A Temporary Humility

Please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 2.

Continue preaching through Hebrews 2 this morning.

Now, just in context, what's been talked about in Hebrews 1 is the high, exalted nature of Christ above

all the angels, and then Hebrews 2 continues addressing that, but in the

context of Christ's humility that he experienced here on earth.

So when you have Hebrews 2, please stand for the reading of God's Word.

We begin in verse 5.

You may be seated.

Let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word.

We thank you for this great truth we have regarding Jesus Christ,

of his rule over all things and his rule over us.

We thank you for this great and mighty King that you have given us, and we thank you for his ministry here on

earth that he voluntarily humbled himself, and by that is greatly

exalted.

And Lord, we ask that you would assist us to follow in his footsteps, having the mind

of Christ, not exalting ourselves over others, but being serving.

Lord, I pray that you would grant us these things and that you would give us eyes that would see Christ more clearly.

In his name we pray, amen.

So, as I have said, the previous chapter talks about these glories of Christ.

He is the heir of all things.

He is higher than the angels.

He sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

Now, all these things are true, and yet we do not now see

all things and subjection under his feet.

We do not yet see everyone in submission to Jesus Christ.

All things have been subjected to him, but we do not yet see the fullness of this

fulfillment.

And how is the Christian supposed to deal with that?

We live in a world where we proclaim this kingship of Jesus Christ.

We proclaim his rule above all things, and we have to do this to a world who

looks at this situation and they do not see him ruling over all things.

And so, how are we to be believed?

And moreover, how are we to endure and continue on when we are proclaiming something that is

not now fully seen?

How are we supposed to have that endurance?

How are we supposed to resist temptation knowing that what our king is offering is better?

How are we supposed to continue on in this world where the fullness of what has been promised

has not yet been seen?

Well, that is what this passage here addresses.

It addresses what we are to think of this one to whom all

things have been subjected, and yet we do not see them all in subjection.

We will see that Christ experienced a temporary humility in order that he might be

glorified, and that this has implications for ourselves in this world that we live in.

That it, too, is in a poor condition, in a

temporary humiliated state before it will be renewed.

And likewise, we must undergo humility similar to our Savior following in his

footsteps as we are conformed into his image before we will experience that

glory.

But that these things are indeed temporary, they indeed are only for a season, and

that all things are subjected to him, and because of that we will one day

see all things subjected to him.

So let's begin with the very simple truth that all things have been put in subjection to him.

It says here, now I'm putting everything in subjection to him.

This is in the middle of verse eight.

That's where we'll begin the preaching this morning.

Now, I'm putting everything in subjection to him.

He left nothing outside his control.

All things have been put in subjection to him, all things everywhere.

Now, consider what this includes.

This includes kings.

He is indeed the king of kings.

He is high above every king.

Now, a lot of kings consider themselves to truly be sovereigns, to not be accountable to any man,

but this is not the case, for Christ rules over them.

And if he rules over them, then we should not be dismayed when we do not see political

situations working out the way we would like to see them work out.

We should recognize that there is a king who is above all these things, and there is no cause for anxiety,

because he indeed reigns even when we don't see it.

He is above all things.

He is above the events in history that have taken place, have taken place according to

his will.

All these things are true.

Now, consider also what it says in the words of Ephesians 1 22, that he put all things under his

feet and gave him as head, this is speaking of the father to the son, the father gave the son as head over

all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

He is the head of the church.

Now, if he is the head of the church and the body is growing to meet his image,

and this gives us no cause for concern or anxiety when we see things going poorly,

and this church and the institutional church across the world, he is the head,

he is over the church.

There is no one else who is above it, but he is over it, and he is in control.

It gives us the guarantee that everything will end up right for the church,

because he will grow the church into what it should be, as he rules over the church.

Those who claim to have authority over the church in ways that they do not, heretics, false

prophets, all kinds of people who put themselves and replace Christ and replace his

teaching over the church, though we do not yet see them in subjection to Christ, they are

indeed in subjection to him, and we can be assured that as he rules over them,

that rule will one day become manifest.

