#DailyDevotion Everything Is Subjected To Jesus’ Rule
Heb. 2 5He didn’t put the coming world that we’re talking about under the control of angels. 6But somewhere someone has declared: What is man that you should think of him? Or a son of man that You should come to help him? 7You make Him lower than the angels for a little while then crown Him with glory and honor and make Him Ruler over what Your hands have made 8and put everything under His feet. Now, when He put everything under His feet, He left nothing outside His control.
Jesus is still better than the angels in chapter two. He brings up who the coming world is going to put under subjection. Well it isn’t angels. The Greek word for world is oikoumenē from which we get the word economy. It is derived from the word oikeō which is Greek for house. It is where we live. It would be more fun and interesting if Isaiah, Peter and John when referring to the New Heavens and New Earth at the end of the age used this Greek word but they don’t. There it is just ge(n) in the Greek. Well maybe it is interesting they don’t use that word. The other word I would hope for is aiōn which is Greek for age for the New Testament talks about the age to come. Alas it is mostly translated world but it is occasionally translated kingdom. Now a kingdom is something that is ruled over by someone, and since we are talking about it being subjected to someone, I guess oikoumene is a good word for world here.
He then quotes Psalm 8 concerning man. He seems to be quoting it from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament aka LXX) from memory. Now the Hebrew says He made a little lower than Elohim, which could be God, gods, or divine beings i.e. angels. The Greek translates it angels. Hebrews here also translates it angels. We probably question how are we created a lower than the angels? That’s a good question. Perhaps it is because we are mortal. More importantly here, Hebrews is telling us this is first and foremost about Jesus. When He humbles Himself to become man, He is made a little lower than the angels. He has taken our mortality upon Himself. He does this so He may redeem humanity and glorify humanity.
In His glorification as Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, He “then crown Him with glory and honor and make Him Ruler over what Your hands have made 8and put everything under His feet. Now, when He put everything under His feet, He left nothing outside His control.” Now this is interesting because when the LORD first created us in Genesis He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, like Ourselves, that they might rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, and the cattle, over all the earth and everything that moves on the earth.” There is a dominion over the world already there. It is thought by many we lost this dominion or at least it was hampered by the Fall. Jesus in our humanity, seated at the right hand of the Father has taken dominion over more than just the animals on the earth. Hebrews says, “when He put everything under His feet, He left nothing outside His control.” That is to say, everything and everyone in all of creation is subject to the Son, Jesus Christ.
When we become one with Jesus through baptism and faith in Him, everything that He has according to His humanity is also ours. We are exalted to the heavenly places (Eph. 2). We are co-heirs with Christ of God and everything that belongs to God. We have become His sons in Christ Jesus.
Heavenly Father, grant us faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, whom you have exalted over all things that we may inherit the world in Him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.