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, and deliver all those who through fear of
death were subject to lifelong slavery. Hebrews 2:14-15
The writer of Hebrews has stated the fact of Jesus’ humanity
every way he could state it, because it is of supreme importance that those
Hebrew believers and we understand the necessity for Jesus
Christ to be born a true human. To purchase our redemption, He must be flesh and blood like us, but
without sin. God the Son appeared at special times to Old Testament believers
in the form of a man, or sometimes an angel or an inanimate object. That is
called a Christophany. It means He, as pre-incarnate God, caused himself to look
like a man and communicate with certain humans for a specific purpose. The
Christophany was not truly human, though, it was just a convenient method for
God to make Himself visible, such as Genesis 32:24-32 when He wrestled with
Jacob; Genesis 18 when He talked with Abraham; or Joshua 5:13-15, when He
appeared with a sword. He was also the burning bush and the pillar of
fire/cloud in Exodus. After His virgin birth into humanity, there have been no
more Christophanies. He is now fully human as well as fully God for all
eternity.
Since the immaculate conception of God’s uniquely born Son (“only
begotten” means the only one born this way; unique), the second person of the trinity
has been true humanity. He Who was always truly God was born truly human, lived
33 years without committing any personal sins, went to the cross as a true
human without sin, absorbed in His sinless body all the sins of mankind,
beginning with Adam’s original sin and down to the last sin of the last human
who will ever be born. The only way He could die was to lay aside His deity for
that period of time, for God as spirit cannot die. He never ceased to be God, but He
spent those years of incarnation without using His Godly powers. Remember, the
temptations presented to Him by the devil in the wilderness challenged Him to
put His powers to work for His own convenience (Matthew 4). He was prepared to refuse and
reject that temptation, by using the written Word of God. That’s why He
depended so totally on the Father and the Holy Spirit for support and guidance
during those years on earth. Everything He did was in perfect obedience to the
plan and purpose of God.
Part of His humiliation was learning obedience as a human. We
humans who have all been born with the old sin nature automatically recoil at
the idea of obedience. To become a mature believer requires humility, which is acquired
by learning obedience. How can we learn obedience without knowing Bible doctrine (the mind of Christ)? Hence, the importance of accurate Bible study under the leadership of a good pastor-teacher.
We were lifelong slaves to sin because of our fear of
death. By becoming a human, receiving death and rising from the dead, God’s
uniquely born Son delivered us from our fear; death could not hold Him. Death
cannot hold us who are IN HIM! By that same act, He neutralized the devil, who
had the power of death, rendering him powerless.
For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring
of Abraham. 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. For because
he himself has suffered when tempted, he is
able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:16-18
He didn’t do this for the angels, but for Abraham’s seed.
The angels are a species that was created before the earth was formed. They have
their own dimension and their own hierarchy under God’s authority. He has work
for them to do. The fallen angels are in perpetual conflict with God. We
humans are somehow a part of the conflict, being subject to the fear of death
and the temptations of evil, but the angels do not change or die. We humans do
change and we do die, physically. We who have believed in Jesus' finished work are IN CHRIST and are spiritually alive
forever. His resurrection from the dead guarantees us that. It means we, too, will
be resurrected after death. We will not, however, become angels. Not ever. What
we are becoming is far above angels. We are eternal sons of God, brethren of
Jesus Christ, members of the Body of Christ. We are Royal Family of God. Please
don’t tell your children their dead relatives and friends have become angels.
The believers who have died are far above angels! It was for us humans that He came to make
propitiation; that is, He became a public display of God’s satisfaction for the
judgment of our sins (Romans 3:25, I John 2:2). The propitiation (Father’s satisfaction)
enables the expiation (complete removal) of sin, thereby restoring our eternal relationship
to God.
“..having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of
decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the
way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14
That certificate of debt (IOU) no longer exists. He
cancelled it by His atoning sacrifice for us. Paid in full.
In order to minister to us in our temptations, He had to become
like us, tempted in His sufferings. Now we have a high priest Who not only
loves us, but has complete understanding of all our weaknesses and is eager to
attend to us in all our needs.
Because He Himself
has suffered…
