Hebrews 5:11-6:3

   I.  Spiritual immaturity results in dullness to learning God's truth.

-The spiritually immature:

    a.  Are negligent of hearing.

-have become = ginomai = to be to become; perfect tense

-dull = nothros = sluggish, dull, negligent, lazy

    b.  Should have grown to be capable of teaching others.

-by this time = on account of the time

-ought = opheilo = owe, obligated, bound, must

    c.  Are still in need of spiritual milk.

-have come = ginomai; perfect tense

        i.  They still need to be taught the elementary principles.

-elementary principles = stoicheia = basic element, basic principles, elements of the alphabet

       ii.  they are inexperienced in the word of righteousness.

-accustomed to = apeiros = unskilled, inexperienced in, unacquainted with

 

  II.  Spiritual maturity produces the ability to assimilate and apply God's truth.

-mature = teleios = complete, mature, perfect

-The spiritually mature:

    a.  Are capable of receiving spiritual meat.

    b.  Have a character trained to discern.

-practice = hexis = habit; New Linguistic and Exegetical Key "It refers to a habit of body or mind indicating not the process but the result; the condition, produced by past exercise is now habitual, the disposition of character."

-senses = aistheterion = faculty, sense organ

-trained = gumnazo = to exercise, to train

-discern = diakrisis = distinguishing, deciding, making a judgment between two things

-New Linguistic and Exegetical Key "The goal of training is distinguishing good and evil. Because the readers had been believers for a time, they should have known that to return to Judaism was a bad choice, they would not be able to go on to maturity." 

 

 III.  Move on to spiritual maturity in God's truth.

    a.  Surrendering to the active influence of God.

-press on = phero = carry, bear, present tense, passive verb.

-Phil. 2:12-13

    b.  Moving beyond the foundation principles.

1) Repentance and faith.

2) Washings and laying on of hands

3) Resurrection and eternal judgment

    c.  Being dependent upon the work of God is us.

Hebrews 5:1-10 (Part 2)

I.  Christ was appointed high priest by God.

 -chiasmic structure of v. 1-10

A  The old office of high priest

   B  The sacrifices offered by the high priest

       C  The weakness of the high priest

           D  The appointment of the high priest

           D`  The appointment of Christ, the new high priest

       C`  The suffering of the new high priest

    B`  The sacrificial provision of the new high priest

A`  The new office of high priest in Christ

 

      a.   The Son who is King has become our final High Priest.

      b.  The Son is High Priest forever.

 

  II.  Christ made the sacrificial offering of Himself.

     a.  The high priest offered gifts and sacrifices; Christ offered prayers and supplications in offering Himself.

-John 17:5

    b.  The high priest was beset with weakness; Christ learned obedience.

-F.F. Bruce "He set out from the start on the path of obedience to God, and learned by the sufferings which came his way in consequence just what obedience to God involved in practice in the conditions of human life on earth...So the sufferings which Jesus endured were the necessary prices of His obedience - more than that, they were part and parcel of his obedience, the very means by which he fulfilled the will of God."

   c.  The high priest could only deal gently with the offenders; Christ completed all to fulfill the role of high priest and make atonement.

-having been made perfect = teleioo = complete, perfect

-George Guthrie, three levels of application

1) Jesus is the final high priest to whom I owe praise and obedience.

2) Jesus being a "righteous sufferer" makes Him able to identify with those who suffer for the kingdom of God.

3) Jesus offers the example of deferring to the will of God.

 

  III.  Christ is the source of salvation for those who obey.

-source = aitios = cause, source

-obey = hupakouo = obey, be subject to; literally to hear under; idea is to submit to the will of another, submit allegiance to

-John 14:15

 

  IV.  Christ's high priesthood supersedes the priesthood of Aaron.

-designated = prosagoreuo = to salute, designate, hail, name; idea is of ascribing a formal title