For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit...To be a "partaker" is to be a BELIEVER, whose "faith is counted as righteousness".
This is not the same as a person who TASTE's the call of God.
To Taste is not the same as to partake.
Its like this..
Every Sunday in 10,000 churches, the Holy Spirit is moving on hearts, in the congregation.
They are hearing the word and the Holy Spirit is revealing to their heart that they need to TRUST IN CHRIST and be saved.
They are tasting this truth but they they resist and keeping sitting there for 20-40 yrs......tasting, tasting, tasting, every Sunday on their way to hell.
If they will BELIEVE then God makes them a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and Christ comes to live in them, as born again.
They were both tasters and partakers.
It's amazing what foolishness and open hypocrisy a hearer-only will come up with to justify themselves.
I don't believe they actually read what is written in Scripture, but rather just skim over it to find something they like to think good of themselves.
This is not the same as a person who TASTE's the call of God.
They tasted the heavenly gift, which is the faith of Jesus that saves the soul.
To Taste is not the same as to partake.
Tasting is eating in part. Partaking is eating part of.
Scripture didn't say they licked it, nor did they taste and spit it out.
To be a "partaker" is to be a BELIEVER, whose "faith is counted as righteousness".
A BELIEVER is a DOER. And a believer-only is not a doer. And their faith-only counts as nothing with God.
If they will BELIEVE then God makes them a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and Christ comes to live in them, as born again.
IF we will OBEY God, then He will come in and sup with us. Opening the door is obeying the voice. BELIEVING without obeying and opening is going on still supping with the devil as hearers of His knocking only.
Only them that obey Him have eaten His flesh and have His life in themselves, and only them that keep obeying Him continue in His life:
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Only until we obey His word, is His word buried deep in our hearts, and we are born of His word to do His will.
BELIEVERS-ONLY have only the memory and echo of His word between their ears, which is why they know nothing of the truth of His word, and wrestle with it all the time to justify themselves unto destruction.
BELEIVERS-ONLY are sinners who have heard and talk about the One knocking, while going on still in their devilish lives of sins and trespasses.