Made Like Them To Be Made Like Him

Okay, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2. I want to begin in verse 9 today. And I pray that this message will be a comfort to you. It was to me in preparing it. Hebrews chapter 2, beginning in verse 9. And I've titled this message, Made Like Them To Be Made Like Him. You think about that title for a minute. Made like them to be made like Him.

And these verses unveil the wonder of Christ's incarnation. They reveal God's answer to the question that every single sinner must face. And you might say, well, what question is that? That being, how can a holy God save unholy people without compromising His holy justice? That's a question of all questions. How can a man be reconciled unto God? A man that has no interest in God. A man or a woman that was born in trespasses and sin. Man and woman who's dead and has no life in them. How can they be reconciled to God? And Scripture is very clear first on what it is not. It's not by human effort. It's not in personal achievements. It's not through moral improvement.

Scripture is also very clear what the answer is. Reconciliation with God is found in a perfect substitute. I said perfect. You see, it's got to be perfect to be accepted. Reconciliation to God, being brought back into fellowship with God through a substitute and a mediator. There's only one mediator between God and man. That's the man Christ Jesus. He is the one with whom we have to do.

He is the answer to the question of how can a holy God save unholy sinners without compromising His holy justice. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 9, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Now the eternal God, in the person of God the Son, who is infinitely above angels, He created angels. He willingly became lower than the angels. He entered into our world. He became flesh and blood. He suffered His people's sorrows. He endured their temptations and He voluntarily died They're dead.

And notice that verse 9 opens with the words, but we see Jesus. The gospel always, always directs the believing sinner's eyes away from themselves and upon Christ. Again, God who created the angels. God who created man. God who formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The same God made Himself lower than angels. The same God made Himself to be a man. Now, He did not cease to be God.

He is the God-man. He's all God and He's all man. And you say, well, I don't understand that. Neither do I. But that's what He is. He's all God, and He's all man. You see, as God, He could not die. But as man, He could. And in order for that death to be effectual, He had to be a perfect man. And that He was.

He's the only one that can save us from our sin. That's not all verse 9 tells us. He did this for the suffering of death. No man ever suffered like the Lord Jesus Christ did. And that's the very reason that He came. Christ, the God-man, became the substitute and the sacrifice for the sinners who God gave Him before the creation of the world. Before there was ever a sinner, there was a Savior.

He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Do you know why I love that so much? That's why I love the doctrine of election so much. It takes all the salvation off the sinner. And it points all to God. God did the saving. Salvation's of the Lord, right? That's what this book teaches. That's what God says Himself. He did so for the suffering of death. That's why He came. The God-Man. Christ's death was not an accident. It was not just an unfortunate occurrence. Christ's death was not merely an example of sacrificial love.

That's how many preach it today. purpose for which the Lord Jesus came into the world. And before the sinner ever sinned, Christ was that Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. And because He came, and because He died, verse 9 also tells us that He was crowned with glory and honor. You see, God gets all the glory in the salvation of sinners, because man couldn't do anything, man wouldn't do anything, and man didn't have the ability or the will to do anything.

The cross was not the end. Our Lord finished the work that God gave Him to do, and He was exalted. And this wasn't just an afterthought. And this was not just a backup plan. You know, Adam didn't catch God off guard when he sinned in the garden. Christ was the Lamb slain before Adam was ever created. Not a backup plan. God doesn't need backup plans. No, sir.

He purposes all things. Verse 9 continues and says that He, by the grace of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, on purpose, made Himself a substitute for sin and was accepted by God. Christ died because God is gracious by the grace of God. Salvation. Now listen to me. Salvation begins and ends with God's grace. Christ did not die because sinners deserved salvation.

Christ died because God is merciful and gracious. The incarnation of Christ is an act of sovereign mercy and grace. That word incarnation, I know you know what it means, but the definition means the embodiment of God in human flesh. God took on flesh and blood. And Christ's death was an act of sovereign grace. Why did God do this? That he should taste death. You ever think about that? Why did Christ have to die? Because the wages of sin is death. Who did the sinning?

You and I did this in it. He does the same thing. Now, taste here does not mean he just sampled death. For years now, most of my family loves sushi. Not me. But I found out. So here not long ago, I tasted it. It was just merely sampling it. And you know what? It was pretty good.

But that's not what this is talking about. Tasting here means that he fully experienced all the death under God's judgment that was involved. Christ drank the cup of divine wrath dry. Nothing remains for His people to satisfy. Did you hear me? Nothing remains for you to do because God And the person of His Son has finished the work, and now the sinner could rest.

