Let's read Hebrews chapter 2. We'll read verses 1 through 11. And what we're going to do today is we're going to review verses 1 through 4 quickly, and then we'll go through verses 5 through 11, verse by verse. So, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, then every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. But one, in a certain place, testifying, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou shouldest visit us him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels. Thou crownest him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of thine hands. Thou hast 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 unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." What we see here in this section, there's actually three parts in verses 5-11 that I want you to see. In chapter 1 we looked at Jesus Christ as superior to angels. And in chapter 2, we look at the same subject, that Jesus is superior to angels. But we're looking at it from a different perspective. In other words, in chapter 1, it was Jesus' deity. In chapter 2, we're going to look at Jesus' humanity. So in chapter 1, it was how Jesus is greater than angels and his deity. In chapter 2, there's two questions that are answered. How can Jesus be greater than angels if he's a man? if he's a man. And that answer, you're going to see that answered here in this chapter. Greater in his nature and in his existence. And what we see here though, before we get into that, in verses 1 through 4, these verses kind of stand by themselves. Because they're a warning. So you have, it's like a break in the thought. So you're having this argument in chapter one about Jesus being superior to the angels in his deity, and then in chapter two you have this break in the first four verses. It's a warning, and then in verse five of chapter two he goes back to the argument that he was arguing in chapter one. But this break that you see in these four verses stand by themselves in that they are a warning, and they are outside of the flow of argument that the writer is making. However, these verses 1 through 4 hold tremendous weight because these verses show the incredible value of applying what is being said. In other words, the Holy Spirit never wants us to fall into the way of thinking that these doctrines are only for our greater knowledge without having an impact on our relationship to the gospel or to salvation. For these things are written to professing believers But the writer doesn't say, well, you're okay, you believe in Jesus, you know, you said the prayer, you prayed to receive Jesus, you're okay. No, the writer doesn't say that at all. He actually says the opposite. He tells us to give the more earnest heed to these things. To give the more earnest heed in verse 1 of chapter 2. To give yourself over to it. To what? To everything that was said in chapter 1. That's what you're supposed to give the more earnest heed to, to the sovereignty and superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sure that this is what your life is all about, lest we slip away or drift back into what I'm going to call egocentrism, or the way of thinking that puts myself at the center of my life. And when that happens, my problems and my needs become the most important thing in my life, instead of worshipping and bringing glory to God's name. And even a worse process begins to happen when self is at the center of one's life, and that is that that person becomes the moral standard, and God gets put on the defense. So now, instead of worshipping God, they are accusing God. And these are those who are neglecting salvation. When you drift away from knowing Jesus Christ is Lord and Him being the superior object of all the worship of our life, when you drift away from that, what happens? Automatically you become the center of your life. You become the center of your life. And then what happens? And then God gets actually put on the defense. And God gets accused instead of worshipping him. And this happens over and over again. And the writer of Hebrews is warning us, saying, give the more earnest heed. For how shall we escape if Jesus Christ does not have his rightful position and rightful place in our lives? This whole warning is based on the word, therefore, in verse one. And that therefore, pointing back to the whole first chapter, which in the first chapter I count 18 references to the deity, sovereignty, and lordship of Jesus Christ. Therefore, if we are not giving the more earnest heed to the rightful position of Jesus Christ as Lord, how shall we escape his judgment if we neglect these things? So we can also bring that therefore in verse 1 down to verse 3. And say, therefore, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Connecting chapter one to salvation, showing that a person cannot say that I believe in Jesus Christ as God for salvation without giving the more earnest heed to that fact. And last week we went over that this word, to give the more earnest heed, is actually four words in our language. It's only one word in the Greek, meaning more super abundantly. It's exceedingly more frequent. Much more to apply to oneself. And I say it again this week to warn us that as Christians we will be growing in obedience to our Lord. And without that, we are neglecting salvation for those who are saved are being saved. Those who are saved are being saved. We read that in John 17. What does it say? It says, Father, I am sanctified that