"Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." (Ps 115:2, 3)

Who can resist the hand of God? The specific attribute of God is "transcendence," which means that He is above all power, glory, and honor. Or as Ephesians puts it, He is "above all" (Eph. 4:6), but the Bible teaches more than the transcendence of God. It also teaches "immanence." This means that God is not only above all, but he is "through all." Together, these two attributes keep us from falling into either Deism, which sees God as absent from the world, or from Pantheism, which does not distinguish between God and His creation.

The child of God must never confuse God with His creation, or he falls into idolatry, the worship of the creature. But it is equally fatal to deny that God is absent from Creation and does not rule it completely. As Q. 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism puts it: "What do you understand by the providence of God? The almighty, everywhere-present power of God, whereby, as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand."

HC Q. 28 then asks: "What does it profit us to know that God created and by His providence upholds all things? That we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for what is future have good confidence in our faithful God and Father, that no creature shall separate us from His love, since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move."

Louis Berkhof references from Scripture the following things that are directly under the control of God's providence:

The Universe at large: "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." (Ps.103:19) "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the arm of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what dost thou?" (Dan. 4:35) "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." (Eph. 1:11)

The Physical World: "God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend....By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened." (Job. 37:5,10) "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth." (Ps. 104:14) "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places." (Ps. 135:6) " ...He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matt. 5:45)

The Brute Creation: "The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God....That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good." (Ps. 104: 21,28) "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matt. 6:26) "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." (Matt. 10:29)

The Affairs of Nations: "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again." (Job 12:23) "For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations." (Ps. 22:28) "He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah" (Ps. 66:7) "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." (Acts.17:26)

Man's Birth and Lot in Life: "And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons." (1 Sam. 16:1) "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." (Ps.139:16) "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." (Is. 45:5) "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother' womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood...." (Gal. 1:15,16)

Outward Success or Failure: "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." (Ps. 75:6,7) "He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." (Luke 1:52)

Small Things: "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD." (Pro. 16:33) "But the very hairs of your head are numbered." (Matt. 10:30)

The Protection of the Righteous: "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." (Ps. 4:8) "For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield." (Ps. 5:12) "My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me." (Deut. 8:3) "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber." (Phil. 4:19)

The Wants of God's People: "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together....And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Gen. 22:8, 14) "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." (Deut. 8:3) "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)

Answers to Prayer: "And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her." (1 Sam. 1:19) "And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God." (2 Chron. 33:13) "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." (Ps. 65:2) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you... " (Matt. 7:7)

Punishment of the Wicked: "If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." (Ps. 7:12,13) "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." (Ps. 11:6)

Because everything comes to us from the hand of God, we have two very important responses.

1. In everything we show patience and thankfulness, because all comes to us from God.

"Saying, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." (Rev. 11:17) "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Heb 13:15) "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Th 5:18) "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" (Eph 5:20) "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." (2 Co 2:14) "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Ps 118:29) "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:" (Ps 92:1) "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations." (Ps 79:13)

2. No matter what happens to us, our business is always with God.

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." (Job 1:20-22) "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." (Heb 4:13)

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child." (Lu 2:1-5)

There is nothing new about governments levying taxes, but there is a good story to tell about this particular tax increase.

Luke records precisely the time that this levy was made. It is questioned only by brilliant people who live twenty centuries after the fact who think they know more than Luke. Luke questioned those who lived through those days, but what did they know? That is also nothing really new, either. Some things can be believed or not believed only after attendance for many years at the "best" schools.

Octavian was the Grandnephew and heir of Julius Caesar who was assassinated March 15 B.C. Octavian became part of a ruling Triumvirate made up of Octavian, Lepidus, and Mark Antony; they warred with the Senatorial party, led by Brutus and Cassius, two of the murderers of Julius Caesar.

