Good evening. The title of tonight's message,
But We See Jesus. We'll take our text from Hebrews
2, starting in verse 9 through 18. Just hold your Bibles open there. We all know God is spirit. He is spirit. He is holy, just,
and righteous. He's sovereign. He's good. He cannot die. He's not like
us. He does not tempt with sin, nor
can he be tempted with sin. He is almighty. The creator of
all things. He has determined all things,
ordained all things, purposed all things. He does as he pleases. He does not change. He does not
lie. He is omnipotent. He is omnipresent. He cannot be seen by us. He cannot
be touched by us. He cannot suffer. And he cannot
believe. But we see Jesus. Angels are spirit. Into the fallen angels, God gave
no hope or no reconciliation. He took up on him the seed of
Abraham. God purposed that Adam would
fall. He purposed Adam to be our representative. When Adam sinned, we sinned in
Adam. When we're born spiritually dead,
we have his nature. We're totally depraved in our
human nature at enmity with God. God chose in Christ, before the
world was, those of Adam's race. And he purposed a redeemer, an
assurity, predestined Those elect of God to be the sons of God
conform to his son's image. We see Jesus. Christ took full responsibility
for our salvation as our surety and as our substitute and as
our representative head. To accomplish the will of God,
He took on our fleshly nature. Consider that. He came, sin of God, in human
flesh, born of a woman's seed, born of a virgin, yet without
sin, born of the Spirit of God. Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 through
8 we see Christ's deity. He's God. We have the testimony
of God the Father, God the Spirit. The Godhead resides in him bodily. And in Hebrews 2, we'll start
in verse 8. Thou hast put all things in subjection
under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection
under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now
we see not yet all things put under him. God brought him, made him low,
a little lower than the angels. that he might exalt him above
all. Why did Christ come in the flesh? Why did he come as a man? There's many scriptures that
answer that question. And tonight, I would like to
look and see what God says in Hebrews, or in our text here.
May God bless his word. I'll try to keep it as brief
as possible. I have seven things to bring to your remembrance. In verse nine, but we see Jesus
who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. crowned with the glory and honor
that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every
man. Why did he come in the flesh? His name alone tells us. Matthew
121, and she shall bring forth a son, and shall call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He came in the flesh to suffer
and to die. Spirit can't do that. But we see Jesus. He came in the flesh for the
suffering of death, to taste death. The just for the unjust,
he never ceased to be God. The whole Godhead resided in
him bodily, yet he became a man to suffer. He was tempted. He was tried. He is the faith of Christ. He
was hated, rejected by the very ones that he created. He emptied himself. He who is perfect was made perfect
in the flesh by his sufferings. And he came to taste death for
all his elect. He who is life, lay down his
life for us. Philippians 2.5, let his mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of
a servant and was made in the likeness
of men. And being found in the fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also highly exalted
him and has given him a name which is above every name. Every
knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that he is the Lord. He came to suffer and die as
our substitute and representative head, as our surety. He, God, in Christ Jesus, We see Jesus. And in verse 10, for it became
him for whom are all things and by whom are all things and bringing
many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. All things were created by him.
