Monday, April 9, 2012

The Epistle to the Hebrews part XLI

But we have to constantly remember that even though God is great and powerful, the Omnipotent, the Creator, the Sustainer of the universe, yet He immediately set in motion those tremendous wheels of Redemption. Which all led up to His own suffering and death to bring about mankind’s Salvation.(Genesis 3:15, 21 this before the foundation but included in it, then in chapter four we see the foundation of the world laid.)

Coming back to verse 10 of Hebrews. It just "became" God. It was something that He just couldn’t help doing, even though He is the One that brought everything into being. He is the One by Whom everything is held together and by so bringing in this plan of redemption, He is bringing – now watch the word here, He is:

Hebrews 2:10b "bringing many sons to glory," What does it mean when He says He is bringing them with Him into Glory? Well, it means simply that He left Glory, went down and cohabited with these creatures that He intended to save. And, from their place on earth, He is now what? Bringing them with Him to Glory. Do you get the picture?

Recently we were reminded of a little anecdote. There was a gentleman who had an ant hill back in the corner of his yard. Periodically, he liked to just go out and watch those ants with all of their activity. One day as he was watching, he noticed that there was one very small and littler ant trying to get a piece of straw about an inch or so long down into the ant hole. Of course, it was too wide! That of all ants littlest ant could not get that piece of straw down the hole. So, finally, he couldn’t take it any longer, so he got down on his knees and he was going to help that littlest ant put that straw down into the hole. Well, what happened. The ants all scattered! So again, he stood there in frustration and his neighbor said "What are you doing?" He said, "I am watching these ants. They are interesting, but there is one in particular that I want to help. Every time I go down and try to help him, they all scatter. Yet as soon as I back away a little bit, that same littlest of fellows picks up that same piece of straw and frantically tries to get it down into his den. It’s just frustrating!" His neighbor said, "The only way it will ever work, is if you become an ant!"

See, isn’t that exactly what God did? God knew mankind could never understand Who He is and what He’s done. So, He had to become one of us! When He became one of us, then He was on that playing field where we can understand and we can take hold of all of this. That’s exactly what is implied here. The very God Who "became" to do this, He went down and became part of the human race, so that He could bring them with Him to His Glory.

Now, the next thought and it is just as good! That, as He brings many sons, which is what Paul says - in fact, guess we need to compare Scripture with Scripture, so come back with us to Romans. Because when we use the words "the sons," we want to clarify it from Scripture. Romans chapter 8 verse 14, in order to establish why Paul says here in Hebrews that Christ is bringing sons to glory.

Romans 8: 14-15 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Now here it comes! (another office of the Spirit of God's Grace as He is revealed in the New Covenant of Grace in the resurrection power of Christ that is found within the blood as an endless life or eternal life the power that is in the blood.)

Romans 8: 16 "The Spirit (the Holy Spirit) itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" The actual Greek there for the word children is: are born ones. That family relationship. If we have to become the born ones, then we are heirs! But just how and when does this all happen? Not as we may suppose or have been told by a mere man or mortal. As there are many of them practicing a form of religion but are denying its power or right to work its work in us.


Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; (we don’t want to leave the last part of the verse. Today, no one likes to read something like this but it’s always been true.) if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." So this is the whole concept then, of the new birth, that we become the born ones of God. we are to suffer with Him or in like fashion as He suffered and until we do we're just fooling ourselves, we're not who or what we believe we are. For we're to be lead of the Holy Spirit and thereby be a witness of these things (John14:12). We become children of God. Now come back to Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10, where we find the love of God that was expressed when He brought about the plan of redemption and salvation for all that He had died for. He became part of the human race. Now this is a whole crux of our salvation message, that the eternal, sovereign, Creator God took on human flesh, submitted Himself to the Hebrew priests and the Roman authorities and He suffered and died for us. Thereby changing all things from an external to an internal or from a purely physical to a purely spiritual.

Hebrews 2:10b "...bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Underline that word captain. The captain of our salvation! It is the same Greek word translated in chapter 12 as the author of our salvation. But here the concept is a file leader, the first in line, the head of the line. That’s the real definition of captain or chief.

Spirit of adoption (πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας)
The Spirit of God, producing the condition of adoption. Ὑιοθεσία adoption, is from υἱός son, and θέσις a setting or placing: the placing one in the position of a son. Mr. Merivale, illustrating Paul's acquaintance with Roman law, says: “The process of legal adoption by which the chosen heir became entitled not only to the reversion of the property but to the civil status, to the burdens as well as the rights of the adopter - became, as it were, his other self, one with him... this too is a Roman principle, peculiar at this time to the Romans, unknown, I believe, to the Greeks, unknown, to all appearance, to the Jews, as it certainly is not found in the legislation of Moses, nor mentioned anywhere as a usage among the children of the covenant (old covenant now dead). We have but a faint conception of the force with which such an illustration would speak to one familiar with the Roman practice; how it would serve to impress upon him the assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father” (within the New Covenant of God's Grace) (“Conversion of the Roman Empire”). Taken from Vincent's Word Studies.

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