Hebrews 2:5-18

Lord, here we go again!

Pray. Think myself empty. Read myself full. Write myself clear. Pray myself haught.

Think myself empty.

Read myself full.

Write myself clear.

Pray myself haught.

Be myself. Forget myself.

Forget myself.

Lord, let this message be a beacon for you. Let me be forgotten and invisible. Let them see and know you, only you.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

________________________________________________________________________________

The word Gospel means “good news”. It’s pretty important to understand that. The Bible is not a book that tells us what we have to do to earn salvation, it is a book that tells us what God did to earn our salvation.

What he did was send Jesus. Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves and he paid for what we had done in his body on the cross.

God created human beings and intended for them to be ruling creatures. We were supposed to be under God but over everything else. We were supposed to rule over creation under the guidance and authority of God’s Word and to function as conduits for all the blessings of heaven.

That’s how it was supposed to be, but unfortunately, the Bible tells the story of how our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin by choosing to rebel against God’s Word in order to become autonomous ruling creatures. Basically, they wanted to be gods unto themselves, deciding good and evil.

From that point on, humanity has been on a downward spiral moving further and further away from God and our original design and glory.

The heart of the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus has come as God in the flesh and has obeyed God perfectly and has therefore won the right to all the blessings God originally intended to give to men and women. Furthermore, through his sacrificial death on the cross, he has paid the debt that we owed to God for disobeying his commands.

There is therefore no need anymore for us to hide from God. In Jesus, we can come home and we can be restored. The climax of the Gospel is the great news that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where he now intercedes on our behalf.

He gives the Holy Spirit to all his people and he slowly but surely, changes our hearts, reforms our desires and teaches us how to be the children of God we were always intended to be.

For now, Jesus remains in heaven, changing the world one person at a time, but one day he will return and judge the world in righteousness. He will remove from this world all sin and all causes of sin and he will restore the cosmos to a state of peace, prosperity and flourishing and all those who have received him as their Lord and Savior will participate in his rule and enjoy his goodness forever. ________________________________________________________________________________

Last week we talked about the first warning that the author of Hebrews gives us: Don’t turn away, stay faithful to Christ and don’t ignore him. “We are warned to trust in the salvation provided through Jesus Christ” (Knowing the Bible: Hebrews, Matthew Z. Capps, pg. 19).

“The superiority of Christ makes the Failure to believe on Him a feared experience.” (Shepherd’s Notes, Hebrews, pg. 19).

Hebrews 2:

Hebrews 2:5–18 ESV

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 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. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

At the beginning of this series, we talked about some big terms

Christology

Salvation

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Incarnation

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “incarnation” as “a central Christian doctrine that the eternal Word of God (Logos), the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, became man in Jesus Christ, who was then truly God and truly man.

Propitiation

Tonight, we have another one:

Incarnation

Incarnation: The embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Incarnation

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “incarnation” as “a central Christian doctrine that the eternal Word of God (Logos), the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, became man in Jesus Christ, who was then truly God and truly man.” This certainly reflects what has been the dominant meaning of the term itself within Christian thought.

Basically, God in Flesh, truly God and truly man.

The Value of Christ’s Incarnation (2:5-13)

The World is subjected to the Crucified Lord (vv. 5-9)

Jesus is the Author of our Salvation (vv. 10-13)

Humanity found its name in the man Jesus Christ (vv. 12-13)

Results of Christ’s Incarnation (vv. 14-18)

Christians are no longer Enslaved to Death (vv. 14-15)

Jesus helps us Overcome our Temptations (vv. 16-18)