Hebrews 2:5-18 - Paradise Lost and Regained

In Genesis 1, we read about God's activity in the creation of the world.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And, of course, we saw in Hebrews 1:2 where the writer tells us that it was through Jesus, the son of God, that God the Father performed this work of creating all things. And as God's agent in creation, God the Father spoke, and God the Son brought the commands of God into reality. And as God's agent in creation, Jesus is rightly called, "the creator".

And as we continue to read Genesis 1, we see that in his act of creation:

On the first day, God created "light".
On the second day, God created the "sky".
On the third day, God created the dry ground, as well as the plants and vegetation which would grow on the dry ground.
On the fourth day, he created the sun, moon, and stars.
When it came to the fifth day, God filled the water with fish and the sky with birds.
And on the sixth day, God first of all created all of the land animals, and, to top it all off, God made human beings. He made "people" in his own "image".

And part of God's purpose in creating people is so that they might, as Genesis 1:26: says, that they might:

dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

And that word “dominion,”[1] which the NIV translates as "rule", this word speaks not only about "rule", but also about "authority", and "power". The idea in Genesis 1, is that God placed humanity on the earth, created humanity in his "image", to be his visible representatives on earth, controlling, running, the world as his appointed agents.

And what we read in Genesis is that in the vastness of all that God has done, he put human beings "at the pinnacle". Stars, worlds, other created beings from the eagles that can soar above the mountains, to the giant whales in the sea, yet, as Genesis 1 shows, it is humanity which was made "in the image of God". And it was humanity, which was given dominion over God's creation.

And although Psalm 8 uses a different word than Genesis 1, the idea in Psalm 8 is identical to that found in Genesis 1. Psalm 8:6-8 says:

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

And when he says that "everything is under their, that is, humanity's, feet", he is saying that humanity was created to have absolute control and authority over everything in the world. That, he says, was God's purpose for humanity. That was God's purpose in creation. And it is this idea that the writer of Hebrews is reflecting upon in our reading this morning.

As he thinks about God's purposes for humanity. As he reflects upon what the Bible says about God's purpose for his creation, in Hebrews 2:8 he acknowledges the truth found in Psalm 8 that "everything has been put under the feet of humanity".

And yet, as he thinks about what God said is supposed to be, and then as he looks around and sees what really is, he goes on to say in the last half of Hebrews 2:8:

As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them.

He looks at the world around him, filled with all of its problems, wars, and persecutions, and he says, "this isn't how it was meant to be." The world was never meant to be as we now see it.

And this confession, this acknowledgement, is very important, because remember that he is writing to a group of Jewish Christians who, as they looked at what was going on in Palestine, with the Jewish revolt against the empire.

As they looked at the invasion of Palestine by Roman troops.
The taking of one city after another, with the death and imprisonment of thousands of Jews.
And then the siege of Jerusalem which would end with the destruction of the city.
The destruction of the temple.
An end being put to the leadership of the priests and the offering of sacrifices.
The enslavement of tens of thousands.
And the crucifixion of tens of thousands more.

As this group of Jewish Christians looked at what was going on in Jerusalem, they said, "this isn't how it's supposed to be.

This is Jerusalem.
This is God's temple.
These are God's anointed priests.
These are God's sacrifices.
These are God's people.
This is not how it's supposed to be!

And so, when the writer of Hebrews says to them, "yet at present we do not see everything subject to him", he is saying to this group of Jewish Christians:

You're right. This isn't how it's supposed to be. Nothing is how it is supposed to be.

Even though humanity was given dominion over all things. Even though everything was "put under his feet" and "was made subject to him". Even though we were created in the image of God, as we look at the world around us, it just hasn't worked out that way.

What we see in the world around us was never the plan and purposes of God. Who of us here thinks that:

War in the Middle East.
Famine in Africa.
Infighting in Canberra.
Children dying
Young people destroying their lives with drink and drugs.
Parents living in despair for their children.
Elderly people living and dying alienated from their family.
Global warming, and the destruction of the environment
Animals being cruelly abused.
The seas being polluted.

Who thinks that any of that was what God wanted for humanity when he created the world and said, "have dominion over all things"?

And yet, in the middle of all of the problems that we see in the world, what we see in Psalm 8, as well as what we see in Hebrews, is that humanity was created for something much more, better, greater, higher, more noble, than what we see humanity doing in the world today.

God's purpose for humanity was explained in Genesis 1, but it seems that everything that we touch, goes belly up.

God's purpose for humanity was on display in the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between male and female.
In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between humanity and God.
In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between humanity and nature.
God's plan for creation was being accomplished in the daily lives of people. But we don't see that now.

Why? What happened in the world to bring about what we see in the world, and which caused the writer of Hebrews to say:

As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them.

Genesis 3:6-7 tells us that, even though God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.

And this act of sin, rebellion, and disobedience led to, as we read in the last half of Genesis 3:7:

they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

That is, these two people who up to this point had had a perfect, open, relationship. Having then rebelled against God, they hid from each other.

And then we read in Genesis 3:8:

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

These two people who, up to this point, had had a perfect, open, and honest relationship with God, walking with God, talking with God, because of their disobedience and rebellion, they hid from God.

And, finally, we read in Genesis 3:12, that when God confronted the man over why he was hiding,

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate”

And these two people, whose relationship had been perfect, turned on each other.

And what the Bible shows us here in Genesis 3, is that all of the problems of the world began at that point. At that time when humanity chose, and even today when humanity continues to choose to go against the will, plans, and purposes of God.

Our relationship with God is damaged.
Our relationship with one another is damaged.
And our relationship with God's creation is damaged.

And as a result, nothing is how it was meant to be.

The true problem in the world is not patriarchy, the rule over women by men. The true problem in the world is not environmental destruction, greed, or even war.

These are merely the symptoms and consequences of the real problem: Human sin and rebellion.

And human sin is the reason the writer says, "we do not yet see everything in subjection to them ". Because of human sin, humanity has not been able to be all that God intended us to be. And because of human sin, nothing has been right.

Paul wrote about the human condition in Romans 3:10-18. He says:

as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one.

Their throats are opened graves; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of vipers is under their lips.

Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

The biggest problem facing the world is not global warming, war, famine, greed, or rising sea levels. The biggest problem facing the world today, is us. Us, and our sinful, selfish lives which so often live contrary to the will, ways, plans, and purposes of God.

Our sinful lives which brought about the observation in Hebrews 2:8, "at present, we do not see everything subject to him".

Paul talks about this as well in Romans 1:21-23:

for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles."

And because of the wrong, sinful choices that human beings have made in turning away from God, we read in Romans 1:24a that:

God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.

And then in Romans 1:26a:

God gave them up to degrading passions.

And, finally, in Romans 1:28:

God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done.

Humanity made the choice to turn from God. To abandon God. And God let us have what we wanted, along with all of the consequences of that choice.

And because of the ongoing choices of humanity, we who had been created in God's image and had been given "dominion" over all things, the writer of Hebrews says:

Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

And so, our writer says to this group of Jewish Christians: When we look back to all that God gave humanity. And when we look back at humanity's response to God in turning away from him, then it becomes clear why Palestine has been invaded. Jerusalem is surrounded. And the temple will be destroyed.

But he also says that that is not all that we see. Yes, when we look around us, we see that the entire world continues to live contrary to the plan and purposes that God created for it. And yes, when we look at our own lives, we realise that it is human behaviour, human choices, and human sin which has brought about this situation that we find ourselves in.

But when we look around, we also see something else. When we look around us, we see something bigger, and greater, and more powerful than human sin. Hebrews 2:9 says:

But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

In the face of all of the failure of humanity, we see, Jesus. In the face of all of the sin and destruction that humanity has brought, we see Jesus.

"We do not now see", the reality of God's purposes for humanity, but what "we do see", is Jesus. Crowned. Glorified. Honoured.

What we do see is Jesus, the son of God, the creator and sustainer of the world, the heir of all things, the exact representation of God's very being, what we do see is Jesus, dying for us. To achieve for us, to regain for us, what we lost when we sinned and rebelled against God.

Through his death on the cross, Jesus received the crown, the glory, and the honour which our first parents, Adam and Eve, lost when they rebelled against God. And through Jesus' death on the cross, we regain that which was lost. We regain a restored relationship with God. We regain restored relationships with one another. And we regain a restored relationship with the rest of God's creation. Because in his death, Jesus did the one thing that humanity failed to do. In his death, Jesus willingly, and lovingly obeyed the commands, purposes, will, and plans of God the Father, as Philippians 2:6-11 says:

[Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

How did Jesus regain for us the Paradise that we lost? He died on a cross.

How was Jesus crowned with glory and honour? He died on a cross.

How did Jesus gain the dominion, the power, the rule over all things, that dominion which humanity lost when we sinned and rebelled against God the Father? He died on a cross.

And how did Jesus, as verse ten talks about, how did Jesus "bring many children to glory? He died on a cross for us.

And notice carefully in verse nine, that the glory and the honour that Jesus receives. The crown that he receives, came only "because he suffered death".

Or, as Philippians 2:8 said:

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Jesus said in John 10:10:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

I have come to give you, to restore to you, all that was lost in the Fall. To restore to you those perfect relationships that were lost when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God the Father, and when they chose to do what God had told them not to do.

But he continues a few verses later to explain how we gain that life. That abundant life. That life as it was always meant to be lived. That life that Adam and Eve lost when they sinned and rebelled against God. And that life that we reject when we also sin and rebel against God. Jesus said in John 10:14-15:

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep."

And again, in Luke 19:10:

The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.

And yet again in Matthew 20:28:

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

This restoration of life. This giving back to us all that we threw away when we rebelled against God. This doesn't come to us because we are great, or wonderful people. It doesn't come to us because we are good enough to deserve it.

It comes to us by means of God's infinite "grace".

It is "by the grace of God", that Jesus dies for everyone.
It is by the grace of God, that we receive the opportunity to repent, to turn from sin.
And it is by the grace of God that we receive the opportunity to believe.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.[2]

Or as Paul also says in Romans 3:23-24:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; [and] they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

And the only way to deal with the problems in our society.
The only way to restore right relationships between people.
The only way to restore right relationships between God and humanity, is for individuals to repent of their sin, to turn from their sin, and for individuals to turn in faith to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for them.

The world has tried just about everything except Jesus.

Is there a problem? Let's spend more money.
Is there a war? Let's send in a UN delegation.
Is there poverty? Let's set up a new program.

Now these things aren't bad in themselves. But ultimately, they cannot resolve the real problem, because the problem isn't the war, or the poverty, or the famine.

The real problem is us. And it is only as we come in repentance and in faith to Jesus Christ is the real problem dealt with. It is only as we come in repentance and in faith to Jesus Christ will our lives be transformed, and through the transformation of our lives, behaviour, and attitudes, it is only then, that the world will be transformed.

Do you know Jesus as saviour? Come to him today.
Are you, perhaps, like those here in Hebrews who are "drifting" from Jesus? Return to him today.
Are you walking faithfully with him. Listening to him. Trusting him. Following him? Continue to follow Jesus, today.

No, the world isn't everything it was meant to be. But God has given us the cure for the world’s problems. A solution. A way back. And that way is Jesus who, by the grace of God died and bore the sin of everyone. Whatever your situation is today, will you turn to him? Will you come to Jesus?

[1] רָדָה

[2] Ephesians 2:8-9

Hebrews 2:5-18 - Paradise Lost and Regained

In Genesis 1, we read about God's activity in the creation of the world.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And as we continue to read Genesis 1, we see that in his act of creation:

On the first day, God created "light".

On the second day, God created the "sky".

On the third day, God created the dry ground, as well as the plants and vegetation which would grow on the dry ground.

On the fourth day, he created the sun, moon, and stars.

When it came to the fifth day, God filled the water with fish and the sky with birds.

And on the sixth day, God first of all created all of the land animals, and, to top it all off, God made human beings. He made "people" in his own "image".

And part of God's purpose in creating people is so that they might, as Genesis 1:26: says, that they might:

dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

And although Psalm 8 uses a different word than Genesis 1, the idea in Psalm 8 is identical to that found in Genesis 1. Psalm 8:6-8 says:

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

As he thinks about God's purposes for humanity. As he reflects upon what the Bible says about God's purpose for his creation, in Hebrews 2:8 he acknowledges the truth found in Psalm 8 that "everything has been put under the feet of humanity".

And yet, as he thinks about what God said is supposed to be, and then as he looks around and sees what really is, he goes on to say in the last half of Hebrews 2:8:

As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them.

He looks at the world around him, filled with all of its problems, wars, and persecutions, and he says, "this isn't how it was meant to be." The world was never meant to be as we now see it.

And this confession, this acknowledgement, is very important, because remember that he is writing to a group of Jewish Christians who, as they looked at what was going on in Palestine, with the Jewish revolt against the empire.

As they looked at the invasion of Palestine by Roman troops.

The taking of one city after another, with the death and imprisonment of thousands of Jews.

And then the siege of Jerusalem which would end with the destruction of the city.

The destruction of the temple.

An end being put to the leadership of the priests and the offering of sacrifices.

The enslavement of tens of thousands.

And the crucifixion of tens of thousands more.

As this group of Jewish Christians looked at what was going on in Jerusalem, they said, "this isn't how it's supposed to be.

This is Jerusalem.

This is God's temple.

These are God's anointed priests.

These are God's sacrifices.

These are God's people.

This is not how it's supposed to be!

And so, when the writer of Hebrews says to them, "yet at present we do not see everything subject to him", he is saying to this group of Jewish Christians:

You're right. This isn't how it's supposed to be. Nothing is how it is supposed to be.

Even though humanity was given dominion over all things. Even though everything was "put under his feet" and "was made subject to him". Even though we were created in the image of God, as we look at the world around us, it just hasn't worked out that way.

What we see in the world around us was never the plan and purposes of God. Who of us here thinks that:

War in the Middle East.

Famine in Africa.

Infighting in Canberra.

Children dying

Young people destroying their lives with drink and drugs.

Parents living in despair for their children.

Elderly people living and dying alienated from their family.

Global warming, and the destruction of the environment

Animals being cruelly abused.

The seas being polluted.

Who thinks that any of that was what God wanted for humanity when he created the world and said, "have dominion over all things"?

And yet, in the middle of all of the problems that we see in the world, what we see in Psalm 8, as well as what we see in Hebrews, is that humanity was created for something much more, better, greater, higher, more noble, than what we see humanity doing in the world today.

God's purpose for humanity was explained in Genesis 1, but it seems that everything that we touch, goes belly up.

God's purpose for humanity was on display in the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between male and female.

In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between humanity and God.

In the Garden, we see perfect relationships between humanity and nature.

God's plan for creation was being accomplished in the daily lives of people. But we don't see that now.

Why? What happened in the world to bring about what we see in the world, and which caused the writer of Hebrews to say:

As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them.

Genesis 3:6-7 tells us that, even though God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

And this act of sin, rebellion, and disobedience led to, as we read in the last half of Genesis 3:7:

they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

That is, these two people who up to this point had had a perfect, open, relationship. Having then rebelled against God, they hid from each other.

And then we read in Genesis 3:8:

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

These two people who, up to this point, had had a perfect, open, and honest relationship with God, walking with God, talking with God, because of their disobedience and rebellion, they hid from God.

And, finally, we read in Genesis 3:12, that when God confronted the man over why he was hiding,

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate”

And these two people, whose relationship had been perfect, turned on each other.

And what the Bible shows us here in Genesis 3, is that all of the problems of the world began at that point. At that time when humanity chose, and even today when humanity continues to choose to go against the will, plans, and purposes of God.

Our relationship with God is damaged.

Our relationship with one another is damaged.

And our relationship with God's creation is damaged.

And as a result, nothing is how it was meant to be.

The true problem in the world is not patriarchy, the rule over women by men. The true problem in the world is not environmental destruction, greed, or even war.

These are merely the symptoms and consequences of the real problem: Human sin and rebellion.

And human sin is the reason the writer says, "we do not yet see everything in subjection to them ". Because of human sin, humanity has not been able to be all that God intended us to be. And because of human sin, nothing has been right.

Paul wrote about the human condition in Romans 3:10-18. He says:

as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one.

Their throats are opened graves; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of vipers is under their lips.

Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.