He did this, it says, for every man. Now that phrase has got to be understood in the context. The surrounding verses here define who these every are. Not every man in the world, not every woman in the world, not everybody in the world. Look at this. They are the many sons unto glory, according to verse 10. They are they who are sanctified, verse 11. They are the children that God gave Christ, verse 13. They are the seed of Abraham. Verse 16. He's talking about every one of God's chosen people. Everyone that loves Christ. Everyone that bows to Christ. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him. He didn't die for those that don't believe in Him. He didn't die for those that hate His Son. God's not apologizing for that. You hate His Son? You're not one of His.

And this is the most critical question ever asked a human being. What think ye of Christ? What do you think of Jesus Christ? Is He who God says He is? Or is He just the little old man upstairs, the one that's softly and tenderly calling for sinners to come home? Won't you just let me save you? Won't you just let me love you? Belonging. It's bologna, not even bologna. It's manure. That's what it is.

He did taste death for every one of His people. That's who the book of Hebrews is written to. It's written to those who know, love, and trust, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. every son whom the Father purposed to bring to glory. And none of these given to Christ are excluded from the saving benefits of Christ's death. The Lord Jesus was made like them, so that they could and would be made like Him." That's a good title, isn't it? Made like them, so that they could be made like Him.

And that's exactly what the Gospel message is. Jesus Christ became what we are so that He could suffer the death we deserve. Now, oftentimes preachers will say, look to the cross of Christ. You know why we tell you that? Because that should have been you hanging there. That should have been every single one of us. But He's hanging there in His people's room instead. He's paying the debt that we could not pay.

Don't come to Christ with something in your hand. Come with nothing in your hands. And because of His sacrifice, you and I are accepted by God. Every sinner for whom He died is going to be brought into glory, accepted in Christ the Beloved. What are you doing here? Christ died for me. Christ died for me. He became what I was so that I could become what He is. He was made to be sin for me. He didn't know any sin. I was nothing but sin. He was made to be sin for me that I might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Do you see Jesus Christ? Do you see Him in the truth that He's proclaimed in the Scriptures? Or is He just a little mealy mouth trying and wanting to do something God to you? Seeing Him as the substitute. Seeing Him as the sacrifice for sinners. That's the only means of any sinner ever being saved. And listen, this is real life stuff. This is not just fairy tales and fables. No substitutes, no alternatives. He said so Himself.

No man comes to the Father but by man. If you're going to come to God, if you're going to be reconciled to God, it's going to be through the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 10. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing, bringing, many sons and daughters all add unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." There's that word again. Why is that so important? Because that's what you and I deserve. Suffering. Suffering for sin. The wages of sin is what? Suffering. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins, it shall die.

That's what God's holy justice requires. God's not trying to bring many sons to glory. He's bringing them. God never tries. God always does. And that's the problem in the world today that men for hundreds of years now have been preaching a God that cannot do, that's trying and wanting, but that's not God. That's not the God's Son. Salvation is not God's response to man's initiative. You do your part and God will do His part.

No, the gospel is God doing all of it because we can't do anything. It brings them into the glory God intended for His children. These many sons are the same people Christ represented in His death. They are the children that God gave Him, as we'll see in verses 13 and 14. And here the writer says He's the CAPTAIN of our salvation. That word CAPTAIN means LEADER. That word CAPTAIN means FOUNDER. That word CAPTAIN means CHAMPION.

Our Lord's not simply an example that we're to follow. Through His suffering, through His death, through His resurrection and His exaltation, our Lord blazed, our Lord secured the path that you and I could never clear for ourselves. He was made perfect through sufferings. That doesn't mean that He was imperfect. Before, He was perfectly holy, sinless, and righteous. Made perfect here means that He was fully qualified. He was completely fit to be our substitute and Savior. And it was in and by and through His sufferings, by enduring God's obedience and enduring temptation and suffering and death, He fulfilled everything! required of a needed mediator. Just one mediator. Only one could. God Himself. God Himself. Now how bad a sinner are you? I'm going to tell you. So bad that God Himself had to come and pay your sin debt. It was so great that God is the only one that could pay it.

Made perfect. Made perfect. His sufferings completed His mission as our Redeemer, and through those sufferings, Christ became the fully qualified and accomplished Captain of Salvation, leading every single one of God's children safely unto glory. What hope do you have of going to heaven? I only got one hope of being in heaven. It's a good one. Christ cleared the way for me. Christ didn't just make it possible. He made it certain.

And how wonderful it is that our preservation does not rest in us, but in our captains. You know, I've often thought about this. If we can save ourselves, we can lose our salvation. If it's dependent on, you know, our good works, then when our bad works come along, what's going to happen? If we can obtain it, then we can lose it.

