In the book of Hebrews, the writer takes on the subject of the principal doctrine of Christ. While this can be a big subject, I will give you a simplified teaching of what this doctrine is and how to apply it to your life. There is only one doctrine of heaven, yet it is divided into different parts so we can understand what is being taught. Each part gains its strength by joining itself together with another. To fully understand each one, you must understand them all.
Doctrine, just like commandments, has been given to us to teach us the mind of God so that we can all think the same, talk the same, and act together as one body under one name. It’s not surprising to hear people say they want to bypass doctrine or not focus on it because it is often considered a way to divide people. The reason is that doctrine defines the order of perfection and requires you to walk in a specific truth. Therefore it is thought that requiring people to focus on doctrine makes it harder for everyone to agree on the earth. I’m the opposite of that thinking. I believe doctrine unifies us by putting us all under the one banner of the name of Jesus and gives us the direction we need to accomplish perfection together.
Oneness has always been at the forefront of God’s mind, and doctrine is what will help us get there.
In this teaching, we will look at the scriptures in Hebrews 5:12 - 6:7. The goal is not necessarily to explain everything but to give some simple clarification and definition to each of these teachings of Christ.
Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become one that has need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that uses milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a child. 14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
6:1 Therefore let us leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
The idea here is that we are not to remain as children, only living in the basic principles of Christ. Still, we need to learn them to excel in perfection. Perfection is oneness, which the Lord desires for His body. How we reach perfection is through the teachings of Jesus Christ. These teachings, also called a doctrine, give us everything we need to become one with Him in perfection.
The doctrine of Christ is referenced as milk, used to nourish babies, while perfection is the meat for mature people who can receive strong teachings. As the parable has taught us, you must drink milk before you can handle meat.
When you divide the different teachings of Jesus, you begin to see that some are intended to get you started in your journey to perfection. That’s where Hebrews 6:1-6 is very helpful in ordering these basic teachings. As you are faithful to these basic teachings, God will increase you and reveal greater things.
What is doctrine?
Doctrine is teaching. The principle doctrine of Christ is the principle teachings of Christ. It is given to us to bring us to perfection so that we may be in perfect unity with Jesus Christ.
In heaven, there is an established teaching that must be learned to live there. The doctrine of Christ is taught among people on the earth to remove them from earthly teachings to heavenly. On earth, we contend with established religious beliefs in some form or another. Still, Christ has come to redeem us from the earth, establish our place in heaven, and put His new teachings in our hearts.
Below we will review a basic introduction to each teaching in the doctrine of Christ. This is a simplified study, yet it is powerful enough to teach you how to live in heaven and earth. Get the basic understanding here and trust God to add to you as you grow.
Repentance From Dead Works
Repentance is to turn from something. In the act of turning away from sin, you turn to God. God revealed your sin, so in repenting from dead works, you position yourself to look at the words of God that He gave you so that you can begin to do His works instead of dead works.
In this case of turning, it is to leave dead works, which are the works of the devil, the old man, which is the practicing of sin, and turn to God. If dead works are the practicing of sin, then you can escape sin by turning away from practicing it. The apostle Paul instructs us not to yield to sin or let it reign over us. You can act on your faith and turn toward God by turning away from sin.
By repenting, you acknowledge that the carnal mind is death and the works of the flesh are dead works.
Faith Toward God
Faith is acting on what God said to you. It’s receiving a word from God, following it, and putting works to it. Once you’ve turned to the Lord in repentance, you begin to go toward God with works of faith. You become a doer of the word He has given you.
Having faith is more than just believing in something you want from God. In that mindset, you try to work faith toward yourself. But true faith is toward God first. The secret to faith toward God is receiving a word from Him and believing it so much that you put works to it in your life. And when you bring it back to Him, it is with increase.
When you walk by faith toward God, you have a word from God that pleases Him; therefore, your works of faith will always benefit the kingdom of Christ.
Doctrine of Baptisms
Baptism is the act of putting you into something, as well as putting on something. Whether it’s water, spirit, death, or resurrection, when you’re baptized, you are put into these experiences for a specific purpose.
Baptism accomplishes two very important things. First, the baptism of John baptizes you with the baptism of repentance and prepares the way for Jesus to come and baptize you with the Spirit. This is water baptism which buries your old self and makes you ready to receive Jesus. It acts as the water of the word, which washes off the old and prepares you for the new.
Secondly, the Lord’s baptism, a Spirit baptism of fire, reveals Jesus Christ to you and puts you into His body by baptizing you in His name. (Acts 19:1-7) You are born again of water and Spirit and can now clearly see who Jesus is and the life He provides for you. (John 3:1-8) By being baptized into Him, you will partake of His death and resurrection so you can walk in the newness of life. (Romans 6:1-7)
A simple way to look at baptism is that it washes you of sin and puts you into the body of Christ to partake of everything that He participated in. Another way to say it is that it puts you in a new body to experience every work of the Spirit of Christ. Baptism is also compared to circumcision. It’s the cutting away of the flesh and being born again by putting on the body of Christ. (Colossians 2:11-14)
Laying on of Hands
Laying on of hands is an impartation of spirit. You can also say it’s a transference of spirit from one to another. Once in the body of Christ, He can lay hands on you and anoint you by imparting His Spirit to you. By the laying on of hands, you receive an impartation of who He is so that you can be like Him.
Interestingly enough, Jesus laid His hands on many who were not part of the body of Christ and imparted healing, deliverance from devils, and even forgiveness. Because of the laying on of hands, many believed in Jesus and followed Him. We see these examples many times in the life of Jesus as He demonstrated the laying on of hands by imparting Himself to help with the need that was present before Him.
This is how the works of God are performed, by the works of the hands. By putting your hands on others, you will transfer the Spirit of the Lord into them, accomplishing the work you are sent to do. Many times in the Bible, the hand of the Lord was upon His servants to do His works. It also represents your power and authority in the Lord by allowing you to work in His stead as the king’s hand.
The Resurrection of the Dead
Resurrection is to be raised from the dead back to life again. (That includes both the raising up of the good and the evil.) The good is raised into a new body that lives in eternal life, while the evil will be raised to live in eternal damnation.
In the good sense, it’s when you are raised up from the dead, and your earthly body is changed to a spiritual, heavenly body. This is the redemption of the body that the apostles spoke about. To be in a resurrection is to receive your new body to live in a new heaven and new earth without limitations. This is in addition to being baptized into the body of Christ. In the resurrection of the dead, you get your own spiritual body as the son of God and joint heir of Jesus Christ. Therefore you can now appear in heaven with a new body instead of being confined to living in the flesh full time.
Eternal Judgement
Judgment is discernment. It is to declare what is good and evil. Eternal judgment is when spirit, soul, and body all stand before God and are discerned by Him as either good or evil.
No one lives unto themselves or dies unto themselves. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of ourselves before Him. He is the judge, and His judgment is eternal, not earthly. (Romans 14:7-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10) God judges by the Spirit, not the flesh, and eternal judgment is built on this principle.
Just as God judges us, we who walk in the Spirit of God will also judge all things by the same Spirit in Jesus Christ. Eternal judgment is not just discerning and judging lies; it’s discerning the origin of the lie. If a person tells a lie, it’s one thing to judge that person’s lie but another to judge its creator. Spirits like to hide within images to deceive those who judge after the flesh. Spirits cannot hide when eternal judgment is at work.
Every person, as well as every spirit will give an account before God for the works they do, whether good or evil.
When true eternal judgment is at work, even the devil can’t hide from God’s judgment.
Conclusion
When all of these teachings come together as one doctrine, you can see that it is Jesus who this doctrine is talking about. This doctrine is given to us to transform us into the same image and the same likeness as Jesus. His life, manifestation, and His teachings are what we need to bring us to perfection with Him. As you learn and experience these teachings, you will gain the perfection of Jesus that you never thought possible while living in the flesh.
This teaching is meant to be a starting point for you. I trust God to fill in the blanks as you grow up and become perfect in Him. And when you’ve learned this principle doctrine, you can move on and go up to the higher thoughts of God.