How Christian growth happens

Hebrews 5:11-6:3 NASB

¹¹ Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. ¹ Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do, if God permits.

The teacher of the Hebrews had already said much about Christ.

First, he identified Jesus as the eternal Son of God.

• · The ultimate spokesman for God (1:2).
• · The appointed heir of all things (1:2).
• · The creator of the world (1:2,10).
• · The radiance of God’s glory (1:3).
• · The exact representation of God’s nature (1:3).
• · One member of the trinity declared to be the Son of the Father (1:5; 5:5).
• · Heir of an eternal kingdom passed on from the Father (1:8).

Then, he is identified as greater than the angels.

• · No angel was begotten as God’s Son (1:5).
• · The angels were commanded to worship the Son (1:6).
• · No angels were enthroned and given the promise of victory (1:13)

Then, he identified Jesus as the High Priest of the new covenant.

• · To qualify, he had to be made temporarily lower than the angels (2:7,9).
• · He suffered to become the author and source of salvation for many sons (2:10; 5:9).
• · He had to be fully human to become a merciful and faithful high priest (2:17).
• · He is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (3:1).
• · He is the one who can bring us into God’s rest (4:8-11).
• · He has passed through the sky as our great high priest (4:14).
• · He is a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (5:6)

Then, he identified Jesus as greater than Moses.

• · Moses was a servant in God’s house, but Jesus was its builder (3:3-6a).

But now the teacher of the Hebrews takes a little break. He confesses that it is hard to go on with his lessons, because his listeners are failing to apply what they hear.

• · “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (5:11).

o The word translated “dull” is νωθρός which means to ‘be backward’ in something, or ‘not applying oneself’ to something, sluggish, to the extent of appearing to be stupid.

• · “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God,” (5:12a).

o The word translated “elementary principles” is στοιχεῖον which means one item in a στοῖχος ‘series, row’, ‘part of a complex whole.’

• · “you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant” (5:12b-13).

o The word translated “infant” is νήπιος, ‘a child in an early period of life’, and it is the same word that the apostle Paul used in Ephesians 4:14: “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.”

• · “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

o The word translated “mature” is τέλειος, meaning ‘free from any deficiency, omission, or corruption.’ It is the same word that the apostle Paul used in Ephesians 4:13: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

So, Now the teacher explains how Christian growth happens. How do we get from infants in Christ to mature in Christ.

• · To explain the idea of Christian growth, the teacher needs to change his metaphor. So he stops talking about infants and milk, and he now talks about a building and its foundation stones.
• · “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation” (Hebrews 6:1a).
• · The building of the Christian life is founded upon three major foundation stones: Repentance, Faith, and Instructions. These are the elementary principles that the teacher mentioned in 5:12, and the “elementary teaching about Christ” that he mentioned in 6:1.

o Repentance is μετάνοια, ‘a serious change of mind and heart about a previous point of view or course of behaviour.’ When a person has truly repented, his heart and mind is now predisposed to follow Christ. Repentance from “dead works” entails a new commitment to do living works, following Christ’s example and teachings.

o Faith is πίστις, which includes belief in, confidence in, trust in, and faithfulness to something. Faith towards God is placing yourself entirely in his hands, obeying his will, and trusting in his plan.

o The instructions that make up the third foundation stone consists of teaching about how your repentance from sin and faith in God will now affect your life today, your future hope, and your attitude toward unbelievers. The teacher lists four different instructions.

1. § First, a new believer must understand that to follow Christ, he will have to undergo some baptisms. These probably include water baptism as a sign of the believer’s identity in Christ, Holy Spirit baptism for empowerment and guidance, and perhaps baptism into suffering to develop perseverance.
2. § Secondly, a new believer will be gifted with certain spiritual gifts and ministries, and these were usually accompanied by the laying on of hands.
3. § Thirdly, a new believer has a new confidence that although he will die just like all those in Adam will die, his future inheritance is sure because of Jesus’ promise to raise him from the dead.
4. § Finally, a new believer understands that unbelievers all around him are in danger of being destroyed in the final and permanent judgment. This awareness brings with it an urgent need to reconcile unbelievers to God in Christ.

So, now let us depict what the teacher has said visually:

So, to summarize:

CHRISTIAN GROWTH HAPPENS WHEN A BELIEVER HAS REPENTED FROM ALL THE DEAD WORKS OF HIS LIFE, PUT HIS FAITH, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD, SEEKING ALWAYS TO BE FAITHFUL TO HIM, AND HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED ABOUT THE BAPTISMS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, THE LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR MINISTRY. HE HAS PUT HIS HOPE ENTIRELY ON THE RESURRECTION BY CHRIST AT HIS RETURN, AND HAS A PASSION TO REACH THE LOST DUE TO THE TERRIBLE AWARENESS OF THE FINAL JUDGEMENT THEY WILL FACE IF THEY ARE NOT SAVED.