Hebrews 6:1

Hebrews 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,

a. NLT: So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

b. NIV: Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,

c. YLT: Wherefore, having left the word of the beginning of the Christ, unto the perfection we may advance, not again a foundation laying of reformation from dead works, and of faith on God,

d. Amplified Bible Classic: Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,

e. Worrell Translation: Wherefore, leaving the word o the beginning of Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentence from dead works and of faith toward God.

f. Wuest Translation: Therefore, having put away once for all the beginning word of the Messiah [the first testament in animal blood, i.e., the Mosaic economy], let us be carried along to that which is complete [the new testament in Jesus blood], not again laying down a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  

1.  “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ…”

a. Therefore [Strong: 1352 dio dee-o' from 1223 and 3739; through which thing, i.e. consequently:--for which cause, therefore, wherefore.]

b. leaving [Strong: 863 aphiemi af-ee'-ay-mee from 575 and hiemi (to send; an intensive form of eimi, to go); to send forth, in various applications (as follow):--cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up.]

c. the [Strong: 3588 ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.]

d. principles [Strong: 746 arche ar-khay' from 756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank):--beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule.]

e. [of] the [Strong: 3588 ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.]

f. doctrine [Strong: 3056 logos log'-os from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.]

g. of Christ [Strong: 5547 Christos khris-tos' from 5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus:--Christ.]

 2. “…let us go on unto perfection…”

a. let us go on [Strong: 5342 phero fer'-o a primary verb -- for which other, and apparently not cognate ones are used in certain tenses only; namely, oio oy'-o; and enegko en-eng'-ko to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively, as follows):--be, bear, bring (forth), carry, come, + let her drive, be driven, endure, go on, lay, lead, move, reach, rushing, uphold.] [Thayer: to move by bearing; move or, to be conveyed or borne, with the suggestion of force or speed, of persons borne in a ship over the sea, of a gust of wind, to rush, o carry some burden, to bear with one's self.]

1). The Greek definition of the encouragement to “let us go on” points to the Holy Ghost as the empowerment for spiritual growth. The same Greek word is used in 2 Peter to describe the inspiration used the writing of the Scriptures.

a). 2 Peter 1:20, 21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2). Jesus said without Him we can do nothing, and that includes growing spiritually.

a). John 15:4, 5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

b. perfection [Strong: 5047 teleiotes tel-i-ot'-ace from 5046; (the state) completeness (mentally or morally):--perfection(-ness).] [Thayer: the state of the more intelligent.] [Zodhiates: Perfection or perfectness, stressing the realization of an end in view, the state achived when the goal has been accomplished.]

3. “…not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works…”

a. not [Strong: 3361 me may a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an absolute denial); (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an affirmative one)) whether:--any but (that), X forbear, + God forbid, + lack, lest, neither, never, no (X wise in), none, nor, (can-)not, nothing, that not, un(-taken), without. Often used in compounds in substantially the same relations.]

b. laying [Strong: 2598 kataballo kat-ab-al'-lo from 2596 and 906; to throw down:--cast down, lay.]

c. again [Strong: 3825 palin pal'-in probably from the same as 3823 (through the idea of oscillatory repetition); (adverbially) anew, i.e. (of place) back, (of time) once more, or (conjunctionally) furthermore or on the other hand:--again.]

d. the foundation [Strong: 2310 themelios them-el'-ee-os from a derivative of 5087; something put down, i.e. a substruction (of a building, etc.), (literally or figuratively):--foundation.]

e. of repentance [Strong: 3341 metanoia met-an'-oy-ah from 3340; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication, reversal (of (another's) decision):--repentance.]

f. from [Strong: 575 apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.]

g. dead [Strong: 3498 nekros nek-ros' from an apparently primary nekus (a corpse); dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun):--dead.]

h. works [Strong: 2041 ergon er'-gon from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an act:--deed, doing, labour, work.]

4. “…and of faith toward God,”

a. and [Strong: 2532 kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. of faith [Strong: 4102  pistis pis'-tis from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.]

c. toward [Strong: 1909 epi ep-ee' a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (with the genitive case), i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative case) at, on, etc.; of direction (with the accusative case) towards, upon, etc.:--about (the times), above, after, against, among, as long as (touching), at, beside, X have charge of, (be-, (where-))fore, in (a place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-)on (behalf of), over, (by, for) the space of, through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), with. In compounds it retains essentially the same import, at, upon, etc. (literally or figuratively).]

d. God [Strong: 2316 theos theh'-os of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).]

1). There are two elementary doctrines listed in this verse and four in the next verse. The thought here is that we as Christians should not remain babies, we need to grow up. In chapter 5 the writer chastised the Hebrew believers because for the amount of time they had been believers, they should have grown to the point they were teaching others. Yet they remained spiritual babies because they focused on the milk, the elementary principles of Christ.