they might be sanctified in me. We just read that in John 17. What does it say right here in Hebrews 2.11? For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." They are sanctified. To be in Christ, to be saved, is to be in Christ. It's to be in union with Christ. It's to fellowship with His sufferings. It's to be risen in His resurrection. It's to be sanctified in Him. If those things are not a part of our life, we are not saved and we do not have salvation. And I want to make that very clear. And so, as we think about that, let's go back to verse 5. And I know last week we broke up these verses into two parts, which we called the condescension of the Lord Jesus in 5-11, and the lifting up of man in verses 12-18. But I would like to change that, because even though you can find those two points in these verses, as I study it more, I see those two points are more incidental than they are the main part of the argument. Because the main part of the argument is still how Jesus Christ is greater than angels. And the rest of this section, that's what you're going to see. He's still making that point. And in the first chapter, we saw how the Lord was greater than angels in his deity. And now in this chapter, we're going to see how he is greater than angels in his humanity. I'm also seeing the reason that the writer of this epistle is spending so much time on the subject of Jesus Christ being greater than angels, even though we might look at it and say, you know, that's not how important is the subject? You know, he's spending two whole chapters on this subject. But I'm starting to see that in our, that, um, that really there's only four categories of beings. There's animals, man, angels, and God. Now to argue how man is greater than animals would be silly, a silly argument, because it's obvious that man is greater. However, to argue that angels are greater than men is a perfectly legitimate argument. Because in one way they are greater. In another way they are not. And that's what we're going to see in this chapter. In one way Angels are greater than men, but in another way, they're not. And it's going to prove how Jesus Christ can be God, because right now, can be, I'm sorry, can be man. In other words, Jesus Christ today is a glorified man. He will forever be a glorified man as God. And the argument is, well, how can he be a man and still be God, or still be greater than angels, which is the basic argument that you're going to see that the writer here is going to answer that question. Because, like I said, in one way they are greater, and in another they are not. And only to understand in the way that they are greater will lead to error. Because if Jesus is not greater than angels, we would have to conclude that He is just a man, being less than angels, which would totally nullify all of His work, all of His redeeming work on the cross would be nullified if Jesus is not greater than angels. We see two ways in this section of how angels are greater than men, and we will see how the writer of the book of Hebrew answers these questions, these objections. First, the first way that angels are greater than men is in their nature. You're going to see that here when we start to go through it. The first way angels are greater than men is in their nature. In verse 7 it says that, Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels. Speaking of men, the him there is like man, the human race has been made lower than angels. In other words, angels are not restricted to the material world. Even the devils that have a certain amount of control over this world system are acting in their own evil will, although they're still within the will of God. But they are not restricted by time or space necessarily. The angels are spirits, therefore in their nature they are greater than men. They were made or created that way. We see many ways in the scripture where angels are greater than men in their nature, in their power, in their beauty, and in their knowledge. So angels are greater than humans in their nature and in their existence. And we're going to see this argument also, that humans are given to death and angels are not. And we will see that this subject of death is discussed much in this chapter. So angels are not given to death, and humans are. So in that aspect, angels are greater. But really, if you want to just for your notes sake, there's four key verses in this section, which would be verse 7, verse 11, and then verse 18 and 19, which I won't go through in detail. You can look at that in your own study. But when we come to those verses in our verse-by-verse study that we're going to do here in a minute, we're going to see, we're going to highlight those verses. Verses 7, verse 11, and then verses 17 and 18. Although 17 and 18 we won't get to next week, Lord willing. With all of this, I don't want you to lose focus of what the writer is trying to convey, which is that Jesus Christ is greater than angels in his humanity. So let's start at verse 5. Look at verse 5. It says, For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. So angels will not rule or reign in any way in the future ages, neither in the millennial reign of Christ on earth nor in eternal glory. Angels are servants of God, and will never be more than that. And neither do they desire more than that. But that's what they were created to do. And we read that at the end of chapter 1. What does it say? And they are ministering spirits put forth to