The Author of Our Faith Hebrews 2:10-18

Intro

Thanks to all of the workers yesterday

The Inklings were a group of guys who met for nearly 20 years

Most were professors at Oxford

They would meet at a pub and discuss fantasy literature

The most famous of this group were CS Lewis and JR Tolkien

Authors of the Chronicles of Narnia & Lord of the Rings

An author creates something out of nothing

He takes an idea, puts it on paper, and creates a story out of it

That is what makes people CS Lewis & JR Tolkien so amazing

In their series The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings they weave stories of fantasy that explain the Gospel message

The writer of Hebrews likens Jesus as the Author of our Faith

He creates us, brings us to life, perfects us through salvation, and sanctifies to make us just like Him

When we sit back a realize it is Jesus who is doing the work in us it makes things easier

There is no more striving

Read Hebrews 2:10-13

Transition

Authors Faith Thru Leading the Way vs. 10-13

Jesus is the author of our faith

All things exist through him

vs. 10 Captain of Our Salvation

First, we see that he is the captain of our salvation

The ESV has founder

The NKJV has Captain

The NASB has Author

The Greek work there means pioneer or leader.

A captain makes all the arrangements for the march, and Jesus makes all the arrangements for our progress as Christians.

A captain gives the commands to the troops – “Go” or “Stay” or “Do this.” Jesus commands us as our captain.

A captain leads the way and is an example to his men, and Jesus does this for us.

A captain encourages his men, and Jesus encourages us.

A captain rewards his troops, and Jesus rewards His followers.

The archēgos never stood at the rear giving orders.

He was always out front, leading and setting the example.

As the supreme Archegos, Christ does not stand at the rear giving orders.

He is always before us, as perfect Leader and perfect Example

vs. 11 Sanctifier Calls us Brothers

In addition to becoming our Author of salvation, He became our Sanctifier, the One who makes us holy

It is difficult to think of ourselves as holy. Sin is too much with us.

In thought and practice we are far from holy. But in the new nature we are perfectly holy.

Hebrews 10:10 ESV

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We were made holy through His sacrifice, and have become those who are sanctified

This entitles us to be called a brother in Jesus Christ

The Sanctifier and the sanctified now have one Father, and the Sanctifier is not ashamed to call the sanctified His brothers

He broke sin’s mastery over us and placed His eternal righteousness on us.

The basic, overriding purpose of our lives now is to become in practice what we are in that new perfection and position

vs. 12 Jesus Sings Father’s Praises

Next we see Jesus singing His Father’s praises

He is declaring those praises to his newly sanctified brethren

Quotes David in Ps 22:22

vs. 13 We are His Precious Gifts

In vs. 13 Jesus quotes Is 8

It shows how he sees his brethren as precious gifts

Isaiah 8:18 ESV

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

To wrap this section up let me summarize

Jesus is the author of your faith

He authors it by leading the way as the captain of your salvation

He sanctifies you and makes you holy

He sings his Father’s praises to you

And he sees you as a precious gift

Author Shared in Struggle vs. 14-16

Share is from the Greek koinōnia, meaning to have fellowship, communion, or partnership.

It involves having something in common with others.

All human beings have flesh and blood.

In this we are all alike. It is our common nature.

But partook is from a very different word, metechō, which has to do with taking hold of something that is not naturally one’s own kind.

We by nature are flesh and blood; Christ was not.

Yet He willingly took hold of something which did not naturally belong to Him.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

He added to Himself our nature in order that He might die in our place, and that we might take hold of the divine nature that did not belong to us

What happens when takes our nature?

Three things

vs. 14 Destroyed the Power of Death

Specifically the one who has the power of death, the devil

Satan knew that men, if they remained as they were, would die and go out of God’s presence into hell forever.

Satan wants to hold onto men until they die, because once they are dead the opportunity for salvation is gone forever.

Men cannot escape after death.

So God had to wrest from Satan the power of death. And for just that purpose Jesus came.

At the cross Jesus defeated the Devil

Colossians 2:15 ESV

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

If you have a more powerful weapon than your enemy, his weapon becomes useless.

You cannot fight against a machine gun with a bow and arrow.

Satan’s weapon is extremely powerful. But God has a weapon even more powerful—eternal life—and with it Jesus destroyed death.

The victory was won

The power of death was defeated when Jesus was resurrected

vs. 15 Release those in Bondage

Next he delivers those in fear from lifelong slavery

People are gripped by fear

They live in fear of death which brings on slavery

Isaiah 42:7 ESV

to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

vs. 16 Gives Aid to Seed of Abraham

Author Became Faithful High Priest vs. 17-18

The final way that we see Jesus being the author of our faith is that he is our faithful High Priest

OT Priests would make offerings for the Israelites

They would offer bulls, lambs, or doves

This gift would take your sin and place it on the animal

Then you would offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord

vs. 17 Making Propitiation

Propitiation: Turning away of anger by the offering of a gift.

Romans 3:23–25 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

So Jesus is both the Priest and the lamb

vs. 18 Suffered and Tempted

Some wonder if Jesus was really tempted.

After all, since He was God (they reason), He could not sin – so His temptation could not be real.

The writer to the Hebrews insists that not only was Jesus’ temptation real, but it was so real that He suffered under it.