ONCE-FOR-ALL. Hebrews 6:4-6
These upcoming verses might be the most concerning message about regressing and moving away from the blessings of God found in the scriptures. Israel as a nation failed repeatedly, but there were also times of repentance and revival when they turned back to God. This will happen again when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory to reign over Israel and the nations as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
By going beyond just the first principles, we become aware of what leads to apostasy in those who claim to be Christians but reject the truths of Christianity. Instead of reverting to the old covenant, we continue in the doctrines and principles of the new covenant. The use of the words "we" and "they" or "those" clarifies that some Hebrew Christians were genuine believers in Christ, while others had experienced some of God's blessings and had a measure of understanding of the doctrine of salvation, but were not saved. Even though they knew what was taught and had been moved by the Holy Spirit in conviction and instruction, they were not truly saved by grace alone. "This will we do," refers to those who were real believers in Christ. "Those who were once enlightened," and "They shall fall away," refer to those who were yielding to apostasy. By refusing to accept what was taught and deliberately rejecting God's truth, they revealed themselves as unbelievers.
The Hebrews to whom this epistle was written had become lukewarm and were like infants who could not understand the doctrines concerning the glorified Lord and His being our Great High Priest. Despite that, the writer knew that true believers in Christ would pay attention to the teaching from spiritual leaders and would return to their first love. When they were willing to listen and obey God, they would soon understand what they had not grasped before or realize how important that teaching was.
However, with dismay, he addresses a sad reality. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian truly is one. The word "once" means “once-for-all.” It precedes and governs all the participles that follow: enlightened, tasted, partakers, etc.
When people are “enlightened,” there has been an illumination into the darkness of their minds and the ignorance of human nature that brings conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. The Holy Spirit enlightens the minds of hearers and provides an intellectual understanding of divine truth. There is alignment with what is taught and a desire to be part of a positive, potentially successful movement.
To “taste of the heavenly gift,” eternal life, certainly appeals, and tasting the benefits of eternal life promises satisfaction. But tasting is not the same as drinking the water of life freely, which changes everything in us as well as outwardly. When a “life-giving” drink of that heavenly gift has been taken, as an act of the will, a new nature and divine life are imparted to the believer.
Thousands of people taste the heavenly gift but have never had a drink of the living water that transforms the lives and hopes of those who are born again. Their earnest desire is “to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable unto His death.”
Someone who has become a partaker (partner) of the Holy Spirit is not necessarily someone who has been sealed or indwelt by the Spirit. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our inheritance, with redemption being a work God has accomplished for those who are His purchased possession. A partner of the Holy Spirit could be someone like King Saul, upon whom the Holy Spirit came. Some people today, with joy, hear the word of God preached, but they have no root and fall away from that initial taste, which simply means they know what it is like.
“The good word of God” can be tasted experimentally and found to be good, meaningful, practical, useful, gracious, and a means of guidance in life. But a taste may be “as sweet as honey,” and that does not mean that person is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. They just know what it means to be a believer. There can be interest in a home Bible study, classes taught in an assembly for various social groups, age groups, or maybe even the whole congregation, but that is only a taste. When people are condemned by what is taught in the scripture, and they don’t want to hear any more, they have tasted: “Just give me a taste. If I like it, I’ll come back. If it makes me uncomfortable, I’m out of here.”
“The powers of the age to come” may refer to a miracle of healing by God’s grace or a moment of peace that occasionally happens. It might involve the ability to do something beyond our natural limits or a short feeling of contentment after a tough time. These glimpses of millennial blessings— when Christ is recognized as the Messiah by the Jews and Lord of all nations—can be experienced or tasted. When we learn something important about the Bible or God, it does not mean we have been born again and have a new nature and new life in Christ.
Spiritual benefits are granted by the Holy Spirit to everyone in one way or another. When a person has been enlightened, they can no longer claim ignorance. When someone refuses to follow Christ, they have rejected Him and are responsible for crucifying Him by not believing in Him. In Judaism, the deity of Christ is not accepted. If He is not the Son of God and He claims to be, He is a liar, and that is what the religious Jews believed. To return to that means to agree with the crucifixion of Jesus, and repentance for that act of unbelief makes salvation impossible.