We're talking about God. Almighty God. All things were made by him and
nothing that was made was not by him. He is our only hope of
eternal life, our only hope of glory. We have nothing, nothing
to make ourselves acceptable to God. Not one thing. He took a substitute. Perfect. God demands perfection. We have offended God's holy justice. And Adam, by our own sin, we're
born sinning. We sin. It's all we do is sin. It's all we know. It's what that
old nature loves. We stand before him guilty. His holy law declares us guilty. We've broken his law. We've disobeyed
his commandments. But we see Jesus, the captain,
the author of our salvation. The author
of salvation, he is our salvation. Suffered God's wrath for us. He came to suffer. They please God to bruise him. The faith of Jesus Christ, that
perfect. Obedience, that righteousness,
that perfect righteousness. To God. To do his will. To the death on the cross, and
that was to save. His elect. He brought in that perfect righteousness. For us. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. He came to shed his blood to
sanctify you. He who is holy He made you holy in Him. The
Holy One. We see Jesus Christ. He made us holy in Him. Hebrews
13 verse 12 tells us wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify
the people with his own blood. He suffered without the gate. Without shedding of blood, there
is no remission. There is no forgiveness without
that shedding of blood. All those types that we saw in
the Old Testament, they spoke of him. They were a picture of
him. His blood was shed. We are washing
his blood, sanctified, made pure by his atoning blood. Hebrews
9, 22. And almost all things are by
the law purged with blood. And without the shedding of blood
is no remission. It was therefore necessary that
patterns of these things, those types and pictures we saw in
the Old Testament, that in the heavens should be purified with
these. But the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices, God wouldn't please with the sacrifice. He
wouldn't please with the blood of those animals. Those were
types pointing us to Christ, pointing them to Christ. We see
it more clearly now because he's come in the flesh. And by God's
grace, we see Jesus. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands. which are the figures of those,
truth. But into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us. He offered himself, his body,
his blood for the atonement for our sins. He shed his blood that
we might have forgiveness. For the atonement for our sins,
all the elect of God. And God is satisfied with his
son. He has appeased the holy justice
of God in our room instead. Now there is no condemnation.
To us who believe on him, he took our sins away with his one
sacrifice of himself. Now in him, We can cry, Abba,
Father. He has made us join heirs with
him. Verse 12, 13, saying, I will
declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust
in him. And again, behold, I and the
children which God hath given me. Christ came to be. He came in the flesh to be our
forerunner. The firstborn among many. He
who redeemed us to give us his gospel. He set up his churches
to be the firstborn, to have preeminence. Overall, he set
up his church. He is the foundation, the firstborn
of God, the only begotten of the Father. The gospel of God. He set up
his ministry. Gave us his word. Veiled in flesh
and dwelt among us. And by his Holy Spirit and by
his inward operation of grace in us. He's called us by his
gospel. He sends his preachers with his
word. And he calls us. By his Holy
Spirit. By the preaching of his word.
And draws us to Christ. God draws us. to Christ by his
word. God the Father elected a people
by his free and sovereign grace. And Christ Jesus has accomplished
our salvation. He's redeemed us, paid our ransom,
freed us from the curse of the law. He's the end of the law
for righteousness. He perfected the law. He's the
only one that could. We're guilty under that law. We're born spiritually dead,
depraved. The law is not for salvation. It's not to justify. It's not
for righteousness. Therefore, he came and he perfectly
obeyed God's law as a man. In our state. He put our sins away. The Holy
Spirit quickens us and gives us that spiritual life. God gives
us that faith. That God given gift of faith. To believe on Jesus Christ. To receive. The blessings, the
promises in Christ to receive Christ, Christ revealed in you
that hope of glory. He is born us again by his Holy
Spirit and he has given us the gift of his Holy Spirit. We're
taught of God. We have a nature, a new nature. We have been made partakers of
his divine nature. Predestinated to adopt us as
children in Christ Jesus, to be conformed to his image, the
firstborn. The firstborn among many brethren.
That we might be like him. We might be in him. He be in
us. We're taught of him. New nature that doesn't sin. Wars with that old nature of
Adam. We're continually in that war.
And our faith that he gives us is continually tried, thank God.
