I am fully convinced that God,
in his wisdom, grace, and providence, brings men and women to hear
specific messages at specific times, and in his wisdom, judgment,
and providence, keeps men from hearing specific messages at
specific times. Our Lord said so plainly in Matthew
chapter 20. But I have a message for you
this evening. If you'll turn to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews
chapter 2. And I trust God has brought you
here to hear it. Hebrews 2 verses 6 through 8
are taken from Psalm 8 verses 3 through 8. It's a quotation,
not a direct exact quote, but a quotation of the of the psalmist
in Psalm 8. Reading those two passages, this
passage here in Hebrews 2 and that one in Psalm 8, along with
Genesis chapter 1 verses 26, 27, and 28, we see man in his
original state. God made man, crammed him with
glory and honor, set him over the works of his hands. That
was the condition he was in before the fall. But here in Hebrews
chapter 2, the Holy Spirit applies these things to God's elect,
as we are in Jesus Christ, as we are represented by Christ,
our substitute and our covenant surety. In Christ, God has made
man, though now a little lower than the angels, to have dominion
over all the works of his in Christ, all who are in him, represented
by him as our surety, have already been crowned with glory and honor. In fact, the Apostle Paul, writing
by inspiration in Hebrews 2, tells us this exactly. He says
we are quickened together with Christ. He has raised us up together
with him, and made us to sit together with him in heavenly
places. So that right now, As our substitute
is crowned with glory and honor, Robert, we're crowned with glory
and honor. We're in him, seated with him at the right hand of
the majesty on high. In Christ, God has made all who
are in him to be seated upon the throne of glory. But the
promise of the gospel, the promise of holyscripture, that which
is represented in him entering into heaven as our forerunner,
is this. One of these days, before long.
The Lord God is going to literally put everything in his creation
under our feet. In fact, the scripture says this,
the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Soon, everything will be put
under the feet of God's elect. Now this is what we're told in
Hebrews chapter 2, beginning at verse 7. Thou madest him a
little lower than the angels. Thou crownest him with glory
and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.
Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he
put all things in subjection under him, he met nothing that
is not put under him. But that doesn't look like the
way things are, does it? But now we see not yet all things
put under him. We don't yet see all things put
under our feet. We're not yet personally crowned
with glory and honor. But the basis of our faith, the
basis of our confidence, is not what we see by natural ability. It is not what we personally
experience either in the past or in the present. The basis
of our faith is what God has said in his word and nothing
else. And in the word of God we are
plainly told that these are the things Christ has accomplished
for us and these are the things that he shall accomplish in us
by his grace if indeed we are his. This is the message of our
text tonight, verse 9. Hebrews 2 verse 9. But now we see not yet all things
put under his feet. But, but, oh what a blessed but
this is. But, we see Jesus, who was made
himself a little lower than the angels. Made a little lower than
the angels, now look at this next connecting word, for. He
was specifically made a little lower than the angels for this
purpose. He was made a little lower than the angels according
to this decree, by this purpose and for this intent, for the
suffering of death. It was not possible for God the
Son to suffer death except he may be made a little lower than
the angels as a man. For the suffering of death, he
was made a little lower than the angels and now we see him
crowned with glory and honor. And then the apostle goes right
back to the thing he just said, that he by the grace of God should
taste death for every man. We see him by faith. We see that he is Jesus Christ,
our Savior. We see that he has all things
made subject unto him. He is now seated upon the throne
of glory, given power and dominion and authority over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to as many as the Father has
given him. We see that he has this dominion
though he was once made a little lower than the angels. In his
stay of humiliation for the suffering of death as our sin atoning substitute,
yet now he seated yonder at the right hand of the majesty on
high crowned with glory and honor everything under his feet. Indeed
it is because he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross, because he suffered death in
our womb instead, as our substitute to the full satisfaction of justice. It is because of this that he
is now crowned with glory and honor. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
in his divinity, was not crowned with anything by his father.
