Hebrews 4:14-6:20

Notes compiled from my BSF group

Hebrews 4:14–16

We have a great high priest (Jesus Christ) who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he has been tempted in every way that we have. 

Matthew 4:1–11, 26:36–44

Satan saved his biggest temptation for last and tempted Jesus with his kingdom if Jesus would only bow down and worship Satan (Matthew 4:8). But, Jesus did not fall into temptation and was willing to accomplish God's will (Matthew 26:42).

Jesus was tempted by Satan in ways that we are tempted by Satan. Satan even offered to share his kingdom with Jesus. All Jesus had to do with bow down to Satan. That just blows me away. The fact that Satan has the audacity to challenge God and tempt God to bow down to him is the epitome of the sin of pride. However, Jesus fought away Satan with His solid knowledge of the Scriptures (Matthew 4). Knowing Jesus struggled through temptations and conquered them all by placing His trust in the Word of God, I’m comforted to know that when I’m being tempted, I, too, can combat it by clearing my head and remembering the Word of God. This is one reason why we are encouraged to memorize scriptures that strengthen us.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 4:15 tempted in every way, just as we are. See 2:18. The author stresses the parallel between Christ's temptations and ours. He did not have each temptations we have but experienced the whole range of our temptations. yet was without sin. The way in which Christ's temptations were different from ours was in the results - his temptations never led to sin (see Mt 4:1-11 and notes).

We have been encouraged to approach the throne of grace in time of need. We can seek God’s help and sympathy when we’re having a hard time because HE HAS LIVED THROUGH THE WORST OF IT ALL! Any difficulty we have experienced, any difficulty we will experience, none will be greater than what Jesus had to endure. Yet, JESUS TRIUMPHED. Jesus never gave up, and HE CONQUERED. When we face trouble, there is simply no better role model for us to look up to. There is simply no one better than Jesus to give advice about how to live and how to deal with difficulties.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 4:16 Let us then approach. Because Christ our high priest has experienced human temptation, he stands ready to give immediate and sympathetic help when we are tempted (see 2:10 and note).

Hebrews 5:1–10

According to Hebrews, every high priest should have the following traits:

- Selected from among men

- Appointed to represent in matters related to God

- Able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray

- Called by God, just as Aaron was

Christian pastors today are similar to the high priests of the past. They, too, should be held to the same standard, because these men are placed in charge of the same responsibilities: To lead God’s people in God’s Way.

It’s important to remember that we all have blessed with our own gifts to do God’s work. We are not all meant to lead as pastors. When we are called by God to accomplish missions in His glory, there is no stopping us, even when we lack the confidence to do it (e.g., Moses), even when we don’t want to do it (e.g., Jonah), etc. Conversely, when we insist on doing things against God’s will, we will never succeed (e.g., Satan).

Pastors are selected to lead God’s people. Rest assured that God will have His say in who gets to be His pastors. It’s not up to us to decide. It’s up to God. The most we can do is to pray for God’s guidance in making our best choice.

To those who are offended that only men can be pastors, please check out the following post:
http://aletheia-seekers.blogspot.com/2011/04/womens-place-in-spiritual-leadership.html

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 5:1-4 The high-priestly office had two specific qualifications: (1) The high priest had to be "selected from among men" (v. 1) and thus be able to represent them before God; and (2) he had to "be called by God" (v. 4).

Jesus was was designated by God as His Son to be both a high priest and a king forever.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 7:1 Melchizedek. See Ge 14:18-20 and notes; cf Ps 110:4 and note. king... and priest. Of particular significance in Melchizedek's holding both offices, one of the ways in which he is treated here as a prefiguration of Christ (see notes on Zec 4:14; 6:13). Salem. Jerusalem (see note on Ge 14:18).

Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ receive eternal salvation.

Hebrews 5:11–6:3

I think the root cause of spiritual ignorance is the inability to mature as a Christian, to not be able to digest the Word of God and truly commit to one's decision to follow Jesus.


Just as a baby needs to move from drinking milk to eating solid food to sustain its growing body, Christians need to move beyond a simple understanding of the Bible to comprehending the deeper layers of the Bible.


Why?


Think of our one-on-one relationship with God as a relationship with another person. When we first meet a person, we have no special feelings toward him/her. As we get to know each other though, we can develop a better understanding of this person and eventually come to love him/her.


The Bible tells us our God LOVES us. So, we KNOW God loves us, but CAN WE FEEL IT? To be truly enveloped in God's love, we must first get to know God! And the only way we're going to get to know God is through careful study of His Word, the Bible!

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 5:11 much to say about this. About Christ's eternal priesthood "in the order of Melchizedek" (v. 10). slow to learn. Instead of progressing in the Christian life, the readers had become spiritually sluggish and mentally lazy (6:12).



Spiritual ignorance leads to spiritual immaturity.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 5:14 mature. Those who had progressed in spiritual life and had become Christians of sound judgment and discernment. distinguish good from evil. Something neither physical nor spiritual infants can do.

