Hebrews 2:5-13
Following the Captain of our Salvation
Introduction
1. This year as part of our vacation we planned a camping trip to Sudbury to see Science North (the northern version of Ontario Science Centre) and to experience family camping along the way.
2. Our destiny was Science North, but in order to get there we had to plan and experience a whole series of events along the way.
3. We studied the maps and planned the route.
4. We made phone calls and reserved campsites along the way.
5. We bought or borrowed any camping equipment and supplies we would need along the way.
6. Then we had to actually travel the road and set up camp and experience the journey of getting there.
7. In some ways our vacation experience can be compared to the experience of our salvation.
8. Just like our ultimate vacation destiny was Science North, God’s Word has revealed to us that our ultimate destiny in salvation is for us to be presented to God in the presence of His glory, completely and perfectly free from sin forever.
9. But also, just like we had to travel and experience the journey to arrive at Science North, in order to arrive at God’s ultimate destiny for us, there is a whole series of things that have to happen in the process of our salvation before that glorious moment will finally become reality.
10. Salvation is more than a one time event or experience when we first put our faith in Christ.
11. Salvation is journey, an ongoing process, that will not be complete until we have been presented before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
12. Another illustration of salvation as a process is the story of Pilgrim’s Progress.
13. It is an allegory written by John Bunyan, who was a Puritan pastor in the 18th century.
14. Pilgrim’s Progress describes the journey of a pilgrim named Christian, from the time that he first believed and left the City of Destruction and began his journey towards the celestial city.
15. It is a wonderful story packed with spiritual truths and I would strongly encourage everyone to take the time to read it.
16. But in our Bible text today, we see the ultimate destiny of our salvation and the process that is required along life’s journey to arrive at that destiny.
17. In this passage we see that Jesus is our Representative, our Captain, the Pioneer who has gone before us, to pave the way.
18. The Greek word for “captain” carries the meaning of a leader, a ruler, or one who begins something as the founder, the one who leads the way, a pioneer.
19. The choice of words helps us to see Jesus as one who trod this earth before us, as He established the way of salvation, making it clear for all who would follow, until He leads us to our ultimate destiny.
20. Jesus Christ is the Captain or the Pioneer of our salvation, and we are called to follow Him.
Context
1. You will recall from previous messages that Hebrews 1 shows us Jesus Christ in His awesome deity.
2. He is the Son of God and far better than the angels.
3. In chapter one we considered the credentials of His deity and the titles ascribed to Him that declare His deity.
4. Then, in chapter 2:1-4, the author of Hebrews pauses in his doctrinal explanation of who Christ is to slip into an urgent exhortation and warning to believers to pay careful attention to our great salvation, lest we drift away.
5. For those of you who were not here or who have lost the handout from the last message, there are copies available at the back that show the pattern between exhortation and doctrine in the book of Hebrews.
6. Now, in our passage for today, as we seek to understand the teachings of Hebrews for our lives, we see that the author of Hebrews comes back to the subject of who Christ is.
7. But now, instead of showing us the matchless glory of the divinity of Christ, he shows us the humanity of Christ.
8. He shows us Christ’s qualifications to be our great High Priest.
9. In order to show us that Christ is perfectly qualified to be the High Priest of all humanity, he demonstrates that Jesus, the Son of God, is truly one with our human nature.
Proposition: So we see in this passage that God is calling us to follow Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, as He leads us towards our ultimate destiny in the presence of His glory forever.
· We are on a journey.
· We are like strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land.
· We are citizens of heaven and we are traveling towards our heavenly destination.
· We have eternity in our hearts.
· We have this hope and this hunger in our hearts to experience all that God has prepared for us in the world to come.
· Though we have been saved by faith now, we have not yet experienced the fullness of our salvation in His presence.
· Though we live in this world now, we have been created for a world that is yet to come.
· God is leading a people out from this present evil world and the things that are seen, to a coming world consisting of things that are not yet seen.
