In this message we will consider in more detail two categories of the word of God, the good word and the word of righteousness. These two categories of the word are recorded in the book of Hebrews. All those who read the Bible know that the book of Hebrews is very mysterious. It is almost as mysterious as the Gospel of Matthew, which is second only to Revelation. There are three books in the New Testament that are difficult to explain and to understand. The first is Revelation, the second, the Gospel of Matthew, and the third, Hebrews.
The book of Hebrews speaks of two categories of the word of God. One category is the good word (6:5), and the other is the word of righteousness (5:13). From these verses we can understand that the good word is very good and very kind, whereas the word of righteousness is very strict and very just. Therefore, the good word is by nature more shallow, whereas the word of righteousness is deeper; the good word is low, whereas the word of righteousness is high.
Hebrews 6:1 says, “Wherefore, leaving the word of the beginning of the Christ, let us be brought on to maturity.” Earlier, in 5:12 it also says that whereas the Hebrew believers ought to have been teachers, they had need again for someone to teach them what are the rudiments of the beginning of the oracles of God, and had become those who had need of milk and not of solid food. These two verses show us that, on the one hand, the Hebrew believers needed to leave the word of the beginning of the Christ and be brought on to maturity; on the other hand, they were still babes who could only drink milk and were not able to eat solid food. The Hebrew believers were still at “the word of the beginning of the Christ.” This word of the beginning is the good word.
Therefore, Hebrews 6:4-5 speaks of those who are saved, who have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the works of power of the coming age, and have tasted of the heavenly gift of grace. Grace is a gift given to us by God at the time we believed. This heavenly grace is the eternal life. At the time we were born of God, we also received the nature of God (2 Pet. 1:4). We also obtained the sonship (Gal. 4:5) and the law of life (Rom. 8:2). In us there is a function of life. Just as when a person is born, he has the human life, nature, and function as earthly gifts, as soon as we are reborn of God and are saved, we obtain the heavenly life, nature, and sonship, and also the heavenly life function and the law of life, as heavenly gifts. We all have tasted these things, and they have caused us to rejoice.
Not only so, we have the Holy Spirit within us. It is not that after we are saved and speak in tongues, we receive the Holy Spirit. Neither is it that when we advance and grow in life, we have the Holy Spirit. At the time that we were born again, at the time that we were saved, we received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 3:2). Furthermore, we have also tasted the word of the beginning of the Christ, that is, the good word, telling us that we should repent and believe so that we may be forgiven of our sins and receive cleansing, peace, and joy. This good word, which we heard as the gospel, includes many items. It says that we are fallen and sinful, but that God loves us, causing Him to send His Son, who became flesh for us, to be our Savior. He lived on earth for more than thirty years and finally went to the cross to die for us, solving the problem of our sins. Because His death was accepted by God, He was resurrected from the dead and became the means for us to believe, obtain forgiveness, and be justified. We heard these things when we first heard the gospel. This is the good word. Thank the Lord that we have tasted the good word of God.
Not only so, we have tasted the works of power of the coming age. An accurate understanding of this phrase, based on the original text, would be to interpret it as the power to perform miracles in the coming age, that is, the power to cast out demons, to heal, and to do all kinds of miracles. Among us there are surely some who were healed of their sicknesses at the time they were saved. Over fifty years ago, when we preached the gospel, there were also cases of casting out demons. However, after we came to Taiwan, we were not as willing to touch such things.
In addition, there have also been cases of healing among us. Yet we have not placed much emphasis on miraculous healing but rather on the healing of life in God’s grace. Remember that Hebrews chapter six clearly states that these works of power are not of this age but of the coming age.
Nevertheless, the good word is the initial word of the gospel, which refers to the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus. He became flesh, passed through the human life on earth, was nailed to the cross, and died for us, accomplishing redemption. All these things were accomplished on the earth. Even the resurrection from the dead occurred on the earth; therefore, it is part of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus. The Hebrew believers received what this ministry had accomplished. But later, the Judaizers crept in. They said that because the law was ordained by God in the Old Testament, because the offering of sacrifices was ordained by God, and that because the building of the temple was also blessed by God, all these things should not be given up. The Hebrew believers may have considered this and thought, “That is right. How can we say that what our forefathers had was all wrong? Of course, we should believe in Christ. We also have tasted the good word of God. But we should not give up the old things. Let us go back to Judaism.”
With this background, Paul wrote this Epistle in order to tell the Hebrew believers, “The good word which you have tasted is only the beginning. As for the things of the Old Testament, they cannot even be called the beginning. They were only types and figures, without reality. The oxen and sheep were types, and even the temple was a type. Those types were perfected and fulfilled when the Lord Jesus came. They are now out of date. Let them go! If you go back to the things of Judaism after you have believed in the Lord and have tasted the good word of God, you are going backward. You have already entered elementary school and have graduated from it; why are you going back to kindergarten? You should leave elementary school and enter into junior and senior high school.” This is the meaning of Paul’s word. That is why Hebrews 6:1 says, “Leaving the word of the beginning of the Christ....”
We should leave the word of the beginning of the Christ and go on to the word of righteousness. What is the word of righteousness? We must remember that the good word is the gospel for our salvation, not for our maturity; therefore, it has nothing to do with our receiving a reward or suffering punishment. This is the “elementary school,” and it has nothing to do with whether we enter into the kingdom at the Lord’s second coming. However, after we have been saved, we should not stop there; even the more we should not go backward by going back to Judaism. We should go forward and come to the word of righteousness.