Psalm 8 Sermon

Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 8

James Montgomery Boice: It would be difficult to say anything negative about any one of the psalms, since each is a part of sacred Scripture and is given to us by God for our benefit. Every psalm in the Psalter has undoubtedly been of great spiritual benefit to many millions of persons. Yet we cannot escape feeling that some of them stand out. This is true of Psalm 23, probably the most beloved psalm in the Psalter. It is true of the first psalm, which we have already studied, Psalm 19, Psalm 51, Psalm 100, and more. It is true of Psalm 8, to which we come now.

My own list of beloved Psalms / memorizing them / affection for this one / songs - Majesty and Glory of Your Name - it is truly hymn like...

Derek Kidner - This psalm is an unsurpassed example of what a hymn should be, celebrating as it does the glory and grace of God, rehearsing who he is and what he has done, and relating us and our world to him; all with a masterly economy of words, and in a spirit of mingled joy and awe.

Times like this where I just wither at the overwhelming thought of doing any justice to the preaching of something so beautiful, glorious and soaring.

Most definitely a call to PRAYER for God’s help

Pray

Psalm 8 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. 1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8, with its succinct beauty calls for the people of God to praise the name of the LORD for his majesty and glory in creation - most especially as we consider the dignity and dominion he bestows on humankind for whom God has condescended to display his loving care.

So we’re going to look more closely at this Psalm and consider those four aspects of my summary of this text. I want you to know that along the way I intend to offer four corresponding ways for Christians to respond or apply this text in our lives, and two brief ways that I believe an non-Christian who is listening to this message might, by the power of the Holy Spirit, respond in faith to the revelation of who God is and what he has done in creation and at calvary. You might be wondering why I am only offering two responses for the non-Christian when there are four points. I hope to also demonstrate why I do not believe a person with a secular worldview can adequately live out what this text demands without having responded by faith to the glory of God displayed in creation and Christ’s condescension (by that I mean his taking on human flesh, being born as a baby, and suffering and dying in apparent weakness on the cross of Calvary).

Ok, so you got it?

Four things Psalm 8 teaches us about God and Man

Four points of application/response for believers

Two points of application/response for non-Christians with two arguments for why unbelievers must first respond to the glory of God in creation and the cross before they can adequately live out what this text demands of us.

Buckle your seatbelts, don’t look at your watches and don’t be tempted to get distracted on your phones. There may never be another time in my life that God allows me to preach this text and my heart is so full and so ready for us to see it and savor it today. Let’s just enjoy it together.

Let’s look at the first of these four things that Psalm 8 teaches us about God and Man

Four things Psalm 8 teaches us about God and Man

The first thing Psalm 8 teaches us about God is that he is transcendent. God’s glory is displayed in his incomprehensible power to create.

1) The Transcendence of God - God’s glory displayed in incomprehensible power to create

I see this primarily in verse 1, 3, and verses 5-8. Verses 5-8 speak of God’s creation of humans and animals, but for right now… let’s just hone in on verse 1 and 3

Psalm 8:1 ESV

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Psalm 8:3 ESV

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

As a shepherd boy, David tended his father’s sheep in the fields around Bethlehem. The nights in ancient Palestine were pitch-black, except for the light emitted by the moon and the stars. It makes sense then, doesn’t it? I mean have you ever...

looking at the stars at night? ranch - lay down

Interestingly, we live in a day where our knowledge of the VAST EXPANSIVENESS of the universe is more apparent to us than it ever has been.

The Milky Way glows like a wide ribbon across the heavens. Our galaxy looks like a cloud, but this glow is actually the light of 200–400 billion stars turning like a giant pinwheel some 100 light years across. In the 1920s Edwin Hubble showed that our galaxy is one of many galaxies in the universe. The best estimate is that there are roughly 2 TRILLION galaxies gathered in clusters and strung like filaments across space!

A famous astronomer once said: an extended forest would suffer no more from the fall of a single leaf, than the glories of this extended universe would suffer though the globe we tread upon ‘and all that it inherits, should dissolve.