· Everything that He is doing in this present world is with the design and purpose of redeeming a people for Himself and leading us to experience His complete salvation in the world to come.
· Heb. 2:10 - His purpose is to bring many sons to glory - this is the ultimate goal and the completion of our salvation.
· We are called to follow Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, as He leads the way to our glorious destiny in the world to come.
Understanding the Theology of Salvation in Hebrews
1. In order to understand this passage more clearly, it is important for us to understand the way that Hebrews uses the word “salvation.”
2. All through the book of Hebrews there is a strong emphasis on the future aspect of our salvation – our salvation has not yet been completed.
3. Hebrews often uses the word “salvation” in a different sense than Romans.
· For example, salvation in Romans primarily refers to the great doctrines of justification by faith.
· Romans emphasizes the past tense aspect of our salvation – we have been saved; we have been justified by faith.
· But the “so great salvation” spoken of in Hebrews 2:3 does not refer to the past tense salvation; the justification of sinners, but rather it refers to the future tense salvation; the bringing of many sons to glory; the future glorification of believers.
4. There is a strong forward-looking focus of faith all through the book of Hebrews.
5. Hebrews 11:13 – “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embrace them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
6. Hebrews is written for believers who are looking forward in faith to the fulfillment of the promises of God in the world to come.
7. In our passage before us today, the author is clearly speaking of the world to come.
8. Heb. 2:5 – “For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.”
9. The writer of Hebrews clarifies that the salvation of which he is speaking will find its full completion in the world to come.
10. The world to come will not be subjected to angels, but to the sovereign rule of Christ, and of all those who have followed the Captain of our Salvation.
11. So Hebrews in general, and in this passage in particular, is speaking of God’s ultimate purpose of bringing many sons to glory, to experience the ultimate and glorious future completion and fulfillment of our salvation as we follow Jesus Christ, the Captain of our Salvation.
Transition: This passage shows us three ways that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation in order that God might accomplish His ultimate purpose of bringing many sons to glory.
I. The first way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the suffering of His death (2:9).
A. In order to lead us to glory, the Captain of our salvation had to identify with us in our humanity.
1. Hebrews 2:6-8 shows the profound identification of Christ with our humanity.
2. These verses are a direct quote from Psalm 8.
3. Psalm 8 speaks of the original dignity and divine purpose for which God created man.
4. Psalm 8 reminds us that man was intended to be a creature of supreme favor, of special privilege, and of unrivalled dominion, with everything under his feet.
5. He was meant to be a creature of unique dignity, the treasured head of God’s creation, with glory and honor.
6. Hebrews 2:6-8 says:
· At creation all things were put under the dominion of Adam.
· The first man, Adam, was the representative of the human race.
· What God intended for Adam, He intended for all people.
· God gave Adam and Eve and their descendants dominion over the entire earth and all creation.
· Gen. 1:26-28 makes this clear:
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it...”
· When God told Adam to “rule” over the earth, He made Adam and his descendants the managers; the stewards or governors of the planet.
· Adam was God’s mediator, go-between or representative on the earth.
· Adam represented God with full authority on the earth.
· He was in charge – entrusted with the stewardship of the planet.
· How things went on planet earth, for better or worse, depended on Adam and his offspring.
7. But when the First Adam failed, he forfeited the rulership of the planet to Satan.
· Satan became “the god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air.”
· You remember that when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world.
· He had the right to offer these to Jesus, because he had taken away Adam’s right to rule when Adam sinned against God in the Garden.
· Jesus didn’t dispute Satan’s claim to rulership of the kingdoms of this world.
· That is exactly why Jesus had to come to the earth as a man, in order to remove Satan’s authority, as “the god of this world,” that he had stolen from Adam.
8. Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer – “So complete and final was God’s decision to do things on earth through human beings that it cost God the Incarnation to regain what Adam had given away. He had to become a part of the human race.”
