All Things made Subject to the Superior Son of Man

Genesis 11:1–9 ESV

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Man is capable of incredible things. We have sent a man to the moon, cloned an animal, mapped the human genome, split the atom, created vaccines. One might wonder where the end of the human genius is. But when you look at man he is small and insignificant in comparison to the vastness of the created world, and yet it is to this order of created beings that the Lord has entrusted this world and the world to come.

In this world for a short time Christ became one of us, lower than the angelic race in order that He might reconcile all things and bring them under His rule in the world to come.

This World

Meant to be subject by Adam.

Adam was supposed to be the 1st king over humanity

Genesis 1:26 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The problem with the world before the tower of babel is that the people did not fulfill the creation mandate. There were lands and territories yet to be explored and brought under man’s control and rule. The beasts of the earth which were meant to fear man in a positive sense and to serve man, now though in a sense ruled by man rebel and would tear man apart if given the chance. The problem is that our father our king Adam failed to rule the earth properly. Sin corrupted and tarnished his crown and every crown after Him. The crowing creation namely man had done the same, the one meant to co -rule over the earth had rebelled and turned against his creator.

Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews Chapter 2

the first the old, corrupted by Adam’s sin; the other, later in time, as renewed by Christ.

Made Subject to the Second Adam.

Romans 5:17 ESV

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Once could hardly have though that the way for the Son of man to fulfill the creation mandate was to come and offer Himself to die so that He might reign.

The World to Come

Verse 9 make a transition and a wants to dispel any confusion that the audience might have about the nature of Christs reign. The author of Hebrews has quoted two Psalms which on the surface might seem to contradict one another. Psalm 8:8 and Psalm 110:1.

One might ask the nagging question of How is it that Christ all things are in subjection to Him and yet they are not yet all under subjection to Him? One might even look at the present world around Him and does not have to look far to see that Christ enemies are still here and infact in many ways it appears that they are thriving in this world. We see evil and injustice all around us and evil regimes and governments ruling the world.

So we must be introduced to the already but not yet principle of Christs reign. Christ is already reigning and yet it is not fully realized. The kingdom of God both exists now in this present moment and is yet to come in the future.

Let me do my best to illustrate how this works. Max Bear was the heavy weight boxing champion from 1934 to 1935. During his boxing career he fought with Frankie Campbell who died from having his brain knocked loose from his skull during the fight.

Some 2 years later he fought a man named Ernie Shaaf. Bear was relentless pounding him and sending his to the mat. For several months after the fight Shaff complained about constant headaches. 5 Months later Shaaf died in the ring after 1 left jab from his opponent. The fight with bear had caused so much damage and swelling of the brain that he was practically a head man walking and didn’t know it.

So it is with Christ, at the cross Christ crushed the head of the serpent dealing the death blow to Satan and death itself. But they don’t yet know it. The battle is already decided the victory won, we just have to enter the ring and claim the victory.

The enemy is like a chicken whose head is severed they are running all over the place and yet their doom is more than assured.

Application: All that is necessary for our salvation had been accomplished.

Already… but not yet

1 Peter 3:22 ESV

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

For while it is obvious that enemy forces are still active and as yet unsubdued in the world, yet the gaze of faith penetrates to the great reality that Jesus is already enthroned on high. Phillip Hughes

1 Corinthians 15:25–26 ESV

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Conclusion:

First the Cross, then the Crown. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes

If that is true for Christ, then that is true for us. The road for us must also be from suffering to glory.

Acts 14:22 ESV

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 2:12 ESV

if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

We live in the already and not yet. In that in between stage. When it seems like God doesn’t deal with His enemies and sin abounds know this. God has already dealt with it, and he will deal with it, but praise God that He is longsuffering.