“For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? 7 “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; 8 YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” NASB
“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” NIV
Every once in a while we hear the question put, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ The question takes various forms, of course. ‘Why am I here?’ ‘What is my purpose in existence?’
Sometimes it is said in jest. I saw a T-shirt that asked, “What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it’s all about?”
More often though, the asker really is confused and would like to know if there is really any meaningful reason for any of us to be here. It is usually asked in a time of depression, and it is a depressing question if there is no thoughtful and confident response forthcoming.
The only truthful answer though, is that when mankind sinned against God he nullified his very reason for existence. The truth is that every person in the world in history who does not have the life that comes through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ has no purpose beyond whatever they can accomplish in this world, and nothing they accomplish will last longer than this world.
The good news however, is that God has come down to man and has provided the way for man to be lifted back up into a place of usefulness and purpose and right standing with God. He has made the way for anyone who believes in Him to have an eternal value, to accomplish works of an eternal value, and to be counted happily among the ‘all things subjected to Him’.
Let’s talk about Him.
ANGELS AND THE WORLD TO COME
The author makes another reference to the angels here. This letter is about the world to come, looking forward to the Millennial reign of Christ. In that world Christ will reign supreme. There will be no other world or national leaders, and the angels will not fill the same role that they have in this world.
In history angels have guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden to keep expelled mankind out. Angels under God’s command brought messages to men and in some cases carried out God’s judgment against men. Angels went to Sodom to drag Lot and his family out of the city in honor of Abraham’s request.
Angels ministered to Jesus during His earthly life and attended His tomb until His resurrection was discovered. One of them even told the women who came there where to find Him and instructed them to tell His hiding Apostles. Angels were on the Mount with the disciples who watched His ascension and assured them that He would return in the same way they watched Him go.
Angels opened the prison doors, first for Paul and later for Peter. In all of these places we see angels exercising power over men, proving more intelligent than men, exercising a measure of authority over men – kind of like heavenly babysitters. In the world to come, they will not. The author is going on now to explain why.
LOWER FOR A LITTLE WHILE
By employing Psalm 8 in this context he reveals the Psalm to be Messianic. When David wrote it he referenced mankind in general.
First let’s talk about a wording difference between the Psalm and the HEBREWS application that could cause some confusion.
In the numerous translations available there seems to be a pretty even split between three ways to word verse 5 of Psalm 8. Some say “a little lower than God”, some “a little lower than the angels” and some say “a little lower than heavenly beings”.
The word is ‘elohim’, and depending on the context it can be used for all three of those designations.
There is no conflict there however, since in his original created state man was a little lower than angels in that he was physical and earthbound. But he was sinless and perfect as part of God’s creation, over which He pronounced all things good.
When man sinned he fell to a much lower state, and in redemption he is raised to a position higher than Adam was before the Fall, since he is now justified in Christ’s righteousness, and will in the end be glorified and actually rule over and judge angelic beings.
So David’s reference to man being made for a little while lower than elohim, and going on to declare that man was crowned with glory and honor and made ruler over all things, was meant to praise God for His concern over man, that He would make him supreme over the rest of creation.
Man was meant to reign over nature and over the animals. All of that was ruined by sin. Man reigned, man sinned, then sin reigned over man and the power of sin is death.
David is not addressing any of that in his Psalm. He is looking up into the heavens and meditating on the glory of God, who made the heavens and the heavenly bodies like someone might knit a doily. He bent down and gathered some clay and molded a man, breathed His own life into that man, making him into His own image, and when He was done He looked and said, “Perfect”, then made the man ruler over all that He had proclaimed perfect. That’s what David was praising God for.
Now the writer to the Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says here is the Spirit’s application of the song writer’s poem.
The Lord’s Anointed One became for a little while lower than the angels. In rank? No! In nature. He became a Man so that He might taste of death for every man.
Christians, we must ever be mindful of the majesty and sovereignty and wondrous glory that is our God. But let’s also be ever mindful that He identified Himself with us in every way but sin, and it is precisely for that sinlessness that He should never have had to identify Himself with us.
Why should He have had to know hunger or thirst or weariness? What did He ever do to deserve rejection and mocking and pain and death? I tell you, nothing! Nothing!
Yet the prophet was compelled to predict of Him that He was despised and forsaken of men; that He knew sorrow and grief; that He was oppressed and afflicted; that He was crushed – all for our sake. (Isaiah 53)
Yes, let us always remember that the things He suffered as a Man and the death He went to as a Man were not for anything He had done, but for what we had done.
That is why verse 9 of our text declares that it was by God’s grace that He tasted death for everyone. Everyone is guilty. Everyone deserves death, except one; and the one, the only one, the only Man ever born of woman who did not deserve death, tasted death for everyone.