The Imperial Party won, in the name of the people, of course. Also in the name of the people they instituted a bloody purge and a reign of terror. They divided up the Empire: Octavian ruled Italy and won support of the Italians. Mark Antony married Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and tried to build an empire in the East. Octavian defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony in 31 B.C. Now master of the empire, he changed his name to Augustus. The name "Augustus" was not chosen by accident. It means "The Exalted." Never tortured by low self-esteem or doubt, and making sure that all the loose ends were tied up, Augustus Caesar composed a self-assessment of his accomplishments modestly titled, "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus."

It was widely believed that the poet Virgil had predicted that a savior would come and bring about the "turning point of the ages." Augustus saw himself as this savior. All of nature would rejoice in his glory. In 17 B.C. a new star appeared in the sky, and Augustus believed that Virgil's prediction was fulfilled. He inaugurated a twelve-day Advent in celebration. Augustus certainly believed that the political order was the manifestation of the divinity in all things and salvation was in and through this high point of power - Caesar. "Salvation could come only through the name of Caesar."

Augustus was the God-king. He coins bore the inscription, "Caesar Augustus, the Son of God." He believed that the state was the incarnation of God and voice of the people was the voice of God. He spoke for the people, of course; he was wise and benevolent and knew what the people would want if they knew what was best for them. Peace and prosperity would be brought in by statist action: every need would be met.

But the state that expects to meet every need of its people must be prepared to spend lavishly. To get the money for the programs that offer salvation it was necessary to tax and tax. Opposition to these taxes must be ruthlessly suppressed, for nothing could be withheld from the divine order. In order to make taxes efficient, the people had to be registered and this registration must take place in the place of their birth in order to maximize efficiency. No matter how much things change, some things stay the same. "Death and taxes never change," my grandpa used to say.

Not a thought was given to the inconvenience that such journey would entail to the weak, the pregnant, the sick and the old. All the money is Caesar's anyway, and the needs of the divine order must be met. The lowly must not ask how much their country can do for them, but ask how much they can do for their country. God requires total commitment and sacrifice, and the deified state can ask no less. Caesar didn't [ask no less], and neither do his descendants. Because of this, "small" tax increases are usually many times larger than "huge" decreases in the rate of tax growth.

The next time you get depressed listening to the modest proposals of candidates who want to be elected as high priest in the temple of humanism, just remember the story of Caesar Augustus and the long journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

Caesar would not even have known their names, and wouldn't have given a fig if someone had told him. Herod the Great cared about the news that a king had been born, but who names his newborn son "Herod"? His new dog, maybe.

Caesar died when our Lord was a teenager in Nazareth, growing in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man. There were the usual ceremonies of a magnificent state funeral and the decree of the senate enrolling him among the gods. But He who sits on the true throne of the universe laughed and had them in derision. And so should we.

Hallelujah! How manifold is the wisdom of God! He makes the power of man foolishness: The most lasting thing that this arrogant Caesar did was to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, to fulfill prophecy and provide for the establishment of the real Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of pipe dreams. I am sure that God has a sense of humor, but His laughter is no comfort to the wicked. I am also certain that you didn't read this in your college history book.

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Mic 5:2)

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." - Genesis 1:26-28

In any discussion of man's proper relationship to the earth, these verses ought to be at the forefront of our minds. Here we see God's "vision statement" for man. This is what man is supposed to be in relation to the creation that he was put into.

In God's creative act, we see an important application of the idea that some of God's attributes are communicable (meaning that we share in some sense in those attributes) and some are incommunicable. God's attributes of love, knowledge, justice, and others are ones that we share in some sense, though we never equal God in any of those attributes. Other attributes such as God's omnipotence and infinity are not attributes we share in any sense. So too in creation, we see two basic activities undertaken by God. One is the creation ex nihilo, creation from nothing, the bringing into existence of something which did not exist before. This act is something which man cannot do in any sense. The other aspect, though, of what God did in the creation is to bring order to chaos. Before the creation, the earth (everything that was) was, according to verse 2, without form and void. That means it was empty (void), and chaotic. God brought substance into that void, and then he ordered it. He made distinctions, separating the day from the night and the water from the land. He set the stars and planets in their course to distinguish between different seasons and times, and He gave names to what He had created.