It's a blessing. It's a blessing. Because if you're
given that God-given gift of faith to believe on him, he will
try. If you don't have it, you don't
get tried. If he gives it, he's going to
try it. And he has given us that new
nature that we may be a new creation in him, born of his spirit. We have that holy nature. We
see Jesus. Now we can trust in him. Alone
is our righteousness, our only righteousness, our only acceptance
before God is Him, is in Him. From eternity, God chose you
in Jesus Christ. Will He not keep you, that precious
thing that He loves? In Christ. In Christ Jesus, the captain,
the author of our salvation, our salvation, the just shall
live by faith for by grace you are saved through that faith. That not of yourselves. Brother Evan said we don't have
faith in our faith. We have faith in the object of
our faith and that's Jesus Christ. We see Jesus. That not of yourselves is a gift. You are a recipient. He gives
to who he pleases. And it is a gift of God, not
of your works. He gives you a faith that works,
that he's ordained. It's all of him, but not your
works. Not your righteousness. It's
that imputed righteousness of Christ Jesus. So there is no boasting. There
is no boasting. Not by us. Salvation is of God's
grace alone and in Christ Jesus alone. Now we can worship him. He has made us one with God in
him. We are his body. He is our head. We are his church, his bride,
his children. We're flesh of his flesh, bone
of his bone. His blood, his blood has purged
our sins away. We're washed in that blood. We're
given, imputed that righteousness of God in him. We're holy in
him. He sanctified us with his blood.
We're of his body and he is our head. We can do nothing without
him. Verse 14. For as much then as
the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same. Consider that. That through death,
He might destroy him that had the power of death. That is the devil. And deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. He came to deliver us. He came
to free us. And destroy Satan's work. In 1 John chapter three, you
can turn there if you'd like. 1 John chapter three, verse five. And ye know that he was manifested
to take away our sins and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth
in him sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither
known him. Little children, let no man deceive
you. He that doeth righteous is righteous,
even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of
the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this
purpose, The son of God was manifested
that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born
of God does not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him. And
he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this, the children
of God are manifest in the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth
not. Righteousness is not of God.
Neither he that loveth not of his brother. Love is not his
brother. I'm sorry for this is the message
that you heard from the beginning. That we should love one another.
That's the commandment of God that he's given us. That new nature. Is without sin
because it's of God. Because it's Christ in us, the
hope of glory. We have his nature. Yet we are still in the flesh,
so we still have that old nature that constantly sins. For those
things that I would, I find not how to do. And I find that if
any good, any righteousness be in me, that sin is also in me.
We taint and we pollute everything we touch and do and say. That's how sinful we are. We're
vile. We're depraved, totally depraved. But we see Jesus. We see the firstborn who came. In the flesh. In our nature. Yet he didn't have any sin. He
never sinned. And he's our substitute. The
elect of God have a surety to have a substitute in him. Satan has no power over God. He's not God's equal. He is created
by God to destroy. God's going to get his glory
from him. from destroying him. God sets his limits and he cannot
go over his limits. Yet Satan is the tempter. Remember when Christ was baptized
by John? Showed his deity, showed that
the Godhead resided in him bodily. Showed that we're in him. We're in him when he died. In
him when he's buried. In him when he arose victorious
over the grave and death and Satan and all his enemies. Saved us from the judgment of
God, the wrath of God that we so justly deserved. Took it upon
himself, was punished, suffered and died as a man. But we're helpless against him.
We love that temptation. That old man loves that temptation
because he loves sin. And we'll accuse and excuse and
do anything we can. But we see Jesus. Who keeps you? Who keeps you? What does he tell
you to do? When you're tempted and faced
with these trials and troubles and tribulations. He's giving you faith. God's
given all his elect, all that he has called and believed in
him. And he's justified. He sanctified. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. He give you away. Give you a way to escape that
temptation. Look to him. And in the death, he destroyed
Satan's work in the death of the cross. When he was raised
again, he crushed Satan's head and bruised his heel. Christ
arose from the grave victorious and we were in him. We were in him, and now our life
is hid in him. Death had no more dominion. When Christ was raised from the
dead, death had no more dominion over
him. He was sinless, righteous. God raised him up from the dead. After punishing him for all the
sins of his elect as our substitute, he arose and conquered death
for us. And we should have no fear over
death now. To live is Christ, to die Oh, to die is gain, brothers
and sisters. It's to be with Him, free of
sin. To live is Christ. To die is
gain. There's no fear. Hey, old nature,
you know, nature, God, you know, Satan will tempt the old nature
to be scared of it. Of course he will. Of course
he will. We're not, we're sinners. We
can be afraid. But what does he say to do? We see Jesus, look to him. He's conquered it. Death has no more dominion over
you. In Christ. Now we're under grace. No more in bondage by Satan. Satan don't have a hold on us.