In his divinity, he is one with the Father. In his eternal Godhead,
he is forever that one who has dominion over all things. But
as the God-man, our mediator, now since he has finished the
work the Father gave him to do, now since he has put away our
sins, since he has satisfied the justice of God as our substitute,
since he has redeemed his people, he has finished his work and
he says, give me the glory which I had with you before the world
was and the father says sit down here on my right hand till I
make your foes my footstool and he crowned him with glory and
honor now this is clearly stated in Philippians chapter 2 wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name that's
above every name but here in our text it's also stated in
the last line of verse 9 this is the reason for our savior's
exaltation and glory Our Lord Jesus Christ was made a man,
made a little lower than the angels, as a man, so that he,
as a man, might, by the grace of God, taste death for every
man. The Son of God was made a little
lower than the angels by becoming a man, by assuming our human
flesh. human flesh, so that he might
die as our substitute under the wrath of God, so that he might
taste The Lord Jesus assumed our nature,
he became a man so that he could die, but his death was not to
be a permanent thing. Though by his death he satisfied
all the wrath and justice of God, to the infinite satisfaction
of God Almighty, as only he who is God in the flesh could. Yet
he tasted death only to be delivered from death, and thereby to bring
us to glory. He became what we are, so that
he, by the grace of God, through the shedding of his blood, to
free the way of our sins, by the sacrifice of himself, might
make us to be what he is. He came here and was made to
be sin, that we might be made in him holy, unblameable, and
unreprovable before God Almighty. Brother Maurice called just a
little while ago, we chatted a little bit, We're talking about
Christ taking on himself our sin, and the fact that he assumed
the guilt of our sin. Before God's law, he who knew
no sin was made to be sin. And when he was made to be sin,
he was made to suffer all the just consequence of sin for us,
in our room and in our stead. We have been made the righteousness
of God in him. Do you understand that? In exactly
the same way, by divine imputation, made the righteousness of God
in him because he put away our sins. And we now stand before
God and all his people shall stand before God forever holy,
unbindable, and unapprovable in God's sight. That's what redemption
is all about. Now, don't be confused by the
last part of our text. I want to spend just a few minutes
here, because I want you to see this. That he, by the grace of
God, should taste death for every man. Now many unbelieving rebels,
men who deny the gospel of God's sovereign grace, who deny Christ's
effectual atonement, when we declare that Christ effectually
redeemed his elect, that he put away the sins of his people,
they jump on this text like a duck on a gym ball and they say, now
there you have it. Jesus died for everybody, this
says so. No, it doesn't. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Now I've told you many, many
times, And I defy anyone to show me otherwise, anyone. There is
not a place in this book, there is not a place in the book of
God where there is even a hint that Jesus Christ died for folks
who perish under the wrath of God. Not even a hint when read
and understood in its context. The only way you can possibly
get that is to rip the scriptures out of their context and make
them to say what they were never intended to say. All for whom
Jesus Christ died at Calvary shall be with him in glory. Now think about the consequences
of saying otherwise. Just think for a minute. Just
suppose, just suppose, the Lord Jesus had died indeed as a substitute
for, to redeem, to satisfy the justice of God, to pay the sin
that you sang about for Judas, just like he did for Peter and
for you and for me. Just suppose he died for those who are now
in hell, who were already in hell when he died. He died to
redeem them. That makes his death insignificant. Meaningless. The difference between
those who are saved and those who are lost is not his death
at all. The difference between the atonement that is made is
not what he did, but something we must have done. It means that
Jesus Christ died in vain for somebody. And that is not the
teaching of Holy Scripture. It means in fact that he is not
who he claimed to be. He is not God Almighty. For God
Almighty never fails at anything. What God puts his hand to is
done. He says, I will it, it's done.
It's done. He shall not fail till he has
established judgment and justice in the earth until he has brought
all his own at last into everlasting glory. Those for whom Jesus Christ
died are actually redeemed by his blood. Their sins were actually
put away when he died. Those who are redeemed by him,
the scripture tells us, have by him the forgiveness of sin.
They are sanctified by his blood. So the phrase that he, by the
grace of God, should take death for every man must be understood
within the context, and it must be understood within the context
particularly of the original languages. Now, you who listen
to me preach all the time know how seldom I refer to the Greek
or to the Hebrew. There's several reasons for that,
because I don't know too much about it. I don't pretend to know too
much about it, but I know a little. And this is what I know. There
is not a word, there is not a word, not in any Greek manuscript,
old or new, ancient or the most modern, which is still ancient.
