The Captain of Our Salvation
(No. 2619)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, APRIL 23, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY
19, 1882.
"For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to Glory, to make the Captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings." Hebrews 2:10.
OBSERVE, dear Friends, how glorious God is. The description given here
by the Apostle contains but few words, and those nearly all little
ones, but how full of meaning they are! "Him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things." Here you have God set forth as being both
the beginning and the end of everything! All things are frHim–to do
His bidding, to accomplish His purpose, to act forth His Glory and this
because all things are byHim–in their first creation, in their
subsequent preservation and in all that is yet to come of them! Of whom
speaks the Apostle this but of the Triune God, to whom be glory forever
and ever? Of whom speaks He this–if we would be still more exact–but
of the Father who has made His Son perfect in bringing many sons to
Glory? It is the Father "for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things."
And, my dear Brothers and Sisters, the Apostle was wisely guided by the
Holy Spirit to give this title to the Father in this particular place.
Sometimes, in prayer, men call God by one or another of His names and
each name may be correct, yet it may not be well chosen for that
special occasion. But you will notice that if the Holy Spirit describes
either God the Father or the Lord Jesus by any term other than His
usual name, the title is always very wisely chosen and is most
appropriate in that place. Now, in the matter of our salvation, we need
One, "by whom are all things," for none but the Creator can create us
anew in Christ Jesus. No one who has less power than the Divine
Preserver of men can keep us from falling. And none but the Divine
Being who encompasses all things within the range of His Infinite mind,
can guard us against the many terrible perils on the way to Heaven. If
ever we are to be brought to Glory, it must be by the God "by whom are
all things." And certainly, if we are brought there, as I pray that we
all may be–it will be by Him "for whom are all things"–and we shall
forever adore the mystery of His Grace which landed us safely on the
heavenly shore!
Every part of the great plan of salvation sets forth the splendor of
the Grace of the Most High God. What do we see in our election but His
Grace? What do we see in our redemption but His Grace? What do we see
in our conversion but His Grace? What do we see in our justification,
sanctification, adoption and final preservation but His Grace? By Him,
in Grace as well as in Nature, are all things–and for Him, in Grace as
well as in Nature, are all things. Unto Him belongs both the power and
the glory, the two must always go together. He works all our works in
us and to Him be all the praise, world without end!
We start, then, with this as a sort of keynote–that the great Father,
who has purposed our salvation, is able to fully carry out what He has
planned, for by Him are all things. And He also has an admirable reason
for accomplishing it, because it will bring Him glory, and for Him are
all things. If our salvation would degrade His name in any sense or
respect. If the salvation of sinners would even obscure the severity of
His justice, it might be a question as to whether it would ever be
accomplished. But, since there is nothing about this work but what will
bring Him honor and glory, we rest assured that, having put His hand to
it, He will not withdraw His arm until He has fully accomplished His
eternal purpose to the praise of the glory of His Grace!
Our text sets before us some most precious Truth concerning our Lord
Jesus Christ and His people. First, here is a high enterprise–the
bringing of many sons to Glory. In the second place, this enterprise is
being carried out by an ordained Captain–there is a Captain of our
salvation through whom the many sons are to be brought to Glory. And,
thirdly, we are to notice the becoming work of the Father upon Him who
is Captain. "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom
are all things, in bringing many sons to Glory, to make the Captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings."
I. First, then, here IS A HIGH ENTERPRISE–the bringing of many sons to
Glory.
I think that you will find the historical parallel of this enterprise
in the Lord's great work of bringing the tribes of Israel out of Egypt,
through the Red Sea, through the wilderness and into Canaan. The Lord,
in His deliverance of His ancient people, gives us a type of what He is
doing and will do for all His chosen. The exodus was not merely the
bringing of the people out of Egypt into the wilderness, for then they
might truly have said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt,
have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?" But the whole
transaction was not completed, the enterprise was not finished, until
all those whom the Lord intended to bless had actually crossed the
Jordan and had taken possession of the promised land. He led not the
children of Israel merely out of Egypt, but He led them into Canaan–
and His leadership of them through the desert is a picture and emblem
of Christ's leadership of the many sons whom He is bringing to Glory. I
want you to think of the salvation of the redeemed in that light.
