heb 6:4-6

[savedbygrace57]

Heb 6:





4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,



5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,



6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.



Many False teachers in our day and those ignorant to bible salvation, Gods elect, and Christ eternal redemption, and all that entails, they often times in ignorance appeal to this solemn passage of scripture to falsely teach a person can be saved and then loose their salvation, but nothing could be further from the Truth, and that is not what the passage teaches.



In considering the persons spoken of, it is of note that the writer does not use the pronoun us who were once enlightened [ so he is not identifying himself with them] nor does he say you [ those who he was mainly writing to heb 3:1, those partaking of the heavenly calling], but He says " Those ", and in contrast to those he says to " Beloved , we are persuaded better things of you vs 9 " !



The False teachers never show the contrast. He goes on to write concerning those who are beloved [ beloved of God], that they were not of those who would fall away to perdition [ heb 10:39] where the we / them distinction is maintained, but that they manifested those things which accompany salvation, that is works that are inseparable with true salvation [ eph 2:10]..



So none of the things described in heb 6:4-6 could possibly apply to them, but their fruits were made manifested in vs 10





9But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.



10For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.



Such Love towards Gods name and the saints are evidences of being born of God:



1 jn 3:



14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.



And the writer assured them that God would remember the same, and in doing so He would preserve them from falling into apostasy Jude 1:



24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,



because He which began the good work in them, would be faithful to perform it until the day of Christ phil 1:



6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:



Hence, preservation from apostasy is the Gift and enablement of God..

 

[savedbygrace57]

Those jews in heb 6:4-6 were a special group of jews, who had the privilege of being eye witnesses of the miracles and teachings of the Gods Apostles heb 2:



3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;



4God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?



And they were able to hear the unadulterated Truth from their mouths as Jesus Jesus had prayed for the success of their [ the apostles ] ministry Jn 17:



20Neither pray I for these [His apostles] alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their [His apostles] word;



For the beginning of the preaching of the Truth was primarily to the Jews, just read acts 1-9. So in light of this historical significance, there will never be a generation of jews who will witness this same ministry from these same men.. Just like there will never be another generation of jews to live in relation to Jesus Christ and experience His personal ministry as those jews living at his time..



Since the word of God did spread throughout the Jewish regions as it was being publicized.. see acts 8:1 and 13:49, many jews heard it preached and even to some degree became enlightened with its truth's per heb 6 4 ; 2 pet 2:20 ; but it is possible that a natural knowledge of spiritual truth's can be attained, and this is the case here in heb 6:4 and Jesus refers to this here in the parable of the sower Matt 13:





20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;



21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.



Note it says he that received the word in stony ground, in contrast to he that received it into good ground vs 23;



23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.



Hence, one had a natural reception of the word of God vs 20 and one had a spiritual reception of the word of God vs 23 and of course the results are different..



and so those jews of heb 6:4-6 were in danger of being like the stony heart hearers..and so when persecution for the word came along, they were in peril of falling away [ apostasy] because they had no root in themselves, no connection with Jesus the true vine.. Luke says of the same stony heart hearers that they would fall away lk 8:



13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.



You see that, Jesus says " which for a while believe" but in time of temptation [ testing, trail, persecution] they fall away..



The word for fall away is the greek word:



aphist?mi :

to make stand off, cause to withdraw, to remove

a) to excite to revolt

2) to stand off, to stand aloof

a) to go away, to depart from anyone

b) to desert, withdraw from one

c) to fall away, become faithless

d) to shun, flee from

e) to cease to vex one

f) to withdraw one's self from, to fall away

g) to keep one's self from, absent one's self from



And that was the case with these jews or hebrews, they had come under tremendous persecution for their faith in the Lord Jesus christ..notice what the writer said:



Heb 10:32

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions



This was a time of severe testing for the professors of Christianity in this time period and in this location..



For coming to Faith in Jesus Christ during this time was renouncing the ceremonial law and it being Gods way now, in light of Christ now having come and fulfilled all that it symbolized, but the their jewish countrymen were still firm adherents to the old precepts and had not accepted any messiah in Jesus Christ, so it was an extremely difficult time here..and only those who truly belonged to Jesus Christ will not fall away for the Glory of God..

 

[samuel]

 

[savedbygrace57]

More on heb 6:4-6

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The writer of hebrews goes on to say that the hearers of the Gospel had "tasted of the heavenly gift, which does denote something of a personal experience, but tasting is not eating and digesting. If I merely taste something, thats temporal and eating the meal.. see Jn 6:50-56.

Tasted of the heavenly Gift, which I believe to be the Holy Ghost and His coming to perform His Ministry beginning on the day of Pentecost, for peter does refer to Him as a gift in acts 2 38.. and its a heavenly gift because He was sent from heaven acts 2:2 and 1 pet 1:12, and it was this gift the apostates had a taste of, but again tasting and actually consuming are not the same as seen here in this verse Matt 27:

34They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink..

