Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Son Became a Man

9But we do see Him who was (A)made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, (B)because of the suffering of death (C)crowned with glory and honor, so that (D)by the grace of God He might (E)taste death (F)for everyone.
10For (
G)it was fitting for Him, (H)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (I)perfect the (J)author of their salvation through sufferings.
11For both He who (
K)sanctifies and those who (L)are sanctified are all (M)from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them (N)brethren,
12saying, "(
O)I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE."
13And again, "(
P)I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM " And again, "(Q)BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME."
14Therefore, since the children share in (
R)flesh and blood, (S)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that (T)through death He might render powerless (U)him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and might free those who through (
V)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
16For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.
17Therefore, He had (
W)to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might (X)become a merciful and faithful (Y)high priest in (Z)things pertaining to God, to (AA)make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18For since He Himself was (
AB)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.


This is pretty general information to anyone who has been saved for even a short period of time. I do not intend to complicate it with my usual desire to analyze. Just read the passage. Some very obvious things are said here, as in other places by the author of Hebrews. They refer to the Son of God, living in the flesh called Jesus (this sounds odd. Jesus was His name. Just as the person you are, aside from your Spirit and Soul has a name). The Hebrews passage above proclaimes Jesus' humanity. Verse 17 saying that He was made like His brethren in all things. I promissed to allow this to be simple. So, if you must understand how I understand and differentiate The Son and Jesus, take a look at the 'layering' of God in looking at the definitions used in Exodus 33:18-23. Follow this link. http://deityquest-jeleasure.blogspot.com/2008/07/explain-trinity.html

He came to live in the flesh and be tempted; successfully defeating the hold of death as He offered himself as a substitute for us.

Christ’s submission to the Father gave the blessing of exaltation. Christ provides us with a means to honor as we submit to His teaching and His Self-sacrifice.

How do we know we can trust him? It is because He lived as one of us. He experienced as we experience. He lived to be tempted in the very ways we are tempted. And, He walked with confidence in The Father to bring Him back. (This, somewhat reminds me of Isaac as he was ‘about’ to be sacrificed. Abram said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. Gen. 22:5)

Instead of receiving the temporary pleasures of sin, He waived sin off to except the deprivation of life on Earth and spent every moment defeating the temptations of the flesh. All to provide a way for The Father to have a relationship with the Human Family made available.

The Bible tells us that Christ’s work is more than enough because He did not stay in the pit. He rose and ascended into Heaven, giving us the assurance that His account is immeasurable and salvation for man was infinite.

Cross references:
Hebrews 2:9 : Heb 2:7
Hebrews 2:9 : Acts 2:33; 3:13; 1 Pet 1:21
Hebrews 2:9 : Phil 2:9; Heb 1:9
Hebrews 2:9 : John 3:16
Hebrews 2:9 : Matt 16:28; John 8:52
Hebrews 2:9 : Heb 7:25
Hebrews 2:10 : Luke 24:26
Hebrews 2:10 : Rom 11:36
Hebrews 2:10 : Heb 5:9; 7:28
Hebrews 2:10 : Acts 3:15; 5:31
Hebrews 2:11 : Heb 13:12
Hebrews 2:11 : Heb 10:10
Hebrews 2:11 : Acts 17:28
Hebrews 2:11 : Matt 25:40; Mark 3:34; John 20:17
Hebrews 2:12 : Ps 22:22
Hebrews 2:13 : Is 8:17
Hebrews 2:13 : Is 8:18
Hebrews 2:14 : Matt 16:17
Hebrews 2:14 : John 1:14
Hebrews 2:14 : 1 Cor 15:54-57; 2 Tim 1:10
Hebrews 2:14 : John 12:31; 1 John 3:8
Hebrews 2:15 : Rom 8:15
Hebrews 2:17 : Phil 2:7; Heb 2:14
Hebrews 2:17 : Heb 4:15; 5:2
Hebrews 2:17 : Heb 3:1; 4:14; 5:5, 10; 6:20; 7:26, 28; 8:1, 3; 9:11; 10:21
Hebrews 2:17 : Rom 15:17; Heb 5:1
Hebrews 2:17 : Dan 9:24; 1 John 2:2; 4:10
Hebrews 2:18 : Heb 4:15

12 comments:

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Good work, Jim.

Jesus used the term Son of Man of himself and that one person, Jesus Christ, was both earthly man and preexistent divine God who became incarnate man. Erickson (1994: 726).

ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.

From a blog link (not interested in debating, for the most part I would deduce), is an article and comments on auto music playing on blogs.