Man in God's Image

His final act of creation was to create man. And man was created after His own image. One would think that the creation of one after God's own image would include engaging in the very same acts in which God Himself engaged, in some fashion, and one would be right. God's very first command to Adam is that Adam continue and finish the work of creation. Adam was to go into the world and subdue it. To subdue something is to rule it, to bring it under one's control. And just like God, part of this work was naming. Adam was given the work of naming the animals.

What we see in Genesis 1-2 is that God, in His creative act, deliberately left His creation unfinished. He created man, in His image, to finish it. This is no diminishing of His glory, rather, it amplifies it. Not satisfied with simply creating rocks and birds and trees and stars, as if that were not enough, He also created a being that was like God, a representative of God, to finish the work of ordering the chaotic creation.

All useful work that man does is essentially bringing order out of chaos. A farmer orders a field, tills it, fertilizes it, works it, to bring it out of its natural chaotic state and into a state where it can be more useful. A construction worker shapes chaotic natural materials into ordered structures that are more useful for man. A lawyer or a policeman works with the chaotic materials of human relationships and shapes them into something that can fit more usefully into a properly ordered human society. In all of this work, man bears testimony to the image of God within him, and glorifies God who made him.

But fallen man hates God and therefore hates the image of God. He rebels against that image in a million different ways. We are seeing one particular instance of that rebellion in the modern environmentalist movement.

The Earth is the Lord's, Not Man's

Of course, nobody needs to tell a Christian to take care of the earth. We know it's a fundamental principle that the earth is the Lord's, and anything that the Lord has given us we are to use to His glory, not for our own selfish purposes. God told the ancient Israelites to let even their land rest one year in seven, which we know serves an important purpose for the health of the land. But the modern environmentalist movement goes much farther than that. To see how far this bias has shaped us, just think of the automatic assumption that something that is natural must be better. "All-natural" food must be healthier for you, we think. Yet, why should that necessarily be so? The world is under a curse, and we have to do a great many things to overcome the effects of sin on creation. And indeed, even in the garden of Eden, creation in its untouched state was not in its ideal state. Man was given the job of "subduing" nature, which means that nature needed order and rule. If that was true even before the curse, how much more so after?

The oft-stated aims of the modern environmentalist movement is to reduce as much as possible the "footprint" or "environmental impact" that man has on nature. If a particular species of plant or animal is harmed by the activity of man, that is automatically assumed to be evil, with any possible benefit to man being simply irrelevant. The word "evil" is appropriate, since if it were simply a practical negative, one might think of practical positives that could outweigh it. But we all know examples of cases where the survival of one tiny variant of mouse, snail or owl has been weighed to be more important than the livelihoods of thousands of people. That's not a weighing of practical benefits. That's the application of a religious principle. And the religious principle that drives the modern environmentalist movement is that nature is perfect, and any alteration of nature is therefore evil. No evidence is produced or needed to support this idea. No cataloging of statistics showing how industry and economic development has improved the lives of millions, and even improved the health of the environment, will ever change this principle in the minds of those who hold it. It is a matter of faith.

The idea that nature is perfect and must be altered as little as possible might not sound so terrible. But what makes this religious principle so pernicious is that it directly attacks the image of God. The idea that man's job is to rule and subdue the earth is an absolute heresy to the mind of the modern environmentalist.

Modern Environmentalism

How else does one explain the irrational hatred of power plants, strip malls, commercial farming and the like that permeate this movement? These things are all absolutely necessary for the modern environmentalist to live the way he does. None of them actually practice what they preach. If they did, they would kill themselves, or at least go live in a cave and eat roots and berries. We are told that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, leading to the warming of the earth. Yet carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of every single human activity. The only way for you to truly become carbon neutral is for you to die. But God commanded man to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." The idea that we must reduce our carbon footprint is tantamount to saying that God made a mistake.