There is not a word in any of them for the word man at the
end of verse 9. Not in any of them. The word
man is added by our translators simply to make the text read
more smoothly, I presume. But the word man really is misleading
unless you understand it to mean every man of whom this context
is speaking. The word really should end like
this, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every.
But that sure sounds awkward. That's no way to translate. If
you're giving a strict translation, this is one of the problems with
translation. When you go from one language to another, you
can't give a absolute strict translation. You have to give
an interpretive translation. That he by the grace of God should
taste death for every, and you might put few periods out there
and start listening to what he's talking about. Or you might read
it like this, that he by the grace of God should taste death
for everyone. Verse 9 is simply declaring this,
this glorious gospel truth which rejoices the hearts of all believing
sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, became a man so that he might die for and effectually
redeem and save everyone of God's elect. The word every or everyone
for whom he tasted death is clearly identified in the next verses. Let me show you. Look at verse
10. For whom did he taste death? Everyone. Everyone of the sons
of God. That's what he's talking about,
verse 10, isn't it? You see it? For whom did he taste death? Verse
11. Every one of his brethren, those
who are sanctified with him. Look at verse 12. For whom did
the Son of God taste death? Every one of his church, to whom
he declares God's praise, whom he's not ashamed to call his
brethren. Look at verse 13. For whom did the Son of God taste
death? For every one of the children
the Father gave him to redeem before the world began. Look
at verses 14 and 15. This everyone is everyone whom
he delivers from the bondage and fear of death by the power
of his grace. Verse 16. It is everyone of Abraham's
seed. Now I'll say more about this
later, the Lord willing, in a few weeks, but it's interesting. That he, when he came into the
world, laid hold of, he took on him the seed of Abraham. Isn't that amazing? He didn't
say he took on him the seed of Adam. No. Because he's talking
about covenant people. He did not take on him the seed
of Adam. He did not lay hold of Adam's seed to save Adam's
seed. That's the reason when we sing and sing songs about
redemption, we always change those words that suggest he died
for all Adam's race. He did not. No, sir, he did not. He took hold of Abraham's seed. The covenant seed, God's elect
who were represented in Abraham in that Old Testament covenant,
but we are truly Abraham's seed who now are born of God by his
spirit. Look at verse 17. Who is this?
Everyone for whom he tasted death. Everyone for whom he is an all-prevailing,
effectual, saving high priest. He wears their names on his breastplate.
You remember in the Old Testament, when the priest would minister
before God, he wore a breastplate. And on the breastplate he had
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, representing
our high priest. That high priest in Moses' day,
that high priest in the Old Testament, was not a high priest for everyone
in the world. God did not give the high priest
for everyone in the world. The sacrifice was not made on
the Day of Atonement for everyone in the world. The high priest
represented God's Israel. The sacrifice was made for God's
chosen. And in all the sacrifices of
the Old Testament, you find the sacrifice made for a distinct
people and exactly according to God's order, for they represented
typically God's elect. For whom did he taste death?
Everyone whom he delivers out of temptation. You see that in
verse 18. Now, let me see if I can illustrate
this for you. Sunday morning, folks were sitting
in here, and I encouraged you to come and be with us over the
parsonage. I said, Shelby has prepared lots
of goodies. There'll be plenty of food for
everyone. Now, let's just suppose, let's just suppose Bob Pontzer
went home, got on the telephone. He started calling up all his
neighbors. He said, now the preacher said, y'all come and be with
us Sunday night. Plenty of food for everybody.
He'd be lying. Either lying or terribly mistaken. Because I didn't say that. I
didn't say plenty of room for food for everyone in the city.
Plenty of room for everyone here. And this is exactly what our
Savior did. He tasted death for everyone mentioned here in this
context. The Holy Spirit's purpose in
Hebrews chapter 2 is to set forth the superlative excellence and
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior, as our mediator,
and our representative. In the context, he has been describing
the supreme purpose of God, that in all things Christ might have
preeminence. To that end, God visited man
in grace and exalted man to the place of highest honor over all
his creation in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his
person. Now, as we've just seen, that's
the message of verses six, seven, and eight. At present, however,
we're told we don't yet see the purpose of God accomplished.
