who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age—and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
5 sermons cite this verse
… once been enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come.'" None of those phrases has to do with salvation. None of them is ever used anywhere in Scripture to refer to salvation. This is talking about being enlightened, concerning Christ, getting a taste of heavenly power, experiencing the Holy Spirit's power by listening to Christ, seeing His miracles, even being healed by Him or delivered by Him or fed by Him as He created food. You've been enlightened. You have tasted. You have been a partaker. You've even tasted the good Word of God from the lips of Jesus. And you've even tasted the powers of the age to come, miracle power, kingdom power that will be unleashed in its fullness in the glory of the millennial kingdom. You've had a taste of all of that. If you fall away at that point, if you don't conclude that Jesus is who He said He was, it's impossible to renew you again to repentance, because you've had the full revelation. …
Again, backsliders are lame. There are Christians to be found who believe that it is possible to fall from a state of Grace. Here I would speak cautiously. God's people cannot fall finally—but they can fall a long way. When a Christian falls, it is no light matter. I hear some talking of falling and getting up again, as if it were nothing. But let them turn to Hebrews 6:4 -6. [See Sermon #75, Volume 2—FINAL PERSEVERANCE.] But we will rejoice that— "Grace will complete what Grace begins, To save from sorrows or from sins." I do not say that a Christian may not fall and break a limb—but I do say that a child of God cannot fall, spiritually, and break his neck! He cannot fall without grievous injury. The result, in his experience, will be unhappiness and misery. Look at poor David—after falling into that great sin, his history was nothing but troubles from rebellious sons and enemies! You loving, living children of the blessed God, I know that you will not talk lightly of falling into sin. Backsliders, fallen ones, God will have mercy upon you if you are truly penitent. It is a glorious fact that the sorrowing backsliders shall not be left behind. Backsliders shall sing above, as God's restored children, whom He always has loved. Blind and lame ones, believe in the Lord and you shall be found amongst the followers of the Lamb at the last! …
13. There are innumerable sorts of enthusiasm. Those which are most common, and for that reason most dangerous, I shall endeavour to reduce under a few general heads, that they may be more easily understood and avoided. The first sort of enthusiasm which I shall mention, is that of those who imagine they have the grace which they have not. Thus some imagine, when it is not so, that they have redemption through Christ, “even the forgiveness of sins.” These are usually such as “have no root in themselves;” no deep repentance, or thorough conviction. “Therefore they receive the word with joy.” And “because they have no deepness of earth,” no deep work in their heart, therefore the seed “immediately springs up.” There is immediately a superficial change, which, together with that light joy, striking in with the pride of their unbroken heart, and with their inordinate self-love, easily persuades them they have already “tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.” 14. This is properly an instance of the first sort of enthusiasm: it is a kind of madness, arising from the imagination that they have that grace which, in truth, they have not: so that they only deceive their own souls. Madness it may be justly termed: for the reasonings of these poor men are right, were their premisses good; but as those are a mere creature of their own imagination, so all that is built on them falls to the ground. The foundation of all their reveries is this: they imagine themselves to have faith in Christ. If they had this, they would be “kings and priests to God;” possessed of a “kingdom which cannot be moved”: but they have it not; consequently, all their following behaviour is as wide of truth and soberness as that of the ordinary madman who, fancying himself an earthly king, speaks and acts in that character. …
The whole sentence runs thus: “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;” which he had just before termed, “the first principles of the oracles of God,” and “meat fit for babes,” for such as have just tasted that the Lord is gracious. That the doing of this is a point of the utmost importance the Apostle intimates in the next words: “This will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, and have fallen away, to renew them again unto repentance.” As if he had said, If we do not “go on to perfection,” we are in the utmost danger of “falling away;” And if we do fall away, it is “impossible” that is, exceeding hard, “to renew them again unto repentance.” In order to make this very important scripture as easy to be understood as possible I shall endeavour, I. To show what perfection is; II. To answer some objections to it; and, III. To expostulate a little with the opposers of it. …
… to us is such a thing as holding familiar fellowship with the powers of the world to come. I don't know that I know what that means. I'm preaching about something that I can't define. I often do. And I don't know whether I can define the powers of the world to come or not. But it has been the belief of all religious people and all Bible people that there is another world just above the world where we live. If not above geographically or astronomically, then above in quality of life, that kingdom of God. And all through the Old Testament, there walked wonderful creatures. The angel came to Abraham, three of them. and strange beings came to Gideon when he was threshing and to Samson's mother when she was in the field. And she dashed home to tell her husband, come back and see this wonderful man. They made a sacrifice. And he leaped into the middle of the fire and disappeared in fire. Were they crazy? …