minister. That word minister can also mean servant. They're servants. Angels are servants. And they serve. And that's what God has created them to do. And they will not rule in the future ages. angels will not but on the contrary we have the human race or redeemed men and women but before we go into that I want to read let's read verses six seven and eight but in a certain place testifying saying what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou shalt visited him thou made him a little lower than the angels thou crownest him with glory and honor and did set him over the works of thy hands Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not under him. But now we see not yet all things under him. So that's a direct quotation from Psalm chapter 8 verses 4, 5, and 6. So in the book of Psalms, you'll see these verses. You see the preeminence of man over all created things. Because Psalm 8.3 says, when I consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon, the stars, and all that thou hast ordained. And then he goes into verse 6, which is in Hebrews 2.6, which is actually Psalm 8.4. It's a direct quotation, right? And then he says, what is man that thou art mindful of him? So we can see naturally how man has dominion over the animals and over the things of the earth, and that's in Genesis 1.28, where God gives that dominion. But then we also see the preeminence of redeemed man over all things. For those who are in Christ Jesus will be crowned with glory and honor, and all things will be put under their feet. This promise was never made to angels, but it was made to men. This is a promise that is made to men. Thou will be crowned with glory and honor. Therefore, showing this great contrast of the lowliness of the human race and the great exaltation of man in Jesus Christ, is a great contrast. And the lowliness I speak of here is not a good lowliness, such as humility or meekness, but a lowliness in terms of our desperate condition as sinners, and our smallness in the comparison of God. Like when he says, what are you, how are you mindful of us? How is God mindful of us? Knowing how small we are in our terrible, sinful condition, yet God is mindful of us. And just to think that God would be mindful of us. Consider the heavens. They are the works of his fingers, it says. And as great as the universe is in its breathtaking size, and in its immense beauty, and in its endless wonder and harmony and science, who could even start to exhaust its depth and beauty and mechanisms. Men act like they have, but we haven't even started to scratch the surface. And any honest astronomer will tell you that. And as grand as the universe is, it is nothing in comparison to God. It only shows a small part, as a drop in the ocean, of the majesty and power of God. And here is mankind, just the size and significance of a drop of vapor going into the air, and at the same time shaking his fist at God and making demands at God. So here's God. He's so vast that the universe is small in comparison to God. It's actually so small you can't even measure it. And yet here's man. Here we are, so small. and we're shaking our fist at God, but yet God looks down and is mindful of us and cares for us and has pity on us. Why would God even be mindful of us, let alone come down and visit us as it says that He came down and visited us? Why would God be so concerned with us that He, God the Father, would send his only begotten son to earth to suffer in such tremendous ways in order to redeem his people. It is because God in eternity past has chosen to set his affection upon a people that he will love forever, and even though for the time we spend on earth we are lower than angels, For those who are trusting Jesus Christ as Lord, they will be crowned with glory and honor forever in eternity. And this is an incredible fact. And it's why in Hebrews 11-1 that we read that all are one. We are sanctified in Christ. And Christ is sanctified in order that we would be sanctified. And it's one we share in His inheritance. We share in His glory. We are one with Christ. This is an incredible fact that we can't take lightly. And man will excel above angels because of Jesus Christ. Men who are in Christ will excel above angels because of Christ. Therefore, men are greater than angels in eternity. Look in 2 Timothy Chapter 2, I want to read a couple of these verses to you. This will help to put this in perspective. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 10 through 12. And it says this, starting in verse 10, Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. to be dead with Him and to live with Him. Verse 11 is the same as suffering with Him and reigning with Him. In verse 12, to suffer with Christ is to die with Christ. Those who are dead with Christ do mortify the deeds of the flesh. In Romans 8.13, and those that live with Christ, in verse 11, shall reign with Christ in verse 12 of 2 Timothy 2. So even though for now as Christians we are still in these bodies of death and restricted in so many ways by the natural world, we will one day, we will one day judge angels. The scriptures teach us Romans 8.17 says, And if the children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. The Christian is one who is willing to lose his life on this earth in order to be with the Lord Jesus forever. And those who are with Him partake of His nature, and partake of His glory, and partake in His eternal inheritance, and rule and reign with