Jesus was made perfect through suffering

JESUS WAS MADE PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Hebrews 2:10 10In bringing many sons and daughters
to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through
whom everything exists, shouldmake the pioneerof
their salvationperfect through what he suffered.
Christ—Perfect Through Sufferings
by SPURGEON
“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings.”
Hebrews 2:10
BELIEVING that God foreknows all things, we cannot but come to the conclusion that He
foreknew the Fall and that it was but an incident in the great method by which He would
glorify Himself. Foreknowing the Fall and foreordaining and predestinating the plan by
which He would rescue His chosen out of the ruins thereof, He was pleased to make that
plan a manifestation of all His attributes and, to a very great extent, a declaration of His
wisdom.
You do not find in the method of salvation a single tinge of folly. The Greeks may call it
folly, but they are fools, themselves. The Gospel is the highest refinement of wisdom, yes, of
Divine wisdom and we cannot help perceiving that not only in its main features, but in its
little points, in the details and the minutiae, the wisdom of God is most clearly to be seen.
Just as in the making of the tabernacle in the wilderness, not a single loop or clasp was left
to human chance or judgment, so in the great scheme of salvation, not a single fragment
was left to the human will or to the folly of the flesh.
It appears to be a Law of the Divine action that everything must be according to the fitness
and necessity involved in perfect wisdom–“It behooved that Christ should suffer.” And in
our text we find, “It became Him from whom are all things and by whom are all things, in

bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.” It seemedto be but the order of natural fitness and congruity, in accordance
with the Nature and Character of God, that the plan of salvation should be just what it is.
Oh, how careful should we be who have to preach it, never to alter it in the slightest degree!
How important it is that we should lift our prayers to Heaventhat God would give us a
clear understanding! First, of what we have to teach. And then a clear method of teaching
what we have learned, so that no mistake may be made here. For one mistake here would
mar that express image of God which shines in the Gospel, and prevent our hearers from
seeing the beautiful fitness and proportion which are so adapted to reveal the perfect
Character of God.
We say the plan must be what it is. It could not be otherwise so as to be in keeping with the
Divine Character. And, therefore, it is imperative upon us that we make no alteration in it,
no, not of a single word, lest we should hear the Apostle’s anathema hissing through the air
like a thunderbolt from God–“If we or an angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel
than that you have received, let him be accursed!”
Our text invites us to the consideration of three particulars–first, that Christ is a perfect
Savior. Secondly, that He became so through sufferings. And thirdly, that His being made
perfect through sufferings will ennoble and dignify the whole work of Divine Grace. “It
became Him”–it seemedfitting–that in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
1. To begin, then, first of all with the joyous thought, so well known to you all but so
necessary still to be repeated, that THE LORD JESUS IS A PERFECT SAVIOR.
For, first, He is perfectly adapted for the work of saving. The singular constitution of His
Nature adapts Him to His office. He is God. It was necessary that He should be so. Who but
God could sustain the enormous weight of human guilt? What but Divinity was equal to
bear the awful load of wrath which was to be carried upon His shoulders? What knowledge
but Omniscience could understand all the evil, and what power but Omnipotence could
undo that evil? That Christ is God must everbe a theme for grateful admiration to His
people.
They who reject the Divinity of Christ can have but a poor foundation to rest upon. The
fickle sand would seemto be more stable than the basis of their hope. It is enough for one
man to work out his own obedience–more than enough for one man to bear wrath for
himself. How, then, could he do it for others, and for those countless multitudes whose ruin
was to be retrieved? But, Beloved, we know that had He only been God, yet still He would
not have been fitted for a perfect Savior, unless He had become Man.
Man had sinned. Man must suffer. It was man in whom God’s purposes had been for a
while defeated. It must be in man that God must triumph over His great enemy. He must
take upon Himself the seedof Abraham, that He may stand in their stead and place, and
become their federal Head. An angel, we believe, could not have suffered on the tree. It
would not have been possible for an angelic nature to have borne those agonies which the
wrath of God demanded as an expiation for guilt.
But when we see the Lord Jesus before us, being verily the Son of Man, and as certainly,
the Son of God, we perceive that now Job’s desire is granted. We have a Daysman that can
lay His hands on both, and touch humanity in its weakness, and Divinity in its strength. He

can make a ladder between earth and Heaven, can bridge the distance which separates
fallen manhood from the perfection of the eternal God. No Nature but one so complex as
that of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, would have been perfectly adapted for the work
of salvation.
And as He was adapted in His Nature, so, Beloved, it is very clear to us that He was also
adapted by His experience. A physician should have some acquaintance with disease–how
shall he know the remedy if he is ignorant of the malady? Our Savior knew all because,
“He took our infirmities, and He bore our sicknesses. He was tempted in all points, like as
we are.” He looked not at sin from the distance of Heaven, but He walked, and lived in the
midst of it. He did not pass hurriedly through the world as one might hastily walk through
an hospital without clearly understanding the disease–He livedHis more than thirty years
in the very center of it, seeing sin in all its shapes.
Yes, seeing it in shapes that you and I have not yet seen. He saw it in demoniac forms, for
Hell was let loose for a season, that the combat might be the more terrible, and the victory
the more glorious. He saw sin carried to its most aggravated extent, when it crucified God,
Himself, and nailed Jesus, the Heir of Heaven, to the accursed tree. He understood the
disease. He was no charlatan. He had studied the whole case through. Deceitful as the
human heart is, Jesus knew it. Fickle as it is in its various appearances–versatile as it is in
its constantly varying shapes–Christ knew and understood it all. His life-long walking of
the hospital of human nature had taught Him the disease.
He knew the subjects, too, upon whom to operate. He knew man, and what was in man.
Yes, better than the most skilled surgeon can know by experiment, He knew by experience.
He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sorrows. He was, Himself, the Patient,
Himself the Medicine. He took upon Himself the nature of the race He came to save, and so
every feeling made Him perfect in His work. Every pang instructed Him. Every throb of
anguish made Him wise, and rendered Him the more accomplished to work out the
purposes of God in the bringing of the many sons unto glory.
If you will add to His perfect experience His marvelous Character, you will see how
completely adapted He was to the work. For a Savior, we need One who is full of love,
whose love will make Him firm to His purpose, whose love will constrain Him to yoke every
power and talent that He has to the great work. We want One with zeal so flaming that it
will eat Him up. Of courage so indomitable that He will face every adversary rather than
forego His end. We want One, at the same time, who will blend with this brass of courage,
the gold of meekness, and of gentleness.
We want One who will be determined to deal fearlessly with His adversaries, who will put
on zeal as a cloak, and will deal tenderly and compassionately with the disease of sin-sick
men. Such an One we have in Christ. No man can read the Character of Christ with any
sort of understanding without saying, “That is the Man I want as my Friend.” The
argument which Christ used was a very powerful one–“Take My yoke upon you and learn
of Me.” Why? “For I am meek and lowly in heart.”
The Character of Christ qualifies Him to be the world’s Savior, and there is something in
His Character, when properly understood, which is so attractive, that we may well say–
“His worth if all the nations knew,
Surely the whole world would love Him, too.”

If we had to make a Savior ourselves and it were left to a Parliament of the wisest senators
of the race to form an ideal personage who should just meet man’s case, if the Divine One
had lent us His own wisdom for the occasion, we could only have desired just such a Person
as Christ is.
In Character, we should have needed just such traits of Nature and of Spirit as we see in
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. We think, therefore, we may safely say to every
unconverted man, Christ is adapted to be a Savior to you. We know that the saints, without
our saying it, will respond, “Yes, and He is just fitted to be a Savior to us.” Man, yet God!
Bone of our bone, and yet counting it not robbery to be equal with God! Sufferer like
ourselves, bearer of all the ills of manhood, and yet, unlike us, free from sin, holy, harmless,
undefiled–qualified in all respects to undertake and accomplish the great work! Jesus, You
are a perfect Savior to us!
Furthermore, as Christ is thus perfectly adapted, so He is perfectly able to be a Savior. He
is a perfect Savior by reason of ability. He is now able to meet all the needs of sinners. That
need is very great. The sinner needs everything. The beggar at the door of Christ asks not
for crumbs or grain, but needs all that Christ can give. Nothing short of allsufficiency can
evermeet the wants of a poor son of Adam fallen by sin. Christ Jesus has all fullness
dwelling in Himself. “More than all in Christ we find”–pardon in His blood. Justification in
His righteousness. Wisdom in His teaching. Sanctification in His Spirit.
He is the God of all Grace to us. Deepas our miseries, and boundless as our sins may be,
the mines of His unfathomable love, His Grace, and His power exceedthem still. Send a
spirit throughout all nations to hunt up the most abject of all races–discover, at last, a tribe
of men degenerated as low as the beasts. Select out of these the vilest, one who has been a
cannibal. Bring before us one lost to all sense of morality, one who has put bitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter, light for darkness, and darkness for light. Let that man be red with
murder, let him be black with lust.
Let villainies infest his heart as innumerable and detestable as the frogs of Egypt’s plague–
yet Christ is able to meet that man’s case. It is impossible for us to produce an exaggeration
of the work of sin, and the devil, which Christ shall not be able to overtop by the plenitude
of His power. “He is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.”
That Divine Word which made Heavenand earth is able to make a new creature in Christ
Jesus. And that power which never can be exhausted, which after making ten thousand
times ten thousand worlds could make as many more, is all in Christ–and is linked with the
virtue of His merit and the prevalence of His blood. And therefore He has all power in
Heaven and in earth to save souls.
As He has this power to meet all needs, so He can meet all needs in all cases. There has
never been brought to Christ a man whom He could not heal. If born blind, a touch of His
finger has given sight. If lame, He has made men leap like a hart! Yes, and though dead,
the voice of Christ has made Lazarus come forth from his tomb. Some troubled consciences
think their case is not in the list of possible cures. Let us assure them it must be. I would
like to know who is the vilest sinner, for if I knew him I should feel delighted to behold him,
since I should see a platform upon which my Lord’s Grace might stand to be the more
gloriously resplendent in the eyes of men.

