Hebrews Chapter Two
1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
For this reason, it is necessary, to a greater degree, [that] we give attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away (literal).1 For this reason points back to all that we have learned in chapter one as the basis for what is coming. It was made very clear that Jesus IS God, and, therefore, He is above all, whether on earth or in the heavens, but, probably even more importantly, we began to see the Lord Jesus as the Object of OT prophecies. As a letter written to the Hebrews, it is the writer’s mission to demonstrate to them that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures, and, as we saw, he began almost immediately. Laying this for a foundation brings a cohesion to the Bible – the Word of God is one!
It is because of this that it is vitally important that we give particular attention to what we have heard. This hearkens back to Hebrews 1:1-2 where we are told that in the past we heard from God’s prophets (the OT), but, in these last days (thereby ending that era of prophecy), God has spoken to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must pay very close attention to the Lord Jesus because He is God’s voice to us, and if we miss what He has said and done, then we have missed the Way to the Father (John 14:6). Paul’s instruction to Timothy is something that we all must bring to bear in our lives: Thou must with great diligence present thyself as being genuine to God, a blameless laborer who is accurately teaching the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15, literal).2 This must be our attitude to the voice of Truth that God has given to us: we must make every effort to correctly understand God’s Word. Genuine to God is not our assessment of our spirituality; the word for genuine (dokimon) is from an assayer’s term that describes the test that they make of silver and gold to ensure that it is pure; this means that we have been tested and found to be true. The test is this: do we understand the Word of God correctly (we must understand it before we can teach it) and do we obey His commands, and God is the One Who does the testing! Having a well-defined theology is not the same as holding a correct understanding of God’s Word.
For example, there is probably no theology today that has been more thoroughly honed and carefully presented than that of the Master’s Seminary – the podium for John MacArthur’s teachings. Included within his Doctrinal Statement is this: “We teach that all the redeemed once saved are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever,” and this is followed by several carefully selected Scripture references.3 In other words, he teaches the concept of once-saved-always-saved (for him it is the perseverance of the saints), something that is very common among Evangelical teachers and preachers. In essence, this teaching says that once you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot become apostate (fall away from Him). However, a careful study of this matter will reveal that this is not supported by God’s Word.
For this reason, it is necessary, to a greater degree, [that] we give attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away (literal).1 For this reason points back to all that we have learned in chapter one as the basis for what is coming. It was made very clear that Jesus IS God, and, therefore, He is above all, whether on earth or in the heavens, but, probably even more importantly, we began to see the Lord Jesus as the Object of OT prophecies. As a letter written to the Hebrews, it is the writer’s mission to demonstrate to them that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures, and, as we saw, he began almost immediately. Laying this for a foundation brings a cohesion to the Bible – the Word of God is one!
It is because of this that it is vitally important that we give particular attention to what we have heard. This hearkens back to Hebrews 1:1-2 where we are told that in the past we heard from God’s prophets (the OT), but, in these last days (thereby ending that era of prophecy), God has spoken to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must pay very close attention to the Lord Jesus because He is God’s voice to us, and if we miss what He has said and done, then we have missed the Way to the Father (John 14:6). Paul’s instruction to Timothy is something that we all must bring to bear in our lives: Thou must with great diligence present thyself as being genuine to God, a blameless laborer who is accurately teaching the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15, literal).2 This must be our attitude to the voice of Truth that God has given to us: we must make every effort to correctly understand God’s Word. Genuine to God is not our assessment of our spirituality; the word for genuine (dokimon) is from an assayer’s term that describes the test that they make of silver and gold to ensure that it is pure; this means that we have been tested and found to be true. The test is this: do we understand the Word of God correctly (we must understand it before we can teach it) and do we obey His commands, and God is the One Who does the testing! Having a well-defined theology is not the same as holding a correct understanding of God’s Word.
For example, there is probably no theology today that has been more thoroughly honed and carefully presented than that of the Master’s Seminary – the podium for John MacArthur’s teachings. Included within his Doctrinal Statement is this: “We teach that all the redeemed once saved are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever,” and this is followed by several carefully selected Scripture references.3 In other words, he teaches the concept of once-saved-always-saved (for him it is the perseverance of the saints), something that is very common among Evangelical teachers and preachers. In essence, this teaching says that once you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot become apostate (fall away from Him). However, a careful study of this matter will reveal that this is not supported by God’s Word.
MacArthur asks this question and provides his answer: “can a genuine Christian fall away from the truth and become an apostate? No” (emphasis added).4 He uses the word genuine, like there is something other than a genuine Christian (if you’re not genuine, then you’re not a Christian). He says that there is a “history of false discipleship” in the church, and even today “it’s all around us in the name of Christianity, false believers” (emphasis added).5 If he wants to have true and false disciples, that’s one thing, but to say genuine Christian, it requires the possibility of there being fake Christians – false believers standing in contrast to true believers. In order to make these distinctions, it is necessary to redefine Christian and believer (as used within the Christian context) – this he does as he works strenuously to deal with the matter of apostasy.
Although MacArthur does define apostasy as “abandonment, a separation, a defection,” he goes on to undermine his own acceptable definition, and teaches what he calls “stealth apostasy”: “in the end, they fall away,” because “they never really experience conversion.”6 How can you defect from that which you have never been a part; how can you abandon something that has never been yours? You can’t! Within a scant twenty-two pages (in his book), he goes from an acceptable definition of apostasy to this: “an apostate is someone who has received the light but not the life, the seed but not the fruit, the written Word but not the living Word, the truth but not a love for the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10).”7 He includes a reference that one would suppose will support his position, yet he doesn’t quote it (perhaps hoping that no one will look it up). In this text, Paul is describing how the Antichrist will come: and in every deception of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because the love of the truth they did not accept in order to be saved themselves (literal).8 Notice that if MacArthur had taken a moment to quote the Scripture that he noted, then it would have shown the fallacy of his new definition for apostasy: without a love of the truth, you cannot be saved, therefore, anyone who does not have such a love is not a Christian; yet he claims that a fallen Christian (an apostate) is someone who did not have a love for the truth. Again, you cannot abandon a belief that you never held – if you’re not a Christian, then you cannot become an apostate!
The Scriptures, God’s Word, say this: “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity [unrighteousness], and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned [remembered]: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24).9 The one who is righteous before God and turns away from that righteousness into evil, his former state will not be remembered to provide any benefit for him; this parallels the wicked who turns from his evil to righteousness – his former wickedness will, likewise, not be remembered (Ezekiel 18:23). Within the OT it is clear that someone who was righteous could turn away from it, and die as an unforgiven sinner.
Perhaps nothing is as clear as Jesus’ teaching of the parable of the soils. And those on the rock, who, when they hear, accept the Word with joy and these who, having no root, for a time are believing, and then, in a time of temptation, they become apostate (Luke 8:13, literal).10 The critical word here is believing: this Greek word, pisteuousin, is in the active voice (those who accepted the Word are believing), present tense (the believing is continual) and indicative mood (this is a statement of fact).11 Regarding these who accepted the Word with joy, Jesus states as a fact that they are believing – they are not pretending to believe, but are truly believing; at that moment their faith is real! In contradiction of Jesus’ words, MacArthur says: “they give every appearance of genuine life” but what they have “isn’t even real faith.”12 His summary is: “the very essence of apostasy: hearing the truth, knowing what it is, professing to accept it, and then finally rejecting it.”13 However, the word accept (dechontai) that Jesus used is also in the indicative mood – these have received and approved the Word with joy (a fact!); that is not merely a profession, as MacArthur contends. They were in the faith until their commitment was tested, and then they abandoned, defected from their faith. MacArthur does two things that are contrary to a proper study of the Scriptures: 1) after defining apostasy appropriately, he goes on to slightly shift its application until it aligns with his teaching, and 2) he rejects the words of Jesus, and conveniently forgets about the meaning of the Greek words that are used. Jesus made it very clear that those on the rock truly believed the Word, but because they lacked a more complete understanding of the faith that they had accepted (they were without root), when a time of persecution or tribulation came because of the Word (Matthew 13:21), they fell away from their newly acquired faith.
More than anything else, what we have just considered points to something else that Jesus taught: we must count the cost before committing to following Him! “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? … So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:28, 33). This is largely missing from the teaching and preaching today, resulting in “converts” who are without root and very susceptible to not producing spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
It is important that we understand the relationship between Biblical believing and faith. Jesus said, the one who is believing in Him will not perish (John 3:16b, literal).14 Believing (as used here) is from the Greek word pisteuon, and is in the present tense and active mood, which tells us that it is a continual activity carried out by the one. Frequently we think of believing as merely mental agreement and acceptance, but that is not how we are to understand the Biblical term. We just considered an important element that Jesus included in what it means to be His disciple (we must count the cost of forsaking all). Therefore, Biblical believing includes an initial process of careful evaluation that then leads to a persuasion of the truth of Who Jesus is and what He has done for the sins of all of humanity.15 From this, we can better understand that Jesus said that it is the one who remains continually persuaded of the truth of His death and resurrection for our sins, who will not perish. This persuasion is arrived at through a careful and thorough examination so that it is firmly rooted, and, as it remains actively present, the one who is so persuaded will have life through the Lord Jesus.
Believing (pisteuo) is an action word (a verb), while faith (pistis) is a noun; believing defines faith – what you have been persuaded to accept as truth (believe) becomes your faith (whether right or wrong). “And he [Abraham] believed [aman] in the LORD; and he [the LORD] counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).16 The Hebrew word aman (believed) finds its basis in firmness and certainty – counting the cost of following the Lord (evaluation) provides that confidence.17 The Lord had just promised to make a great people out of Abraham’s descendants, and Abraham believed the Lord, even though he had no children and was already elderly. Paul explains that Abraham’s “faith is counted for righteousness” by God (Romans 4:5b). And [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief at the promise of God, but he was strengthened in faith to give glory to God (Romans 4:20, literal).18
Although MacArthur does define apostasy as “abandonment, a separation, a defection,” he goes on to undermine his own acceptable definition, and teaches what he calls “stealth apostasy”: “in the end, they fall away,” because “they never really experience conversion.”6 How can you defect from that which you have never been a part; how can you abandon something that has never been yours? You can’t! Within a scant twenty-two pages (in his book), he goes from an acceptable definition of apostasy to this: “an apostate is someone who has received the light but not the life, the seed but not the fruit, the written Word but not the living Word, the truth but not a love for the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10).”7 He includes a reference that one would suppose will support his position, yet he doesn’t quote it (perhaps hoping that no one will look it up). In this text, Paul is describing how the Antichrist will come: and in every deception of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because the love of the truth they did not accept in order to be saved themselves (literal).8 Notice that if MacArthur had taken a moment to quote the Scripture that he noted, then it would have shown the fallacy of his new definition for apostasy: without a love of the truth, you cannot be saved, therefore, anyone who does not have such a love is not a Christian; yet he claims that a fallen Christian (an apostate) is someone who did not have a love for the truth. Again, you cannot abandon a belief that you never held – if you’re not a Christian, then you cannot become an apostate!
The Scriptures, God’s Word, say this: “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity [unrighteousness], and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned [remembered]: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24).9 The one who is righteous before God and turns away from that righteousness into evil, his former state will not be remembered to provide any benefit for him; this parallels the wicked who turns from his evil to righteousness – his former wickedness will, likewise, not be remembered (Ezekiel 18:23). Within the OT it is clear that someone who was righteous could turn away from it, and die as an unforgiven sinner.
Perhaps nothing is as clear as Jesus’ teaching of the parable of the soils. And those on the rock, who, when they hear, accept the Word with joy and these who, having no root, for a time are believing, and then, in a time of temptation, they become apostate (Luke 8:13, literal).10 The critical word here is believing: this Greek word, pisteuousin, is in the active voice (those who accepted the Word are believing), present tense (the believing is continual) and indicative mood (this is a statement of fact).11 Regarding these who accepted the Word with joy, Jesus states as a fact that they are believing – they are not pretending to believe, but are truly believing; at that moment their faith is real! In contradiction of Jesus’ words, MacArthur says: “they give every appearance of genuine life” but what they have “isn’t even real faith.”12 His summary is: “the very essence of apostasy: hearing the truth, knowing what it is, professing to accept it, and then finally rejecting it.”13 However, the word accept (dechontai) that Jesus used is also in the indicative mood – these have received and approved the Word with joy (a fact!); that is not merely a profession, as MacArthur contends. They were in the faith until their commitment was tested, and then they abandoned, defected from their faith. MacArthur does two things that are contrary to a proper study of the Scriptures: 1) after defining apostasy appropriately, he goes on to slightly shift its application until it aligns with his teaching, and 2) he rejects the words of Jesus, and conveniently forgets about the meaning of the Greek words that are used. Jesus made it very clear that those on the rock truly believed the Word, but because they lacked a more complete understanding of the faith that they had accepted (they were without root), when a time of persecution or tribulation came because of the Word (Matthew 13:21), they fell away from their newly acquired faith.
More than anything else, what we have just considered points to something else that Jesus taught: we must count the cost before committing to following Him! “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? … So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:28, 33). This is largely missing from the teaching and preaching today, resulting in “converts” who are without root and very susceptible to not producing spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
It is important that we understand the relationship between Biblical believing and faith. Jesus said, the one who is believing in Him will not perish (John 3:16b, literal).14 Believing (as used here) is from the Greek word pisteuon, and is in the present tense and active mood, which tells us that it is a continual activity carried out by the one. Frequently we think of believing as merely mental agreement and acceptance, but that is not how we are to understand the Biblical term. We just considered an important element that Jesus included in what it means to be His disciple (we must count the cost of forsaking all). Therefore, Biblical believing includes an initial process of careful evaluation that then leads to a persuasion of the truth of Who Jesus is and what He has done for the sins of all of humanity.15 From this, we can better understand that Jesus said that it is the one who remains continually persuaded of the truth of His death and resurrection for our sins, who will not perish. This persuasion is arrived at through a careful and thorough examination so that it is firmly rooted, and, as it remains actively present, the one who is so persuaded will have life through the Lord Jesus.
Believing (pisteuo) is an action word (a verb), while faith (pistis) is a noun; believing defines faith – what you have been persuaded to accept as truth (believe) becomes your faith (whether right or wrong). “And he [Abraham] believed [aman] in the LORD; and he [the LORD] counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).16 The Hebrew word aman (believed) finds its basis in firmness and certainty – counting the cost of following the Lord (evaluation) provides that confidence.17 The Lord had just promised to make a great people out of Abraham’s descendants, and Abraham believed the Lord, even though he had no children and was already elderly. Paul explains that Abraham’s “faith is counted for righteousness” by God (Romans 4:5b). And [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief at the promise of God, but he was strengthened in faith to give glory to God (Romans 4:20, literal).18
John MacArthur
Since counting the cost of following the Lord has been removed from most teaching today, it is virtually impossible for anyone sitting under Evangelical instruction to come to Abraham’s belief; the most likely is a life without any depth of root, or growth that is choked out by the pressures of this world. It is into this no-man’s land of superficial teaching that MacArthur’s theology on the matter of apostasy seems to fit: he teaches a carefully formulated salvation that at times sounds Evangelical and other times Calvinistic: “If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will never perish [this sounds very Evangelical] … We are secured by the same supernatural faith that was given to us [from God] to cause us to believe savingly … [this is Calvinism: God gives us the faith in order to believe; reversed from what we just considered].”19 The Evangelical façade permits MacArthur to gain the ear of the average Evangelical today; as we have already discovered, he will redefine terms or use them loosely in order to maintain his façade, even while the basis for his theology rests firmly in Calvinism. This is the fundamental difference between Abraham and MacArthur: Abraham’s belief was firmly in Jehovah, MacArthur’s is in Calvinism, and he says that God gave him the faith to believe it! His Evangelical-sounding quote above is balanced by this: “Unbelieving humanity has no capacity to desire, understand, believe, or apply spiritual truth ….”20 Through his careful use of semantics, his meticulously crafted reputation as an expository preacher, and his seminary, MacArthur has drawn in and led thousands into his theology, and away from God’s truth. We must ensure that we hold a correct understanding of God’s Word in order to receive His approval (2 Timothy 2:15).
Returning to our text, the challenge that is laid before us is this: we must pay particular attention to the Message that Jesus, the Son of God, has given to us in His Word. If the focus of our energies is not in studying the Scriptures, then we are in grave danger of accepting a theology in its place. There are many very sincere preachers out there, who, with great eloquence and authority, teach doctrines that do not find their support in God’s Word. I was once told by a frustrated Calvinist that the doctrines of Calvinism fit together perfectly – that may be so, but they do not align with Scripture nearly as well (hence his frustration with me). We are to be alert and identify those who preach a message that is not in keeping with God’s Word, and then avoid them (Romans 16:17). Satan, as a roaring lion, is walking throughout the earth looking for those whom he is able to devour, and he loves religion – the closer that it is to the truth, the more he likes it because he uses a little truth as bait on his hook of deception (1 Peter 5:8). We must have the Word of God as our focus, for therein is life!
2. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
This is another look back at what had been the center of life for the Jews (the Mosaic Law), for the purpose of emphasizing what has come through the Son. For if the word that was spoken by way of angels was in force, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape, who disregard such a mighty salvation, which, at first, began to be spoken by the Lord; by those who heard [and understood], to us it was guaranteed, God testifying at the same time with signs and wonders, both with various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His will (literal).21
The Mosaic Law came by way of angels. In his final testimony, Stephen declared that the Jewish religious leaders had “received the law by the disposition of angels,” yet they had not kept it (Acts 7:53). The Law was given to Moses by angels under God’s direction.22 This is another significant proof that the Ten Commandments are not a part of the Mosaic Law (as so many like to imagine): the Mosaic Law came through the agency of God’s angels; the Ten Commandments were written by His finger upon two tables of stone (Exodus 24:12; Deuteronomy 4:13) – that is a tremendous difference that we must not discredit!
The Mosaic Law was in place for many generations, and a violation of its requirements resulted in justice being carried out against the transgressor. This was understood and accepted by the children of Israel, unless, of course, it was during a time when they had turned away from Jehovah. The point that the writer is making is that even though these Laws came through angels, they were applicable to all of Israel and they were enforced. Therefore, we can be sure that if we do not give our full attention to the Message that was brought by the Son (guaranteed by those who heard and understood His Message, with God reinforcing their words through signs, wonders, miracles and evidences of His Spirit), then our penalty will be much greater than anything under the Law.
The Book of Acts is an account of how God worked through those who understood the message of the Gospel that Jesus brought. Even though the core group of Apostles didn’t always do everything correctly, by reading the history of those early days we come away with a deep understanding that God was at work spreading the Gospel much farther than the Jerusalem disciples ever dreamed. Even as the Law of Moses made provision for those who were not of Israel (Numbers 15:28-29), so the Gospel was to be taken “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8b). God’s message of cleansing has always been for all peoples; His selection of Israel was not to the exclusion of everyone else, but that through this family line would come the One Who would make the reconciliation of humanity with their Creator possible – this is something of which the Jews lost sight.
The Message that Jesus brought is so much greater than the Law of Moses that was dutifully enforced; therefore, the consequence for disregarding the Gospel will also be so much greater. Many of the OT prophets were used by God in performing signs and wonders: Moses was used to part the Red Sea for the children of Israel (Exodus 14:21), Joshua received more daylight in which to defeat an enemy nation (Joshua 10:12-13), Elijah raised a widow’s son from the dead (1 Kings 17:20-22), and Daniel was spared from the lions (Daniel 6:21-22) – to name just a few. Throughout the OT, and under the Law of Moses, God worked to bring His promise of a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15) to fulfillment, despite the majority of the children of Israel being immersed in idolatry. The lad whom Elijah raised to life was not of Israel, and Daniel’s protection from the lions was a testimony to a foreign king while Judah was in captivity because of their idolatry – God’s mercy has always extended beyond Israel, but the Jews became blind to it.
By the time of Jesus, the Jews were back in their land, living under the Law of Moses, which the religious leaders had turned into a litany of rules that supported their authority over the people. Jesus described them this way: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). The religious leaders of the Jews were not entering God’s kingdom, but, of greater consequence, they were also hindering those who desired to enter. The Law of Moses was there for a purpose: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed [Christ] should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator [Moses]” (Galatians 3:19). So that the Law [of Moses] became our guide to Christ, in order that by faith we will be pronounced justified (Galatians 3:24, literal);23 if the Law of Moses was followed in spirit (rather than letter, as was the pattern of the religious leaders), then it would lead to the promised Christ. Simeon, who lived under the Mosaic Law and the blinded religious leaders, is a shining example: “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him”; “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:25, 34). He was not influenced by the scribes and Pharisees, but used the Law of Moses as a guide to Christ, the promised Messiah (just as God had intended).
As the Gospel was proclaimed, beginning in Jerusalem, God authenticated the Message through signs, wonders and miracles, but the greatest validation came through the evident activity of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, when the disciples proclaimed the Gospel to the multitude of Jews who were in Jerusalem from every part of the earth, “every man heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:6). Yes, the disciples had been granted the ability to speak in new languages by the Spirit of God, so that the Gospel would be understood by everyone present. The end of this was that three thousand came to know the Lord that day.
The writer mentions gifts of the Holy Ghost, and we have just looked at one such instance. What is evident, as we read Acts, is that the initial group of believers in Jerusalem were stuck: stuck in Jerusalem and stuck in the traditions of the Jews. As Saul came on the scene, he brought fierce persecution against the believers, and “and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1b). Such persecution did not move the Apostles from Jerusalem, and the rest of the people only scattered somewhat. Jesus commissioned the disciples to be His witnesses “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8b) – after Saul’s oppression, they made it to Samaria, an area occupied by a people who were despised by the Jews of Jerusalem. The people of Samaria (the capital of the former Kingdom of Israel) were removed by the Assyrians, and the region was populated by strangers from elsewhere in the Assyrian kingdom (2 Kings 17:6, 24). These strangers intermarried with the remaining Jews in the area, which led to hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans (a people of mixed race).
When the Gospel reached the region of Samaria, Peter and John were dispatched from Jerusalem to be sure that all was well. Although the Samaritans had received the word of God, they had not received the Spirit of God. When Peter and John came, they laid their hands on the Samaritan believers and the Spirit of God came upon them (Acts 8:15-17). This provided the Apostles with the assurance that God had accepted them.
Returning to our text, the challenge that is laid before us is this: we must pay particular attention to the Message that Jesus, the Son of God, has given to us in His Word. If the focus of our energies is not in studying the Scriptures, then we are in grave danger of accepting a theology in its place. There are many very sincere preachers out there, who, with great eloquence and authority, teach doctrines that do not find their support in God’s Word. I was once told by a frustrated Calvinist that the doctrines of Calvinism fit together perfectly – that may be so, but they do not align with Scripture nearly as well (hence his frustration with me). We are to be alert and identify those who preach a message that is not in keeping with God’s Word, and then avoid them (Romans 16:17). Satan, as a roaring lion, is walking throughout the earth looking for those whom he is able to devour, and he loves religion – the closer that it is to the truth, the more he likes it because he uses a little truth as bait on his hook of deception (1 Peter 5:8). We must have the Word of God as our focus, for therein is life!
2. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
This is another look back at what had been the center of life for the Jews (the Mosaic Law), for the purpose of emphasizing what has come through the Son. For if the word that was spoken by way of angels was in force, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape, who disregard such a mighty salvation, which, at first, began to be spoken by the Lord; by those who heard [and understood], to us it was guaranteed, God testifying at the same time with signs and wonders, both with various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His will (literal).21
The Mosaic Law came by way of angels. In his final testimony, Stephen declared that the Jewish religious leaders had “received the law by the disposition of angels,” yet they had not kept it (Acts 7:53). The Law was given to Moses by angels under God’s direction.22 This is another significant proof that the Ten Commandments are not a part of the Mosaic Law (as so many like to imagine): the Mosaic Law came through the agency of God’s angels; the Ten Commandments were written by His finger upon two tables of stone (Exodus 24:12; Deuteronomy 4:13) – that is a tremendous difference that we must not discredit!
The Mosaic Law was in place for many generations, and a violation of its requirements resulted in justice being carried out against the transgressor. This was understood and accepted by the children of Israel, unless, of course, it was during a time when they had turned away from Jehovah. The point that the writer is making is that even though these Laws came through angels, they were applicable to all of Israel and they were enforced. Therefore, we can be sure that if we do not give our full attention to the Message that was brought by the Son (guaranteed by those who heard and understood His Message, with God reinforcing their words through signs, wonders, miracles and evidences of His Spirit), then our penalty will be much greater than anything under the Law.
The Book of Acts is an account of how God worked through those who understood the message of the Gospel that Jesus brought. Even though the core group of Apostles didn’t always do everything correctly, by reading the history of those early days we come away with a deep understanding that God was at work spreading the Gospel much farther than the Jerusalem disciples ever dreamed. Even as the Law of Moses made provision for those who were not of Israel (Numbers 15:28-29), so the Gospel was to be taken “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8b). God’s message of cleansing has always been for all peoples; His selection of Israel was not to the exclusion of everyone else, but that through this family line would come the One Who would make the reconciliation of humanity with their Creator possible – this is something of which the Jews lost sight.
The Message that Jesus brought is so much greater than the Law of Moses that was dutifully enforced; therefore, the consequence for disregarding the Gospel will also be so much greater. Many of the OT prophets were used by God in performing signs and wonders: Moses was used to part the Red Sea for the children of Israel (Exodus 14:21), Joshua received more daylight in which to defeat an enemy nation (Joshua 10:12-13), Elijah raised a widow’s son from the dead (1 Kings 17:20-22), and Daniel was spared from the lions (Daniel 6:21-22) – to name just a few. Throughout the OT, and under the Law of Moses, God worked to bring His promise of a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15) to fulfillment, despite the majority of the children of Israel being immersed in idolatry. The lad whom Elijah raised to life was not of Israel, and Daniel’s protection from the lions was a testimony to a foreign king while Judah was in captivity because of their idolatry – God’s mercy has always extended beyond Israel, but the Jews became blind to it.
By the time of Jesus, the Jews were back in their land, living under the Law of Moses, which the religious leaders had turned into a litany of rules that supported their authority over the people. Jesus described them this way: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). The religious leaders of the Jews were not entering God’s kingdom, but, of greater consequence, they were also hindering those who desired to enter. The Law of Moses was there for a purpose: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed [Christ] should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator [Moses]” (Galatians 3:19). So that the Law [of Moses] became our guide to Christ, in order that by faith we will be pronounced justified (Galatians 3:24, literal);23 if the Law of Moses was followed in spirit (rather than letter, as was the pattern of the religious leaders), then it would lead to the promised Christ. Simeon, who lived under the Mosaic Law and the blinded religious leaders, is a shining example: “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him”; “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:25, 34). He was not influenced by the scribes and Pharisees, but used the Law of Moses as a guide to Christ, the promised Messiah (just as God had intended).
As the Gospel was proclaimed, beginning in Jerusalem, God authenticated the Message through signs, wonders and miracles, but the greatest validation came through the evident activity of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost, when the disciples proclaimed the Gospel to the multitude of Jews who were in Jerusalem from every part of the earth, “every man heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:6). Yes, the disciples had been granted the ability to speak in new languages by the Spirit of God, so that the Gospel would be understood by everyone present. The end of this was that three thousand came to know the Lord that day.
The writer mentions gifts of the Holy Ghost, and we have just looked at one such instance. What is evident, as we read Acts, is that the initial group of believers in Jerusalem were stuck: stuck in Jerusalem and stuck in the traditions of the Jews. As Saul came on the scene, he brought fierce persecution against the believers, and “and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1b). Such persecution did not move the Apostles from Jerusalem, and the rest of the people only scattered somewhat. Jesus commissioned the disciples to be His witnesses “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8b) – after Saul’s oppression, they made it to Samaria, an area occupied by a people who were despised by the Jews of Jerusalem. The people of Samaria (the capital of the former Kingdom of Israel) were removed by the Assyrians, and the region was populated by strangers from elsewhere in the Assyrian kingdom (2 Kings 17:6, 24). These strangers intermarried with the remaining Jews in the area, which led to hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans (a people of mixed race).
When the Gospel reached the region of Samaria, Peter and John were dispatched from Jerusalem to be sure that all was well. Although the Samaritans had received the word of God, they had not received the Spirit of God. When Peter and John came, they laid their hands on the Samaritan believers and the Spirit of God came upon them (Acts 8:15-17). This provided the Apostles with the assurance that God had accepted them.
However, the Gentiles were even more despised than the Samaritans. While Peter was in Joppa, a Jewish city along the Mediterranean Sea, he received a vision of unclean animals along with the command from heaven to kill and eat; the vision was given three times, along with God’s words: “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15). Cornelius, a centurion and a Gentile who was devout and feared God, was told to send for Peter, who would tell him what he must do (Acts 10:4-6). As Peter came to Cornelius and those who were gathered with him, he began with a very interesting comment: “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). God had illustrated this truth for Peter (three times), yet it is evident that Peter was very conscious of the restriction that the Jews felt when it came to mingling with Gentiles. As Peter began to speak generally of Jesus unto this Gentile group, he made this observation: “To him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). It was at this moment that the Holy Spirit fell upon these Gentiles and they spoke in other languages (Acts 10:44-46) – exactly as it had happened on the Day of Pentecost! God intervened and demonstrated to Peter that the Gentiles (of the uttermost part of the earth) were among those whom He had accepted. Undoubtedly, the Spirit of God falling upon Gentiles was something that the Jews were not expecting; when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, he had to defend the fact that he had simply gone into a Gentile home (Acts 11:2-3). This did not eliminate the Jewish prejudice against the Gentiles, but a change of attitude had begun.
“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only” (Acts 11:19). The Gospel was a new Message that had been imparted by the Lord Jesus; He told His disciples that it was through His shed blood that the New Covenant was established (Luke 22:20) – the end of the Mosaic Law came through His fulfilling sacrifice. Yet clearly, the Jerusalem believers were closed to what the Lord wanted to accomplish among the Gentiles; by speaking directly to Saul, the Lord gained his attention and he went from persecutor to a preacher of the Gospel that he had once sought to eliminate. Of all of the Apostles, Paul was undoubtedly the most educated in the Jewish traditions: “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city [Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel [part of the ruling council, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law (Acts 5:34)], and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3). Being well educated in the Jewish Law and having the New Covenant Gospel revealed to him by the Lord (Galatians 1:12), Paul was able to understand that the OT Scriptures, and particularly the Law of Moses, found fulfillment in the teachings and sacrifice of Jesus. This was something that the Jerusalem Jews probably never completely overcame.
It is this New Covenant truth to which we must pay particular heed – first taught by the Son of God, and then by those who heard Him. The Apostles Paul and John both received direct revelation from the Lord: Paul, regarding the Gospel and its worldwide application (Galatians 1:12), and John who received the unique revelation of things to come (Revelation 1:1-2). Our text is a warning to the readers of this book to pay close attention to the Message of the Lord Jesus because it is of far greater significance than the message that came through angels (i.e., the Law of Moses). The importance is evident when we realize that it was not until Jesus paid the price for the sins of humanity, and rose from the grave, that there was an end to the payment needed for sin (the continual sacrifices in the Temple). During His ministry, Jesus taught that Abraham remained in Paradise (a place of comfort and peace), and all of the faithful who died also took their place there. Jesus told of a rich man who died and found himself in the torments of Hades (the place of the unrighteous dead), while righteous Lazarus died and was carried to the bosom of Abraham, that place of comfort and rest (Luke 16:22-23a). To the repentant thief on the cross, Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); Paradise was the place for the righteous dead (Abraham’s bosom), and this is where Jesus went when He died; He did not descend to hell, as most versions of the Apostles’ Creed declare.24 Although He bore the sins of the world, He did not become sinful that He should go to the place of the unrighteous dead: and we have known that He was revealed in order to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5, literal).25 The weight of the sins of all of humanity were placed upon Him on the cross; it was because He remained sinless (being altogether God) that He was able to provide remission for our sins. The lamb to be sacrificed had to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5) – Jesus was that spotless Lamb Who willingly gave His life for the payment of sin, “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2b). We must give careful attention to the Lord Jesus and His words to us!
5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
For He did not put the inhabited world that is coming, about which we are speaking, into subjection to angels (literal).26 World is from the Greek word oikoumenen, which specifically identifies the inhabited world, or humanity; the Greeks, and later the Romans, used this word to describe those who were under their control, but, within the NT, it primarily refers to the whole world – all of humanity (Luke 2:1 is an exception).27
As part of the superiority of Jesus over the angelic hosts, the writer quoted from Psalm 45:6 (Hebrews 1:8) and we looked at this in the light of the coming Millennial kingdom that Jesus will establish on earth, when He will rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15) or a sceptre of righteousness. This will be a time when the inhabited world, or all of humanity, will be under the control of Jesus; nothing is ever said of anything being put under the authority of the angels. Rather, God “hath put all things under his [Jesus’] feet” (Ephesians 1:22a).
6. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7. Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Included here is a quote from Psalm 8:4-6, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” We looked at Psalm 8:4-5 when we dealt with Hebrews 1:4, noting particularly that angels, as shown in the English translation, is from the Hebrew word Elohim, which most times refers to Jehovah, and nowhere to angels (in the Hebrew).
The Psalmist begins by marvelling that Jehovah remembers (mindful of ) man, and cares for (visitest) his descendants.28 Man was made a little lower than God (Elohim) in that man is a physical creation, yet bears the image of his Creator – God crowned humanity with a glory and honor that was unique within all of His creation. “And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue [dominate] it: and have dominion over [rule] the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).29 The command of God to Adam and Eve was that they were to fill the earth, dominate it, and rule every living creature – this was God’s design for humanity: all of creation was to be subject to them. Psalm 8:6 echoes God’s words to Adam and Eve, and then adds “thou hast put all things under his feet.” In the beginning, God placed everything beneath man’s feet; put carries the perfect tense, which means that this is a completed action – this was God’s purpose for man.
The writer of Hebrews adds this thought: but now we are not yet seeing all things placed in subjection to him (literal).30 God created man to rule in the midst of His creation, and yet that is not the case today. Man, because he was made in the image of God, was also designed to enjoy fellowship with his Creator. When man sinned, his rule of God’s creation was relinquished to Satan and his fellowship with God was interrupted. Regarding the latter, God immediately instituted His plan for the redemption of sinful mankind: He shed blood in order to provide coverings for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), thereby establishing the necessity of animal sacrifices in order to provide a temporary covering for sin. We see this worked out in the lives of Cain and Abel – where Abel’s blood sacrifice of a lamb was accepted by God while Cain’s offering from the product of his own labors was rejected (Genesis 4:3-5). Together with God’s promise of a Seed from the woman Who would break Satan’s power (Genesis 3:15), this pointed forward to the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the promise that God kept alive down through the generations, despite the rebellion of humanity, beginning with Cain.
As for man’s rule of the earth, it is very clear that by his sin, he surrendered this position to Satan. Just before Jesus began His public ministry, He was tempted by the devil three times, and one of those revealed Satan’s position in this world. “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:5-8). What is notable is that Jesus did not contradict Satan for trying to give Him something that he didn’t have the authority to give; indeed, the devil received this rule over the earth when Adam sinned, yet he is still under the controlling hand of the Lord. Job illustrates this truth, since Satan could not touch Job in any way unless the Lord first permitted him to do so (Job 1:12; 2:6).
Even within this, we see that one little Greek word oupo, meaning not yet.31 Jesus won the victory over Satan at the cross, and there is coming a time when, through His work, redeemed man will be restored to the role for which he was created. As John beheld the New Jerusalem, he wrote: and every curse will be no longer, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him, and they will see His face and His name on their foreheads, and there will be no night there and no need to have a lamp and light of the sun because the Lord God is giving them light, and they will rule to the ages of the ages (Revelation 22:3-5, literal).32 In the New Heaven and Earth, those who are now in Christ (the overcoming ones) will be brought to the role for which they were created: they will rule all that is there and enjoy the full fellowship of their Creator! But, not yet …. We still live in a time when evidences of Satan’s activities are everywhere, and society continues to follow him into ever greater depths of corruption. Jesus made it very clear that we do not know when He will come: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13); however, it is only the timing that is in question – there is no doubt that He will return; it is for us to be ready!
9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
The writer alludes to the quote that was made earlier from Psalm 8:5, where we found that the Hebrew uses Elohim (a word that normally refers to God) and not malak (typically translated as angel); it is the Septuagint (the Greek OT) that shows this as aggelous (angels), rather than God (a more accurate translation of Elohim).33 However, this is not a quote from the Psalm, just a reference to the verse noted, and it follows the LXX, which was the accepted Greek OT translation in use at the time.
And this Jesus, Who was made only a little lower than the angels, we see Him crowned with glory and honor because of suffering death, so that, by the grace of God, He did partake of death in behalf of everyone (literal).34 Since this is not a quotation of Psalm 8:5, is it accurate as it stands – was Jesus made a little lower than the angels? The angels of heaven are messengers of God who declare His words (Luke 1:26-28); Jesus, as the Son of God, was God’s Messenger to this earth, and He spoke all that God told Him (John 12:49) – in this they are the same. However, Jesus was born into a human body of flesh, with its physical limitations; it was not until after His resurrection in His glorified body that He overcame these restrictions: “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut [locked, or barred], and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you” (John 20:26).35 Despite the room being made secure against anyone coming in (particularly the religious Jews), Jesus simply stood in the midst, He was no longer inhibited by physical barriers. From this perspective, Jesus did become a little lower than the angels during the time when He bore the limitations of a regular physical body. Yet, even during this time, He was fully God Who confined Himself to such a body for a very particular purpose.
As the writer began to draw our attention to the Son, he noted that after Jesus had purged our sins, He sat to the right of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). At the time of His ascension to the right of the Father, Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, as noted in our verse. As Jesus faced the suffering of the cross, He prayed to His Father: And Thou, Father, now glorify Me with Thyself, with the glory that I had with Thee before the existing world (John 17:5, literal).36 As the eternal Word, Jesus held the glory of God (John 1:1); when the Word became flesh (John 1:14), much of that heavenly glory was left behind as He walked among His image-bearers – sinners who were in need of a Savior. As Jesus faced the suffering for sin, He did so with an anticipation of once again being together with His Father in glory. This is new! Jesus walked on earth as the Son of Man and the Son of God; when He ascended to heaven, He did so in a glorified body as the only begotten of the Father and the Son of Man. Upon the creation of the world and the fall of man, the Word, Who was committed to come to earth to pay the price for sin, was alert to “when the fulness of the time was come” when He would complete the eternal plan for the redemption of mankind (Galatians 4:4). Peter explained that in the eternal plan of God we were not redeemed by silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and spotless, approved beforehand in advance of the foundation of the world, but made known in the last times because of you (1 Peter 1:19-20, literal).37 God’s plan of redemption involving the Word becoming flesh in order to die for the sins of a yet to be created humanity, was in place before creation began. Likewise, it was also part of this plan that only those who were faithful to God’s promise (OT) and the Promised One (NT) would be regarded as being in Christ, and, thereby, chosen, or elect (Ephesians 1:4).
The glory and honor that the Son of God received is because He willingly died for the sin of humanity – that was the eternal plan, and He followed it without deviation. It is through God’s grace that He was willing to have the Word come to earth as one of us in order to bear the sin of humanity, and, consequently, to experience death (separation from God) for everyone. All that sin earns is death (Romans 6:23); in order for Jesus to pay the price for sin, He had to die. Our text provides another evidence that Jesus became a partaker of death for everyone!
John the Baptist proclaimed this: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b) – it was through His death that Jesus took away the sin of the world. The sacrifices of the OT included the death of a perfect animal to provide a temporary cleansing for the faithful, and so Jesus, as the pure Lamb of God, died in payment of the sins of the whole world that were placed upon Him on the cross. John was right: Jesus died, thereby paying the penalty for the sin of all people.
The testimony of the Samaritans, after hearing Jesus, was that “this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42b); not that He will arbitrarily save the whole world (whether they want to be saved or not), rather, that He is the only Savior for the whole world. Again, this is confirmation that Jesus’ death paid the price for the sin of everyone!
Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Jesus said that He would give (future tense, speaking of the sacrifice that He would soon make) His flesh (the life of His flesh) for the life of the world. Jesus declared that His sacrifice would make life available to everyone in the world. We must always allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Followeth is in the present tense (continually following) and active voice (it is the action of the one who chooses to be continually following): whoever is continually following the Lord Jesus, will have (future tense) the Light of Life – the Lord Jesus Christ!38
“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only” (Acts 11:19). The Gospel was a new Message that had been imparted by the Lord Jesus; He told His disciples that it was through His shed blood that the New Covenant was established (Luke 22:20) – the end of the Mosaic Law came through His fulfilling sacrifice. Yet clearly, the Jerusalem believers were closed to what the Lord wanted to accomplish among the Gentiles; by speaking directly to Saul, the Lord gained his attention and he went from persecutor to a preacher of the Gospel that he had once sought to eliminate. Of all of the Apostles, Paul was undoubtedly the most educated in the Jewish traditions: “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city [Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel [part of the ruling council, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law (Acts 5:34)], and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3). Being well educated in the Jewish Law and having the New Covenant Gospel revealed to him by the Lord (Galatians 1:12), Paul was able to understand that the OT Scriptures, and particularly the Law of Moses, found fulfillment in the teachings and sacrifice of Jesus. This was something that the Jerusalem Jews probably never completely overcame.
It is this New Covenant truth to which we must pay particular heed – first taught by the Son of God, and then by those who heard Him. The Apostles Paul and John both received direct revelation from the Lord: Paul, regarding the Gospel and its worldwide application (Galatians 1:12), and John who received the unique revelation of things to come (Revelation 1:1-2). Our text is a warning to the readers of this book to pay close attention to the Message of the Lord Jesus because it is of far greater significance than the message that came through angels (i.e., the Law of Moses). The importance is evident when we realize that it was not until Jesus paid the price for the sins of humanity, and rose from the grave, that there was an end to the payment needed for sin (the continual sacrifices in the Temple). During His ministry, Jesus taught that Abraham remained in Paradise (a place of comfort and peace), and all of the faithful who died also took their place there. Jesus told of a rich man who died and found himself in the torments of Hades (the place of the unrighteous dead), while righteous Lazarus died and was carried to the bosom of Abraham, that place of comfort and rest (Luke 16:22-23a). To the repentant thief on the cross, Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); Paradise was the place for the righteous dead (Abraham’s bosom), and this is where Jesus went when He died; He did not descend to hell, as most versions of the Apostles’ Creed declare.24 Although He bore the sins of the world, He did not become sinful that He should go to the place of the unrighteous dead: and we have known that He was revealed in order to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5, literal).25 The weight of the sins of all of humanity were placed upon Him on the cross; it was because He remained sinless (being altogether God) that He was able to provide remission for our sins. The lamb to be sacrificed had to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5) – Jesus was that spotless Lamb Who willingly gave His life for the payment of sin, “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2b). We must give careful attention to the Lord Jesus and His words to us!
5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
For He did not put the inhabited world that is coming, about which we are speaking, into subjection to angels (literal).26 World is from the Greek word oikoumenen, which specifically identifies the inhabited world, or humanity; the Greeks, and later the Romans, used this word to describe those who were under their control, but, within the NT, it primarily refers to the whole world – all of humanity (Luke 2:1 is an exception).27
As part of the superiority of Jesus over the angelic hosts, the writer quoted from Psalm 45:6 (Hebrews 1:8) and we looked at this in the light of the coming Millennial kingdom that Jesus will establish on earth, when He will rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15) or a sceptre of righteousness. This will be a time when the inhabited world, or all of humanity, will be under the control of Jesus; nothing is ever said of anything being put under the authority of the angels. Rather, God “hath put all things under his [Jesus’] feet” (Ephesians 1:22a).
6. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7. Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Included here is a quote from Psalm 8:4-6, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” We looked at Psalm 8:4-5 when we dealt with Hebrews 1:4, noting particularly that angels, as shown in the English translation, is from the Hebrew word Elohim, which most times refers to Jehovah, and nowhere to angels (in the Hebrew).
The Psalmist begins by marvelling that Jehovah remembers (mindful of ) man, and cares for (visitest) his descendants.28 Man was made a little lower than God (Elohim) in that man is a physical creation, yet bears the image of his Creator – God crowned humanity with a glory and honor that was unique within all of His creation. “And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue [dominate] it: and have dominion over [rule] the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).29 The command of God to Adam and Eve was that they were to fill the earth, dominate it, and rule every living creature – this was God’s design for humanity: all of creation was to be subject to them. Psalm 8:6 echoes God’s words to Adam and Eve, and then adds “thou hast put all things under his feet.” In the beginning, God placed everything beneath man’s feet; put carries the perfect tense, which means that this is a completed action – this was God’s purpose for man.
The writer of Hebrews adds this thought: but now we are not yet seeing all things placed in subjection to him (literal).30 God created man to rule in the midst of His creation, and yet that is not the case today. Man, because he was made in the image of God, was also designed to enjoy fellowship with his Creator. When man sinned, his rule of God’s creation was relinquished to Satan and his fellowship with God was interrupted. Regarding the latter, God immediately instituted His plan for the redemption of sinful mankind: He shed blood in order to provide coverings for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), thereby establishing the necessity of animal sacrifices in order to provide a temporary covering for sin. We see this worked out in the lives of Cain and Abel – where Abel’s blood sacrifice of a lamb was accepted by God while Cain’s offering from the product of his own labors was rejected (Genesis 4:3-5). Together with God’s promise of a Seed from the woman Who would break Satan’s power (Genesis 3:15), this pointed forward to the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the promise that God kept alive down through the generations, despite the rebellion of humanity, beginning with Cain.
As for man’s rule of the earth, it is very clear that by his sin, he surrendered this position to Satan. Just before Jesus began His public ministry, He was tempted by the devil three times, and one of those revealed Satan’s position in this world. “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:5-8). What is notable is that Jesus did not contradict Satan for trying to give Him something that he didn’t have the authority to give; indeed, the devil received this rule over the earth when Adam sinned, yet he is still under the controlling hand of the Lord. Job illustrates this truth, since Satan could not touch Job in any way unless the Lord first permitted him to do so (Job 1:12; 2:6).
Even within this, we see that one little Greek word oupo, meaning not yet.31 Jesus won the victory over Satan at the cross, and there is coming a time when, through His work, redeemed man will be restored to the role for which he was created. As John beheld the New Jerusalem, he wrote: and every curse will be no longer, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him, and they will see His face and His name on their foreheads, and there will be no night there and no need to have a lamp and light of the sun because the Lord God is giving them light, and they will rule to the ages of the ages (Revelation 22:3-5, literal).32 In the New Heaven and Earth, those who are now in Christ (the overcoming ones) will be brought to the role for which they were created: they will rule all that is there and enjoy the full fellowship of their Creator! But, not yet …. We still live in a time when evidences of Satan’s activities are everywhere, and society continues to follow him into ever greater depths of corruption. Jesus made it very clear that we do not know when He will come: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13); however, it is only the timing that is in question – there is no doubt that He will return; it is for us to be ready!
9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
The writer alludes to the quote that was made earlier from Psalm 8:5, where we found that the Hebrew uses Elohim (a word that normally refers to God) and not malak (typically translated as angel); it is the Septuagint (the Greek OT) that shows this as aggelous (angels), rather than God (a more accurate translation of Elohim).33 However, this is not a quote from the Psalm, just a reference to the verse noted, and it follows the LXX, which was the accepted Greek OT translation in use at the time.
And this Jesus, Who was made only a little lower than the angels, we see Him crowned with glory and honor because of suffering death, so that, by the grace of God, He did partake of death in behalf of everyone (literal).34 Since this is not a quotation of Psalm 8:5, is it accurate as it stands – was Jesus made a little lower than the angels? The angels of heaven are messengers of God who declare His words (Luke 1:26-28); Jesus, as the Son of God, was God’s Messenger to this earth, and He spoke all that God told Him (John 12:49) – in this they are the same. However, Jesus was born into a human body of flesh, with its physical limitations; it was not until after His resurrection in His glorified body that He overcame these restrictions: “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut [locked, or barred], and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you” (John 20:26).35 Despite the room being made secure against anyone coming in (particularly the religious Jews), Jesus simply stood in the midst, He was no longer inhibited by physical barriers. From this perspective, Jesus did become a little lower than the angels during the time when He bore the limitations of a regular physical body. Yet, even during this time, He was fully God Who confined Himself to such a body for a very particular purpose.
As the writer began to draw our attention to the Son, he noted that after Jesus had purged our sins, He sat to the right of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). At the time of His ascension to the right of the Father, Jesus was crowned with glory and honor, as noted in our verse. As Jesus faced the suffering of the cross, He prayed to His Father: And Thou, Father, now glorify Me with Thyself, with the glory that I had with Thee before the existing world (John 17:5, literal).36 As the eternal Word, Jesus held the glory of God (John 1:1); when the Word became flesh (John 1:14), much of that heavenly glory was left behind as He walked among His image-bearers – sinners who were in need of a Savior. As Jesus faced the suffering for sin, He did so with an anticipation of once again being together with His Father in glory. This is new! Jesus walked on earth as the Son of Man and the Son of God; when He ascended to heaven, He did so in a glorified body as the only begotten of the Father and the Son of Man. Upon the creation of the world and the fall of man, the Word, Who was committed to come to earth to pay the price for sin, was alert to “when the fulness of the time was come” when He would complete the eternal plan for the redemption of mankind (Galatians 4:4). Peter explained that in the eternal plan of God we were not redeemed by silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and spotless, approved beforehand in advance of the foundation of the world, but made known in the last times because of you (1 Peter 1:19-20, literal).37 God’s plan of redemption involving the Word becoming flesh in order to die for the sins of a yet to be created humanity, was in place before creation began. Likewise, it was also part of this plan that only those who were faithful to God’s promise (OT) and the Promised One (NT) would be regarded as being in Christ, and, thereby, chosen, or elect (Ephesians 1:4).