9. In order to win back what the First Adam had lost, God became a man in Christ Jesus.
10. 1 Cor. 15:45-47 identifies Jesus as the Last Adam.
11. The first man, Adam, plunged all humanity into sin by his disobedience, but Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, redeemed man from sin and the grave by His perfect obedience and sacrificial death on our behalf.
12. But not only does Psalm 8, show us the dignity of man in creation, it also demonstrates that Jesus Christ became a man and fulfilled the original design intended for Adam.
· Psalm 8 is quoted four times in the New Testament, including our passage in Hebrews today, and each time it is applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.
· Not only does Psalm 8 look back to the Garden to the creation of man, and show the dignity and purpose of man in God’s awesome creation.
· It also looks forward to the Incarnation when Jesus would be made a man like us.
· Hebrews 2:9 – “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor…”
· Jesus was made a little lower than the angels when He became a man.
· He has been crowned with glory and honor at His resurrection and His ascension to heaven.
· But all things have not yet been put under His feet.
· This is yet to happen in the world to come.
· He is the Captain of our salvation, leading us to that glorious future reality.
13. By His incarnation, God has forever established His identity with humanity.
· Because He became a man,
o Jesus Christ understands all the limitations and weakness of our humanity.
o He was not protected from trouble and adversity.
o He understands suffering and pain and rejection and scorn and mocking.
o He was exposed to all the dangers of our life and death.
o We can trust Him and come to Him with our deepest needs.
· We can trust Him because He has been there before us.
· He is the Pioneer; the Captain of our salvation.
14. By His incarnation, God has forever established our relationship with God in Christ.
· It is in and through this relationship that the Captain of our salvation will lead many sons to glory.
B. But in order to lead us to glory, not only did Jesus have to identify with us in our humanity, but He also had to taste death for everyone (2:9b).
1. Death is a grim and terrifying problem.
2. Every day we face the possibility of death and the ultimate impending reality of our own demise.
3. The threat of death can grip us in fear, and when death strikes it carries great pain for those who are left to mourn.
4. But Jesus lived under the threat of death, too, and He has gone through all of this in advance for us.
5. At the incarnation Christ took upon himself a human nature exposed to the anguish of death.
6. Phil. 2:7-8 – “He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.”
7. Jesus Himself tasted death; went through the physical sensations of dying and did so under the worst possible conditions.
8. His feet have moved through the lonely terrain of pain and death, and He has conquered its power for everyone who believes.
9. He died so that we would not have to die.
10. Romans 5:18-19 explains how Christ’s death delivers us from death:
“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
11. Perhaps you have wondered or questioned why it is fair that we should be included in Adam’s sin.
· Why is it fair that Adam’s sin should be charged to our account and that we should be guilty and condemned to die because of Adam’s sin?
· There are two important reasons why this is both fair and, in fact, it’s a mercy of God.
· It’s fair because when Adam sinned he did exactly what you and I would have done.
o He is like us and with our nature, and every time we sin we affirm and demonstrate that we agree with his sinful choice.
o If we had been there in Adam’s place we would have done exactly the same thing, because we are like Adam.
· But also, it is important to understand that, it is the mercy of God that we should be included in Adam’s sin, because if we had not been included representatively in Adam’s sin, then we could not have been included representatively in Christ’s death for our sins.
· If we had not been included in Adam’s sin, then Christ could not have died for the sins of the whole world, but only for one man, Adam.
· We could not have been included in Adam’s redemption.
· So it was in the infinite wisdom and gracious mercy of God that we should be included in Adam’s sin, so that we could also be included in the gift of salvation through Christ’s death.
· Adam’s sin was charged to our account because we owned him as our representative in sin by our own disobedience.
· In the same way, for Christ to taste death on our behalf, and for His death to cancel our debt and to set us free, we must own Christ as our Representative by faith.
C. We are called to follow the Captain of our salvation by faith.
1. The Scriptures are clear that we are saved through faith.
· Have you put your faith in Christ?