Are you the vilest of the vile this morning? Do you feel so? Does Satan say you are so? Then
I pray you do my Masterthe honor to believe that He is still able to meet your case, and
that He can save evenyou. Though you yourselves are the ends of the earth, the very
raveling of the garment of manhood, yet “look unto Him and be you saved, all you ends of
the earth, for He is God and besides Him there is none else.” As He can meet all cases, so
He can meet all cases at all times. One lie of Hell is to tell sinners that it is too late. While
the lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner that returns shall find mercy in Christ.
At the eleventh hour He savedthe thief. Let not this be a reason for your procrastination–
that were ungrateful. Let it, however, be a cause for hope–that were reasonable. He is able
to save you NOW. Now, at this hour, at this very moment, if you trust Him, you are saved.
If now, without an hour’s delay to retire to your chamber, without evenfive minutes' time
elapsing in which to prepare your soul for Him–if NOW you can believe that Christ can
save you, He will do it, do it at this moment! His cures are instantaneous! A word and it is
done. Swift as the lightning’s flash is the accomplishment of His purpose of free Grace.
As the lightning flashes from the west evento the east, so shall the coming of the Son of
Man be at His last great advent. And so is it in His marvelous advent into the hearts of
sinners whom He ordains to save. Able to meet all cases, able to meet them at this very
hour is Christ. Sinner, Christ is perfectly able to save you, and to save you perfectly. I
know the will and wit of man want to be doing something to begin salvation. Oh, how
wicked is this! Christ is Alpha, why would you take His place and be an Alpha to
yourselves?
I have had this week two cases in which I have had to hold a solemn argument with
troubled souls about this matter. Oh, the “ifs” and “buts” they put up! The “perhaps,” and
“and,” and, “Oh, I don’t feel this,” and “I don’t feel that!” Oh, that wicked questioning of
Christ! While talking with them, endeavoring to comfort them, and I hope not
unsuccessfully, I was led to feel in my own mind what an awful crime it is to doubt God, to
doubt Him that speaks from above, to doubt Him when He hangs bleeding on the tree.
While it seemedto me to be such a hard thing to bring a sinner to trust Christ, yet it did
seem, on the other hand, such a sin of sins, such a masterpiece of iniquity that we do not
trust Christ at once. Here is the plan of salvation–trust Christ and He will save you. But
they say, “I do not feel enough.” Or else, “I have been such a sinner.” Or else, “I cannot feel
the joy I want.” Or else, “I cannot pray as I would.” Then I put it to them. Do you trust
Christ? “Yes,” they will say, “I do trust Christ, and yet am not saved.” Now, this makes
God a liar, for He says, “He that believes in Him is not condemned, and he that believes on
Him has everlasting life.”
When a soul professes to trust Christ and yet says, “I am afraid He will not save me,” what
is this but telling the Eternal God to His face that He is a liar? Can you suppose a grosser
infamy than this? Oh, that men were wise, that they would take God at His Word. That
they would believe that Christ is a perfect Savior. That they do not need to help Him at the
first, but to understand that He is able to begin with them just where they are! That He can
lift them up from all the hardness of their hearts, and the blackness of their souls to the
very gates of Heaven! He is a perfect Savior, Soul! And a perfect Savior for you!
You know the old story of the brazen serpent. There may have been some very wise
persons who, when the brazen serpent was lifted up, would say, “I cannot look there and be

healed, for, you see, I do not feel the venom in my veins as my neighbor does.” The man is
bitten and his veins are swelling, but he says he does not feel the pain so acutely as his
neighbor, and he does not feel the joy of those who are healed, or else he would look. “If
some angel would come,” he says, “and tell me that the brazen serpent was set up on
purpose for me, and that I am ordained to be healed by it, then I would look.”
There is a poor ignorant man over there who asks no questions. He does just as he is told.
Moses cries, “Look, look, you dying! Look and live!” And, asking no questions about what
he has felt, or what he was, or what he should feel, yonder poor soul just looks and the deed
is done. The flush of health runs through him, and he is restored, while the questioner, the
wise man in his own conceit, too wise indeed, to do as he is told, perishes through his own
folly–a victim to the serpents but yet more a victim to his own conceit.
Christ is a perfect Savior to begin with you, and He will also be a perfect Savior to carry on
the work. He will never want your help. He is a perfect Savior to finish the work. He will
bring you, at last to His right hand, and enthroned with Him in light, you shall bless and
praise the name of God that He provided a perfect Savior for men.
Once more, let me remind you that Christ is a perfectly successful Savior. I mean by this
that, in one sense, He has already finished the work of salvation. All that has to be done to
save a soul, Christ has done already. There is no more ransom to be paid. To the last
drachma He has counted down the price. There is no more righteousness to be worked out.
To the last stitch He has finished the garment. There is nothing to be done to reconcile God
to sinners. He has reconciled us unto God by His blood. There is nothing wanted to clear
the way to the Mercy Seat.
We have a new and living way through the veil that was rent, eventhe Body of Christ.
There is no need of any preparation for our reception on the part of God. “It is finished,”
was the voice from Calvary. It meant what it said, “It is finished.” Christ has finished
transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. And, as He has
been successful in doing all the work for us, so, in every case where that work has been
applied, perfect success has followed.
Produce a single case where an application has been made to Christ without success. Find a
single soul in whom Christ has commenced His work, and then left it. You do hear of some
who fall from Divine Grace–produce them. We are told of some who are children of God
today, and children of the devil tomorrow–produce them. We are told that whom once He
loves, He may leave–produce those whom He has ever left. Let them be seen. Hold them up
to the gaze of men and devils–the patients in whom Christ’s medicine did work awhile but
failed to produce a lasting cure.
Heaven were clothed in sackcloth if such a discovery were made, for if He has failed to keep
on earth, why not in Heaven? Hell were echoing with infernal laughter if one such instance
were found, for where were the honor of God’s Word and promise? We challenge you, you
princes of darkness, and you who make the vast assembly of the damned in Hell, we
challenge you to produce in all your ranks a single case of one who trusted in Christ that
He would deliver him, and yet Christ cast him away. Or one in whom the new spirit was
infused, and regeneration worked, and who, after all, fell and perished like the rest.
Lift up your eyes to Heaven. Innumerable as the stars are the spirits redeemed by Christ’s
blood! So many as they are, they are all witnesses to the fact that Christ is a perfect Savior.

That He is no professor who does not perform, for He has carried them all there, and as we
gaze upon them, all can say, “You have redeemed them unto God by Your blood.” You can
save and perfectly save, O Lord Jesus Christ!
Now, I have thus dwelt upon the perfect adaptation, the perfect ability, and the perfect
success of Christ. Our text tells us that it became Him, for whom are all things, that He
should give us such a Savior. “For whom are all things,” says the Apostle. That is, all things
are made for His glory. Now, it could not have been for God’s glory to give us an imperfect
Savior–to send us One who would mock us with hopes which could not be fulfilled! It
would have been a tantalizing of human hope, which I do not hesitate to pronounce an
awful cruelty, if any but a complete and perfect Savior had been presented to us.
If it had been partly works and partly Grace, there had been no Grace in it. If it had been
necessary for us to do something to make Christ’s Atonement efficacious, it would have
been no Atonement for us. We must have gone down to the pit of Hell with this as an
aggravation, that a God who professed to be a God of mercy, had offered us a religion of
which we could not avail ourselves–a hope which did but delude us–and make our darkness
the blacker. I want to know what some of my Brethren in the ministry, who preach such
very high doctrine, do with their God’s Character.
They are told to preach the Gospel to every creature, but they very wisely do not do it,
because they feel that the Gospel they preach is not a Gospel suitable to every creature. So
they neglect their Master’s mandate and single out a few. I bless my Masterthat I have an
available Gospel, one that is available to you this morning, for “whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have everlasting life.” And I hold that it were inconsistent with the
Character of Him, “for whom are all things,” and that it were derogatory to His honor if
He should have sent to you a salvation that would not meet your case–if He should have
sent me to preach a Gospel to you which could not completely save. But, glory be to God,
the salvation which is here preached, the salvation taught in this Book, brings all to you,
and asks nothing from you.
Moreover, Paul calls our God–“Him by whom are all things.” It would be inconsistent with
the Character of Him by whom are all things if He had sent a part-Savior–for us to do part
ourselves, and for Christ to do the rest. Look at the sun. God wills for the sun to light the
earth–does He ask the earth’s darkness to contribute to the light? Does He question night,
and ask it whether it has not in its somber shades something which it may contribute to the
brightness of noon? No, my Brethren! Up rises the sun in the morning, like a giant to run
his race, and the earth is made bright. And shall God turn to the dark sinner and ask him
whether there is anything in him that may contribute to eternal light?
No! Up rises the face of Jesus, like the Sun of Righteousness, with healing beneath His
wings. And darkness is, at His coming, light. See, too, the showers. When the earth is
thirsty and cracking, does the Lord say unto the clouds, “Wait until the earth can help you
and can minister unto its own fertility”? No, verily, but the wind blows and the clouds
cover the sky and upon the thirsty earth the refreshing showers come down. So is it with
Christ–waiting not for man–asking nothing from us, He gives us of His own rich Grace,
and is a complete and perfect Savior. Thus much, then, upon our first head. I would we had
more time for our second. But we will pass to it at once.

