Crowned By Jesus

When you were a child, did you ever pretend to be royalty? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a great ruler? You might think “I come from a low family, that could never be me, I’m not worth much of anything.” Well, are you aware that the Bible says that Jesus Christ has made us a Royal Priesthood? Worthy of double-honor from holding both positions of honor and glory.

Today we will be studying this high position which we hold in Christ Jesus, and how we can live in this honor and glory every single day of our life, and we will see our true worth and value in Christ today.

So our main scripture today is going to be Hebrews 2:6-12. Let’s not waste any time and dive right in:

“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 angels; 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. 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, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

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 brothers,

Saying, I will declare your name to my brothers, in the middle of the church will I sing praise to you.”

The first three verses here are actually a quotation from Psalms 8:4-6. This explains man’s position before the fall, and also our position after being restored in Christ Jesus.

Now because we are currently reading the New Testament, it is written here in Greek originally, but it is also a quotation from Psalms 8, so we can learn some things from the Hebrew text to apply here. The word “crowned” that we see in verse 7 is the Hebrew word atar which means to “surround or encompass”. This is not a crown that gets placed on our head, but it is a shining, surrounding glory that covers us.

In Genesis 2:25 the scriptures state that Adam and Eve were both naked and felt no shame. They were not ashamed because they were not naked as we think of naked today. Rather they were covered and surrounded by the light of divine glory which God had given them. After they sinned, that glory left them, and then they sought covering with fig leaves, and man has been trying to substitute the natural things of this world for the things of God ever since.

The words “glory” and “honor” in Hebrews 2:2 are the Hebrew words kavod and hadar respectively. The word kavod is defined as “the manifestation of who God is” and it can also be defined as a “heavy weight”. This makes sense when we understand that one of the definitions of the word “curse” is to make light of…, so when you have the divine glory of God upon you, you will be noticed. The words that you speaks will carry weight and you will not be insignificant.

Also the Hebrew word hadar which is translated as “honor” in our English Bible actually means “splendor, beauty and magnificence”. True beauty always comes from the LORD. There are some people who appear beautiful outwardly, but as you get to know their true character, suddenly they lose their beauty, and there are others who may not be very physically attractive, but they have a quality that makes them beautiful. King David in the Bible had that quality, as it is mentioned in 1^st Samuel 16:12.

So what is the purpose of this God-given glory? It is mentioned for us in the second-half of verse 7 and continued in next verse: that God has set man over the works of His hands and put all things into subjection under his feet. This includes all things on the earth and under the earth as well. Adam and Eve had complete dominion over the earth, every thing including the animals were all in subjection to them. This is what makes the fall of man and the entering of sin so tragic… all Adam or Eve had to do was simply to command the serpent to leave and it would’ve had to obey – including Satan also.

One other point regarding verse 7 is that phrase “… a little lower than the angels”

Some people believe that because the Hebrew word for angels there is elohim, that the translation should not be “angels” but “God” Himself. Well, I believe in always being as accurate as possible when studying the Bible so I must tell you that in this case the translation of “angels” is actually the correct one. While in most cases the word elohim can be used for God, it can also be used for “angels” and is also used several times in the Bible for “judges” as well. In the context of our study verses today however, the Greek word for our New Testament quote is aggelos which is “angels”. That being said, In Christ today we are above angels, in-fact they are ministering spirits unto us (Hebrews 1:14).

Now in the second-half of Hebrews 2:8, we notice that it says that now we do not see everything under man. That word “see” used there means to perceive as with our physical senses… and it’s true; today we often do not perceive as all things being under our feet in Christ Jesus, but yet God still says that it is so. That fact that we do not see it with our eyes or feel it with our senses does not change the divine reality in our lives. So what should our correct response to this be? Move on to verse 9 of our text:

But we see Jesus, who was also made a little lower than the angels for a while, for a very specific purpose; that purpose being His suffering and death in our place, and we studied two weeks ago why this was so very important, so that by the Grace of God He would taste death for every man.

Next in verse 10, we see that it was appropriate for 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 (that’s Jesus) perfect (complete) in sufferings.

This verse is the key to living in the glory of God. Notice that everything is for Him and everything is by Him. Do you realize that your job is for Him, your relationships are for Him, your ministry is for Him. Not just the things that you do for the church or for Christianity, but every part of your life is all for Him and by Him. Your very life is in His hands my dear friends… it is all for Him and by Him.

The moment we forget this truth and start living for ourselves, doing this for our own pleasure because we feel we deserve it or “because we want to” is when we begin to encounter great frustration in our life and the glory of God stops being seen. Why? Because as we read in verse 9, that is when we stop seeing Jesus and start seeing ourselves in our own nakedness just as Adam and Eve when sin entered.

I’ve heard many people say down through the years that being a Christian is difficult, but I submit to you that they did not understand this truth from scripture that we are studying today. If you are living your life for Him, then life will be easy because it is by Him that you will receive the power and blessing to reign in life (Romans 5:17). There ma be trouble and pressure from outside, from people in the world, but the supply from Christ will be there in abundance.

Now if you are living life to satisfy yourself, then you will encounter much struggle and strife and lack of peace, as you constantly try to fill that void in your life with other things that can never truly satisfy. You will be in-essence trying to cover your own shame with fig-leaves.

This principle is the same in every single area of your life. When it is done for Him you will succeed by Him, He will give you the power, the glory and the honor in it.

Now look at verses 11 and 12. As we are living life for Him, with Jesus as the center and foundation of our entire life, we see in verse 11 that we are literally one with Him. No separation at all! This is the miraculous reality of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Jesus today is seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all things (Ephesians 1:20-21); so where then are we? We are in Christ, we are n with Him seated at the right hand of God with the very honor and glory that Christ has.

Then in verse 12 we see that we are no longer slaves as they were called under the Old Covenant of the Law, but we are now called brothers of Christ Jesus. And this word as a primary definition of “a brother of the same father”.

So this is the secret my friends, not really a secret at all, but it has been plainly here in the Bible all along. I encourage you today to live life with Jesus as the center and foundation of your life, and as you life for Him, you will be empowered to succeed by Him.