Christ. And there is not anything that is not under the feet of a redeemed man. That's what it says. If you go back to Hebrews 1, verse 8, there is nothing that's not under His feet. There's nothing that's not in subjection to Him. in verse 8. Yet is the key word there in verse 8. For now the world looks at Christians and calls them foolish. Paul even called himself the off-scouring of the earth. The off-scouring of the earth. The people look at Christians who say, I'll lose my life that I might gain Christ. They say, that's foolish. You need to make something of your life. You need to do something for your life. And Jesus says, lose your life and you'll find it. And like I said, the Apostle called himself the offscouring of the world. Many Christian martyrs through the centuries and even today, we see, and it doesn't seem as if things are under their feet. Right? This says that all things are under their feet. But we don't see it yet. We don't see it yet. We must be able to see the eternal. We must be able to see the spiritual. These things are spiritual. These things are eternal. The hope that we have as Christians of ruling and reigning with Christ is not on this earth. It's not on this earth. Anybody that says, I'm ruling and reigning with Christ and He gave me all these natural things, Well, we thank God that He provides us with natural things, and He does provide greatly for us. But my friends, the things that He's speaking of here are spiritual. They're eternal. They're seen by faith. We don't see them yet. But all things are under the feet of those who are in Christ. Look in verse 9, it says, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man. But we see Jesus. This is a spiritual enlightenment. We do not see things with our physical eyes. But the things that are seen are temporal and natural. But the things that are not seen are eternal and spiritual. But we see Jesus who put on a human body for a little while and was in appearance lower than angels, being a man. But just as we for this time are lower than angels, but will one day rule over them, so Jesus for a time as a man was in appearance lower than angels, but will ascend far above them. But we are only brought to this high and lofty position because of Jesus Christ, not because of our own doings. Therefore, He is brought above angels also because of his own merits. And any man who will ascend above angels is only able also because of the merits of our precious Lord. It's amazing how God in eternity past would plan that man would have this exalted position. But man only has this exalted position because of Christ. And then Christ would come to earth and be greater than angels as a man because God had already predetermined that man would be greater than angels because of Christ. It's kind of a funny way to think if you think about it, but it's the truth. It's his argument. It's what he's saying. God has planned it this way. that man would be greater than angels because of Christ. We will have an exalted position in heaven. We will reign with Christ. I mean, it's very humbling to think about that. Here we are. Who are we that God would even look on us? We are poor, pathetic, minuscule, but yet God raises us up in Christ, that one day we will rule and reign with Him. If we suffer with Him, as we write in 2 Timothy, if we're willing to die with Him on earth through the cross, through identification with the cross in Romans 8, 13-17, that's the suffering that He's talking about. And then that suffering leads to other kinds of suffering, such as persecution, such as all kinds of other things that I don't want to get into today, but it's amazing that this is God's plan. But we see Jesus for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. Philippians 2.8.9, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore also God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name. how it works. Jesus Christ has been exalted as a man because He humbled Himself and He humbled Himself even unto death. And now it works the same way for us. But it's amazing that God in eternity past would determine this in order that Christ can become a man. And as a man, He is greater than angels. He is God and He is man. And we see the suffering of our Lord, that by the grace of God he should taste death for every man." First, the objection of Jesus Christ being a glorified man, being less than angels, has been more than adequately answered, I would believe. Now the writer will deal with this issue of death. The issue of death, in other words, Angels, men are less than angels in their nature. So he answers that by saying, you're right, angels are greater than men in their natural state. A man in his natural state is less than an angel, right? Because he's restricted to the material world, he's not spirit. But a man who is born again, a man who is in Christ, is now exalted above angels because we are identifying with Christ. We are in union with Christ, which exalts us, our nature, those who are born again, above angels. So that's how he answers that question. It says Christ can be a glorified man and is exalted above angels because God has determined that men would be greater than angels because of their identification with Christ. Because of their identification with Christ. You have this second issue of death. The second issue is death. How can a man be greater than an angel and be subject to death? And be subject to death? Because in verse 10, read verse 10, it