The glory and honor that the Son of God received is because He willingly died for the sin of humanity – that was the eternal plan, and He followed it without deviation. It is through God’s grace that He was willing to have the Word come to earth as one of us in order to bear the sin of humanity, and, consequently, to experience death (separation from God) for everyone. All that sin earns is death (Romans 6:23); in order for Jesus to pay the price for sin, He had to die. Our text provides another evidence that Jesus became a partaker of death for everyone!
John the Baptist proclaimed this: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b) – it was through His death that Jesus took away the sin of the world. The sacrifices of the OT included the death of a perfect animal to provide a temporary cleansing for the faithful, and so Jesus, as the pure Lamb of God, died in payment of the sins of the whole world that were placed upon Him on the cross. John was right: Jesus died, thereby paying the penalty for the sin of all people.
The testimony of the Samaritans, after hearing Jesus, was that “this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42b); not that He will arbitrarily save the whole world (whether they want to be saved or not), rather, that He is the only Savior for the whole world. Again, this is confirmation that Jesus’ death paid the price for the sin of everyone!
Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Jesus said that He would give (future tense, speaking of the sacrifice that He would soon make) His flesh (the life of His flesh) for the life of the world. Jesus declared that His sacrifice would make life available to everyone in the world. We must always allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Followeth is in the present tense (continually following) and active voice (it is the action of the one who chooses to be continually following): whoever is continually following the Lord Jesus, will have (future tense) the Light of Life – the Lord Jesus Christ!38
Voddie Baucham
This stands in contrast to the Calvinists’ theology. When checking the website of the vocal Calvinist, Voddie Baucham, the complete “Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)” is shown as what he believes. In it we read (Chapter 3, paragraph 1): “God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass …” (the bold shows the essence of their very wordy teaching); then they go on with this (Chapter 3, paragraph 2): “Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions, yet hath He not decreed anything, because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.”39 Within their understanding, God has decreed all things, and yet He has not decreed anything because of His foreknowledge; what they are endeavoring to avoid is that their first statement makes God responsible for sin – so, they claim, just because God foresaw that man would sin, does not mean that God decreed that he would. This is a futile effort in semantics: if God decreed all things, then there is nothing that takes place that He has not decreed, and adding the second comment does nothing to alleviate their predicament. The essence of their doctrine is that all things are predetermined by God (except where it creates a problem for them), and that removes from humanity their ability to think, evaluate, and make choices. Even though God created man in His own image (with all of these abilities), the Calvinist strips them away so that no one is able to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ unless God first instills within them the ability to believe. Therefore, when Jesus said that the one who is believing in Him will not perish (John 3:16), the Calvinist vehemently says that that can’t take place without God providing the individual with the ability to believe. However, the word that Jesus used (believing) is in the active voice40: it is an action that is being carried out by the one who is believing; for this believing to be provided by God, it would have to be in the passive voice. Even though some Calvinists might understand this reality, they remain committed to their theology regardless of what God tells us in His Word. Jesus made it very clear that His saving work is available to whosoever, or everyone.41
Voddie has clearly accepted Calvinism as his theology, even though its contradictions to the Word of God are not that difficult to uncover. However, John MacArthur, who is much more sophisticated in his handling of the doctrines of Calvinism, presents this: “I believe that the atonement of Christ was sufficient for the world but is efficient for those who believe.”42 His thinking is this: “I find … a strong case for a general atonement, for a universal atonement, for an all-encompassing provision, for Jesus dying as the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world …”;43 he sees this very clearly taught within Scripture, yet he must reconcile this with his adopted theology and so he becomes very ambivalent (a double-minded man): “In some points it is limited; in some points it appears to be unlimited.”44 However, when it comes to the basics, he will uphold Calvinism: “Unbelieving humanity has no capacity to desire, understand, believe, or apply spiritual truth ….”45 In other words, believing is something that God must instill within us, yet the Scriptures are clear that we are to evaluate, ponder and then believe in the Lord after counting the cost of following Him (Luke 14:26-33). Calvinism destroys the whosoever Message of the Gospel: the only ones who will ever be saved are the individuals whom God has chosen from eternity past – that is not the Message that Paul taught. In its essence, Calvinism is another gospel, and Paul would declare: “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Our text assures us that Jesus, in fact, did taste death for everyone. His sacrifice is more than sufficient for everyone, it is available to everyone! This is why the truth of the New Covenant Gospel must be taught everywhere; the voices that are contrary to God’s amazing Truth, are many, varied, and often have some truth in their theologies. So, why do Calvinists preach their theology so loudly and vehemently? Because they believe that they have the truth of the Gospel, and Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). They are so thoroughly convinced by their theology that God has predetermined who will be saved (without evaluation), and they teach it out of a sense of “obedience” to Jesus’ command.46 That’s their perspective of their activities, but consider this: since their theology is not the true Gospel and Paul would consider them accursed, Satan, who loves a religion that includes a little truth, would prompt them to teach their theology far and wide in order to convince as many as possible in a way that blurs the means of salvation!
As our text reminds us, Jesus partook of death for every man – He paid the price for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). His redeeming work is not only sufficient for everyone, but it is also available to everyone and efficient to all those who are believing and remain faithful (obedient) to Him unto the end. Jesus said: everyone who is believing in Him will not perish but is having everlasting life (John 3:16b, literal); the one who endures unto the end, this is the one who will be saved (Matthew 24:13, literal).47 The warning issued by the writer of Hebrews is that we must pay particular attention to the Message that is brought to us by the Son of God (Hebrews 2:3).
10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
It was fitting for Him, in Whom [are] all things and by Whom [are] all things, having led many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation complete through sufferings (literal).48 It was fitting for God the Father to make Jesus complete through suffering, because, through His grace, Jesus became a partaker of death in order to bring salvation to humanity. Although the creation of all things is generally attributed to Jesus: “All things were made by him …” (John 1:3a), “For by him were all things created …” (Colossians 1:16a), yet, without contradiction, there are also passages that more generally attribute creation to God: “For of him [referring to the Lord, not specifically to Jesus], and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). As the elders fall before God the Father, Who is seated upon His throne in heaven, they declare: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). Our text follows the pattern of the elders and attributes the creative actions to God the Father; in truth, all three members of the Godhead were involved in creation: “In the beginning God [Elohim (plural), most often a reference to Jehovah, God the Father] created the heaven and the earth … And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said [the Word], Let there be light:” (Genesis 1:1-3).49
How are we to understand bringing many sons unto glory? First of all, sons (Greek, uious) is the word that is used to speak of male descendants, but it is not limited to this meaning.50 It also refers to those who hold close non-physical connections to someone, and, within our context, it refers to those whose faith has been in the Lord.51 Strong’s notes that it was translated as son or sons, 85 times, while 49 times it is shown as child or children.52 For example, Ephesians 5:6 – “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children [uious] of disobedience.”53 Therefore, we must understand this text to be referring generally to those who are in Christ.
Since Him refers to God the Father, and the sons are those who are in Christ, who are these sons whom God has led to glory? As I have pondered this verse, which is packed with significant truths, I must conclude that these sons are the OT saints. Permit me to explain this quite thoroughly so as to make my position as clear as possible. We understand that the OT saints did not immediately go to heaven to be with the Lord when they died, but were taken to Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise (Luke 16:22; 23:43), a pleasant place of rest awaiting the coming Promised One. Therefore, everyone who was in Paradise was destined to be with the Lord in heaven, but the price for their sins had not yet been paid – this was the place of the righteous dead. When Jesus died in payment for the sins of the world, the sins of the OT saints were now paid in full; “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). All of the sacrifices made by the OT saints never brought a permanent removal of their sins – they had to continually repeat the sacrifices, and the Day of Atonement (under the Law of Moses) came once every year because a full atonement for sin could not be made with the blood of animals. Jesus came in fulfillment of all of those sacrifices, and He partook of death for every man – His death paid for the sins of all of humanity, including the OT saints in Paradise. Jesus’ resurrection brought new life for those who, through faith in God’s promise of a Redeemer, were now in that place of the righteous dead.
Jesus’ death and resurrection brought the New Covenant Gospel for all people: the price of humanity’s sins was paid (through His death), and new life was now available for everyone through the applied blood of Christ (by His resurrection). Matthew records for us a significant event that took place when Jesus died: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom [God opened the way into His presence through Jesus’ death, thus ending the Levitical priesthood]; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:51-53). The part that is applicable to our discussion is this: and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection. At this time, the only saints who were dead and buried were the faithful from the OT; Jesus has just made the payment for sins, and His return to life would follow within the predicted three days. Matthew records for us that when Jesus died, the graves were opened, but the bodies of these saints did not come out of the graves until after Jesus’ resurrection.
Let’s consider this carefully. Up to this time, the souls of the saints were in Paradise (Luke 23:43), or the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16:22) – that place of rest for the righteous dead; however, when Jesus rose from the grave, Matthew tells us that there was a corresponding resurrection of the saints of the OT (body and soul were reunited)! He records that many bodies arose. Many is from the Greek word polus, which under ordinary usage is an exclusive word (like our English word, it means many but not all); however, we must pay particular heed to its context so that we understand it correctly.
Let’s consider an example that will help us to see this: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12); we understand that Adam sinned and so death came to all men (everyone; no one has been excluded). This sets the scene for what follows: “For if through the offence of one [Adam] many [polus] be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many [polus]” (Romans 5:15b).54 In this case, we must understand polus to mean all; it is clear that through the offence of Adam all men face death (many be dead), and also that the gift of God’s grace through Jesus is extended to all. Even though polus is generally an exclusive word, there are times when it must be understood as being inclusive (meaning all).
Voddie has clearly accepted Calvinism as his theology, even though its contradictions to the Word of God are not that difficult to uncover. However, John MacArthur, who is much more sophisticated in his handling of the doctrines of Calvinism, presents this: “I believe that the atonement of Christ was sufficient for the world but is efficient for those who believe.”42 His thinking is this: “I find … a strong case for a general atonement, for a universal atonement, for an all-encompassing provision, for Jesus dying as the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world …”;43 he sees this very clearly taught within Scripture, yet he must reconcile this with his adopted theology and so he becomes very ambivalent (a double-minded man): “In some points it is limited; in some points it appears to be unlimited.”44 However, when it comes to the basics, he will uphold Calvinism: “Unbelieving humanity has no capacity to desire, understand, believe, or apply spiritual truth ….”45 In other words, believing is something that God must instill within us, yet the Scriptures are clear that we are to evaluate, ponder and then believe in the Lord after counting the cost of following Him (Luke 14:26-33). Calvinism destroys the whosoever Message of the Gospel: the only ones who will ever be saved are the individuals whom God has chosen from eternity past – that is not the Message that Paul taught. In its essence, Calvinism is another gospel, and Paul would declare: “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Our text assures us that Jesus, in fact, did taste death for everyone. His sacrifice is more than sufficient for everyone, it is available to everyone! This is why the truth of the New Covenant Gospel must be taught everywhere; the voices that are contrary to God’s amazing Truth, are many, varied, and often have some truth in their theologies. So, why do Calvinists preach their theology so loudly and vehemently? Because they believe that they have the truth of the Gospel, and Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). They are so thoroughly convinced by their theology that God has predetermined who will be saved (without evaluation), and they teach it out of a sense of “obedience” to Jesus’ command.46 That’s their perspective of their activities, but consider this: since their theology is not the true Gospel and Paul would consider them accursed, Satan, who loves a religion that includes a little truth, would prompt them to teach their theology far and wide in order to convince as many as possible in a way that blurs the means of salvation!
As our text reminds us, Jesus partook of death for every man – He paid the price for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). His redeeming work is not only sufficient for everyone, but it is also available to everyone and efficient to all those who are believing and remain faithful (obedient) to Him unto the end. Jesus said: everyone who is believing in Him will not perish but is having everlasting life (John 3:16b, literal); the one who endures unto the end, this is the one who will be saved (Matthew 24:13, literal).47 The warning issued by the writer of Hebrews is that we must pay particular attention to the Message that is brought to us by the Son of God (Hebrews 2:3).
10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
It was fitting for Him, in Whom [are] all things and by Whom [are] all things, having led many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation complete through sufferings (literal).48 It was fitting for God the Father to make Jesus complete through suffering, because, through His grace, Jesus became a partaker of death in order to bring salvation to humanity. Although the creation of all things is generally attributed to Jesus: “All things were made by him …” (John 1:3a), “For by him were all things created …” (Colossians 1:16a), yet, without contradiction, there are also passages that more generally attribute creation to God: “For of him [referring to the Lord, not specifically to Jesus], and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). As the elders fall before God the Father, Who is seated upon His throne in heaven, they declare: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). Our text follows the pattern of the elders and attributes the creative actions to God the Father; in truth, all three members of the Godhead were involved in creation: “In the beginning God [Elohim (plural), most often a reference to Jehovah, God the Father] created the heaven and the earth … And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said [the Word], Let there be light:” (Genesis 1:1-3).49
How are we to understand bringing many sons unto glory? First of all, sons (Greek, uious) is the word that is used to speak of male descendants, but it is not limited to this meaning.50 It also refers to those who hold close non-physical connections to someone, and, within our context, it refers to those whose faith has been in the Lord.51 Strong’s notes that it was translated as son or sons, 85 times, while 49 times it is shown as child or children.52 For example, Ephesians 5:6 – “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children [uious] of disobedience.”53 Therefore, we must understand this text to be referring generally to those who are in Christ.
Since Him refers to God the Father, and the sons are those who are in Christ, who are these sons whom God has led to glory? As I have pondered this verse, which is packed with significant truths, I must conclude that these sons are the OT saints. Permit me to explain this quite thoroughly so as to make my position as clear as possible. We understand that the OT saints did not immediately go to heaven to be with the Lord when they died, but were taken to Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise (Luke 16:22; 23:43), a pleasant place of rest awaiting the coming Promised One. Therefore, everyone who was in Paradise was destined to be with the Lord in heaven, but the price for their sins had not yet been paid – this was the place of the righteous dead. When Jesus died in payment for the sins of the world, the sins of the OT saints were now paid in full; “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). All of the sacrifices made by the OT saints never brought a permanent removal of their sins – they had to continually repeat the sacrifices, and the Day of Atonement (under the Law of Moses) came once every year because a full atonement for sin could not be made with the blood of animals. Jesus came in fulfillment of all of those sacrifices, and He partook of death for every man – His death paid for the sins of all of humanity, including the OT saints in Paradise. Jesus’ resurrection brought new life for those who, through faith in God’s promise of a Redeemer, were now in that place of the righteous dead.
Jesus’ death and resurrection brought the New Covenant Gospel for all people: the price of humanity’s sins was paid (through His death), and new life was now available for everyone through the applied blood of Christ (by His resurrection). Matthew records for us a significant event that took place when Jesus died: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom [God opened the way into His presence through Jesus’ death, thus ending the Levitical priesthood]; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:51-53). The part that is applicable to our discussion is this: and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection. At this time, the only saints who were dead and buried were the faithful from the OT; Jesus has just made the payment for sins, and His return to life would follow within the predicted three days. Matthew records for us that when Jesus died, the graves were opened, but the bodies of these saints did not come out of the graves until after Jesus’ resurrection.
Let’s consider this carefully. Up to this time, the souls of the saints were in Paradise (Luke 23:43), or the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16:22) – that place of rest for the righteous dead; however, when Jesus rose from the grave, Matthew tells us that there was a corresponding resurrection of the saints of the OT (body and soul were reunited)! He records that many bodies arose. Many is from the Greek word polus, which under ordinary usage is an exclusive word (like our English word, it means many but not all); however, we must pay particular heed to its context so that we understand it correctly.
Let’s consider an example that will help us to see this: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12); we understand that Adam sinned and so death came to all men (everyone; no one has been excluded). This sets the scene for what follows: “For if through the offence of one [Adam] many [polus] be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many [polus]” (Romans 5:15b).54 In this case, we must understand polus to mean all; it is clear that through the offence of Adam all men face death (many be dead), and also that the gift of God’s grace through Jesus is extended to all. Even though polus is generally an exclusive word, there are times when it must be understood as being inclusive (meaning all).