I think “solid food” for the soul is understanding the multiple layers of meaning of the Word of God. For example, our relationship with Christ has been equated to that of a marriage.


In the simplest meaning of that analogy, we are to understand that Jesus is the Head of the household, and we are to remain devoted to Him. This first layer of meaning is true. But, there is also a deeper layer of meaning.


With an understanding of a traditional Jewish wedding, we see how this relationship paints a picture of His second coming. For example, Jesus is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us (John 14:3), as a Jewish groom would do prior to his coming to take his bride home.


When we continue to study the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we gain more understanding of the different elements that are recorded in the Bible. More importantly, we start to gain respect for the sovereignty of God and feel the blessing of His great love for us. And as we gain more understanding of those different elements, we can begin to appreciate the details of everything documented in the Bible and have our eyes be further opened to the meaning of those details. Ultimately, these details will help us understand prophetic events that have yet to take place, to help us to “know the times” as instructed by Jesus (Matthew 24), and most importantly, to allow us realize just how magnificent Jesus is.


We have been taught that Jesus died for our sins. We have been taught that we are unworthy. Do we really KNOW that from the bottom of our heart? That overwhelming realization would be one important aspect of “solid food”. And once we know that, how could we bear to sin against God on purpose? This would be crucifying Jesus all over again (Hebrews 6:6), and how could we bear to do that to someone we love? To actively prune our heart and behavior because we love God and cannot bear to sin against God, that is the next step up of “solid food”.

In sum, when we read the Bible and read only the words, that is “milk”. There is certainly importance for understanding the literal meaning of the Bible. However, there are multiple levels of meaning to be gleaned from God’s Word. That is “solid food”. We read about Jesus being crucified for our sin. Do we really understand what that means? Why did He have to die for us? Why can’t we ever be good enough? We are told to love God. How? These questions are all a part of moving beyond “milk” to digesting “solid food”. If we do not grow, we will never learn how great God’s love is, and we will never get to truly experience God’s love. Worse, we will never learn to love God.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 5:12 by this time. They were not recent converts.elementary truths of God's word. Such as those listed in 6:1-2 (see note there). Having taken the first steps toward becoming (mature) Christians, they had slipped back to where they started. solid food. Advanced teaching such as that given in ch. 7.

According to Zondervan NIV footnote, 6 fundamental doctrines are mentioned in Hebrews 6:1–3

- Repentance: The change of mind that causes one to turn away from sin.

- Faith in God: The counterpart of repentance. As repentance is turning away from sin, faith is turning to God.

- Instruction about baptisms: Probably refers to different baptisms with which the readers were familiar, such as Jewish baptism of proselytes, John the Baptist's baptism, and the baptism commanded by Jesus.


- Laying on of hands: Sometimes followed baptism. Otherwise laying on of hands was practiced in connection with ordaining or commissioning, healing the sick and bestowal of blessing.

- Resurrection of the dead: The resurrection of all people in the last days.

- Eternal judgment: Either the fact of God's judgment or the verdict that determine the eternal condition of those judged.

Hebrews 6:4–20

The spiritual experiences include being enlightened, tasting the heavenly gift, sharing in the Holy Spirit, and tasting the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age.

Apostasy = renunciation of a religious faith.

If we have genuinely partaken in the spiritual experiences, we have then felt God’s love and learned to love God back. It is simply impossible to deny God after we’ve felt that love.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 6:4-6 The most common interpretations of this difficult passage are: 1. It refers to Christians who actually lose their salvation. 2. It is a hypothetical argument to warn immature Hebrew Christians (5:11-14) that they must progress to maturity (see v. 1) or else experience divine discipline or judgment (see vv. 7-8). 3. It refers to professing Christians whose apostasy proves that their faith was not genuine (cf. 1 Jn 2:19). This view sees chs. 3-4 as a warning based on the rebellion of the Israelites in the desert. As Israel could not enter the promised land after spying out the region and tasting its fruit, so the professing Hebrew Christians would not be able to repent if they adamantly turned against "the light" they had received. According to this interpretation, such expressions as "enlightened," "tasted the heavenly gift" and "shared in the Holy spirit" indicate that such persons had come under the influence of God's covenant blessings and had professed to turn from darkness to light but were in danger of a public and final rejection of Christ, proving they had never been regenerated (see 10:26-31 and notes; cf. 2 Pe2:20-22 and notes).

I do not want to be a Christian that does not "produce crops", so this Hebrews 6:7-12 and 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 challenge me to seek how I can better serve God. It is also encouraging to know that even if I do not "produce crops", I still have salvation through Jesus Christ which is given by grace.

Hebrews 4:18
Numbers 23:19
Titus 1:2
Hebrews 3:6


The two unchangeable things are God's promise and God's oath.

Zondervan NIV footnote:

* 6:18 two unchangeable things. God's promise, which in itself is absolutely trustworthy, and God's oath confirming that promise. be greatly encouraged. Since we look back on the fulfillment of the promise that Abraham saw only in anticipation (see 11;13; Jn 8:56 and notes).