Comentario Biblico Epistola aos Hebreus volume 5
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- 1. THE WORKS OF JOHN OWEN, D.D EDITED BY THE REV, WILLIAM H.
GOOLI), D.D., EDINBUBGH. VOL. XXII. EDINBURGH : / T. & T.
CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. LONDON. HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIN:
JOHN ROBERTSON MDCCCLXII.
- 2. AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBEEWS, PRELIMINARY
EXERCITATIONS. BY JOHN OWEN, D.D. EDITED BY W. H. GOOLD, D.D VOL.
V. EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. LONDON :
HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIN : JOHN KOBEETSON. MDCCCLXII.
- 3. MURRAY AJfD GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
- 4. EXPOSITION EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, CHAPTER VI. THIS whole,
chapter is a continuation of the digression which the apostle had
occasionally entered into in the llth verse of the pre ceding
chapter. For upon the consideration of the greatness of the mystery
and difficulty of the doctrine which he designed to instruct these
Hebrews in, and his fear of their disability or unpreparedness (at
least of some) to receive it in a due manner unto their edifica
tion, he engageth into a new discourse, filled up with reasons and
arguments to excite them unto a diligent attendance. And this he so
doth, as in the very last words of this chapter to return, by an
artificial connection of his discourse, unto what he had asserted
in the 10th verse of that foregoing. There are four general parts
of this chapter: 1. The proposition of what he intended to do, or
discourse concerning; with an oppo sition thereunto of what was by
him to be omitted, verses 1-3. 2. An excitation of the Hebrews unto
singular diligence in Attend ing unto the most perfect doctrines of
Christianity, and making a progress in the knowledge of Christ. And
this he doth from the consideration of the greatness of the sin and
the inevitableness of the destruction of apostates. For this sort
of persons do commonly arise from among such as, having received
the truth, and made a profession thereof, do not diligently
endeavour a progress towards perfection, according to their duty,
verses 4-8. 3. A Unifying of the severity of this commination in
respect of its application unto these Hebrews. For he expresseth
his hope that it did not so belong unto them, or that the sin
condemned should not be found in them, nor the punishment
threatened fall on them. But the warning itself contained in the
commination was, as he shows, good, wholesome, and seasonable. And
of this his hope and judgment concerning the Hebrews he expresseth
his grounds, taken from the righteous-
- 5. 4s AN EXPOSITION OP THE [CHAP. VI. ness of God, their own
faith and love; which he prays they may persevere in, verses 9-12.
4. An encouragement unto faith and perseverance, from the example
of Abraham, who first received the promises; from the nature of the
promises themselves, and their confirmation by the oath of God,
with the assistance we may have by our hope in Christ thereunto,
verses 13-20; which last discourse he issueth in the principal
matter he intended to insist upon, where- unto he now returns
again, having digressed necessarily into those exhortations and
arguings from the first proposal of it in the llth verse of the
foregoing chapter. In the first part of the chapter, comprised in
the first three verses, there are three things considerable: 1. A
general proposition of the apostle s resolution to proceed unto the
more perfect doctrines of the gospel, as also of his passing over
the first principles of Chris tianity, verse 1. 2. An amplification
of this proposition, by an enu meration of those doctrines which he
thought meet at present to pass by the handling of, verses 1, 2. 3.
A renovation of his resolu tion to pursue his proposition, with a
submission to the Avill and good pleasure of God as to the
execution of his purpose ; the expres sion whereof the present
state of these Hebrews peculiarly called him unto, verse 3. VERSE
1. .A/& OLtptvres rbv rqg ap%ri$ rov XpiffTov Xoyov, litl r^v
reX/orjra fpafl 5 1?.7 81 ??T?5 " tne resurrection that is from the
house of the dead;" that is, the grave, the common dwelling-place
of the dead : as also, xptfteiTos ecluvlov by ^^ K ^" 1 " tne
judgment which is for ever ;" the sentence whereof is eternally
irrevocable, and whose execution endures always. 1 Ver. 1, 2. Not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of
faith towards God, of baptisms, doctrine, and the laying on of
hands, of the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. There
are two things in these words added concerning " the doc trine of
the principles ofChrist/ or "the first doctrines ofChristianity :"
1. Their general nature with respect to the whole truth of the gos
pel, metaphorically expressed ; they are the " foundation/ 2. Their
nature in particular is declared in sundry instances ; not that all
of them are mentioned, but these instances are chosen out to show
of what kind they are. In the first, two things are proposed : 1.