The psalmist says that the universe is the work of God’s FINGERS. Like God is doing intricate, delicate work. It’s like when I try and play with Judah’s tiny lego pieces - I have to be so careful and exhibit such fine motor dexterity. That’s the picture of how God has fashioned a universe with 2 trillion galaxies.

Feel small yet?

And yet, here we are. Infinitesimally small by comparison to the universe, and yet we possess everything we need to exist and live and breathe.

Hazakim!

Listen, fine-tuning is the delicate balance Of initial conditions that allow for life’s existence For instance, our distance from the sun, optimal Shift it a few inches and life wouldn't be possible We'd burn or we'd freeze from frigid or fervent degrees And the seas would turn into ice or burn into steam The sun's rays merge with the trees Converting CO2 we release into (oxygen) we can breathe (GASP)

And the force that bonds protons and neutrons We aren't supposed to find By accident, apart from an omnipotent mind Gravity, mass, and energy, those align perfectly And the planetary spin Built with a tilt The margin for error, very thin Yeah It's not an accident, a secondary whim It's immaculate, He's accurate And none compare to Him

So how do we respond to this INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWER? The infinite nature of this universe and the wonder of our incalculably small chances for EXISTENCE?! What are we to do in a moment this where we see the glory of God in Creation?

As a Christian - it is simply this: WORSHIP!

O LORD! OUR LORD how majestic is your NAME in ALL the earth. You have set YOUR GLORY above the heavens.

His name, revealed in covenant love to his people - I AM who I AM says He is the uncreated one - he is the CREATOR, and so we respond in WORSHIP! You are GLORIOUS! You are MAJESTIC!

May I add, this is the only Psalm directed ENTIRELY to God… just pour out praise to God!

Every day, every sunrise, every sunset, every breath, every songbird that sings and every color painted across the sky should lead us to praise HIM!

HALLELUJAH!

Psalm 19:1 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

The Psalms tell us that the creation is proclaiming a sermon! It’s telling even UNBELIEVERS - GOD EXISTS! God creates! And my call for you as a non-Christian, is one that pleads for the power of the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see Glory of God!

Let me ask you (in the words of another Christian hip-hop artist) - [slowly]

Do the stars disappear when the blind person look at the sky? Or do they simply fail to see what was there the whole time?

Perhaps you’re here today, and you’ve done what Romans 1 says ALL people do without the gift of faith. It says

Romans 1:19–20 ESV

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

However, time and time again the response of humanity has been to suppress the truth of God’s existence so MANIFESTLY VISIBLE in the glory of his creative power!

Don’t do that! Look up at the stars and see God’s glory - I beg you.

OK, so that’s point 1. We come face to face with God’s transcendence in this psalm. But secondly, we are made aware of God’s immanence in Psalm 8.

2) The Immanence of God - God’s glory displayed through infantile weakness in conquest

We see God’s glory on display through his use of infantile weakness in conquering his enemies.

I see this in verse 2 and verse 4-6.

Psalm 8:2 ESV

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

This is a staggering / almost jolting statement to appear right beside the proclamation of the majesty and glory of God. And yet the psalmist is saying something about how God chooses to reveal his majesty and glory in creation.

The answer is surprising and counterintuitive. God displays his glory by using weak people to do his great work. God reveals his majesty by defeating his enemies through the weakness of children and infants.

James Johnston says [QUOTE] The universe is stunned at the magnificent majesty of God when toddlers pray before bedtime and sing in Sunday school. God creates victorious power from the lips of children who confess him.

This should be a huge encouragement for young mothers who spend their days wiping noses, cleaning up spills, folding little hands before meals, and singing songs while changing diapers. Step back and see the big picture: God is making his name majestic in this world through you. God is establishing his strength in this world through your children as they learn to praise him. [END QUOTE]

Satan has always waged war on babies. It’s replete in the Old and New Testaments - Satan HATES babies. They are a constant reminder of God’s image and glory, and his ultimate doom! You’ll recall that the curse of Satan included the promise that the seed of a woman would crush his head! He’s always been afraid of babies.