To begin at the end, the Lord Jesus is bringing many sons to Glory,
just as God brought His ancient people into Canaan. The ultimate
destination of every Believer is eternal Glory. There is not one of us
who will be perfect and complete until we stand at the right hand of
God, even the Father. There is no secondary position where some of the
redeemed may be satisfied to remain, but the many sons are all to be
brought to "Glory." That is the word–one of the biggest words that can
be spoken by any mortal mouth. Do you know all its meaning? No, my
Brothers and Sisters, you do not, and there is another word that comes
before it–"The Lord will give Grace and Glory." Do you know all the
meanings, even, of, "Grace"? No, you do not–yet you have tasted of
God's Grace and if you know not all the meaning of that of which you
daily partake, I am sure you do not know the meaning of that, "Glory,"
which you have not yet obtained.
Heaven is rightly called, "Glory." I do not doubt that it is a very
glorious place. People have written books in which they have sought to
give us some idea of Heaven as perfecting all the joys of our earthly
domestic life. And artists have tried to depict the plains of Heaven,
but the books and the works of art are equally worthy to be burnt, for
they fall so infinitely short of what the reality must be that they are
only a caricature and a mockery of what "Glory" must really be. No,
Beloved, no tongue can tell what it is, and no pencil can depict the
Glory of the place, itself, the Father's House, where the many mansions
are–
"Eye has not seen it, my gentle boy– Ear has not heard its sweet songs
of joy!"
Nor shall your imagination be able to bring these things down to you,
for there is a spiritual Glory which must far exceed all the glories of
which you know anything on earth!
I think, also, that Heaven is called, "Glory," because its inhabitants
follow glorious pursuits. What they are doing there all day long, I
shall not attempt to guess, but we are told that "the Throne of God and
of the Lamb shall be in it and His servants shall serve Him. They shall
see His face and His name shall be on their foreheads." They will have
enough to do to cast their crowns at His dear feet who gave them all
the joy they have–and to make known to principalities and powers in
heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God! Of this we are quite
sure–all their pursuits will be glorious, there will be nothing low,
nothing groveling, nothing selfish done in Heaven–certainly, nothing
wearisome, nothing laborious that can bring sweat to the brow, again,
that comes here because of the Curse. No, it is a glorious place where
the happy dwellers are engaged in glorious pursuits!
And they also have glorious pleasures. They realize to the fullest what
David said, "In Your Presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand
there are pleasures forevermore." Did you ever think–have you the
power to conceive–what the pleasures of God must be? What is the joy
of the Lord–the infinite satisfaction of the Eternal–the profound
bliss of Him who is most blessed forever? It is that joy, that bliss,
that peace of which they shall have a share, as the Master says to each
one of them, "Enter you into the joy of your Lord." As high as the
heavens are above the earth, so high is God's joy above our joy.
Therefore we cannot attempt to describe it, but we can only say of it
that the joy of Heaven is Glory! The bliss of Heaven is "from Glory to
Glory" forever and ever!
And, as Heaven is a glorious place for glorious pursuits and glorious
pleasures, so all there will be glorious persons. There is not one low
or mean inhabitant of Heaven! There are many there who were despised on
earth–the lowly and the suffering and the persecuted–but they are no
longer despised. God has put eternal honor upon them. They are all
priests and kings unto God! The priestly garments they wear are more
grand than Aaron's raiment of glory and beauty and in their royal robes
they keep high holiday, where the sun goes down no more, and the days
of their mourning are forever ended. It is all glorious and I do not
wonder that Heaven is called, "Glory," and that we have so little said
about it. There is just this great word–"Glory"–which by itself says
more than I would be able to say if I kept you here till the clock
tolled out the midnight hour!
This is the high enterprise of God, to bring His many sons to Glory. I
call it a high enterprise, and so it is, for He will bring them to
Glory despite all difficulties. Where do the redeemed begin their
march? Down there, at the iron furnace, where they have lain among the
pots, and where their slavery has been hard and cruel. Their march
begins with Pharaoh to oppose them, but, with a high hand and an
outstretched arm, God brings them up out of the bondage of Nature, and
out of the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the
children of God! How gloriously does He lead them through the Red Sea
and destroy their adversaries with the precious blood of Jesus, till
the depths have covered them, and there is not one of them left! And
the rest of the passage of His people, from that high day at the Red
Sea onward till they reach Glory–what is it but a march of miracles,
an ever-moving panorama of wonders? I do but speak of the experience of
the true Christian when I say that he is opposed from within and from
without and that he is his own greatest enemy–and that is not saying a
small thing when I remind you that the world, the flesh and the devil
are all leagued against him!
