Hebrews 5:12-6:3"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ let us go on to perfection [maturity], not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this we will do if God permits."
God's call upon my life as a Christian, and indeed all Christian's, is not one that leads us to 'Never Never Land' where we all remain children forever with Peter Pan. Rather we are called to grow into maturity, moving from milk (The basics doctrines & teachings of the Bible) to build upon those foundations in solid food (Deeper truths of Scripture).
Here, the author of Hebrews, writes to a group of Believers telling them that at this stage they really ought to have moved forward, that by this time they ought to be teachers, able to tell others of the glories of Christ and His word. But they aren't!
In fact this group need a teacher themselves, who would re-teach the basics.
The use of the word "again" indicates that they had been taught these things in the past, but that they seem to have forgotten them.
I believe the elementary truths that are being talked about here, were simply not being lived out in lives, and so they needed to return to them.
I draw this conclusion because of verse 14's description of the mature believer who "by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
The mature believer has their reason "exercised" because it has been "used".
I believe that this is talking of the effect of the Word upon us in the 'action' and 'response' of our lives and actions as these truths are taught to us.
We become doers of the Word, not just hearers!
And that as the Word is taught to us, we mature by its application being lived out in us! It is exercised in our lives and so we are led to deeper and more intimate walks with Jesus, maturing and growing in our Christian lives so that we are ready for more solid food.
Lets press on toward maturity, letting the elementary principles take action in our lives, and rather than continuing in the basic discussions and teachings, let us build upon them and press on toward perfection in Christ. All along praying that God would permit the Word to transform us and nourish us.
[My hope is to post more on this in the future]