Think of that? How silly is this? Little infant babies? What harm can they do? How could they hurt anything? They’re dependent and small and weak! And this Psalm says God has chosen to use them to establish a stronghold - to make a position of strength in God’s conquest of his enemies.

This is staggering.

But this is our God! This is the glory of God! It is fully on display when he chooses to use the weak things of this world to confound the wise.

1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

Whether it was a baby in a basket, or a cowardly wheat thresher with a rag-tag army of 300 men, or a shepherd boy with a sling and five stones God shows off when he beats his enemies by making the odds of success seem incalculably small. Remember the exodus? He led his people into what seemed like an obvious trap! Only to deliver them THROUGH THE SEA. Remember Elijah? He doused the altar with so much water you would have thought a tropical storm had come through Mount Carmel. God LOVES to display his glory through apparent weakness.

Now, at this point you may be wondering how exactly this relates to the immanence of God. So far, what we’ve seen is more about God’s power on display through weak things like babies and shepherd boys.

But that’s where verse four comes in...

In light of David’s consideration of the vast expanse of the universe, he asks this probing question:

Psalm 8:4–6 ESV

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

Here now again, we see God’s loving consideration for something comparatively small, weak and insignificant - namely human beings. David is humbled and in awe of how God has crowned humankind with dignity and given them dominion to rule over beasts and sea creatures.

We are going to look more closely at the dignity and dominion given by God to humanity, but before we do that, we need to consider these verses in light of the greater biblical context - because Psalm 8:2, and 4-6 are all quoted or alluded to in the new testament about Jesus. And as we’re considering the immanence of God, there is no GREATER example of the closeness of God and Man than the very God-Man himself. That the Word became FLESH and dwelt among us - that is what we’re talking about.

What I’m arguing right here is that the greatest display of power through apparent weakness and the immanence of the Transcendent One was seen in Bethlehem’s manger and Calvary’s cross.

This phrase in verse 4 of Psalm 8 “son of man” was Jesus’ favorite title for himself as he walked the earth. And in all the various ways we’ve already considered, Jesus exemplifies God’s glorious power on display through apparent weakness. Jesus himself was born as a little baby, lying helplessly in a manger, nursing at his mother’s breast and dependent on his parents for care.

Later as a grown man, Jesus would also receive the PRAISE of little children - an interesting play on words that comes when you take the Greek translation of Psalm 8:2 which says you have ordained PRAISE because of your enemies. So that when Jesus was entering Jerusalem he received the loud praises of hosanna to the Son of David. This made the chief priests and teachers of the law indignant. But Jesus replied, referring to Psalm 8, “Have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” (Matt. 21:16).

James Montgomery Boice writes, “[QUOTE] by identifying the praise of the children of Jerusalem with Psalm 8, Jesus not only validated their words, showing them to be proper...(that He was, indeed, the “son of David,” the Messiah)... He also interpreted their praise as praise not of a mere man, which a mere “son of David” would be, but of God, since the psalm says that God has ordained praise for himself from children’s lips.

Jesus [simultaneously] placed the scribes and teachers, who resisted his claims to be the unique Son of God, in the category of “the foe and the avenger,” thereby identifying them as God’s enemies. [END QUOTE]”

And what did those enemies seek to do to him? They sought to silence him for good by crucifying the Messiah. And there again God displayed his glory through weakness by allowing his son Jesus to suffer and die - naked, beaten, bruised, and nailed to a tree that he had created. All to CONQUER - ONCE AND FOR ALL - the rulers, evil authorities and the dominion of sin. It was the ULTIMATE display of God’s power to conquer his enemies through the FOOLISHNESS of the cross.