The expression of the thing itself intended, which is " the
foundation." 2. The apostle s design with respect unto it, " not
laying it again." FlRST, M)} vakiv SsueXiov xaraCaXXo/isvo/.
QtUj^iog is, as . .,.,,. eipatn. was said, in this matter
metaphorical, including an allu sion unto an architect and his
building. First he lays the foundation; and he is a most foolish
builder who either doth not so, or who rests therein, or who is
always setting it up and pulling it down, without making a
progress. Indeed, that foundation which is all the building, which
hath not an edifice erected on it, is no foundation ; for that
which is materially so, becomes so formally only with respect unto
the building upon it. And those who receive the doctrines of Christ
here called the " foundation," if they build not on them, they will
prove none unto them, whatever they are in themselves. There are
two properties of a foundation: 1. That it is that VARIOUS
READINGS. A/S^. Lachmann, on the authority of B, prefers Conybeare
and Howson adopt the punctuation of Chrysostom, /3w- EXPOSITION.
According to Ebrard, the passage is not an intimation of the author
s intention, but an admonition to his readers. He understands
xa-rA- "hoptvai not in the sense of " laying down," but of "
demolishing." Strive after perfection, while you do not again
demolish the foundation of repentance, and faith, etc. Luther and,
as we have seen, Conybeare and Howson, understand " doctrine" as
separate from and in apposition with " baptisms." Calvin, Beza,
Storr, Bleek, and Ebrard, connect it with ^a.-Tmau.uv, and supply
it to t and zitotTOS ED.
- 17. 16 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. VL which is first laid in
every building. This the natural order of every building requires.
2. It is that which bears the whole weight of the superstructure ;
the whole, and all the parts of it, being laid upon it, and firmly
united unto it. With respect unto the one or other of these
properties, or both, are the doctrines intended called the "
foundation." But in the latter sense they cannot be so. It is
Christ himself, and he only, who is so the foundation as to bear
the weight and to support the whole building of the church of God.
Isa. xxviii. 16; Matt. xvi. 18; 1 Cor. iii. 10, 11; Eph. ii. 20-22;
1 Pet. ii. 4, 5. He is so personally, the life and being of the
church consisting in its spiritual union unto his person, 1 Cor.
xii. 12 ; and doctrinally, in that all truth is resolved into what
is taught concerning him, 1 Cor. iii. 10, 13. Wherefore it is in
allusion unto a foundation with respect unto its first property,
namely, that it is first laid in the building, that these doctrines
are called " the foundation" (so the Jews term the general
principles of their profession mm HID11 , " the foundations of the
law," or the principal doctrines taught therein), the first
doctrines which are necessary to be received and professed at men s
first entrance into Christianity. And the apostle intends the same
things by the threefold expression which he maketh use of: 1.
2ro/^e7a r?jj apxfic Xoy/wi/ rov Qtov, chap. v. 12, " the first
prin ciples of the oracles of God:" 2. O rfo apxys roJ X.PIGTOV
Xoyog: and, 3. Qt/A&ios, chap. vL 1 ; " the beginning of the
doctrine of Christ," and " the foundation." Concerning these things
he says, MJ} waktv xaraZaXXopevoi, " not MV *-aA/ lavino it again."
His saying that he would not lay it *r&ax- again, doth not
infer that he himself had laid it before /* amongst them, but only
that it was so laid before by some or other. For it was not by him
that they received their first instruction, nor doth he mention any
such thing in the whole epistle; whereas he frequently pleads it
unto those churches which were planted by himself, 1 Cor. iii. 5,
6, 10, iv. 15. And it is known from the story that his ministry was
not used in their first conver sion. But he knew that they had
faithful instructors, who would not leave them unacquainted with
these necessary things; and that they would not have been initiated
by baptism, or admitted into the church, without a profession of
them. Besides, they were such as in general they owned in their
former church-state. He might, therefore, well say that he would
not lay this foundation again. These things/ saith he, you have
already been instructed in by others, and therefore I will not (as
also on other considerations) go over them again/ Wherefore let the
hearers of the gospel carefully look to it, that they learn those
things whereof they have had suffi cient instruction ; for if any
evil ensue from their ignorance of them, they must themselves
answer for it. Such ignorance is their sin, as
- 18. VER, 1, 2.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 17 well as their
disadvantage. Preachers may take it for granted, that what they
have sedulously and sufficiently instructed their hearers in, they
have also received and learned, because it is through their sinful
negligence if they have not so done. And they are not bound always
to wait on some in their negligences, to the disadvantage of
others. SECONDLY, The apostle declares in particular what were
those doc trinal principles, which he had in general so described,
which were taught unto them who were first initiated into
Christianity, and which he will not now again insist upon. "
Repentance from dead works," etc. We must first consider the order
of these words, and then their sense, or the things themselves
intended. Some here reckon up six principles, some make them seven,
some but four, and by some they are reduced unto three. The first
two are plain and distinct, "Repentance from dead works," and
"faith towards God/ The next that follow are disputed as to their
coherence and sense: "Bavrisfiuv diSa^s siriS eoews rs ^fipSjv.