II. CHRIST WAS MADE A PERFECT SAVIOR THROUGH SUFFERINGS. He was not
made perfect in Character by His sufferings, for He always was perfect–perfect God,
perfect Man. But He was made officially perfect, perfect as the Captain of our salvation
through His sufferings, and that in four ways.
By His sufferings He became perfect as a Savior from having offered a complete expiation
for sin. Sin could not have been put away by holiness. The best performance of an
unsuffering being could not have removed the guilt of man. Suffering was absolutely
necessary, for suffering was the penalty of sin. “In the day you eat thereof,” said God to
Adam, “you shall surely die.” Die then He must. Nothing short of death could meet the
case. Christ must go to the Cross. He must suffer there–yes, and He must bow His head and
give up the ghost–or else no atonement for sin had been possible.
The curse came upon us as the result of sin. “Cursed is everyone that continues not in all
things written in the Book of the Law to do them.” Now had Christ been ever so perfect, yet
had He never suffered, He never could have taken our curse. “Cursed is everyone that
hangs on the tree,” but without the tree, without the Cross, Christ had not been our
Substitute. And all He did could have been of no use to us. Being crucified, He became
accursed. Being crucified, He died, and thus He could make perfect expiation for sin. Sin
demanded punishment–punishment must consist of loss and of pain.
Christ lost everything, evento the stripping of His garments. His Glory was taken from
Him. They made nothing of Him. They spat in His face. They bowed the knee and mocked
Him with bitter irony. There must be pain, too, and He endured it. In His body there were
the wounds, and the fever which the wounds produced. And in His soul there was an
exceeding heaviness evenunto death, and an agony which no tongue can tell, for we have
no words in which to speak of it. We believe that this agony was commensurate with the
agonies of the lost in Hell.
Not the same agony, but an equivalent for it. And remember, not the equivalent for the
agony of one, but an equivalent for the hells of all that innumerable host whose sins He
bore–condensed into one black draught to be drained in a few hours. The miseries of an
eternity without end, miseries caused by a God infinitely angry because of an awful
rebellion–and these miseries multiplied by the millions for whom the Man Christ Jesus
stood as Covenant Head. What a draught was that, men and Brethren! Well might it
stagger evenHim!
And yet He drained that cup, drained it to its utmost dregs. Not a drop was left. For you,
my Soul, no flames of Hell–for Christ the Paschal Lamb has been roasted in that fire. For
you, my Soul, no torments of the damned, for Christ has been condemned in your place.
For you, my Spirit, no desertion of your God–for He was forsaken of God for you. It is
done, it is finished, and by Your sufferings, Jesus, You have become perfect as the
expiation of Your people’s sins. My Brethren, remember that your sins are perfectly
expiated. Do not let them trouble you as to punishment. The punishment has gone. Sins
cannot lie in two places at one time. They were put on Christ and they cannot be on you.
In fact, your sins are not to be found. The Scapegoat has gone, and your sins will never be
found again. Your sins, if they were searched for, could not be discovered. Not by the
piercing eye of God can a single blemish be found in you. So far as the punishment of the
Law is concerned, it is finished, and Christ is a perfect Savior. Again, if Christ had not

suffered, He could not have been perfect as a Savior, because He could not have brought in
a perfect righteousness. It is not enough to expiate sin. God requires of man perfect
obedience. If man would be in Heaven, He must be perfectly obedient.
Christ, as He took away our guilt, has supplied us with a matchless righteousness. His
works are our works. His doings are, by imputation, our doings. But a part of obedience is
a patient endurance of God’s will. Patience is no mean part of the full obedience of a
sincere soul. Christ must, therefore, suffer hunger, and cold, and nakedness, throughout
life–that He may be capable of the virtue of patience. An obedience evenunto death is now
the only perfect form of obedience. The man who would keepthe Law of God perfectly
must not start back evenat martyrdom. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength,” would now require death to
consummate it.
It was not possible for the Masterto have made the robe, woven from the top throughout
without seam, unless the scarlet thread of crucifixion had run along its edge. But now, my
Soul, Christ is your perfect Savior, for He presents you with a perfect righteousness. There
is nothing more to do. Neither my living, nor my dying can make my righteousness more
complete. No doing, no laboring, no denying, no suffering are needed to finish that which
Christ began. “It is finished.” Put on your robe, O Christian! Walk everin it. Let it be your
wedding dress. Angels admire you! God Himself accepts you! Coming into His wedding
feast, He sees youwith this garment on, and He asks you not how you come here, but bids
you sit down and feast forever, for you are such as evenHe can keepcompany with in His
glory.
Yet, thirdly, it was necessary that Christ should suffer to make Him a perfect Savior so far
as His sympathy goes. After sin is washed away and righteousness imputed, we yet want a
Friend, for we are in a land of troubles and of sorrows. Now, if Christ had not suffered, He
could not have been a faithful High Priest, made like unto His Brethren. We should never
have had that sweet text–“He was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin,” if
He had not suffered. But now He knows all shapes of suffering. It is not possible that even
out of the thousands now in this house there should be one heart whose case Christ cannot
meet–
“In every pang that rends the heart
The Man of Sorrows had a part.”
Disease, sickness of body, poverty, need, friendlessness, hopelessness, desertion–He knows
all these. You cannot cast human suffering into any shape that is new to Christ. “In all
their afflictions He was afflicted.” If you feel a thorn in your foot, remember that it once
pierced His head. If you have a trouble or a difficulty, you may see there the mark of His
hands, for He has climbed that way before. The whole path of sorrow has His blood-
bedabbled footsteps all along, for the Man of Sorrows has been there, and He can now have
sympathy with you. “Yes,” I hear one say, “but my sorrows are the result of sin.”
So were His–not His own–yet the result of sin they were. “Yes,” you say, “but I am
slandered, and I cannot bear it.” They called Him a drunken man and a wine-bibber. Why,
when you once think of the sufferings of Christ, yours are not worth a thought! Like the
small dust of a balance that may be blown away with the breath of an infant, such are our
agonies, and our trials, when compared with His. Drink your little cup–see what a cup He

drained! The little vinegar and gall that fall to your share, you may gladly receive, for these
light afflictions, which are but for a moment, are not worthy to be compared to the
sufferings through which He passed.
Finally, upon this point. He thus became perfect as our Exemplar. This, too, was necessary
in bringing many sons unto glory, for we come to Heaven by following the example of
Christ, as well as by being washed in His blood. “Without holiness no man shall see the
Lord.” That holiness is best of all promoted by an investigation of Christ’s Character, and
a studious imitation of all its points. Now had Christ not suffered He could not have been
an Example to us. We should have said, “Yes, yes, He may be an Example to unsuffering
angels, but not to men who have to tread the hot coals of the furnace.” He could have
afforded no example of patience if He had never suffered.
He could never have taught us to forgive if He had never felt injuries. He could not have
trained us to holy courage if He had never fought a battle. He could never have shown us
the way to make tribulation work experience, and experience hope, if through tribulation
He had not Himself waded to His Throne. We want not an example taken from princes to
be applied to peasants. We need a poor man to be an example for the poor. We want a man
who lives in private to teach us how to live in retirement. We want one who fears not the
face of crowds to show us how to walk in our public ways. We want, if we would meet the
case of fallen humanity, a man just like the Savior, who passedthrough all the various
phases of life, was in all companies, was shot at from all quarters, was tempted in all points
like as we are, and this could not have been if He had been led in quiet ways along a path of
joy.
He must do business on the tempestuous deeps. His ship must rock, His anchor drag, the
thick darkness and the lightning must gather round Him. They did so, and thus the
Captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings, as an Example for our
imitation. I would that we might each of us know Him in the efficacy of His blood, in the
glory of His righteousness, in the sweetness of His sympathy, and in the perfection of His
example–for then should we know Him to the joy of our hearts forever.
III. And now, our last point–CHRIST’S HAVING BEEN MADE PERFECT THROUGH
SUFFERINGS WILL ENNOBLE THE WHOLE WORK OF DIVINE GRACE.
“It became Him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory”–that is the great work–“to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.” The whole thing will work for His glory. Oh, my Brothers and Sisters, how this
will glorify God at the last–that Christ, the Man, should have been perfect through
sufferings! How this will glorify Him in the eyes of devils! Looking upwards from their
beds of fire where they bite their iron bands in vain, how they will see the wisdom and
power of God as more than a match for the wisdom and might of their leader!
It was in man that they defeated God. In man God destroys them. They trampled on man’s
heel–man has broken their head. They took away from man the transient crown of his
Eden-glory. Man wears the unfading crown of immortality. Man, evenMan, sits upon the
Throne of Godhead, and that Man, crowned with light, and glory everlasting, was a Man
who did encounter Satan–who met him, too, on fair grounds–not a Man shielded from
pain. Not a Man who had an immunity from internal or external distress. But a Man full of