Genesis 8:21-22 fundamentally contradicts the tenets of the modern environmentalist movement: "...Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."

It is fashionable these days for Christians to jump on this bandwagon, with many in the evangelical world echoing the same kinds of things we hear from very godless elements in our society. There is a great deal of contrary science disproving the theory of man-made global warming, but the Scriptures ought to be all we need to recognize its pagan roots. Just as with the question of the earth's origins, science must always support our understanding of Scripture. Science never determines our understanding of Scripture. The well-grounded Christian ought not put away his Bible when wondering about a question like this, and the Bible clearly defines man's role in the earth. He is to fill and subdue it. He is to finish God's work of creation by continuing to bring order out of chaos. He is to be a good steward of that with which God has entrusted him. The creative, organizing, industrial, economic impulse in man is not an evil impingement on pure and perfect nature, but is in fact the fulfillment of just what God created man to be. The belief that any industrial or economic activity of man is an evil to be suppressed as much as possible is driven by the hatred of God and the hatred of the image of God within man.

As my father has frequently pointed out to me, the story of God's redemption begins in a garden, but it ends in a city. Let us remember always to worship the creator, and not the creature. Let us worship Jehovah rather than the world which Jehovah made.

Hebrews 2:9-15

One heresy the kids always learn about in confirmation class is Docetism-the belief that Jesus was not truly human, or only appeared to be human. It was a common belief and a major source of controversy in the ancient church. Unlike some of the ancient controversies such as the proper date of Easter, this one was important. If Jesus was not human, then He could not be a substitute. He could not demonstrate that human nature could be redeemed, could be righteous. He could not taste death for us and thus could not be a propitiatory sacrifice.

Monophysitism was a variation of this. This ancient error taught that Jesus had one nature, instead of two-a kind of hybrid God/man nature, a blending of the two. In most of its forms, Jesus' human nature is simply absorbed into the divine nature and loses any real significance, with the same result: that Jesus is not truly human and therefore cannot be a substitute and cannot be a sacrifice.

These errors were condemned by the church, and for good reason. The ancient church recognized these errors as an attack against the nature of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It was not just idle curiosity or intellectual speculation but a threat to the gospel itself.

Christians today often unknowingly fall into the same errors. This is one of the reasons we study church history in our own church, so that we can understand and avoid these errors today as they reoccur. They will not come under the same names. They may not come as a formal movement or doctrinal position at all, but out of ignorance and neglect we can simply slip into attitudes that are equivalent. If we fail to give any weight to Jesus' human nature and believe that His suffering and His obedience on earth were not true suffering and not true obedience, since, after all, He was God, then we will put the weight of His work on the idea of a moral example or a message from God and fail to put our faith in His sacrifice on our behalf.

Christ Is Fully Human

Perhaps the greatest of all of God's mercies is this-Christ was not ashamed to be one of us. Considering what Scripture has to say about humanity and our state, what remarkable mercy that demonstrates! He became one of us, with all our weakness and frailty: we, who are like grass, like the flower of the field, here one day and gone the next.

He dwelt among us though we had rejected Him. It is not for nothing, then, that he was called humble, meek, and mild. He would have been completely within His rights to destroy us, or to dwell among us as a conqueror, an angel of light come to put down humanity's rebellion. But He came to save us. He saved us by being one of us.

Hebrews 2:11 shows that humanity is not the problem. God created man good. God looked at His work, after He had created man, and said that it was very good. When we blame our sin and our failure on our human nature, we slander God's good work. God didn't make a mistake when He made human nature.

