[0:00] The chapter we read for a wee while in Hebrews chapter 2. I'm looking again at verse 10. Hebrews 2, verse 10. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
[0:26] Now we know that this letter describes to us in a wonderful way something of the glory of Jesus Christ.
[0:38] And one of the things it highlights is so much the fact he is God and man, his divine and his human nature.
[0:51] And that it shows us so clearly that Jesus is Lord over all, and yet he is man.
[1:02] Now as we know, Jesus coming to save us and to redeem us, he took our nature, and in our nature, apart from sin, he experienced everything that you and I experience in this world.
[1:18] He experienced, and I think we kind of touched this a wee bit on Wednesday night when we're looking at Jesus in the boat, on the water. Jesus experienced the result of sin without actually experiencing sin itself.
[1:37] Although there came a point when all the weight of sin was placed upon him. But in this world, in our nature, he was freed from sin.
[1:50] He was freed from the defilement of sin. He was absolutely perfect and sinless, and had to be and remain so, or else he could not have been our sin bearer.
[2:05] He could not have done what he was given to do, or be what he was set out to be. He was, of course, and remains God, and now is God and man together.
[2:20] But he experienced the results of sin. In other words, the body that he had, although it was freed from all defilement, was capable of feeling, in the same way as you and I do, feeling pain and hunger and thirst and distress and anguish and emotional battering and all the different things in the body, in the mind, and in the soul, and yet not subject to sin itself.
[2:54] And so this is a Jesus that the Word of God highlights for us so clearly. And one of the wonderful things that we're told about is that this Jesus, it tells us in chapter 4, it tells us that the high priest we have that is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.
[3:17] And you know, that's one of the wonderful things to remember. When you're going through the tough times, when you're bruised and battered, and when temptations overwhelm you, and when the trials of life sometimes appear to be too much, always remember that Jesus understands.
[3:33] He's been there before you. He has traveled the road. He has traveled a road, in fact, we'll see that in a moment, that thankfully you and I are not to travel. But because He has traveled this road, this particular road, He has now made a way for us.
[3:50] But on that road, we will have our share. As the Bible says, in this world, you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.
[4:01] So we've always got to remember, as we go through the difficulties and the trials, Jesus understands. And there's something about, if you've experienced some particularly harrowing pain, some particularly harrowing difficulty in life, it always helps when you meet somebody who has gone through a similar experience.
[4:25] Because you know that they know, they understand, in a way that other people cannot. Other people may sympathize with you, other people may, as best they can identify with you, but they cannot really enter into where you are.
[4:45] But Jesus, this is a great thing, is that He, as God-man, is able to do for us. He enters into our experiences in the most amazing way.
[4:58] But we've also got to remember, for the believer, as you go through the difficulties and troubles in life, always remember God's at work.
[5:08] God doesn't work in a random way. God is always at work. He's always producing something. And God often has to break us in order to use us.
[5:24] Because as we are naturally, we're not very fit for God's service and God's use. Because we're always going to be getting in the way. Because self is going to be rising up.
[5:36] And naturally, we are given to self. That's what's there. So God has to work. He has to break. He has to press down.
[5:47] He has to mold. And maybe today, you have no idea what's going on in your life. Because right now, maybe your own personal life is upside down. And you're saying to yourself, has God forgotten me?
[6:03] What is God doing? Where is the fulfillment of his promises? My friend, God will fulfill his promises in his own correct time. Right now, he is working in you and working upon you.
[6:19] And that's why we must pray for a teachable spirit when God's at work. when God's mighty hand is upon us. So that we will learn and understand.
[6:31] Because so often, we resist, so often we kick out against what God is doing. But God's at work. And we've got to, we've got to remember these things. Now again, Hebrews highlights Christ's superiority over all things.
[6:47] And yet, we find one of the amazing things is that while Christ is by far superior to the angels, there came a period when he was, became inferior to them.
[7:01] Now as we know, Christ is superior to the angels because Christ is eternal. The second person of the Godhead is eternal. The angels aren't.
[7:12] They dwell in eternity, but they're not eternal because they had a beginning. Everything that has a beginning is not eternal. We are not eternal, although we will live in eternity.
[7:26] Eternity either in heaven or in hell are the two destinies that are set out. But no created being is eternal. To be eternal means that there is no beginning and there is no end.
[7:42] And the Godhead alone are eternal. The angels had a beginning. But there comes this point when Jesus is made lower than the angels.