weakness, full of infirmity, like other men and yet, through God in alliance with His
manhood, more than a conqueror and now reigning forever and ever!
Milton, I think it is, supposes that this may have been the reason for Satan’s first rebellion–
he could not bear that an inferior race should be lifted up to be set above himself on God’s
Throne. Whether this is so or not, it must certainly be an aggravation to the misery of that
proud arch-traitor, that now man, man, man in whose image God was defeated, is heir of
all things, King of kings and Lord of lords! How greatly will God be exaltedthat day in the
eyes of lost spirits.
Ah, you that shall perish–God grant there may be none such here!–if you shall everperish
in Hell, you will have to glorify God as you see Christ, who was made perfect through
sufferings, reigning there. You will not be able to say, “My damnation lies at God’s door,”
for you will see in Christ a suitable Savior. You will have to look up and say, “Yes, He who
was preached to me on Sundays was God. He could save me. He whom I was bid to trust in
was Man and could sympathize with me, but I would not come unto Him that I might have
life.” In letters of fire you shall see it written, “You knew your duty, but you did it not.”
And evenyour moans and groans, as you suffer, shall be but an utterance of this awful
Truth of God–“Great God, You are just, no, You are doubly just. Just, first, in damning
me for sin. Just, next, in trampling me under foot, because I trampled under foot the blood
of the Son of God, and counted His Covenant an unholy thing.”
Your weeping and wailing shall be but the deep bass of the awful praise which the whole
universe, willingly or unwillingly, must give to Him who has provided a perfect Savior, and
made Him perfect through sufferings. Oh, my Brethren, what delight and transport will
seize the minds of those who are redeemed! How will God be glorified then! Why, every
wound of Christ will cause an everlasting song! As we shall circle His Throne, rejoicing,
will not this be the very summit of all our harmony? “You were slain and have redeemed
us unto God by Your blood.”
We must not say what God could do, or could not do, but it does seemto me that by no
process of creation could He have evermade such beings as we shall be when we are
brought to Heaven. For if He had made us perfect, then we should have stood through our
own holiness. Or if He had forgiven us without an atonement, then we should never have
seenHis justice, nor His amazing love. But in Heavenwe shall be creatures who feel that
we have everything, but deserve nothing. Creatures that have been the objects of the most
wonderful love, and therefore so mightily attached to our Lord that it would be impossible
for a thousand Satans everto lead us astray.
Again–we shall be such servants as eventhe angels cannot be, for we shall feel under
deeper obligation to God than eventhey. They are but created happy. We shall be
redeemed by the blood of God’s dear Son, and I am sure, Brethren, day without night we
shall circle God’s Throne rejoicing, having more happiness than the angels, for they do not
know what evil is, but we shall have known it to the full–and yet shall be perfectly free
from it. They do not know what pain is, but we shall have known pain, and grief, and
death–and yet shall be immortal! They do not know what it is to fall, but we shall look
down to the depths of Hell, and remember that these were our portion.
Oh, how we will sing, how we will chant His praise and this, I say again, shall be the highest
note, that we owe all to that Bright One, that Lamb in the midst of the Throne. We will tell

it over, and over, and over again, and find it an inexhaustible theme for melodious joy and
song–that He became Man, that He sweat great drops of blood, that He died, that He rose
again. While the angels are singing, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,” we
will bid them stop the song a moment, while we say, “He whom you thus adore was once
covered with bloody sweat.” As we cast our crowns at His feet, we will say, “And He was
once despised and rejected of men.”
Lifting up our eyes and saluting Him as God over all, blessedforever, we will remember
the reed, the sponge, the vinegar, and the nails. And as we come to Him and have
fellowship with Him, He shall lead us beside the living fountains of water. And we will
remember the black brook of Kedron of which He drank, and the awful depths of the grave
into which He descended. Amid all the splendors of Heaven we shall never forget the
agony, and misery, and dishonor of earth. And even when they sing the loudest sonnets of
God’s love, and power, and Grace, we will sing this after all, and before all, and above all,
that Jesus, the Son of God died for us, and this shall be our everlasting song–“He loved us
and gave Himself for us, and we have washed our robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb.”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
PerfectionThrough Suffering
Hebrews 2:10
W. Jones
For it became him, for whom are all things, etc.
I. THE PERFECTIONOF THE REDEEMERWAS ATTAINED THROUGH
SUFFERING. "Perfectthrough suffering." The perfection here spokenof
does not refer to his characteras Son of God, but as Mediator - "the Captain
of our salvation." "The perfecting of Christ was the bringing him to that glory
which was his proposedand destined end." Made "perfectthrough suffering"
is similar in meaning to "because ofthe suffering of death crownedwith glory
and honor." Only through suffering could he enter upon his mediatorial
glory. Two thoughts are suggested.
1. Before he could attain unto his mediatorial glory his characterand work as
Redeemermust be complete.
2. Suffering was essentialto the completenessofhis characterand work as
Redeemer. He must suffer in order that he might

(1) sympathize with his suffering people (ver. 18);
(2) present a perfect example to his suffering people (1 Peter2:21-24);
(3) reconcile sinners to God.
The exhibition of infinite love - love that gives up life itself, and that for
enemies - was necessaryto remove the alienationof man's heart from God,
and to enkindle love to him in its stead. And the exhibition of perfect
obedience - obedience even unto death - was necessaryto establish and honor
in this world the Law of God which man had broken. So our Saviorwas
perfectedthrough suffering; he passedthrough sharpesttrials to sublimest
triumphs.
II. THIS MODE OF REACHING PERFECTIONCONSISTSWITH THE
CHARACTER OF THE GREAT GOD AND FATHER. "It became him, for
whom are all things, and by whom are all things," etc. God the Father is here
representedas:
1. The great first Cause of all things. "Bywhom are all things." He is the
Source and Origin of the entire universe.
2. The great Final Cause ofall things. "Forwhom are all things." All things in
the universe are for his glory. Creation, providence, redemption, are all
designedand all tend to promote the glory of the greatFather. The words
under considerationare sometimes usedof the Savior, and they are true of
him; but they are even more applicable to God "the Father, who sent the Son
to be the Savior of the world." "Forof him, and through him, and unto him,
are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen."
3. The great Author and Designerof salvation, with its agents, means, and
methods. Our Lord is spokenof in the text as the "Captain [RevisedVersion,
'Author'] of salvation." But, traced to its source and origin, salvationtakes us
up to the eternal Father. And "it became him" that he should so order the
agenciesand methods of salvationthat the Saviorshould be perfected through
suffering. Such an arrangement was not fatalistic or arbitrary, but suited to
the objectin view, the means being adapted to the end, and in thorough
harmony with the characterand perfections of God - his wisdom,
righteousness, andlove. The Hebrew Christians, whom the writer is
addressing, felt the offence of the cross. There were times when in some
measure "Christ crucified" was still "a stumbling-block" to them, or at least
they were in danger of this. And so the writer argues that the attainment of
the crownby the endurance of the cross was an arrangementworthy of God,
and therefore the fulfillment of this arrangement could not be unworthy of the
Savior. We have said that the means were adapted to the end; the perfection

could not have been attained without the sufferings. But, more, the sufferings
were in complete conformity to the being and characterof God. He is not a
cold, impassive Beholderof human sin and misery. He suffers by reasonof
man's sin and woe (cf. Isaiah63:9; Hosea 11:8). Christ in his sufferings
reveals to our race how God had felt towards us in all preceding ages.
III. THIS MODE OF REACHING PERFECTION IS EXEMPLARY FOR
ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS.
1. The exalted relation of true Christians. They are "sons" ofGod, not simply
because he is "the Father of their spirits," but also by adoption (cf. Romans
8:14-17;1 John 3:1-3).
2. The vast number of true Christians. "Manysons unto glory." There have
been ages whenthe number of the true and goodhas been comparatively
small. But, as the result of Christ's mediation, the saved will be so many that
no human arithmetic cancount them, no human mind graspthe glorious
total. Many things encourage this belief; e.g.
(1) the inexhaustible provisions of Divine grace in Jesus Christ;
(2) the immense numbers of the race who die in infancy, and through the
Savior are receivedinto glory;
(3) the prevalence of true religion throughout the world, which is being
rapidly accomplished, and the triumph of Divine grace overhuman sin, which
may be continued for many long ages before the end of this dispensation; -
these and other things encourage the belief that our Lord will lead to glory an
overwhelming majority of our race.
3. The inspiring relation which our Lord sustains to true Christians. He is
"the Captain [RevisedVersion, 'Author'] of their salvation." The word in this
place certainly has a deeper significance than "captain" or leader. Salvation
originated in the heart of God, but it was accomplishedby Christ. He
redeemedus unto God by his blood; and now he inspires and empowers and
leads us onward to complete victory.
4. The illustrious destiny to which he leads true Christians. "Unto glory." This
is the crowning result of their salvation. They shall be sharers in the
blessednessand majesty of God to the fullest extent of which they are capable
(cf. John 17:22-24;Revelation3:21).
5. The pathway by which he leads them to their destiny. Like himself, they
also must be made "perfect through sufferings." "If we endure, we shall also
reign with him" (cf. 1 Peter 5:10, 11). Wherefore, let us not be afraid of