Some read these words with a note of distinction between them,
iSavriapuv, dtdaxys, both the genitive cases being regulated by
SepsXiov, "The foundation of baptisms, and of doctrine;" which are
put to gether by apposition, not depending one upon another,
A/da^jj is " the preaching of the word." And this was one of the
first things wherein believers were to be instructed, namely, that
they were to abide h T$ foSa^jj, Acts ii. 42; in a constant
attendance unto the doc trine of the gospel, when preached unto
them. And as I shall not as sert this exposition, so I dare not
positively reject it, as not seeing any reason cogent to that
purpose. But another sense is more probable. Take the words in
conjunction, so as that one of them should de pend on and be
regulated by the other, and then, I. We may con sider them in their
order as they lie in the original: Xyg smditeus n ^sipuv (supposing
the first to be regulated and both the latter by it), "The baptisms
of doctrine and imposition of hands." There were two things
peculiar to the gospel, the doc trine of it, and the extraordinary
gifts of the Holy Ghost. Doctrine is compared to and called
baptism, Deut. xxxii. 2 ; hence the people were said to be "
baptized unto Moses," when they were initiated into his doctrines,
1 Cor. x. 1, 2. The baptism of John was his doc trine, Acts xix. 3.
And the baptism of Christ was the doctrine of Christ, wherewith he
was to "sprinkle many nations," Isa. Hi. 15. This is the first
baptism of the gospel, even its doctrine. The other was the
communication of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, Acts i. 5. That this,
and this alone, is intended by " the laying on of hands," I shall
prove fully afterwards. And then the sense would be, The foundation
of gospel baptisms, namely, preaching, and the gifts VOL. xxii.
2
- 19. 18 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. VI. of the Holy Ghost/ And I
know but one argument against this sense, namely, that it is new
and singular. To avoid this, 2. The order of the words must be
inverted in their exposition. Not the " baptisms of doctrine," but
the " doctrine of baptisms," nrast be in tended. But then two
things must be observed: (1.) That (3axnff- (tuv, " baptisms," is
not immediately regulated by ^f/^eiov, the "foun dation;" and so
"baptisms" are not asserted absolutely to be a foundation, as is "
repentance from dead works," but only the doc trine about it is so.
(2.) It cannot be readily conceived why BiSu^, "doctrine," should
be prefixed unto " baptisms" alone, and not to " repentance" and
"faith," the doctrines whereof also are intended; for it is not the
grace of repentance and faith, but the doctrine concerning them,
which the apostle hath respect to. There is, there fore, some
peculiar reason why " doctrine" should be thus peculiarly prefixed
unto " baptisms and the laying on of hands," and not to the other
things mentioned; for that " imposition of hands" is placed in the
same order with " baptisms," the conjunctive particle doth
manifest, fvideetus re ^sipuv. The following instances are plain,
only some would reduce them unto one principle, namely, the
resurrec tion of all unto judgment. There is, therefore, in these
words nothing peculiar nor difficult, but only what concerns "
baptisms," and " the imposition of hands," the "doctrine" whereof
is specified. Now, I cannot discover any just reason hereof, unless
it be, that by "baptisms," and "the imposi tion of hands," the
apostle intendeth none of those rudiments of Christian religion
wherein men were to be first instructed, but those rites whereof
they were made partakers who were so instructed. As if the apostle
had said, These principles of the doctrine of Christ, namely,
repentance, faith, the resurrection, and judgment, are those
doctrines wherein they are to be instructed who are to be baptized,
and to have hands laid on them/ According to this sense, the words
are to be read as in a parenthesis : " Not laying again the founda
tion of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God,
(namely, the doctrine of baptisms, and of the imposition of hands,)
of the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment." When men
began to attend unto the gospel, and thereon to give up their names
to the church, there were certain doctrines that they were
thoroughly to be instructed in, before they were admitted unto bap
tism; see Gal. vi. 6. These being the catechetical rudiments of
Christian religion, are called here di8a^ {Sanriepuv eviSsetus n
xmpuv, or the doctrines that were to be taught in order unto the
adminis tration of those rites. Taking this for the design of the
apostle in the words, as is most probable, there are four instances
given of those principal rudiments of Christian religion, wherein
all men were to be instructed before
- 20. VER 1, 2.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 19 they were admitted
unto baptism, who came thereunto in their own personal right,
having not been made partakers thereof by their covenant right,
