Sermon Tone Analysis
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*Hebrews 2:5-8a…* Now 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.”
*Commentary*
Following the parenthesis of exhortation in Hebrews 2:1-4 the author goes right back to his comparison of Jesus and the angels.
Whereas the Jews began to believe that angels would rule over mankind, and that Jesus was probably the chief angel, the author says no.
And once again, in order to prove his point with the Jews, he went to their Bible to prove his point.
In v. 6 the author says, “One has testified somewhere” making it appear that he didn’t know where he was quoting from.
But the writer obviously knew the passage well, for he quoted it word for word from Psalm 8:4-6 – a psalm of David.
So why would he act as if he didn’t know who wrote the passage?
The answer is that the Hebrews author was devoted to keeping the names of human authors out of his letter, including his own name.
He never mentions a human author by name, and Hebrews itself is notoriously anonymous.
The writer is mainly concerned that his Jewish audience view the OT as having one author, namely God.
So it’s the voice of the Holy Spirit he is concerned with – not the man who composed the writing or writings.
In Psalm 8 David was worshipping God by observing the sky.
He was simply looking up at it, and it was probably at night because he made no mention of the sun, only the moon and stars (8:3).
As he worshipped he wrote what he felt, and it’s clear that David sat in awe of how highly his Maker regarded lowly man – enough to set him over His awesome creation.
He wondered why God would ordain mankind as king over the creation.
He says, “What is man… the son of man” – a typical Hebrew parallelism equating the two.
Some think that “son of man” is David talking about the Messiah, but this is false.
Yes, Jesus called himself the Son of Man (Matt.
8:20), but this phrase is used numerous times for simple men in the OT, and the context of Psalm 8 is clear in that it’s talking about mankind in general.
What is man that God regards him?
Now Hebrews uses Psalm 8 to remind the readers of a few things.
First, that God is “mindful” of man.
This means that God remembers man, thinks about him, and cares for him.
He has an active concern for mankind.
Second, God “cares” for man.
This term means to “seek out” or “to visit.”
Clearly, God is not aloof with mankind but actively loves and cares for him.
Third, God has made man “for a little while lower than the angels.”
While man is physical, angels are spiritual, but this is merely a temporary distinction.
Angels have continual access to God and have supernatural powers.
Man is earthbound and made from dust.
In the future man will be elevated to angelic /likeness/, although God never says that mankind will become angels!
The Psalm also says that man has been “crowned with glory and honor” with everything under his authority (vv.
7-8).
These passages, though partially true in the here and now, are prophecies of what awaits mankind in the “world to come.”
They await Christ’s coming.
*Food for Thought*
God has given mankind fatherly care and a unique authority.
We were created with a distinctive dignity being crowned with glory and honor as the apex of God’s creation.
We have unrivaled authority on God’s earth.
Clearly we were made in His image.
What has man become?
He abuses his privileges, ignores his dignity, limits his dominion, and despises God’s favor.
That is why we don’t see man as he should be, and it’s why we must look to Jesus who came to earth as a man, taking on human nature, in order to accomplish what we have failed miserably to do.
*Hebrews 2:5-8* (Pt.
2) “Now 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.’”
*Commentary*
As noted in Hebrews 1 many Jews held angels in very high regard.
After all, they were powerful beings that God created, and they made some very spectacular appearances in the OT.
Some had come to believe that angels would finally rule the earth.
One group, called the Essenes (a first-century sect that Hebrews may have been directed at), awaited two Messianic figures – one kingly and one priestly, and they believed that the archangel Michael would rule over them.
In other words, the “world to come” (v.
8) would be ruled over by an angel or angels.
This false teaching was corrected by the author of Hebrews beginning in 2:5-8.
Angels are created beings sent to serve the heirs of salvation (1:14), so they are servants, not rulers.
Hebrews 2:5 sets out to correct a misconception among some Jewish believers of that time.
In speaking of the “world to come” (Greek οἰκουμένην) he speaks of the “world” as the inhabited earth as opposed to a future “age” or “system.”
In other words, he speaks of a new earth, which theologians call the millennial kingdom (Rev.
20).
This is Christ’s earthly kingdom which will follow his second coming, and the writer of Hebrews is telling the audience that this future kingdom will not be ruled over by angels but by Jesus Christ who is superior to them.
Now when God created the heavens and earth (Gen.
1:1) He created man on the sixth day of His creation.
Then after surveying each day of His work God declared His work “very good” (Gen.
1:31).
He then placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden, and as part of being made in His image, God gave them dominion over His creation (Gen.
1:26).
Man was then in charge of what God had made perfect.
Man, however, relinquished his authority to Satan when he sinned.
Now God subjected His creation to man in the beginning (Gen.
1:26), and He will also subject the “world to come” to him.
This is the world that Jesus will reign over, and because God’s children will reign with Christ, they too will rule over this future world.
The present inhabited earth, however, is ruled over by angels.
Satan, the prince of the fallen angels (demons), is said to be the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; cf. 1 John 5:19) and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph.
2:2).
His emissaries, the demons, are called “rulers, powers, world forces of this present darkness… spiritual forces of wickedness” (Eph.6:12).
Furthermore, Ephesians 6:12 says that mankind’s struggle isn’t against flesh but against these demonic hosts.
One might conclude that demons are the sole rulers on God’s earth, but in fact they are simply one of three groups who war against each other today.
Holy angels also rule (Daniel 10) and struggle with demons while serving the saints, and mankind struggles with those demonic forces (Eph.
6:12).
Ultimately, however, the author of Hebrews makes it clear that angels will not rule; Christ will.
*Food for Thought*
Even though mankind gave his right to rule to Satan in the Garden of Eden (Gen.
3) by sinning, God has ordained that man will one day be sovereign over His creation while reigning with Jesus Christ.
Therefore it is ludicrous to believe that Christ is lower than the angels simply because he became a man, mankind currently being ruled over by angels and demons.
Man was made “lower than the angels” only “for a little while” according to 2:7, but on God’s appointed day man will indeed rise above the angels and mete out judgment over them (1 Cor.
6:3).
Man’s sin didn’t thwart God’s plan; it only hurt man himself.
God’s will continues to unfold perfectly.
*Hebrews 2:8-9…* 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.
*Commentary*
Man’s original destiny on the earth to rule over all things well was thwarted by Adam’s sin.
Since then neither mankind nor the earth itself has been the same.
Man forfeited his kingdom and crown and gave them over to Satan whom he has been at war with ever since.
Originally the earth supplied man’s needs without him having to do anything.
After the curse, however, man has had to manipulate it to bring forth fruit.
Now the earth is under the influence of the curse which yields weeds and death.
Mankind therefore does not rule over the earth, rather, it tends to rule over him in the form of famines, earthquakes, tornados, and the like.
After man’s fall, women were cursed, for God told Eve, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for// your husband, but he shall rule over you” (Gen.
3:16).
Men also were cursed, for now Adam would have to work for his food since God was going to curse the earth.
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