The phrase, “For he is a babe,” refers to the individual who does not understand or thereby know all the benefits of what Jesus did at the Cross. Failure to understand the Cross of Christ (by Cross of Christ, it is meant: “the complete work of Christ which he accomplished on the Cross) leaves the Believer in an immature state. In fact, I personally believe that it’s impossible for a Christian to grow in the Lord, at least as they should grow in the Lord, without a knowledge of the Cross of Christ. And this is the problem with the modern Church. It knows so little about the Cross, and the irony is, it thinks it knows everything about the Cross.
Knowledge of the Finished Work of Christ is the foundation of every Doctrine in the Bible. In fact it is the story of the Bible, of God’s dealings with man. The Bible points exclusively to the Cross of Christ, making that event the cause and the reason for all of God’s dealings with mankind, and mankind’s dealings with God.
If the Cross is not understood, the same problem will present itself, as it did with the Christian Jews of Paul’ say. Then, the visible Temple was that to which they were turning, while presently, it is humanistic psychology, or the “money gospel,” or something else, etc. All of this is the result of improper knowledge of the Cross, or else of unbelief.
From the manner in which Paul addresses this subject, at least as it regards here the Christian Jews of his day, it was both a matter of lack of knowledge and unbelief; however, the lack of knowledge was not because the knowledge was not available, but simply because through neglect they had failed to bring this understanding to themselves, which resulted in unbelief, even as it always does. But let the following be understood:
An improper understanding of the Cross of Christ always and without fail, leads to dire, spiritual circumstances. Think of the following:
Before the Holy Spirit could come in a new Dispensation, which He did on the Day of Pentecost, the Cross of Christ had to first be a fact. Likewise, before the great latter rain outpouring of the Spirit, as prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23), and which began at approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the Cross had to be strongly preached, which it was for some 200 years in the great Holiness movements. And one of the reasons, that we’re seeing very little outpouring of the Holy Spirit presently (June, 2000), is because the Cross is not being preached. In fact, for the last decade, the Church has wandered somewhat like a drunken man not knowing where it’s been or where it’s going. It has lost its moorings, and I speak of the foundation of the Cross of Christ. But thank the Lord, the Cross is once again beginning to be preached, which signifies that a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit is coming, which I believe is much closer than we realize, and for reasons which I will not now take the time to enumerate.
HEBREWS 5:14 “BUT STRONG MEAT BELONGETH TO THEM THAT ARE OF FULL AGE, EVEN THOSE WHO BY REASON OF USE HAVE THEIR SENSES EXERCISED TO DISCER BOTH GOOD AND EVIL
The exegesis is:
1. The “strong meat” is the “Word of Righteousness,” which is the meaning of the Cross of Christ.
2. Those who are of “full age” speak of those who have a proper understanding of the Word of God, which always has as its foundation the Cross of Christ.
3. Only those who properly understand the Finished Work of Christ, have proper discernment, as it regards “good and evil.” This is the basic reason that the modern Church hardly knows the difference between that which is of the Spirit and that which is not of the Spirit. They have little discernment, because they have little knowledge.
STRONG MEAT
The phrase, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,” refers as is obvious, to those who are mature in the Lord. And as we have repeatedly stated, maturity comes abut, as it can only come about, according to one’s understanding and knowledge of the Cross of Christ. The Finished Work of Christ must be the foundation on which all understanding of the Word of God is based. Otherwise, the understanding will be skewed in some manner.
THE FULL SCOPE
I’ve had many to hear the Message of the Cross, and then come to the conclusion that they believe it or else they say: ”I’ll try it,” etc.
