Let's take your Bibles. Let's turn to the first book, the first chapter in the Bible, Genesis 1. Begin reading at verse 26. We'll read through verse 31. It's there on page 2. The Bibles that are there in the pew racks. Genesis 1, this takes place in the week of creation, a space of six days wherein God made everything simply by speaking. This occurs on the sixth day. Genesis 1, beginning at verse 26, people of God, hear now the very words of God. Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image. The image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth and every tree with seed and its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the heavens and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made. And behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Let us turn in the New Testament to the book of Romans, chapter 8, beginning at verse 18, page 1201. Romans 8, Acts, Romans, then Corinthians. And we're picking up our series through the book of Hebrews, so we'll turn to Hebrews, and our text is taken from that, but we'll read Romans 8, beginning at verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly. but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, We wait for it with patience. Let us turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 2. Begin reading at verse 1, page 1,276. We'll read through verse 13, but our focus will be on verses 5 through 9 of Hebrews 2. Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, what is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him. You made Him, for a little while, lower than the angels. You've crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet. Now, in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he for whom and by whom all things exist in bringing many sons to glory should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified, all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children God has given me. As far as the reading, the word of God, again, our focus is on verses five through nine. Congregation, we look back through history and consider various wars that are fought between nations, between civilizations, empires. Sometimes wars are stumbled into. Other times, they're deliberately waged with principles at stake. Now, in wars of those types, warfare often serves to make clear the principles and the need to defend those principles, even if a nation must sacrifice its young men in war. Now, even though war at times is necessary, just war, No one likes it. And as war weariness sets in, the principles for which a nation is fighting, they often have to set them forth and hold them before everyone's mind to keep up the spirits of the nation. Similar to the spiritual warfare in which we find ourselves, as with the first years of this book, the book of Hebrews, so with us, we are in a spiritual war. a spiritual war to pull you away from God, the true God, from true religion, from rightly confessing that Jesus is Savior and Lord, and then living in light of that confession. God inspired this writer to the Hebrews to hold before his hearers the greatness of Jesus and how important it is for them, and so for us too, to hold fast to Jesus so that we press on in spite of the lifelong spiritual struggle. The first chapter brought before us just some of the greatness of Jesus, of the Son, particularly how he is so much greater than the angels. The greatness of the Son, by whom God confirmed the New Covenant in place of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant, one being confirmed by angels. The greatness of the Son leads to the New Covenant being superior to the Old. The writer of this epistle, he went from that teaching to exhort his hearers in the first four verses of this chapter, which we read, to pay more careful attention, pay much closer attention, to not drift away from Christ. We covered that, those verses, last time. Now he resumes by bringing out the greatness of Jesus. Now the hearers, they knew, they confessed the greatness of Jesus. He's man. not an angel. Now Jewish critics might argue that the Savior of Christians is inferior to the angels and therefore this Christianity that you people are following is less than Judaism. So the writer in this section this morning brings up that it was always God's intention to have man, mankind, rule over his creation, including the angels. It was not God's intention for angels to rule us. The writer brings that before us to remind us Jesus is both God the Son, and so he's greater, completely greater than angels, but also as well as man, he is destined for greatness in the created realm. And so he's in the midst of this, bringing out the greatness now of Jesus in terms of his manhood over angels. The writer knows what the challenges are for these Christians who are reading the letter. Again, they're being tempted, pressured, maybe even persecuted to turn away, to drift from Christianity, to go back to Judaism. And the devil, the world, our own flesh will use any inroad it can to try to pull us away. Now those are the same sorts of temptations we face today. To turn from the God who is, to turn from true religion. They must not do that, we must not do that by God's grace. They must not abandon the truth, we must not abandon the truth. So inspired by the Holy Spirit, he brings before the minds and hearts the truth of the gospel of Christianity. He has to address different objections. So here he brings up that mankind will rule over creation. God will have mankind rule over his creation. First, what he brings up here is man's honorable state. Verses 6 through the first part of 8. Verse 6, and this is quoting Psalm 8. It has been testified somewhere. What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor. putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now, in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. Now, we read from Genesis 1, and this is quoting Psalm 8, we're told then of the exalted, the honorable status of man. It's created by God, made in God's image. Genesis 1, to have dominion. That's brought out again in Psalm 8 there. Now, by the way, as we look at