· Have you asked Jesus to be your Representative before the Father by His precious blood shed on the cross?
· The first step to following the Captain of our salvation as He leads us to the eternal glory that He has planned for us, is to be identified with Jesus in His suffering and death by faith in His work on the cross on our behalf.
2. Jesus Christ is worthy of our trust and faith.
3. You can’t trust just anybody, but you can trust a Savior who identified Himself in our humanity and weakness and pain, and who paid it all for you!
The first way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the suffering of His death.
II. The second way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the obedience of His life (2:10).
A. Jesus is the Perfecter of our faith.
1. He was made perfect through suffering.
2. On the cross Jesus brought faith to its highest conceivable development, and so became the Perfecter of faith.
3. That is why He is the Pioneer, or Captain of our salvation.
4. He demonstrated perfect faith in every way.
5. He goes before us and shows us the way to walk by faith.
6. The ultimate expression of the faith of Christ is shown in His cry of victory from the cross, “It is finished.”
7. If He had uttered this cry on the resurrection morning or after the ascension to the throne of God’s glory we might have been able to understand it.
8. But Christ uttered this cry at Golgotha,
· at the very moment of apparent defeat,
· when the sun had been darkened,
· when bodily and spiritual sufferings were at the worst,
· when His enemies mocked Him and triumphed over Him,
· when the dark moment of death was approaching ever nearer,
· then He cried, “It is finished.”
9. In the darkest hour of the history of the whole world, He gave utterance to the most radiant cry of victory ever heard in earthly or supernatural history.
10. If, in fact, faith is, according to the testimony of Hebrews, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, then this is the greatest possible expression of faith.
11. Never has anyone so expressed such perfect faith as Jesus on the cross.
12. Faith was brought here to a state of absolute perfection.
13. For this very reason Christ is the One, who enduring the cross, became not only the Pioneer of faith, but in the deepest meaning of the word the Perfecter of faith.
14. How encouraging and refreshing it is to know that this perfect Man has given us the proof that it is possible to live by faith here on earth, in our present circumstances, in such a way as to perfectly glorify God.
15. But in what sense was Jesus made perfect through sufferings and why was it necessary for Him to suffer in order to perfect His faith?
· Although Christ was morally perfect and sinless, His incarnation was completed or perfected when He experienced suffering.
· Though He was sinless, maturity in faith required the testing and the proving of obedience.
· The word translated “perfect” here signifies the completion of a process.
· Jesus became fully qualified as the Pioneer of man’s salvation by undergoing the experiences of human sufferings.
· Sufferings introduce new dimensions of perfection.
· For example, there is one perfection of the bud and another perfection of the flower.
· Both are perfectly formed, but in different dimensions.
· In the same way, sufferings produce perfection in new areas that were previously undeveloped or untested.
· It doesn’t mean that the previous state was less than perfect; it simply adds a new dimension of perfection.
· For another example, a little baby can be beautiful and perfectly healthy, but it must grow to be an adult to experience new levels of maturity and effectiveness.
· Jesus grew in stature and wisdom in the sight of God and man.
· Though Jesus pleased God as a child and as a young lad, and as a young man, and though He was perfect in all that He had done to that point, it was also necessary that He be perfect in the aspect of His suffering on the cross.
· Jesus had to be made perfect through suffering in order to fully represent humanity in our suffering.
B. We are called to follow the Captain of our Salvation in the obedience of His life.
1. In order to follow the Captain of our salvation in life we need to live in the obedience of faith.
· Faith is the energizing mechanism that produces lasting life change; that produces obedience.
· When we see by faith things that are not yet seen by the natural eye, then it inspires us to hold on to godly values and to live a lifestyle that pleases God.
· We march to the tune of a different drummer than the world.
· We are tuned into a different wavelength that the world can’t hear.
· Because we believe in the promises of God and because of the hope inspired by faith we are willing to let go of the things of this world and to follow the Captain of our salvation as He leads us to the world to come.