But not him. Not him. Because he keeps us. We're kept how? By the power of God. Therefore, we can't lose it because God, it's kept in His sovereign hand. No man can pluck us from His hand. The Lord told us that. And no man can, and nobody can. He's already gone before us. He's already conquered sin and death. He's already provided the way to God. And it was by His suffering in our room instead.

And every believer's journey is going to end one way, in glory. Oh, yeah, I've got good hope that I'm going to be in heaven's glory. And what makes heaven so glorious is not the streets of gold and the pearly gates and the mansions up on the hill. It's that Christ is going to be there and I'm going to see him face to face. And you know what? I'm going to be just like him. What does that mean?

Perfect, holy, righteous, sinless. Man, we can't wrap our little finite minds around that, because we're still so plagued by sin. Our captain cannot fail, and he never will. Verse 11, For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one.

Talking about two groups of people there. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. This just keeps getting better. How can a holy God in the person of the Son call sinners His brothers and sisters? Look at it again. For both He that sanctified and they who are sanctified are all of one. That's how. That's how. When God looks at me, the wretched sinner that I am, what does He see? He sees a perfect and holy substitute. And God doesn't have bad eyesight. He sees us as we really are. Christ is the one who sanctifies.

Now that word sanctified never describes progressive spiritual growth. Never. You cannot be progressively set apart. The word means set apart. You can't be progressively set apart. You're either set apart or you're not. You cannot become progressively holy. You're either holy or you're not. You're either holy or you're unholy.

By Christ's saving work, His people are set apart. By Christ's finished redemption, His people are holy. holy. Because of His death and resurrection, we are accepted. We are cleansed. We are made holy before God. And there's no doubt about it. Secondly, believers are the sanctified. And they who are sanctified.

Now, believers are not trying to become God's children. You can try until you're blue in the face, and it'll never be enough. We are God's children, those who Christ died for. Christ has set them apart. Christ has made them holy. They're standing before God, rest entirely upon Him.

Believers do not, well, let me say it this way. Believers do grow in grace, but they don't set themselves apart. Believers do grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they don't make themselves holy. Sanctification is accomplished in Christ.

And don't you love those four words there? All are all of one. One. Those four words are just beautiful. They're just absolutely beautiful to a sinner. One who God's revealed Himself to. That being the believer's unity with Christ. That's what that's talking about. All the one who sanctifies, all the ones who are sanctified are all of one. No division. That's why we receive all the benefits that Christ has, because we're one with Him. We died with Him. We rose with Him. We're seated with Him at the right hand of God. How wonderful is it, dear friends, that Christ united Himself to these, and He is not ashamed to call them brethren. This has to be one of the most comforting statements in all of Scripture, especially when you consider who these brethren are.

They were guilty, unclean, rebellious sinners. But since Christ has sanctified them, they're as perfect as He is. God doesn't disown them. He gladly identifies with those that Christ redeemed. Christ's not ashamed to call them brethren. God's not ashamed to call them children.

And we have the privilege of having God as Father. And the gospel is not merely that Christ forgives sinners. The gospel is He brings them into His own family. We're adopted into the Kingdom of God. And He does so without any shame. He's not ashamed to call you His own. made worthy through His righteousness, sanctified by His sacrifice, saved and redeemed by His grace. This should humble every sinner and definitely every believer.

We've failed Him. We've doubted Him. We've sinned against Him. He should be ashamed of us, but He's not. Why? Because of what He Himself did for us. Both the sanctifier and the sanctified are united in God's purpose. Did you hear that? He did the sanctifying. We're just the recipient of it. Verse 12, saying, well, this just keeps getting better now. Stay with me.

Saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren in the midst of the church while I sing praise unto Thee. Now, the I here is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ will declare God's name to His brethren. Yes, I am the one standing before you this morning declaring what?

The Word of God. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus Christ is the Word. He is the only one that can make this Word effectual to you. So in essence, To every believer, He is preaching this Word to you. I'm just a mouthpiece. I don't count for nothing. Just know.

To declare God's name is to reveal Him as God. Christ declares to His brethren who God is. And His brethren are those that He's redeemed and sanctified. Christ reveals God's character. He reveals God's grace and righteousness. He reveals God's mercy and justice and saving purpose. And Christ Himself is the perfect revelation of the Father. He said, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. He said, I and My Father are one. Whenever the gospel is proclaimed, it's God revealing, it's God the Son revealing His Father to His people.

He says in the midst of the church. That word church is the assembly of God's people. The church is not a building. This is not a church building. It's a building. It's where the church meets. But it's not a church building. The church is a people. They are those redeemed and sanctified by Christ. And picture this if you're able. The exalted Christ is portrayed as praising the Father in the midst of His people. He who is God is praising God. Even our praise is acceptable only because it's offered through Christ Himself, our Great High Priest. Listen, we can't do anything that God will accept in and of Ourself. Because we can't do anything perfect. It's got to be perfect to be accepted.