And that's what gives us so much trouble, what you were talking
about a little bit ago. We got it here. We got it here. But we keep looking at things
around us. I often think that I am like Peter when Peter was
walking across the water. The Lord told Peter to come to
me on the water, and the water was just strong tempest. And Peter is walking across the
water, looking to Christ, looking to Christ. Oh, what a blessing. Just walking across the stormy
sea, looking to him. And then he began to look around
him. Or perhaps he began to look in
him. Lookie here boys, would you ever
did this? Look at me, I'm walking on water.
And he began to sink. And it is as we look at things
in this world with the carnal eye, and as we look to ourselves
that we begin to sink. We see not yet all things put
under man's feet or our feet, but we see Jesus. That's my subject this evening.
Oh, I pray that we may indeed see him. Seeing the Lord Jesus
Christ by faith, exalted upon the throne of sovereign dominion
over all things, we are confident of our own exaltation as well.
Now I want this evening to just simply declare to you what it
is to see him. Some may think that's kind of
redundant. Everybody knows what it is to
see Jesus. Well, in a sense, you're right.
Everybody who sees does. Everybody who sees knows what
it is to see. But go ask a blind man who has never had any vision
what it is to see. He can't tell you. And those
who have never seen Christ have no idea what it is to behold
him. Therefore they are cast about
with every delusion and subject to every deception that comes
along the way. I don't doubt for a moment that
there are multitudes who imagine they are believers, who imagine
they see clearly, who see nothing at all, just exactly like Nicodemus,
just exactly like that Samaritan woman in John chapters 3 and
4. What is it to see Christ? It is not seeing him in any natural
sense at all. Oh, I would to God I could make
folks hear this. If we could, if it were possible,
For you to see him physically, with your physical eyes, with
your physical eyes, if you stand right here in front of him and
you see him with your physical eyes, it would not benefit you one thing. Not one thing. This is one of
the silly things about the idolatry of our age, folks debate whether
or not that shroud, what they call it, the shroud of Turan
or Turin, whether or not that's real. I'm sure it's not real,
but who cares if it is? Touching is not going to do you
any good. Wrapping up in it and sleeping in it is not going to
do you any good. That's just idolatry. And the idea that somehow
a physical vision of Christ could help something, that doesn't
help a thing. There are lots of folks who saw him face to
face, who touched him, who handled him, who never saw him, never
touched him, and never handled him. John said we did, but Judas
didn't. John said we did, but the Pharisees
didn't. Oh, they saw him, they nailed
him to the tree, but they never saw him. They never saw who he
is or what he did. Seeing him with the physical
eye is of no benefit, and seeing him merely by carnal reason. Seeing merely factual truths
concerning him, seeing merely historical truths concerning
him, seeing merely theological truths concerning him, is not
seeing him. There was a terrible heresy that
arose in the early church called Gnosticism. a mixture of philosophy,
intellectualism with religion. And the Gnostics presumed that
they and they alone were true Christians and everybody else
who didn't have their mental capacities and didn't have their
mental abilities and didn't have their mental apprehension of
things could not possibly know God. There is a terrible form
of Gnosticism present today as well. There are many who imagine
that simply intellectually apprehending spiritual things is spiritual
life. Bobby, it is not. It is not. Merely giving assent to facts
that you cannot refute. Merely giving assent to theological
truths that make sense is not faith in Christ. It requires
something beyond the natural sense of things for anyone to
see Him. Our Lord told Nicodemus this.
He said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. He can't see. We try to reason
with folks. You preach to them. You take
literature to them. You take tapes to them. And you
talk to them. Sometimes just talking to them.
