The writer of the book of Hebrews does not name themselves, so just exactly who it was is therefore open to conjecture. The writer does mention the release of Timothy (13v23), known to have been very close to Paul. They also mention Italian believers (13v24) – possibly being in Italy at the time of writing, or alternatively writing to the Italian believers from a place where several of their number were at the time. The author was however known personally by the recipients of the letter – they were asked to pray “that I may be restored to you the sooner.” (13v19) If the writer is not the apostle Paul – and there are no claims by the author that they are either an apostle or Paul – then they were most likely closely associated with him – perhaps somebody like Luke, Barnabas or John Mark.

Whoever the author was, their main theme centres around how much better the new relationship with God is than the old. Examples of this are:

• In the introduction to the letter, the author shows how much “better” than angels our Lord Jesus is. (1v2-14, especially 1v4)

• Our salvation is called “so great salvation” (2v3) to show just how incredible and beyond comparison the author saw it.

• Jesus was lower than angels while He suffered His death, but is now “crowned with glory and honour” (2v9).

• Jesus was “made a surety of a better testament.” (7v22).

This list could go on quite a bit, but the intention is to give you a flavour rather than write a commentary on the whole book of Hebrews. Let me just summarise by saying that comparing the old to the new, and the use of the word “better” both feature quite heavily throughout the book.

The author also compares Jesus to the Jewish priesthood, showing that being a priest “after the order of Melchizedec” (Psalm 110v4) as Jesus is (6v20) is so much better than the priesthood of the descendants of Aaron (7v11). In fact, there are nine references to Melchisedec – the priest of Jerusalem in Abraham’s time – in the New Testament, all of which are found in this one letter. The book of Hebrews is also the only book that uses the term “High Priest” in relation Jesus, using it eighteen times, and showing that Jesus is “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession” (Hebrews 3v1).

Into this background, the author injects a thought (or an aside perhaps) that starts in the middle of the previous chapter. The author criticises the recipients of the letter as being “dull of hearing” (5v11) – at a time when they should have been teachers, they needed to be taught again “the first principles of the oracles of God” (5v12). The author draws a picture here of the believers using and requiring milk from their mothers at an age when they should be asking for and using stronger food to sustain them – coming to the conclusion that they are still like newborn babies rather than the growing children or adults that they should be by now (5v13-14).

By the opening of the current chapter, the author wants the believers to move on past “the principles of the doctrine of Christ” and go on to “perfection” (6v1). There is something very important that they need to realise before moving on however – a list of six foundations that the newborn believer needs to get straight before going on to the stronger teachings that they need. While they could of themselves be the basis of a whole book, let us quickly have a look at these six foundational areas for the newborn believer in turn:

Foundational doctrine 1 Repentance from sin and dead works Hebrews 6v1 Sin and the sinful nature are to be renounced and left behind by the newborn believer.

Foundational doctrine 2 Faith in God Hebrews 6v1 Having the faith in God and believing for Him to get us out of the predicament that sin puts us in is required of every newborn believer.

Foundational doctrine 3 Baptisms Hebrews 6v2 What to do, how to do it, why etc. No doubt you are aware by now that baptism is the reason that this book exists, so you will not find a summary here. I will also discuss why the plural of the word baptism is used here further along in this section. Suffice it to say that baptism is for the benefit of every newborn believer, and a foundation at the level and status of ‘milk’.

Foundational doctrine 4 The laying on of hands Hebrews 6v2 Laying on hands are again of great benefit to the newborn believer. A quick study of the new testament shows that the laying on of hands was used for the following reasons by firstly Jesus and then the church: Healing, including raising the dead. (Matthew 9v18, Mark 5v23, Mark 16v17-18, Acts 28v8) The receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8v18) Receiving of other gifts from God (Acts 8v19, 1st Timothy 4v14) As you perhaps check these scriptures for your own study, notice also that Mark 16v17-18 specifically mentions the promise from Jesus that all believers would have the ability and right to lay hands on the sick to obtain their recovery.