[7:56] And we often tend to think of the angels as being superior to us. But you know, there's going to come the day when we will be superior to the angels because we, in the new heavens and the new earth and in the glory that is to be, we are to reign with Christ.
[8:17] We will have privileges that the angels will never have. Even salvation is something that the angels have no personal experience of.
[8:30] We're told in the Bible, remember when we're looking in 1 Peter, the things that the angels desire to look into, this idea of them peering in, peering in to see to them the mystery, the amazing thing where the second person of the Godhead took human nature and came into this world and was put to death as a sacrifice for sin.
[8:51] They peer into it. The angels, remember, are ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation. You today, if you belong to Jesus, you are being ministered to by the angels.
[9:06] And I believe, even as they minister here on earth to us, that they will continue in that role of ministering, even in glory. But these thoughts are amazing.
[9:20] But verse 10 then goes on to tell us, for it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
[9:36] Now, I believe, while in many ways we can see Jesus in everything here, I believe to begin with that it is talking here of the Father, for the simple reason, for it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory.
[9:56] And we've always got to remember that our relationship to the Father is one of sonship. Jesus has many names given to us with regard to our relationship to him.
[10:11] For instance, he's termed the bridegroom, he's termed our shepherd, our guide, our captain, even our brother, but not our father. So, when it's talking here of sons, I believe it is talking here of God the Father at this particular point here.
[10:30] And it tells us two wonderful things about the Father. That everything that exists was ultimately made by him.
[10:41] Now, of course, we know Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all were involved in the creation of this universe. But it's here we see the wisdom and the power of God.
[10:53] That nothing that was made was made apart from him. But the other thing really, in a sense, it tells us here, for whom and by whom all things exist, for whom.
[11:07] Now, we mustn't lose sight of this as well. We've got to see that all that he made, he made for himself. Do we think about that?
[11:19] As we look at this world, as we look at the stars, as we look at everything around us and about us, that God made everything for himself.
[11:29] We're told in the word that he made everything for, that he does everything for his own good pleasure. You know, there are statements sometimes we come across that take our breath away.
[11:42] And we realize here we are and we're part of this ongoing journey through this world and yet God is ruling over all and all that he does, he does for himself.
[11:53] When he made this world, he made it and he was glad in it. He looked upon each thing as he made it and he received pleasure from what he made.
[12:05] He said, it is good. Good. Every day, he was saying, it's good. God saw that it was good. God saw it was very good.
[12:18] So we must never lose sight of this fact that God has made everything for himself, including you and me. And that's, that's an, that's an amazing thought.
[12:31] But anyway, here we see that it tells us for, for it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist in bringing many sons to glory.
[12:44] And so we see here, this is the wonderful purpose of our existence here in this world. It is to be brought to a particular place.
[12:54] This is, this is not where we are today, wonderful and all, important and all, though it is, it's only a step in a journey. The great purpose is in bringing many sons to glory.
[13:10] Isn't that a wonderful thing? Whatever circumstance you're going through today, and I don't know what it might be for some of you, these circumstances might be difficult, they might be trying, you may have lost loved ones, you may have financial constraints, you may have broken relationships, you may have illnesses and all these things.
[13:31] But you know, if you are a believer today, you belong to God. You are part of the family of God. And you are God's, what we're told, inheritance, his portion.
[13:48] Out of this whole wide world, God has one thing that is truly belonging to him, that's his people. We're told his people are his portion.
[14:01] Here's the whole world, God. And this portion specifically belongs to God. It's his inheritance. And I can't think of anything greater today, irrespective, and I'm not in any way minimizing the traumas and difficulties that you might be going through, to know that you belong to God is the most amazing thought, that you belong to the God of heaven and earth.
[14:29] death. Now, to become a son of God, we're looking at that recently, the whole area of regeneration, justification, and adoption. We, of course, remember, are sons of God by adoption.
[14:43] Jesus Christ, Christ, the second person of the Godhead, is a son by eternal generation. There's a huge difference, but we have been made sons. There was a day when we weren't.
[14:55] When we were outside the kingdom, we were not sons. But, you know, if you're a believer today and a son who has been adopted into the family of God, the wonderful thing is that you were always loved.
[15:10] Some people disagree with that, but we cannot. Because the Bible tells us of God's people. It says this, even although there was a period when we were outside the realms of a saving grace, when we were not united to Jesus Christ by faith, it tells us you were loved with an everlasting love.