As we consider the resurrection of the OT saints when Jesus rose from the dead, the obvious question would be: if some were raised, then why not all? If many is used in its exclusive sense, then how would God determine whom to raise and whom to leave in Paradise, and why would some be raised and others left? Let’s place this within a context that will help us to understand it more fully. And now Christ has been raised from the dead: He did become the Firstfruit of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20, literal).55 Let’s examine the concept of firstfruit a little closer so that we are able to understand what Paul is explaining. The Lord’s instruction to Israel was this: “When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf [‘omer] of the firstfruits [singular] of your harvest unto the priest” (Leviticus 23:10).56 The firstfruit was the first of the harvest that was to be brought to the priests who would wave it before the Lord in order to obtain His favor. When Christ was raised from the dead (to never again be subject to death), He was the first to be raised to everlasting life among all of those who had died. Paul goes on to elaborate on Christ being the Firstfruit: and each in his own place [in order]: the Firstfruit, Christ, then those of Christ in His presence (1 Corinthians 15:23, literal).57 Christ is declared to be the Firstfruit (the first Who, as the Son of Man, was raised to everlasting life), followed by those who are His in His presence. The firstfruit was the first of the harvest that was brought to the Lord, and Revelation 14:4 tells us that the 144,000 (not to be taken as a definitive number, but as a great multitude) who are with Christ, are the firstfruit [singular] unto God and to the Lamb – Christ is called the Firstfruit, and this great multitude is the firstfruit to Christ. This great company of saints is the beginning of the harvest, a wave offering of the OT saints who were raised from the dead after Christ’s resurrection – raised in their glorified bodies! The many bodies of the saints is an inclusive expression of the raising of all of the OT saints as the firstfruit to Christ. Therefore, when Christ ascended to the Father, He led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8); He led the OT saints, in their glorified bodies, into the presence of the Father in heaven, thereby fulfilling the firstfruit of harvest as described in the Law of Moses. The OT saints, who had been held captive in Paradise awaiting the time when the Promised One would come, were presented to the Father by Christ as His wave offering. This was the first of the harvest (the wave offering), with the full harvest coming when Jesus returns in the clouds to gather His faithful ones from the earth (commonly called the rapture): “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect [those who are in Christ by faith are the elect, or chosen (Ephesians 1:4)] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).
Returning to our text, the many sons whom God has led to glory are specifically the OT saints who remained faithful to His promise, and whose sins were finally cleansed by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Within the OT economy of living under God’s promise of redemption, these were regarded as being in Christ in that they remained faithful to the Lord. Consider this: “By faith Moses … refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God … Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt …” (Hebrews 11:24-26). Moses, who told the children of Israel of a coming Prophet to whom they were to give heed (Deuteronomy 18:15), considered what he would suffer for Christ to be of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Clearly, the Messiah (the Christ) had not come at this time, yet the writer considers Moses’ commitment to the promise of God as the expression of his faithfulness to Christ. The OT saints had faith in the promise of God; the NT saints have faith in the Promised One, the Christ – the faith is the same in both cases: it is in God!
Remember that the plan of salvation was determined by God the Father, the Word and the Spirit before the worlds were made (2 Timothy 1:9; 1 John 5:7), and that that plan included the Word becoming flesh in order to die to pay the price for the sin of humanity (Revelation 13:8).
God desired that those whom He created in His image would choose to worship and follow Him; He placed Adam and Eve in a Garden that He made especially for them, and gave them only one matter where they could exercise their ability to choose: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Satan focused on that one restriction, and deceived Eve into believing that disobedience was something that would make her wise. God created Adam and Eve with the ability to think, reason, evaluate and choose (the image of God); Satan twisted Eve’s thinking so that, to her, evil appeared to be good. Cain and Abel also made choices regarding their offerings to God: Abel chose to follow the Lord’s example of shed blood for the covering of sin; Cain chose to offer the fruit of his own labors (Genesis 4:3-5). Abel, though born a sinner, chose to come before the Lord with an offering that demonstrated that he understood the promise of One Who was coming to deal with sin – his sacrifice foreshadowed the work of Jesus.
We don’t know why God ordained a blood sacrifice as the required covering for sin, but that was eternally determined before man was created. As the Lord told Noah that every living thing was now food for man, He warned that the blood was not to be eaten with the flesh because the life is in the blood (Genesis 9:3-4). The Lord later clarified that “the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). Shed blood is the means of covering sin, whether temporarily as in the OT, or forever through the sacrifice of Jesus; and almost all things are purified with blood according to the Law, and apart from the shedding of blood there comes no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22, literal).58 Under the OT Law, atonement for the soul was made through shedding the blood of a perfect animal; as the fulfillment of that, Jesus shed His blood (gave His life) in the final atonement for sin! As Jesus ate with His disciples, just before His crucifixion, we read: “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it [drink from it, everyone (literal)]; For this is my blood of the new testament [New Covenant], which is shed for many [an inclusive use of polus (as discussed earlier)] for the remission [forgiveness] of sins (Matthew 26:27-28).59 Through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, a new and living way was opened for humanity to find cleansing from sin (Hebrews 10:20).
How could Jesus, Who is God, be made complete through suffering for the sins of humanity? And He is the Head of the Body, of the Ekklesia, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He, Himself, became in all respects preeminent (Colossians 1:18, literal).60 God’s desire was to have those who were made in His image to choose to fellowship with Him; through His suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus became the Head of all of those who for eternity will have fellowship with God – “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). It is in the New Heaven and Earth that the full glory of His completeness will be evident, and enjoyed by those who are a part of His Body!
11. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
For both He who is sanctifying and they who are being sanctified [are] all of one; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren (literal).61
Sanctify was a term that God first used during creation: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it …” (Genesis 2:3a). From this we understand that God set the seventh day apart as being holy, or sacred, within the seven-day week: the word used in Hebrew is qadash, and the LXX shows this as hagiazo.62
The context for our verse identifies the He as being the Author of our salvation (from the previous verse): it is through Jesus that we are being sanctified – set apart as holy. In which will [of God] we have been sanctified once and never again, we are [sanctified] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10, literal).63 It is as we place our faith in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus that we are set apart in Him; His holiness becomes ours and His Spirit abides within – this describes our standing before God Who now sees us through Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice. However, as we live in this world, we recognize that His holiness does not always reveal itself through us, and so there is to be a growing process in our walk with Him. For by one offering, He did complete forever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14, literal).64 Christ made one offering, and through that He completed, or made perfect, those who are being made holy. Notice: there is a completed sanctification (when we are brought into Christ by faith), and there is a life-long sanctification process as we grow in our understanding of His truth and what it means to walk in obedience to Him. What is also noteworthy is that in both cases (namely, the initial, one-time and the ongoing sanctification) the passive voice is used: it is the Lord Who sets us apart unto Himself, and He works His holiness into our lives.
To illustrate this more fully, let’s consider Jesus’ parable of the soils. Jesus provided this explanation of the Seed that fell upon the rocky soil: “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy [this is the initial, one-time sanctification]; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). The rocky soil hearers received the Word with joy and were in Christ (sanctified), but, when their faith was tested, which is God’s method for our ongoing sanctification, they fell away – the process of sanctification was rejected. What we must realize is that the sanctification (both initial and ongoing) are the work of the Lord within us, and, most importantly, that the Lord will not sanctify us (either initially or presently) against our wills. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), or, more plainly, if ye are loving Me, [then] My commands you must be obeying (literal).65 In other words, if you are loving Me, then you will be obedient; conversely, if you are not obedient, then you are not loving Me. The rocky soil hearers loved the Lord until their faith was tested, and then they became apostate.
We have learned that our sanctification always comes from the Lord, and that it is Jesus’ sacrifice that makes this possible for us. Recognizing that there is a sanctification (setting apart) that comes when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus, let’s look at a few more Scriptures that teach us about the importance of following the Lord. “… but ye are washed [ye have cleansed yourselves], but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11); the washing comes through placing your faith in the Lord Jesus (it is in the middle voice – something that you do to/for yourself; cp. 2 Peter 2:22, where washed is also in the middle voice), whereas the sanctifying and justifying come through the name of the Lord and the Spirit of God (passive voice: the work of the Lord).66 Jesus said that He would send the Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and it is as our understanding of the truth of God grows that the sanctifying work of the Spirit takes place in us. Another verse that shows that God is fully involved in leading us deeper into His holiness is: “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called” (Jude 1). The Son of God, the Spirit of God and God the Father are all working to our sanctification: bringing us to that place of being completely set apart to Him – in the world, but not of the world (John 17:15-16).
Therefore, it is no surprise that the One Who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified are of one: God sets us apart and we are being purified by Him – we are growing into His holiness! Jesus is the Head of His Ekklesia, His Body: we are one with Him. Ye must remain in Me – I also in you (John 15:4a, literal);67 understand that His abiding in us is dependent upon our remaining in Him, which is not a foregone conclusion.
It is because we are one with Christ that He is not ashamed to call us His brethren. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). We have been consecrated to Him through faith, and God desires to work in us to bring about our sanctification – this is the will of God being worked out in us: we are His family!
12. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Again, the writer goes back to the OT to apply what has been written there about the Lord Jesus. Psalm 22:22, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” Saying, I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to Thee (literal).68 The Psalmist declares that he will proclaim the name of Jehovah to his brethren, and will praise Him when he is gathered with others. However, the application of this quote from the Psalms is just a little different from its original use. Our verse begins with the word saying, which draws us back to the previous verse in order to determine who is speaking: it is the One Who is not ashamed to call those whom He is sanctifying, brethren – namely, Jesus! Therefore, we see that during His earthly ministry, Jesus did, indeed, proclaim the name of His Father in its fullness, and, when in the synagogues, He brought true praise to Jehovah – not according to the doctrine of the religious leaders, but in truth! As those whom Jesus willingly calls brethren, we must determine to follow Him carefully and completely by proclaiming the name of the Lord in truth, and offering our praise to Him.
13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
The first quote is from Psalm 91:2, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” Once again, the Psalmist is identifying Jehovah as his God (Elohim), and says, “I will trust in Him.” Trust (batach) is in the imperfect, which means that this is an incomplete action, often translated in the future tense (will);69 in other words, the Psalmist is saying that he is trusting in the Lord, and will continue to trust in Him. The context of this quote in our verse tells us that Jesus is saying, “I will trust in Him.” Do we find in Scripture any indication that Jesus, Who is God, trusted in God the Father? Consider this: Who, being reviled, did not retaliate; He, suffering, did not threaten, but committed [it – the treatment that He was receiving70] to the One Who is judging righteously (1 Peter 2:23, literal).71 As He faced the scorn, ridicule and abuse (particularly from the Jews) during His “trial” and crucifixion, He entrusted it all to the Father. “He was oppressed [treated harshly], and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb [silent], so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).72 Jesus’ humanity struggled with what He knew was coming, and so He prayed: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39b). He willingly became the sacrifice for sin, understanding the full measure of what that meant; through it all He trusted in God the Father to accomplish Their desired end.
The second quote in our verse is from Isaiah: “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion” (Isaiah 8:18). The context for Isaiah’s words is this: for those who fear the Lord, He will be their sanctuary (a sacred place), but for everyone else, He will be a stone of stumbling; Isaiah says that he, as a prophet, along with his children, the Lord will use as signs and wonders (both point to something that is future73) of what He desires for both houses of Israel (Israel and Judah). The first of Isaiah’s sons was named Shearjashub (meaning, a remnant shall return), and his second, Mahershalalhashbaz (swift is booty, speedy is prey);74 the first promises a time of exile with only a small number returning from it, and the second that Israel was about to be taken captive for their evil, which was to be an object lesson to the kingdom of Judah that should cause them to cleave to the Lord.
As we’ve come to expect, the application of this partial quotation is quite different from its original use. Context requires that I, once again, refers to the Lord Jesus, and so we must discern who the children are who have been given to Jesus. As Paul dealt with the error of the Galatians, he made this statement: for ye are all the children of God through [your] faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26, literal).75 Jesus said: “While ye have light [Jesus, (John 8:12)], believe [imperative mood (a command); present tense (continuous action); active voice (ye must be continually believing)] in the light [Jesus], [so] that ye may [will] be the children of light [Jesus]” (John 12:36a).76 It cannot be any clearer than this. We become the children of Jesus Christ through placing our faith in Him; we remain His children as we retain a continuous faith in Him that is evidenced by our obedience to His commands. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not [apeithon – is disobeying] the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).77
Although the writer only quotes the first part of Isaiah 8:18, the remainder of Isaiah’s thought also holds true. As Jesus taught His disciples, He said, “Ye are the light of the world … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). The premise for being the light of the world is that God is our heavenly Father. Jesus spoke of light in this way: “I am the light [singular] of the world: he that followeth [is following (present tense, a continuous action)] me shall not [will never; strongest Greek negative] walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12b). Jesus also identified Himself as being “… the way, the truth, and the life …” (John 14:6) – He is the only Way to the Father! Jesus is the only Light and He is Life; by placing our faith in Him, we become partakers of His light and life, but such participation is conditional, not absolute. John understood this very clearly: and in this we are coming to understand that we know Him, if His commandments we are obeying (1 John 2:3, literal; cp. John 14:15).78 Therefore, unless we are following Him in faithful obedience, we do not walk in His light, we do not know Him, and we are not partakers of His life so that we will come to His Father. This is what Jesus taught about His way to Life: enter ye through the narrow gate, because broad [is] the gate and spacious the way that is leading to destruction and many are those who are entering through it, because narrow [is] the gate and restrictive is the way that is leading to life and few are those who are finding it (Matthew 7:13-14, literal). Enter is in the imperative mood (it is a command) and active voice (we must do the entering) – Jesus is saying that we must enter through the Gate (He is that Gate) onto the way that leads to life.79
Further, it is noteworthy that the Greek word translated as destruction (apoleian) is the opposite of soteria (salvation); in other words, the broad, or spacious, way leads away from eternal life, the end of which is the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).80 It is only through faith in Christ that we are able to enter onto the Way that leads to life everlasting; everything else leads to destruction. Jesus issued this warning: and have no fear from those who are killing the body, but the soul they are not able to kill; but, rather, fear the One Who is able to utterly ruin both soul and body in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28, literal).81 Gehenna is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom that lies to the West and South of Jerusalem; it was in this valley that the children of Israel built a sacred area (a Tophet) where they burned their sons and daughters to the pagan deity, Moloch (Jeremiah 7:31). Judah’s King Josiah destroyed this Tophet (or Topheth), and it became a continually burning rubbish-heap where the refuse of Jerusalem was consumed – Gehenna brings together both the unending fire and the children who were sacrificed to Molech, or Satan (2 Kings 23:10).82
14. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Having firmly established the deity of Christ through many OT promises that have been shown to point to Him, the writer now returns to the thought begun in verse ten: the Author of our salvation, being eternal God, would be made complete through suffering. Since, therefore, the children have flesh and blood in common, He also, in just the same way, did share in the same, so that, through death, He put an end to the one having the power of death – namely, the Devil (literal).83
Earlier, the writer told us that Jesus did taste death for everyone (v. 9), now we learn more about how He could experience death and the reason for doing so. The writer just quoted from Isaiah as it related to the children who belong to Christ – those who have placed their faith in His atoning work. The reference to children in this instance, is not restricted to those who are in Christ, but has a broader application to everyone who is born of Adam, i.e., all of humanity. Probably the most basic thing that all of humanity has in common is that everyone has a body of flesh and blood. Since, in the OT, no one was able to receive a complete cleansing from sin, and since a temporary cleansing came only through faith in the shed blood of an animal offered to God, the eternal “Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a). Man is unable to do anything to bridge the gap between himself and God, and so, in the eternal counsels of God, it was determined that the Word would come to make that sacrifice for sin: the Lamb of God (the Word) was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8b). From eternity, it was established that the Word would take on a body of flesh for the purpose of making a final payment for sin – a Man would pay the price for the sins of mankind. The OT sacrifices foreshadowed Jesus’ coming to make that sacrifice, and for those who had faith in God’s promise, such offerings provided a temporary cleansing because of the surety of God’s Word. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
Therefore, Jesus (the Word made flesh) became both the Son of God (conceived by the Spirit of God) and the Son of Man (born of Mary) – thereby avoiding the sin-nature that comes from Adam, by whom sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12). Jesus took on a body of flesh, like unto those who were created in His image, with one exception: He had no sin-nature. On that first Passover, as the children of Israel prepared to leave Egypt, the Lord’s instructions were clear: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year …” (Exodus 12:5a); without blemish (tamiym) means to be whole, healthy, and uninjured.84 The sacrificial lamb was to be perfect in all respects, because, on that first Passover, its shed blood would provide protection from the death-angel who would go throughout the land of Egypt. The Lord also instructed Moses that Israel was to keep this as a feast for ever (Exodus 12:14) – the Hebrew ‘owlam (for ever) is literally for generations to come, more with the thought of perpetuity than eternity.85 Now we understand this completely, since the Passover celebration was fulfilled in Christ, it is ended for eternity – it was there for Israel as a foreshadowing of that final Sacrifice!