It is with push of pike that I make my way to Heaven, disputing with my
fierce foe every inch of the road. Yet I shall win the day, for He, "by
whom are all things," has undertaken to lead His sons to Glory–and He
willead them there! If they had to cut their way through a whole legion
of devils, as when men reap their path through a thick cornfield, yet
should they, everyone of them, pass through unharmed! If there were
seven thousand Hells between them and Heaven, yet they would reach it
in safety because He, "for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things," has determined to bring them there! Yet it is no easy march
and it will be no little glory that shall redound to Him who will lead
us all through the wilderness and bring us to the Canaan which is
above, that is, to "Glory."
I want you to notice, next, that this high enterprise on God's part is
concerning the bringing of "many sons to Glory." In the second part of
The Pilgrim's Progress, we read about Mr. Great-Heart, who had a tough
task to lead those women and children all the way to the Celestial
City. They caused him a deal of trouble and he is a picture of many a
Christian minister. Some of us have not to go before a few
faint-hearted pilgrims, but we have to lead hundreds, or even
thousands! Every morning before breakfast, I have to kill a giant for
somebody or other, and hard fighting it is! And as soon as ever I have
killed him, I hear one of the dear children crying out that he is going
to be eaten up alive by another, so that I have to keep my sword always
drawn! It is no easy task to be, under Christ, helping to bring some of
these sons to Glory!
But think of the work that God has undertaken–to bring many sons to
Glory–untold millions of them! I shall not attempt to use figures to
represent the numbers of the saved, for I believe my Master's redeemed
ones will be as the dew of the morning, as the drops of the spray, as
the sands on the seashore and far excelling the starry hosts marshaled
on the midnight plains. Many sons will be brought to Glory by the great
Father. Sometimes, in the old days of war, there used to be a number of
little ships wanting to cross the sea, but the privateers were on the
watch, so the seamen were afraid to hoist the sail and get away from
the shelter of the shore, for they would soon be caught by their
enemies, like doves by the hawk. Well, what was done? There they lay,
in port, until His Majesty sent down a man-of-war, perhaps two or
three, to be a convoy. Then the little ships would all be safe–their
crews need not any longer be afraid of the Frenchmen or the Spaniards.
So is it with those who are under the protection of God. We, weak
little vessels, could never, by ourselves, reach our desired haven,
but, lo, the Lord High Admiral of the seas and the great Emperor of the
land has come forth in the majesty of His power to conduct us to Glory!
And we shall get there safely, even though our enemies should be beyond
all count. It was a grand thing when those convoys brought many little
ships into harbor, but what a fleet the Lord will bring into the Fair
Havens of eternal happiness! We read that on one occasion, when the
Lord Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee, "there were also with Him
other little ships." And there are still with Him many other little
ships, but He will bring them all safely into the harbor. Let the enemy
attack them if he dares to do so, but their Protector will preserve
them all, for it is His purpose to bring many sons to Glory.
I have not yet said all I need to say about this high enterprise, for
perhaps the chief wonder of it all is that He, "for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things," has resolved to bring to Glory
many sons. They shall, all of them, be His sons! Oh, what a marvel it
is that they should be His sons! Who will have them for sons? I am sure
that there is many a man who might be ashamed to take for sons those
whom God takes–the most depraved, debased and fallen–whom men have
passed by, as those to whom they could not even speak. The Lord, in
Infinite Love, has taken them to be His children and He has said of
them, "I will be a Father to them, and they shall be My sons and
daughters." But, oh, what a work is needed in order to turn these
rebels into children! What a wonder of Grace it is that they should
first be regenerated and so get the nature of children! And then that
they should be adopted and so have the status of children! And then
that they should be sanctified and so exhibit, from day to day, those
qualities that must be found in the children of a holy God! To make
them sons is, indeed, an amazing work!
