The book of Hebrews – Chapter 2 – Lower than the angels

 

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Gavin Paynter

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NOTES: Hebrews 1 - Part 2 - Greater than the angels

 

AUDIO: Hebrews 2 - Lower than the angels

NOTES: Hebrews 2 - Lower than the angels

 

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NOTES: Hebrews 3 - Greater than Moses

 

AUDIO: Hebrews 4 - Greater than Joshua

NOTES: Hebrews 4 - Greater than Joshua

 

AUDIO: Hebrews 5-7 (Part 1) - Greater than Aaron

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AUDIO: Hebrews 5-7 (Part 2) - The priesthood of Melchizedek

NOTES: Hebrews 5-7 (Part 2) - The priesthood of Melchizedek

 

AUDIO: Hebrews 5-7 (Part3) - Greater than Abraham

NOTES: Hebrews 5-7 (Part3) - Greater than Abraham

Ken Paynter

AUDIO: Our humanity

 

 

LOWER THAN THE ANGELS

 

We saw last time how Jesus is greater than the angels because he is the SON OF GOD. Now we are shown how he also was the SON OF MAN and became “a little lower than the angels”.

 

 

FULLY GOD & FULLY MAN

 

But note that:

 

*      Jesus isn’t only God [1] or only man.

*      He isn’t 50% God and 50% man.

*      He isn’t “man on the outside” and “God on the inside.”

*      Jesus is fully God and fully man.

o       John 1:1,14 … the Word was God… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

           

2 NATURES - 1 PERSON

 

Jesus’ human nature was added to his divine nature and both natures existed in one person.

 

 

THE HUMANITY OF JESUS

 

*      He was born.

o       Matt 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about…

*      He got tired.

o       Matt 8:24 … But Jesus was sleeping.

*      He got thirsty and hungry.

o       John 19:28 … Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

o       Matt 4:2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

*      His knowledge was limited.

o       Matt 24:36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son…   

*      He had flesh, bones and blood.

o       Lk 24:39 … Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.

o       Lk 22:20 … This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

*      He could suffer and die.

o       Matt 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… and that he must be killed …

 

PSALM 8

*      Heb 2:5-8 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? You made him a little a lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet…”

 

Hebrews 2:6-8 is a quotation from Psalm 8:4-6, once again a Messianic psalm of David.

 

*      Psalm 8:1-2 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

 

Psalm 8:2 was quoted by Jesus of himself at his Triumphal Entry when he fulfilled the initial portions of these Messianic prophecies concerning the ‘Son of David’.

 

*      Matt 21:15-16 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”

 

NOW CROWNED WITH GLORY

 

*      Psalm 8:3-8 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

 

The writer of Hebrews applies verses 4 to 6 to Jesus showing how as a man He was made lower than the angels, but was subsequently exalted after his death and resurrection. (The ultimate fulfillment of this rule will be in the Millennium.)

 

*      Heb 2:8-9… 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. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death…

 

So we are shown this sequence in chapters 1 & 2:

 

1)      Jesus, the ‘Son of God’ is greater than the angels.

2)      He then willingly became the ‘Son of Man’ and lower than the angels.

3)      He even suffered death which neither angels nor God experiences, but men do.

4)      As a result he was crowned with glory and honour.

 

Paul makes this same point in Philippians 2:5-9 and shows the exact same sequence:

 

1)      … Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

2)      but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

3)      And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

4)      Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…

 

TASTED DEATH FOR ALL

Heb 2:9 tells us that Jesus “might taste death for everyone.” Part of 5-point Calvinist doctrine (the ‘L’ in TULIP) is the belief in Limited Atonement i.e. that Jesus only died for the elect and not the whole world. However we see that Jesus tasted death for ‘everyone’. Jesus potentially saved everyone although only those who believe can claim Him as their Saviour:

 

*      1 Tim 4:10 … we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

 

*      1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

“… so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb 2:9) teaches us the ‘substitutionary’ death of Jesus i.e. Jesus died in our place.

 

*      2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

*      John 8:52 “… you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.”

