Perfect Through Suffering
Pastor Jason Spade
Study of the Book of Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted • 1:29:26
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Perfect Through Suffering
Perfect Through Suffering
Have you ever read something, learned something and then wished you did not learn it? I have felt that way when I thought really well of someone and then found out something bad about them. I have also felt that way when I registered for a class and then read the syllabus and realized it was going to be way harder than I thought it would be.
That same feeling was a little bit of how I felt reading these verses this weekend. I’ll explain more as we get into this but suffice it to say that the idea that suffering would produce perfection is not how I would like to achieve perfection.
Let’s read our verses for the next couple weeks and then we will focus on just verses 5-11 for today’s message.
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 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. 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.”
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus is Greater! Has been a common theme to Hebrews. He is greater than the prophets of old, greater than the angels, even greater than our sufferings.
I would love to have read that when we are believers, suffering is a thing of the past. That the way we identify with our Lord is that our suffering goes away and so did his. But instead, he suffered so that we have a high priest
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Suffering is Important Here
Suffering is Important Here
Why is suffering important here?
Why did it need to happen this way?
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Suffering produces certain things in us and in Jesus that could not come other ways.
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 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. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
These verse are wonderful for us. It means that everything is subject to Christ. But, if this was all we had here, we could begin to wonder why bad things happen at all then, why doesn’t God just stop those things? Right? We ask those questions now. That is why suffering is important here.
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,
God gives us a savior who not only knows everything about us, he can identify with the experiences we go through.
God gives us a savior who not only knows everything about us, he can identify with the experiences we go through.
Why is this important?
The Disconnected Coach
The Disconnected Coach
Have you ever had a coach who seemed to know everything about the sport you play in but lacked just one thing, experience? He knew all the plays, all the training mechanisms but had never once put on the pads.
For me, I even experienced this type of thing in the work environment. As a truck driver, you get into some amazing places. Dispatchers and customers that have never been behind the wheel always think they know enough to tell you whether you can make into their house or a particularly tight dock or whatever. The point is that they may be right but I did not completely trust what they told me because they had not been through it.
It is like in a fight. In a fight you learn certain things only from being in them.
The fight is where the idea you have about your resolve or ability is proved either true or false.
The fight is where the idea you have about your resolve or ability is proved either true or false.
Faith is similarly proved by what remains after being under pressure or trial.
Faith is similarly proved by what remains after being under pressure or trial.
We have a Connected Coach
We have a Connected Coach
Hebrews
How was he like us?
He knew human suffering and endured human suffering.
He knew human suffering and endured human suffering.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
Suffering reveals a sense of swimming against the tide.
Suffering reveals a sense of swimming against the tide.
Life is hard, it comes with challenges. This is true for believers and unbelievers. Suffering that the Bible speaks of is about a belief system that produces resistance from the world.
These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
No one likes to be told they are wrong. However, we are called to be different, to stand out, to be a witness. We cannot go the way of the world, we cannot call evil good or good evil.
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
The world is not going to like it when we began to call things as God sees them rather than as people see them.
The world is not going to like it when we began to call things as God sees them rather than as people see them.
Even in the church we have to be willing to declare truth when it is unpopular.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
If we refuse to be those things, suffering will come.
Christ suffered for us so that we could have a savior yes, but also so we would have an example.
Christ suffered for us so that we could have a savior yes, but also so we would have an example.
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
We Have One Source
We Have One Source
What one source do we share with Jesus?
Jesus needed the Father to be able to endure His suffering and we need the Father to endure ours.
Jesus needed the Father to be able to endure His suffering and we need the Father to endure ours.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
The Spirit aided Jesus in his suffering and He aids us in ours.
The Spirit aided Jesus in his suffering and He aids us in ours.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
We have a High Priest that can identify with us.
We have a High Priest that can identify with us.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
We can trust His advice
We can trust His advice
We can trust His Provision
We can trust His Provision
We can trust His plan
We can trust His plan