1 Corinthians 1:21–25 ESV

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Now - let me begin by making application to the non-Christian first. What you are hearing today, perhaps it is for the first time, is that God - the same God with all power to create has chosen to use seemingly helpless and infantile means to do the extraordinary - to establish strength over his enemies and to simultaneously save those who will believe in Him. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ does not make sense to the world. If he was such a good man and such a good teacher like some people claim he was, why in the world did they crucify him? The biblical account does not leave room for Jesus merely being a good man - he claimed to be GOD in the flesh. Those kind of claims can get you killed. And yet, because of his willingness to take the path of apparent weakness, he has defeated sin and by his resurrection, he has signaled the defeat of our final enemy, death. So the good news, and the response I’m praying the Holy Spirit will lead you to today is for you to trust in Jesus Christ - who has made the transcendent God immanent. Repent of your sins and cling to the power of God and the wisdom of God in the cross and not to your own earthly wisdom.

For those of you who are Christians, I believe the way to apply this point is to consider these things and be humbled. Just like David - we can say

“In light of your vast, transcendent power and holiness, WHO ARE WE, WHO AM I that you would condescend to take on human form and die the death I deserve?

Thomas Watson has said: Meditation fits for humiliation. When David had been contemplating the works of creation, their splendour, harmony, motion, influence, he lets the plumes of pride fall, and begins to have self-abasing thoughts.

And then, in that humility, and in that awareness of our own frailty and weaknesses, I pray that we as believers will begin to see ourselves like Paul does in 2 Cor. 4 - as Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

God is still in the business of displaying his glory through weak people like you and like me - and in that way we have the extraordinary privilege of being the hands and feet of Christ to the lost world around us - making the transcendent God immanent in our works that display his glory.

We turn now to consider what Psalm 8 teaches us about the dignity and dominion of man. Let us consider how the dignity of man is something bestowed upon the pinnacle of God’s creation.

3) The Dignity of Man - God’s glory bestowed on the pinnacle of his creation - humankind

Verse 5 says it like this

Psalm 8:5 ESV

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

This psalm uses verse 1 and 9 to create a “frame” so to speak around the entire poem. While on the one hand, it creates the context for this psalm as entirely to the majesty and praise of God, it also serves to draw attention to the center point of the poem which verses 4 and 5 form.

At the heart of this text is this idea that mankind has been made a little lower than the heavenly beings and been crowned with glory and honor.

To put it in terms of Genesis 1 we have been formed in the image of God. Genesis 1.31 says that after God made man he saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good. We have been crowned with dignity and worth from Him.

The point I’m making here from the text is that the dignity and worth we have is a bestowed dignity. It is not something inherent to all humanity by nature of God creating mankind in his image and crowning humans with glory and honor.

So for Christians, the point of application here is that we ought to value the lives of every human being - regardless of ethnicity and regardless of whether that human is inside or outside of a mother’s womb. Christians are decidedly pro LIFE because God has bestowed every life with dignity.

Now, what I said at the outset was that I don’t think a person coming from a secular worldview can adequately respond how this text requires us to respond. Here’s what I mean. If you do not acknowledge that there is a God who created this world and governs it, you have no reason to value any life whatsoever. It is all an accident according to your worldview. More than that, if Darwin is right about the survival of the fittest, you should only care about your own survival and your own power and not the lives of any other weaker humans.

In the Biblical view, humans are elevated to have dominion over animals, but according to the secular worldview we are merely evolved animals.

It may be hard to hear this, but what I am saying is that your support of life (apart from a biblical worldview) - whether it’s in support of black lives or unborn babies lives or disabled children’s lives or elderly lives can only be described as inconsistent at best or politically calculated at worst.

Only when a person comes to see a human as a specially crowned creation of God will he or she ever begin to truly value human lives for the right reasons - precisely because they display the glory of the creator.

This leads me to my fourth and final point today. While there may be other things that we can learn from this psalm, I want us to see that it teaches us something about the dominion of mankind over God’s creation.

4) The Dominion of Man - God’s glory expansively spread through human vice-regency over creation

In that God-given dominion, God’s glory is to be expansively spread through human vice-regency over creation. That is to say, God has ordained for humanity to rule over creation.

We see this in verses 6-8

Psalm 8:6–8 ESV

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

When Genesis says that God created man in his image, part of what that means is that he is to exercise dominion.

Genesis 1:26 ESV

26 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.”

