the unknown because God has called them forward.

If you are born again, that is what you have done. You left who you were. You stepped out of an old life. You crossed over into a new identity. You could not be born a Christian—you could only be born again into God’s family. Every believer is, in that sense, a spiritual Hebrew.

And this “crossing over” is not a one-time moment. Every day God calls you to leave something old behind—sin, habits, wounds, fears—and step toward the life He is shaping in you. Those who are not born again remain trapped in what they were, but you carry the power to walk away from it. You have the power to step forward.

Another meaning of avar is to pass by. Abraham lived in tents. Moses lived in tents. The children of Israel lived in tents. Why? Because Hebrews are never fully settled in this world. They move. They journey. They know this earth is not their home. The moment you get too attached to the temporary, you lose your spiritual strength.

You are a tent-dweller. A passer-through. A child of heaven walking through a temporary land.

Whatever you face—crisis, loss, confusion—you are passing through. A spiritual Hebrew does not stay stuck in the pit, in the chains, in the fear. You go through it. You move forward. You keep going. You don’t judge your life by your circumstances, because your circumstances are not your destination. You are not a settler—you are a crosser-over.

Even Job describes the wind “passing by” using that same word avar. The Spirit of God moves like the wind, and a spiritual Hebrew moves with Him. You walk with the Spirit. You advance by the Spirit. You live in motion because the Spirit is always leading forward.

And then there is another meaning of avar—to pass away. Paul says that in Messiah, the old you has passed away. It is gone, finished. You are a new creation with a new life, a new name, and a new purpose. Just as Abram became Abraham and Jacob became Israel, the old identities fall away and a new identity dawns in God.

Imagine if your entire life ended today, and God gave you a second chance to come back and live differently—loving deeply, helping generously, and obeying fully. That is what it means to be born again. Your old life is over. Your new one has already begun.

You are free from what once held you. You are not defined by who you were. You are a spiritual Hebrew—born to cross over, to walk with God, and to move into the destiny He has prepared.