suffering. Only let us be sure that we suffer with our Savior and in his spirit;
so shall we ultimately share his bliss and glory. - W. J.
Biblical Illustrator
For it became Him.
Hebrews 2:10
The scheme of redemption by a suffering Saviour, worthy of God
P. Hutchison, M. A.
I. IT IS PROPOSEDTO ILLUSTRATE THE CHARACTER OF JESUS
CHRIST AS THE CAPTAIN OF SALIVATION. This word in the sacred
language signifies Prince, Captain, or Chief Leader, and is highly expressive
of that distinguishing characterwhich our Redeemersustains, and of His
gracious and powerful agencyin the scheme of salvation.
1. He was chosenand appointed to be the Captain of salvation, and to be the
head and chief conductorof this glorious scheme.
2. As the Captain of salvation, He purchased salvationfor His people, and
overcame their spiritual enemies.
3. Christ is the Captain of salvation, as He heads His people in the spiritual
warfare, and conducts them to victory and triumph. He possessesinfinite skill
to devise the most advantageous plans, to discern all the strategems ofHis
enemies, and infinite power to defeatthem, and make them recoilwith
redoubled vengeance upontheir heads. He knows the weakness andtimidity
of those who fight under his banner and conduct, and will afford them
strength and courage. He knows their doubts, and candispel them. He knows

their dangers, and can deliver from them, and can enable them to resistthe
attacks ofan host of adversaries. He furnishes them with the various pieces of
the spiritual armour — the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breast-plate
of righteousness, prayer, watchfulness, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the Word of God. When thus clad in the whole armour of God, He enables
them to manage it with spiritual dexterity, so as most effectually to wound
their enemies, and defend themselves from their attacks.
II. THAT THE CAPTAIN OF SALVATION WAS MADE PERFECT
THROUGH SUFFERINGS.In treating this part of the subjectit will be
proper first to speak a little concerning the sufferings of Christ, and then
show how He was made perfectthrough His sufferings.
1. Concerning His sufferings, the following observations may be useful.(1) He
suffered, as the surety of His spiritual seed, the proper punishment of their
sins.(2)Though Jesus Christ endured the proper punishment of His people's
sins, the mode of this punishment, and the duration of it, belongedto God the
righteous Judge.(3)The Redeemersuffered an awful suspensionof the light of
the Father's countenance, andof the former sweetand endearing sense of His
love.(4)Besides being forsakenby God, and the extreme sufferings of His
outward man, He was, in another respect, brought into deep waters, where
there was no standing. He endured much positive punishment, arising from
the awful views which He had of the sins of His people, and of the wrath which
they deserved, and felt all those inward and painful sensations whichsuch
views communicated. In these things, more especially, the sufferings of His
soul consisted, and they far exceededHis bodily agonies on the Cross, though
these also, from the nature of His death, must have been very great.
2. We shall now show how the Captain of salvationwas made perfect through
sufferings.(1)Jesus Christ was made perfectthrough sufferings, as by them
He became a perfect Saviour, having finished the work which the Fathergave
Him to do. It was by fulfilling all righteousness, andperfectly performing the
stipulated condition of the new covenant, that He purchasedall the blessings
of it, acquired a right to hold the possessionofthem, and to conveythem to
His spiritual seed.(2)The Captain of salvationwas made perfect through
sufferings, as under them His human graces and virtues grew up to
perfection, and shone forth with the most amiable lustre and glory.(3) The
Captain of salvation was made perfectthrough sufferings, as these were the
perfect antitype of all that typified them, and as all the predictions concerning
them were perfectly fulfilled.Lessons:

1. Here is a glorious person presentedto our view, a Saviourmade perfect
through sufferings; to whom both saints and sinners may commit their
salvation, with the fullest assurance thatthey shall not be disappointed.
2. Believers may be inspired with courage to persevere in the spiritual
warfare, because theyfight under the conduct of the Captain of salvation. He
possesses everypossible accomplishmentas a Leader and Commander of His
people.
3. Let us study m become more perfect in holiness, under all those sufferings
and tribulations appointed for us in the adorable providence of God. The
Captain of salvation was made perfectthrough His sufferings. In this He has
furnished us with a noble and excellentpattern for our imitation.
(P. Hutchison, M. A.)
Bringing many sons unto glory
P. Hutchison, M. A.
I. A FEW OBSERVATIONSCONCERNING THE MANY SONS THAT
ARE TO BE BROUGHT TO GLORY, THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS
AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST.
1. They are sons who obtain this great privilege. The relation here mentioned
is not that natural relation in which men stand to God as their Creator, for
that is common to the human race, as they are all His offspring. Neither is it a
mere external relation to God, as the members of the visible Church, for thin
exterior and visible adoption belongs to all baptized and professing
Christians, and equally belongedto the JewishChurch, as a visible body, or
nation of men professing the true religion. But the characterofsons specified
in the text is expressive of a spiritual and saving relation which is peculiar to
true believers. This greatprivilege, like the other blessings of the glorious
gospel, lays a foundation for humility and gratitude in all on whom it is
bestowed. Theycan never be too grateful to God for such an honour and
blessing, or sufficiently humble under a deep conviction that they do not
deserve it.
2. In connectionwith the privilege they possessthe Spirit of adoption. By His
saving operations upon them they are endowedwith all the graces and
tempers which become the children of God, and correspondto their privilege
of adoption. They are habitually prepared for all gracious exercisesand the
acceptable performance ofall holy duties.

3. The sons of God to be brought to glory form a vastnumber. This is a great
and consolatorytruth; and it should be the concernof all me,, to have this
glorious truth realisedin their own persons.
4. All the adopted and regeneratedsons ofGod shall be brought to glory. The
various griefs and afflictions of believers in the presentstate of discipline and
mortality shall terminate in the felicity of the heavenly state. There the
redeemedshall not only be entirely freed from all those sins and temptations,
griefs and afflictions, to which they are subjected in this life, but they shall
attain perfection in knowledge, holiness, glory, and immortality, togetherwith
the full and eternal enjoyment of God.
II. The bringing of many sons to glory, through the sufferings of Christ, Is
WORTHY OF GOD, AND BECOMING HIS CHARACTER.
1. The redemption of sinners of mankind, through Jesus Christ, is worthy of
Jehovah, as it illustrates, in the highest degree, the glory of His moral
perfections. How brightly shines the Divine wisdom in the plan of redemption!
In devising this g, eatplan, in connecting and harmonising all its parts, Divine
wisdom excels in glory. Here the holiness and justice of God shine forth in the
most resplendent glory. His hatred of sin, and the punishment of it in the
Cross of Christ, are a far more glorious display of the justice and holiness of
His nature than could have been given if mankind had never sinned, or,
having sinned, had never been redeemed. Here the love of God is displayed in
a manner the most amiable and engaging, in the gift of His only-begottenSon,
and in subjecting a person so dear to Him to unparalleled grief, ignomony,
and affliction. Here is displayed the Divine goodness in supplying the natural
and spiritual wants of good men. Here is exhibited the Divine mercy in the
full, free, and everlasting remissionof sins.
2. The scheme of redemption, through the sufferings of Christ, is worthy of
God, and becoming His characteras the moral governorof the world. The
Redeemer, in His whole mediation, actedin, a subserviencyto the holy law of
God; He magnified and made it honourable by rendering to it perfect
obedience, as a covenant of works, and by enduring its awful penalty. He
furnished His disciples with an amiable and perfect example of that obedience
which the Jaw requires of them. He hath also procured and promised the aid
and energies ofthe Holy Spirit, to qualify them for every part of Christian
obedience.
3. It was worthy of God, and becoming His character, not to suffer Himself to
be deprived of worship and obedience from the whole human race;nor them

to be cut off from a participation of His goodness andthe enjoyment of Him as
their portion.
4. The scheme of redemption is worthy of Godbecause it reflects the highest
honour on His adored SonJesus Christ. He has the honour of repairing the
breach which sin had made betweenGod and men, and hath reconciledthem
to Him by the blood of His Cross. He has the honour of performing the
condition of the covenantof grace, wherebyall the blessings ofit were
purchased, and the promises of it ratified and made sure to the heirs of
promise. He has the honour of being the grand repositoryof the covenant-
blessings, the administrator of them, and of sending down the Holy Spirit to
apply them. He has the honour of being the Head of the Church, and of
administering the whole affairs of Divine providence for the goodof the
Church. He has the honour of beholding a numerous seedas the fruit of His
unparalleled labours and sufferings. He will. have the honour of presiding in
the final judgment, and of awarding the retributions of that solemn and
eventful day, both to the righteous and the wicked. And He will be the
honoured medium through which all the blessednessofthe heavenly state will
be communicated to the redeemedfor evermore.
5. The method of redemption, by the death of Christ, is worthy of God,
because it is, in a variety of respects, more excellentthan the constitution
establishedwith the first Adam for obtaining life to himself and his posterity.
The perfections of God are more glorified by the gospel-methodof salvation,
and particularly His mercy, for which there was no place under the first
covenant. According to that constitution the goodness ofGod might have free
egress towards menwhile innocent and obedient; but no provision was made
in it for the remission of sin. or for purification from it, when he became guilty
and polluted. By the constitution of grace His law is more magnified; for
Adam could only obey it as a mere man, but Christ obeyed it as the Lord from
heaven. The sinner's tide to life by the gospelstands upon a more glorious
foundation. Thoughthe covenantof works had been kept, man's title to life
would only have been founded upon a perfecthuman obedience;but
according to the gospel-schemeit rests upon the divinely perfect righteousness
of the Son of God. Gospel-holiness is also conveyedinto the souls of men in a
more excellentchannel Adam receivedthe principles of holiness in the
channel of creating goodness;but gospel-holiness is communicatedas the fruit
of the Redeemer's purchase, in the channel of redeeming love. The worship of
the redeemedhas something in it more excellent. In the state of innocence
man could adore Godas his creator, preserver, benefactor, and governor;but
the redeemedcan worship the adorable Trinity, not only in the above

