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Hebrews 6 – Text and Notes
1 [Extended Notes] Therefore leaving the elementary teaching [lit., the word of the beginning] about the Christ [i.e., Messiah], let us press [present] on to maturity [or, perfection; teleiotēs (5047); found only here and Col.3:14; related to the word translated “perfect” in 5:9 in referring to Jesus], not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works [9:14] and of faith toward God, [Extended Notes]
2 of instruction about washings [baptismon (909) – not the normal word for baptism; 9:10] and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if God permits [epitrepo (2010) – to turn over to someone the authority to act” (The Discovery Bible, p.523); This is the essence of authority and action – permission from God; 1 Cor.16:7 present].
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened [knowledge of the Messiah] and have tasted of the heavenly gift [dorea (1431) – always a gift freely given by God, to bring to the believer ‘bounty, honor, or privilege’ (Westcott)” (The Discovery Bible, p.532)] [i.e., forgiveness] and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit [received new life; also this phrase makes it impossible that pseduo-believers are being discussed],
5 and have tasted the good word [rhema (4487) – “the spoken word; ‘that which is or has been uttered by the living voice’ (Thayer); an utterance, or spoken word in a specific situation (often associated with dynamic or miraculous effects when spoken by God or Christ)” (The Discovery Bible, pp.545-546); Ps.34:8] of God and the powers [dunamis (1411) – ‘inherent ability; ‘inherent capacity of someone or something to carry something out’ (DNTT); power by virtue of one’s own ability and resources (Vine)” (The Discovery Bible, p.539)] of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible [Extended Notes] to renew [present] them again to repentance [I am intrigued by the phraseology chosen by the author. He doesn’t say, “renew them again to salvation” but rather to “repentance.” What, if any, significance there is, I do not know.], since [or, while; The Greek participles here (“crucify…and put”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).] they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
Hebrews’ Impossibilities
- 6:6 – Impossible to Renew Again
- 6:18 – Impossible for God to Lie
- 10:4 – Impossible for Animal Sacrifices to Forgive
- 11:6 – Impossible to Please God without Faith
- We could look at each one of these separately, or
- We could see the correlation between all four
7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls [lit., comes] on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;
8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed [lit., close to a curse], and it ends up being burned [lit., its end is for burning]. [Extended Notes]
9 But, beloved [only time in Hebrews – “It is precisely after the sternest passage of all that he uses the address of love. It is as if he said to them: ‘If I did not love you so much I would not speak with such severity.” (Barclay, p.60.)], we are convinced [perfect] of better [kreittōn (2909) – Heb.1:4; Heb.6:9; Heb.7:7; Heb.7:19; Heb.7:22; Heb.8:6; Heb.9:23; Heb.10:34; Heb.11:16; Heb.11:35; Heb.11:40; Heb.12:24] things concerning you, and things that accompany [or, belong to] salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
10 For God is not unjust so as to forget [aorist] your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered [diakoneo (1247) – “to wait on others and care for their needs; to place the needs and comfort of someone else above our own in active work and service” (The Discovery Bible, p.542)] and in still ministering [diakoneo (1247)] to the saints [or, holy ones]. [5:8-9]
- God Will Not Forget Us Unless We Forget God
11 And we desire that each one of you show [present] the same diligence so as to realize the full [lit., to the full] assurance of hope [vv.18,19] until the end,
12 so that you will not be sluggish [nothros (3576) – lit., lazy, fig., stupid; used of a numbed limb; 5:11], but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises [epaggelia (1860) Heb.4:1; Heb.6:12; Heb.6:15; Heb.6:17; Heb.7:6; Heb.8:6; Heb.9:15; Heb.10:36; Heb.11:9; Heb.11:13; Heb.11:17; Heb.11:33; Heb.11:39].
13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could [imperfect] swear [aorist] by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” [quoted from after binding/sacrifice of Isaac.]
15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise [epaggelia (1860) Heb.4:1; Heb.6:12; Heb.6:15; Heb.6:17; Heb.7:6; Heb.8:6; Heb.9:15; Heb.10:36; Heb.11:9; Heb.11:13; Heb.11:17; Heb.11:33; Heb.11:39].
16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.
17 In the same way God [or, Therefore God], desiring even more to show [aorist] to the heirs of the promise [epaggelia (1860) Heb.4:1; Heb.6:12; Heb.6:15; Heb.6:17; Heb.7:6; Heb.8:6; Heb.9:15; Heb.10:36; Heb.11:9; Heb.11:13; Heb.11:17; Heb.11:33; Heb.11:39] the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed [or, guaranteed] with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things [God’s unchangeableness and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie [aorist], we who have taken refuge would have [present] strong encouragement to take hold of the hope [vv.11,19] set before us.
19 This hope [vv.11,18] we have [lit., Which we have] as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within [or, inside] the veil,
20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to [The New Analytical Greek Lexicon says that kata means “after the fashion or likeness of.” ] the order [taxis] of Melchizedek. [This does not mean that Jesus succeeded Melchizedek, but rather that Jesus’ priesthood is like Melchizedek’s.]
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