Sit at the table. Talk to your family. Talk to friends. Talk
to them about the gospel. What God's done for you. You
can tell by the look on their face that there's just emptiness
in there. They just don't see. They just
don't see. No matter how brilliant. No matter
how educated. They can't see. How come? Because
they've got no eyes. It doesn't matter how bright
the sun is. A man who hasn't got any eyes
can't see. And the natural man cannot see the things of the
Spirit of God. There's foolishness to it. Neither
can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. This I
know. No one can or will see Christ
until Christ is revealed in him. Until by the power and grace
of God the Holy Spirit, you have been born in his spirit, given
eyes to see, and Christ is revealed in you, you can't see him. Faith
in Christ is the result of divine revelation. There are many places
I could turn, but turn if you will to Acts chapter 22. Acts
chapter 22. Christ must be revealed to you
and in you. Here in Acts 22, the Apostle
Paul is giving his first defense of himself at Jerusalem. He's
telling how that God had saved him, how he stopped him on his
mad rush to hell on the Damascus Road and caused him to know who
he is. And then after that Damascus
Road experience, God sent one Ananias, a devout man to Saul
of Tarsus to explain to him what God had done for him and what
God had done in him. Now in this, the apostle tells
us that he is a pattern. He says, I'm a pattern to all
them who afterward should believe. In other words, if God saves
you, this is how you're going to do it. If God saves anybody,
this is how you're going to do it. And now he declares what
Ananias told him. Look in verse 14 of Acts 22. Ananias said, the God of our
fathers hath chosen thee. You will never come to know him
except he has chosen you. Salvation doesn't begin with
your will, it begins with God's will. Doesn't begin with your
choice, begins with God's choice. Chosen thee that thou shouldest,
look at this, know his will. Salvation comes by knowledge,
yes. Knowledge alone is not grace.
Knowledge alone is not salvation. But God will never bypass your
brain to get to your heart. He comes to you through knowledge
to make you know His will. And His will concerning redemption,
grace, and salvation, the glory of His name in Christ. That thou
shouldest, look at this next line, seek. Seek. Salvation comes by God making
you see. His just one, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That one who makes it possible
for God in his holiness to be just and yet justify you. How
on earth can God, who declares the soul that sinneth it shall
die, yet forgive sin? How can God do that and not break
his law? Only in his just one, who satisfied
every demand of justice for us. And shouldest hear the voice
of his mouth. Now you're listening to me. But if all you hear is me, you're
not hearing anything. But if God speaks to you by his
word, then you hear the voice of his mouth. And when God speaks
to you, you're not going to need somebody around to tell you God's
speaking to you. God speaks to you, you know it. And thou shalt
be his witness. In other words, this is what
it says. When God saves a sinner, it's because God chose him. He
saves him through the knowledge of his will. through seeing the
Lord Jesus Christ, knowing the voice of his mouth, and you're
made to be his witness. A witness. The word would be
better translated strictly, martyr. Martyr. One who lays down his
life in the cause of him whom he sees. And I'm going to tell
you something. Any man or woman who sees Christ
lays down his life in the cause of his glory. He's my Lord, he's
my master. I know this too. God reveals
his son to and in his people through the preaching of the
word. In whom you also trusted, the apostle says, after that
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. What is it to see Christ? To
see him is to know who he is and what he's done. It is to
trust him, to believe on him, to have the eyes of your understanding
enlightened by God the Holy Spirit so that you see who he is, what
he did, and why he did it. And if ever you see him, you'll
trust him. If ever you trust him, you'll
see him. Now this is how salvation begins. Turn back to Isaiah 45.
Isaiah 45. Frequently in the scriptures,
faith in Christ is compared to looking. Verse 22, look unto me and be
you saved. You see that? Look unto me. Not yourself, not your feelings,
me. Not your experiences, not your
parents, not your church, me. Look unto me. Don't even look
at your look, look to me. Looking unto me, you have life
everlasting. Salvation begins right here,
looking to him. And this is where it's contained.
You don't have to turn there in Hebrews chapter 12, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finish of our faith. We endure our trials and our
temptations and our falls, and we persevere and we grow. We're
motivated and we're governed by looking to him. just looking
to him. I will never point you to Sinai
and say look back yonder to motivate you for anything. I'll never
point you to any hope of reward and say now if you do this then
you'll have. Believers are motivated and governed looking to Christ.
He loved me and gave himself for me. If that doesn't govern
you, you are not governed at all for God's glory. If that
doesn't motivate you, whatever motive you have is wrong. I'll
leave one more thing. Turn over to 1 John chapter 3. Here's the consummation of it. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, that we, such things as we are, my soul,
what grace, that we should be called the sons of God. Look
at verse two. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. Right now, we're God's sons.
And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know, we
know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is. Now that's salvation. They shall
see his face. They shall see his face. And
seeing him be transformed into his likeness, Looking on him
without interruption, without distraction, without cessation,
we shall be like him. Oh, God, help us to look always
to him. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on this earth. And looking unto Jesus,
run with patience the race that's set before you. And in the end,
we'll see his face. Let's sing number 204. Number
204. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.