respects, but also in their economicalcharacter, in the plan of redemption, as
a reconciledFather, a Saviour from guilt and misery, and a Spirit of
sanctificationand comfort, whose office it is to apply the blessings of
redemption and put the chosenof God in possessionofthem. To all these ideas
add that the future happiness of the redeemedwill be greaterthan man's
happiness could have been by the original covenant. Fornot only will it be
conveyedto them through the mediation of Jesus Christ, as purchasedby His
blood, but they will have more enlarged and endearing discoveries ofthe
perfections of the Godheadas displayed in the scheme of redemption, which
will prove an inexhaustible and everlasting source ofenjoyment; while they
will have the additional felicity of reflecting, that though once they were
sinners and sunk in perdition and misery, yet they were rescuedfrom the jaws
of destruction by the power and grace of the greatRedeemer, and raised to
unmerited and undecaying honours and enjoyments. This considerationwill
sweetenand accentthe song of the redeemed, and fill them with joy
unutterable, and full of glory.Lessons:
1. Since the method of salvation, through the sufferings of Jesus Christ, is so
worthy of God, it must be worthy of us to embrace it as all our salvationand
all our desire.
2. Our hearts should be deeply impressedwith this important truth, that the
only way of salvationfor sinners is through the mediation and sufferings of
Jesus Christ.
3. If sinners of mankind can be savedonly by the death of Christ, how
aggravatedis the guilt and how deplorable is the condition of our modern
infidels, who with profane mockeryand insolent contempt reject the gospel-
method of salvation, togetherwith the inspired oracles by which it is revealed
and proposedto the acceptanceofmen?
4. This subjectshows us that in subordination to the glory of God it is the
greatend of the gospeland of the death of Christ to perfect the state,
character, and felicity of goodmen.
5. Let sinners and saints be carefulto improve the method of salvationset
before them in the gospel.
6. To conclude: Let me callyou who are the children of the MostHigh to
adore and admire that unsearchable wisdomwhich devised a scheme of
salvationso worthy of God in all the possible attitudes in which it canbe
viewed, and so happily adapted to your characterand circumstances.
(P. Hutchison, M. A.)

Christ appointed Captain of salvation
John Owen, D. D.
I. A reasonis rendered in the words of what he had assertedin the foregoing
verse, namely, that Jesus the Messiahwas to suffer death, and by the grace of
God to taste of death for all. WHY HE SHOULD DO THUS, ON WHAT
ACCOUNT, WHAT GROUND, NECESSITY, AND REASON THERE WAS
FOR IT IS HERE DECLARED — it was so to be, "Forit became Him," &c.
II. THE DESIGN OF GOD IS EXPRESSEDIN THIS WHOLE MATTER,
AND THAT WAS — TO BRING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY.
1. The eternal designationof them to that glory where. unto they are to be
brought is peculiarly assignedto Him. "He predestinates them to be
conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:28-30).
2. He was the spring and fountain of that covenant(as in other operations of
the Deity) that was of old betweenHimself and His Son, about the salvation
and glory of the elect(see Zechariah6:13; Isaiah 42:1; Proverbs 8:20-30;
Isaiah50:4; Isaiah53:11, 12; Psalm16:10;Psalm 110:1, 6).
3. He signally gave out the first promise, that greatfoundation of the covenant
of grace, and afterwards declared, confirmed, and ratified by His oath, that
covenantwherein all the means of bringing the electto glory are contained
(Genesis 3:15;Jeremiah 31:32-34;Hebrews 8:8).
4. He gave and sent His Son to be a Saviour and Redeemerfor them and to
them; so that in His whole work, in all that He did and suffered, He obeyed
the command and fulfilled the will of the Father.
5. He draws His elect, and enables them to come to the Son, to believe in Him,
and so to obtain life, salvationand glory by Him.
6. Bring "reconciledto them by the blood of His Son," He reconciles themto
Himself by giving them pardon and forgiveness of sins in and by the promises
of the gospel, without which they cannot come to glory (2 Corinthians 5:18-
21).
7. He quickens them and sanctifies them by His Spirit, to " make them meet
for the inheritance of the saints in light," that is f r the enjoyment of glory.
8. As the greatFatherof the family He adopts them, and makes them His
sons, that so He may bring them to glory. He gives them the poweror
privilege to become the sons of God (John 1:12), making them heirs and co-

heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17), sending withal "into their hearts the
Spirit of adoption, enabling them to cry Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
9. He confirms them in faith, establisheth them in obedience, preserveththem
from dangers and oppositions of all sorts, and in manifold wisdom keeps them
through His powerto the glory prepared for them (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22;
Ephesians 3:20, 21; 1 Peter1:5; John 17:11.
10. He gives them the Holy Ghost as their Comforter, with all those blessed
and unspeakable benefits which attend that gift of His (Matthew 7:11; Luke
11:13;John 14:16, 17;Galatians 4:6).
III. THERE IS IN THESE WORDS INTIMATED THE PRINCIPAL
.MEANS THAT GOD FIXED ON FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF
THIS DESIGN OF HIS, FOR THE BRINGING OF MANY SONS TO
GLORY; IT WAS BY APPOINTING A CAPTAIN OF THEIR
SALVATION. All the sons of God are put under His conduct and guidance, as
the people of old were under the rule of Joshua, to bring them into the glory
designedfor them, and promised to them in the covenantmade with
Abraham. And He is calledtheir Ἀρχηγος, "Prince, Ruler, and Captain, or
Author of their salvation," on severalaccounts.
1. Of His authority and right to rule over them in order to their salvation.
2. Of His actualleading and conduct of them by His example, spirit, and
grace, through all the difficulties of their warfare.
3. As He is to them " the Author or cause ofeternal salvation," He procured
and purchasedit for them.
IV. There is expressedin the words, THE ESPECIALWAY WHERE BY
GOD FITTED OR DESIGNED THE LORD CHRIST UNTO THIS OFFICE,
OF BEING A CAPTAIN OF SALVATION UNTO THE SONS TO BE
BROUGHT TO GLORY. To understand this aright we must observe that the
apostle speaks nothere of the redemption of the electabsolutely, but of the
bringing them to glory, when they are made sons in an especialmanner. And
therefore he treats not absolutely of the designation, consecration, orfitting of
the Lord Christ unto His office of Mediator in general, but as unto that part,
and the execution of it, which especiallyconcerns the leading of the sons unto
glory, as Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. By all the sufferings of the
Lord Christ in His life and death, by which sufferings He wrought out the
salvationof the elect, did God cons crate and dedicate Him to be a Prince, a
Leader, and Captain of salvation unto His people, as Peterdeclares the whole
matter (Acts 5:30, 31; Acts 2:36).

1. The whole work of saving the sons of God from first to last, their guidance
and conduct through sins and sufferings unto glory, is committed unto the
Lord Jesus;whence He is constantly to be eyed by believers in all the
concernments of their faith, obedience, and consolation.
(1)With care and watchfulness (Psalm121:4).
(2)With tenderness and love (Isaiah 40:11).
(3)He leads them with power, authority, and majesty (Micah 5:4).
2. As the manner how, so the acts wherein and whereby this Antecessorand
Captain of salvation leads on the sons of God, may be considered;and He
doth it variously.
(1)He goes before them in the whole way unto the end.
(2)He guides them and directs them in their way.
(3)He supplies them with strength by His grace, that they may be able to pass
on in their way.
(4)He subdues their enemies.
(5)He doth not only conquer all their enemies, but He avenges their sufferings
on them, and punisheth them for their enmity.
(6)He provides a reward, a crownfor them, and in the bestowing thereof
accomplishes this His blessedoffice of the Captain of our salvation.And all
this should teach us —
(a)To betake ourselves unto Him, and to rely upon Him in the whole course of
our obedience, and all the passagesthereof.
(b)To look for direction and guidance from Him.
(John Owen, D. D.)
The expediency and propriety of appointing a suffering Captain of our
salvation
John Logan.
When Christianity was first published to the world, the earliestobjectionthat
was raisedagainstit arose from the low and suffering state in which its
Author appeared. It is then a subject worthy of our contemplation to inquire
into the reasons that might move Almighty God thus, in &reefopposition to
the prejudices and expectations ofboth Jews and Greeks, to appoint the
Captain of our salvationto be made perfect by a state of sufferings.