This involves the expansion and extension of the glory of God through procreation and through the proper utilization of creation to help humans flourish. We are to maintain proper order and to experience and enjoy plants and animals while not being controlled by them. Every creature, whether domesticated or wild is to be subjected to human authority and Genesis 9.3 says it can be used for our food as well.

In light of this creation mandate to rule over the beasts, we can and should pause and consider the tragedy that took place in the garden of Eden. King-Adam should have bruised and cursed the serpent and put him under his feet. Instead he chose to serve the beast rather than the creator and now as a result sin rules over mankind instead of men ruling over the beasts. Genesis 4 makes it plain that sin is now our new master - crouching at the door and desiring to dominate our lives!

Ever since the fall, the restoration of proper dominion and the kingdom of God have been central themes of Scripture.

The covenant promise to Abraham was that there would be KINGS raised from his offspring.

The Scepter shall not depart from JUDAH concludes the book of Genesis.

Joseph’s rise from weakness to dominion authority is instructive.

Judges is all about the need for a wise ruler to govern.

David and Solomon certainly give a glimpse to what exercising dominion is all about - with peace spreading far and wide, but even those two men could not expel the throne of sin in their own hearts or the hearts of those they rule.

It would take a promised ruler who would be a son of Adam, son of David King who could fully and finally crush the forehead of the serpent and dethrone sin’s dominion of men and women.

From here, I want to let Timothy Brindle’s words take it:

The Kingdom of God's an Old Testament concept Which was promised of old and stressed by the Prophets (Daniel 2:31-35; 44-45; Obadiah 21) The end-time Kingdom would bring in the Day of the LORD To save His people, and His foes get slain with the Sword! (Zeph. 1:7-2:3) And there’s 2 Ages: This Age, and the Age to Come—but the Age to Come has 2 phases And the first phase has begun; (1 Cor. 10:11) 'cause the heavenly-order is the Kingdom proclaimed by the Son! (Mark 1:14-15) The Kingdom of Heaven's already breaking through To end the rule of death and Satan enslaving you 'cause whether through (love of) jewelry or pearls Or the beauty of a girl Satan reigns as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; Eph. 2:2; 6:12) So in the Gospel of Mark The ministry of the Son of God has its start with this awesome remark: “The time is fulfilled—His Kingdom's at hand” (Mark 1:14-15) 'cause in the wilderness He overthrew the king over man (Luke 10:17-19) Thus the Kingdom arrived, because the King had arrived And its Inauguration was evidenced by its signs! (Matt. 4:23) Think it’s only future? You’re wrong dude: Demons cast out by the Spirit proves His Kingdom's come upon you! (Matt. 12:22-29) Bringing Heaven’s Assault to subject the revolt of Satan that affected us all and rescue our souls It’s Satanic dethronement by Ransom’s Atonement (John 12:30-32; Col. 2:15) Hence the “strong man”(ἰσχυρός)'s bound by a “Stronger” Man (ὁ ἰσχυρότερός) now! (Mark 1:7; 3:27) I have got a lot to say about the βασιλεία (basileia) It’s about the Will of the Father, hence His Awesome Prayer! (Matt. 6:10) But His Kingdom far surpasses expectations To just rescue from Rome’s oppressive nation (It’s) more than restoration and reclamation Of what king-Adam lost to sin, death, and Satan; But rather the Last Adam advances this wrecked creation Unto its heavenly destination! Through Him all His brethren risen Solomonic Splendid Wisdom (Matt. 12:42) He received all honor from the Father at Ascension, given (Philip. 2:9-11; Eph. 1:20-21) Resurrected to extend dominion through His blessed kinsman (Eph. 1:22) (He) poured His Spirit out upon them, now we spread His Temple Kingdom! (Acts 2:33; 1:8) The Resurrected Lord—indeed! In Matthew 28 says “all authority is restored to Me" (Matt. 28:18-20) So Jesus reigns NOW (Rev. 12:10-12) But you say, “HOW?” His kingdom spreads through His suffering-Church and great trials (Rev. 1:9) His reign’s expressed through the Church; the gates of hell can’t prevail (Matt. 16:18) 'cause the power of His Resurrection exerts (Eph. 1:19-20) Soon we’ll rest from our works (Heb. 4:8-10) And sit with Him on His Sabbath-Glory Throne when He brings heaven to earth (Rev. 3:21) This Psalm 72 King will save the poor (Ps. 72:2-4, 12-14; James 2:5) With grace galore, David’s Son is really David’s “Lord” ( אֲדניִֹ Adonai)! (Ps. 110:1; Matt. 22:41-46) But who's ever heard of an All-Compassionate Potentate Who calls His Royal Children to cry out at His Throne of Grace

