I’m glad that you’re with us this morning, and I’m also glad to see some students are here.
I know you guys have finals, and I thought all our students would be gone today, but I’m glad that you’re with us today.
So if you have a Bible with you, if you open up to the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, if you don’t have a Bible with you, it’s okay, there’s Bibles in the pews around you if you want to find Hebrews.
Today I’m going to read for you just verses 6-9 of chapter 2, but we’re going to be covering verses 5 through the end of the chapter.
And as you open up your Bibles to follow along as I read, please keep them open, and so we’re going to walk through the passage verse by verse today, and so please keep them open so you can kind of see where we’re at. So I’m just going to read verses 6-9 if you want to follow along with me, and then after I get done reading, then I’m going to pray, and then we’ll get to work. So this is what the Bible says.
It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Heb. 2:6-9, ESV
So that’s God’s word for us this morning, would you pray with me?
Thank you for this time, and thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that this sermon here would bring much honor to Jesus, and Lord I pray that you would use the preached word just to help us see clearly who Christ is as he is revealed to us in your word, I pray this all in Jesus’ name, amen.
So probably my favorite story in church history comes from about the 300s or so AD, which is actually probably more of a legend than something that actually happened, but it is involved two characters who we do know are historically true. Those actually were major players in the church in their lifetime, players who were on different sides of a critically important theological discussion concerning the nature of Jesus Christ.
So the one character, St. Nicholas, who is today’s Santa Claus is evolved from. The other character, the great heretic in church history, a man named Arius.
And the story, the legend of these two is from a heated discussion taking place surrounding the nature of the person of Jesus Christ. We’re in this heated discussion that’s taking place among a council of pastors and theologians of the day, and in the discussion, jolly old St. Nick, who was so infuriated by the heretic Arius, that while Arius was speaking on historical teaching concerning Jesus, saying that Jesus was fully man but he was not fully God, that Nicholas got up from where he was sitting, walked across the room, ran up to Arius, and punched and slapped him right in the face.
Now, I’ll say it again, this is probably more of a legend than something that happened, and at this point in history, we actually don’t know if this was happened, and we will never know at this point. But for me, I really like that story. And I really want that story to be true. Not simply because it’s hilarious, and by the way, there are some awesome memes on that give that account. I mean, just picture Santa Claus punching someone, you know, it’s not just getting coal in your stockings for being naughty, but a punch to the face. But more than that, I love this story because it’s been passed down throughout history and it’s been used just to stress how important right, solid doctrine is, particularly when it comes to the nature of God.
Now, I don’t know if we need to punch someone in the face who gives a false teaching on this doctrine, but we should take strong stance. We should have strong conviction. We should vigorously defend right teaching when it comes to the nature of God. The right biblical understanding of who he is, which by the way, Saint Nick and others have defended throughout church history, which is the doctrine, the teaching that there’s one God in three persons.
There’s God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. With each person distinct and eternal, within the person of the eternal Son, that through his incarnation, which we do celebrate at Christmas, the Son of God, fully God, also became fully man. For us, this doctrine of God, his trinune nature, the eternal Son becoming fully God and fully man, this is not like an agree to disagree doctrine that like genuine Christians can like have held to throughout history. Rather, this doctrine, this is of the highest importance.
This is a doctrine that we must get right because if we actually get this wrong at any point, it will lead us to so many other things getting wrong, including the message of the gospel itself, the message of salvation, which leads us back to our text today, which is a text filled with the doctrine of God, particularly around the person and nature of the second member of the trinity, the eternal Son, the Word who became flesh, and the person of Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, who came for us in our salvation. So by grace, through faith in him, his death, resurrection from the dead, we might be saved. Now, we got a lot to cover today, so real quickly, just by way of reminder, let me set the context of our passage.
