OUTLINE:
Christ willingly ceded superiority temporarily to accomplish a specific goal.
Jn 10:17-18
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Php 2:7-8
but emptied [Greek active voice – He was the agency in the verb] himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled [Greek active voice] himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
True Strength Precedes Grace
When a dominant force meets a subordinate one, the only hope the subordinate has of victory is if the dominant force chooses to cede power.
True Strength in Weakness
When Jesus chose to become weak, He was revealing His preeminent power. (ala Jn 10:17-18)
Strength in weakness reveals GRACE.
True Grace
True grace implies giving up of oneself (aka diminishing/ceding some advantage to another) for the sake of another, purely for that reason alone (with no backend benefit/expectation/ROI).
Mt 6:1 [NLT]
“Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.”
Mt 6:1 [Amplified]
“Be [very] careful not to do your [a]good deeds publicly, to be seen by men; otherwise you will have no reward [prepared and awaiting you] with your Father who is in heaven.
Grace isn’t grace if it’s given with strings attached.
Php 2:3 [NLT]
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
True Grace
Grace isn’t about you. Grace is fundamentally about others. While God may decide to bless you for being gracious, that is in no way, your motivation. It can’t be. If it were, then it’s not really grace and the “blessing” you think you received isn’t from God (e.g., the “attaboys”).
We don’t “work” for blessings.
Christ willingly ceded superiority temporarily to accomplish a specific goal.
“partook”
koinoneo – means to share, communicate, contribute, impart; to share in, have a share of, have fellowship with. In context (Heb 2:14) it refers to mystery doctrine of Christ’s Church where God became flesh and blood like man in order to save him. We are saved by being placed in union with Him, His death, and His resurrection (ala Gal 2:20).
Know Your Destiny
The writer of Hebrews draws his audience of believers into fellowship with their destiny, as co-victors with the Champion who overcame death, itself, and therefore any real opposition we might face in life from our enemies.