For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,[c] 12 saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Over the years we have discussed at length the way that we learn. I have tried to draw attention to a Christian blind spot, namely, that learning, knowing things does not only come through information but also through formation. It is a simple fact, easily proved from experience but also taught in the Bible that we also learn through doing. We do in order to understand.
This is an obvious way that children learn, in fact it is unarguable. We tell children to do, to imitate, to copy, to obey and later they will have understanding as to what they are doing.
That is why we make much of the power of liturgy: What we do in our habits, rituals and practices make us into certain kinds of people. We have stressed that over the years because it has until recently, for the most part, been ignored. And we have discussed at some length the concerning consequences of this ‘information equals holiness’ way of sanctification; We are more than brains on a stick, (James KA Smith) the arrogance of seeking to be right instead of seeking to love, the divisiveness of demanding folks to think like us and agree with our theological system…or else.
In the day we live in, we must emphasize these things and will continue to talk about them openly, freely bringing attention to the power of liturgical formation. However, we do this for appropriate balance, not to decry theology, not to say, what you think about God, salvation, Jesus, the Christian life is a crap shoot or that God doesn’t call us to think a certain way, believe certain things and teach sound doctrine.
It is necessary that we think about God and His work in and through Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit…correctly. That is, God has revealed to us in His Word, truths about His purposes in Jesus, that must be believed and believed in such a way that the consequences for such beliefs are seen in the actions, decisions and way of life of those who say they believe them.
So over the next couple of mornings, we are going to do a little theology. Chapter 2 of Hebrews is calling us to think correctly about who Jesus is and what God would have us think about and embrace as “true” regarding the place of God the Son, not only his place in our lives, but His place in the cosmos.
Do you recall the story and the situation at the beginning of I Kings? King David is very old and knows that he is dying. He had a number of sons and one of them, Adonijah, wanted to be the next king. So, Adonijah pulled some strings, met with the head of the army and one of the senior priests and they announced that he, Adonijah, was now king. Of course, David knew nothing of this action.
David had told his wife Bathsheba that her son Solomon would be the next king of Israel. So, in haste, David had Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint Solomon as king. This created all kinds of problems and you can read all about them in the books of Kings. The point I want to make is that there was a great turmoil over answering the question: Who did the king, David, intend to rule in the kingdom that was to come? (NTW)
That is the question that Hebrews is answering. Only it is not simply about a kingdom, but THE kingdom and the new world, the world that God is renewing in righteousness and perfection.
That is what verse 5 says, “It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking…”
Jesus is the King of this new, recreated world, that is what the preacher is talking about in this sermon that we call Hebrews. We began looking at this book with the emphasis being on the fact that this King, this Son, is superior to the angels through whom the law had been given.
Here the point is nuanced a bit, while the sermon is still speaking about the superiority of the Son, Jesus, now He is being spoken of in terms of the future role that has been marked out for Him. In the coming world God is going to establish forever, the order of creation, the order of all things as it was supposed to have been.
Adam and Eve were given charge of the garden, in fact, of creation as a whole. But everything got turned on its head. They were to be vice-regents of God for the rule and prospering of all things. The order was God, man, woman, and creation. The serpent comes along, and you all know the story, and the righteous order is turned upside down. It then becomes, creature, (the serpent is the one calling the shots now) woman, man and God is not needed at all.
But God is going to save creation. He is going to restore all things. That is why, in this context, the preacher of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8 at the beginning of verse 6. What are human beings? Why does God treat man and woman in such a special way? When you think about the vastness of creation, man is seemingly small and insignificant.
The answer that God gives through the Psalmist, which the preacher is now repeating, is as mysterious as it is breathtaking. Looking at it, you might be tempted to conclude that the angels are above man…they are lesser than angels…But God intends that mankind is to be the true governors of the created order, just as He did in the garden. That is what the psalmist means when he speaks of man as, “crowned with glory and honor.”
That is what makes Peter’s words in his first epistle so interesting regarding the wonder of man’s salvation that even angels long to peer into such things…even the angels are taken aback by God’s love for mankind and the lengths that He is willing to go for man to be redeemed. After all, angels fell and rebelled against God and they were removed from God’s presence…nothing was done to redeem them, they were given what they wanted.
Mankind falls, and surely the angels thought the same would be true for humanity, removed forever from relationship with Yahweh. But God would not have it. And at great cost to Himself, God put into play the greatest act of rescue ever conceived!
Prayer: Father, I do not often stop to consider the wonders of my salvation. I have become flippant about those things that matter and are eternal and have been captivated by lesser things, even sinful things. Father, give me a true sight of the life that my Savior has won for me that I might make Him my highest joy, that I might give myself by the power of Your Spirit to living in its light, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Come Ye Sinners