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HEBREWS CHAPTER 2 See previous page Heb 2,1-9 (243l) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to His increase >> God's kingdom is Infinite >> We will reign with Christ forever – This passage is essentially saying that however God the Father intends to treat His Son is how He will treat us. If He allows Him to be tested, then He will also test us; and if He crowns Him with glory and honor, then He will crown us with glory and honor; and if He subjected the world to come to Him, then He will subject the world to come to us. Heb 2,1-8 (141c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the Son of God KJV WEB Heb 2,1-4 (20l) Sin >> Disobedience >> Paying no attention to the word – There are many people in the Church who do not read their Bibles, being a sure way to drift from the truth. Most books we can read once, but we read the Bible for life, because it is a spiritual book and we are a spiritual people. Many have never spiritually grown their whole lives; they may have been raised in a Christian home and think they are Christians by osmosis, as though getting grand-fathered-in. It might work that way as God's chosen people according to the flesh, they were Israelites because their parents were Israelites, but to be part of God's family requires faith. We should not believe someone who claims to have been a "Christian" his whole life yet has never grown. Being a babe in Christ is mentioned in the book of Hebrews (Heb 5,11-14), but we can't remain one for life; we must grow-up or face the consequences. They consider their faith of so little value as to completely ignore it, as though saying the sinner’s prayer were enough, and now they need only wait for heaven, meanwhile living however they want. They may curtail their sinful nature when convenient, but if temptation becomes too harsh, they simply surrender to it. Although these things happen also to devoted Christians, the difference is whether the Holy Spirit dwells in them. Without Him there is usually a complete lack of concern, interest and priority in the things of God. (40k) Judgment >> Judgment of Christ >> God’s word judges the Church (45h) Judgment >> Judgment of believer’s sin >> God will judge us if we don’t heed His word (51d) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Warning of wrath >> Warned to heed the word of God – If the word of God has proven itself over time and has the testimony of being delivered to us by angels, and if God has a reputation of judging sin, then what makes us think we will escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Those who heard were Jesus’ disciples. We can trust them with our lives; in fact, everyone who has been saved throughout the age of grace has trusted them. Jesus Himself trusted His twelve disciples, placing the gospel into their hands and investing 3 years into their lives, teaching them everything they needed to know about how to walk and please God. He taught them the truth, giving them an ear to hear the word of God, so when they heard it, they immediately knew it was the truth. Therefore, when they wrote the New Testament, we can trust it to be the truth from God. (51g) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality between saved and unsaved (79h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Practice listening to God’s word so you can hear it – The indwelling Holy Spirit should be all-encompassing, compelling us to live for Him. We should be daily cultivating our faith as students of His word and disciples of prayer, watching excitedly for change that only the Holy Spirit can effect in us, delivering us from bondage to sin, in order to pursue higher levels of righteousness we never thought possible. This is the kind of spiritual life we should have, but the one who has never grown does not understand such concerns. They view their fellow believers as fanatics. The reason no one should call a fellow brother a fanatic is that we are all indirect benefactors of each other’s victory over sin, which leads us to wisdom that we can share, but the one who sits on his hands, the writer of Hebrews asks how he will escape if he neglects so great a salvation? (96c) Thy kingdom come >> Positive attitude toward God >> Good attitude about the word of God – “Every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty” is speaking about the days of Moses. The old covenant was established on a cause and effect system; if we sin, there are consequences. This was very harsh, cold and impersonal, and we think we have it better now, but it is only better if we keep the faith without drifting from what we initially believed. If we do, the consequences will be far worse than that of the old covenant. We know that breaking the laws of Moses often resulted in death; how can new covenant consequences top that, unless they follow the transgressor after death. There is something worse than death, and that is hell. Those who neglect so great a salvation after Jesus shed his blood to redeem mankind from sin will have a far greater punishment in hell than those who sinned against the old covenant. It is one thing to reject the hope of salvation, but it is another to reject the very sacrifice meant to save us. See also: Endtime judgments simulate hell; Rev 8-10; 104c (106l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> To protect your faith – The Christian walk is like going on a long hike, so we bring provisions in a backpack. Although our faith dwells in our innermost being, today we are going to see it as something that is strapped to us and is detachable. We get tired and take off the backpack and set it aside as we sit on a stump and take a rest. We allow ourselves to walk ten feet from it, then twenty feet, then a hundred yards, two hundred yards, and then a mile. Now we are using a compass as a means of returning to our faith. We go through temptation and hardship and bouts of unbelief. We have set our faith aside somewhere and don’t know where to find it and get lost in the woods. How do we get back to our faith? Someone asks us what was in the backpack, thinking it was something like a notepad, pencil and a Bible, but no; we lost our eternal soul. The writer of Hebrews is importuning us to pay much closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it. We have the hope of eternal life; we have the destiny of heaven in front of us, but we must fight for it. See also: Analogies (Climbing Mount Everest); Jm 1-10,11; 166i (111j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the judgment of God (114d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Obeying the revelation from heaven >> Obeying the revelation of God’s word (146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe – God verified His word by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, so we can place all confidence in the days of Moses that his laws came from God. A day is coming in the last days when signs and wonders will return during a Great Endtime Revival, so nobody will have an excuse for neglecting so great a salvation. (157a) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting the truth (206k) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish in your sin >> Perish in your omission of righteousness – Most people in the Church don’t believe it is possible to lose their salvation. Liars and deceivers have maligned the truth ever since the Church became an entity of the state around 300 AD; that was a long time ago, and just about every generation since then has added to the interpretation or subtracted from it. Fortunately, they have not tampered with the Scriptures themselves, though it is not necessary since interpreting the Bible is just as effective and much easier. An entire generation now believes multi-layered, kaleidoscopic views of the Bible, making it very difficult to hear the original words of Scripture. (218g) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest >> Reaping the harvest of obedience >> The harvest from the word of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2,1-3 (161c) Works of the devil >> Wandering from the character of God >> Wander from the truth Heb 2-1 (79g) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Watch yourselves (97e) Thy kingdom come >> Attention >> Facing in the direction of the Lord >> Focusing your attention on the word of God – Jesus said, "Abide in My word" (Jn 15,4-8); abide means to remain. God wants us to remain in His word. Not abiding in it is to drift away from it. A person who leaves His house can return using the same route, but a person who leaves God’s word may not return in the same way that he left it; that is, he may return without his heart. Therefore, abiding in His word without drifting away from it requires more from us than simply going to church. Jesus’ level of commitment to His Father and what He expected from His disciples is a clue to the level of commitment He expects from us to remain in His word, or perhaps the level required to avoid drifting away from Him. The concept of abiding in His word requires a personal commitment that transcends the Bible; that is, we could read it and memorize the words and still drift. God's word is knowledge that is different from the sciences or any other field of knowledge. It is meant for a personal relationship with God. To learn it isn’t good enough; we must always be well-read, like we keep up with our friends, lest we drift away from them. The Bible is God's love letter to us from which we develop a relationship with Him; we should read it to Him in a state of prayer. (100g) Thy kingdom come >> Diligence >> Diligence in studying the Bible (203i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from the truth KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2-2,3 (48i) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your knowledge of God Heb 2-2 (15h) Servant >> Angels have authority >> They have the power to decree an order Heb 2-3 (144d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It bears witness of His word (155i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The Church bears witness of the believer Heb 2-4 (35ja) Gift >> God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> Spiritual gifts >> Possessing gifts from God (147e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Divine works of God >> Signs and wonders (155g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the believer (216k) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> You cannot control God’s desire for you >> man is not in control of God’s gift KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2,5-18 (37f) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations (56k) Paradox >> Opposites >> Least are gre atest >> Smallest in the eyes of men are big to God – To the degree that the angels are greater servants than man is the degree to which they are equal with man, for though angels are greater in might and service, man is greater in glory and authority, and since the least is greatest and the greatest is least in the Kingdom of Heaven, the net result is equality. Heb 2,5-11 (34a) His Generosity (Key verse) (35c) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> God’s immeasurable generosity Heb 2,5-10 (213d) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all powerful >> Christ subjects the creation to Himself Heb 2,5-9 (15k) Servant >> Angels >> Limitations of angels -- These verses go with verse 16. What must the angels have thought when they learned about God’s intension to send His Son to us, clothed in the frailty of human flesh? He made Him for a little while lower than the angels, though maintaining His righteousness among wretched mankind, which tempted sinners to murder Him in cold blood, and in so doing became the sacrifice that would take away their sins, if they would just believe in Him. What must the angels have thought when they understood that this would make us greater than them? How could the angels not be jealous of us? Jealousy was probably Lucifer's motivation, after learning about God’s plan to make man in His image above the angels, and he tried to stop Him, and by that created sin, the very crucible that God used to test mankind and gave His Son in sacrifice for us. Everyone who now believes in Jesus' blood to cleanse them from their sins will be given Christ-like status to sit with Him on His Father’s throne. How could God have given us this status had He bypassed the predicament of sin, hence the opportunity to choose righteousness over evil? What must the angels have thought, who remained faithful to God, knowing that man would one day supersede their authority? It must have taken tremendous faith on their part to accept this. The angels who sided with God would be rewarded with the honor for serving mankind, and mankind will honor them by the authority that God has given them. See also: Satan is jealous of man Rev 17-8; 60f (34e) Gift of God >> Believer owns everything >> All things belong to us (66b) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all creation >> over the elements Heb 2,5-8 (4e) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable in your stewardship – “What is man, that you remember him? Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him?” (Psalm 8-4,5). This passage equates man with the son of man, who is Jesus, suggesting that whatever happens to Him will happen to us, and whatever He receives from His Father belongs to us too, for He "raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2-6,7). The thing about God, He didn’t give us a portion of everything He made; He gave it all to us. He is so big and rich that He doesn’t think in terms of His possessions. We see an end to all our resources, but God is the source of all things and has no end of any resource. He can afford to give us everything. (34d) Gift of God >> Believer owns everything >> New creation belongs to us – This passage is talking about Christ as a man, suggesting that the promise is to man with Christ as the forerunner of both our suffering and glory. This is the inheritance that we can expect to receive from God in eternity. The question is not whether God loves us; He does, but to what degree? God intends to endow mankind with everything He owns. Man is destined to inherit the entire creation; that is, whatever God creates, He will put man in charge of it. Can God create something greater than man? The better question is, can God create something greater than what He has already created in His own image? How are we in the image of God anyway? What is the main attribute of man that makes us in the image of God; isn't it our freewill? This is what God finds so valuable in mankind, our willingness to choose Him over Satan, and to dedicate our lives to doing His will instead of our own (not my will but yours be done: Lk 22-42). There is nothing we can do to please God more than using our lives to fulfill His purpose. We will discover how much He values that when we enter eternity; He will give us all things. The significance of freewill goes as deep as the human soul. The thoughts and intensions of our heart are calculated by our freedom. God values not so much what we do but our motivation for doing it. (36g) Gift >> God opens His home to us >> Inheritance >> We heirs through faith (46k) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Demons are subject to the Church through Christ (70ja) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We are the children of God >> We have a place on His throne – This statement, “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet,” is a quote of the Old Testament (Psalm 8-6), used about Jesus in 1Cor 15,24-28, and now the writer of Hebrews is using it to describe that man is equal with Christ in terms of his eternal inheritance. This is why Jesus calls us brethren, for brothers receive the same inheritance from their Father. God has given us equal status with His own Son, which is really quite amazing. This also sheds light on the reason the Old Testament emphasized that the firstborn son of every family was second in authority to his father within the family. Jesus was first-born from the dead, and we have equal status with Him as a sibling, being destined also for the resurrection from the dead to receive eternal life and to reign with Him at His side forever. It says that we do not see all things subjected to him (mankind), yet a day is coming when it will be perfectly obvious that we literally own the universe. Beyond any question, we are joint heirs with Christ, and the whole creation belongs to us. (71h) Authority >> Ordained by God >> Ordained by His sovereign will >> God chooses to work in you (94m) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> God reflects on His creation (113l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His will (116d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >> Through His authority KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2-6 (29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother -- This verse goes with verses 11-13 Heb 2,7-9 (170i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Temporary >> All suffering is temporary (215e) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God views time in eternity >> God sees eras as moments Heb 2-7,8 (234a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> God chooses us as we seek His glory >> As we submit to Him Heb 2,8-10 (37j) Judgment >> Jesus emptied Himself of all His blood -- These verses go with verses 14-18. The angels the Father created through Christ were greater than Him while He lived in the weakness of human flesh, but they were not greater than what He was doing, which was saving humanity from their sins of those who would receive Him. There was the suffering of death, and then there was the crowning of glory and honor that occurred in heaven after He ascended to His Father and was invited to sit with Him on His thrown at His right-hand. That is Jesus’ place from eternity past to eternity future. Father and Son have always been together, but now that Jesus has paid the ransom for the sins of mankind with His own blood, His thrown itself was exalted so that God now is higher in power and glory than prior to Jesus becoming a man. Heb 2-8,9 (118a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Making spiritual observations – It says in verses 5&6, “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that you remember him? Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him?” Thus, it says that God has indeed subjected the coming world to Christ and subsequently linked this statement to man, so everything it says about Jesus speaks also to us. God the Father has put all things in subjection under His/our feet. This is the level of authority that God has given us, and we will realize it in eternity, and for this reason we need humility, because we don't know what "all things" means yet. Whatever, and whoever, God makes in the future, we will reign over it/them. God is teaching us to be servants, so when He gives His authority, He will be giving it to servants. He certainly cannot entrust pride and arrogance or a sense of entitlement to His new creation. We too were made in this life quite a bit lower than the angels, but in the age to come, the Father will raise us up with Jesus, and we will have far more authority than the angels, but we will not lord ourselves over them, nor will we be better than them, for the least is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and the greatest is least. Rather, we will have authority to bless and serve those whom God places under us. As much as Jesus was a servant suggests our role as servants. Jesus said He was the servant of all, and by association we are to learn humility, for it is our strength. God sowed these principles into the creation to spite Satan, and these principles are operating in the world even now, though often we can’t see them through the darkness of me-first attitudes. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2,9-18 (13a) Servant >> Jesus is a servant of mankind >> He is smaller than any man (35a) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> He is generous with the flesh of His Son – It was the Father’s good pleasure to send His Son to die for our sin, and Jesus was happy to do it for us. He didn’t complain in the Garden of Gethsemane, though He asked if it were possible to remove the cup from Him. If what He wanted could not be accomplished any other way, He accepted His fate for the sake of the children that He would inherit through death. The Father was happy to send His Son clothed in sinful flesh to live without sin, to be acquainted with grief. Many people are willing to accept the consequences of their sin for a moment of pleasure, such as the drug addict who shoves the needle in his vein to get high, willing to accept the consequences of addiction, declining health, loss of friends and family, poverty and living on the streets. Drug addiction in so many ways is iconic sin; in contrast, Jesus accepted the consequences of sin without enjoying its passing pleasures. Did he miss anything? He didn’t think so, and He thought it was worth coming here and dying for us, knowing it would accomplish not only obeying His Father, but also receiving a people whom He would call His brethren and whom the Father would call His children. He was willing to go through a moment of suffering in order to enjoy eternity all the more. (64h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness is stronger than men – Jesus is the king of angels but was made for a little while lower than them, and God intends to raise us with Himself. It is by grace that Jesus has tasted death and allowed God to come to know our suffering and weakness of flesh. It wasn’t out of character or extreme or beyond reason but fitting that God would do this to His own Son, based on the fact that all things are for Him and through Him, and based on the fact that through His suffering He would bring many sons to glory. This is our great high priest, who has made full sense of heaven and hell and has prepared the judgment of God against the devil and those who serve him, and has prepared grace and glory for those who love and serve Him, so both evil and good can be judged by one man, through one act of righteousness. (192b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your life to gain God’s purpose – There are many cults and cultures that have believed in suffering as a cleansing agent. While that notion is intrinsically false, we still see a shadow of that idea written in the Scriptures pertaining to the cross. However, we must make a distinction between masochism and suffering according to the will of God. He wants to share in our suffering that we might share in His glory, reflecting a concept anchored in many passages referring to a substitutionary process where God replaces our suffering and humility with His glory and power, but in order to make the switch, He had to become acquainted with our weakness through experience. (208g) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Father & son relationship – Jesus took on human flesh for the purpose of relating to our suffering, so He could raise us to a level that we could receive His divinity. The things we have inherited from God once belonged to Lucifer. He was once master of the universe, and then He sought the throne of God, saying, ‘I want to be like the Almighty’ (Isaiah 14-13,14). To make the devil jealous God created mankind, so we intrinsically possess what the devil craved. Now the devil is bitterly enraged with mankind because we possess through simple faith in Jesus what the devil gambled and lost. Man is like God in ways that angels are not. Lucifer was the chief angel, yet man is higher than the angels, for man can relate to God in ways that angels cannot. Angels have always served God in His presence, whereas man must believe first that He exists, and then believe in all the promises He made to us before we can receive them. Therefore, our faith makes us like God more than the angels who have always known Him. That is, when man exercises His faith through freewill, He is behaving more like God than any other creature, for God is faith. He will not make any creature to sit on His throne, but He has made us to sit at His right-hand. The devil stands between God and man as an obstacle to keep us apart, and Christ has taken him out of the way and has become our new intercessor, who ministers to us through grace and mercy, instead of through guilt and condemnation. See also: Satan (world speaks his language); Jn 3-31; 156l (230h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >> Obey the mystery of godliness like Jesus did Heb 2,9-13 (229h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Kingdom assumes the mind of Christ >> Kingdom grows into the likeness of Christ – To be human is to be like God. When He first created man, He said, “let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1-26). God is still creating us in His image, and perhaps He will never finish creating us, meaning that it will take an eternity for man to be like God. He is in the process of teaching His creation about Himself and showing us the meaning of righteousness, holiness and truth. Part of making us like Him was making Himself like us, so when He raises us to His lofty position, we are His brothers and sisters and children of the Father. Heb 2,9-11 (116f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through hardship -- These verses go with verses 14-18 (233i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through obedience KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2-9,10 (26c) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is separation from God’s presence -- These verses go with verses 14-18 (26i) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death of Christ -- These verses go with verses 14-18. It is not special for those to taste death who were going to die anyway, but it was special for Christ to taste death, who was above the curse of sin and the consequence of death. Christ's death was meaningful in terms of destroying the power of death, which was the Law; it states that if we sin, we must die. Jesus broke that law by dying without sin, so everybody who dies in Christ is set free from the consequence of death, which is hell. (29j) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> He is our advocate (43k) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfected in weakness (56d) Paradox >> Opposites >> humble yourself to be used of God (98f) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> (Faith à Suffering à Glory of Christ) >> The cross (103i) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus goes through God’s purifying process – The cross was Jesus’ purifying process; He was already pure, but the Father likes to keep things in the real world and on a practical level, because His new heavens and new earth will be just as real. He tests us in the real world to prepare us for the life to come that will be just as real; otherwise, if heaven were ethereal and nebulous, standing on white clouds strumming harps, what use would be the testing ground of this life? The cross represents the Father asking His Son a question, ‘If I put you in a body that tempted you to sin, would you sin?’ Instead of merely asking that question, He required His Son to give a real-world answer, just like He did with Job. Jesus answered the question, ‘No!’ with his life, even as Job answered the Lord with his life, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13-15). He asked Job what he would you do if God took away everything that was dear to him: his wealth, his children, his prestige in society and even his health. In the same way, the Father asked His Son, ‘If I told you that you had to go to the cross, would you do it?’ Jesus answered ‘yes’ with His life! Therefore, when God asks us a question, we can expect to go through tribulation, because He wants to know our answer on a practical level. Christ will ask some very poignant questions to His last day’s believers, such as, ‘When you see the antichrist rise to power, will you surrender your heart to Christ or will you switch gods?' See also: Inheriting a practical kingdom; Heb 2-10; 89a / Suffering and Evil (God tests us in this life because the next life will be just as real); 1Pet 1-6,7; 43a (188e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering the will of God in your life -- These verses go with verse 18 (189e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Tested for faithfulness to the death -- These verses go with verses 14-18 (190b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Taking your sinful nature by force -- These verses go with verses 14-18 (236c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> All things are for your sake >> God’s purpose is for your sake -- These verses go with verses 14-18 (241i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus by the predetermined plan of God >> The apostles taught about His death -- These verses go with verses 14&15 Heb 2-9 (32m) Gift of God >> Father will honor you >> Father honors His Son – Jesus was the first Christian, and we follow Him in suffering and death, crowned with glory and honor. For some that means martyrdom and for others, Paul wrote about baptism as a symbol of death, wherein our sinful nature is submerged in water, suffocated and we return to a new life. If we follow Christ in His death, Paul said, “Certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Rom 6-5). Jesus tasted death for everyone, whereas we were going to die anyway, being clothed in death, destined for the grave. He tasted death though He was never required to die, being the only man who chose to live in mortal flesh. We were never given that choice; we were born in a sinful world through no fault of our own. Jesus obeyed His Father, who wanted Him to become one of us, so He was born, destined to die. God in human flesh opened His mouth, illuminating the word of God, and the world killed Him for it. He tasted death without sin, so when He rose from the dead, He gave us authority to follow Him in His resurrection and glory. The Father honored His obedience and will honor ours too. (210a) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus saved from death by submitting to the cross -- This verse goes with verses 15-18 (253g) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Father and Son glorify each other >> Holy Spirit honors the Son through the Father >> Father glorifies Himself as He glorifies His Son KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2-10,11 (247g) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in the cross Heb 2-10 (33d) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Kingdom belongs to the children of God (89a) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Being sensible is always wise – It was fitting that Jesus should suffer prior to the Father giving Him all things, proving His worthiness. The fact that God allows us to suffer suggests the same, that we too will receive all things through Christ after we prove our worthiness. Eternity will resume at the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and it will last forever. The Father and the son have existed together from eternity past, and so the Father knew Jesus was worthy of all things; nevertheless, He made Jesus prove His loyalty; therefore, how much more can we expect God to make us prove our loyalty? God does not value virtual reality; He thinks that if our loyalty cannot be proven that it isn’t loyal. The Father knew His Son was worthy, yet He made Him go to the cross, because the rest of creation didn’t know it. The Father clothed His Son in the weakness of human flesh and was tempted in all things, yet He was found without sin. His flesh was under the curse of all men, and He suffered the temptations of sin and the trials of this life, and in the end He suffered and died on the cross. The Father saw it as appropriate that He should suffer in this way, so that all creation may know of His loyalty. All creation rejoices through His sufferings, which will reverberate throughout the coming ages to the glory of God. See also: Inheriting a practical kingdom; Heb 2-9,10; 103i (114j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Salvation is through Christ (137h) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing in Jesus is hard work >> Maturity comes through discipline (212b) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> He is the creator >> The creation glorifies God >> God created all things through Christ (248g) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >> Jesus is the beginning of the creation of God Heb 2,11-14 (135n) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> The things we have in common >> Common Lord – Read this also in view of verse 14. The writer of Hebrews is calling us brothers and sisters of Christ. In a family an older brother may lord himself over his younger siblings, but to their parents all have equal status. Jesus is our older brother. Many mysteries will be revealed in eternity, especially Christ's relation to the Father. Many cults say that Jesus was created, but the Bible doesn’t say that; instead, it says Jesus was “the only begotten from the Father” (Jn 1-14), meaning there was a time when Jesus was born in human flesh, and John the Baptist said, " He existed before me" (Jn 1-15). John was older