[15:33] Isn't that wonderful? From everlasting. But there came this particular point in time when God set that love in a specific way upon you, where you were drawn to him, where all the barriers were broken down, whether it happened suddenly, or whether it happened over a period of time, as far as you were aware, you became a son, a daughter, you are part of this journey.
[16:03] And that's God's great purpose for you in this world. For some of these sons and some of these daughters, they have a long time in this world. Some people, and there might be some in here today, who were converted when they were very, very young.
[16:19] Some maybe even in the womb, like John the Baptist, where the Lord worked in a wonderful way, where there was the uniting of the soul to Christ by faith.
[16:31] And these are things sometimes we cannot understand, but some have come to faith in Jesus. You know, there are some people and they spend all their days seeking the Lord.
[16:45] And they have maybe never come to realize that the Savior that they're seeking. They actually have. Because they came to faith so young. They came, the Lord worked in their heart when they were so young.
[17:00] And there was always, always their heart was to the Lord. There was always this longing for the Lord. But they, they never went, they never went beyond that.
[17:14] They were always looking for that. and we've got to remember that and realize that. And I hope if there's anybody here today, if you, that's why we've got to go to the Word.
[17:27] And the Word will help us to identify where we actually are. The Word shows us what we term marks of grace, where we're able to understand where we are in relation to the Lord.
[17:41] But some people's journey in this world is long. They come to faith in Jesus when they're young and they follow the Lord all through. Maybe they live to the age of 90 or 100. Others, their journey as a believer is very brief.
[17:57] Sometimes they're converted in an illness just before they die or converted in something just, they might have days or weeks or months as believer in this world.
[18:07] But the fact, whether it's long or short, this is what's happening, bringing sons to glory. And all the ups and downs. But you know what it says, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory.
[18:25] So we see there's a lot. A lot of people ask that question. They say, do you think there'll be a lot of people in glory? Well, that's speculation. Yes, there will be.
[18:36] But, you know, it's very interesting that there was a time when a man came to Jesus and asked that very question. Lord, are there many or few that will be saved? Remember what Jesus said to that man.
[18:51] Strive to enter in the straight gate or the narrow door. You see to it that you are saved. That's really what Jesus was saying.
[19:02] Very interesting how Jesus turned that question right round. This man was in the realms of speculation. Lord, will there be a lot saved or just a few saved?
[19:13] Jesus said, you make sure that you're saved. And that is the important thing. That you and I must make sure that we are in the kingdom, that we strive to enter in.
[19:26] At the end of the day, nothing else matters. Of course, we're not minimizing or in any way sort of putting down on all the great achievements of this life.
[19:36] but at the end of the day, one thing matters. Jesus said that about Mary. Mary has chosen that good part, that good portion, that one all-important thing which will never be taken from her.
[19:54] You make sure that you have chosen Jesus as your own personal savior. And so we see that they are being brought, brought to glory. It's not a wonderful thought.
[20:05] brought into this great glory that awaits. Everything in this world is going to be burnt up with fire. This world is going to be burnt up with fire.
[20:18] There's going to be a whole renewal of new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And you know, there are times when I think about that and I say, I can't wait.
[20:32] The thought, the prospect of being in this environment, this pure, beautiful, sinless environment.
[20:43] You see, God will always come out victor. Just as he made man in perfection, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and mankind fell, and it would look like everything ended in disaster.
[20:57] No, it didn't. Jesus Christ came into this world. And the salvation that has come through Jesus will bring man to an even greater state than he was in before the fall.
[21:13] Because there will be an understanding of God's mercy and God's grace and God's love that couldn't be grasped without the fall.
[21:25] and I believe that the world will be recreated, the heavens and the earth will be recreated to a greater state because God will always have the victory.
[21:38] And we will share in this forever and forever. What a wonderful thought. And so we find that in order to bring the many sons to glory, it tells us that he should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
[21:58] Now, this word founder, the founder of their salvation here, there's different, you might have a Bible with a different translation. Some have captain, some have the idea of a pioneer, of a leader, of a guide.
[22:13] And all these words are correct. It's actually a word that has different shades of meaning. But here is the one who is the founder of their salvation.
[22:24] And he is the one who has gone before us. But it says he was made perfect through suffering. Now, how can you make, does that mean that there was imperfection in Jesus?
[22:37] Does it mean that there was any blemish or any sin? Not at all. I think it means very simply that he became the perfect savior through the sufferings.
[22:53] I think that's really what it is. I mean, that all that was necessary, all that was to make our salvation complete was through the suffering of our savior, Jesus Christ.
