Verse of the Day Devotion.  Hebrews 2:5

“For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.” Hebrews 2:5.  

In order to help understand this verse, we must first go back to Chapter 1 for a moment. There we read the following. “But to which of the angels has He ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? ” Hebrews 1:13. The answer to the rhetorical question is ‘None’. No angel has ever been addressed this way because no angel has ever deserved such acclamation and exaltation. Then in the next verse we see what they are. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. God never subjected the world to them. On the contrary, they are sent out by God to minister for Him to those who are to inherit salvation. In essence, all the angels, even those of the highest order, are employed by their Creator to serve those who believe in Christ Jesus. This clarifies that He did not subject the world to them, even though many Jews believed this to be the case.

Therefore, the question remains, who did He subject it to? This is answered in what follows. He starts off by saying, “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.” Hebrews 2:5. He makes it clear that it was not angels.  Then, “It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?” Hebrews 2:6. The testifier alluded to is David, and the somewhere is Psalm 8. What David is saying is that man, from the time of Adam till then was sinful, therefore he questions why is God at all concerned with him.

But then David continued, “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.” Hebrews 2:7-8. The word “man” here is the Greek word Anthropos, designating a human being, male or female. This does not refer to anyone in particular, but to mankind as a whole. And the word “son” is the Greek word uihos denoting the offspring of men.

Now, we will see who He subjected it to. “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.” Hebrews 2:7-9. David here is referring to the coming Messiah, and the writer of Hebrews confirms this by stating Him to be Jesus. As a man, you made Him a little lower than angelic beings and put everything under subjection to Him.

Now, notice verse 8. “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.” This is not found in Psalm 8. The reason being that Hebrews is referring to something that has already happened, whereas Psalm 8 is a prophetic statement yet to be fulfilled. The writer is saying all things are subject to Him, but in this sinful world we do not see it, YET. However, he continues, “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.” Hebrews 2:9. We may not see it completely fulfilled; however everything is under subjection to Him, and we shall at some time, in the near future, see Him in His full glory.

We are living in a fallen world, and it may not look like things will ever be good again. However, we must always understand that Jesus is in full control, and He will come back to make things as they were always intended to be.  Brothers and sisters, keep strong and do not forget that our situation is temporal, and that infinity will be glorious.  And in remaining strong, spread the news to all the world, especially where you are now, the truth of Christ. It is our calling during this time, therefore, let us fulfill this calling with everything we are.     

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.