Foundational doctrine 5 The resurrection of the dead Hebrews 6v2 This teaching can be taken in two ways, and I believe that both are valid. Firstly, the fact that all of the dead shall be resurrected is a foundational teaching for the newborn believer. Whether that resurrection is for eternal life or eternal judgement is up to every person to decide for themselves. Secondly, notice also that this point appears immediately after the listing of ‘the laying of hands’ – clearly this can be seen as again reinforcing the right of the believer to see the resurrection of the dead in this life, just as seen so many times during the life of Jesus, as well as others such as Paul in Acts 20v9-12.

Foundational doctrine 6 Eternal judgement Hebrews 6v2 Clearly the newborn believer needs to have some sort of concept of eternal judgement. This also relates to the previous foundational doctrines, as the believer has faith in God to receive eternal life by the final resurrection of the dead, avoiding the judgement of the unrighteous.

The writer intended to perhaps elaborate on these foundational doctrines or teachings at another time, as they said “if God permit” (6v3). As we are not sure of the author, we cannot check against what might be their other writings – the only thing that we can say is that so far we have not seen any similar list of foundational teachings in this study of baptism throughout the New Testament (and the whole of the Bible). Perhaps the author did in fact write a further letter addressing these areas which is not included in the Bible for whatever reason.

While on the subject of foundations, I would like us to remember two things. Firstly, let us consider the parable of the wise builder, that built their house on a proper foundation, as seen in Luke 6v46-49. Those that did as Jesus commanded were building on a foundation of rock, so that the house was able to withstand storms and trials, while those that heard and didn’t obey were building their spiritual houses on sand, so that when storms and trials came the houses would be washed away and “the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6v49). I hope and pray that if you dear reader find that your foundation is shaky – perhaps by being baptised in an incorrect way – that you have it ‘underpinned’ in the correct way before it is too late.

Underpinning is an operation that specialist builders can sometimes undertake if the foundation of a building is found to be shaky, perhaps seen by the building starting to come apart and crack open. While I am not a specialist in this field, I believe that it involves effectively digging out the sand or unstable ground below the existing foundations and then replacing it with more solid foundations pinned to any underlying rocks available – putting in the foundations that should have been there in the first place. It can be harder to accomplish than getting the foundations right in the first place.

The second scripture that I would like us to remember on the subject of foundations is found in 1^st Corinthians 3v9-16, and especially the part which says: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1^st Corinthians 3v11) Clearly this is showing us that any foundation that the newborn believer has must always relate back to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The six foundational doctrines that we saw earlier are thus summarised in the name and person of Jesus Christ. Jesus needs to be at the centre of any teaching on repentance, faith, baptism, laying of hands, resurrection and judgement.

As promised earlier, I will now explain the reason why (I believe) the writer used the word “baptisms” rather than ‘baptism’ in this particular verse. Hopefully this will already be obvious to some, although perhaps not to others, so please bear with me if you believe you already know the reason for this. Basically the answer boils down to the fact that while baptism is a single process, it has a number of components involved within it. So for instance you could refer to “baptism” as including a list of items, such as repentance, immersion in water, faith in Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit, etc. (see the section “summary” near the end of the book for a complete list). It is also possible to see two of these as separate items in their own right. This is clearly seen in a number of places in the scriptures, but let us look at the promise of Jesus just prior to going up into heaven: “John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1v5). Here Jesus shows the water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) as happening at two separate times. In other places in the scriptures we have already seen the newborn believers receiving their water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism at separate times, – as well as in different orders. With this in mind, it should not be seen as unusual to use the word “baptisms” rather than “baptism” – both can ultimately be used to describe the same process including the same components.