… on behalf of Christ, we are pleading [with you (plural)]: become reconciled to God, for He, Who did not come to know sin, for our sakes He was made sin so that we will become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:20b-21, literal).86 Within our consideration, it is clear that Jesus did not experience (come to know) sin; as He went to the cross, He did so as the sinless Lamb of God! However, as He hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the sin of the world – He remained sinless, but He carried the sins of all men, and He did so for our sakes so that, as we become reconciled to God, we will also become righteous in Him. Become reconciled is in the passive voice: it is only God Who is able to reconcile us with Himself, yet we must come to believe in Christ through faith (which is why it is also in the imperative mood) so that God is then able to bring us into that place of reconciliation.87 It is through our reunion with God through the Lord Jesus that we are able to experience the life that comes through Him.
Jesus, through His death, fulfilled the promise that God made to the serpent (really, to Satan who occupied the serpent) in the Garden of Eden: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [He] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).88 The defeat of Satan (bruise thy head) would include the price of suffering (bruise His heel). God, before the worlds were created, determined that He (in the form of man) would pay the price for man’s sin (1 Peter 1:19-21); man could not do it (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Galatians 3:22), but God made a way for those who bear His image to again have fellowship with Him. The relationship with our Creator is available to us because, at the cross, the power of the devil was broken. For the end result of sin [is] death … (Romans 6:23a, literal);89 it was through Adam’s submission to the devil that sin entered, and with sin came death: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin …” (Romans 5:12a). No child of Adam has ever been able to defeat death; as Solomon contemplated life, he recognized this truth: “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death (Ecclesiastes 8:8a). Man is without any ability to determine when he will die – to hold onto life at his will.
However, everything was very different with Jesus: being without sin, death had no claim on Him. As He was condemned to die and nailed to the cross, He shed His innocent blood as the final Passover Lamb, yet even as He bore the sins of the world, He was still without sin, and death could not claim Him. Therefore, we read: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46) – He entrusted His spirit to the Father, and He breathed out (died).90 He willingly relinquished His life as He bore the sins of the world – He died as the sinless Sacrifice for sin. Death is the just consequence of sin, and the devil exacted this payment from everyone who has lived (Romans 5:12); the sinless Jesus gave His life (Satan did not kill Him, nor did He die from the crucifixion), and thereby, He broke the power of death! Paul declared this to the Corinthians: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). It is only through faith in the Lord Jesus that we are able to have the sting of death removed (being cleansed from our sins).
And thus ye, be accounting yourselves as being dead to sin, and ye are living to God because of Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11, literal).91 Even though Jesus broke the power of sin, we are required to consider ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. To the Ephesians, Paul explained this as putting the old man off (dead to sin) and donning the new man – alive unto God (Ephesians 4:22-24). And ye, who have been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness (Romans 6:18, literal);92 once enslaved to sin, we are now enslaved to the righteousness of God that is found only in Christ Jesus. Jesus died for sin when death had no claim on Him, and thus He broke the power that Satan held over humanity since Adam – it is faith in Christ that makes that victory ours!
15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
This continues the purpose clause from the previous verse, providing another reason for Jesus’ death: and to deliver those who, by the fear of death in all of the living, were being held in slavery (literal).93 Jesus took on a body of flesh and blood so that, through His death, He is able to free those who were held in slavery. Again, it is necessary to understand that death and sin are inseparable: sin came into the world through Adam, and with it came death for everyone (Romans 5:12). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Sin is a part of everyone’s life, and, therefore, death is also a sure reality for everyone.
Let’s consider, for a moment, the bondage, or slavery, in which we have all been held. Paul explained it this way to the Romans: “have ye not known that to whatever ye yield yourselves [as] slaves unto obedience, slaves ye are to whatever ye are obeying, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. And thanks to God because ye, having been the slaves of sin, now obey from the heart the form of teaching to which ye were entrusted, And ye, who have been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness (Romans 6:16-18, literal).94 The reality is that we are all slaves – it is only a question of to whom, or what, we are enslaved. As we are set free from sin through a living faith in Christ, we become enslaved to the righteousness that is only in Him; by contrast, if we have not been made free in Christ, then we remain the slaves of sin, destined for death.
As we read of what takes place after this earth is removed, the results of this bondage to sin become very clear. The scene is the judgment throne of God after the end of Christ’s Millennial reign and this heaven and earth have been dissolved: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God [the resurrection of the dead has taken place – those from Hades and those caught in death when the earth is removed]; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [Hades, the place for the unrighteous dead from the time of Adam] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [Hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire [the second death]” (Revelation 20:12-15).95 Understand that those who were born during the Millennium are among the dead who will stand before God at this time – and those who have placed their faith in the ruling Shepherd have their names recorded in the Book of Life, which saves them from the Second Death. Everyone else will be judged according to their works, and, consequently, they will have a full understanding as to why they are condemned to the Lake of Fire. Jesus said that the broad way leads to destruction (ruin), which takes place in the Lake of Fire, the Second Death, or Gehenna (Matthew 7:13; 10:28). It is only in this life that we have the opportunity to determine our eternal destiny: will it be everlasting life with the Lord, or everlasting ruin with the devil?
16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
For, surely, of angels He is not concerned, but of the seed of Abraham, He is concerned (literal).96 The central Greek word that is repeated is epilambanitai, which does mean to take hold of, but, in a more figurative sense, it means to be concerned with, or to take an interest in.97 Because the translators used its primary meaning, they needed to add the words the nature of in order to make a complete thought; however, it skews the thought in a direction that does not flow within the context. We’ve already learned that Jesus took on a body of flesh like unto those whom He created in His image (v. 14), yet without the sin nature. From this we must note that He did not take on the nature of the seed of Abraham, which includes the inherited sin of Adam, but, rather, He came with a particular concern for His people, Israel. As Jesus journeyed to the borders of Israel, a Greek woman sought Him to heal her daughter, and her supplications annoyed His disciples for they asked Him to send her away, to which Jesus said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24b; cp. Mark 7:26). Jesus came as a descendant of Abraham, and He came with the specific purpose of fulfilling the Jewish covenant (the Mosaic Law); therefore, the focus of His time on earth was among the children of Abraham. Yet, even as He lived in complete obedience to the Law of Moses, the religious leaders continually found fault with Him because they did not correctly understand their Scriptures that spoke of His coming. Jesus taught the truth of God (after all, He is God); He was ever aware of His mission: nevertheless, as My Father did instruct Me, these things I am speaking (John 8:28c, literal).98 He came, fulfilling the mission that had been determined before creation (Revelation 13:8).
As the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He expressed His desire for them: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6a). Israel was to be God’s expression of His will to the people of the earth (a holy people), and they were to mediate between the people and the Lord (a kingdom of priests); yet, beyond that, they were the family line through whom the Redeemer would come. The descendants of Abraham had experienced being slaves, the peace of living faithfully for the Lord, the devastation of exile, the prophetic word of what the Lord had in store for them, and the joy of returning to their own land, yet, by the time that Jesus walked among His fellow Jews, the Lord’s service had become a dark and empty liturgy. Jesus became a descendant of Abraham (through Mary) so that He could minister to the Jews, be a Light to them, and fulfill the prophecies going all of the way back to Adam. Clearly, as the Son of God, Jesus did not bear the nature of humanity (including Abraham), but He came in the flesh, having an eternal concern for those who bore His image yet languished in the bondage of sin.
17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Therefore, He was under obligation to become like the brethren in all respects; so He became a compassionate and faithful High Priest to God for the purpose of atoning for the sins of the people (literal).99
How are we to understand behoved or obligation within this context? It was determined within the eternal counsel of God that the Word would come to earth with the purpose of atoning for sin with finality; in order to do so, Jesus (the Word) became flesh – His necessity to do so came from the determination of God. Therefore, Jesus was under obligation to be like unto His brethren, the Jews, except that, as God, He remained without sin. The blood of the sacrifices of the OT saints could not bring a final atoning for sin – under the Law of Moses, it was prescribed that an atonement sacrifice was to be made every year. It was the plan of God “… to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness …” (Daniel 9:24b). The prophecy came to Israel that sin would be brought to an end; the end came when Jesus paid the full price for the sin of humanity on the cross – a final atonement was made! This was God’s plan, and it required the Word to become a Man – a perfect Lamb to make a complete sacrifice for sin.
We read this of Jesus: “Who, being in the form [morphe] of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form [morphe] of a servant [doulos, slave], and was made in the likeness of men …” (Philippians 2:6-7).100 The Greek morphe is commonly understood as form (as it is translated here), external appearance, or nature, yet it is much more. It speaks of objective reality, not just a subjective perception; it encompasses all aspects, and not simply appearance:101 the form of God that Jesus has is that He is fully God! The same applies to the form of a slave that Jesus became: He was a slave in every respect, not to man but to God, in order to accomplish God’s eternal plan of redemption for humanity.
The writer introduces us to Jesus as being a High Priest to God. The first time that we read of someone being called a priest is Melchisedek who met Abram after his rescue of Lot (Genesis 14:18-20); he is described as “the priest of the most high God.” In our study, we will hear much more of Melchisedek.
Under the time of the Mosaic Law, Moses’ brother, Aaron, and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were named as priests to the Lord (Exodus 28:1), thus establishing the family line within the tribe of Levi from whom all of the priests were to come (Exodus 2:1-2, 10; 29:9). Earlier we noted that the animal used for sacrifice was to be without blemish; what is also noteworthy, is that for the priests to qualify for the service of the Lord, they must also be without blemish: “No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread [or food] of his God” (Leviticus 21:21).102 The bread, or food, of the Lord are the sacrifices that Israel was required to make for the covering of their sins: “Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour [a soothing scent] unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season” (Numbers 28:2).103 Therefore, a priest with a physical blemish was not permitted to make offerings or perform the services within the tabernacle of the Lord; nevertheless, offering sacrifices was not limited to the priests: Gideon (of Manasseh; Judges 6:15, 26-27), Manoah (of Dan; Judges 13:2, 19), and David (of Judah; 2 Samuel 24:25) all sacrificed upon an altar unto the Lord, and their sacrifices were accepted.
We see Jesus, given the title of High Priest, meeting the qualifications of a priest. He was God abiding within human flesh (John 1:14), and was, therefore, without any physical or spiritual defect. The priests, under the Law of Moses, were anointed (with a holy oil according to the Lord’s recipe, Exodus 30:25), consecrated (for the priesthood) and sanctified (set apart as holy) to the service of the Lord in His tabernacle (Exodus 28:41); Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32), remained sinless (1 John 3:5) and is eternally holy (Revelation 3:7).104 By becoming the Son of Man, He was able to experience life on earth and have compassionate understanding for those who bear His image in this life; although He remained sinless, He rubbed shoulders with a humanity that was not. As the Son of God, He remained committed and faithful to the task that He had come to earth to accomplish: making the final payment for sin.
It was the high priest, under the Mosaic Law, who bore the responsibility of making an annual atonement for his sins and the sins of the people. A bullock was sacrificed for the sins of the high priest and his family, and blood from the bullock was taken into the holy of holies and sprinkled upon the mercy seat (the very presence of Jehovah, Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:11-14); in similar fashion, the blood from a sacrificed goat was sprinkled to atone for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:15). The high priest would take a second goat, place his hands upon its head and confess the sins of the people; it was then released into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people with it.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sins as the perfect Lamb of God, and, as our High Priest, He presented His blood shed for the sins of humanity before the Father in heaven. Not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered once for all into the Holy places, having obtained everlasting redemption (Hebrews 9:12, literal).105 For Christ did not enter into holy places made by hands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on behalf of us (Hebrews 9:24, literal).106 Jesus accomplished full atonement for sin, and, as the high priests of old, He brought the blood for atonement into the very presence of God: for the high priests, it was sprinkled upon the mercy seat (the presence of God); for Jesus, it was presented to the Father in heaven.
Jesus was made like unto those who bear His image (yet without sin), and He lived among those whom He called His brethren, but who had inherited sin. He was the Sacrifice Who bore the sins of all of humanity, and through His shed blood that He presented to the Father, He, as our High Priest, made an everlasting atonement for sin. Because He lived on earth in the flesh, He is familiar with and compassionate toward our plight – He is a High Priest Who understands our frame and our dilemma, and can adequately intercede for us with the Father (Romans 8:34).
18. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
For in that He did suffer, He, Who was tested, is able to help those who are being tested (literal).107 We will never be able to comprehend the suffering that Christ endured as He faced the ultimate test of His commitment to the plan that He helped devise so that humanity would have a means of full reconciliation with their Creator: the Sinless One took upon Himself the sins of humanity. It is abundantly evident in Scripture that, despite the suffering that He endured, Jesus came through the testing victoriously! “And being found in fashion as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore [for this reason] God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:8-9).108 We have already seen that in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son, Jesus, Whom He has made heir of all things and Who is seated on His favored right side in glory (Hebrews 1:2-3). Despite the testing that He endured, He remained faithful to the eternal plan to bring redemption from sin to everyone.
The testing that we face in our lives is miniscule compared to what He endured because of our sin; therefore, we should readily understand that He is immeasurably able to provide help to us when we call to Him. The Lord is able to rescue the godly from testing, and to hold the unrighteous, who are being punished, unto the day of judgment (2 Peter 2:9, literal).109 It is incumbent upon us to understand what it means to be godly in this day of Ecumenical fervor (understanding that everything Ecumenical is contrary to the clear teachings of Scripture). However, the Lord’s ability to rescue us from testing is not to be misunderstood to mean that He will always deliver us. Paul suffered from a thorn in the flesh that caused him great pain (buffeted: kolaphizo – literally, to strike with the fist), yet the Lord promised to provide him with grace to endure, and not freedom from the testing (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).110 Jesus’ promise to us is this: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation [thlipsis, oppression from outward circumstances]: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).111 His promise is twofold: 1) in this life we will have oppression and trouble, and 2) He has overcome this world, so be encouraged because a better day is coming for those who are loving Him and living in obedience to His Word (John 14:15). He is the ONLY Way to life (John 14:6), which is why everything Ecumenical is NOT of the Lord! We must live carefully and in full dependence upon the Lord, and not man (no matter how persuasive and eloquent he is – Romans 16:17-18).
Returning to our text, the many sons whom God has led to glory are specifically the OT saints who remained faithful to His promise, and whose sins were finally cleansed by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Within the OT economy of living under God’s promise of redemption, these were regarded as being in Christ in that they remained faithful to the Lord. Consider this: “By faith Moses … refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God … Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt …” (Hebrews 11:24-26). Moses, who told the children of Israel of a coming Prophet to whom they were to give heed (Deuteronomy 18:15), considered what he would suffer for Christ to be of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Clearly, the Messiah (the Christ) had not come at this time, yet the writer considers Moses’ commitment to the promise of God as the expression of his faithfulness to Christ. The OT saints had faith in the promise of God; the NT saints have faith in the Promised One, the Christ – the faith is the same in both cases: it is in God!
Remember that the plan of salvation was determined by God the Father, the Word and the Spirit before the worlds were made (2 Timothy 1:9; 1 John 5:7), and that that plan included the Word becoming flesh in order to die to pay the price for the sin of humanity (Revelation 13:8).
God desired that those whom He created in His image would choose to worship and follow Him; He placed Adam and Eve in a Garden that He made especially for them, and gave them only one matter where they could exercise their ability to choose: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Satan focused on that one restriction, and deceived Eve into believing that disobedience was something that would make her wise. God created Adam and Eve with the ability to think, reason, evaluate and choose (the image of God); Satan twisted Eve’s thinking so that, to her, evil appeared to be good. Cain and Abel also made choices regarding their offerings to God: Abel chose to follow the Lord’s example of shed blood for the covering of sin; Cain chose to offer the fruit of his own labors (Genesis 4:3-5). Abel, though born a sinner, chose to come before the Lord with an offering that demonstrated that he understood the promise of One Who was coming to deal with sin – his sacrifice foreshadowed the work of Jesus.