than Jesus in the flesh by a few months, and so the implication is that Jesus existed from eternity past. Everything about Jesus changed at His conception; He was always subordinate to the Father as a member of the godhead, and He was always called the Son of God (Daniel 3-25), but when He was conceived in Mary’s womb, He became the Son of God in the flesh. That is, Jesus always had the role of God’s Son, so one day He would assume that role in human flesh, meaning God planned Jesus to become a man from eternity past. This means that God has never created anything greater than man, nor will He in the future, in that God has only one form, and that form is man. Jesus was born in the flesh; He died, rose again and ascended to the Father, whose relationship with Him has forever changed. Jesus before His conception was in joint ownership of all things with the Father, but when Jesus returned to His Father, He possessed all things through inheritance. He lost nothing becoming a man, but He gained many brothers and sisters. In other words, God multiplied Himself millions of times. Our relationship with Jesus is in many respects the same as His relationship with the Father, for as Jesus is the Son of God and we are His brethren, so we are sons and daughters of God through Christ. We have equality with Him. Remember the prodigal son when He returned to His Father, offered to be as one of His hired hands, but the Father refused to demote His Son, so we too have full status with the Father through Christ. See also: God is human (He made us in His image); Jm 1-18; 248b Heb 2,11-13 (29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother -- These verses go with verse 17. The writer of Hebrews is drawing a definitive line from the Father to His children, making us brothers and sisters of Christ. The Son of God who existed from eternity past represents us, whom He has begotten through the cross. The Father makes no distinction between Jesus and the sons and daughters of God, though there are obvious differences. We were created, whereas Jesus lived from eternity past. Jesus is without sin, but we are sinners, delivered from the curse of sin through the blood of Christ. Apart from these differences, God sees us as equal with Christ, and He intends to treat us the same in eternity, which is amazing and unimaginably generous. As the Father treats His Son, so He will treat His people. The authority that God intends to give us is mind-boggling. Jesus said that He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mat 28-18); the Father gave Him more authority than ever because of His faithful obedience and then raised us with Him and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2,1-7). Heb 2-11,12 (143e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The public >> Jesus ministered publicly (254a) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the Father >> Jesus worships the Father Heb 2-11 (34dd) Gift of God >> Believer owns everything >> The divine nature belongs to us – If man can be described by the same words that described Jesus, if we have received the same inheritance, if we have come into possession of all things with Him and even have the same Father, then we are indeed the brothers and sisters of Christ. The trinity has allowed us to relate to God in a very intimate way as sons and daughters of God. That is, we have the divine nature dwelling in us. Do we realize that the Holy Spirit dwelling in us makes us divine, divine meaning “godlike”? God has made us like Himself, in His image, after Jesus recovered what man lost in the fall of Adam and Eve. Our position with God is so close to Him that the day we stop worshipping Him, we become a god unto ourselves, which is an accurate description of the unbeliever. For this reason the saints continually worship God in heaven, to remind themselves that there is only one true God and we are not Him. God went to extraordinary measures that involved great suffering to Himself so we could fully and completely relate to Him. We have experienced the sinful nature firsthand and have expressed our loyalty to Him, and He is perfecting us through suffering as He perfected Jesus through suffering. It would be useless to live in a body that cannot sin if our inner man could still be tempted. For this reason God is creating our inner man so when He takes away our sinful flesh and gives us a new body that cannot sin, we won't miss our old one. When God gives us a heavenly body, we won't feel trapped in it; instead, our spirit, soul and body will live in perfect harmony with Him. We will rule the creation at the right hand of Christ, who sits at the right of the Father. (94e) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> God’s Perspective on the Church (191g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us by His doing Heb 2-13,14 (33g) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Children need a Father to care for them – Our Heavenly Father has taken care of us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, so that death no longer has any power over those who believe in Him for eternal life. When people die, they slip from their bodies into eternity, and the devil waits to drag them into hell, which is the complete absence of God, but Jesus took the power of death from Satan, so his curse no longer has jurisdiction over their souls. Instead of a demon meeting us at death’s doorstep, it is a heavenly angel, who will escort us into our Father’s kingdom. Heb 2-13 (213k) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> We are bought with a price (219a) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> Man is a spectator of his own salvation >> God elects us through His sovereign will KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2,14-18 (26c) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is separation from God’s presence -- These verses go with verses 9&10 (26i) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death of Christ -- These verses go with verses 9&10 (29k) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> He knows how to supply our needs (31k) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Grace is the work of God – The person who has the philosophy of sinning because God has forgiven him is yet another Gnostic believer, who does not believe in the true gospel of Christ. The true Christian sins because he just can’t help it; we try to resist temptation, but we keep falling prey to it; however, this is not abusing the grace of God. The purpose of God’s grace is to forgive those who sin in ignorance because of their bondage to sin. God wants us free from bondage, and he will work with us, so whatever level we achieve God is pleased