God did not do as much as that for the people in the wilderness. In
that respect, the type broke down, for the Israelites would not be
God's sons. He acted as a father towards them, but they were rebels
against Him and, therefore, the carcasses of that first generation fell
in the wilderness. What a mercy it is that God does not now write the
Law on tablets of stone, but on the fleshy tablets of our hearts! And
the Law of God being written there, He gives us the Grace to obey it
and, especially, He gives us Grace to believe in Jesus and to receive
Him! John wrote, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." And it
is still true of all who receive Him and believe on His name! Oh, what
a mercy it is that guilty sinners may so receive the adoption of
children! What a blessed thing it is that God will not only bring us to
Glory, but that we shall be sons when He gets us there! He will bring
us to Glory as sons–we shall be His sons while on the road and we
shall be acknowledged as His sons in the presence of the entire
universe in that day when the righteous shall "shine forth as the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father," for that is the glorious Kingdom to
which He is going to bring us!
Blessed be His name that He should ever make us sons and resolve to
bring us to Glory! Ah, well, He has set His heart upon doing it and He
can do it–therefore let us again bless and praise His holy name!
II. Now I turn to my second point, which is concerning THE ORDAINED
CAPTAIN. God intends to bring "many sons to Glory," but He means to do
it by the hand of a chosen Captain, greater than Joshua, who will fight
for His people and conduct them safely into the Canaan of "Glory."
The word here translated, "Captain," is, in another place, rendered,
"Author," and, in yet another passage, "Prince." In fact, it is twice
translated, "Prince." But I feel perfectly satisfied to take the term
as our Authorized Version gives it and to say that the Lord our God
leads His people to Glory by a Captain. He might have done it, if so it
had pleased Him, by His own power and might, apart from a Mediator, but
He has not done so. He has ordained everything by the hand of a
Mediator and it is an essential part of His arrangement of the whole
system of Grace that the Father should work by the Son to bring the
many sons to Glory, that the Son should bring them there by being the
Captain in their midst, representing Him among men, being clothed with
His power, effecting His Divine purpose for them. God will bring no
sons to Glory except through this Captain! None may ever hope to enter
Glory except by Christ Jesus! He Himself has said, "I am the way." And
He is the only way. Therefore, woe be to those who refuse to come to
God by Him! God will bring all His sons to Glory, but it must be by the
Captain whom He has ordained. Let us think for a little while what a
captain is and what a captain has to do, for that will help us to
understand the office and work of the Captain of our salvation.
First, then, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to conduct us to Glory by
making all arrangements for the march. There is a great deal of
responsibility connected with the leader of an army, not only in
deciding as to where his troops shall encamp for the night, but where
they shall march on the morrow, and in what direction they will be
likely to be needed many days ahead. The commissariat of an army
requires great thoughtfulness and care on the part of the leader and
our Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, has made all necessary arrangements
for His people between here and Heaven! I am quite sure that we shall
never come to a halting place between here and Glory, of which we shall
be able to say that no provision has been made for us there.
Providence, or seeing beforehand, is always at work on behalf of the
Lord's people. God is always looking ahead and Christ makes every
arrangement for the salvation of all His people, even down to the
minutest details. He is a most blessed Captain.
A captain's work, after he has arranged for the march, is, next, to
give thee word of command. "Go," he says, or, "Stay." "Do this," or,
"Be still." The soldier's one business is to obey his orders. He has
not any right to choose what he will do. His marching orders are to be
his law. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ will lead many sons to the Glory of
His Father by giving those gracious commands which always bring a
blessing with them whenever they are obeyed.
Captains, however, do more than command, for, if they are wise, they
lead the way. I have heard that a Turkish officer says to his men, "Go
along," and stays behind and watches the soldiers. But when a British
officer cries, "Come on!" he leads the way! That is what our Lord has
done. In the sternest fight, He is always conspicuous, and there is no
weary march that He bids us tramp in which He does not foot it at our
side. You shall never climb so high that you will not find the
footprint of the Crucified there, nor shall you be called to descend
even into the depths of the sea but you shall find that He has been
there, too, for He leads us always as the Captain of our salvation!
It is a captain's business, also, to encourage his men. How often the
presence of a true leader has effected more for the army than all their
own strength could do! When Basing could not be taken by the
Parliamentary troops in Cromwell's day, "Old Noll" went down and he
took Basing, directly, as he did every other place that he determined
to capture! And infinitely more glorious is the Captain of our
salvation, whose Presence secures victory to the most discouraged band
if they do but see Him, and say, "It is He!" The next word is, "Be not
afraid," for where He comes, devils fly. The earth shakes at the
Presence of the Christ of God! It is the captain's business to
encourage his men, and that our great Captain does continually!
