Hebrews Chapter Two Part 4

2:11-13 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Jesus is the one who sanctifies the sinner. We are those (who have believed the gospel) that are sanctified; we are one in Christ. The Greek verb “hagiazo” means to “make holy, purify or consecrate” and is derived from another word that describes separation; being separated from sin and consecrated to God like the holy vessels in the OT. Just as Jesus shared in our humanity and became fully man, so now we who have believed receive imputed righteousness which permits us to be called children of God, John 1:12; 1st John 3:1.

We are all “of one.” The NASB renders this phrase “of one Father,” but the italics reveal that the word “Father” is a transcript addition. It is quite true that we all now have one Father; but I believe the meaning of the verse was to demonstrate the new nature we are partakers of through our Lord. All are one in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3:28. That is the reason that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brethren; the guilty, evil, wicked, hurtful things we have done in our lives He paid for. He atoned for it. Jesus purchased us from sin’s slave galley and now we are adopted into the household of God. Christ’s wish is to bring us without spot or blemish before His Father and show in us, the church, His great victory over the world, and sin, and the Devil. This parade of verses, taken from Old Testament Scripture, further shows the unity we have in Christ. We are family.

God is the source of our salvation, and the writer tells us that Christ will declare God’s name among His brethren. He will sing praises to God among His fellow sons and daughters. He fixes the point on having faith on the security of the object that faith is invested in: namely God alone. God is the bank in which our investment of faith will always, always yield interest. God cannot fail, and He cares for us. This may not play out temporally as many of us (myself included) wish it to, but God calls on us to look at the eternal, and not what is passing. We may have ease and plenty here; we many not. But His care is not making our lives soft and simple here and now; it is in saving souls from the certain damnation of entering into eternity without putting their trust in the only place where such trust can blossom into unashamed hope. Christ our Lord did not have a simple life of ease and plenty; should we be striving for more than He did? To want too much out of this world inherently engenders one to becoming very comfortable and smitten toward this present world. God’s truth fades into obscurity and contempt when plenty rears its ugly head. Material gain usurps God, and we smugly give thanks to God for all the things that have forced Him out of the doors of our heart.

In Jesus’ prayer to the Father He plainly asserts that we as believers were the Father’s but the Father bequeathed us unto His Son, John 17:6, 24. Yet Jesus reveals that this giving is reciprocal; what is the Father’s is the Son’s and vice versa, John 17:10. The Father committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22) yet the Son does nothing apart from the Father, John 5:19, 30. The children God has given Christ in this passage are His brethren, they have been made partakers of Christ. Since Jesus took on our humanity and remains a Man in Heaven now, we have been given the righteousness of God, John 17:22; all such children who submit to God’s will and obey the gospel are the children whom God gives His only Begotten.