And so, while there is every reason to have a right concern about

difficulties within your own local church life or things you see in the church at large,

there's no reason to be anxious about the end state of things, because Christ will not lose.

It is not that he is fighting for a reign that he might one day have it, and there's some

possibility of him failing.

Rather, he already reigns.

He is already seated on that throne, and he already has finished

his work.

As he declared on the cross, it is finished.

At that point, he defeated death itself, so that death itself is under his reign.

Now, we still see death on this world.

We still see plagues.

We still see temporary lifespans.

But it is the case that Christ reigns over death, and we can be assured that death will cease.

This is why the Christian has far greater hope than anyone else and far greater hope than

one who has their trust in another God or no God at all, is because not that we

will not experience death.

It is, I can't say with a likelihood, is that Christ will return before your life is over.

It is very likely that you will experience death.

However, we have a great hope.

We do not have to go into that death with a state of despair and misery, because we know

not that Christ may one day conquer death, but that he already has conquered death and that he reigns over

it.

And because of that, we will most certainly be resurrected.

Now, it is also the case that Christ reigns over salvation itself.

It says in Matthew, in Matthew 11, 27, all things have been handed over to

me by my Father.

All things have been given to him, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father

except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

You see how many things have been given to him?

It goes beyond just this physical world that you see.

It goes into even that administration of salvation.

No one comes to the Father except for the one that Christ brings to the Father.

There are many people who claim they believe that Christ is over all things and in charge of all things and reigns over all things.

But then when it comes to those details, like whether or not he is sovereign over salvation, they take that

sovereignty away and they give it to someone else.

But no, Christ is even, he is head over the church, he is head over kings, he is head over death,

he is even over the administration of salvation itself.

So that those that he draws to him are most certainly saved, and any he

does not draw to him are not saved.

Christ is in charge of even salvation.

You see, all things have been given over to this conquering Son of God.

This is the case, this is the case with all things.

And finally, the last enemy to be defeated is death.

He has conquered death itself.

And so there's no cause for worry, there's no cause for anxiety in a world where the king that rules

above all is a good king.

Even if you do not see all things in subjection to him, they are indeed in subjection to

him.

You don't need to be anxious when you see things not going the way that you think that God would have them to go.

You do not have to worry that maybe things are outside his control.

I don't know if you know this, but many people claiming the name of Christ teach that things are outside of

God's control, because they don't want you to look at this world and be discouraged by what you see and say, this is under

God's control.

Well, it doesn't seem like he has a lot of control.

I don't know if I can trust his control.

And so they say, well, maybe it's better if we just say it's not under God's control at all.

No, it is under his control, and it is going exactly according to his plan.

Now, that plan is not your plan, and so as you see things in your life not go the way you expect them to

go, that is to be expected, because his wisdom is higher than your wisdom.

But you must trust that his wisdom is indeed higher, and therefore you have no cause for anxiety, you have no

cause for worry.

And more, if it is the case that he is above all things, that he reigns above all, we must honor him

as king.

We must honor him with, for example, our time.

We must give our time to him.

He has called us to worship him on this day, on the Lord's day.

We must give our time to him.

We must give our service to him in all things, recognizing that he has called us away from sin,

away from temptation.

We must honor him as the king that he is.

We must honor him with the resources he's given us, the physical resources, the finances that we have.

You know, so many people are deciding

which mights they are going to give God from a heart that does not feel that he is

truly in control, and he is truly above all things.

They're doing so out of some feeling that is not owed to him, but

rather it is out of my own goodness and kindness that I would do such things.

And so, I need to do so in such a way to ensure my own self -preservation.

This is about where I think is reasonable.

Now, certainly, you do not want to embrace the false mindset that God has called

everyone to a life of poverty and you need to give absolutely everything to the church or anything like that.

However, he is above all things, and that includes every single resource that you have, because he has given you

every single resource that you have.

And so, it must be stewarded not with a heart that says that I am out of my

own benevolence giving this to God, but rather a heart that recognizes that he is already

over it, and I am giving to him what is already rightfully his.

