Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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A Peaceful Kingdom
Hebrew 2: 5-10
 

P. V. Varghese
Epiphany MTC, NY

V 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.
The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God’s grace. It also presents Christ as God’s full and final revelation far surpassing the preliminary and partial revelation given in the Old Testament. Christ is shown to be superior to any prophet, to angels to Moses or Aaron.
The writer of Hebrews is quoting from Psalm 8. Awed by the marvelous order and immensity of God’s handiwork, the celestial universe, the Psalmist marveled at the high dignity and honor that God bestowed on man by entrusting him with dominion over the whole creation.
Genesis 1: 26-27 says God created man in His own image and likeness and commanded him to rule over all God’s created things. Gods’ purpose from the very beginning was that man should be sovereign over the creation subject only to God. Due to sin, that purpose of God has not yet been fully realized.
Psalm 8 is foretelling that Jesus who became man was made lower than the angels for a while is now crowned with glory and honor at God’s right hand. By His perfect life, perfect obedience to God the Father, His death on the cross and His exaltation He has made it possible for redeemed man the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 8 in the future kingdom when man will regain sovereign over creation.
Those who believe in Christ are made God’s children through His only son. Because Christ our high priest has experienced every kind of temptation that a man go through but without sin, and suffered humiliating death on the cross and rose again, He stands ready to give immediate, compassionate and sympathetic help to those who trust and depend on him to overcome that  temptation and come out triumphantly.   That is the type of high priest that we have sitting at the right hand side of the father pleading on our behalf thus our mediator.

PRAYER

Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for this greatest gift of sending Your only son to die for us on the cross, taking away our sins and pleading on our behalf with You. We pray for all the people around the world who are suffering unjustly for various reasons. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrew 4: 15-16.

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