He don't have nothing to accuse us of. Every time he goes to
accuse us, that sin's already been paid for. In Christ. In Christ. Our life is hidden him and we're
safe in him. We're kept in him. We're sealed
by his Holy Spirit. It's in us. And we are in his
hand and nothing, not Satan, not death, nothing or no one
can separate us from the love of God and no one or nothing
can pluck us out of his hand. He's God. He's almighty. He's sovereign. Christ rules
and reigns on his throne. Victorious. He is exalted him
above all his brethren, all things. There is nothing it's not put
under him. What are we to fear? We belong to him. What do we
have to fear? By faith we look to him alone.
As he is our strength. And daily. He's an ever flowing. Ever flowing with grace. At fountains
open. At blood we need him every minute
of every day. And he is faithful. How many
times should we forgive a brother for his trespasses? How many
times God forgive you? How many sins did God forgive
you from? Yes, they're put away. They're
gone. God sees them no more. They're put away. But we're still in the flesh.
We still need forgiveness. We still need that blood for
remission of sins. A continual flow. And he's faithful. We confess
our sins. Confess our sins. We turn. He
turns us. We hate ourselves and we love
him. because he first loved us and
he has saved us to the uttermost. Verse 16, for verily he took
not on him the nature of angels. He passed by the angels, but
he took on him the seed of Abraham. And oh my goodness, this is a,
like every scripture in here, this is a sermon within itself.
We could spend days. But I'm gonna try to make it
as brief as possible. Christ came that we might have
faith and hope in him. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. He was looking ahead to Christ's
coming. To accomplish his salvation. We look because he's already
came. And accomplished our salvation. We're saved just like Brother
Abraham. And in his seed. Christ would come. humanly speaking,
from that seed of Abraham, the promise seed as Christ. Isaac was a, was a type, but Abraham believed God and
it was counted unto him for righteousness. He took on him the seed of Abraham,
that seed of promise, Jesus Christ. Abraham believed God. He looked
for the coming of Christ Jesus in the flesh to redeem us, his
chosen elect by the grace, the free and sovereign grace of God
Almighty. And we look to Christ Jesus,
who has already come in the flesh. And we're given faith by the
grace, free and sovereign grace of God Almighty and Christ Jesus. It is not of our faith. Our faith
does not merit anything. Again, we don't have faith in
our faith. We have faith in the faith of
Christ Jesus, the one who was perfect, the one who brought
in a perfect obedience to God unto death. He believed God would raise him
up again. Because he promised he would.
And he would not lose any that God give him. It is the faith of Jesus Christ
imputed to him for righteousness. It is that God given faith in
Christ Jesus that receives the righteousness of Christ imputed
to us. God made him sin for us who knew
no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And by this God-given faith in
Jesus Christ, we have a confidence. He has given us an assurance that he has justified us by his
grace. That Christ alone has made us
acceptable to God. That He, He who predestinated
us, conformed us to the image of Christ and made us join heirs
with Him. Now being justified by the faith
of Jesus Christ, our justification was totally accomplished by Christ. Outside of ourselves. By faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ is our substitute. That faithful obedience, that
righteousness, that perfect righteousness that he brought in. That God
imputes to us. The promise of God. Faith to believe on him. And
to receive all the blessings. And they were promised. The Christ
Jesus. There are. He's given him to
us. He's taken our sins. And given
us his righteousness. In all the blessings. Of grace
that go with it. Verse 17 and 18. Wherefore, in
all things, it behooved him to be made like unto his brother.