In order to do this He had to be made for a little while lower than the angels. Because He did this, He is now crowned with glory and honor and sits at the Father’s right hand until His enemies are made His footstool.
In order to redeem us to the Father, He had to be made for a little while lower than the angels. Because He tasted death for everyone, all who believe will be raised up to His throne from which we will rule and reign with Him.
Andrew Murray added a devotional footnote to his comments:
“Thy destiny, O man, is to sit with Jesus on His throne. Live as one preparing for it. Cultivate a royal spirit. Abide in Him; He will abide in thee”. The Holiest of All, A. Murray, Revell
THINGS SUBJECTED
Let’s go back and examine more closely the way in which man’s original supremacy over created things typified Christ’s ultimate supremacy over all things subjected to Him.
Here is Genesis 1:27-31
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Then when Jesus came, He took the place that Adam forfeited in sin, only with greater authority. He ruled living creatures. He told His disciples to cast their net and at His command enough fish swam into it until it almost broke under the strain. We’re told that He was with wild animals in the wilderness but was apparently unthreatened by them. He commanded the fig tree to wither and it bowed to His will. He had the servants pour water and He bypassed the fermenting and aging process to bring forth what was probably the highest quality batch of wine man has ever tasted.
The next step in this process is that He now reigns in glory and honor at the Father’s right hand, and He has spiritually raised up all His elect to a place of honor with Him. There is a future time in which we will all be there bodily, glorified and completed forever.
In the meantime, we do not yet see all things subjected to Him. Satan is still the ‘prince of this world’ (Eph 2:2, 1 Jn 5:19).
We do not yet see all things subjected to men or to God. Remember, by sin man forfeited his supremacy over creation and there are very many things not now subject to him.
And we do not yet see all things subjected to God simply because He has not finished redeeming the creation; that will not come until the Millennial reign of Christ.
Remember our opening questions? “What’s it all about?” “Why are we here?”
This is why men don’t have acceptable responses to those questions. Our destiny was lost when man fell. Relationship and fellowship with God was broken as completely as the death of a spouse ends that relationship.
That relationship between men and God is now restored only by a new creation; a new life, provided by the Bridegroom who is readying His Bride for the wedding feast.
So we do not, we cannot now see all things subjected to Him.
But, and here we can almost sense the writer’s pulse quickening as he puts ink to parchment…
WE SEE JESUS!
“…we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus…”
True Christ-followers, please do not miss the significance of this word ‘but’ and what it connects. We do not see, but we see. There is so much we do not see, but there is one thing we do see.
The world must be constrained to admit that they do not see. They do not see that which is subjected to God. Worse, they also do not see Jesus. Therefore they have no hope and they must fret over that which they cannot see.
They see a world spinning into disaster. I wish I had jotted down the source and the numbers sometime back, when on a secular news program they actually announced that according to a recent survey of non-religious people over 60 percent of people polled indicated they thought the world would end soon.
This was based on current world affairs and events, the economy, the political scene and so forth.
The world cannot see a good future, church. The world has no hope.
It is the very fact that we do see Jesus, and of course that is a faith prospect – we don’t see Him with our eyes, but we see Him – it is because of that we are not distressed over the answers we do not yet have concerning the immediate future of this world or our own lives.
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Cor 4: 6-9
Why? Because we see Jesus! We sing a song, part of which says, ‘…He is the love of God’
Those in our local congregation are very familiar with my teaching on Romans 5:1-5 that I call “The Circle of Glory”, but listen to these verses again today in the context of our study.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
“This is love:” (writes the Apostle John) “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
“…because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone”.
Christians, we will eventually see all things subjected to Him. All things under Him will also be once again subjected to us, as the ones glorified and raised up to sit with Him in a place of authority.
We ourselves are a part of the ‘all things’ spoken of. We are subjected to Him and He will ultimately subject all things to the Father.
Paul summed it up for the Corinthians:
“For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” 1 Cor 15:27-28
Is that confusing? It’s just saying that the Father honors the Son and the Son honors the Father and because of His great and marvelous grace He will also include us in this honor which we will eternally turn back to Him.
In the meantime believers, know that by the suffering of death He has restored your destiny. There’s nothing ‘hokey’ or ‘pokey’ about it. You have been made one with your Creator once more, and the purpose for which you were born has been reclaimed.
You are saved, you are established in a place of everlasting security before the throne of God in Christ, and you never again have to ask, ‘what’s it all about?’
You can say to the man or woman in the world who is fretting over the morning news or declaring to you their sense of emptiness and lack of direction that Jesus, because He died and rose again, is crowned with glory and honor and He invites them to come and have their destiny restored.
And what a destiny it is!
Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
“…and that’s what it’s all about!”