Yes, we fell into sin, and our nature was corrupted, but even in this fallen state, it is not human nature itself which is the problem, but rather the alienation of our human nature from God and the effect that such alienation has on our human nature. Jesus took upon Himself the same human nature that we have, and He was righteous. Human nature, when in fellowship with God and supported by God's grace and power, is perfectly capable of being righteous. He did not just appear to be like us. He was like us, fully like us, only excepting sin. This did not mean that His nature was therefore not truly like our nature, but that His nature did not suffer the corruption and distortion that is the result of being born into alienation from God.

So He did not stand aloof from us. He entered into humanity truly. He became part of the family of humanity, becoming what we are. And by doing so He saves us.

Made Perfect through Suffering

Our text in Hebrews 2 even goes so far as to demonstrate that Jesus was so human that He changed, grew, matured, and developed. He was made perfect through suffering, according to verse 10. He was never imperfect in the sense of having sins or flaws. But He was imperfect in the sense of being incomplete. He had a process that He went through, characterized by suffering and learning to conform His will to the will of His Father in heaven, which is seen most clearly in His great agonizing struggle in the garden of Gethsemane.

Now none of that was in any sense necessary, for Jesus is God. He possessed all perfection before the incarnation. Nothing can be added to God. Yet He became one of us in order to save us. And He did not just appear to be like us. He was one of us, truly. He learned, He grew, He suffered, and He triumphed. That triumph is our salvation. And so Hebrews says that for God it was fitting, appropriate, to accomplish our salvation in this manner, demonstrating His great wisdom and love, that our salvation was accomplished by God Himself becoming one of us and suffering what we suffer.

He tasted death for us. He experienced the whole range of human suffering and pain, of human corruption and fallenness. He lived as one of us, among us, and He had all of our weakness. He experienced sin and all of its curse when He was made sin for us on the cross, when He took on the sins of mankind and became the sacrificial lamb, bearing all of God's wrath against sin. By doing so, He triumphed over it, was crowned with glory and honor, redeemed human nature, saved all of His people, and became the head of the new human race. This is His triumph and perfection.

This is God's grace to us, for in tasting death for all of us, He removes that taint from us so that we are clean and pure in God's eyes by His act.

Christ-Like

Now we are becoming like Christ. In the first place, He who works this work of sanctification and purification, and we who are the beneficiaries of that sanctification, are one, according to Hebrews 2:11, "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one..." The Greek here shows that the act of purification or being made holy, sanctified, in verse 11, is a progressive ongoing work in our lives. And so we are one with Christ, and because of that oneness, we are progressively being made like Him.

Christ is here presented to us as supreme and preeminent, because He is the goal of our present process. In our moral nature, we are becoming like Him. As we have been declared holy by His act of substitution, and His righteousness is imparted to us, resulting in the forgiveness of sins, so too His righteousness is being worked in us so that we can actually become that which we are declared to be. Christ is pulling all of us up to Himself. And if I am now being made like Him, then He is the most important force and factor in my life. I need look nowhere else for some other guidance or inspiration. I need the approval of no other man. I need no other education or instruction or empowerment. All that I need is in Christ.

We think of sanctification as being the work of the Spirit of God, and indeed it is. But the Holy Spirit is directly referred to twice as "the Spirit of Christ" in 1 Peter 1:11 and Romans 8:9. Jesus said in John 14:26 that when the Spirit of God comes to us, He will call to our remembrance all that Jesus said. The Spirit does not come with a separate message, but with the message of Jesus. So the Spirit is the means by which our sanctification is accomplished, but the content of that sanctification is Christ.

Partakers of Flesh and Blood

This becoming like Christ is more than just intellectual or moral. He took on our nature, and then His nature was glorified and transformed when He rose from the dead. Our nature likewise will be glorified and transformed, so that our being conformed to be like Christ will involve our very nature. In verse 14, Hebrews says we have partaken in flesh and blood, that is, we share the nature which Christ took upon Himself. Christ on our behalf tasted of death and was glorified. But if we are united to Him, then we likewise will be glorified in the same manner, the point which Paul makes so clearly in 1 Cor. 15:35-57.

