In this Bible teaching, Shawn discusses the concept of spiritual maturation in the Christian faith, using the descriptions of babes, little children, young men, and fathers in the faith. He emphasizes the importance of patience, love, and understanding in interacting with believers at different stages of maturity. Shawn also introduces a symbolic representation of God’s interactions with man, starting with the concept of X and V as foundational elements.

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Hebrews 6:3 Part 11 – On to Perfection Bible Teaching Script

Hebrews 6.3 K – On to Perfection
January 5th 2014
Meat

If you haven’t been here before we tape each sermon and we also sing the Word of God set to music.

Afterward we will sit for a few minutes in silence to pray and reflect. When we come back we’ll pick our verse by verse study of the Word of God.

Additionally, we typically hold a communion on the first Sunday of every month.

So let’s talk about this for a minute and we’ll begin with a prayer if we could.

PRAYER

In first Corinthians Paul says something significant relative to the communion Jesus instituted with the eleven in the upper room shortly before His death.

Up to verse seventeen in the chapter Paul has been talking about the subject of women covering their heads in the church (which is a totally different subject) then in verse 17 he moves on to the topic of communion, and says:

17 Now in this that I declare unto you (or what I am about to discuss with you, he says) “I praise you not, that ye “come together” not for the better, but for the worse.
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

Without going into a lot of detail apparently the people (when it says “church” in verse 18 he is speaking of a gathering of believers, which, in the earliest years of the church, was in public places) but apparently they were getting together and were participating in some sort of festival celebration where they were eating and drinking alcohol to excess prior.

In verse 21 Paul intimates that the Greek practice of people bringing their own food and eating it in such a setting was being done which was a shame because some of them had no food while others had elaborate menus (this is why he says in verse 21, “For in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunk.”

Now, remember, the church at Corinth was composed of former heathens, and so it would be natural for them to try and integrate some of their former practices into their worship services.

And we know that the Greeks would celebrate in this manner because Socrates also hated how the rich would dine sumptuously on their own food while the poor sat there hungry. Anyway . . .

At verse 23 Paul gets to the point I’m trying to make, saying:

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, “That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Then Jesus added:

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Now, what I am about to say may trouble you a bit. What we are participating in with communion is a physical ritual (established by Jesus) among His eleven disciples (and then Paul) that was to be observed “until He comes.”

Since this time, religious people have taken this simple memorial and turned it into something it is not.

The Catholics and the LDS have really used it to a very materialistic extreme, actually imposing membership, and priesthoods, and worthiness factors into taking it.

The problem and trouble with physical rituals and observances (baptism, the laying on of hands, celebration of Holy Days, ten percent of income, Sabbath-days – and even communion, the ingesting of literal elements) is they smack of material religion and not spiritual relationship.

As hard as it is to fathom for some, I am of the opinion that because of Christ and His Finished work – finished work – that everything is spiritual – His Kingdom and our approach to it – and because of it someone who comes to know him (out in the desert, let’s say) could go their whole life never reading the Bible, never being baptized in water, and never eating communion and ascend into heaven quicker than someone who has done it all everyday of their life.

This is how much believers ought to be walking and living and relating to God in the Spirit.

I know, I know – there is some wonderful symbolism present in such material exercises, and they can be a beautiful emblem of our faith, and Lord, and devotion to Him. Additionally, they CAN serve as a support to our walk.

Which is why we continue do communion and water baptisms here at CAMPUS.

But please know, they are emblematic and are at BEST . . . aimed at reminding us that He did come, He did die, He did resurrect and He does NOW reign over His Kingdom spiritually.

The downside to such material applications is many people appeal to them as a means to bolster a wanting Christian walk.

Some submit to water baptisms over and over again. Others, who hate their neighbor feel absolved when they experience humility due to the eating of the broken bread and drinking of the wine.

I would suggest that there is a great need for caution, then, in the face of these religious temptations.

This year we may do away with the ritual of “doing communion” the first Sunday of every month for one reason and one reason alone – human nature – because it’s the nature of natural men and women to appeal to the physical instead of the spiritual.

I mean, there are some major “supposedly Christian” religious institutions today that use the Lord’s supper (communion) as a tool – allowing only those who are their members, refusing those who are apparently not worthy, etc. from ingesting them.

