Hebrews 2:6-9 (NIV)
6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Humanity struggles against the created realm we live in.
We struggle daily just to survive.
We struggle to avoid early death by disasters and disease.
- March: A typhoon killed more than 900 people in Africa.
- June: 90 people died from a heat wave in India.
- July: A heat wave in Japan killed more than 160 people.
- August: a hurricane killed more than 70 people in the Bahamas.
- August: a typhoon killed 172 in China.
- October: at least 86 died from a typhoon in Japan
- November: wild fires in California took 5 lives and caused 22 injuries.
- December: over 10 people died from winter storms in the Northeast.
We struggle with a body that gets older and weaker day after day.
We struggle against the created realm as a consequence of our sin and rebellion against God.
Genesis 3:17-19: “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,” “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
But God created humanity to be in charge of the created realm, not to struggle with it (vv. 6-8).
God created humanity and the world around us and he put us in charge (vv. 7-8).
Imagine what the world would be like if humanity was truly in charge.
Big Idea: Christ came into the world on Christmas to put humanity back in charge of creation.
His life and death broke the curse of sin on creation (v. 9).
His resurrection gave humanity power over creation once again.
Matthew 28:18: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’”
His second coming promises to restore the world to an un-cursed state of being.
Romans 8:21-23: “… the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”
Joy to the World:
“No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found Far as, far as the curse is found”
Your life today is preparing you for this promise of Christmas.
Revelation 3:21: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Luke 19:17: “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’”