says, For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." So what we're going to see here is in verse 10 is that he was not subject to death in the same way that we are. We are subject to death because it is the consequence of our sin. We have no choice We must die, but Jesus said, no man takes my life, but I lay it down. Follow me with this and you'll see how this connects to these verses here in Hebrews. Acts chapter 2 verse 23 says, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain. Speaking of Jesus, so Jesus was preordained that he would suffer and die this way. So he's answering this question of death. Jesus did not die because of the consequence of sin, because he had no sin. But he died for the sins of his brethren, or of his people. And Hebrews 2.10 says, all things are for God, all things are by God. Therefore, in other words, God the Father, in agreement with the Son and Holy Spirit, have an eternity past, determined that a group of people would be brought unto glory, and that this would happen by the suffering of Jesus Christ, Him being God and man, and a man that would suffer all like sufferings of those whom He would redeem, that He would qualify as the perfect Savior. See, some people have a problem with verse 10. because it says to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. So, some would argue that why would Jesus have to be made perfect if he was already perfect? Well, it's like this, Jesus is a man and he had to qualify as the perfect Savior. And he was already the perfect Savior, but that did not meaning that He did not still have to perform and qualify to be the perfect Savior. Therefore, He identified with us in suffering and in death, qualifying Him, making Him the perfect Savior at the end of verse 10, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. In other words, no one can look at Jesus Christ and say, Well, he's not the perfect sacrifice, he's not the perfect savior, because he is. He is because of who he is, and he is because he qualified to do that. He was made perfect through sufferings, through many sufferings. Therefore, in verse 11, being sanctified, being set apart for this special work, Jesus was set apart for this special work, to redeem a people unto glory forever. Therefore, those who are justified are sanctified, or are being sanctified, or are set apart for God's use. So this word here, meaning sanctified, means that those who are set apart for God's purpose. Jesus Christ was set apart when he came to earth for a special work and a special purpose, and that was to redeem. men, and he was sanctified in that way. Again, people have a problem with this language, some people, because they would say, if Jesus is the perfect Savior, why would he have to be sanctified? Sanctified means to be made perfect, but actually this word means to be set apart, so Jesus was sanctified in the sense that he was set apart onto this work. It wasn't that he was lesser and then became greater, but it was that he was called and separated from His birth for this special and unique work. For both, in verse 11, He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren. My friends, this is why it is very tragic. It's very tragic when people say, well, Johnny's a Christian, He lives in fornication and he gets drunk, but he prayed to receive Jesus when he was 12 years old. Johnny's a Christian. He doesn't repent of his sin. He cares less that he lives in all these horrible sins. But he's a Christian because he prayed to receive Jesus when he was 10 years old. And I grew up like that. And that's a horrible thing. Because those who are in Christ are sanctified in Christ, and He's not ashamed to call them His brethren. And so Christ is set apart for a specific work of redemption, and those who are in Him are also set apart. We are set apart. We are different. We are not like the world. We are set apart unto a usefulness that is unto God. I don't care how many times Does they believe in Jesus if they are living in unrepentant sin and refuse to repent? I don't see how they can biblically be a Christian. They're not set apart for God's work. God's people are set apart for God's work. We are sanctified in Christ. To be saved means to be in union with Christ. That's what it says. All are one. Christ and His body are inseparable. You can't distinguish them. They're one and the same. So to say that someone lives in unrepentant sin and they're a Christian, listen to me, you're saying that that's Jesus. That Jesus lives in unrepentance. That Jesus is like that. That's what you're saying when you say somebody lives in a horrible, unrepentant sin and they're saved because they prayed They did the thing. They walked the aisle. They signed the card. They got baptized. They're saved. They repeat the prayer and everything else. It doesn't matter. Are they one in Christ? Those who are saved are one in Christ. You can't distinguish the difference. Now granted, we're not going to walk perfect as Christ walked as Christians. We're going to fail. You can mark that down and even Christians can fail drastically. They can fail even, I believe, in a pattern for a period of time. But they will repent. They will turn from their sin. They will be broken over their sin. They will have a pattern of life that is different from the world. They are set apart. They are sanctified. Those who are in Christ are one with Christ. In Ephesians 5, When it talks about the body of Christ and Christ being