Perfect Through Suffering (Heb. 2:10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12-28-02

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Perfect through suffering

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Hebrews 2:10

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “¶ For it was fitting 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 perfect through sufferings.”  (NKJV)  “And it was only right that God—who made everything and for whom everything was made—should bring his many children into glory.  Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation.”  (NLT)

            There are a couple of words that are translated from the Greek in this passage that need to be explained.  The word translated “captain” in the NKJV is a word that means pioneer or leader, so Jesus was the pioneer, leader, the One who lead the way.  The word “perfect” can also be translated complete, effective, or adequate.  I do not think it can be said that Jesus Christ had any imperfections, thus He was perfect because He is God in the flesh, but Dr. MaCarthur has something to say about this subject in his study Bible, “In His divine nature, Christ was already perfect.  However, His human nature was perfected through obedience, including suffering in order that He might be an understanding High-Priest, an example for believers, and establish the perfect righteousness to be imputed to believers.”  The Bible says that Jesus Christ was the second Adam and this along with the circumstances of His birth lead me to believe that He had a body like that of the first Adam which is described in Genesis.  Adam was a much more intelligent person than his offspring are because of the fact that he was not marred by sin when he was created.  Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, fathered by the Holy Spirit, thus the sin nature was not passed on because there was no human father, which is how the sin nature is passed on.  The first prophesy about Christ in Genesis 3:15 states that He would be the “seed of the woman.”  “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."  So as I look at this verse from Hebrews that I am studying today I can understand that even though Christ has a perfect body that would never have died if He had not caused it to could still be made complete by His sufferings for my salvation.

            2.   Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look into more detail the perfect plan that God had for my salvation it makes me think of how perfect that God is and how He had all of the details worked out so that I can be His son through the cost of His Son as He died for me and became sin for me on the cross.  The details are marvelously perfect because the Planner is also perfect.  Halleluiah what a Saviour!

 

The Word of God was marvelously refreshing to me this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to live for my marvelous Saviour this day.  I know that “me” gets in the way a lot of the time, so I need to focus on Him today and for that matter every day.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Ehp. 2:10; Mark 12:30; Romans 12:5; Phil. 2:5; 1Peter 4:10

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.

 

…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

 

Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others…