WARNING AND ENCOURAGEMENT 1. Leaving.. let us go on] RV 'let us cease to speak of.. and press on.' The words are either an exhortation to the readers to advance beyond the elementary stage of Christian doctrine, or a resolution on the part of the writer to omit the discussion of rudimentary truths a... [ Continue Reading ]
The second pair comprises the 'teaching of baptisms and of laying on of hands,' which constitute the next step in the Christian life. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost: see Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts 8:17. The plural ('baptisms') is empl... [ Continue Reading ]
TASTED] i.e. had full experience of: cp. Hebrews 2:9. The heavenly gift, if it is not a general expression denoting the whole contents of the grace of God, wil mean either the forgiveness of sin or the gift of the Holy Ghost. Of these two the former is the most probable, seeing the latter is express... [ Continue Reading ]
POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME] so RV. Either the miraculous gifts referred to in Hebrews 2:4, or more probably the fortifying influences of God's sure promises concerning the future.... [ Continue Reading ]
CRUCIFY.. AFRESH] They take the part of those unbelieving Jews who rejected Christ and openly reviled Him: cp. Hebrews 10:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EARTH] rather, 'the land' or 'the field'. that makes a good use of God's gift of rain is blessed by Him; but 'the field' that responds to His goodness with a crop of thorns and thistles is destroyed. The parable is a warning against the wilful misuse of those gifts of God referred to in Hebrews... [ Continue Reading ]
BELOVED] only used here in this Epistle. The word expresses the writer's solicitude for his readers in view of even the remote possibility in their case of such an awful fate as has been described. ACCOMPANY SALVATION] are intimately connected with it, leading to it.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SAME DILIGENCE] i.e. be as zealous in maintaining the fulness of their own hope as they have been in ministering to their brethren.... [ Continue Reading ]
INHERIT] i.e. enter into possession of what is promised. The verb is in the participial mood, and refers equally to the past and present. The writer is thinking of the class of persons who may be described as 'inheritors of the promises.' PATIENCE] means patient waiting. 13-20. The example of Abrah... [ Continue Reading ]
See Genesis 22:16; Genesis 22:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE OBTAINED THE PROMISE] i.e had the promise made to him: cp. Genesis 22:16. “What Abraham actually saw in his lifetime was only the beginning of the fulfilment: cp. Hebrews 11:39, 16. RV 'and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.'... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREIN] i.e. this being the case among men. CONFIRMED _IT_ BY AN OATH] RV 'interposed' (RM 'mediated') 'with an oath.' The idea is that as there was no greater who could be called in as a third party or surety for the fulfilment of the promise, God made Himself the surety by means of the oath by Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
TWO IMMUTABLE THINGS] viz. the promise, which, because it was God's promise, was immutable, and the oath, which, though not necessary in this case, was added for confirmation of men's faith. CONSOLATION] RV 'encouragement.'... [ Continue Reading ]
SURE AND STEDFAST, AND WHICH ENTERETH] RV inserts 'a hope' before these adjectival terms, thus confining the metaphor of the anchor to the one clause, 'as an anchor of the soul,' and taking the three expressions as descriptive not of the anchor, but of the hope. This simplifies matters in so far as... [ Continue Reading ]
The discussion is brought round to the point where it was interrupted (Hebrews 5:10) by the warning against the danger of spiritual dulness and apostasy.... [ Continue Reading ]