Do you know that's in the Bible? It is. It's in your Bible. And in mine. Now this is the verse that I really wanted to get to for us to consider. And I won't spend long here, but it beautifully, gloriously displays our union, our oneness with Christ. Verse 13. And again, I will put my trust in Him, and again, behold, I and the children which God hath given me. First, the Lord says, I'll put my trust in Him. That's a quotation from Isaiah 8, 17.

Those were the words spoken prophetically by the Messiah. Christ not only died the death that we deserve, friends, but He also lived the life of perfect faith and obedience that we never could. And He is God, but as our representative and as our federal head, Christ put all His trust in God the Father for us. Unlike Adam who distrusted God, Christ never failed in His obedience. Every step of His life was in perfect obedience. to God the Father.

And then comes those precious, precious words of substitution. I've been thinking about this. I'm about to burst to talk about it. Behold I and the children. Behold, I and the children which God hath given me." Our Lord doesn't stand apart from His people. Our union is such with Him that when He talks of Himself, He's talking about us. I and the children. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The order is significant here. I and the children. Christ is the head of those that He came to save. He's never viewed as an isolated individual. It always is I and the children.

I and those that Thou gavest Me. He's revealed as the covenant head of His people. What He accomplished, He accomplished on His people's behalf. Just as Adam represented all that were in him, the Lord Jesus Christ represents all who are in Him. And to say, I am the children, is to identify Himself completely with those that the Father gave Him. I am the children. That includes me. I'm part of that group. I'm one of the children. My, look at verse 14.

For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, 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." You know what is the greatest bondage a man or woman can have in this world?

Death. The fear of dying. The uncertainty of death. Oh man, one of these days I'm going to die. I'm worried about how I'm going to die. I'm not the believer. I'm not the believer. It's simply a departure. It's a departure to better things. The Lord Jesus assumed His people's obligation under the law that required perfection. And He came to redeem them that were under the law that they might receive what? The adoption of sons. Adopted. I now got His name. Child of God. Son. Daughter. Children.

He bore their sins. Isaiah 53, 6 says, The Lord God the Father hath laid on Him, God the Son, the iniquity of us all. All the world? No. All being those that Christ came to save. He endured their judgment. The believer can take these words for themselves.

But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for OUR iniquities. The chastisement of OUR peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, WE were healed. He died our death. Again, verse 9 of our text, it was for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, Christ, by the grace of God, should taste death for every believer. He rose as our representative.

Romans 4, 5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly." What are you and I by nature? Ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. And that's our righteousness. His righteousness is now my righteousness. And Glenn, it's perfect. You can't find any fault with my righteousness because it's His. Everything Christ did was done in our place. You remember what I titled this message? Made like them to be made like Him. That's so true.

We deserve condemnation. That's what we deserve. A believer doesn't want what he deserves. We want what we don't deserve. But Christ places Himself where condemnation belonged. He became what we were. Without becoming sinful so that we might become what he is, that being the righteousness of God in him. Who are they?

Our Lord plainly tells us. Behold, I and the children which God has given me. The Lord Jesus echoed this in His prayer in John 17 and 12. He said, those that Thou gavest Me, I have kept, and none of them is lost. They won't be. Can't be. Because they're in His hand. No man can pluck us from His hand.

In John 6 and 39, He reminds all that are His again. He reminds all that are His of the certainty of their redemption. He said, and this is the Father's will, that of all which He had given me, I should lose one or two, seven or eight, nothing, not a one, not a one. And when the Lord says, I am the children, He's saying I was made like them to make them like me. That's even a better title. I and the Children. That's the gospel. That's the sinner's only hope.

Our salvation rests totally in, on, and by and through what Christ took from us. What did He take? He took our sin upon Himself. And our salvation rests totally in, and upon, and through what Christ gave to us. What did He give us? He gave us His perfect righteousness. He was made like me so that I might be made like Him. Perfect, holy, righteous. In closing, I want us to look at verse 17 here in Hebrews chapter two.

Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be what? Made, likened to His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest. What did a high priest do? He stood between the sinner and God Almighty. He'd be a faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.

What's that? Holiness, righteousness, forgiveness. Why? To make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Christ was made like them, that being His people, His brethren, His chosen, His elect. so that they might be made like Him, perfect, holy, righteous, and accepted. Thank God for divine substitution. He said, I and the children, meaning everyone, everyone, I was made just like Him, conformed to the image of Christ Himself. And now, when I stand before God, He's gonna say, you look familiar to me. You look exactly like my son. Enter in, thou good and faithful servant.

Made Like Them To Be Made Like Him

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Made Like Them To Be Made Like Him

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