[23:11] Christ. And so we see that Jesus, he founded our salvation, he was the founder of our salvation through this suffering. In other words, when you think of this word, the founder, the pioneer, the leader, the captain, here is the one who has gone ahead.
[23:30] And what does he do? Jesus, he is the one, for instance, he is the one who took on Satan and defeated him. This was part of his role as a founder of our salvation, as a pioneer.
[23:44] From the very beginning, Satan waged war against God. And at the very beginning, God gave the promise of the one who would come.
[23:56] And Satan would be trying all he could do to destroy. And that promise in the garden was remembered, he will bruise the heel, but Jesus, the great promised one, was going to crush his head.
[24:11] When Jesus was born into this world, remember what happened? Satan came to work. And Herod gave the command that every little baby would be, all the babies in Bethlehem were to be destroyed.
[24:25] All these little babies in order. There's Satan at work trying to get rid of Jesus. And then when Jesus is baptized and enters into the public ministry, again Satan appears.
[24:39] And there's that battle in the wilderness. But it's very interesting in the wilderness that it was, it's all of God's appointment. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
[24:53] It wasn't the devil that led Jesus into the wilderness, but the Holy Spirit. You see, this is, God's at work. God is still in command. And Satan attacks and he attacks and he attacks Jesus.
[25:07] And Jesus comes out of that having won. And that's just a little glimpse of what is yet to happen. Because the great victory, of course, was to happen at Calvary.
[25:17] And so, we have a little picture there in the wilderness of what is later to take place. And again, we come to the cross and we find Jesus as a pioneer, as a founder, as a captain of our salvation, making this perfect sacrifice by his suffering.
[25:36] And you know, the wonderful thing is this, that Jesus, as a pioneer and the founder of our salvation, he went on his own.
[25:48] It wasn't so much that he was blazing a trail that we follow. No. Jesus had to deal with issues, our issues, before God on his own.
[26:02] There was a whole scene that involved father and son. Just the two of them. Jesus was at work making this salvation possible for us through his suffering.
[26:17] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus is there on his own. Yes, it was so public. And the public were viewing him upon the cross.
[26:32] But while there was fearful pain of body and shame in all he was experiencing, the greatest agony was what was hidden away as the Father poured his wrath and his judgment for sin upon Christ.
[26:47] And Christ is founding our salvation through what he has done. thankfully, we don't have to follow him to the cross because he made the way and it's like he has now opened the door and he said, it's finished.
[27:07] There's the way. But you know, the wonderful thing is Jesus doesn't just say to us, there's the way, go and walk on it. No, it's a new and a living way and he says, I'll walk on it with you.
[27:22] I have made the way. I have opened the door. In fact, I am the door. In order to walk this new and living way, you come to me and as you come to me, you walk with me along this new and living way.
[27:40] Isn't that wonderful? Bringing many sons to glory. And you know, Jesus will never stop leading his people. It doesn't just stop through life.
[27:52] But he leads us on into death and he leads us through death and he will continue to lead us in glory. That's what it tells us about the Lamb who leads us to living fountains of water where the Lamb will feed us.
[28:15] So we see that throughout eternity he's still at work. all the time at work. I hope, my friend, today that you're on this journey.
[28:27] I hope you're part of this journey of sonship. That you today belong to Jesus and you're able to say, you know, I know where I'm going.
[28:38] It's a most wonderful thing to have this faith in your heart and to be persuaded that that although death is not something we ever look forward to, we recoil from, yet we don't have fear because we know that death is but the doorway into everlasting glory where we will be with our Lord forever.
[29:01] That's his great purpose. He's here preparing us to share with him eternally. I hope today you all know King Jesus as your King and Lord.
[29:15] Let's pray. Oh, gracious God, we give thanks today for the amazing provision that is made in Jesus Christ and that we haven't anything that we can boast of ourselves and say, well, I automatically deserve a place in glory.
[29:36] We're all sinners and it is because of our sin and our imperfections that Jesus Christ has come into this world. Help us then to believe in Jesus and to accept him as our Lord.
[29:50] May we follow him realizing that he has prepared this new and living way for us. Bless us then, we pray, and bless the time of fellowship and a cup of tea in the hall afterwards and take us home safely.
[30:06] In Jesus' name we ask God. Amen. вел Frage him. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[30:17] Amen. I ten am like, women of tak to you like,恥 r around se wrong, week, night at those in können. On remember that this and the time of had the time to up the man in the time