I would like us to look now at the few verses immediately following our current verse, so that we can find out a bit more about this “so great salvation” of ours. The writer starts to talk about ‘backsliders’ or those that “fall away” (6v6). Here we find a short list and some teaching about the early stages of salvation for the newborn. Ultimately the items listed boil down to two things – firstly being “enlightened” (6v4) in and tasting “the good word of God” (6v5), and secondly receiving the Holy Spirit as a taste-sample of our heavenly gifts (6v4) and powers in eternity (6v5).

The believer is seen having a relationship with the Word of God in two ways – firstly the one-time enlightenment, and secondly the continual tasting of all the goodness and blessings that God has for us in His word. It is “through faith and patience” that we can “inherit the promises” of God in His Word (6v12).

The Holy Spirit is seen as our tasting of heavenly gifts, as a chef might taste a meal he is preparing for another. Clearly the chef knows what the whole meal will taste like, but he just has a sample and not the whole thing. It is also like this with our gifts from God – the concept of having a down-payment or deposit springs to mind, where we can see dimly now what we will have in eternity. All believers, by partaking of the Holy Spirit, are tasting gifts from heaven, and sampling “the powers of the world to come” (6v5).

I would like us to now look into a few verses from this letter to get some hints about the writer’s thinking about baptism and the believer. As we have seen in so many verses, the name is a very important part of baptism. The writer in their introduction says that Jesus has a “more excellent name” than all of the angels (1v4). Clearly the name of an angel is seen as excellent, and for the most part men are not allowed to know their names (see Judges 13v17-18). If the angels put all of their names together, the name of Jesus would still be much greater than them all.

There is also another thing that the writer says about the name of Jesus that is very important for our understanding. Jesus didn’t obtain His name by accident or a random leafing through a book of names, as the process of naming a child can sometimes become. Jesus inherited His name from His Father (1v4).

In some places in the world it is quite fashionable perhaps to name a firstborn son after his father, so we can have a whole line of men with the same name. Let’s say we start with a John Doe – the first John Doe might call his Son’s name John Doe, so the son would become John Doe junior (or the second). If this John Doe now has a son and calls him John Doe too, he might now be known as John Doe the third. The name of John Doe is therefore inherited by each eldest son in turn, and we can imagine this going on for many generations. Jesus also inherited His name from His Father, in somewhat the same way. Clearly a name can only be given by inheritance by the father that has the same name. I could have called my son George Bush, or Martin Luther perhaps, or even King Arthur, but it would not be by inheritance, as it is not mine to give in that way. However if I had called him Mark Anderson then he would have obtained it by inheritance, as it was mine to give and pass on to him.

The fact that Jesus obtained His name by inheritance is a quite powerful revelation, and goes quite some way to explaining why, when given the command to baptise “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28v19) {17}, that Peter commanded on the day of Pentecost the newborn believers should be baptised “in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2v38) {56}. When you use the name of Jesus, you are not using just the name of the Son, but the name He inherited from the Father as well. In fact, in every baptism that we have seen performed since the day of Pentecost, wherever the name used is recorded, it has always been one form or another of ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ – never a repetition of the titles ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit’.

The next verse I would like us to consider is 10v22, where the writer encourages us: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water”. Surely faith, remission of sins, and baptism in pure water are the things being discussed here. I believe that it is possible to say that it is only the name of Jesus that makes the water of our baptism clean, pure and holy, and ready to purify our bodies.

I would like us to briefly turn now to a few other verses in this book. The writer lets us know that we as believers are ‘Christ’s House’, if we continue on and don’t waver, keeping our confidence in Jesus and rejoicing over what He has done for us (3v6). This is reinforced again in 3v14, where the writer lets us know that we are “made partakers of Christ” if we remain steadfast until the end. On the other side, a warning is found in 3v19, where we find out that some “could not enter in (to God’s rest and promises) because of unbelief”. Let us make sure that our belief is firstly correct, and secondly continues on, so that we too can enter into God’s rest that is laid out before us.

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