2. This maturity of obedience by faith, as we follow the Captain of our salvation, is the process of sanctification, the working out our salvation on a daily basis.
3. For Christians, as for our Captain, there is a perfection of our faith, or a maturity that comes only through suffering.
· Though we don’t like them, the fires of affliction are the place in which the qualities of Christian character are forged.
· The refiner’s fire is necessary to purify the gold.
· In order to grow strong, the weight lifter’s muscles must be trained and exercised to the limit.
· It is painful, but it is in the tearing of the muscles, that the cells divide and multiply and increase in strength.
· The air that holds the plane back from flying faster is the air that the plane needs to hold it up in flight.
· The water that resists the boat’s movement, also supports the boat and enables it to move.
· The trials that test and tempt us and that seems so difficult to bear, are the very things that purify and strengthen our faith.
· Trials, testing and temptations are character-building opportunities that shape our destiny.
· As we respond in faith and trusting obedience to the trying circumstances of our lives, God uses this to shape our lives and to build our character, and to accomplish His purposes in our lives.
· Though we don’t always see the big picture or understand why, the Lord has a purpose in all the trials that we must experience.
· He does not waste pain or grief or sorrow, but He uses them to accomplish His eternal purpose in our lives.
· He uses them day-by-day to conform us into an increasing Christ likeness.
· God’s ultimate purpose in our sufferings is that we would be conformed to the image of Christ, both in His obedience and in His exaltation.
The first way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the suffering of His death.
The second way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the obedience of His life.
III. The third way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the exaltation of His reign (2:11-13).
A. There is a condition attached to our exaltation before the Father (vs. 11).
1. For those who have been justified by faith and who are being sanctified by the obedience of faith, there is the promise of one day being glorified with Christ and reigning with Him.
2. Jesus is not ashamed to call them brethren, who have followed the Captain of their salvation in His sufferings and in His life of obedience.
3. Those who have followed the Captain have been united as one in Christ.
4. They have been sanctified, and set apart unto God.
· Sanctification means separation from sin, dedication to God, conformity to the likeness of Christ and to the will of God.
· In practical terms sanctification means that those who are set apart for Him recognize that He has the first claim on our lives.
· We recognize that the gifts that we have are set apart for God’s use in the world.
· Our possessions are set apart for God.
· Our time is set apart for the service of Christ.
· We acknowledging that we belong fully to God.
5. The ultimate result of our allowing the Lord to complete the work of sanctification in us is that He will not be ashamed to call us brethren, and He will present us before the Father with exceeding joy.
· Don’t let any sinful habits or temporary worldly pleasures or values cheat you out of the joy of that glorious moment when Christ will present you to the Father with exceeding joy.
· Don’t let anyone cheat you of your reward by turning you away from your faith and hope in Christ for other religions or the vain philosophies of men.
· 2 John 8 warns – “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.”
· Don’t settle for anything less than the full reward that the Lord wants to shower upon you.
· The issue here is not the potential loss of our salvation, but the potential loss of glorious rewards in the presence of the Father.
· I don’t understand all about how this works, but the Scriptures clearly indicate that there will be a day of accounting for believers.
· There will be the Judgment Seat of Christ where all believers must give an account of their gifts and service for Christ and where rewards for service will be given, and where God will commend those who have been wise stewards, and rebuke those who have neglected the gifts and opportunities that have been entrusted to them.
· We will do well to take careful heed to the warnings of Scripture and seek with all our hearts to follow the Captain of our Salvation with all diligence so that we can meet that awesome day with joy and not with shame.
B. If there is a condition, there is also a promise attached to our exaltation before the Father (vs. 12-13).
1. God will accomplish His awesome work of salvation in bringing many sons to glory to reign with Christ when all things are put in subjection under His feet in the world to come.
2. The Captain of our Salvation will triumphantly present the children of Adam, His brethren, now become the children of God, with unspeakable joy before the throne of God.