So we learned this a couple weeks ago when we started Hebrews. So Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians who were entertaining the idea of walking away from the faith. So throughout this letter of Hebrews, including our passage last week, the writer of Hebrews warned his readers about the dangers of like drifting away, the grave consequences that come from drifting away from the faith. And as the writer gave the warnings at the heart of why he did not want to see his first readers drift away from the faith, it’s just because of the superiority of Jesus Christ, who is just simply better, better than all things, he’s just better. He’s better because in Hebrews 1, which is the thesis statement of the entire book, Jesus is the definitive word of God, the one who all of scripture is about, including the Old Testament and all of the Old Testament practices. Which based on the context of Hebrews, it seemed like the Jewish Christians who were entertaining walking away from the faith, they’re entertaining leaving Jesus to go back to these Old Testament practices, as if somehow they were better.
And as they were entertaining this idea, what they were actually entertaining was walking away from the one true and living God. Also just by way of reminder, in the context of passage, the definitive word of God, Jesus Christ, who is better, he is better because he is the great God-man, which is something that this book of Hebrews circles through over and over again, and all will be covered in chapter 1. The author declared the eternal son to be our creator, he declared Christ to be the one who came from David, he declared the son to be God who sits on the throne, who is far superior than the angels, that even the angels worship the eternal son, Jesus Christ. Now this morning, the author gives further information on this most important, most central doctrine concerning the eternal son of God.
Keep saying it, fully God, fully man, which is the story of Christmas that Saint Nick vigorously defended and believed in. So with that being said, if you want to look back with me at our text, starting in verse 5, if you’ve been with us, you see some somewhat familiar words that we’ve already seen in chapter 1 of Hebrews, verse 5 says, as for as not to the angels that God subjected the world to come. So that’s not what we’re speaking about here and now, rather than in verse 6, our text tells us, rather what the author is speaking about, which is related to what has already been testified somewhere, our text tells us, and this is the author pointing us back to the Old Testament, specifically to the book of Psalms, where in Psalm 8, testified this, the text says, what is man that you’re mindful of him?
Or the son of man that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now a few quick things here. First, clearly the author of Psalm 8 is making a distinction between angels and man. This is what the writer of Hebrews is picking up on. So it wasn’t to angels that God subjected the world to, but to man.
Second, the author of Psalm 8, the author of Hebrews who quotes Psalm 8, here they’re reflecting on Genesis 1 and the story of creation, which tells us that man was given authority to rule over the world, to have dominion over the land. Again, this is not something God entrusted to angels. Rather, he did this to man, which he did even though God made man a little lower than the angels. Third, there’s some anticipation of the Psalm of man being made a little lower than the angels, of this not being like a permanent reality.
Rather, Psalm 8, it checks today, this is like for a little while. So at some point, man, we’re about to see in our text, a specific man would reign over all things, including the angels. Fourth, as I already kind of alluded to, the natural first reading of Psalm 8, and even this baby here in Hebrews for us, is the man of Psalm 8 is talking about Adam and Eve, who we met in Genesis 1 and 2, who were our first parents, who were created in the image of God, who were given a mandate to be fruitful and multiply, who were to fill the earth in ways that the earth subdued, and to rule over all things in creation. However, as we keep reading in the text, even though this is the natural first reading of Psalm 8, and man being made a little lower than the angels, we see that this Psalm is actually, in the end, talking about a different man, the man Jesus Christ, the definitive word of God who God has spoken through, the man who even angels would worship. Okay, verse 8, going back to Genesis 1, speaking of Adam and Eve, now it’s putting everything subjecting to him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at this point, we don’t see everything in subjecting to him.
And the reason why we don’t see everything in subjecting to him, to Adam and Eve, to all of mankind who descended from them, is because sin has now entered into the world. We’re starting from our first parents and down to all the rest of us. We have all sinned, we have all failed to do what God has created us to do, to have dominion over the land in ways that reflect the good desires that God has for his creation. And Adam and Eve failed, we have failed, we all have sinned, we’ve all fell short of the glory of God, even though in the creation of mankind, our text tells us, man was created and crowned with glory and honor, which I think here refers to the image of God that was placed on all of mankind. That’s a glory and an honor that unlike all other created beings in this present life. So mankind has that, making mankind like the pinnacle of creation.
