Hebrews 6
6
1Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,#9:14. 2instruction about baptisms#Instruction about baptisms: not simply about Christian baptism but about the difference between it and similar Jewish rites, such as proselyte baptism, John’s baptism, and the washings of the Qumran sectaries. Laying on of hands: in Acts 8:17; 19:6 this rite effects the infusion of the holy Spirit; in Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tm 1:6 it is a means of conferring some ministry or mission in the early Christian community. and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.#9:10; Mk 7:4 / Acts 6:6; 8:17; 13:3; 19:6; 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tm 1:6. 3And we shall do this, if only God permits. 4For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift#Enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift: this may refer to baptism and the Eucharist, respectively, but more probably means the neophytes’ enlightenment by faith and their experience of salvation. and shared in the holy Spirit#10:26, 32; Ps 34:6; 2 Cor 4:6. 5and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,#Tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come: the proclamation of the word of God was accompanied by signs of the Spirit’s power (1 Thes 1:5; 1 Cor 2:4). 6and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves#They are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves: a colorful description of the malice of apostasy, which is portrayed as again crucifying and deriding the Son of God. and holding him up to contempt.#2 Pt 2:21. 7Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.#Gn 1:11–12; Dt 11:11. 8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned.#Gn 3:17–18; Mt 7:16; 13:7; Mk 4:7; Lk 8:7.
9But we are sure in your regard, beloved, of better things related to salvation, even though we speak in this way. 10For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. 11We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end,#3:14. 12so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience,#5:11; Gal 3:14; Eph 1:13–14. are inheriting the promises.#Imitators of those…inheriting the promises: the author urges the addressees to imitate the faith of the holy people of the Old Testament, who now possess the promised goods of which they lived in hope. This theme will be treated fully in Heb 6:11.
God’s Promise Immutable. 13#He swore by himself: God’s promise to Abraham, which he confirmed by an oath (“I swear by myself,” Gn 22:16) was the basis for the hope of all Abraham’s descendants. #Gn 22:16. When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by himself,” 14and said, “I will indeed bless you and multiply” you.#Gn 22:17. 15And so, after patient waiting,#6:12; Rom 4:20. he obtained the promise.#He obtained the promise: this probably refers not to Abraham’s temporary possession of the land but to the eschatological blessings that Abraham and the other patriarchs have now come to possess. 16Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. 17So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath,#6:12. 18so that by two immutable things,#Two immutable things: the promise and the oath, both made by God. in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.#Nm 23:19; 1 Sm 15:29; Jn 8:17; 2 Tm 2:13. 19This we have as an anchor of the soul,#10:20; Ex 26:31–33; Lv 16:2. sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,#Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Heb 9. 20where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.#5:10; Ps 110:4.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Hebrews 6
6
A Serious Warning Against Falling Away
1 Therefore, leaving behind the elementary message about Christ, let us move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, 2teaching about baptisms and laying on of hands, and resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3And this we will do, if God permits. 4For it is impossible concerning those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and become sharers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6and having fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, because they#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have crucified again”) which is understood as causal have crucified again for themselves the Son of God and held him up to contempt. 7For ground that drinks the rain that comes often upon it, and brings forth vegetation usable to those people for whose sake#Literally “for the sake of whom” it is also cultivated, shares a blessing from God. 8But if it#*Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“produces”) which is understood as conditional produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to a curse, whose end is for burning.
9But even if we are speaking in this way, dear friends, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and belonging to salvation. 10For God is not unjust, so as to forget your work and the love which you demonstrated for his name by#*Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“having served”) which is understood as means having served the saints, and continuing to serve them. 11And we desire each one of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12in order that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and patience.
The Reliability of God’s Promise
13For when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal participle (“made a promise”) God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, 14saying,
“Surely I will greatly bless#Literally “blessing I will bless” you, and I will greatly multiply#Literally “multiplying I will multiply” you.”
15And so, by#*Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“persevering”) which is understood as means persevering, he obtained the promise. 16For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. 17In the same way God, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“wanted”) which is understood as causal wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, 18in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us, 19which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast, and entering into the inside of the curtain, 20where Jesus, the forerunner for us, entered, because he#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“became”) which is understood as causal became a high priest forever#Literally “to the age” according to the order of Melchizedek.
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