 

Christians die physically but they don’t taste death. The bitterness, the darkness, the anguish and all the evil that goes with death, Jesus tasted all that for us. He endured our death. [2]

THE SAME FAMILY

 

*      Heb 2:11-13 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

 

Remember that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers. How then can we be ashamed to call Him our brother and Saviour?

 

*      Matt 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

 

Jesus is not ashamed to call us (humans) his brothers. In the NT Jesus is referred to as:

 

Son of God

38 times

most of these references by others

Son of Man

84 times

most of these references by himself

 

 

2 OT passages are quoted to show that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His bothers: Psalm 22:22, Isaiah 8:17-18. Psalm 22 is the Messianic Psalm that talks so explicitly about Jesus’ death. It was even quoted by Jesus on the cross. Let’s have a brief look at the Psalm as it foretells Jesus’ death:

 

PSALM 22

PROPHECY - SCOURGING

*      Ps 22:17 I can count all my bones…

FULFILMENT

*      Matt 27:26 But he had Jesus flogged…

COMMENT

The flogging “typically involved a whip with numerous leather thongs, 18-24 inches long, with bits of metal, bone or glass embedded in the leather. At times they would use an iron rod to beat the prisoner. According to Jewish custom, a prisoner was usually flogged 39 times … Scourging was an extreme form of punishment. The skin on the victim’s back was usually shredded, thus exposing the underlying muscle and skeletal structures… Many victims died from such scourging.” [3]

PROPHECY – PIERCED HANDS AND FEET

*      Psalm 22:16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

FULFILMENT

*      John 20:25 … But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

*      Luke 24:38-39 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!

COMMENT

When Psalm 22 was written, execution by impaling the hands and feet didn’t exist. In fact, crucifixion was the only form of execution that pierced the hands and feet. Yet crucifixion didn’t come about until about 350 BC with the Persians. But in Psalm 22 it was prophesied that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced 650 years before the practice of this style of execution.     

PROPHECY – BONES OUT OF JOINT

*      Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint…

FULFILMENT

*      Mark 15:24 And they crucified him.

COMMENT

With crucifixion: “As the strength of the legs gives out, the weight of the body must now be borne by the arms and shoulders. The result is that within a few minutes of being placed on the cross, the shoulders will become dislocated. Minutes later the elbows and wrists become dislocated.” [4]

 

 

PROPHECY – HEART FAILURE

*      Psalm 22:14 …My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.

FULFILMENT

*      John 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

COMMENT

Apparently to make sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart…. Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and blood from the interior of the heart. We, therefore, have rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that our Lord died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium. [5]

 

 

 

 

PROPHECY - DEHYDRATION

*      Psalm 22:15 … my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth ....

FULFILMENT

*      John19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

COMMENT

With crucifixion: “The blood loss and hyperventilation combines to cause severe dehydration. That’s why Jesus said, ‘I thirst.’” [6]

 

 

PROPHECY - MOCKING

*      Psalm 22:7-8 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

FULFILMENT

*      Matt 27:41-43 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “… He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

 

 

PROPHECY – CAST LOTS FOR CLOTHING

*      Psalm 22:18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

FULFILMENT

*      Matt 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots that the word spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: “They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing”

 

 

 

 

PROPHECY – FORSAKEN BY GOD

*      Psalm 22:1-2 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.

FULFILMENT

*      Matt 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

 

 

 

 

PROPHECY - DEATH

*      Psalm 22:15… you lay me in the dust of death.

FULFILMENT

*      Matt 27:58-60 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body…  Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

 

 

 

 

PROPHECY 1 – RESURRECTION AND IDENTIFIES WITH MEN

And here is the portion that is quoted by the writer of Hebrews concerning Jesus’ resurrection and his identifying himself with men as his brothers.