However, as mentioned, because mankind did not honor God with the glory and honor entrusted to him, even though we have all failed because of that, now we look around this present life, we don’t see things in harmonious subjection, which was our job, our responsibility. Rather, what we do, we see the world and it’s now filled with chaos. We’re all over, things are not harmonious. Because, I say it again, the world is now not living in subjection to the design that God had for it. It’s friends like the chaos in the world, chaos even in our own hearts. These are results and we reject God’s good design for our life.
When we fail to do what God commands. Make sure in the moment when we sin against God, it might feel like that’s what’s best. It certainly promises to be what’s best.
But in the end, chaos is always the end result. However, as we keep going in our passage, we see there’s good news in verse 9. Even though Adam and Eve failed, even though we have failed, but we see him. And this hymn here, this is different than Adam and Eve and the rest of mankind. We see him who also, for a little while, was made lower than angels. And this hymn, our text tells us, is namely Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor.
And he is crowned with glory and honor because unlike our first parents, unlike the rest of mankind, unlike you and me, Jesus did not fail. He did not sin. Rather, Jesus perfectly fulfilled all that he came to do. Where Jesus fulfilled all that God the Father sent him to do, including suffering, suffering and dying on the cross. So in the text, by the grace of God, Jesus might taste death for everyone. Now just a couple quick thoughts here.
This here, this fits into what the scriptures speak about concerning like two covenant heads like of mankind. So the first covenant head, the first representative for mankind is Adam. And Adam represents us as one of sin. But all of us have been affected by birth or by choice, and by choice. The other head that represents mankind is Jesus Christ, who the New Testament refers to as a second Adam, the one who did not sin, but was righteous. And all of us, we all have one of these two heads as our representative.
Either one made a little lower than the angels, who failed to put things on subjection, or the other who likewise was made a little lower than the angels, but did not fail, but was faithful, even in his suffering and death. For us, the question is that we must answer is who is our representative? Is it Adam and sin or is it Jesus and his righteousness?
Second, Jesus being made a little lower than the angels. This is one of the multiple places in Hebrews that speaks towards the incarnation of the Son, like the story of Christmas, where Jesus, the Son of God, became fully man, being born of a virgin, to take on the form of a servant. And this is important in so many areas that we believe and understand the human nature of Jesus Christ. So not just fully God, but also fully man.
Fully man, where as fully man, he was tempted in every way without sin, so that he could be our representative and our faithful high priest who can sympathize with us. We’re going to talk about more in just a second. But as fully man, as our covenant head, the one who succeeds, Jesus is able to be our representative in ways that by grace, through faith in him, his righteousness is now counted as our righteousness. His right standing through his obedience, which Hebrews tells us is obedience that he learns, which refers to being tested, even in suffering, is counted now as our obedience. Because as mentioned, he has tasted death for everyone. Verse 10, if you want to keep your eyes there.
Because he, Jesus, is the one, the only one, the only man who faithfully put all things under his subjection. Adam and Eve didn’t do that. We didn’t do that. But the good news is, fully God, fully man, Jesus Christ, he did. And as fully man, he put all things under his subjection, including death, which our Lord did through the power of his resurrection. Because all things are now subjected to the man, Jesus Christ, who for a time was made a little lord of the angels.
The text tells us it is now fitting that he, the son, Jesus, the one whom all things exist, he is the one who is now able to bring many sons to glory. He is the one who is now the founder of our salvation, who is made perfect through suffering. He is the one, the only one, who is able to wear the eternal crown of glory. Verse 10, it’s also fitting that our Lord wears this crown, is in the right, proper understanding of God, the divine nature of the son. The writer tells us yet again that Jesus is the eternal son, as mentioned, or the eternal creator, as mentioned. He is the one for whom and by whom all things existed.
Because the son, the eternal son, he is the one through his suffering, dying, resurrecting from the dead, was able to accomplish in human flesh what we could not accomplish. So that he could bring us to glory. Meaning that Jesus, Jesus alone, he is the one who can save. The testament tells us there’s no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. It is only by the name of Jesus. Now let me mention here in the text, he uses the word sons, and this is referenced not to gender, but to position, as he brings many sons to glory, position of honor.