3. Our God has promised and He is able to accomplish it.
4. While the full realization of this promise yet remains for the future, even now, by faith we can begin to experience the joy and the victory that belongs to us in Christ.
5. The world to come in some ways begins now in salvation.
6. The joys and the victory of the world to come are not reserved entirely for the future, but their roots go all the way back to our faith in Christ right now.
7. The Spirit of Christ is at work in us to make a difference in this world where we now live.
8. In Christ we have already entered God’s amazing future.
9. One day we will reign with Christ, but even now we are called to follow our Captain, to seize the day of opportunity for the kingdom of God.
10. The Scriptures exhort us that by faith we are to take possession of what Christ has already established by His victory on the cross.
11. Consider the awesome potential of redeemed mankind, believers, Christians, you and me, to exercise spiritual authority as an extension of Christ’s kingdom in this world.
12. We must make choices every day, 24 hours a day.
13. Every person has some possessions, gifts, talents, time for which we are responsible to distribute and use for the kingdom of God.
14. We can all make a difference in our corner of the world.
15. This September we will be running the Alpha Course.
· Perhaps this is the opportunity that you can use to learn more about the Lord, so that you can follow the Captain more faithfully.
· Perhaps this is the opportunity for you to pray for and invite your husband or wife, son or daughter, brother or sister, friend or colleague to come and hear the truth of Christ in a friendly and informal environment.
· Perhaps the Lord is calling you to step out in faith and get involved in using your gifts and abilities to help make this a more exciting and effective outreach to our families and our community.
C. Are you following the Captain of your Salvation?
1. What will you do with the opportunities that have been entrusted to you to follow the Captain of our salvation in His sufferings and in the obedience of faith?
2. Examine your own heart.
3. Only you can make this evaluation before God.
· Are you one with Christ by faith in His sufferings?
· Are you one with Christ by the obedience of faith?
· Would Jesus be ashamed to be identified with you?
· Or would Jesus delight in presenting you before the Father as one of God’s own precious children?
4. It is God’s desire and purpose for everyone in this congregation, as you put your faith in Christ, to bring you to rejoice in the presence of His glory.
5. He has made all of His infinite resources available to us to make this a reality.
6. He has given us His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our salvation and as a down payment of what is yet to come.
7. He sent His precious Son, Jesus, into the world to make it possible as the Captain of our Salvation to bring us to the presence of His glory.
8. The Captain of our salvation endured the bitter experience of death for us in order to lead us up to the throne of God.
9. He goes in front of us and clearly marks out the way that leads to salvation.
10. This is our glorious hope and the purpose of our existence.
Conclusion
1. God is calling us to follow Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, as He leads us towards our ultimate destiny in the presence of His glory forever.
2. This passage shows us three ways that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation in order that God might accomplish His ultimate purpose of bringing many sons to glory.
a) The first way that we are called to follow the Captain of our salvation is in the suffering of His death.
b) The second way is in the obedience of His life.
c) The third way is in the exaltation of His reign.
3. In what areas have you chosen Christ as your Captain, as the leader, the ruler, the pioneer, the one who leads the way?
4. Think about your home and your work.
5. Where have you chosen to make Jesus Lord?
6. In what areas are you still trying to be in charge of your life and to do thing your own way?
7. Open the closet of your mind; the closed recesses of your heart.
8. Allow the Father to reveal where you have maintained control to the exclusion of the Spirit’s control.
9. Ask the Lord to help you put everything into His hands.
10. Be specific and concrete.
11. What steps will you take this week to ensure that you will follow the Captain of our salvation more closely from now on until the journey’s end when He brings us into the presence of His glory?
12. Closing Illustration:
· Kids in a car – “Are we there yet? We are not there yet.”
· “Daddy, how long until we get there?”
· Our journey has yet to be come to its rewarding conclusion.
· We’re not there yet, but we have joy in the journey as we follow the Captain of our salvation.