Sometimes it is the captain's delight to reward his followers. A wise
leader gives words of praise when they are deserved and, on special
occasions, he distributes more substantial things. As for our blessed
Lord, His gracious commendation, "Well done, good and faithful
servant," would more than repay us for the toils of a lifetime–even if
our lifetime were longer than Methuselah's! Let us, then, be faithful
and true as we have such a Captain as our Lord Jesus Christ who can do
for us all that captains should do for their soldiers, and a great deal
more.
Now, seeing that it is the will of the Lord to lead us to Glory by the
Captain of our salvation, I want you to be worthy of your Leader. Do
you not think that, sometimes, we act as if we had no Captain? We fancy
that we have to fight our way to Heaven by the might of our own right
hand and by our own skill, but it is not so. If you start before your
Captain gives you the order to march, you will have to come back. And
if you try to fight without your Captain, you will rue the day. "Oh,"
says one, "but I have been thinking today what I shall do if
such-and-such happens." My dear Brother, it would be a great deal
better for you to remember that "the Lord lives," and to leave the
thinking and arranging in His hands. There are a great many ifs in the
world that are like a swarm of wasps–if you let those ifs out, they
will sting you from head to foot! But there is one glorious if that
will kill them all! It is this–if the Lord Jesus Christ could fail–if
He could desert us, then all would be lost! That kills all the other
ifs, because it is an impossible if. He cannot fail us or leave us! He
must live, He must conquer and while that is the case, the other ifs do
not mean anything to us. Therefore, cast yourselves on your Captain's
care. March onward though you cannot see your way! Fly at the enemy
though they seem to outnumber you by ten to one, for greater is He that
is for you than all that can be against you! Be not afraid of anything,
for your Captain is equal to all emergencies.
When the Lord our God chose Him as our Leader and Commander, He laid
help upon One that was mighty. He did not take some poor weak mortal to
be the captain of such a company as we are! He did not even select an
angel for this great task. He exalted One chosen out of the people who
was most suitable for the position–and God's wisdom would be
dishonored if Christ were found incapable of bringing the many sons to
Glory! But He is blessedly capable of all that is required of Him–and
the ancient prophecies concerning Him shall be completely fulfilled!
"He shall not fail nor be discouraged." "and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in His hands."
III. Thus far, then, we have seen that the Great Father will bring His
many sons to Glory by a Captain. But the meat of the text lies in the
part we have now to consider, and that is, THE BECOMING WORK OF THE
FATHER UPON OUR CAPTAIN. "It became Him, in bringing many sons to
Glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings."
God always acts becomingly and, therefore, it was right that Christ
should suffer. I have sometimes heard discussions as to whether the
Lord might not have saved sinners without a Mediator, or, if through a
Mediator, whether we might not have been saved by some other method
without the death of Christ. I do not think it is right for us to form
any kind of judgment upon that matter, but to say, as our risen Lord
said to His disciples, "It behooved Christ to suffer." It was becoming
that Christ should die. "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him." It was a
seemly and proper thing, in the sight of Him, "for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things," that we should be saved by a Mediator, and
that the chosen Mediator should not have us apart from His own terrible
sufferings.
It was becoming that our Captain should be made perfect, complete,
fully equipped for saving us by suffering. The agony could not be left
out. The cup must not pass from Him without His drinking its awful
contents. It was becoming that Christ should be poor–so He had not
where to lay His head. It was becoming that He should be hungry–so He
fasted for 40 days. It was becoming that He should sweat great drops of
blood. It was a becoming thing in the sight of God that there should be
suffering on the part of His chosen Captain. It was becoming that He
should be spit upon– that He should be mocked–that He should be
scourged–that He should be nailed to a tree–that He should be parched
with fever and, in awful depression of spirit, should cry, "My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me?" It was becoming that all this should
happen and, therefore, it did happen. Let that be a sufficient answer
to us whenever we are asked any questions about Christ's suffering–it
was becoming in God's sight.
And let those who deny the Atonement, and those precious critics who
sneer at every hymn that tells of the agonies of Christ, understand
that it was becoming that He should endure all this and that we are not
ashamed to sing of what God counts becoming. I, for one, mean still to
sing–
"His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o'er His body on the tree."