The term glory, this is referenced to eternal life, that is to come, which is the end destination of one’s salvation in Jesus Christ. We are saved by the great God-man, Jesus Christ, saves us from sin and judgment, but also saved to glory, to eternal life. In the text, Jesus is able to save, because he is the founder of our salvation, who was willing to be made perfect through suffering. Once again, being made perfect is referenced to being tested and tried in every way common to man.
Keep going, verse 11. For he who sanctifies are those, and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. I cannot term, I’m not familiar with the term sanctified or sanctification. This is a term that’s part of God’s saving work, of those who have tasted his grace. So this is a saving work that begins at justification, which is the term by which God declares sinners to be not guilty, like justified before his eternal court, where they are counted as righteous.
The Bible justification is simply by grace through faith, not a result of works, where we try to absolve our own sins, where we try to make ourselves righteous. Rather, justification comes by the grace of God, like opens up our eyes of faith. So a person might call upon the name of Jesus. So as mentioned, his righteousness would be counted as their righteousness. His death would be counted as their death, and his death in their place, which would be the means by which our sins would be forgiven. So this justification is at the start of one’s salvation, but then once one is justified, God starts to work in their heart, and then he sanctifies them, whereby his grace, God is growing our hearts into obedience, where he’s growing our hearts.
He’s sanctifying us to become more and more like Christ in our character and our attitudes and our affections, where through the process of sanctification, a person starts to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit of God in their life, like growing in holiness, to be holy like he is holy. That’s what verse 11 is speaking towards, to this reality, that after one is justified, God doesn’t just leave them. Rather, in his great salvation, then he starts to sanctify them by the same source, or one source, which I think he refers to, God the Father, who through the power of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies all who Christ calls to himself.
This work of God in salvation doesn’t just start with justification and end with sanctification. Rather, as mentioned in verse 10 of our text, ultimately the work of God, the saving work, ends with glorification, where the eternal life that is to come, all of God’s people, all who have tasted his salvation, will dwell with God in glory, will dwell with him in ways where sin and all the tragic consequences that come from sin will be forever removed, where eternally, in glory, all things will be fully in subjection to Jesus Christ, the great God-man who saves. In our text, all of this work of salvation, this is why he, meaning Jesus, is not ashamed to call them brothers. I just turned brothers here.
This refers to all believers, men and women, boys and girls, all who have called upon the name of Jesus. They are his brothers, who he loves, who he’s not ashamed by. In the text, it tells us, I will tell of your name to my brother in the midst of the congregation. I will sing your praise, which is a quote from Psalm 22, verse 13, which is a reference to Psalm 8. And I’ll put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children God has given to me.
Now, just a few things here. So through the incarnation, the eternal son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who came for us by becoming flesh, in this text, these verses I just shared with you, this is teaching us that now Jesus stands in, like, solidarity with his people, where his people are his brothers, his family, where he’s not ashamed of his people, where he joins them in the midst of the congregation in the praise and the trust that comes with glorifying God the Father, meaning the message of salvation is not just simply us, by grace through faith, identifying with Jesus, but it’s also Jesus in his incarnation, in human flesh, identifying with us. Friends, as Jesus identifies with us, he does so, identifying even with all of our weaknesses, yet without sin. He identifies with all weaknesses that may be leaving you feeling crippled, even this morning, whether it’s weakness towards sin or maybe weakness related to the brokenness of life that has you weary and exhausted. Friends, Jesus identifies with you. He stands with you in complete solidarity, doing so in ways he’s actually not ashamed to call you his own.
Friends, he does this even though, as fully God, he knows all the ugliest and worst things about us. He’s still, he’s not ashamed of his people who are his children. Second, we also mentioned Jesus stands in solidarity with his people without shame, because through his death and resurrection from the dead, through the victims of sin, that there’s no condemnation on his people, and there never will be. Before God, the people of faith, they have no guilt, no shame, no condemnation. Rather, they’ve been set free. Those who have faith, whatever guilt and shame that you, perhaps you felt like you were carrying in here this morning, friends, that’s not a guilt and shame for you to carry if you have faith in Jesus Christ.
He’s on the cross. Jesus fully took upon himself your guilt, your shame on his shoulders, so now you are not condemned before God. You are free. And those who the son set free, they’re free indeed, which is something we’re going to talk about more in just a second here. Let me also just mention before we move on, this is one of the many reasons why we have to get right theology, especially when it comes to our God, because if we don’t get this right, we miss out on such grace in our life, and we end up carrying burdens that the great God-man, Jesus Christ, has actually freed us from. And to say it again, Jesus, the great God-man, fully God, fully man, died for us to save us, doing so in ways that he’s not ashamed of us, and he never will be.
Not because we’re good in ourselves, but because he’s good. By the way, if I could speak maybe just personally with you just for a bit, that’s actually the hardest part of the gospel for me to understand and receive. So I get the call of the gospel, that I am to identify my life with Jesus, but it’s so hard for me to receive and understand that in the message of the gospel, Jesus actually fully identifies with me without sin. He fully identifies with me without being ashamed of me. He calls me his son. Verse 14, I want you guys there.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself, the eternal son, likewise partook on the same things, meaning flesh and blood. So through his death and flesh and blood, he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. And not only that, in verse 15, the eternal son is also able to deliver all those who through the fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. I think this here, this seems to be standing in contrast to Genesis 1, Psalm 8, and dominion that mankind was to have over the earth, but because of the fall of Adam, now all mankind have been subjected to lifelong slavery. Based on the context, it seems referring to being slaves to the great and evil slave master, Satan, who has captured the hearts of mankind. The context also seems to have implications that the slave master is death itself, where we all be subjected to death, who is also our great enemy.
In fact, the final enemy that the Bible tells us that Christ will defeat. In the fuller biblical context, sin is also our great slave master, as sin leads us into different levels of ministry or misery. From the text, as a great God man, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. He has come to set the captives free. He has come to be our great liberator. He has come to free his people from all things that plague us and beat us down, which he does by destroying our slave masters, destroying Satan, putting death to death, freeing us from the bonds of sin.
In our text, only Jesus is able to do this because the eternal God became flesh. Check this verse 16, back to angelic beings. As Christ came to set the captives free, he didn’t do that to the angels, for the angels. Those aren’t the ones who came to help. Rather, the text tells us that Lord Jesus came to help the offspring of Abraham, significant for the first readers who were Jewish, who came from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But ultimately, Abraham is significant for all the people who have faith in God, people from all tribes, tongue, nations, language.
As Abraham proves to be a spiritual father to all who believe, all who have counted Christ’s righteousness as their righteousness. Friends, that’s who Christ came for, died for. Who has freed us, came to free the spiritual offspring of Abraham. Finally, starting verse 17 of our text. But Jesus came to be the one to set his people free. Therefore, he has been made like his brothers in every respect.
Which takes us back two moments back. The eternal son to be the redeemer, to be the one who sets his people free from the bonds of slavery. In the wisdom of God, the eternal son had to become fully man. Doing so in every respect outside of personal sin. Where all things common to man, Jesus lived through and endured in as man, fully man. Including like all the different things that you and I have had to live through and endure this week.
Like working a job, navigating complicated relationships, needing sleep, feeling hunger, dealing with things that just didn’t go the way that we might want them to. All things common to man in the flesh, Jesus experienced as man. So that as man, fully man in the text, he might become the merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God. So as fully man, he is able to make propitiation, our text tells us, for the sins of his people.
If you’re not familiar with the word propitiation, it basically means like to satisfy the wrath of God against sin. Or to churn away God’s wrath that he has against us and our sin. Jesus became their propitiation and he suffered and died on the cross. Where he bore the just wrath of God that burned over sin in the place of his people. That’s how our sins have been forgiven. That’s how the debt has been paid for.
On the cross, in the flesh, God’s just wrath was satisfied. Which means forgiveness through Jesus isn’t like simply God coming to us and saying, you know what, no big deal. Let’s just forget about it. Let’s let bygones be bygones. I’m actually just going to overlook all these sins. Because if God overlooked our sins, he would not be a just God.