We don’t know why God ordained a blood sacrifice as the required covering for sin, but that was eternally determined before man was created. As the Lord told Noah that every living thing was now food for man, He warned that the blood was not to be eaten with the flesh because the life is in the blood (Genesis 9:3-4). The Lord later clarified that “the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). Shed blood is the means of covering sin, whether temporarily as in the OT, or forever through the sacrifice of Jesus; and almost all things are purified with blood according to the Law, and apart from the shedding of blood there comes no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22, literal).58 Under the OT Law, atonement for the soul was made through shedding the blood of a perfect animal; as the fulfillment of that, Jesus shed His blood (gave His life) in the final atonement for sin! As Jesus ate with His disciples, just before His crucifixion, we read: “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it [drink from it, everyone (literal)]; For this is my blood of the new testament [New Covenant], which is shed for many [an inclusive use of polus (as discussed earlier)] for the remission [forgiveness] of sins (Matthew 26:27-28).59 Through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, a new and living way was opened for humanity to find cleansing from sin (Hebrews 10:20).
How could Jesus, Who is God, be made complete through suffering for the sins of humanity? And He is the Head of the Body, of the Ekklesia, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He, Himself, became in all respects preeminent (Colossians 1:18, literal).60 God’s desire was to have those who were made in His image to choose to fellowship with Him; through His suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus became the Head of all of those who for eternity will have fellowship with God – “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). It is in the New Heaven and Earth that the full glory of His completeness will be evident, and enjoyed by those who are a part of His Body!
11. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
For both He who is sanctifying and they who are being sanctified [are] all of one; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren (literal).61
Sanctify was a term that God first used during creation: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it …” (Genesis 2:3a). From this we understand that God set the seventh day apart as being holy, or sacred, within the seven-day week: the word used in Hebrew is qadash, and the LXX shows this as hagiazo.62
The context for our verse identifies the He as being the Author of our salvation (from the previous verse): it is through Jesus that we are being sanctified – set apart as holy. In which will [of God] we have been sanctified once and never again, we are [sanctified] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10, literal).63 It is as we place our faith in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus that we are set apart in Him; His holiness becomes ours and His Spirit abides within – this describes our standing before God Who now sees us through Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice. However, as we live in this world, we recognize that His holiness does not always reveal itself through us, and so there is to be a growing process in our walk with Him. For by one offering, He did complete forever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14, literal).64 Christ made one offering, and through that He completed, or made perfect, those who are being made holy. Notice: there is a completed sanctification (when we are brought into Christ by faith), and there is a life-long sanctification process as we grow in our understanding of His truth and what it means to walk in obedience to Him. What is also noteworthy is that in both cases (namely, the initial, one-time and the ongoing sanctification) the passive voice is used: it is the Lord Who sets us apart unto Himself, and He works His holiness into our lives.
To illustrate this more fully, let’s consider Jesus’ parable of the soils. Jesus provided this explanation of the Seed that fell upon the rocky soil: “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy [this is the initial, one-time sanctification]; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). The rocky soil hearers received the Word with joy and were in Christ (sanctified), but, when their faith was tested, which is God’s method for our ongoing sanctification, they fell away – the process of sanctification was rejected. What we must realize is that the sanctification (both initial and ongoing) are the work of the Lord within us, and, most importantly, that the Lord will not sanctify us (either initially or presently) against our wills. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), or, more plainly, if ye are loving Me, [then] My commands you must be obeying (literal).65 In other words, if you are loving Me, then you will be obedient; conversely, if you are not obedient, then you are not loving Me. The rocky soil hearers loved the Lord until their faith was tested, and then they became apostate.
We have learned that our sanctification always comes from the Lord, and that it is Jesus’ sacrifice that makes this possible for us. Recognizing that there is a sanctification (setting apart) that comes when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus, let’s look at a few more Scriptures that teach us about the importance of following the Lord. “… but ye are washed [ye have cleansed yourselves], but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11); the washing comes through placing your faith in the Lord Jesus (it is in the middle voice – something that you do to/for yourself; cp. 2 Peter 2:22, where washed is also in the middle voice), whereas the sanctifying and justifying come through the name of the Lord and the Spirit of God (passive voice: the work of the Lord).66 Jesus said that He would send the Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and it is as our understanding of the truth of God grows that the sanctifying work of the Spirit takes place in us. Another verse that shows that God is fully involved in leading us deeper into His holiness is: “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called” (Jude 1). The Son of God, the Spirit of God and God the Father are all working to our sanctification: bringing us to that place of being completely set apart to Him – in the world, but not of the world (John 17:15-16).
Therefore, it is no surprise that the One Who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified are of one: God sets us apart and we are being purified by Him – we are growing into His holiness! Jesus is the Head of His Ekklesia, His Body: we are one with Him. Ye must remain in Me – I also in you (John 15:4a, literal);67 understand that His abiding in us is dependent upon our remaining in Him, which is not a foregone conclusion.
It is because we are one with Christ that He is not ashamed to call us His brethren. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). We have been consecrated to Him through faith, and God desires to work in us to bring about our sanctification – this is the will of God being worked out in us: we are His family!
12. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Again, the writer goes back to the OT to apply what has been written there about the Lord Jesus. Psalm 22:22, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” Saying, I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to Thee (literal).68 The Psalmist declares that he will proclaim the name of Jehovah to his brethren, and will praise Him when he is gathered with others. However, the application of this quote from the Psalms is just a little different from its original use. Our verse begins with the word saying, which draws us back to the previous verse in order to determine who is speaking: it is the One Who is not ashamed to call those whom He is sanctifying, brethren – namely, Jesus! Therefore, we see that during His earthly ministry, Jesus did, indeed, proclaim the name of His Father in its fullness, and, when in the synagogues, He brought true praise to Jehovah – not according to the doctrine of the religious leaders, but in truth! As those whom Jesus willingly calls brethren, we must determine to follow Him carefully and completely by proclaiming the name of the Lord in truth, and offering our praise to Him.
13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
The first quote is from Psalm 91:2, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” Once again, the Psalmist is identifying Jehovah as his God (Elohim), and says, “I will trust in Him.” Trust (batach) is in the imperfect, which means that this is an incomplete action, often translated in the future tense (will);69 in other words, the Psalmist is saying that he is trusting in the Lord, and will continue to trust in Him. The context of this quote in our verse tells us that Jesus is saying, “I will trust in Him.” Do we find in Scripture any indication that Jesus, Who is God, trusted in God the Father? Consider this: Who, being reviled, did not retaliate; He, suffering, did not threaten, but committed [it – the treatment that He was receiving70] to the One Who is judging righteously (1 Peter 2:23, literal).71 As He faced the scorn, ridicule and abuse (particularly from the Jews) during His “trial” and crucifixion, He entrusted it all to the Father. “He was oppressed [treated harshly], and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb [silent], so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).72 Jesus’ humanity struggled with what He knew was coming, and so He prayed: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39b). He willingly became the sacrifice for sin, understanding the full measure of what that meant; through it all He trusted in God the Father to accomplish Their desired end.
The second quote in our verse is from Isaiah: “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion” (Isaiah 8:18). The context for Isaiah’s words is this: for those who fear the Lord, He will be their sanctuary (a sacred place), but for everyone else, He will be a stone of stumbling; Isaiah says that he, as a prophet, along with his children, the Lord will use as signs and wonders (both point to something that is future73) of what He desires for both houses of Israel (Israel and Judah). The first of Isaiah’s sons was named Shearjashub (meaning, a remnant shall return), and his second, Mahershalalhashbaz (swift is booty, speedy is prey);74 the first promises a time of exile with only a small number returning from it, and the second that Israel was about to be taken captive for their evil, which was to be an object lesson to the kingdom of Judah that should cause them to cleave to the Lord.
As we’ve come to expect, the application of this partial quotation is quite different from its original use. Context requires that I, once again, refers to the Lord Jesus, and so we must discern who the children are who have been given to Jesus. As Paul dealt with the error of the Galatians, he made this statement: for ye are all the children of God through [your] faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26, literal).75 Jesus said: “While ye have light [Jesus, (John 8:12)], believe [imperative mood (a command); present tense (continuous action); active voice (ye must be continually believing)] in the light [Jesus], [so] that ye may [will] be the children of light [Jesus]” (John 12:36a).76 It cannot be any clearer than this. We become the children of Jesus Christ through placing our faith in Him; we remain His children as we retain a continuous faith in Him that is evidenced by our obedience to His commands. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not [apeithon – is disobeying] the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).77
Although the writer only quotes the first part of Isaiah 8:18, the remainder of Isaiah’s thought also holds true. As Jesus taught His disciples, He said, “Ye are the light of the world … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). The premise for being the light of the world is that God is our heavenly Father. Jesus spoke of light in this way: “I am the light [singular] of the world: he that followeth [is following (present tense, a continuous action)] me shall not [will never; strongest Greek negative] walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12b). Jesus also identified Himself as being “… the way, the truth, and the life …” (John 14:6) – He is the only Way to the Father! Jesus is the only Light and He is Life; by placing our faith in Him, we become partakers of His light and life, but such participation is conditional, not absolute. John understood this very clearly: and in this we are coming to understand that we know Him, if His commandments we are obeying (1 John 2:3, literal; cp. John 14:15).78 Therefore, unless we are following Him in faithful obedience, we do not walk in His light, we do not know Him, and we are not partakers of His life so that we will come to His Father. This is what Jesus taught about His way to Life: enter ye through the narrow gate, because broad [is] the gate and spacious the way that is leading to destruction and many are those who are entering through it, because narrow [is] the gate and restrictive is the way that is leading to life and few are those who are finding it (Matthew 7:13-14, literal). Enter is in the imperative mood (it is a command) and active voice (we must do the entering) – Jesus is saying that we must enter through the Gate (He is that Gate) onto the way that leads to life.79
Further, it is noteworthy that the Greek word translated as destruction (apoleian) is the opposite of soteria (salvation); in other words, the broad, or spacious, way leads away from eternal life, the end of which is the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).80 It is only through faith in Christ that we are able to enter onto the Way that leads to life everlasting; everything else leads to destruction. Jesus issued this warning: and have no fear from those who are killing the body, but the soul they are not able to kill; but, rather, fear the One Who is able to utterly ruin both soul and body in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28, literal).81 Gehenna is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom that lies to the West and South of Jerusalem; it was in this valley that the children of Israel built a sacred area (a Tophet) where they burned their sons and daughters to the pagan deity, Moloch (Jeremiah 7:31). Judah’s King Josiah destroyed this Tophet (or Topheth), and it became a continually burning rubbish-heap where the refuse of Jerusalem was consumed – Gehenna brings together both the unending fire and the children who were sacrificed to Molech, or Satan (2 Kings 23:10).82
14. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Having firmly established the deity of Christ through many OT promises that have been shown to point to Him, the writer now returns to the thought begun in verse ten: the Author of our salvation, being eternal God, would be made complete through suffering. Since, therefore, the children have flesh and blood in common, He also, in just the same way, did share in the same, so that, through death, He put an end to the one having the power of death – namely, the Devil (literal).83
Earlier, the writer told us that Jesus did taste death for everyone (v. 9), now we learn more about how He could experience death and the reason for doing so. The writer just quoted from Isaiah as it related to the children who belong to Christ – those who have placed their faith in His atoning work. The reference to children in this instance, is not restricted to those who are in Christ, but has a broader application to everyone who is born of Adam, i.e., all of humanity. Probably the most basic thing that all of humanity has in common is that everyone has a body of flesh and blood. Since, in the OT, no one was able to receive a complete cleansing from sin, and since a temporary cleansing came only through faith in the shed blood of an animal offered to God, the eternal “Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a). Man is unable to do anything to bridge the gap between himself and God, and so, in the eternal counsels of God, it was determined that the Word would come to make that sacrifice for sin: the Lamb of God (the Word) was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8b). From eternity, it was established that the Word would take on a body of flesh for the purpose of making a final payment for sin – a Man would pay the price for the sins of mankind. The OT sacrifices foreshadowed Jesus’ coming to make that sacrifice, and for those who had faith in God’s promise, such offerings provided a temporary cleansing because of the surety of God’s Word. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
Therefore, Jesus (the Word made flesh) became both the Son of God (conceived by the Spirit of God) and the Son of Man (born of Mary) – thereby avoiding the sin-nature that comes from Adam, by whom sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12). Jesus took on a body of flesh, like unto those who were created in His image, with one exception: He had no sin-nature. On that first Passover, as the children of Israel prepared to leave Egypt, the Lord’s instructions were clear: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year …” (Exodus 12:5a); without blemish (tamiym) means to be whole, healthy, and uninjured.84 The sacrificial lamb was to be perfect in all respects, because, on that first Passover, its shed blood would provide protection from the death-angel who would go throughout the land of Egypt. The Lord also instructed Moses that Israel was to keep this as a feast for ever (Exodus 12:14) – the Hebrew ‘owlam (for ever) is literally for generations to come, more with the thought of perpetuity than eternity.85 Now we understand this completely, since the Passover celebration was fulfilled in Christ, it is ended for eternity – it was there for Israel as a foreshadowing of that final Sacrifice!
… on behalf of Christ, we are pleading [with you (plural)]: become reconciled to God, for He, Who did not come to know sin, for our sakes He was made sin so that we will become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:20b-21, literal).86 Within our consideration, it is clear that Jesus did not experience (come to know) sin; as He went to the cross, He did so as the sinless Lamb of God! However, as He hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the sin of the world – He remained sinless, but He carried the sins of all men, and He did so for our sakes so that, as we become reconciled to God, we will also become righteous in Him. Become reconciled is in the passive voice: it is only God Who is able to reconcile us with Himself, yet we must come to believe in Christ through faith (which is why it is also in the imperative mood) so that God is then able to bring us into that place of reconciliation.87 It is through our reunion with God through the Lord Jesus that we are able to experience the life that comes through Him.
Jesus, through His death, fulfilled the promise that God made to the serpent (really, to Satan who occupied the serpent) in the Garden of Eden: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [He] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).88 The defeat of Satan (bruise thy head) would include the price of suffering (bruise His heel). God, before the worlds were created, determined that He (in the form of man) would pay the price for man’s sin (1 Peter 1:19-21); man could not do it (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Galatians 3:22), but God made a way for those who bear His image to again have fellowship with Him. The relationship with our Creator is available to us because, at the cross, the power of the devil was broken. For the end result of sin [is] death … (Romans 6:23a, literal);89 it was through Adam’s submission to the devil that sin entered, and with sin came death: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin …” (Romans 5:12a). No child of Adam has ever been able to defeat death; as Solomon contemplated life, he recognized this truth: “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death (Ecclesiastes 8:8a). Man is without any ability to determine when he will die – to hold onto life at his will.
However, everything was very different with Jesus: being without sin, death had no claim on Him. As He was condemned to die and nailed to the cross, He shed His innocent blood as the final Passover Lamb, yet even as He bore the sins of the world, He was still without sin, and death could not claim Him. Therefore, we read: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46) – He entrusted His spirit to the Father, and He breathed out (died).90 He willingly relinquished His life as He bore the sins of the world – He died as the sinless Sacrifice for sin. Death is the just consequence of sin, and the devil exacted this payment from everyone who has lived (Romans 5:12); the sinless Jesus gave His life (Satan did not kill Him, nor did He die from the crucifixion), and thereby, He broke the power of death! Paul declared this to the Corinthians: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). It is only through faith in the Lord Jesus that we are able to have the sting of death removed (being cleansed from our sins).
And thus ye, be accounting yourselves as being dead to sin, and ye are living to God because of Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11, literal).91 Even though Jesus broke the power of sin, we are required to consider ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. To the Ephesians, Paul explained this as putting the old man off (dead to sin) and donning the new man – alive unto God (Ephesians 4:22-24). And ye, who have been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness (Romans 6:18, literal);92 once enslaved to sin, we are now enslaved to the righteousness of God that is found only in Christ Jesus. Jesus died for sin when death had no claim on Him, and thus He broke the power that Satan held over humanity since Adam – it is faith in Christ that makes that victory ours!
15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
This continues the purpose clause from the previous verse, providing another reason for Jesus’ death: and to deliver those who, by the fear of death in all of the living, were being held in slavery (literal).93 Jesus took on a body of flesh and blood so that, through His death, He is able to free those who were held in slavery. Again, it is necessary to understand that death and sin are inseparable: sin came into the world through Adam, and with it came death for everyone (Romans 5:12). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Sin is a part of everyone’s life, and, therefore, death is also a sure reality for everyone.
Let’s consider, for a moment, the bondage, or slavery, in which we have all been held. Paul explained it this way to the Romans: “have ye not known that to whatever ye yield yourselves [as] slaves unto obedience, slaves ye are to whatever ye are obeying, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. And thanks to God because ye, having been the slaves of sin, now obey from the heart the form of teaching to which ye were entrusted, And ye, who have been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness (Romans 6:16-18, literal).94 The reality is that we are all slaves – it is only a question of to whom, or what, we are enslaved. As we are set free from sin through a living faith in Christ, we become enslaved to the righteousness that is only in Him; by contrast, if we have not been made free in Christ, then we remain the slaves of sin, destined for death.
As we read of what takes place after this earth is removed, the results of this bondage to sin become very clear. The scene is the judgment throne of God after the end of Christ’s Millennial reign and this heaven and earth have been dissolved: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God [the resurrection of the dead has taken place – those from Hades and those caught in death when the earth is removed]; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [Hades, the place for the unrighteous dead from the time of Adam] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [Hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire [the second death]” (Revelation 20:12-15).95 Understand that those who were born during the Millennium are among the dead who will stand before God at this time – and those who have placed their faith in the ruling Shepherd have their names recorded in the Book of Life, which saves them from the Second Death. Everyone else will be judged according to their works, and, consequently, they will have a full understanding as to why they are condemned to the Lake of Fire. Jesus said that the broad way leads to destruction (ruin), which takes place in the Lake of Fire, the Second Death, or Gehenna (Matthew 7:13; 10:28). It is only in this life that we have the opportunity to determine our eternal destiny: will it be everlasting life with the Lord, or everlasting ruin with the devil?
16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
For, surely, of angels He is not concerned, but of the seed of Abraham, He is concerned (literal).96 The central Greek word that is repeated is epilambanitai, which does mean to take hold of, but, in a more figurative sense, it means to be concerned with, or to take an interest in.97 Because the translators used its primary meaning, they needed to add the words the nature of in order to make a complete thought; however, it skews the thought in a direction that does not flow within the context. We’ve already learned that Jesus took on a body of flesh like unto those whom He created in His image (v. 14), yet without the sin nature. From this we must note that He did not take on the nature of the seed of Abraham, which includes the inherited sin of Adam, but, rather, He came with a particular concern for His people, Israel. As Jesus journeyed to the borders of Israel, a Greek woman sought Him to heal her daughter, and her supplications annoyed His disciples for they asked Him to send her away, to which Jesus said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24b; cp. Mark 7:26). Jesus came as a descendant of Abraham, and He came with the specific purpose of fulfilling the Jewish covenant (the Mosaic Law); therefore, the focus of His time on earth was among the children of Abraham. Yet, even as He lived in complete obedience to the Law of Moses, the religious leaders continually found fault with Him because they did not correctly understand their Scriptures that spoke of His coming. Jesus taught the truth of God (after all, He is God); He was ever aware of His mission: nevertheless, as My Father did instruct Me, these things I am speaking (John 8:28c, literal).98 He came, fulfilling the mission that had been determined before creation (Revelation 13:8).
As the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He expressed His desire for them: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6a). Israel was to be God’s expression of His will to the people of the earth (a holy people), and they were to mediate between the people and the Lord (a kingdom of priests); yet, beyond that, they were the family line through whom the Redeemer would come. The descendants of Abraham had experienced being slaves, the peace of living faithfully for the Lord, the devastation of exile, the prophetic word of what the Lord had in store for them, and the joy of returning to their own land, yet, by the time that Jesus walked among His fellow Jews, the Lord’s service had become a dark and empty liturgy. Jesus became a descendant of Abraham (through Mary) so that He could minister to the Jews, be a Light to them, and fulfill the prophecies going all of the way back to Adam. Clearly, as the Son of God, Jesus did not bear the nature of humanity (including Abraham), but He came in the flesh, having an eternal concern for those who bore His image yet languished in the bondage of sin.
17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Therefore, He was under obligation to become like the brethren in all respects; so He became a compassionate and faithful High Priest to God for the purpose of atoning for the sins of the people (literal).99
How are we to understand behoved or obligation within this context? It was determined within the eternal counsel of God that the Word would come to earth with the purpose of atoning for sin with finality; in order to do so, Jesus (the Word) became flesh – His necessity to do so came from the determination of God. Therefore, Jesus was under obligation to be like unto His brethren, the Jews, except that, as God, He remained without sin. The blood of the sacrifices of the OT saints could not bring a final atoning for sin – under the Law of Moses, it was prescribed that an atonement sacrifice was to be made every year. It was the plan of God “… to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness …” (Daniel 9:24b). The prophecy came to Israel that sin would be brought to an end; the end came when Jesus paid the full price for the sin of humanity on the cross – a final atonement was made! This was God’s plan, and it required the Word to become a Man – a perfect Lamb to make a complete sacrifice for sin.
We read this of Jesus: “Who, being in the form [morphe] of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form [morphe] of a servant [doulos, slave], and was made in the likeness of men …” (Philippians 2:6-7).100 The Greek morphe is commonly understood as form (as it is translated here), external appearance, or nature, yet it is much more. It speaks of objective reality, not just a subjective perception; it encompasses all aspects, and not simply appearance:101 the form of God that Jesus has is that He is fully God! The same applies to the form of a slave that Jesus became: He was a slave in every respect, not to man but to God, in order to accomplish God’s eternal plan of redemption for humanity.
The writer introduces us to Jesus as being a High Priest to God. The first time that we read of someone being called a priest is Melchisedek who met Abram after his rescue of Lot (Genesis 14:18-20); he is described as “the priest of the most high God.” In our study, we will hear much more of Melchisedek.
Under the time of the Mosaic Law, Moses’ brother, Aaron, and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were named as priests to the Lord (Exodus 28:1), thus establishing the family line within the tribe of Levi from whom all of the priests were to come (Exodus 2:1-2, 10; 29:9). Earlier we noted that the animal used for sacrifice was to be without blemish; what is also noteworthy, is that for the priests to qualify for the service of the Lord, they must also be without blemish: “No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread [or food] of his God” (Leviticus 21:21).102 The bread, or food, of the Lord are the sacrifices that Israel was required to make for the covering of their sins: “Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour [a soothing scent] unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season” (Numbers 28:2).103 Therefore, a priest with a physical blemish was not permitted to make offerings or perform the services within the tabernacle of the Lord; nevertheless, offering sacrifices was not limited to the priests: Gideon (of Manasseh; Judges 6:15, 26-27), Manoah (of Dan; Judges 13:2, 19), and David (of Judah; 2 Samuel 24:25) all sacrificed upon an altar unto the Lord, and their sacrifices were accepted.
We see Jesus, given the title of High Priest, meeting the qualifications of a priest. He was God abiding within human flesh (John 1:14), and was, therefore, without any physical or spiritual defect. The priests, under the Law of Moses, were anointed (with a holy oil according to the Lord’s recipe, Exodus 30:25), consecrated (for the priesthood) and sanctified (set apart as holy) to the service of the Lord in His tabernacle (Exodus 28:41); Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32), remained sinless (1 John 3:5) and is eternally holy (Revelation 3:7).104 By becoming the Son of Man, He was able to experience life on earth and have compassionate understanding for those who bear His image in this life; although He remained sinless, He rubbed shoulders with a humanity that was not. As the Son of God, He remained committed and faithful to the task that He had come to earth to accomplish: making the final payment for sin.
It was the high priest, under the Mosaic Law, who bore the responsibility of making an annual atonement for his sins and the sins of the people. A bullock was sacrificed for the sins of the high priest and his family, and blood from the bullock was taken into the holy of holies and sprinkled upon the mercy seat (the very presence of Jehovah, Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:11-14); in similar fashion, the blood from a sacrificed goat was sprinkled to atone for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:15). The high priest would take a second goat, place his hands upon its head and confess the sins of the people; it was then released into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people with it.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sins as the perfect Lamb of God, and, as our High Priest, He presented His blood shed for the sins of humanity before the Father in heaven. Not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered once for all into the Holy places, having obtained everlasting redemption (Hebrews 9:12, literal).105 For Christ did not enter into holy places made by hands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on behalf of us (Hebrews 9:24, literal).106 Jesus accomplished full atonement for sin, and, as the high priests of old, He brought the blood for atonement into the very presence of God: for the high priests, it was sprinkled upon the mercy seat (the presence of God); for Jesus, it was presented to the Father in heaven.
Jesus was made like unto those who bear His image (yet without sin), and He lived among those whom He called His brethren, but who had inherited sin. He was the Sacrifice Who bore the sins of all of humanity, and through His shed blood that He presented to the Father, He, as our High Priest, made an everlasting atonement for sin. Because He lived on earth in the flesh, He is familiar with and compassionate toward our plight – He is a High Priest Who understands our frame and our dilemma, and can adequately intercede for us with the Father (Romans 8:34).
18. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
For in that He did suffer, He, Who was tested, is able to help those who are being tested (literal).107 We will never be able to comprehend the suffering that Christ endured as He faced the ultimate test of His commitment to the plan that He helped devise so that humanity would have a means of full reconciliation with their Creator: the Sinless One took upon Himself the sins of humanity. It is abundantly evident in Scripture that, despite the suffering that He endured, Jesus came through the testing victoriously! “And being found in fashion as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore [for this reason] God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:8-9).108 We have already seen that in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son, Jesus, Whom He has made heir of all things and Who is seated on His favored right side in glory (Hebrews 1:2-3). Despite the testing that He endured, He remained faithful to the eternal plan to bring redemption from sin to everyone.
The testing that we face in our lives is miniscule compared to what He endured because of our sin; therefore, we should readily understand that He is immeasurably able to provide help to us when we call to Him. The Lord is able to rescue the godly from testing, and to hold the unrighteous, who are being punished, unto the day of judgment (2 Peter 2:9, literal).109 It is incumbent upon us to understand what it means to be godly in this day of Ecumenical fervor (understanding that everything Ecumenical is contrary to the clear teachings of Scripture). However, the Lord’s ability to rescue us from testing is not to be misunderstood to mean that He will always deliver us. Paul suffered from a thorn in the flesh that caused him great pain (buffeted: kolaphizo – literally, to strike with the fist), yet the Lord promised to provide him with grace to endure, and not freedom from the testing (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).110 Jesus’ promise to us is this: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation [thlipsis, oppression from outward circumstances]: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).111 His promise is twofold: 1) in this life we will have oppression and trouble, and 2) He has overcome this world, so be encouraged because a better day is coming for those who are loving Him and living in obedience to His Word (John 14:15). He is the ONLY Way to life (John 14:6), which is why everything Ecumenical is NOT of the Lord! We must live carefully and in full dependence upon the Lord, and not man (no matter how persuasive and eloquent he is – Romans 16:17-18).
END NOTES:
1 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
2 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
3 https://tms.edu/doctrinal-statement/.
4 John MacArthur, The Truth War, p. 43.
5 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/43-34/true-and-false-disciples-part-2.
6 MacArthur, Truth, p. 62-63.
7 Ibid, p. 65.
8 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
9 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon; BDB.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
11 Stephanus 1550 NT.
12 MacArthur, Truth, p.63.
13 Ibid, p. 64.
14 Stephanus 1550 NT.
15 Friberg Lexicon.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 Theological Wordbook of the OT (TWOT), #116.
18 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
19 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-271/~/about.
20 John MacArthur, Jr., The Vanishing Conscience, p. 88.
21 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
22 Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
23 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
24 https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed.
25 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
26 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
27 Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon.
28 BDB; Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
29 BDB.
30 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
31 Friberg Lexicon.
32 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
33 Strong’s Online.
34 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
35 Friberg Lexicon.
36 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
37 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; The Complete Word Study NT, p. 950.
38 Strong’s Online.
39 https://www.voddiebaucham.org/second-london-baptist-confession-of-faith-1689/; Ch. 3, par. 1 and 2.
40 Strong’s Online.
41 Gingrich Lexicon.
42 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/70-11/bible-questions-and-answers-part-39.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
45 https://www.gty.org/library/Print/Blog/B150605.
46 https://www.evangelical-times.org/calvinism-and-evangelism-friends-or-foes/.
47 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
48 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
49 Strong’s Online.
50 Stephanus 1550 NT.
51 Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
52 Strong’s Online.
53 Stephanus 1550 NT.
54 Strong’s Online.
55 Stephanus 1550 NT.
56 Strong’s Online; BDB.
57 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
58 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
59 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
60 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
61 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
62 BDB; Friberg Lexicon.
63 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/hebrews/10.htm.
64 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
65 Stephanus 1550 NT.
66 Friberg Lexicon.
67 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
68 Stephanus 1550 NT.
69 Leningrad Hebrew OT; https://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-15.pdf.
70 https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/1_peter/2.htm.
71 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
72 BDB.
73 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
74 BDB.
75 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/nouns1.htm.
76 Strong’s Online; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
77 Friberg Lexicon.
78 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
79 Strong’s Online.
80 Abbot-Smith Greek Lexicon.
81 Stephanus 1550 NT; Mounce Greek-English Dictionary, ESword.
82 https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14445-tophet.
83 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
84 BDB.
85 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
86 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon; The Complete Word Study NT, p 963.
87 Strong’s Online.
88 Leningrad Hebrew OT.
89 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
90 Friberg Lexicon.
91 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
92 Ibid.
93 Ibid.
94 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
95 Strong’s Online.
96 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
97 Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
98 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
99 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
100 Strong’s Online.
101 Theological Dictionary of the NT, Vol. IV, p. 743, “μορφή.”
102 BDB.
103 BDB; Keil & Delitzsch Commentary, ESword.
104 BDB.
105 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
106 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
107 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
108 Friberg Lexicon.
109 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
110 Friberg Lexicon.
111 Ibid.
1 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
2 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
3 https://tms.edu/doctrinal-statement/.
4 John MacArthur, The Truth War, p. 43.
5 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/43-34/true-and-false-disciples-part-2.
6 MacArthur, Truth, p. 62-63.
7 Ibid, p. 65.
8 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
9 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon; BDB.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
11 Stephanus 1550 NT.
12 MacArthur, Truth, p.63.
13 Ibid, p. 64.
14 Stephanus 1550 NT.
15 Friberg Lexicon.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 Theological Wordbook of the OT (TWOT), #116.
18 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
19 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-271/~/about.
20 John MacArthur, Jr., The Vanishing Conscience, p. 88.
21 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
22 Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
23 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
24 https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed.
25 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
26 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
27 Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon.
28 BDB; Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
29 BDB.
30 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
31 Friberg Lexicon.
32 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
33 Strong’s Online.
34 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
35 Friberg Lexicon.
36 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
37 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; The Complete Word Study NT, p. 950.
38 Strong’s Online.
39 https://www.voddiebaucham.org/second-london-baptist-confession-of-faith-1689/; Ch. 3, par. 1 and 2.
40 Strong’s Online.
41 Gingrich Lexicon.
42 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/70-11/bible-questions-and-answers-part-39.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
45 https://www.gty.org/library/Print/Blog/B150605.
46 https://www.evangelical-times.org/calvinism-and-evangelism-friends-or-foes/.
47 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
48 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
49 Strong’s Online.
50 Stephanus 1550 NT.
51 Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
52 Strong’s Online.
53 Stephanus 1550 NT.
54 Strong’s Online.
55 Stephanus 1550 NT.
56 Strong’s Online; BDB.
57 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
58 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
59 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
60 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
61 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
62 BDB; Friberg Lexicon.
63 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/hebrews/10.htm.
64 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
65 Stephanus 1550 NT.
66 Friberg Lexicon.
67 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
68 Stephanus 1550 NT.
69 Leningrad Hebrew OT; https://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-15.pdf.
70 https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/1_peter/2.htm.
71 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
72 BDB.
73 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
74 BDB.
75 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/nouns1.htm.
76 Strong’s Online; https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-purpose.htm.
77 Friberg Lexicon.
78 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
79 Strong’s Online.
80 Abbot-Smith Greek Lexicon.
81 Stephanus 1550 NT; Mounce Greek-English Dictionary, ESword.
82 https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14445-tophet.
83 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon.
84 BDB.
85 Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon.
86 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon; The Complete Word Study NT, p 963.
87 Strong’s Online.
88 Leningrad Hebrew OT.
89 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
90 Friberg Lexicon.
91 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
92 Ibid.
93 Ibid.
94 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
95 Strong’s Online.
96 Stephanus 1550 NT; Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
97 Gingrich Lexicon; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon.
98 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
99 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
100 Strong’s Online.
101 Theological Dictionary of the NT, Vol. IV, p. 743, “μορφή.”
102 BDB.
103 BDB; Keil & Delitzsch Commentary, ESword.
104 BDB.
105 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon; Gingrich Lexicon.
106 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
107 Stephanus 1550 NT; Bauer Greek-English Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
108 Friberg Lexicon.
109 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
110 Friberg Lexicon.
111 Ibid.