Hebrews 5:9 - 6:3 KJV

Moving from Doctrine to Perfection

Note from Marcia: I thank God that he has allowed me to come back to this study and pick it up and go on after a long break in time. I am praying that He will again fill me with his spirit that I may complete this study. I ask for His, and your, forgiveness for allowing other things to interrupt and drag me away. Hebrews is speaking loudly to me, now, and I want to obey. I am grateful for His grace and mercy, which is new every morning. With your permission, and His help, we shall move on. May God's will be done.  

WHAT IT SAYS:

^5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
¹⁰ Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
¹¹ Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
¹² For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
¹³ For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
¹⁴ But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

² Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
³ And this will we do, if God permit.

WHAT IT MEANS: 

^5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
¹⁰ Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
¹¹ Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

The entire book of Hebrews up to chapter 5 verse 10 is a vivid, complete, and compelling description of who Jesus Christ is. In verse 9 we see that He is the "author of eternal salvation." Verse 10 points out, in conclusion, that Jesus was made a high priest, by God, in the same way that Melchisedec was. Not by the decrees or descent of any man. Not by the influence of man. Not even visible to man. He was made our high priest by God, the Father. For proof of his divinity and calling, read the first four chapters.

In verse 11 the author of Hebrews points out why the book was written. He had many more things to say concerning Jesus, but the recipients of the book had grown "dull of hearing." Their dullness made it hard for him to speak further of the glorious things of Christ. An audience that does not respond to the speaker makes it difficult for the speaker to share what is in his heart.

Have you ever tried to talk to someone who was not listening or simply had no understanding of what you were talking about? You are sharing your heart, and their eyes have glazed over. They are looking the other way, or are wearing ear buds and listening to some other voice. It is enough to make the average Joe shut down, but, thank God, the author of Hebrews was inspired by God and did not let that stop him. In fact, he used that as his purpose, because this needed correction.

¹² For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

They had wandered away. Not far, but far enough. Enough time had also passed that, had they been paying attention, studying, and abiding in Christ, they would have been beyond the spoon feeding and ready to take on the business of the Lord. But they had not and were not. They should have been teachers, but were, instead, needing to be taught all over again. They needed the first principles of the good news of Jesus Christ that had originally been taught to them by "the oracles" (the ones who speak for God, the Apostles) all over again. That was why the first four chapters were written. (Thank God!)  Instead of becoming teachers they had remained students. Instead of becoming men of God, they had returned to being suckling children. They were not where they should have been.

¹³ For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
¹⁴ But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

You may have heard the term "a babe in Christ" meaning someone who is new to the faith, and does not yet understand the full impact of putting their faith in Christ. They are young in the faith and have not yet had time to read the Bible front to back, so they are not yet skilled in the word of righteousness. This is where everyone starts off and it is not a bad place to begin. The problem arises when people remain in that position even after many years of attending church.

The recipients of this letter should have been farther along, but they were now old babes in the word. They are still suckling for comfort and are not grown up enough to give comfort to others, yet.

"By reason of use"... the word "use" here in verse 14, could also have been translated "perfection." Like polishing silver, the more it is rubbed the cleaner and more perfect it gets. And what have the mature meat eaters been "using?" "By reason of use have their senses exercised."  By abiding in Christ, daily, by study and prayer, their own senses have been exercised. Their mental and spiritual muscles have been exercised and built up so they are now much stronger in the word of Christ and can easily detect what is good or what is evil and are able to help others, too.

A believer's level of maturity, then and now, depends on their own study of the word and their personal diligence in communing with God. Those who are of  "full age" become so by living in Christ, daily, for a period of time. Their focus on Jesus has become stronger. They eat, drink, and breath Him with every breath. They eagerly read, study, pray, and serve, on their own, they don't have to be prompted. They obey what they have learned and have grown in the process. They have lived with Christ long enough that they, themselves, can sense what is good, and what is evil as they continue to go along in life. The Lord has blessed them with discernment.