I mean, still, to sing–
"Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut its glories in, When
God, the mighty Maker, died For man, the creature's sin."
Even though it seems to some as if we knew Christ after the flesh, I
would rather know Him so than not at all. And some seem to wish not to
know Him at all. They want, especially, to get rid of the blood–"the
offense of the Cross" has not yet ceased–it is still a cause of
stumbling to a great many! But, oh, I pray you who are offended at the
Cross, not to think that you will ever get to Heaven, for God and you
would not agree, there, for He counts the Cross becoming, and you count
it foolishness–so there is a radical difference of opinion between you
two and one Heaven would not hold you! You must get agreed with God
about that matter, or else, depend upon it, you will never enter the
pearly gates! You must honor the Son even as you honor the Father, and
honor the Son in His blood and wounds and in all His agony and death,
or else you shall not come where the Father takes pleasure in the
Well-Beloved.
Further, the text seems to say that it was becoming that Christ should
be made perfect through suffering. There are many points in which
Christ could not save us without suffering. He could not be a perfect
Substitute unless He bore our sin and shame. He could not be a perfect
Sympathizer unless He bore our suffering. This, perhaps, is the main
point in which Christ is perfected. He becomes capable of entering into
all the griefs that disturb the many sons whom He is to lead to Glory.
In our Elder Brother, the heir of all things, there is an epitome of
all the sorrows of all the rest of the family. In Christ there is every
pang that rends the heart, every grief that forces tears from the
eyes–except such griefs as are sinful and could not enter into His
holy bosom–but everything that is inevitable to flesh and blood, to
hearts that break, spirits that are depressed and everything of that
kind, Jesus knows.
Sometimes I have been where none of you have ever been, but I have
never been where I could not find Christ. And some of you, my dear
Brothers and Sisters, have been in heartbreaking trouble that I never
knew. But the Master has been there, if the Pastor has not, and if the
dearest Christian friend has not–and so He has become perfect through
suffering. "I know their sorrows," He says, "I know their sorrows, not
by having read or heard about them, but by having suffered them." Of
all the bitter medicine in the great apothecary's store, Christ has had
a draught. He knows all about them and this makes Him "perfect through
sufferings."
Finally, it was becoming on the part of God, "for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things," that He should perfect His Son as our
Captain through sufferings. But the original Greek gives us a fuller
meaning than this–that God should glorify His Son. It is becoming on
God's part that He should give to Christ everything that can make Him
glorious and honorable. Seeing that He bowed His head to suffer and to
die, it was right that God should raise Him from the dead, that He
should set Him at His own right hand, that He should crown Him with
many crowns, that He should grant Him to "have dominion from sea to
sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." It is becoming that
Christ should have all honor and Glory paid to Him, that men should
honor the Son even as they honor the Father. In prayer, when I need an
argument that I know will prevail with God, I say to Him, "Father,
glorify Your Son! You love Him, look at Him, is He not lovely in Your
eyes as the suffering, obedient Son of Your love? Do You not admire Him
beyond all conception? Therefore, hear my supplication and grant my
petition for His sake."
I like, sometimes, to leave off praying and singing, and to sit still,
and just gaze upward till my inmost soul has seen my Lord. Then I say,
"He is inexpressibly lovely. Yes, He is altogether lovely!" If He is
that to my poor eyes, which are so dull and dim that they cannot half
discern His beauties, what must He be in the eyes of God? In the eyes
of God He is so precious that, as my text says, "It became Him, for
whom are all things, and by whom are all things"–it was becoming even
in Him, "in bringing many sons to Glory, to make the Captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings"– glorified beyond all imaginable
glory and to have universal homage paid to Him throughout the universe
forever and ever! God sees it to be becoming and, therefore, we delight
in it. Amen and amen!
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: HEBREWS 2:1-15.
Verse 1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things
which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. We have
heard them. Do not let us forget them! Let them not be like the
driftwood which goes floating down the stream. Let us make a desperate
effort to retain them in our memories and, above all, to ponder them in
our hearts.