one, it's a great mystery. Nevertheless, it is true. Christ and His people are inseparable. This is amazing to me because we will have glory and honor forever and ever with Christ if we are trusting Him. If we know Him, if we're in union with Him, we'll never be separated from Him. If we suffer with Him, it says in 2 Timothy, if we suffer with Him, now we will have glory and honor with Him. And it's not that if we suffer with Him now, like we're doing something, like, okay, now I have to suffer with Jesus in order that I can get this glory and honor. No, no, that's not what it's saying. It's saying the proof that we are one with Christ is that we will suffer on this earth. It's the proof of it. I mean, Jesus suffered. Jesus said, I was rejected, you will be rejected. It's not that we purposely go out and get rejected. It will happen. Jesus was rejected. Jesus said, I was rejected. If you identify with me and you're one with me, you will be rejected. Jesus said, I suffered. If you're one with Jesus and you're one with him, you will suffer. Jesus died on the cross. If you're one with him, you will die. in a metaphoric way. You'll die, well not even in just a metaphoric way, in a real way where you say, my life is over. How I want to live and my, everything I wanted and I thought was great is over and now I'm living for God. And it's like I was explaining to somebody yesterday, that may look exactly the same. One guy can live in the same house, have the same car and the same job, right next door to the other guy who has the same things, right? But it's the motive of the life. The one man is born again, and his motive of his life is to know God, and is to make Him known, and is to live for His glory. And the other man may be not doing anything morally wrong, and per se, superficially, he might be doing the same thing as the other guy, but this guy is set apart for God's glory. He's set apart. His motives are different. So it's not like you have to go and sell everything, and stop going to college or stop doing what you do and say, oh, I'm dying for Jesus. I'm not doing anything anymore. That could be just as wrong as not doing it. Because the Roman Catholic Church used to do that. And they probably still do it, where people give up their life in order to go to heaven. But it's a life's motive. What is your life's motive? Is it for Christ and for His glory and to know Him and to exalt Him? and that His name would be lifted up. Because those who are one with Christ have died with Christ and have risen with Him and are one with Him and are being sanctified and are sanctified and are set apart for God's usefulness and for God's purpose. It's amazing that you see how blessed these scriptures are that even in the argument that the writer of this epistle is making he's making the argument that Christ is man and still greater than angels and even in that argument we see the great blessing it is to us that we being greater than angels only because of Christ though only because of our union with him and in him and that union with Christ is a precious thing because forever and ever we will rule and reign with Him and partake in His glory. And in a sense, it's a mystery. We don't know how exactly that'll work out, you know, how that'll exactly play out, but we know it's true. We know it's in the Bible, and we just say, Lord, we would just be thankful to lay at Your feet and worship You. We would just be thankful to sweep the floor We would just be thankful to be there and to be in your presence. And the Lord says, no, I'm going to give you an inheritance with me to share in His glory. I mean, it's mind-boggling when you think about it. And the riches that are in Christ and being in Him and knowing Him. I just think anyone who diminishes that down to three steps and a prayer and you live your life however you want, It's tragic. They know nothing of what this is talking about, of being in union with Christ and having the incredible riches of Christ. But also, those that suffer with Him will reign with Him. Those that are living on this earth in union with Christ's death and with His resurrection are those who know Him and fellowship with Him and have this great hope of being with Him forever in glory, ruling and reigning with Him. So let's pray. Dear Father in Heaven, I thank You for these precious scriptures, God. I just think of my pathetic life, Lord, how I can drift away from You, Lord, yet I'm continually brought back to this place of seeing Christ and knowing Him and worshiping Him seeing His almighty power. All things are for You, Lord Jesus, and I thank You and praise You. Your Word sanctifies us. Your Word, like we read in John 17, sanctifies us. It continually brings us back to this point of seeing Christ and seeing His glory and seeing the riches of Christ and everything that's found in Him And it's amazing how the scriptures sanctify us. We thank you, God, that we can be continually pointed back to this fact. I pray, God, that we would not drift away, that we would not slip away into some easy life that just wants comfortability and that is self-centered, God. Please help us not to slip away into that life, but that we would persevere, God, that we would persevere. and patient continuance unto good works God through our whole life that Christ would be glorified in us that others would see us and know you Lord please help us please work in us through this day and through this week for your purpose in Jesus name amen