[Here’s the application for Christians to point #4]

Now to the Christian living in enslavement to porn Know that over you sin doesn’t reign anymore 'cause through your Union with Christ, you’re raised with the Lord There’s been a breach with sin—a deep change at the core! Deep within your inner being, (the) Spirit of the King is seated (plus) Jesus is your Priest-King who’s continually interceding No longer slaves to sinning, through faith we’re in Him Transferred from Satan’s reign to His New Creation Kingdom (Col. 1:13-14) BUT NOT YET in the full bliss of its Wholeness (Rev. 11:15) “Come, Lord Jesus!” Bring Your Kingdom in its Fullness! (1 Cor. 15:24-26) We await the full bliss of its Wholeness (Rev. 21:10, 22:1-5) “Come, Lord Jesus!” Bring Your Kingdom in its Fullness! (Hallelujah)

The Kingdom of God is His Saving Rule Through King Jesus whose reign is true Sin, death, and Satan, He’ll straight subdue Right Now—all things are being made His stool

The Kingdom of God is heaven breaking in Since the Fall to abolish the reign of sin To advance creation to its greater end All Praise to the Son of Adam, Son of David King!

There were 41 supporting passages for that verse of his track called “the Kingdom of God.” But I hope you got a glimpse of what true dominion of the son of man required. The point (in cased you missed some pieces of the puzzle there)? We failed to exercise dominion and now sin rules us. Jesus did not fail, and by nature of our union with him in death and resurrection (pictured by our baptism), we are no longer under the dominion of sin!

Romans 6:9–14 ESV

9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

By the way, this is the very thing that a non-Christian cannot do apart from saving faith in Jesus Christ. The picture in Scripture is very clear that sin RULES over us. We are SLAVES to sin. Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, dying to sin with him and being raised as a new creation with him in his life, you cannot beat sin in your own strength! That was the point of the picture of the strong man being bound. Jesus has got the strong man who is holding you hostage BOUND - he has his foot on Satan’s head and through his blood shed at Calvary he’s provided a way for you to be free from the rule of Satan so you can live your life to the glory of God - expanding his kingdom come on earth! Only a person who has trusted Jesus to save them from their sin can live in that kind of new creation freedom - returning to a place of exercising proper dominion over sin and over creation.

Ok, now back to what Christ is up to, as we close out today.

Not only is Jesus casting off the rule of sin in his new creation people and Hebrews tells us that he is putting his enemies under his feet.

With Solomonic wisdom, Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning exercising dominion and conquering - and here’s the staggering thing - he is not doing so with military might or swords or guns. Oh, one day he will come in strength and majesty and with mighty transcendent power. But until that day, it should not surprise us that Jesus Christ is spreading his kingdom through the weakness of people like you and me. Through the church - we are little outposts of what the rule and reign of Christ is supposed to be like. Peace. Love for one another.

Ephesians 1:22–23 ESV

22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Whose feet crushed Satan’s head at calvary?

(JESUS)

Who is the body of Jesus?

(The church)

Who WILL crush satan under their feet? (careful!)

Romans 16:20 ESV

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Dominion restored to all of his new creation people. We will rule and reign with him - vice regents of his vast new heavens and new earth. All praise to Jesus Christ and all glory to God the ruler over all.

1 Corinthians 15:22–28 ESV

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Psalm 8:9 ESV

9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!