![]() “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened (regenerated), and have tasted (fully experienced) the heavenly gift (which is Christ Himself), and were made partakers (honorary life-long partners) of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted (fully experienced) the good word of God, and the powers (knowledge) of the world to come”, Well, be Bereans, but my ‘paraphrase’ is this: So who is in view? How can believers ‘fall away’? What is it that the writer says is impossible? And how should we understand these verses? The ones spoken of here are ‘regenerated’ believers, fully partakers with Christ, and who have received the Holy Spirit. Others say that the ones in view here are false converts – but the language does not allow for that. Some argue that it is Christians who have lost their Salvation – but that can’t be, as Salvation is the completed work of Christ – as a simple study of John 10 or Romans 8 clarifies. The writer changes from talking about ‘we’ and ‘us’ and starts to speak of ‘they’ and ‘those’ – and the big question is, who is the writer talking about? Then we get onto the challenging verses – 4-9! This is the stuff we should know! (If you don’t, speak to your pastor and ask him to explain!). all that awaits us, our hope of resurrection, eternal judgment and God’s consummation of all things). The chapter, therefore, picks up where the previous chapter left off – with the writer urging his hearers to grow up spiritually! He lists 6 things that we should have ‘nailed down’ by now the basic foundational principles of our faith, broken down in three groups: Firstly ‘Justification’ (the completed work of Salvation in Christ, by what He did and not by what we can do)! Then ‘Sanctification’ (the setting-apart of the believer for work and ministry through Baptism and the laying on of hands for service). Finally ‘Glorification’ (i.e. We should also note that the chapter begins with ‘For….’ expressly linking it to what the writer had been saying in the previous verses – namely, this issue of Christians growing toward spiritual maturity. Chuck Missler has cataloged at least 16 different interpretations of this chapter (and in particular, verses 4-9) – so we must be Bereans as we approach this portion of scripture – we must stick to what we know from scripture and remember that scripture will never contradict scripture! ![]() Campbell Morgan, the prince of expositors, has completely bypassed it in his book on Hebrews.”ĭr. J Vernon McGee, in his commentary on this chapter, stated “ As we study this section, we are immediately confronted with the amazing fact that generally, commentators have avoided this chapter. In this teaching, pastor Barry goes verse-by-verse through the first 9 verses of what many commentators have called the hardest chapter in the Bible! This study was recorded on 23rd February 2020 at Calvary Chapel Portsmouth as part of our family service.
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