through the profession of their parents, in their in fancy. In
these were persons to be fully instructed before their solemn
initiation ; the doctrine concerning them being thence called the "
doctrine of baptisms, and of the imposition of hands," because
previously necessary unto the administration of these rites. There
is a difficulty, I confess, that this exposition is pressed with,
from the use of the word in the plural number, (SaKrigpZv, "of
baptisms;" but this equally concerns all other expositions, and
shall be spoken unto in its proper place. And this I take to be the
sense of the words which the design of the place and manner of
expression lead us unto. But yet, because sundry learned men are
otherwise minded, I shall so explain the words as that their
meaning may be appre hended, supposing distinct heads of doctrine
to be contained in them. Our next work is to consider the
particular instances in their order. And the first is, ^sravo/ag
dcri vtxpuv tpyuv " re pentance from dead works." This was taught
in the first place unto all those who would give up themselves to
the dis cipline of Christ and the gospel. And in the teaching
hereof, both the nature and necessity of the duty were regarded.
And in the nature of it two things were declared, and are to be
considered : 1. What are "dead works;" and, 2. What is " repentance
from them." 1. This expression of " dead works" is peculiar unto
our apostle, and unto this epistle. It is nowhere used but in this
place and chap. ix. 14. And he useth it in answer unto what he
elsewhere declares concerning men s being dead in sin by nature,
Eph. ii. 1, 5; CoL ii. 13. That which he there ascribes unto their
persons, here he attributeth unto their works. These Peter calls
men s " old sins," namely, which they lived in before their
conversion: 2 Epist. i. 9, AijOijv XaZuv rou xa&apiffpov ruv
vrdXai alrov apapnuv, " Forgetting that he was purged from his old
sins." He hath respect unto what is here intended. They were,
before their initiation, instructed in the necessity of forsaking
the sins wherein they lived before their conversion, which he calls
their "old" or " former sins;" which he hath also respect unto, 1
Epist iv. 3, " For the time past of our life may suffice us to have
wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness,
lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable
idola tries." The necessity of repentance from these and the like
sins was taught them, and which they made profession of, before
they were admitted unto baptism, wherein they received a token of
their being purged from them. And a relapse into those sins which
men had openly professed their repentance and relinquishment of,
was ever esteemed dangerous, and by some absolutely pernicious;
whereon
- 21. 20 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. VI. great contests in the
church did ensue. For the controversy was not, whether men falling
into any sin, yea, any open or known sin, after baptism, might
repent, which none was ever so foolishly proud as to deny, but the
question was about men s open falling again into those sins,
suppose idolatry, which they had made a public profession of their
repentance from before their baptism. And it came at last to this,
not whether such men might savingly repent, obtain pardon of their
sins, and be saved ; but whether the church had power to admit them
a second time to a public profession of their repentance of those
sins, and so take them again into full com munion. For some
pleaded, that the profession of repentance for those sins, and the
renunciation of them, being indispensably neces sary antecedently
unto baptism in them that were adult, the obli gation not to live
in them at all being on them Who were baptized in their infancy,
baptism alone was the only pledge the church could give of the
remission of such sins; and therefore, where men fell again into
those sins, seeing baptism was not to be repeated, they were to be
left unto the mercy of God, the church could re ceive them no more.
But whereas the numbers ware very great of those who in time of
persecution fell back into idolatry, who yet afterwards returned
and professed their repentance, the major part, who always are for
the many, agreed that they were to be received, and reflected with
no small severity on those that were otherwise minded. But whereas
both parties in this difference ran into ex tremes, the event was
pernicious on both sides, the one in the issue losing the truth and
peace, the other the purity of the church. The sins of unregenerate
persons, whereof repentance was to be expressed before baptism, are
called " dead works/ in -respect of their nature and their ^nd.
For, (1.) As to their nature, they pro ceed from a principle under
the power of spiritual death; they are the works of persons "dead
in trespasses and sins." All the moral actings of such persons,
with respect unto a supernatural end, are dead works, being not
enlivened by a vital principle of spiritual life. And it