Jesus told Mary Magdalene in John 20:17 that He was ascending to "my Father and your Father, my God and your God"-indicating clearly that what was happening to Him would likewise happen to us.

Freed From the Power of Death

Paul said, "O death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting?" The curse of death is taken away from us. Death is now a victory for the believer, for in death we achieve what Christ has achieved for us.

The fear of death is a universal fact of human existence. All mankind lives in terror of death. People go to tremendous, ruinous lengths to extend their lives just a few more months. People consult witch doctors and sorcerers to try to extend their lives. Hebrews tells us in vs. 15 of this text that the devil uses the fear of death to enslave people. Indeed, to avoid death or to avoid thinking about death, people run to every kind of vice and wickedness.

People fear death because of guilt. They know, deep inside, that they stand condemned before God for their sin. Death is the moment when we go to give account. That is a terrifying thought. But for the believer, we have no fear. Condemnation is taken away by Christ, and therefore the power of the devil is removed. With no condemnation, no guilt, no fear of what will happen after we die, by faith in Christ, we can face whatever comes with confidence and boldness. Our hope is not in this life only, but because Christ became one of us, conquered death and now is in glory, we know we will be in glory as well, when we put our faith and trust in Him.

All of this means that Christ is our model for what it means to be fully human. He was fully human, and in being fully human and obedient to God, He redeemed human nature itself and has imparted that redeemed human nature to us. This is what the Lord's Supper fully symbolizes, and why we learn that in eating this bread and drinking this cup, we signify the fact that by faith we eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood. We partake of His nature. He became like us, died on the cross, rose again and was glorified. He became like us so that we could become like Him. And so He is now our benchmark, our goal, for what it means to be fully human.

Salvation doesn't mean escaping our human nature. Our human nature is not the problem. Our alienation from God and the corruption which that alienation works on our nature is the problem. Our nature has been tarnished, broken and perverted by sin and rebellion. But by God's power, it can be saved. It has been saved. Christ's human nature, the life-giving spirit, now becomes the source of our life and our new nature. As the old nature dies with Christ on the cross, the newly born humanity which is worked in us by regeneration, by the power of the Spirit comes alive. That new nature is fed by Christ and grows and grows until we die in this life. Our death in this life is then, to use Paul's analogy, like a seed falling into the ground, which springs forth into something new and wonderful.

It is Christ being formed in us. As the firstborn among many brethren, as the captain of our salvation, He has released us from the power of sin, death, and the devil, and charted the way to the new world, the new, glorious humanity which is forever united inseparably to God. Man and God can never again be separated, because they are forever united in Christ Himself, fully human and fully God, forever.

1 Samuel 18:1-9

The story of David, Saul, and Jonathan is illustrative of many important truths. One of them is the great contrast between envy and thankfulness.

God had anointed Saul to be king over Israel. Saul had been an apparently unremarkable man, but after Samuel, at God's direction, anointed him and the Spirit of God came upon him, Saul was a different man. He was bold in battle, decisive in leadership, and protected Israel from the Philistines.

But Saul forgot that his gifts came from God and thought that it was his own strength and cleverness that made him the king of Israel. He might not have said that; he might have paid lip service to the idea that it was God who had given him his gifts. But he acted to glorify himself and to accomplish his own agenda. That is not the behavior of a thankful man, a man who knows that he owes everything he has to God. He rebelled against God's commands and served his own glory instead. This resulted in God rejecting Saul as king and choosing another man to lead Israel-David. It was God's choice. God demonstrated this truth by passing over all the older sons of Jesse and selecting the youngest, the one nobody even thought about until Samuel asked for him. And it wasn't on the strength of some merit of David's. No one, not even his brothers, nor even Jesse, nor even Samuel expected David to be the Lord's anointed.