with us, because we are fighting the good fight. Although losing many battles, we will win the war, because we submit only to Christ. He wants us to continue to strive; He doesn’t want us giving in to sin. These are learning experiences that will follow us throughout eternity. When we get to heaven, we will tell those in attendance that sin had such a hold on us that we could not break, except through Christ, and everybody will relate to us, because these things are happening to us all. (37j) Judgment >> Jesus emptied Himself of all His blood -- These verses go with verses 8-10 (38b) Jesus Defeated Death (Key verse) (39i) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> He defeated Satan’s authority >> Jesus defeated Satan on the cross – The faith we have in the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness defeated the power of darkness that would contest for our souls. Jesus took on human flesh and thereby defeated the devil, clothing Himself with our sinful nature but never partook of its fruit. He lived a perfect life and then died without sin, which was a violation of the law of sin and death. Satan was the keeper of this law until Jesus took possession of it through His own death on the cross. The law states that anyone who lives in a body of sinful flesh must sin, and everybody who sins must die; therefore, dying without sin was a violation of that law. God is the only one who could break this law that governs the spiritual realm. Like the physical laws that govern the natural universe, the scientists that study them cannot break them; they can only use them in their many inventions, but our creator can do what He wants with His own laws. Instead of overruling the Law of Sin and Death by His sovereign authority, He defeated them by Jesus' obedience to His Father, choosing righteousness over sin in a body was just as susceptible of sin like our own. See also: Jesus broke the law of sin and death; 1Pet 3-22; 39ia (65i) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Satan Glorifies God (116f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through hardship -- These verses go with verses 9-11 (119i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of sin is broken >> Curse of death is broken (163e) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Being a slave to fear – Man is a slave to the fear of death. Ask people if they are afraid to die and some would answer yes and others would say no, but the fact is everyone is afraid to die, even Christians, though our fear is unwarranted. The disciple of Jesus has no need to fear death; for him there are no consequences. The soul is inexorably tied to the body, making it almost impossible to tell them apart, being why some people don’t believe they have a soul. For example, when we get the flu, our soul feels just as sick as our body, or with a brain injury (or disease) the mind is equally affected. We all fear death because we think it will affect “us”, but it only affects the body. Death is fearful because it is cloaked in darkness, but the unbeliever is rightly afraid to meet God. Death marks a change in our lives more radical than any change that would happen to us in this life, and change is always stressful. It is one thing to be afraid of death, but it is another thing to be a slave of fear. All neuroses can be traced back to the fear of death. However, 1Jn 4-18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” People who fear the punishment of death are not just afraid of dying but of meeting God and going to hell, meaning their fear comes from a lack of faith. (172i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Jesus never to die again >> Because He conquered sin and death (189e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Tested for faithfulness to the death -- These verses go with verses 9&10 (190b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Taking your sinful nature by force -- These verses go with verses 9&10 (227g) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Depending on Jesus to have compassion >> Depending on Jesus to deliver us – The Father raised Jesus from the dead in the same body in which He died; likewise, those who die in faith God will raise in the perfection of Christ. However, those who die in their sins God will raise in their flawed condition. Only perfection is allowed in God’s presence. The Father understands mistakes and having faults, but imperfection has to do with unwillingness of heart to seek perfection. Not because He was the Son of God but because He died a sinless man, the Father raised Jesus from the dead, and for that same reason the Father allowed Him to return to heaven and resumed His place seated at His right-hand. See also: Perfection (Unable to sin); 1Pet 4,12-16; 102l (229j) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking of Jesus’ gift – We do not have a theoretical salvation, but one that has been tested and found true. God was unwilling that Jesus should minister as a Great High Priest to save mankind any way other than encased in their own sinful flesh, yet lived without sin and was sacrificed for the sins of the world. God did not forgive mankind merely based on the exercise of His will, but based on a man who became like us and conquered sin in the flesh, giving up His life to death, which was the penalty for sin (Rom 8,1-4). He went to hell and conquered it too, and then was raised from the dead victorious over all the forces of evil that were judgments from God imposed against sin. God found a way to redeem mankind without obligating Himself to release Satan too, for He had earlier pronounced judgment against him, and if He set Satan free, He would have had to reverse his judgment, recanting His word, which God cannot do. He didn’t clear our sin apart from the principles of His character; instead He made a door in the law of sin and death, so we can pass through it and be pardoned, though his judgment remains against Satan and those who have rejected His forgiveness through the blood of Christ. (236c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> All things are for your sake >> God’s purpose is for your sake -- These verses go with verses 9,10 Heb 2,14-16 (29c) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Delivered from death Heb 2-14,15 (39g) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus’ victory was through His flesh (45e) Judgment >> God’s Judgment >> On believer’s sin >> Through His Son >> On the cross (241i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus by the predetermined plan of God >> The apostles taught about His death -- These verses go with verses 9&10 (245i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s righteous judgment >> Manifestation of Jesus’ victory over sin Heb 2-14 (57b) Paradox >> Opposites >> Jesus destroyed death to give us life -- This verse goes with verse 17 (119h) Curse Is Broken (Key verse) KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2,15-18 (210a) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus saved from death by submitting to the cross -- These verses go with verse 9 Heb 2-15 (23o) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of death – The Bible often speaks of bondage and slavery. Bondage refers to being powerless to do God’s will, while slavery refers to forced labor regarding the works of the devil. What is at the root of these? Fear! What does man fear most? Death! The fear of death is at the root of all forms of bondage and slavery. For example, people get addicted to drugs and live fast and hard, because they know one day they will die. They can’t stand the thought of waking up one morning to the mundaneness of life only to be later placed in a casket and fade into obscurity. They ask, ‘What is the point of anything if we are going to die?’ They fail to understand that their lives were made for someone besides themselves and that if they dedicated their lives to God, He would call them to do something meaningful. Their lives do not end at death and their reward for faithfulness will follow them into eternity, and so God overrules the futility of both life and death. Heb 2,16-18 (228e) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Comforted >> God comforts us in our shame Heb 2-16 (15k) Servant >> Angels >> Limitations of angels -- This verse goes with verses 5-9. God does not give help to fallen angels, and angels who have not fallen don’t need help. We who have not sinned in the likeness of angels (or Adam), who have faith in the righteousness of Christ to deliver us from the penalty of sin, when we throw ourselves on the mercies of God, He will help us. God has dedicated Himself to mankind, bringing a way of salvation and helping those who believe in Jesus to find their path, even as Abraham found his that leads to the open doors of God’s heavenly kingdom. (58e) Paradox >> Opposites >> We have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, now they will be shown mercy because of us – It says, “He gives help to the descendents of Abraham.” Does descendents just refer to the Jews or does it refer the gentiles also? Our faith makes us spiritual descendents of Abraham more than the physical descendents of Abraham who do not believe. In Romans 11, Paul wanted the gentile Church to be kind to the unbelieving Jews, so they would believe in Jesus, and that worked for a while, but later even Paul gave up on them, and God through His foreknowledge called Paul to minister to the gentiles, knowing the Jews would ultimately reject the gospel. However, now that the gentile Church merely goes through the motions of faith without actually believing, who go to church on Sunday morning but don't follow Christ the remainder of the week, and since their apostasy has dropped the proverbial ball, we have allowed the world to go astray, and they have fought some of the bloodiest wars of all time, which has had a hardening effect on people's hearts, ultimately leading to the fulfillment of endtime prophecy, starting with the Apocalypse, the first five seals of Satan's wrath. The world will look for the one group responsible for the destruction of civilization and finger the Jews, which will bring about their persecution. They can't fight the whole world, and they will have run out of solutions, except one they haven't tried; they will come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah at the end of the age, and the Great Endtime Revival will be born. See also: Great Endtime Revival (Jews will manage the gospel at the end of the age); 1Jn 2-7,8; 250hh (222c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God does not entrust his treasures to dogs >> Do not invest yourself in dogs Heb 2-17,18 (83g) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> He is our Great High Priest (102k) Thy kingdom come >> Loyalty (Faithfulness) >> Tried and true >> Loyal (245n) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Spirit realm superimposed upon the natural realm >> The spiritual manifesting into the natural Heb 2-17 (29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother -- This verse goes with verse 6. The main topic of this chapter is that the Father made Jesus like us when He clothed Him in human flesh with the end goal that we should become like Him. (57b) Paradox >> Opposites >> Jesus destroyed death to give us life -- This verse goes with verse 14 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Heb 2-18 (160h) Works of the devil >> Temptation >> Overcoming temptation >> Jesus was tempted – For God to theoretically come to our aid by some kind of understanding of us through His omniscience, would have been an insult to us and insufficient for Him. God wanted to come to our aid without there being any walls between us resulting from a lack of experience regarding our dilemma. Without Christ taking on human flesh, we would have had a relationship with God that would have caused us to question how He was claiming to help us if He wasn’t even willing or able to relate to our weakness. Now that Jesus has come in the flesh, we fully understand what God has done for us in fully relating to our weakness. Now, when we say, ‘God, I feel horrible,’ He can say, ‘I understand that.’ He doesn’t say it on a theoretical basis, but through personal experience. ‘I’m depressed’ or ‘I’m tempted;’ you name it, He’s been there. (188e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering the will of God in your life -- This verse goes with verses 9&10. What about the drug addict, can God relate to someone who pumps His veins full of Meth-amphetamine? How has Jesus experienced the horrors of heroine addiction? He was tempted at the Garden of Gethsemane to flee for His life, tempted so severely that He sweat drops of blood; His flesh wanted so bad to just run. In His mind He was thinking that if He left immediately He would still have time to escape their hands, but He knew that if He stayed, they would capture Him and torture Him and ultimately crucify Him. The heroin says, ‘This is really going to feel great,’ while Jesus said, ‘The sins of the whole world are going to be dumped on me.’ He stayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and took our punishment. He resisted the temptation to flee so the heroin addict can drop His syringe and flee its bondage. The Holy Spirit will replace his desire for drugs; this is God’s promise. See also: Addiction (bondage to sin); 1Cor 11,27-30; 51c See next page