I. If we considerour Saviour as THE AUTHOR OF A NEW RELIGION, His
appearance in a suffering state frees His religion from an objectionwhich
applies with full force to every other religion in the world. Had our Saviour
appearedin the pomp of a temporal prince, as the Jews expectedHim; had He
appearedin the characterof a greatphilosopher, as the Greeks wouldhave
wished Him, often had we heard of His powerand of His policy, and been told
that our religionwas more nearly allied to this world than to the other. But
when we bear the Author of our faith declaring from the beginning that He
must suffer many things in His life, and be put to an ignominious and
tormenting death, these suspicions must for ever vanish from our mind. Thus
our religion stands clearof an objection, from which nothing, perhaps, could
have purged it but the blood of its Divine Author.
II. If we consider our Saviour as A PATTERN OF VIRTUE AND ALL
PERFECTION, the expediency of His appearing in a suffering state will
further be evident. One great end of our Saviour's coming into the world was
to set us an example, that we might follow His steps. But, unless His life had
been diversified with sufferings, the utility of His example had been in a great
measure defeated. It is observedby an historian, in relating the life of Cyrus
the Great, that there was one circumstance wanting to the glory of that
illustrious prince; and that was, the having his virtue tried by some sudden
reverse of fortune, and struggling for a time under some grievous calamity.
The observationis just. Men are made for sufferings as wellas for action.
Many faculties of our frame, the most respectable attributes of the mind, as
well as the most amiable qualities of the heart, carry a manifest reference to a
state of adversity, to the dangers which we are destined to combat, and the
distresses we are appointed to bear. Who are the personagesin history that we
admire the most? Those who ha, e suffered some signaldistress, and from a
host of evils have come forth conquerors.
III. If we considerour Saviouras A PRIEST, who was to make an atonement
for the sins of men, the expediency of His making this atonementby sufferings
and death will be manifest. It is one of the doctrines revealedin the New
Testamentthat the Son of God was the Creatorof the world. As therefore He
was our immediate Creator, and as His design in our creationwas defeatedby
sin, there was an evident propriety that He Himself should interpose in our
behalf, and retrieve the affairs of a world which He had createdwith His own
hands. In the work of redemption, therefore, it was expedient that there
should be a brighter display of the Divine perfections, and a greaterexertion
of benevolence than was exhibited in the work of creation.

IV. If we considerour Saviour IN THAT STATE OF GLORY to which He is
now ascended, the propriety of His being made perfect by sufferings will more
fully appear. Because He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death,
therefore hath God highly exaltedHim, hath given Him a name above every
name, and committed to Him all powerin heavenand in earth.
(John Logan.)
The expediency of Christ's sufferings
A. Savile, M. A.
I. TO LEAVE NO ROOM FOR SUSPECTINGTHE TRUTH OF HIS
MISSION.
1. Had the Messiahappearedas a powerful and illustrious prince, the bulk of
mankind could not have had an opportunity of freely examining His
credentials. Almost none, but the greatand the mighty, would have dared to
come into His presence;or if they did venture to approachHim, they would
undoubtedly have been filled with dread and perturbation. Dazzled with His
splendour and His glory, they could not have maintained that calm
dispassionate state ofmind which is necessaryforjudging of the pretensions
of a messengerfrom heaven.
2. And had the gospelbeenushered into the world in this splendid manner,
what a ground of exultation would it have afforded to the infidel and profane!
Would they not have long since triumphantly said the Christian faith was not
a rational homage to the truth, but a blind submission to earthly influence and
authority.
3. But besides, while the mean, afflicted condition of our Lord thus strongly
evidences the truth of His religion, it also renders that evidence more palpable
and striking by the glory and success withwhich the religion was afterwards
attended.
II. TO EXHIBIT HIM AS A PERFECTPATTERN OF VIRTUE TO HIS
FOLLOWERS.
1. When we behold the Saviour of men placedin like circumstances with
ourselves, subjectto all our sinless infirmities, submitting to the most
unmerited indignities, exposedto the most bitter and unrelenting persecution,
and even patiently enduring the Cross, despising the shame, acquitting
Himself so gloriously, We dwell with delight upon the at once lovely and
admirable character, andfeel ourselves naturally prompted to give all
diligence to make it the pattern of our conduct.

2. And as the sufferings of Christ were thus necessaryto make the virtues of
His life appear tilted for our imitation, so without, these sufferings there
would have been many Divine and heavenly graces, whichHis life could not
have exhibited. Those which are commonly denominated the passive virtues,
and which we accountthe most hard to practise, could then have had no place
in His character.
3. But not only were the sufferings of the Messiahrequisite to make His
example both of sufficient influence and extent, they were requisite also to
render that example more exaltedand illustrious than it could otherwise have
been. They ennobled and perfectedthe graces ofHis character;they called
forth to public view, in a substantial and living form, that consummate and
unshakenintegrity which, never before nor since, appearedamong men.
III. TO MAKE HIM A PROPER PROPITIATIONFOR OUR SINS. Had not
Christ suffered and died, we could never have reasonablyhoped for the
remissionof sins. For had pardon been dispensed by the Almighty to His
offending creatures, without exacting the penalty due to their crimes, how
would the glory of the Divine perfections have been displayed, and the majesty
of the Divine government maintained? Who would have regarded its
authority, or feared to violate its commands? Sinners would have been
emboldened to multiply their transgressions,and tempted to suppose that the
God of unspotted purity — the God of unchangeable veracity, was altogether
such a one as themselves.
IV. TO MAKE ROOM FOR HIS BRINGING MORE FULLY TO LIGHT A
FUTURE STATE OF IMMORTALITY AND GLORY.
1. Let us considertheir expediency, in order to prepare the wayfor a fuller
demonstration of its existence. What so proper to convince us that the
promises of eternal life are true, as to behold Him, who delivered them,
Himself coming forth triumphant from the grave, and visibly ascending into
heaven before us? Were the most stubborn infidel left to choose forhimself a
proof of his future existence, would it be possible for him to desire a plainer
and a more perfect demonstration? But it is evident, that had not Jesus
suffered and expired, this visible, striking demonstration could not have been
afforded. For without first dying, how could He have risen from the dead?
And had He not risen from the dead, what indubitable security could we have
had of life and immortality?
2. But the sufferings and death of Christ were not only expedient to prepare
the wayfor a full demonstrationof the existence of a future state of glory, they
were expedient also to point out in a more striking manner the way by which

that glory is obtained. The objectof the Deity seems to be not merely to
communicate happiness, but to form His creatures to moral excellence. He
hath designedthem for a state of immortal felicity; but before they enter upon
that state, He hath made it necessarythat they shall have acquired virtuous
habits; and to acquire againtheir virtuous habits, He hath ordained them to
pass through a painful course ofdiscipline. And the more painful and difficult
this course becomes,the purer will be their virtue and the richer their reward.
V. TO GIVE US FULL ASSURANCE HE KNOWS AND SYMPATHISES
WITH OUR FRAILTIES AND OUR" SORROWS, AND WILL
THEREFOREMERCIFULLYINTERCEDEWITH THE FATHER IN OUR
BEHALF. To whom do we in the day of affliction look up for such mercy and
compassion, as from those who have been afflicted themselves? From His
experience of our trials, we are assuredHe hath not only the power, hut the
inclination to succourus. He knows well where our weakness lies, where our
burden presses, andwhat will prove most proper for supporting and relieving
us. Lessons:
1. From the doctrine which we have now illustrated, what reasonhave we to
admire the wisdom of God! We see that it is admirably adapted to confirm
our faith, to improve our nature, to comfort our souls, and, in a consistency
with the honour of Thy perfections, to bring many returning sinners unto
glory.
2. But this subject, while it leads us to admire the wisdom of God,
demonstrates to us also in a most striking manner, the deep malignity of sin.
For if such a remedy as the sufferings and death of Christ was, in the councils
of heaven, deemednecessaryto be employed againstit, how evil and
pernicious must its nature be! — how odious in the sight of God, and how
destructive of the order and happiness of the whole creation! Let us then hate
sin with a perfect hatred.
3. Did it behove Jesus to be made perfect through sufferings, then let us who
are His disciples learn to submit to our sufferings with patience, and consider
them as a requisite part of our education for heaven.
(A. Savile, M. A.)
The refuting powerof truth
Homilist.

I. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT THE UNIVERSE IS EITHER
ETERNALOR THE WORK OF CHANCE. The text speaks ofOne who is
the Cause and End of all things.
II. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT CHRIST'S SUFFERINGSARE
INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE DIVINE CHARACTER.
III. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT GREAT SUFFERINGS,IN THE
CASE OF INDIVIDUALS, IMPLY GREAT SINS.
IV. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT GREAT HONOURS CAN BE
OBTAINED WITHOUT GREAT TRIAL. There is no kingdom for man
worth having that is not reached"through much tribulation."
V. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT THE GRAND END OF
CHRISTIANITY IS TO CONNECTMAN WITH DOGMATIC SYSTEMS
OF ECCLESIASTICALCONSTITUTIONS. The end is higher; to bring men
not to creeds or churches, but to "glory" — a glory spiritual, divine, ever
progressive.
VI. IT REFUTES THE ERROR THAT THERE ARE BUT FEW THAT
SHALL BE SAVED.
(Homilist.)
The discipline Of suffering
Bp. Westcott.
When we ponder these words we shall all come to feel, I think, that they have
a messagefor us on which we have not yet dwelt with the patient thought that
it requires, though we greatly need its teaching. The currents of theological
speculationhave led us to considerthe sufferings of Christ in relation to God
as a propitiation for sin, rather than in relation to man as a discipline, a
consummation of humanity. The two lines of reflectionmay be indeed, as I
believe they are, more closelyconnectedthan we have at present been brought
to acknowledgeI do not howeverwise now to discuss the propitratory aspect
of the sacrifice ofChrist's life. It is enoughfor us to remember with devout
thankfulness that Christ is the propitiation not for our sins only, but for the
whole world, without further attempting to define how His sacrifice was
efficacious. And we move on surer ground, when we endeavourto regardthat
perfect sacrifice from the other side, as the hallowing of every powerof man
under the circumstances ofa sin-stained world, as the revelationof the
mystery of sorrow and pain. Yes, Christ, though He was Son, and therefore
endowedwith right of accessforHimself to the Father, being of one essence