However, to prove that he is both the just and the justifier of our sin, Jesus was the propitiation. So by grace, through faith in him, we could be forgiven. We could be forgiven because the debt owed to justice has been paid in full by him, by Jesus, in our place, in human flesh. Verse 18, which we’re going to end this morning. Because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. I was mentioning the flesh.
He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Because he was tempted, he knows. He knows what we’re going through. As he’s able to identify and help us in our time of need, which we know is all of us. Like we all need help. We need much help.
And friends, the good news is, Jesus is able to help. Let that be a reminder when we’re tempted. Whoever we may be tempted, it’s not just like us, something like trying to muscle our way through temptation on our own strength. Rather for us, our hope, our help is that we flee and continue to flee temptation by running to the one who was tempted, yet without sin. So that our great, merciful high priest, he might help us. And help us in ways that he’s not like ashamed of us.
Or when we come to him, he’s like going to ridicule us or roll his eyes in disgust at us. Rather, he helps us as a good, loving, kind, merciful high priest who actually delights in helping us. Who never tires in helping us. Who actually invites us to call upon him time and time again in all of our needs. And the Lord doesn’t give us just like a punch card, where’s it maybe like 10 free helps, but then like after that we’re on our own. Rather, his delight, his desire, as our great high priest, is for us to come and continue to come to him.
That we might taste and continue to taste his grace. Now for us, how we’re going to finish our time here, is just by setting our hearts to this right, important doctrine. This right biblical teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, what we see in the scripture. Who is at the front and center of our passage this morning. Who’s really at the front and center of all doctrine. This is what we must get right.
Jesus Christ is fully God, fully man. And as I close, let me give you just three reasons why this is so important. So we must get this doctrine right, meaning the doctrine of Christ, fully God, fully man. We must get this right. Why? Because it’s true.
In the scripture, truth matters. You shall know the truth. The truth will set you free. We must worship God in spirit and in truth. Jesus referred himself as truth, the way, the truth in the life. And if we’re going to know truth concerning Jesus Christ, we must have right biblical doctrine on who he is.
That which we see as revealed to us in the sacred scripture. If we do not get this right, if we don’t worship Jesus according to the scriptures and how the scriptures reveal him to us, we’re actually not worshiping the true Jesus, but a false Jesus, one that we have made up. Maybe it’s a little illustration. If I started calling one of my neighbors by name of one of my favorite sports heroes, right, just using that name would not make my neighbor that person.
That’s not truly who they are. Likewise, we can use the name Jesus, but if it’s not attached to the truth of who he is, as he’s revealed in scripture, friends, that’s not the true Jesus. We must get this right. We must get this right. We must see him as true God, fully God, true man, fully man. Second, we must get this doctrine right, meaning the doctrine of Christ, so that we can have hope, like real hope, eternal hope, joy-filled hope, which is the joy-filled hope of salvation, which is the salvation that only Jesus Christ can offer.
And this is salvation that he alone is able to offer, because he is the great God-man. So by grace, through faith in him, he is the one who justifies us. So through the Father, through the work of the Spirit, we might be sanctified, because he is the true hope.
When our Lord returns, that’s when we’ll be filled with his joy for all of glory. In our text, the entire saving work is grounded in theological truth. The eternal son, the definitive word, became a little lower than the angels, as he put on human flesh. Where in human flesh he suffered, where he tasted death, where in human flesh he would be the propitiation of our sins, to prove that he is the true and better Adam, who has come to set his people free, free from the bonds of sin and death and the devil.
It’s all because he is the great God-man who saves, who puts all things in subjection to himself, so that forever and ever he would wear the crown of glory. Friends, if Jesus was not fully God, fully man, in Hebrews 2, so many other places of scripture, we would have no hope of salvation. Rather, we would continue to remain dead in our trespasses and sin. Friends, that’s why it’s so important to get this right.