ourself, we might be struck by our smallness, our weakness, our frailty. Now think of the stars, even galaxies. Now, as far as we're aware, there are billions and billions of other stars, maybe even of other galaxies, most likely other planets, vast reaches of space. Or look through a microscope, you see countless more realms of creatures and colonies that are too small to see with our eyes. What is man? But then compare ourselves to angels. As far as we know, angels are beings that can move quickly, very quickly. They can pass through solid objects. They can pass through fire without being burned. We can't do that. They're not bound to travel on ground as we are. They stand in the presence of God. They can give a tremendous outward show of glory when they appear. They don't die. It's these creatures through whom God would give revelation to man in the past. It would appear to man. Think children of Jacob. When Jacob was fleeing Esau and going to his uncle Laban. Think of the dream he had there. Jacob saw a ladder, stairway maybe, between earth and heaven, and angels were going up and down. Wow, he knew something was special about that place. Already we saw how it was through angels that the saints considered the Old Covenant to be given. God gave important messages. Think if we just pass through the Christmas time. Think of the message to Zechariah. Think of the message to Mary. Think of the message to Joseph. God gave important messages through angels. Angels are honorable. Yet, when we read from Genesis 1, we could have read the whole chapter, it made no mention of angels, did it? Even as we read from Psalm 8, God made man honorable in the beginning, crowned man with glory and honor, made him in the image of God, putting everything in subjection under man. Obviously, that excludes God, but what does it include? Well, Genesis 1 brought out quite a few things. It didn't bring out angels, though. But it does include angels, and Psalm 8 brings that out clearly about everything. All is under man's feet. All is to obey man as we exercise godly stewardship over all things. Animals, they ought not to run away from us or try to attack us or ruin the herd. Diseases, weeds, they ought not to harm us or things under our care. Think of earthquakes or tornadoes or droughts or floods or the snowstorm going just a few hundred miles south of us. The earth itself ought not to rise up against us, but be submissive to our rule. Angels, too, are to be judged by us. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was to have rebuked Satan when Satan tempted Eve to sin against God. Adam had that authority. Adam had that honor. That's how God made man, an honorable state. God made man to rule over all his creation. That was his design, his intention. Man made in God's image, given value, given purpose, given honor. Now the first type of hearers faced one type of temptation to draw away from Christianity. We face a similar one, but in a different pole. But it still deals with man's honorable status. And not only does the world not believe in God rightly, the world around us, but it exalts evolution, a continual struggle for existence. For the evolutionist, the unbeliever, there never was a time of calm and peace, of nature's subjection to man. But everything is always thought to have been a continual chaos, continual struggle. We are to expect it, a survival of the fittest. Things did not, in the evolutionist standpoint, begin well and go downhill, but things begin in the slime and they fight their way up. There's no plan, no design, no God-given right to rule, to be a steward over creation. Man's not unique in the evolutionary standpoint. Man's not special amongst other creatures, but is just like all the others. Maybe a little more evolved. He came from them. And so there's a completely different way of looking at the world around us. So again, a little bit different situation than the original here, but the truth still applies today. On the one hand is the biblical view of order and subjection and stewardship according to God's plan, and on the other hand is the evolutionary view of disorder and struggle and exploiting according to chance and mutations. That's part of the struggle, spiritual struggle, in that face, you and me. What story, what plan, what theology will you have as you view the world and history and you? What do you value and honor? What value and honor will you ascribe to man? Or not? So the first readers of this epistle, they were faced with honoring angels above man. And so discounting the new covenant that came through the man, Jesus Christ, we're turning instead to the old covenant that came through angels. You and I, we have a different, but again, similar temptation, viewing man has no God-given honor or claim, and therefore abandon Christianity. It's just for women and children, some hope, some way to cope. God created man with an honorable status. What then happened? We move to that in our second point, man's sinful shame, from verse 8, the last part of verse 8. So what happened? Here was an honorable status for man, God having put everything in subjection under his feet, everything under his control. What happened? Because if you look around, again, we don't see everything in subjection. Coyotes, mice, coyotes might attack your animals, your pets, mice, they go into our very homes, don't they? Disease, germs, a number of us are sick. I'm able to come to church, past few weeks, even now, because of this illness. Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, snowstorms, they destroy us, they destroy or decay. We think of angels, we think of ourselves as beneath them. Less glorious, less honorable. We listen to them. They bring a message, we say, oh yes, what message do you have? The writer put it, at present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. He didn't go into detail, but we can see the detail. Now we can chase away predators, we can medicate diseases, we can build stronger houses and buildings and roads, and the age to which we can expect to live, that's increased greatly in the past 100, 200 years. We are, in God's kind providence, more and more bringing creation into order of our designs, even though it's not willingly done by it. They don't offer themselves to our service. as we seek to serve God. But there's the key. Mankind no longer seeks to serve God. That's our sin. That's the world's rebellion against us testifying to our rebellion against God. The hardships we face, the weeds, the droughts, the sickness, the death, they're testimonies of man's own sin. Not creation sin, our sin. It's gotten pretty cold now, right? Over the past few days, it's supposed to be cold for the next. Why does equipment break down when it's cold? Well, there are different reasons, but it's a result of Adam's sin. When you hit a pothole, if there's a pothole there and you hit it and your car breaks, that's a result of Adam's sin. When your battery won't start in the morning and you get late for something, that's a result of Adam's sin. In fact, the fact of sin is all around us. The need for a savior is constantly around us. Keep that in mind when you have a coworker who complains of how this won't work in the cold. You've been given an opportunity right there. The coworker, I'm believing coworker might swear, throw up his hands or something. You've been given an opportunity to explain, well, here's why, and draw deeper. An opportunity to evangelize right there in the cold winter morning when things are going all wrong. God gives us these opportunities. You know why. Read in Romans 8, the creation was subjected to futility, was itself brought into bondage by God. So it would not remain pristine and untouched by sin's effects. While its master, man, would be bound in sin because of Adam's sin. Man's the head of creation, the steward of creation. His winter mornings, we have proof of it right there, God gives us. But we don't see everything yet in subjection to him. And here come the angels, the good angels, that is, the angels who did not sin against God. They remained pure and moral, free from sin, even though man fell. And those angels were not placed into bondage to corruption due to Adam's sin, but they were given the role of serving us. serving us. We read that back in chapter one, you know, verse 14. We didn't read it today, we read it a couple months ago. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? They don't serve us in our sin, in our rebellion against God, to rebel against God, they serve us unto our salvation. Not that they provide redemption, only the Son of God did that, but they bring relief, they bring words from God, help us in our weakness, our struggle. It was, again, as they understood, through angels that God established the Old Covenant, a wonderful arrangement in which Israel approached God and fellowshiped with God. Angels are helpers for us. The state of things today as we experience them on earth, it's not the way things were in the beginning or the way things will be in the end. We're living between the times with the effects of Adam's rebellion, the fall of man from good. So we have questions, people raise objections. The first recipients of this letter would be challenged by their Jewish acquaintances, perhaps even Jewish family members. Why not go with what the angels revealed to us? Don't go with something new that you heard from a man here below. We know this person, Jesus, was just a man. We know angels are greater than man. Why go with this Christian sect, this new religion, this leaving of the faith? Oh, but understand, Jews, even though the old covenant message was brought by angels to us, and it's a wonderful message from the false religions around in the world, the message we have heard from the Son, Is he ministered on earth as a man? That message is greater because man is destined to rule the angels. See, there's that theology to counter the temptation. We don't see it yet. Not yet, but we will. How do we know? And then he brings on, because of this man, Jesus. That's how we know. That's what we move to in our third point, man's glorious savior. So verse 5 and then verse 9, it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. Then verse 9, but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It's around Jesus that our Christian hope revolves. It's upon Jesus our Christian faith is focused. Remove Jesus from history, remove his virgin birth, his suffering, his death on the cross, his bodily resurrection, his ascension into heaven. Remove these and Christianity is no more. The writer of this epistle brings us squarely into history, world history, human, man history. for mentioning for the first time in this book the name Jesus. The Son of God always existed, being God himself. And the word Christ gets at the office of the Messiah, the name Jesus. That brings us squarely into history with an individual, a man, who was born, who lived, for our viewpoint, about 2,000 years ago. in the region of Palestine, in Galilee, in Judea, in a Roman province. It's the focal point of Christianity. Not principles of law, not philosophy, not some code of right and wrong, not some ceremonial rules, not mere tradition, but man, a man, a real man, Jesus. And so we can talk with unbelievers, we can talk with evolutionists, we can talk with Buddhists and Muslims and Jews about religion and philosophies and right and wrong, and we could go on for a lifetime about these things. But when we bring the man, Jesus, into the discussion, as we as Christians must do, because he's the focus of our religion, of the Christian faith, then the discussion changes. The writer says here, verse nine, we see Jesus. There it is. The biblical teaching about man's honorable status in the beginning, man's sinful shame now, it's all resolved in Jesus. Jesus is God himself, always existing. And so with the incarnation, he did something. He was made lower, was made. lower than the angels. With the incarnation, what the incarnation is, Jesus has taken upon himself a human nature from the fallen Virgin Mary. And so he was made lower than the angels. He set aside the worship of angels. He set aside his heavenly glory. He took no advantage of his status as the Son of God, as God's Son. He set them aside and consented to be made lower than the angels for a little while, in that he took upon himself our weakened flesh. Now, he didn't take upon himself our sinful flesh. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. He took upon himself our human nature after Adam's fall into sin. And he took upon himself the guilt of our sin, while himself personally sinless. He took upon himself the full wrath of God against sin. suffering death. No angel did that. And the Jews won't say an angel did that. Christians and Jews agree on that. You know what we agree with Muslims on? Muhammad didn't suffer death for us. Muhammad didn't take the guilt of anyone's sin upon himself. We agree with Muslims about that. He took upon himself guilt of our sin, the full wrath of God against sin, he suffered death, suffering of death. Why? So that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. Jesus died. He tasted death for us. That's what God says in his word. Now that phrase, taste death, you can find it in a few places. Matthew 16, verse 28, and then the parallel account in Mark and Luke. That's one instance where Jesus says those who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. The other instance is John 8, verse 52. So Matthew 16, verse 28, and John 8, 52, where the Jews respond to Jesus saying that if anyone keeps Jesus' word, he will never taste death. But in those accounts, Jesus promises they will not taste death. Here, we're told Jesus tasted death. I think about something. Children, sometimes maybe they're at supper and something's put down that's new. Maybe it smells a little different. Maybe you taste it, right? You don't just gobble it up. Well, maybe you do, but a number of kids might just kind of taste it and see a little bit, what is this? And if you don't like it, well, now you have a dilemma, right? What do you do? That's not what we're talking about here, just sort of tasting a little bit. And as we see from the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus began to approach death as our substitute. And he pleaded with his heavenly Father not to go through with it, but he did go further, didn't he? And not only Gethsemane, but Gabbatha and Golgotha, he endured death to its uttermost. Jesus' tasting death meant he endured death. He knew what death is like. Not only did he see it afar off, not only did he hear of it, like angels, but he actually took it upon himself. He actually went into it. He tasted death. So we would not. Now, if the Lord tarries, each of us here will die. But you and I, believers, we will never know what ultimate death is like. Death of body and soul. God's wrath poured out. Jesus tasted that. He tasted death. Not just for one or two persons, but for everyone who will come to salvation. That's all by the grace of God. God's grace. We don't deserve that. We deserve to taste death ourselves because we've sinned against God. We deserve God's wrath, his anger because of our sin. Let the wicked hear and fear and by God's grace turn, repent, believe. God forgives the sins, all the sins of all those who turn to Jesus. Jesus tasted death for you, believer. By God's grace, you're forgiven. You have eternal life. You might die physically, but you will never taste death as Christ did. Praise the Lord for that. Because Jesus suffered death, because his purpose was completed for humbling himself, being made for a little while lower than the angels, God exalted Jesus, crowned him with glory, crowned him with honor. Genesis 1 has come to pass in Jesus. Psalm 8 has come to pass in Jesus, in that man, that historical man. He is exalted. He rules over all. And there's a coming a time when God will put all enemies fully under his feet. Finally under his feet. Romans 8 is yet to come. When it will be complete for us then. And that's our hope. Paul talks about that in Romans 8. Why is that time not yet? Why do we still struggle? Why does the equipment break down on a cold winter morning? If our Savior has already entered into his glory. Already. Because God uses these struggles to prepare us for glory. Paul say that, Romans 8, the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Again, back to when that equipment breaks down and your co-worker, unbelieving co-worker is swearing at it and getting all frustrated. You've been given an opportunity to evangelize and your patience, your hope that Christ is taking care of this, this too will be resolved. I don't need to get all upset about it. Here's why. It gives us meaning, righteousness, life. The glory will be so great as we see with Jesus now. So will be with us. We're not the Savior, but we are the saved. And so our glory will fit that. It will be more marvelous than the sufferings we have here below. These first readers here, Your suffering. Christ tasted death for you. There's glory for you. They can't compare with that glory. That's a comforting message for us. See, in Jesus' exaltation, your own exaltation, because he tasted death, suffered death, to set you free. None of the angels did that. The Jews would admit that. None of the angels did that. Muslims would admit, oh, Muhammad didn't do that. Jesus did. None of the other world religions of man can point to some historical proof of glory. None of them. It's all something they dream up and have faith in. But Jesus is proof. It's happened. God will have mankind rule over his creation. Jesus is right now. Believe him. Hold fast. and live for him always and be comforted. May God receive all the praise. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus. Lord, your ways are so much higher than our ways. Man's religions are proof of it. Can't fathom what you brought about in Jesus. His lowering himself, his tasting death, his suffering death to set us free, to reconcile us to you, to bring about glory for us, for man. And in your time, the renewal of all creation. Oh, Lord, hasten that day. Send Jesus back. and give us courage and boldness and the words now and the wisdom to take these opportunities to tell of His greatness, His goodness, His glory, to evangelize, to live for you. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.