 

*      Psalm 22:19-24 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you… For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

FULFILMENT

*      Heb 2:11-12… So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”

 

PROPHECY 2 – RESURRECTION AND IDENTIFIES WITH MEN

 

And the writer of Hebrews also quotes from Isaiah 8:17-18 in this regard where the preceding and succeeding portions show the Messianic context:

 

*      Isaiah 8:14 - 9:6 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare…I will wait for the LORD… I will put my trust in him. Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me…in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…

FULFILMENT

*      Heb 2:13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

MADE PERFECT

 

*      Heb 2:10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

 

Q: Why was it fitting that Jesus be made perfect through suffering?

 

A: Because part of the human condition is suffering. Becoming a man entailed Jesus having to suffer.

 

The Bible makes it clear that as men we will suffer:

 

*      Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33)

 

Despite what “health and wealth” teachers might say, the Bible also makes it clear that godly Christians will also endure suffering. Paul tells Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12).

 

Not only will we sometimes have to suffer as Christians, but the suffering may be unjust or unfair.

 

*      1 Pet 2:19-20 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God… But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

*      John 15:18-25 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you… But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

 

Jesus who was made perfect through suffering serves as our example in this regard.

 

*      1 Pet 2:19-21 But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

*      1 Pet 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

*      Phil 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…

 

Q: How could Jesus, who was the Son of God, be “made perfect” through sufferings?

A: It isn’t that there was anything lacking in His Deity, but only in His experience: how does God in heaven know suffering by experience? [7]

 

This is the ultimate illustration of the fact that real love, real giving, involves sacrifice. As David said, nor will I offer… offerings to the Lord my God which costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). God’s love for us had to show itself in sacrifice, and what could God sacrifice unless He added humanity to His deity and suffered on our behalf? [8]

 

Suffering as a man means that Jesus can identify with human suffering and temptation and be a merciful and effective High Priest (i.e. act as an advocate on our behalf to the Father) for us. He is also able to assist us because he understands the lure and attraction of temptation as only a human can.

 

*      Heb 2:16-17 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

 

Jesus is our Advocate:

 

*      1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (NASB).

 

As a fellow man Jesus not only sympathizes with our plight, but as a perfected man – he can help us:

 

*      Heb 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

 

It is astonishing: there is a God in Heaven who by experience knows what I am going through, and can aid me, not just feel bad for me! [9]

 

MANY SONS TO GLORY

 

*      Heb 2:10 In bringing many sons to glory…

 

Jesus brings many sons to glory. So the ‘Son of God’ who was also the ‘Son of Man’ grants us the privilege of being God’s ‘sons’ as well.

 

*      Rom 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers…

 

*      Eph 1:5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ…

 

Q: But isn’t Jesus the “only begotten” Son (John 3:16)?

 

A: Monogenes (Greek) doesn’t mean “only begotten.” It is derived from two Greek terms, monos (only) and genos (class, kind). It literally means ‘one of a kind’ or ‘unique’. In Heb 11:17 Isaac is called Abraham’s ‘monogenes’ — but it is clear from the OT that Isaac wasn’t the only son Abraham had begotten, since Ishmael was born before Isaac. The term means that Isaac was Abraham’s ‘unique’ son, for he was the son of the covenant promises and the line through which Messiah would come.

 

 

Q: How did Jesus bring many sons to glory?

 

A: By becoming a man and redeeming his fellow men:

 

*      Gal 3:4-5 But when the time had fully come God sent his Son born of a woman born under law to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

 

RIGHTS OF SONS

 

Q: But what are these “full rights of sons” that Paul speaks of in Gal 3:5?

 

A: Unlike a servant, a son has privileges. If I were a prosperity teacher (which I’m not) I’d tell you that as a “King’s Kid” you should be the CEO and not a mere employee. The actually reality is far more lofty and less carnal (worldly) than that. In the context of Gal 3:5-7 Paul lists 2 benefits of being God’s sons.

 

1)      We have a relationship with God (through the Spirit).

*      Gal 3:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts the Spirit who calls out “Abba Father.”

2)      We are heirs to the future promises and inheritance:

*      Gal 3:7 So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son God has made you also an heir.

 

1)     We have a relationship with God (through the Spirit).

