Hebrews 6:5

5. The last couplet connecting the word and the powers.

Tasted Implying again the rich enjoyment; and here without the of, because this now grown Christian may taste and enjoy not a part but the whole good word. Excellent is Whitby’s note on this good word: “So the promise of bringing the children of Israel into the land of Canaan is styled הדבד הדם , ρημα καλον , a good word, [English unliteral translation “thing,”] Joshua 21:45; Joshua 23:15. The word of God for bringing his people out of captivity is styled, דבדי השׂוב , my good word. Jeremiah 29:10. The words of consolation which the angel spake to Jerusalem are, ρηματα καλα , good words. Zechariah 1:13. The promise made to God’s people of remission of sins, and peace and truth in the days of the Messiah, is a good word. And the prophet, speaking of the Messiah, saith, My heart meditateth a good word. Psalms 45:1.” The good word of our apostle here is, then, the evangelium, the good message, of the New Testament. A word, as spoken by the incarnate Son, (Hebrews 2:1-2;) good, as revealing a heavenly Canaan, “glory, and honor, and immortality eternal life.” This blessed word this class had tasted enjoyed its rich flavor in its full entirety.

Powers of the world to come Closely coupled with the good word of the New Testament are the powers of the new dispensation. Note on Hebrews 2:5. The word and the powers go together. These Hebrews had witnessed and enjoyed these powers. For the word powers ( δυναμεις ) is often, in the Greek, put for miracles and mighty supernatural works. Matthew 7:22; Matthew 11:20-21; Matthew 11:23; Matthew 13:54; Matthew 13:58; Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:2; Mark 6:5; Mark 6:14; Mark 9:39; Luke 10:13; Luke 19:37; Acts 2:22; Acts 8:13; Acts 19:11; 1Co 12:10 ; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Galatians 3:5. An examination of these texts would show that the word is more frequently used for the supernaturalisms of Christ and the early Church in the upbuilding of Christianity than the English reader would imagine. Here it is used generically for every form of aggressive supernatural energy in the new dispensation. Of those in the apostolic age we seem to have a pretty full enumeration in 1 Corinthians 12:10. As these sensible powers disappeared there still remained the normal spiritual powers blended with the good word, the ordinary aggressive forces of Christianity. These are the energies of the Spirit in quickening the soul, in the active conversion of men, in the building of the kingdom of Christ, and the gathering of the world within its dominion.