joyful
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 1376
Location: texas
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 Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:40 pm Post subject: Hebrews 6:4-6 |
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Hebrews 6:4
For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Hebrews 6:5
and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
Hebrews 6:6
and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.
This does not speak of Adam, but of those in the what is generally called the "Gospel Age" who come to God through Jesus. In context, it has to do with the new covenant. As I have shown before, the new covenant actually belongs to the age to come.* Thus, in this Gospel age, the believer does have access the powers of the age to come in order to receive the regeneration in this age.
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*
http://reslight.net/forum/index.php?topic=37.msg49#msg49
http://reslight.net/forum/index.php?topic=327.msg562#msg562
However, there are two different ways that "gift" and "power" here could be understood. The first would be the narrow view, that Paul was speaking of one who had received a gift/power of the holy spirit, such as speaking in foreign languages, or the gift of healing, etc., and thus those who received such a gift held a greater responsibility than the rest of the believers who did not have such a gift. In effect, this view could be seen as meaning that any other new creature in Christ could fall away and repent, but those who had received such a gift or power could not.
However, I believe this view falls short from the principles involved, since, in effect, it would allow the new creature himself to sin and return into favor with God. In reality, if the new creature sins, it would have to a be totally and fully willful sin, and fully against the degree of enlightenment having received.
The gift received, I believe, is the gift of being given life through the "blood of the new covenant". The benefits of that blood applies to the raising of the world from death in the last day. Those who become new creatures, who receive the regeneration in this age, do so by tasting of the powers of the age to come. These, according to the degree of enlightenment received, have much at stake. My understanding is that the incorrupt new creature can only willfully sin against the enlightenment of the holy spirit; if a Christian sins otherwise, it is not a sin of the new creature, but rather of the sinful flesh, and thus does not produce the second death. Thus, the greater the enlightenment, the greater the responsibility that comes upon the new creature toward that sin.
At the same time, God does not allow anyone to be enlightened beyond what he is able to bear, thus ensuring that no new creature will sin, except that he willfully sin. (John 16:12; 1 Corinthians 3:1,2; 10:13; Hebrews 5:11-14) Thus, if it is the actual "will" or "desire" of the new creature that sins, not of the sinful flesh, there is no more sacrifice for sin left. This does not fit Adam's sin, since Adam is not being considered. Adam's sin produced the first condemnation that we usually refer to as Adamic death. The topic under consideration is concerning those who have been freed from that sin by consecration through the blood of the new covenant, and who then willfully fall away from what they attained. The new creature, once dead, cannot apply for the ransom sacrifice of Jesus which pays the debt for the sin in Adam. Such would demand that Christ die again for them, should they repent. However, such cannot truly repent, as we read.
The purpose of becoming a new creature, either in this age, or by being raised as such in the age to come, is be freed from the condemnation upon the creation in Adam, that is, from Adamic death. There would be no releasing from the eternal condemantion of death in Adam had it not been for Christ's taking that eternal condemnation upon himself, sacrificing his flesh forever. In the age to come, I believe those raised will be new creatures by means of Christ, by means of the application of the blood of the new covenant. The flesh will be a new creation, sin-free, but they will still have the moral will of the old creature to contend with until they will have fully overcome such, in that to some extent all have comitted partially willful sins in this age that will need to be expiated in the age to come. Thus, the mediation will evidently still be necessary at that time, although the blood of the covenant does not "cover" such sins, the new covenant itself allows for mediation to rectify whatever of such sins may be. No being "covered" by the blood of the new covenant, they will have to be otherwise expiated from the old will by the new will of the new creature, so that the new creature may progress on to incorruptibility. To what extent will one be actually permitted to sin during the millennial age? For instance, I do not believe that God will allow people to murder each other during time of mediation, so it may be that the sins at that time will be willful desires of the heart brought over from the old will that will not be permitted to become a reality. To whatever extent actual sin may be permitted, such tendency to sin will have to be overcome in the heart of the new creature at that time, or else the new creature will succumb in heart to the old in such desire to sin, which will lead to the second death.
http://reslight.net/forum/index.php?topic=34.msg44#msg44 |
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