 

*      Rom 8:14-16 … those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry “Abba Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

*      Jesus also taught us to address God as Father: “This then is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven…’” (Matt 6:9)

 

2)     We are heirs to the future promises and inheritance

 

Please note that unlike those who look for immediate material benefit in this life for the sons of God, Paul makes it clear that currently we suffer, but ultimately we will receive the glory. Even in this life an heir does not receive the inheritance immediately:

 

*      Rom 8:17-19 Now if we are children then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

 

Jesus also taught that part of this inheritance is a future kingdom (i.e. after the Sheep-Goat judgment, not now in this present age as Dominionists teach):

 

*      Matt 25:31-34 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’”

3)     Good gifts: The Holy Spirit

 

As sons, our Father gives us good gifts – namely the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in Luke 11:9-12:

 

*      “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

 

But he continues in the next verse (v13):

 

*      “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

 

So the gift of the Holy Spirit is a sign of sonship:

 

*      John 14:16-18 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

 

4)     Provision

An earthly Father provides for his children and they don’t have to worry about this aspect of life.

 

*      Matt 6:25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

*      Matt 6:28-34 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

5)     More good gifts

 

We receive whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name:

 

*      John 16:23-27 “… my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name… In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

 

Q: What does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name?

 

A1: We ask with confidence based on our relationship with Jesus.

A2: We ask for the kind of things that Jesus would ask for.

 

6)     Redemption of our bodies

 

*      Rom 8:22-24 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.

*      1 John 3:1-2 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.

 

SIGNS OF SONS

 

Q: What are the signs that someone is a son of God?

 

A: They are like their Father.

 

*      Eph 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…

 

1)     Sacrificial love

God’s children live a life of sacrificial love:

 

*      Eph 5:1-2… as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

*      1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

 

2)     Love for enemies

Like their Father, they love their enemies and show mercy to them:

 

*      Matt 5:44-45 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

*      Luke 6:35-36 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 

3)     Holy lives

 

Sons live holy lives and try to please their Father:

 

*      Eph 5:3-10 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God… For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

 

Sons are obedient and live holy lives:

 

*      1 Pet 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

4)     Discipline

 

Sons are disciplined (undergo hardship) by their Father:

 

*      Heb 12:7-11 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

5)     Forgiveness

Sons forgive:

 

*      Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

 

We are able to ‘bind’ and ‘loose’ people of their sins against us:

 

*      Matt 18:15-18 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 

(Note the context that binding and loosing is used i.e. reconciliation.)

 

6)     Do God’s will

Sons do God’s will:

 

*      Matt 12:50 “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

 

1)     Love Jesus

 

Sons love Jesus:

 

*      John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me…”

 

2)     Wisdom in witnessing

 

Sons have wisdom in answering unbelievers:

 

*      Matt 10:19-20 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

3)     Peacemakers

 

They are peacemakers

 

*      Matt 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.

 

4)     No complaining or arguing

 

They don’t complain and argue:

 

*      Phil 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

 

HOW TO BECOME A SON

 

Q: How do I become a son (or child) of God?

 

A: By faith in Jesus:

 

*      Gal 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…

*      John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

 

This is why Jesus said we must be ‘born again’ to enter the kingdom of God. We have to become God’s children and have a relationship with Him, not just follow a ritualistic and legalistic religion.

 

*      In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3)

 

Those who are ‘born again’ have eternal life (i.e. imperishable seed):

 

*      1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

 



[1] Interestingly, despite the frequent attacks on Jesus’ deity today, the first heresy to rise about Jesus’ nature wasn’t an attack on His deity, but on His humanity. Some Gnostics taught that Jesus only appeared to be human (as they believed that matter was evil and that God wouldn’t take on a material body). This heresy called Docetism was first advocated by Cerinthus (circa 85 AD) in Ephesus but was opposed by John (1 John 4:2).

[4] Ibid

[5] “The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View” by C. Truman Davis, M.D., M.S. Mesa, Arizona - https://www.prophecyarchive.com/ray/barr-family.com/godsword/crucmed.htm

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid