◄ What Does Hebrews 2:13 Mean? ►

There is a beautiful and intimate unity between the Father and the Son, and in the same way there is to be a deep and cherished closeness between the unique Son of God... and the many sons that He brings to glory.

How important, therefore, to give the most earnest heed to all the things that we have been taught in holy Scripture... through the power of the indwelling Spirit - lest at any time we let them slip.

We can understand and appreciate the intimacy between Father and Son, but how staggering to consider the intimacy that God desires with each of His children.

For some amazing reason, God chose to make man in His own image and after His own likeness. And He chose to place all things, in subjection, under man's authority. However, man sinned and destroyed that relationship with the Father, placing us under eternal condemnation.

And yet, God in His grace purposed to redeem His fallen creation through the sacrifice of His dearly beloved Son... and replace it with a new creation. Old things had to pass away and all things have to become new, with a new federal Head of a totally new creation - and the Lord Jesus Christ is the federal Head of the new creation. But for all this to happen, the immortal Son of God had to become a mortal Son of Man.

And so, we see Jesus being made a little lower than the angels in order to be qualified as our Kinsman-Redeemer... for only a sinless Man would be qualified to be humanities Redeemer. Only a perfect Man could pay the sacrifice for the sin of the world. And so, we see Jesus suffering death on our account... but we also see Him having faith that He would be raised from the dead with honour and great glory.

He tasted death for every man so that by faith in Him, all who believe may be redeemed and restored. He paid the sacrifice for sin so that all who trust in Him would become part of that new creation in Christ and once again, enjoy the cherished closeness with our heavenly Father, for which we were originally created.

Although Jesus is the eternal God, He set aside His heavenly glory so that He could live and die as a mortal Man, giving us an example of how we should live in this fallen world. He lived His life as we should live our lives - by faith in the Word of God - in total dependence upon our Heavenly Father - in full submission to the Holy Ghost - and walking in spirit and truth by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice unto the Lord.

Jesus is the perfect example of perfect humanity, where man is totally dependent, in every way, on the all-powerful God. For this reason, Christ was able to apply the beautiful words of Psalm 22 to Himself as He hung on the Cross - by commending His spirit into His Father's hands, with full assurance that God would deliver Him from the jaws of death.

Although Jesus was fully God, He was also fully Man. And as perfect Man, He lived a perfect life and He died His sacrificial death - putting into practice the words of the Psalmist, "I will put My trust in Him." In life and in death, Jesus demonstrated the trust that we too must place in our Heavenly Father.

But His life was lived and His blood was shed for our sake... so that by faith in Him we may become a part of His risen Body and a member of the new creation in Christ. Setting aside His heavenly glory, enabled the Lord Jesus to say of all who are saved by grace through faith in Him, "Behold - I and the children which God hath given Me."

The intimate unity and beautiful relationship between God the Father and God the Son has been extended to us, by grace through faith. The beautiful intimacy and eternal union that is enjoyed by the Father and the Son has graciously been extended to all who trust in His sacrificial work - for the forgiveness of sin.

Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus was born into the human race to declare Your name to the children of men. Thank You for the wonderful example that Jesus gave during His life and through His death. May my trust in You reflect the same, beautiful faith that the Son of God demonstrated throughout His earthly life. I pray that in every area of my own life, I may place my trust in You so that my faith in God may begin to reflect the beautiful life of Jesus - as, day by day, I am being transformed into the image and likeness of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.