To discern means: to detect with the eyes, to detect with other senses, to recognize or identify as separate and distinct, to come to know or recognize mentally. They are able to tell, or to discriminate, the difference between what is truth and what is lies, or good and evil, or right and wrong, on their own and as a direct result of the Spirit speaking to them.

A babe cannot always tell that "this thing" or "that thing" is good or not good for them to do or to participate in. They get snared in the wrong things easily. It is as if they are no longer completely blind, but do not yet see everything as clearly as they could. If a believer remains in the ranks of the simple minded and does nothing to exercise and join the ranks of the mature, they simply do not grow and cannot produce fruit for the Lord.

In verse 13 the old babes are using (consuming) milk, and in 14 the mature are using (exercising or perfecting) their senses. Do you see that one is pulling comfort into themselves, and the other is practicing and growing strong so they can serve the Lord? One sucks in, the other grows up. One is a drain, the other is becoming a conduit.

In the first 5 and a half chapters the author has taken the time to lay a very firm foundation of who Christ is, and why we put our trust in Him, and he also knows that he now needs to move on to what it means to live in Christ. He is purposefully addressing the "old babes."

6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; 

Let us get to the action, part! Let us not remain babes in Christ, but let us become men of Christ. Here he begins to leave behind the basic ideas and principles that they should already know, and will move on to exercising or "perfection." Notice also that the words "perfection" or "perfect" show up in three significant places in these verses. The first place is in verse 9 which speaks of Jesus having been made perfect through his obedience and suffering on the cross.

^5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

The second place is in verse 14 with the word "use" which could also have been translated "perfection" and refers to the actual living of life in Christ that occurs for those who actively participate in their own study and living with Him daily. Both of these verses are talking about obedience and suffering doing a work in us, (perfection) as it did in Jesus.

¹⁴ But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use (perfection) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

So now, thirdly, we can see that what the author is about to address is no longer the basic doctrines and principles that we believe in, but the act of living in Christ -- the "doing" or "perfection" or "exercise" that helps us grow. He is also saying that it is time for all of us to move on. It is now time to begin "perfection" or the actual practice of the word of God.

6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;  not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

² Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

He points out that there is no need to continually repeat the basic doctrines. It is time to move on to exercising our faith in Christ through obedience. He gives a simple summary of what he considers the basic principles of the doctrine of Christ to be. Notice also that they are the things that a believer DOES, or that God DOES in the life of the believer:

Repentance from dead works
Faith toward God
Baptisms
Laying on of hands
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal Judgment

This is a simple word diagram of the life and end of a believer:

He starts by coming to repentance by turning away from "dead" or lifeless works. He sheds his old life style.

He puts his faith in God. He finds forgiveness and freedom from his old life, and begins to walk humbly with God.

He becomes baptized with the Holy Spirit and fully realizes that God has made some changes in him. This will be an individual experience between the believer and the Holy Spirit and can manifest itself in many different ways. There are many gifts of the spirit (from loving to preaching and everything in between).

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (KJV) -- For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Baptisms (plural) means that a single believer may have more than one gift. It may also refer to the voluntary water baptism that we choose to do as our statement of faith before God and man.

Laying on of hands is the act of praying for others. Believers will often gather together to pray and lay hands on one another so that the physical body can become a conduit through which the Spirit passes amongst them.

Resurrection of the dead, refers to the knowledge that because of the resurrection of Christ, all people will be given a new life when this one ends.

^{Acts 24:15} And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Eternal Judgment is when we all come to the judgment seat of Christ to receive our reward whether of heaven or hell based on our own choices in this life.

³ And this will we do, if God permit.

The author has a particular avenue in mind that he wants to go down, but he allows that God may take him, and us, in another direction. Praise the Lord!

 READ IT AGAIN WITH BETTER UNDERSTANDING:

^5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
¹⁰ Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
¹¹ Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
¹² For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
¹³ For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
¹⁴ But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

² Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
³ And this will we do, if God permit.