So these in view had enough of an external experience with the knowledge of the Truth, even some of them witnessed fellow Jews become converted, and so this would make their sin and rejection even greater now..Jn 9:

41Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Jn 15:

22If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.

 

[savedbygrace57]

The writer of hebrews goes on to describe some of the experiences of the first century jew who was in peril of apostasy..

And this is that they had been made partakers of the Holy Ghost..its very important here to understand what the writer did not say, and that is that they had been born again of the spirit..there is a difference in the two..

The word partake here is the greek word
metochos:

sharing in, partaking

2) a partner (in a work, office, dignity)

Nothing in the above definitions can absolutely point to a new birth, so the question is how can both regenerated and unregenerate alike both share something in common with the Holy Ghost without it being a new birth ?

Well the Holy Ghost has a internal work in the elect, and He has a external work in the preaching of the gospel by the man of God, this work is resistible by men, and often time is as here acts 7:

51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Again, this is not a internal resisting of being born again, thats absurd, but its an adversarial resistance of the Truth of the message being brought to them by the spirit speaking through the chosen prophet..

Jesus says that some of His messengers would be brought before their enemies and adversaries and that when it happens, and when they speak, that it was God speaking through them i.e matt 10:

17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

Its always given to a prophet what to speak in Gods behalf to any people..

So it was that all the first century jews who heard the words of the apostles, their preaching such as in the early goings in acts chapters 1-9, all jews would have had one thing in common, that is, they all would have heard the gospel being preached by spirit filled and God sent men, and to those Jews belonging to the election of grace, they would have been converted, and those not, they would have just resisted and gainsaid the message..

AW Pink says "
First, it should be pointed out that the Greek word for "partakers" here is a different one from that used in Colossians 1:12 and 2 Peter 1:4, where real Christians are in view. The word here simply means "companions", referring to what is external rather than internal. It is to be observed that this item is placed in the center of the five, and this because it describes the animating principle of the other four, which are all effects. These apostates had never been "born of the Spirit" (John 3:6), still less were their bodies His "temples" (1 Cor. 6:19). Nor do we believe this verse teaches that the Holy Spirit had, at any time, wrought within them, otherwise Philippians 1:6 would be contravened. It means that they had shared in the benefit of His supernatural operations and manifestations: "The place was shaken" (Acts 4:31) "

Mr Pinks point regarding col 1:12 is important here col 1:

12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Now what is partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light ? Why its the giving of the Holy Ghost, which is part of their inheritance..The word partaker here is the greek word:

meris and means:

part as distinct from the whole

2) an assigned part, a portion, share

For the giving of the Holy Ghost was a portion an inheritance for the heirs of salvation per eph 1:

11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

It is plainly said if we connect the last of vs 13 " Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" with the beginning of vs 14 " which is the earnest of our inheritance"

Hence the Holy Spirit is part of an promised Inheritance [its the earnest of it] to those chosen in Christ before the foundation eph 1:4..

And so the writer of hebrews was careful not to use the same greek word for partaker as he did in heb 6:4
__________________

 

[savedbygrace57]

The writer [ who I believe is Paul by the way] goes on to recount the experience of the apostate and why their position is so perilously, in that they are sinning against much more light and evidence of the Gospel dispensation being ushered in and established by the working of the Spirit of God along with witnessing the miracle signs of the apostles per heb 2:


3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

4God also bearing them [ the apostles] witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Also 2 cor 12:12

Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

No other generation would be favored with this blessed activitie..so, to whom much is given, much is required..The more light and Divine testimony we reject, the worse our punishment will be in the day of Judgment..

The writer says:

"And have tasted in the good word of God"

Its good to compare scripture with scripture to get a sense of what is being conveyed, and we find this similar phrase in Jeremiah 29:

10For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

The performance or the fulfillment of prophecy is God performing His good word.. And these jews just so happen to live in a very momentous time in prophetic history as to experience the good word of God being fulfilled in their very religious capital.. acts: 2:

15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.


16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

You see the good word of God was being fulfilled, for prophecy was coming to past, and I believe both elect and non elect jews were caught up in the hour, for a great religious awakening was occurring.. No doubt many jews were converted, and many thought they were converted who perhaps only got caught up in the excitement, but nevertheless, in a very external fashion they would have tasted of the good word of God being fulfilled in their very generation..

lk 1:


67And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

68Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

69And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

70As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

Here the aged zacharias speaks on God performing His word, His oath of promise

Well the same Divine performance was being fulfilled with the sending of the holy Ghost, for it to was a promise says Jesus:

lk 24:49

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

acts 1:4

And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

acts 2:33

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Notice, the shedding forth of the promise of the Holy Ghost was something all in Jerusalem saw and heard..They to some degree shared in a experience..but whether or not all who shared in this experience of seeing and hearing were also born again, is a different subject altogether..but nevertheless, it still can be said to be tasting of the good word of God..