Read
Hebrews 6:4, 5. What were believers given in Christ while they were faithful to Him?
To have been
“enlightened” means to have experienced conversion (
Heb. 10:32). It refers to those who have turned from the
“darkness” of the power of Satan to the
“light” of God (
Acts 26:17, 18). It implies deliverance from sin (
Eph. 5:11) and ignorance (
1 Thess. 5:4, 5). The verbal form here suggests that this enlightening is an act of God achieved through Jesus,
“the brightness of His glory” (
Heb. 1:3, NKJV).
To
“have tasted the heavenly gift” and
“have become partakers of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV) are synonymous expressions. The
“gift” of God may refer to His grace (
Rom. 5:15) or to the Holy Spirit, through which God imparts that grace (
Acts 2:38). Those who have
“tasted” the Holy Spirit (
John 7:37-39, 1 Cor. 12:13) have experienced the
“grace” of God, which includes the power to fulfill His will (
Gal. 5:22, 23).
To taste
“the goodness of the word of God” (
Heb. 6:5, ESV) is to experience personally the truth of the gospel (
1 Pet. 2:2, 3).
“The powers of the age to come” refers to the miracles God will perform for believers in the future: resurrection (
John 5:28, 29), transformation of our bodies, and eternal life. Believers, however, are beginning to
“taste” them in the present. They have experienced a spiritual resurrection (
Col. 2:12, 13), a renewed mind (
Rom. 12:2), and eternal life in Christ (
John 5:24).
Paul probably has in mind the wilderness generation, who experienced the grace of God and His salvation. The wilderness generation was
“enlightened” by the pillar of fire (
Neh. 9:12, 19; Ps. 105:39), enjoyed the heavenly gift of manna (
Exod. 16:15), experienced the Holy Spirit (
Neh. 9:20), tasted the
“good word of God” (
Josh. 21:45), and
“the powers of the age to come” in the
“wonders and signs” performed in their deliverance from Egypt (
Acts 7:36). Paul suggests, however, that just as the wilderness generation apostatized from God, despite those evidences (
Num. 14:1-35), the audience of Hebrews was in danger of doing the same, despite all the evidences of God’s favor that they had enjoyed.