It is good for a chuckle...

blog music

jeleasure said...

Thanks Russ,
It was intimidating to think about posting. People have called me a heretic in the past. That has not stopped me. I just don't enjoy having to go through exhausting efforts to help someone understand something I feel should be pretty obvious. I guess that is the rub. It is obvious to me. And to the Fideist, their pastor is not available to attempt an explaination.
Jim

Vicki said...

I agree with you and Russ. Jesus had to be fully human and fully divine.
If He was not tempted and had the ability to sin, then He could not conqueor sin nor death, which is the consequence of sin.
He is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Praise be to God.

jeleasure said...

Vicki,
This is a real problem for people. When they speak of the eternal Son, they see Jesus. Even though we have not seen Jesus, per say, they are speaking of the physical person.
This becomes a problem for them, when we attempt to discuss the potential to sin. Because people first understand that Jesus was perfect and sinless. What they fail to see is that He, to be a perfect atoning element had to have the potential to sin. Meaning it was within his psyche to will for himself and not God's will.
People further mistake sin, for something bad. Or sins for a list of bad things people do. But even thogh there are many bad things people do that are described as sins, we ought to be able to ask ourselves, 'by what standards are these things bad?' When we have boild it down to the bottom line, we come to the conclusion that those 'bad things' we do are in fact our willingness to live outside of God's will. That is the sin. And Jesus could have chosen that for himself. But, He did not, Praise God! That is why He, Jesus the man was perfect.

Arlene Kasselman said...

Jim...or James, not sure which one you go by, thanks for stopping by my blog and I will try to elaborate a little. It is so hard to have these kinds of discussions online but I will give it a try.

One of the marks of postmodernity is that having all the answers does not have the appeal that it did to the modern thinker. The "evidence that demands a verdict" type thinking that was sufficient to present the gospel to the generation or two before us leaves the current hearer quite unmoved. Story and the unfolding of discussion that story brings is now what speaks more clearly to people. Instead of proving our rightness as a way of getting the message across, the postmodern thinker is more likely to hear it if we can tell the story of redemption from our own lives.

The church background of Kinney and myself is one that historically has "prided" itself on wanting to be right but that has often not meant we were Godly in that rightness. And what one finds is that none of us are ever "right" only God is.

And so to my comments about church. Our church background has emphasized "our church stripe" more than Jesus. Some have even said "we follow the New Testament" as a descripter of their faith. Fascinating. We should be known as ones who follow Christ. My only intention there was to say that while the community of faith is important and we all need that -church is not the goal, Jesus is.

I dont know if that makes sense. I sure hope I was offensive to you in anyway. Appreciate the discussion. Blessings.

Arlene Kasselman said...

yes, I like what you have written about sin -- good thoughts!

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Thanks, Jim and Vicki.

Posts with Biblical exegesis and exposition are useful. I try to do some of these posts as well and also write articles featuring more theology and philosophy. I like to throw in the odd 'odd' post.

Russ:)

jeleasure said...

Russ,
Thanks for acknowledging us in our post. I borrowed the cross referencing. So, I did not have to work real hard on the post. In using the anotations, the credit for the exegesis will be revealed.
However, the words in the body of the text are mine. Not the RSV Scripture reference, of course.
This passage is so simple, people should not need all of the footnotes and commentaries. However, the "Fideist" in people learn by listening and unfortunately to the wrong people.
I am amazed at how many people just do not study. And because, they have listened to the wrong teachers, that of the popular teaching, which quite honestly do not devote much reality; these people do not know what to do with scripture that seems to say something other than what they are used to. So, people just do not study. They ask if they need an answer.
Jim

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

I am amazed at how many people just do not study. And because, they have listened to the wrong teachers, that of the popular teaching, which quite honestly do not devote much reality; these people do not know what to do with scripture that seems to say something other than what they are used to.

Christians need to listen and learn and think and study for themselves.

Russ:)

Kait said...

Thanks for the welcome! An admirable blog topic, analyzing God's word. Overwhelming for most, but makes for a great read : )

jeleasure said...

Hi Russ,
I have a new friend for you to say hello to. Her name is Amy. In fact, any of your readers may say hello. http://momof4savedbygrace.blogspot.com/

Currently, she is a mother of four. She is excited that her children just came back from camp and have had intimacy with The Lord. She also has a private struggle she would like prayer for.
Jim

Randi Jo :) said...

I liked ur words here --- what is the cross reference stuff all about though? I don't get all that... I liked the description though and ur words. that made sense to me a lot !:)