In the first place, when Faith is first evidenced in the Cross, which in reality, is the only Faith that God will recognize, the individual must understand, that this is only the beginning. Such an individual will find that everything, and of course we’re speaking of the Word of God, is going to have to be rethought. Actually, this will automatically take care of itself, as the Spirit of God begins to bring everything in line with the great Sacrifice of Christ. As Faith is properly anchored, it is more so the individual just watching all of this take place, as the Holy Spirit begins to work, rather than having to set out on some particular course of action. In fact, the course of action has already been set out with one’s proper Faith in the Cross. In other words, it is the object of one’s Faith that’s really important, and the Cross is that object, which gives the Holy Spirit latitude.
PROPER DISCERNMENT
The phrase, “Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” proclaims the results of proper maturity, which comes about with one’s proper Faith in the Cross of Christ.
This statement as given by the Holy Spirit through Paul, plainly tells us that if one does not properly understand the Word, then one cannot have a proper discernment as it regards what is right and what is wrong. Consequently, this is the reason that the modern Church, and we speak of the segment that claims to be Spirit-filled, seems to be chasing after every fad of which one could think. Not having a proper understanding of the Cross of Christ, which means they do not have a proper understanding of the Word of God, there is little or no discernment whatsoever as it regards “good” and “evil,” in other words, that which is right or that which is wrong!
“Discern” in the Greek is “diakrisis,” and means “to discriminate, to properly distinguish, or to properly pass judgment.”
WHY IS THE CROSS THE STRONG MEAT OF WHICH PAUL HERE SPEAKS?
When one begins to understand the Cross (a synonym for what Christ accomplished thereon), the answer to this question becomes overly obvious. The reason that the Cross is the fountainhead, or the foundation of all that the Bible teaches, is because it is God’s Plan of Redemption, carried out through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If one properly understands the Cross, one will at the same time properly understand the Lord, and one will properly understand himself. As it regards one’s self, the idea is, we must understand, that every answer which we seek, and every solution we see, are found totally and completely in the Cross of Christ, and are found only in the Cross of Christ. We soon learn that there is nothing we can do within ourselves that will bring about that which we must have from the Lord. In fact, we quickly learn, that if we attempt to advance something in this capacity, that God will not accept our efforts. Everything is in Christ and in totality. That means that whatever we receive from the Lord, and in whatever capacity, must be received by and through Christ, and that means what He did at the Cross. Any other manner, way, or direction that we might take, constitutes a work of the flesh, which God can never recognize.
So, a proper understanding of the Cross, teaches one a proper dependence on Christ, and that Christ Alone is the Source. That’s the reason that Paul use the short phrase “in Christ,” or one of its derivatives such as, “in Him, ”etc., some 170 times in his 14 Epistles.
The whole thing boils down to the fact of us believing that Christ did it all at the Cross, or else we can bring about some of these things by our own efforts and abilities. Of course, the latter is impossible, but mankind, ever Christian man, keeps trying.
To close this chapter, please allow me to say it again:
The Christian Jews of Paul’s day, were in serious, spiritual difficulty, simply because they had lost Faith in the Cross of Christ. This problem regrettably, is still with us presently, perhaps even worse than ever. While this of which we speak affected greatly the Christian Jews of Paul’s day, presently, it also affects much of the modern Church. Much of the so-called Faith community, which in reality is no Faith at all, at least that which God will recognize, openly repudiates the Cross. The Leadership of the major Pentecostal Denominations in the United States and Canada, at least at the time of this writing, have long since openly embraced humanistic psychology, which is at the same time, a repudiation of the Cross. Due to a paucity of teaching on this all-important subject, actually the very foundation of the Church, the modern Church has little knowledge of the Cross; therefore, it is an open target for the most absurd doctrines and practices, simply because it has little or no discernment.
I believe the Lord has spoken to me, that the Cross of Christ is going to be the dividing line in these last days, between the True Church and the apostate Church. As I’ve already said several times, this in fact, has always been the case, but I believe that presently, it is going to be more pronounced than ever.
If in fact what I’ve just said is true, and I definitely believe that it is, then the Holy Spirit will have to place special emphasis on this of which we speak. I believe He will do that, and in fact, has already begun to do that.
(JS Commentary)