And so, I should be generous with this, knowing that he will do what is right with it, and that he is the one who

supplied it in the first place.

God is above all things, and so he must be honored as the one who is above all things.

You know, if you had a container, some kind of bag,

in which you could place all things that Christ is over, if you were to do that, if you were to put everything in it, it would

still not be enough, because the bag itself belongs to God.

Space itself belongs to God.

Time belongs to Jesus Christ, who reigns over everything.

Abstract things, like the administration of salvation, belong to him.

You see, this is not just talking about this physical world.

It is talking about all the non -physical things, all the spiritual things, all the abstract

concepts, all these things belong to Jesus Christ, and he reigns over all of them.

And this is not a reign that he is fighting for, it is a reign that he already has now.

However, it is the case that even though that is true, we do not yet see it

as true.

It says, now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his

control, and then the verse 8 ends, at present we do not yet see

everything in subjection to him.

We do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

What is, what is the situation that we see?

How is it that he can be seated at the right hand of the throne of God, he can be above all the

angels, and we do not yet see everything in subjection to him?

Well, the answer to all this is, it is God's purpose, it is the purpose of Christ

that these things be done in an orderly fashion.

Not that his reign, while immediate, be manifested immediately, but rather that it be

manifested progressively.

Now, it is implied in this that this is a temporary situation, speaking in a moment of the

temporary humility of Christ, that likewise the temporary state of this world is, as I

said, only temporary.

And this is explained more explicitly in other passages.

For example, if you'll please turn to 1 Corinthians 15.

I'll give you a minute to turn there.

This passage speaks of the resurrection of the dead, and how all things

have been subjected to Jesus Christ.

It quotes the same passage that we see quoted here in Hebrews 2.

It quotes Psalm 8, as we looked at that last week.

This same passage quotes the same verse

and explains this reality of the fact that all things have been put in subjection under his feet, and yet we

do not yet see it.

So let's begin in verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 15.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So he is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

He has been resurrected from the dead.

Others will also be resurrected from the dead.

It is necessary that his resurrection come first.

So there, you're beginning to see that there's a necessary order of things.

For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall all be made alive.

Adam sinned and so brought condemnation upon all men.

Christ has died in the place of those who trusted in him, and for his people he has defeated death in one

life.

And so it continues on, but each to his own order, each to his own order.

You know, that's important.

There's an order that God has prescribed.

There's an order that Christ is enforcing.

Christ, the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ, then

comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and

every authority and every power.

For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet.

So do you see all the thens that are being used?

You know, then this, then that, then that.

There's an order to these things that he has his purposes in the playing out of the

events of history.

It is his purpose that things be as they are now.

The wicked that you see in the world doing wicked things, it is his purpose that these enemies be conquered one

by one in a way that we see.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.

There's that verse again from Psalm 8 that was quoted in Hebrews 2.

But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he accepted who put all

things in subjection under him.

In other words, the Father.

When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under

him that God may be all in all.

There is a fulfillment that's happening, and it is happening progressively, and it is happening for God's purposes.

Now, neither this passage, this narrow passage that we're looking at in Hebrews 2, explains

explicitly everything, and neither does that one in 1 Corinthians 15, all of God's purposes

in doing things progressively the way he has.

However, it does let us know that he does have a purpose in doing this progressively, and we

can gather from Scripture the reasons why he has done this.

No, it is very evident from elsewhere, and as we continue reading on in

Hebrews 2, it will emphasize the fact that part of the reason why he has done this is so

that he will be one with his brothers.

In other words, we must go through the same kind of suffering and humiliation while not

redemptive as his is, while not substitutionary as his is.

He has called us to walk in his footsteps so that we might be made in his image, and

it is necessary that these things take place this way.

If you bypass this, you bypass a

significant portion of God's plan for humanity and for the glorification of him

who is all in all.

As we talked about when we were looking at the Lord's Prayer, hallowed be thy name.

God is disposing all things to his glory.

If he were to skip this step in his plan, not all things would be disposed for his glory.

It's that simple.