2. 3. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? They could not
trifle with the angels' message without receiving just punishment from
God. Much less, then, can we trifle with Christ's Gospel! We have not
an angelic savior, but God Himself, in the Person of His Son, has
deigned to be the Mediator of the New Covenant. Therefore, let us see
to it that we do not trifle with these things. You see, dear Friends,
that we need not be great open sinners in order to perish–it is merely
a matter of neglect. See how it is put here. "How shall we escape, if
we neglectso great a salvation?" You need not go to the trouble of
despising it, or resisting it, or opposing it. You can be lost readily
enough simply by neglecting it. In fact, the great mass of those who
perish are those who neglect the great salvation!
3. Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed
unto me by them that heard Him. The Apostles and the other followers of
our Lord constantly bore witness to His miracles and His Resurrection.
4. God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own
will. Those who doubt the Truth of the Gospel, or who say they do, are
often found believing historical statements that are not half as well
proved. A man sits down and reads a book of the Gallic wars and he
believes that Julius Caesar wrote it–yet there is not a half or a
tenthas much evidence to prove that he did write it as there is to
prove that our Lord Jesus lived, died and rose again from the dead! The
witness to the truth of these great matters of fact has been borne by
God, Himself, with signs, wonders and miracles. Honest and true men,
Apostles and others, have witnessed them–and they have also been
certified by Incarnate Deity, even by the Lord who deigns to speak to
us by His Spirit. We cannot, therefore, trifle with this Gospel without
incurring most serious guilt!
5. For to the angels He has not put in subjection the world to come, of
which we speak. We are the preachers of it– not the angels! And the
great Author and Finisher of our faith is the Man, Christ Jesus–not an
angel. We have not, now, the ministry of angels, but the ministry of
men, by whom the Lord of the angels sends His messages to their
fellows.
6-8. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that
You are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that You visit him? You made
him a little lower than the angles; You crowned him with glory and
honor, and did set Him over the works of Your hands: You have put all
things in subjection under his feet This was the original status of
man. God made him to be His vicegerent on earth and he would still hold
that position were it not that since he has rebelled against his own
Sovereign, even the beasts of the field take liberty to be rebellious
against him. Man is not now in his original estate and, therefore, he
no longer rules. And we see many men who are very far from being royal
beings, for they are mean and groveling. Yet the glory of man is not
all lost, as we shall see.
8, 9. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing
that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under
him. But we see Jesus. Here is the representative Man who is supreme
over all. "We see Jesus."
9, Who was made a little lower than the angels for suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honor; that He, by the Grace of God, should
taste death for every man. Oh, how glorious it is to realize our
position in Christ and to see how He has lifted us up, not merely to
the place from which the first Adam fell, but He has made us stand so
securely there that we shall not again descend around the ruins of the
Fall! Glory be to His holy name!
10, 11. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to Glory, to make the Captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He that sanctifies and
they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not
ashamed to call them brethren. The Christ and the Christian are
one–the Man, Christ Jesus, and the men whom He redefined are one! He
has so become partaker of our nature that now we are one family and He
is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Am I addressing any who
are ashamed of Christ, or who are ashamed of God's poor people, and who
would not like to be known to be members of a poor Church? Ah, how you
ought to be ashamed of yourselvesfor having any such pride in your
hearts, for Christ is not ashamed to call His people brethren! Oh, what
wondrous condescension! He has done this many times in the Psalms where
He speaks of His brethren.
12. Saying, I will declare Your name to My brethren, in the midst of
the church will I sing praise to You. That is a quotation from the 22nd
Psalm.
13. And again, I will put My trust in Him. Thus entering into the very
faith of His people!
13, 14. And again, Behold I and the children which God has given Me.
Inasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. As
you know to your cost, for perhaps you have aches and pains about you
at this very moment. Verily, you are "partakers of flesh and blood."
Perhaps you are suffering from despondency and depression of spirit. If
so, that reminds you that however much you may, in spirit, sometimes
soar to Heaven, yet you are still "partakers of flesh and blood."
14, 15. He also, Himself, likewise took part of the same; that through
death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. He so took upon Himself flesh and blood as
to die in our nature, that thus He might slay death, and might set us
free from all fear of death. Do you not see that if the representative
Man, Christ Jesus, died, He also rose again, and also that so will all
who are in Him rise, too? If you are in Him, You shall rise again!
Therefore, fear not to lie down in your last sleep, for the trumpet
shall awaken you and your bodies shall be molded afresh like to His
glorious body and your soul and body together shall dwell in infinite
bliss forever! "Therefore comfort one another with these words."