HA!

We cannot ever forget that Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well:

(John 4:23) “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

So this morning, in our milk gathering, we held communion as a religious means to help bring those believers along in their nascent faith.

And even in the presence of verse 26 of 1st Corinthians 11 which says:

26 “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

I think there is justification of continuing the practice in the body today even though I personally believe He did come for the Church in 70 AD because, as I intimated last week, I think He now comes to His own at our individual deaths so in this sense, His return has not occurred for us.

In the end, we are going to move away from a set day where we “do communion.” I want to make this change to help remove the set standard of material communion taking in an effort to enhance the need for more spiritual communion with God and one another.

So let’s pray, and hear the word set to music, and after a few moments of reflection, get into the word.

We have spend ten weeks discussing the content of Hebrews 6:1-3.

At the end of chapter 5 the writer says:

13 For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Establishing this, the writer adds in chapter 6 verses 1-3:

Hebrew 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.

Taking these passages seriously, we have spent some time examining the doctrinal basics (the Milk) concerning:

Repentance from dead works.
Faith toward God
Doctrine of Baptisms
The Resurrection of the Dead, and in the past
Eternal judgment.

We have lost a number of people who were otherwise dedicated to attending CAMPUS gatherings in light of what I suggested the Word is saying.

That is perfectly acceptable as there is freedom in Christ and we have to go where we believe the Word is best represented.

Those of you who remain will note that in our study I have avoided the line

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection . . .”

Go on to perfection. Really? What does this mean? How does it look? And in the end, how is this accomplished.

The King James uses an unfortunate word here with perfection in my opinion because the Greek term is teleotace – and it better means “completeness, in mind and emotions – and not perfection in the sense of everything being perfect.

Other translations describe teleotace by saying:

“Let us move on to full growth.”
“Let us move on to maturity.”
“let us be carried along toward what is mature,” and
“Let us advance to mature manhood.”

This concept of maturation in Christ – in going from being babes, and then children, and then Young men and women, to becoming Fathers and Mothers in Christ is plainly articulated in scripture.

First of all, Paul describes Christians who are babes in Christ.

The Greek term is nepios, and it speaks of an absolute babe in Christ. While salvation must be part of the Babes experience, they are incapable of articulation, even walking the walk. They are totally and completely reliant on the mercy of Christian parents and family to patiently and lovingly nourish them, to clean up their messes, to patiently respond to their cries.

Going to John the Beloved, he says in 1st John 2:12-14:

12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

If we take these passages and compile a description of each of these Christian states of maturity we are presented with a short sound description of the status of their person.

Let’s start with little children.

So we have babes (nepios)
Little Children (teknon)
Young Men (neaniskos)
And finally, he speaks of Fathers, describing them only as:

Those who have known Him (God) from the beginning (and he repeats this description twice as well).

The Greek work for Father is pater, and while it is probably best translated Father it means parent too, so it is not always gender specific.

In these descriptions we have built in maturation.

A few thoughts on this.

First, all human beings are subject to material, social, mental, and emotional maturation. God established it this way in every single case to some extent or another – even when some people are stunted – there is always a process of some sort of maturation – nothing remains infantile for life.

It is absolutely no different in the spirit realm of Christian maturation.

This is an important to realize as believers in the church – within the church family – for a number of reasons – and ironically, it takes spiritual maturity to recognize the reality that the body is full of spiritual babes, little Children, Young Men and Parents.

Refusing to acknowledge this produces unreasonable expectations of one another, which then produces the temptation to ostracize and/or condemn those who do not “see” or view Christianity the way we see or view it.

Herein lies the dangers of teaching advanced doctrines (feeding people meat) who are only ready for a steady diet of milk.

Additionally, we are also able to assume some family responsibility when, as mature Christians, we interact and dialogue with those who are still young in the faith.

It is really amazing how scripture describes each state.

Nepios are infants incapable of doing anything really except making noise and messes and needing constant care and attention.

Little Children (teknon)“have come to realize that their sins are forgiven them for His names sake.”

What does this describe? Those believers who have really firmly established themselves in the basics of the faith.

They have come to realize that they are forgiven – and guess what they typically do with such information? They become evangelical.

They are shouting from the rooftops and the streets. It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus – which is a tremendous and important message that needs to be heard.

God uses them – whether they remain in the stage of maturation or not. I’m not convinced it is a choice but often more of what He has purposed for our lives.

Sometimes those who are in the stage of their spiritual maturation have difficulty seeing any other point of view.

It is either black or its white and anything that disrupts what they have come to KNOW is considered dangerous . . . and even heretical.

Such reactions are part of being children in Christ and must only be met with patience, longsuffering, and love.

Over the course of this past year we have seen a number of valiant Christian brothers and sisters storm out of CAMPUS because their spiritual sensitivities have been offended.

Some have lead full-blown public relation campaigns against my person. In the end, they are all to be met with love.

Interestingly enough, in the descriptions of young men, now, we read that they have:

“overcome the wicked one,” and that they are “strong, and the word of God abideth in them.”

Here we read about “overcoming,” about “strength,” and about “the Word of God abiding in them.”

With each of these descriptions we have the mandatory elements of effort and time present.

We don’t overcome, gain strength, or acquire the internal presence of the Word of God through osmosis.

These “young men and women” have faced their Christian principles put to the test.”

They have manifestly had the Word of God in their lives, and have matured beyond the realm of Satan dictating their every move by appeals to the flesh.

They are strong.

Strong in what? Has to be faith. Having been infants and children they understand the fact their sins are forgiven them but now their faith has gotten legs.

No longer is their Christian walk “all about them,” “all about their new life, their conversion, their coming out of Mormonism, or their views of what every Christian must be and do.

It is a transitionary period from the “self-indulgent Christian” (you know the type – “I’ve been saved so all I want is Jesus to come back now,” type of attitude, to their Christian faith being “other directed.”

Where Christian children are often focused on sharing the Good News in zealous and (sometimes relentless fashions) and where they are prone to want to keep all focuses and conversations on the simple elements of the faith, “young men have matured to the point where they have “overcome” the evil one and have been more willing to face new venues and to use their strength found in the word, to assist others.

Finally, Fathers (or parents) in the faith, are merely described as having come to know “God from the beginning.”

We don’t often see or hear of fathers and mothers in the faith as being remarkably evangelical.

Yes, there is always a time and place for this, which a parent in the faith would automatically realize, but parents, having been saved, having had the word in them since the teen and young adult years of their walk, are now in a position of completeness, of full maturity – which, knowing who God is from the beginning – in many ways reflect who God is from the beginning – LOVE.

Paul touches on this growth, this maturation – and it value, in Ephesians 3 beginning at verse 14.

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family (in heaven and earth – the body, dead and alive) is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ (which is another way of saying, to become complete, fully mature, Christian parents) which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Maybe we can see or relate to what Paul is saying here when we examine dimensions here on the board.

(GO TO THE BOARD)

In dimensions, we see progress in the advancement of form.

The Zero Dimension – a place in space unfit for description; incapable of creation; empty, void of form, function, or design.

The First Dimension – BABES – a “starting point” in space. A single line. The length
or linear distance between two points. Beyond this, there is nothing more to form or function in the first dimension.

The Second Dimension – Requiring two parameters. CHILDREN. Length, which it receives from the First Dimension, and width. From these contributors an image is created, and physical coordinates can be plotted within this plane.

The Third Dimension – YOUNG MEN – a combination of the First Dimension – length, the Second Dimension – width, and the addition of height creates the Third Dimension. It is here that real objects can be created in space.

The Fourth Dimension – Parents – the Third Dimension plus the addition of ?????? “time”.
Cubes, structures and other forms do not occur instantaneously even when possessing length,
width, and height. Time is essential to the completion of form. The essence of the
fourth dimension is time.

So allow me to now take us through something that came to me a few months ago. In my opinion it will, through symbols, help us understand the ways God has employed in redeeming and relating to man, that ultimately shows HOW we reach completion as Christians, and what it actually looks like in some historically significant symbols and forms.

Let me state, at the onset, that when it comes to God and His interactions with Man, it all – all – all begins with X. We will see this made evident in a minute. However, in order to understand this more deeply, we have to first see that it all started with V.
(Go to V)