Now, it's much more complicated when you look at the details of all he's doing, and he has not revealed to us all the details of what he's

doing, but we must rest assured that he has his purposes in what he is doing, and that he is

playing things out in exactly what his time frame is, exactly according

to his plan.

There are all kinds of foolish questions people ask, doubting the wisdom of God and how he has

ordered things, all kinds of foolish questions.

There are humble ways to ask what God is doing, and there are foolish ways that assume

that God is fallible, that assume that God could be wrong about what he's doing.

For example, I recently came across someone who was pointing out that God,

because he didn't like what Pharaoh was doing, decided to kill all the firstborn children in

Egypt.

He said, well, why didn't God just kill Pharaoh?

Why did he kill the firstborn children?

You know, there is a very direct answer to this question in Romans 9.

God raised Pharaoh up.

He did not cut him down.

He raised Pharaoh up in order that his glory might be known.

He desired that the ten plagues reveal the magnitude of violating his holy law,

to be parallel to his tenfold law that he would give several chapters later in Exodus.

You know, this was his intent to order things in this way, and so to think, well,

I would have done things more wisely.

I would have done things better.

You know, you are not the potter.

You are the clay.

The potter has no wisdom, or excuse me, the clay has no wisdom to tell the potter how he is to do

his job.

You know, we must have the right understanding

of our relationship to him in God's wisdom.

God is above all things.

Christ is above all things.

All things are happening according to his purpose, and so we have to see things with

those eyes of faith.

We have to understand what he is doing and that we must

trust him.

We must trust him.

We must not trust ourselves and our own mechanisms, but rather we must trust him to know that

even though we don't see these things, we don't see all things under his reign.

It is indeed under his reign.

Now, as this world

is in this humiliated state and his people are humbled for a season, so he

was, and it speaks to that in the next verse.

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels.

We see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels.

Christ is high and exalted.

You can imagine him in the presence of God with all the angels.

You know, what I mean by imagine is that he has not ceased at any point to be God.

He has not ceased at any point to be present with the Father, but yet in taking on the nature of man,

he has taken on in this second nature a humility that he did not have to take on.

And so he has a perfect, as the song we were just singing talked about, a perfect

bliss with the Father.

And for him to take on humility and come down to be with us is

not something that is owed to us.

It is not something that he had to do.

It is something that is a voluntary condescension on his behalf.

So he has left behind these things to be, to humble himself.

And so he walked this earth as a man, subject to the same things that we are,

stubbing your toe, getting sick, being betrayed by friends, being

brutally beaten in ways that none of us have experienced here.

He has experienced all that we have and more.

He has experienced the fullness of human suffering, and he has

engaged in that humility.

But it is only a temporary thing.

And if it is only a temporary thing, him who is made lower than the angels, for a little while lower than the

angels, and it is a guarantee that our situation likewise is a temporary one.

If he rules over, if he has temporarily experienced humility and is now glorified,

likewise those people who are under him, their humility is a temporary thing

prior to their glorification.

Now I'd like for you to consider for a moment that phrase, who is for a little while lower than the angels.

You can see that that's quoted from the passage earlier in verse 7, you made him for a little while lower

than the angels.

And as we looked at last week, this is from Psalm 8.

Now if you're fairly familiar with the scripture, you know that this is not how it actually sounds in Psalm 8, that if

you read Psalm 8 in your Bible, it says that man is made a little lower than the angels, not a little while

lower than the angels.

So what's, what's going on there?

Well, as this is translated into Greek, this word is used, braku, to mean a

little lower than the angels.

Now in Hebrew, it's plain that it means a little lower.

In Greek, this word braku could mean, it could mean a little

or a little while.

Often it's used to mean a little while, a little period of time.

In fact, you might even speak this way, you know, can I have a little,

where you, where you don't finish the sentence and you just assume that people know that you need a little time, right?

And so that is the way that this word is often used in Greek.

And so it's frequently used this way, and so the translators of the ESV have decided to translate it a

little while lower rather than, rather than a little lower.

Now it could be translated either way.

This is not one of those situations.

Some of you may be familiar there.

Sometimes when it comes into Greek, you have something entirely different.

This is just one of those times where the word, there's just not a, an exact word.

In fact, there's a word that has multiple meanings.

And so what Paul seems to be doing here is taking advantage of the fact that this word has

multiple meanings.

I say Paul because I, I'm a little biased as to who wrote Hebrews, but the author of

Hebrews is taking advantage of this fact that this word has multiple meanings to point to the

fact that this is temporary.

And this is something he'll do elsewhere in Hebrews.

Later on, he talks about how without, without a death, a covenant

is not enforced.

And it doesn't actually, it doesn't actually make a lot of sense if you read it in a Bible where it says covenant.

In many translations, it'll say will because in Greek, covenant and a will are just the same word.

And so there he's playing on the fact that this could also be a will.

Same thing is happening here.

He's, he seems to be playing on the fact that this word could mean a little

while, that he has been temporarily made lower than the angels.

This is a temporary thing.

If it is a temporary thing, then it is indeed the case that our humiliation is likewise temporary.

You know, do you realize how much that can free you from if you recognize that our situation here on this earth is temporary?

A lot of people feel bound.

They are enslaved to things thinking that this is our permanent situation.

You know, they feel bound to build empires for themselves thinking that this is a permanent situation.

If it is not permanent, if our situation on this earth is temporary, you can leave all that behind and serve Christ

any way he has called you.

You know, if someone offends you, a lot of people feel bound that it is necessary that they must

defend their honor.

If it is guaranteed that there will one day be a day of vindication before all mankind,

there's no reason to fight for that now.

You know, if someone throws down a glove, how many people feel like I must pick that up and defend my honor?

You know, that being an image from how they used to do duels.

People feel bound to defend themselves, to self -preserve, to build empires for

themselves.

All these things they are enslaved to do.

They don't think of themselves as slaves.

They think of themselves as free and doing things out of their own liberty.

But in truth, they have no other option because this is the only thing they know.

However, if you recognize that Christ's humiliation is temporary and as he is leading us

in that path, our humiliation is temporary, then it is the case that you can be

free from all these things.

You can serve Christ the way he has called us to.

You don't have to defend yourself.

You don't have to to be self -serving.

You can rather be other -serving.

You can rather love others with a great generosity, knowing that he is good, that he will make all things

right in the end, that all good deeds will be rewarded, and that every

false accusation that people will be vindicated from every single one, these are all the case.

Now, think about how long Christ was on

this earth experiencing this temporary humility.

It was 33 years, right?

33 years in the span of however long this earth is.

It's a very, very short period of time.

You know, 33 years even in a lifetime is not very long.

Now, take it smaller.

Let's say it was 33 hours, right?

Think of 33 hours in a year.

It's not very much.

33 hours in a year is not very much.

33 minutes in a year is very little, and we still haven't gotten to the ratio between your lifespan here

and eternity.

Now, take it down to 33 milliseconds compared to a lifetime or a year.

You know, that's just nothing.

Now, 33 nanoseconds.

If we just kept going smaller and smaller, would we ever reach that point where we've compared this lifespan you

are experiencing here to eternity?

We will not.

You could go smaller and smaller and smaller, and it's still not an exact analogy

for how long this life is compared to eternity.

This is a blip.

This is nothing.

And so to endure in this world is such a small, small thing.

If you have those eyes that see how far out that infinite ray of eternity

goes, you know, how easy is it to bear with something just for a second?

It's so easy because you know that it's going to be over in just a moment.

If you can see that your life is only a blip, if you can recognize that truth and embrace that

truth, how easily can you give up all these things that people hang on to for dear life and are

enslaved to hang on to?

You can give it these things so easily.

Now, it continues on.

It says, we see him that was for a little while made lower than the angels, namely Jesus,

crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.

Now, the first thing I'll say here is that there's a little ambiguity on how the word

because could be understood.

Your Bible translation will make this clear for you, and in the ESV it doesn't put a comma before

because, so it's very clear that he's crowned with glory and honor because of his suffering, right?

However, if you imagine someone might put a comma there before because, and then it sounds like he was a little

while lower than the angels because of his suffering, right?

So that would be one potential way of reading this, that he's a little while lower than the angels because of his suffering.

But consider this, how long was he a little lower than the angels?

This is not just that suffering on the cross, it was his whole lifespan, his whole ministry,

he was made lower than the angels.

And so this is not speaking of that, rather the because is, as you read in the ESV, it is

he has been crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.

You see, that temporary humility has led him into glory, that he has, because

he has pleased the Father in doing this, the Father has highly exalted him, given him the name above every name,

he is high above all things.

So he is, he was high above all things, he is in the incarnation, been made

a little while lower than the angels, and because of that, God has crowned him above all.

I'll also say here when it says that we see him, so connect these two halves of the sentence, you

know, but we see him, who for a little while, etc., crowned with glory and honor.

We see him crowned with glory and honor.

So occasionally the Bible speaks about us seeing Jesus, for example, in Galatians 3 .1 it says that he was put before

your eyes, is crucified.

Now, I do not think, though, that this is talking about some special spiritual sight that we have of Jesus.

A lot of times when you hear this verse spoken of, people say, we see Jesus, you know, they're talking

about some kind of special spiritual sense we have of him.

Now, indeed, if we have been given the Holy Spirit, we have a way of contemplating him and understanding him that

the world does not know because of special spiritual sense that God has given us.

That is true, but consider what this verse is saying in context.

It has just said that at present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him, but we see him

crowned with glory and honor.

You know, if you cut out that parenthetical statement in the middle about him being made a little while lower than the angels, we do not yet see

everything in subjection to him, but we do see him crowned with glory and honor.

Now, consider those if we're talking about whether or not we have some special spiritual sense.

And on the first hand, if this is talking about physical sight, do we think see everything in subjection

to him?

No, we don't.

Do we see him crowned with glory and honor?

We actually don't see that either, right, if we're talking about physical sight.

So if we're talking about physical sight, we don't see either of these things.

Now let's talk about spiritual sight.

Do we see him crowned with glory and honor?

Yes, the Christian sees him crowned with glory and honor.

Do we see all things in subjection to him?

No, we actually don't yet see all things in subjection to him, or excuse me, yes, we do see all things in subjection to him

with eyes of faith, right?

We recognize that what this is saying is true, that he has put everything in subjection

to him and all things are.

So if we're talking about physical eyes, neither of these things are true.

If we're talking about spiritual eyes, both of these things are true.

So it's not talking about physical eyes versus spiritual eyes or some special sense, it's rather talking about the

fullness of that manifestation, the fullness of the fulfillment of what God has done in Jesus Christ.

That it is the case, it is not the case, that we see all things in

subjection to him because while all things are in subjection to him, there is more yet to play out as he

puts every last enemy under his feet.

Yet at the same time, we do see him crowned with glory and honor.

We may not see this yet, but we do see him crowned with glory and honor.

This has taken place.

So think about this, not in terms of eyes of faith or anything like that, but rather in

the timeline of eschatological fulfillment, in the timeline of what God is accomplishing in history as we

reach the end.

Do we see all things in subjection to him?

Well, all things are in subjection to him, but we don't see it yet.

But, but we see him crowned with glory and honor.

It is already the case that he is crowned with glory and honor, and that is enough of a seal on

the situation to let us know that all things will be put in subjection under his feet.

All these things will take place because he has been crowned with glory and honor,

and that has already taken place.

You know, we don't, we don't see, we might feel like there's some

lack of in this truth because we don't see everything in subjection to him, but it is still true.

You know, if you have a wealthy man who lives in a very modest home and drives a truck

and wears beat -up jeans, etc., but he's got a billion dollars in the bank, does that make him not a

wealthy man, that he goes around as a common man?

It does not make him any less wealthy.

He is still wealthy, and this is the case with Christ.

Though he is choosing to conquer his enemies one by one and not all at once, as he could so decide if he

wished, that he still reigns over everything, even though he is choosing to play out that reign step

by step.

And so because of this, he has been placed over all things.

Next place I'll have you to turn, and this is the last place, Philippians 2.

Please turn to Philippians 2.

Philippians 2, very famous passage, speaks of Christ's humility and how this has

resulted in his exaltation.

And so, as I said, he has pleased the Father that he has come and served him perfectly.

As it pleased him, God has highly exalted him.

Philippians 2, beginning in verse 5.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of

God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form

of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form.

He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every

tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

What has been the result of his temporary humility?

It is indeed glorification.

God has highly exalted him above all, so that every knee will bow, so that every tongue will confess

that he is Lord.

And so, as someone is reading the book of Hebrews without a biblical mindset, you know,

if they're new to the faith or something like that, and they see all these statements about Jesus Christ being higher than the angels, etc.,

and they look at this world and they say, well, I recall Jesus being

crucified on a cross.

How does that fit with what it says about him being so much higher than the angels?

That humility was only temporary, and it had the purpose of leading to his exaltation.

Jesus Christ is high above all.

As God, he is high above all regardless, but as a man, he is high above all

because he is perfectly served God's people in the way he is called to, in the way he was

called to.

And the implications for us, as he has chosen to play out this victory stage

by stage, bringing us along with him, conforming us to his image, drawing us

to the same pattern of humiliation, even though not in a a

sacrificial, substitutionary way as his death was, conforming us to his

image, we are supposed to follow in the same steps of humility.

And once again, do you realize what this frees you for?

Consider the relationships that you have where you feel at odds with someone, you feel the need to

assert your position, you feel the need to to be right about something or to have your way.

Why, why is that the case?

Is it the case because you feel like the way of having a better situation for yourself

is through exalting yourself, is through the way to be first is to be first?

Well, Jesus says the last will be first, and this is what he himself has lived.

If you realize that God has exalted Christ because of his humility, and he is

bringing us through those same footsteps, then that frees us to not have that mindset

where we are trying to vie for our own status, but rather we can be

freed to serve others, knowing that the more we engage in service, the more we are prepared for what God has in

store for us, and that he is giving us the strength by his spirit to follow in the

footsteps of Christ and follow that path of glory that he is preparing us for

through humbly loving and serving one another.

You know, please do, you know, consider, I, I know everybody in here has relationships, everybody

in here has relationships, and therefore you have some relationships that are not as good as other

relationships, so please consider those relationships and consider your attitude in

them, and whether or not you see them as opportunities to lose status

by not getting what you want, or whether you see them as opportunities to gain,

because as you, as you follow in these footsteps, God has great things prepared for

those who follow in them.

Once again, the Christian is free to do all kinds of amazing sacrificial things, not being

bound to some misguided notion of glory, some misguided notion of self -preservation or, or

status.

You know, the, we can think of, we can think of that humility as being some kind of

chrysalis or some, uh, some cocoon.

You know, it is, it is temporary.

That temporary humility leads to an eternal glory.

It continues on in this passage, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for

everyone.

So Jesus Christ has, in that humility, in that temporary

humility, tasted death for everyone.

In other words, it's saying that there was a purpose to that temporary humility.

As we experience temporary humility in this world, we see Christ, uh, we see that he

reigns, but we don't see all things in subjection to him.

There is a purpose in that as well, and the purpose of this one thing, him being made a little

while lower than the angels, has been so that he might, by the grace of God, taste death for everyone.

Now, how is this by the grace of God?

Well, first of all, what is this?

He tasted death for everyone in that he died in the place of all who trust in them,

so that they might not have to die, uh, in an eternal sense.

Rather, they can have eternal life.

Even though, this is another thing that is true now, though we do not yet see it, we have eternal life.

Those who have trust in Christ, they have eternal life.

It's not something they will have in the future.

We have eternal life, and even though we will die, we will be raised again, and then

that eternal life will be seen, because it will continue on forever.

And so, Christ has died in the place of those who have violated God's law, deserve death,

are enemies of him.

If they turn to him in faith, if he draws them to himself, they will be

saved from that fate, so they might have this life.

And this is by the grace of God.

You know, this is not by, I've been talking about the importance of following Christ's footsteps.

It is not by doing those things you earn some state of glory.