To get this right concerning the nature of our sin, the nature and the person of God, the hope of our salvation is rooted in it. Our eternal joy depends upon it. Third, we must get this doctrine, the doctrine of Christ, right, because that’s where we find comfort. Good doctrine, right theology, it’s not just some type of like cold academic pursuit, where maybe we like intellectually try to systemize the scriptures, where we just maybe fill in our heads with like some type of knowledge. Rather, right doctrine, right theology, it’s so much more than that. It’s there to fill our hearts in very pastoral and comforting ways.
You know, a few weeks back, I mentioned the Star of Assumption series. Like, this is my favorite book, New Testament. At the time, I talked about how much I love this book because it gives us like the hermeneutic to know how to like read and understand the Old Testament. But that’s not the only reason why this is my new, my favorite book, New Testament. I love this book because of how pastoral and how comforting it is. At this time, I won’t pull all the passages in this book that speak the pastoral nature of it.
I’ll get to those in weeks to come. But as I close, let me just point again, just what we see in our passage. Words are just so comforting to us, so encouraging, so pastoral. And as I give you these, let’s just wash over you as we think about the great God, man. First, let me speak to the comfort of knowing that Jesus is fully God. First time, you take your eyes back there.
As fully God, Jesus proves to be the sure and steady anchor of our soul. Why? Because he gives us meaning. He gives us purpose. We are created by him and for him. And friends, that’s comforting to know.
That’s the truth of why we exist. That’s the meaning. That’s the purpose of our life. It’s for Jesus. You know, for many, they just kind of go through life just rudderless. They just can’t find any purpose, any meaning.
And that’s so depressing. But for those who have faith in Jesus Christ, be comforted. You know your meaning. You know your purpose. You exist for him to live out your life to the praise of his glory. And you’re created by him, for him.
Friends, that’s a great comfort. That helps us see that our life, it matters. It has purpose. In addition, because Jesus Christ is fully God, we take comfort. Back in verse 9, comfort knowing that all things in the end are subjecting to him, including all things that plague us in this life. Like they’re subjected to him, to his plan, to even his purpose, even if we don’t always understand it.
And in his plan, in his purpose, one day he actually promises he’ll remove all things that plague us in his life when he comes for us in glory. That’s a great comfort. Verse 10, he’s able to do this because as fully God, he’s the one who has the power of sin, death, and the devil. Friends, take comfort. That’s the Jesus that you worship. He’s fully God.
Not only that, take comfort. Jesus also is fully man. And because Jesus is fully man, he was able to do what Adam and Eve and the rest of us were not able to do. As fully man, he lived this sinless, perfect life to be our representative who suffered and died for us only to rise again, which gives us comfort in our text even from the fear of death. Not only that, because Jesus Christ being fully man, we have this great comfort knowing that he’s like identifying with us. He identifies with us in all of our weaknesses yet without sin.
We have this incredible comfort as fully man who identifies with us. He identifies in ways that he’s like not ashamed of us. We might be ashamed of us. But if you have faith in Jesus Christ, he’s not ashamed of you. Rather, you have the comfort of knowing that he identifies with you as his child. His child who God the Father has given to him for all eternity.
That’s something we mentioned because Jesus Christ being fully man. Friends, be comforted to know that we can go to him time and time again, over and over again, in all of our times of need. Being comforted to know that he will receive us.
As a merciful, faithful, high priest who is there to help us when we’re tempted. Friends, the doctrine of Christ is such a great comfort. It is such a great comfort as you try to trod through life. And I’d like to start now.
We don’t know if jolly old Saint Nick actually punched the heretic Arius who denied this truth. But we do know what Saint Nick and so many others throughout church history have believed concerning Jesus Christ. That the scripture reveals that Jesus is true God. True man. And this is the truth that we must hold fast to so we might find tidings of comfort and joy.
Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Hebrews 2. That helps us to see Jesus for who he is. Fully God, fully man. And Lord, I do pray that you help us to just understand your word in ways that we see right doctrine, right theology. So we might worship you in spirit and truth. And Lord, I just I do pray that today just these truths of who Jesus is would give us hope and would give us comfort. It’s on Jesus name. Amen.
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