It was necessary that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God to make reconciliation
for the sins of his people. Friend that he himself have suffered. Being tempted. He is able to
sucker. He's able to help you. Them that
are tempted. We see Jesus. He came in the
flesh. As a man. Suffer and die. shed his blood and to be the
high priest, a mediator, an intercessor, that
advocate with the father, that high priest, that living sacrifice. He came to be the savior that
we need. fulfilled that covenant as our
surety, as our substitute, as our representative head. God gave him. God chose us in
him and trusted him. Who first trusted Christ? God
did. Trusted him with you, with me,
with all his elect, all that the Father gave him. And he fulfilled the law of God.
He is the end of law for righteousness. The old is waxed away. Children of Israel. Moses, you go talk to God, we're
afraid of him. He's gonna kill us. But you go over and talk to him.
Whatever he says, we'll do. Under the law, under the law,
God freed us from that. Christ came and freed us from
that, that curse of the law. Only he, that mediator, could perfect the law for us. He did it. as God, as man. He fulfilled the new
covenant of grace from eternity. He finished the work that the
father gave him. He redeemed us with his own blood. He reconciled us to God. He made
peace between God and man as the God man, as the mediator. All his elect, only his elect,
with his one offering of himself for the atonement for sins, he
ascended up to heaven as our high priest, and he presented
himself, his blood, as sacrifice, the only sacrifice,
the only blood, the only atonement for sins that God would ever
accept. For the atonement of sins for
his people. Every one of them. He appeased the holy justice
of God. God satisfied. And he made us acceptable to
God in him. In turn, if you would like over
to just over to Hebrews 4. Verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace That we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in the time of need. He is our high priest. He sits on his throne. And we
come to that throne. In him. And that's where we find
our peace. That's where we find our forgiveness.
That's where we find our mercy. Our love. It's in him. Over in the Hebrews 724, you
can turn if you'd like. But this man, this man, because
he continueth forever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
For such an high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens, who
needed not daily as those high priests offer up sacrifice first
for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did
once when he offered up himself for the law maketh man high priest,
which have infirmity. But the word of the oath which
was since the law maketh a son who is consecrated forevermore. Look what Christ has done for
us. We see Jesus made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory
and honor. He by the grace of God should
taste death for every man and we know that's for his elect
only. For it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons
into glory to make the captain of our salvation perfect through
suffering. Why did Christ Jesus come in
the flesh? Why did he come as a man? He
came by the determined counsel of God to save his elect, and
that's exactly what he accomplished. We can now worship him, believe
on him through faith, love him who first loved us and gave himself
for us, and love one another. 1 John 4 verse 9. And this was manifested, the
love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten
son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love. Not that we love God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our
sins. He came because he loved us. How happy should we be when almighty
sovereign God, full of grace, chose a people in Christ to love? From eternity you've been loved.
From eternity to eternity. He doesn't change. If he's always
loved you, he'll always love you in Christ. God loves us in Christ, we see
Jesus. All right, we'll wrap this up.
1 Timothy 3.16, and without controversy, creed is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up to glory.
We see Jesus. Look up to heaven, you saints. Look up to heaven. There is a
man sitting on a throne, exalted high above all. And he sits on that throne till
his enemies be made his footstool. That God-man, he who came and
suffered and bled and died, became a man. Set off his robes of glory, humbled
himself, made a little lower than the angels. He was buried and he rose again.
justified, justified in him, made righteous before God in
him. Behold the Lord Jesus Christ,
the captain of your salvation. He came that we might have eternal
life in him. He came to finish the work that
God gave him to do. He saved us from our sins. He put them away as far as the
east is from the west. The son of man must be uplifted. One more verse over in Philippians
chapter two, verse eight. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Why did he come in the flesh? To save us from our sins and the glory that God get his
glory. I hope that comforts you. May
God bless his word. Get his glory.