Rather, Christ has earned that glory, and in part of his process

of bringing his people into that state of glorification, the resurrection, he has determined that by his

Spirit preparing steps beforehand for his people, he will lead them into those same steps.

So, he is still the one who has earned it, but he has decided that the way that that will be enacted, the way that that will be

realized, is through following in similar steps to his own.

So, it is still by grace.

It is, even though we are called to follow in his footsteps, even though we are called to service, to humility,

these are not things where we are then earning our salvation, but rather Christ has earned it

and has decided that it is right for us to be conformed to his image and following in these things.

And he, he does not give us these things because we have done these things.

Rather, he empowers us by his Spirit that we might walk in those steps and follow all the way.

And when it says that he has tasted death for everyone, that, that tasting of

death is not, does not mean that he tasted it but did not really partake of it, did

not really die.

No, he really had death.

The word taste is just to, just to emphasize the temporariness, the

fact that this humiliation was temporary.

You know, some people look at this and they say, oh, he tasted death.

He had, he had just a little taste, but he was not, he did not really experience the fullness of death.

No, he experienced the fullness of it.

He experienced the fullness of it in a way that those who trust in him will never experience because we will not

experience the wrath of God.

You know, we may be in the grave longer than his body was in the grave, but we will not suffer that wrath

if we have trusted in him.

That wrath of God will be something that we will be free from because Christ has tasted that on behalf of

all who trust in him.

And so, these are not things that are available to those who have not trusted in him.

These are not available to those who do not follow in those steps that God has prepared beforehand for his people.

These things are not, these things are not available to the world.

Rather, the world will continue on vying for its own self -preservation, trying to exalt itself,

and ending up humiliated.

Yet we who have been saved by Jesus Christ and been given his spirit will

be led in the steps that God has prepared beforehand for us into that humility,

into that service, in order that we might be glorified with him.

This is what it says in Hebrews 8, 16 through 17.

It says that, it says that we will be co -heirs with him, provided that we suffer with him in

order that we might also be glorified with him.

It is necessary that we suffer with him in order that we might be glorified with him.

And so, as you see the suffering in this world that you experience, know that that is

not purposeless.

It is purposeful, and it's not just something to be born and endured.

It is also something to acknowledge as a privilege, that it is a privilege

to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to be made like the greatest one who ever

existed.

Imagine if Christ made it so that he just immediately conquered all his enemies and did not bring his

church through this process.

None of us would have the privilege of sharing this with Christ.

And this is what it's going to get to in subsequent passages that Lord willing, we'll look at in the future.

That what makes it so that he is not ashamed to call us brothers, so that we truly

are brothers, is a sharing in this suffering together with him.

This is something that is not just to be endured, but it is rather a privilege to be made like him, the one that is

high and exalted above all others.

And this is, this is something worth leaving behind.

All the, all the things that you have in this world, to leave it all behind for the sake of him, for the sake of this

wonderful thing that he has in store for us, for the sake of his glorious kingdom, and to share with him

in being an heir of all things, in being glorified in the resurrection.

He has tasted death to give us a wonderful, marvelous

victory that we already have, though we do not yet see.

And you can know that if it has already been accomplished, if he already reigns, and the fact that we do not yet see all

things in subjection to him does not invalidate the fact that they are indeed in subjection to him.

Because just as his humiliation in his earthly ministry was temporary, so is ours

here on this earth if we are following in his footsteps.

And we will indeed one day be with him as he carries us by his power, by his

sovereignty, by his Holy Spirit.

We will one day be with him and enjoy that world forever.

Let's pray.

Dear Holy Father, we thank you for the temporary humility of Christ.

We thank you for the exaltation that you have granted him, and we thank you for

supplying our needs and making us to be like him,

and leading us in the paths that you lead us, and preparing beforehand for

us the steps in which we should walk that we would be made like him.

We thank you for this great privilege to be made like our Savior, and we ask that you would give us the right

attitude regarding these things, that we would not be bitter, that we would not be despairing,

but rather that we would count it a joy and a privilege to be made like him in

engaging in humility, serving, and suffering.

In Jesus' name, amen.