with the Father, for man's sake, as man, won the right of access to the throne
of God for perfectedhumanity. He learnt obedience, not as if the lessonwere
forcedupon Him by stern necessity, but by choosing, through insight into the
Father's will, that self-surrender even to the death upon the Cross which was
required for the complete reconciliationof man wit, God. And the absolute
union of human nature, in its fullest maturity, with the Divine in the one
Personof our Creatorand Redeemer, was wroughtout in the very schoolof
life in which we are trained. When once we grasp this truth the records of the
Evangelists are filled with a new light. Every work of Christ is seento be a
sacrifice and a victory. Dimly, feebly, imperfectly, we can see in this wayhow
it became God to make the Author of our salvationperfectthrough
sufferings; how every pain which answeredto the Father's will, became to
Him the occasionofa triumph, the disciplining of some human power which
needed to be brought into God's service, the advance one degree farther
towards the Divine likeness to gain which man was made; how, in the actual
condition of the world, His love and His righteousness were displayedin
tenderer grace and grander authority through the gab-saying of enemies;
how. in this sense, evenwithin the range of our imagination, He saw of the
travail of His soul and was satisfied. Dimly, feebly, imperfectly we can see how
also Christ, Himself perfectedthrough suffering, has made known to us once
for all the meaning and the value of suffering; how He has interpreted it as a
Divine discipline, the provision of a Father's love; how He has enabled us to
perceive that at eachstep in the progress oflife it is an opportunity'; bow He
has left to us to realise "in Him" little by little the virtue of His work;to fill up
on our part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in our sufferings,
not as if His work were incomplete or our efforts meritorious, but as being
living members of His Body through which He is pleasedto manifest that
which He has wrought for men. Forwe shall observe that it was because He
brought many sons to glory, that it became God to make perfect through
sufferings the Author of their salvation. The fitness lay in the correspondence
betweenthe outward circumstances ofHis life and of their lives. The way of
the Lord is the way of His servants. He inlightened the path which they must
tread, and showedits end. And so it is that whenever the example of Christ is
offered to us in Scripture for our imitation, it is His example in suffering. So
far, in His strength, we can follow Him, learning obedience as He learned it,
bringing our wills into conformity with the Father's will, and thereby
attaining to a wider view of His counselin which we canfind rest and joy.
(Bp. Westcott.)

The Godworthiness ofsalvation
A. B. Bruce, D. D.
It might be presumptuous to say that God was bound to become a Saviour,
but it may confidently be assertedthat to save becomes Him. The work He
undertook was congruous to His position and character. It was worthy of God
the Creator, by whom all things were made at the first, that He should not
allow His workmanship in man to be utterly marred and frustrated by sin.
The irretrievable ruin of man would have seriouslycompromisedthe
Creator's honour and glory. It would have made it possible to charge the
Divine Being with failure, to represent Him as overreachedby the tempter of
man, to suspectHim of want of power or of will to remedy the mischief done
by the fall. On this subject, in his discourse on the Incarnation of the Word,
well remarks:"It would have been an indecencyif those who had been once
createdrational had been allowedto perish through corruption. Forthat
would have been unworthy of the goodnessofGod, if the beings He had
Himself createdhad been allowedto perish through the fraud of the devil
againstman. Nay, it would have been most indecent that the skill of God
displayed in man should be destroyedeither through their carelessnessor
through the devil's craftiness. The God-worthiness ofthe end becomes still
more apparent when the subjects of the Divine operationare thought of as,
what they are here called, sons. What more worthy of Godthan to lead His
own sons to the glory for which man was originally fitted and destined, when
be was made in God's image, and setat the head of the creation? The title
"sons" was possiblysuggestedby the creationstory, but it arises immediately
out of the nature of salvationas indicated in the quotation from the eighth
Psalm— lordship in the world to be. This high destiny places man alongside
of the Son whom God "appointed heir of all things." "If sons, then heirs,"
reasonedPaul;"if heirs, then sons," arguesinverselythe author of our epistle.
Both reasonlegitimately, for sonship and heirship imply eachother. Those
who are appointed to lordship in the new world of redemption are sons of
God, for what higher privilege or glory can God bestow upon His sons? And
on those who stand in a filial relation to God He may worthily bestow so great
a boon. To lead His sons to their glorious inheritance is the appropriate thing
for Godto do.
(A. B. Bruce, D. D.)
God's glory in giving His Son to die
W. Gouge.

If we take a view of God's specialproperties, we shall find the glory of them so
setforth in Christ's Incarnation and Passion, and the redemption of man
thereby, as in nothing more. I will exemplify this in five of them.
1. The power of God hath been manifested by many wonderful works of His
since the beginning of the world. The book of Job and book of Psalms do
reckonup cataloguesofGod's powerful and mighty works;but they are all
inferior to those works which were done by the Son of God becoming man and
dying; for hereby was the curse of the law removed, the bonds of death
broken, the devil and his whole host vanquished. The Son of God did this, and
much more, not by arraying Himself with majesty and power, but by putting
on Him weak and frail flesh, and by subjecting Himself to death. Herein was
strength made perfect in weakness(2 Corinthians 12:9).
2. The wisdom of God was greatlysetforth in the first creationor all things in
their excellentorder and beauty, and in the wise government of them; but
after that by sin they were put out of order, to bring them into a comelyframe
againwas an argument of much more wisdom, especiallyif we duly weigh
how, by the creature's transgression, the just Creatorwas provokedto wrath.
To find out a means, in this case, ofatonement betwixt God and man must
needs imply much mow e wisdom. For who should make this atonement? Not
man, because he was the transgressor;not God, because He was offended and
incensed:yet God, by taking man's nature upon Him, God-man, by suffering,
did this deed; He made the atonement. God having revealedthis mystery unto
His Church, every one that is instructed in the Christian faith can say, Thus,
and thus it is done: But had not God by His infinite wisdom found out and
made known this means of reconciliation, though all the heads of all creatures
had consultedthereabout, their counsels wouldhave been altogetherin vain.
We have, therefore, just cause with an holy admiration to break out and say,
"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge ofGod!"
(Romans 11:33).
3. The justice of God hath been made known in all ages by judgments
executedon wickedsinners, as the punishment of our first parents, the
drowning of the old world, the destroying of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire
and brimstone, the casting off the Jews, the casting of wickedangels and
reprobate men into heft fire; but to exactthe uttermost of the Sonof God,
who became a surety for man, and so to exactit as in our nature He most bear
the infinite wrath of His Fatherand satisfyHis justice to the full, is an
instance of more exact justice than ever was manifested.
4. The truth of God is exceedinglyclearedby God's giving His Sonto die, and
that in accomplishmentof His threatening and promises.(1)Forthreatening

God had said to man, "In the day thou eatestof the tree of the knowledge of
goodand evil, thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). How could God's truth
have been accomplishedin this threatening, and man not utterly destroyed, it
Christ had not died in our nature?(2)For promise, the first that ever was
made after man's fall was this, "The seedof the woman shall bruise the
serpent's bead" (Genesis 3:15). As this was the first promise, so was it the
ground of all other promises made to God's electin Christ. Now God having
accomplishedthis promise by giving His Son to death, how canwe doubt of
His truth in any other promise whatsoever? The accomplishmentof no other
promise could so setout God's truth as of this; for other promises do depend
on this, and not this on any of them. Besides, this is the greatestofall other
promises. We may therefore on this ground say, "He that sparednot His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
5. God's mercy is most magnified by sending His Son into the world to die for
man. "The mercies of God are over all His works" (Psalm145:9). But the
glass whereinthey are most perspicuouslyseenis Jesus Christ made man, and
made a sacrifice for man's sin.
(W. Gouge.)
"Justlike Him
A missionary, addressing a pious woman, said, "Mary, is not the love of God
wonderful?" and then, enlarging on its manifestation in the atonement of
Christ, he made the appeal, "Is it nut wonderful? " Mary simply, but we may
add sublimely, replied, "Master, massa,me no rink it so wonderful, 'cause it is
just like Him." In bringing many sons to glory. —
The testof sonship
NewmanHall, LL. B.
I. A DEFINITION OF GOD. We are told that for Him, and by Him, are all
things; for Him — on His account — to manifest His glory — to display His
perfections. Godhath createdall things for Himself. "Well, does not that look
selfish? Is that worthy of God?" If we do anything for ourselves, and to show
forth ourselves, we do it to show forth something that is finite and imperfect;
and in attempting to show forth ourselves, and seek our own ends, we are
overlooking the interests of other people. Therefore it is most improper for a
creature to do anything chiefly to promote his own glory. But it is otherwise

with God, for He is perfect, and the manifestation of Himself is the
manifestation of perfection. Would you wish anything else? Shallcreationbe
for any lower end than the exhibition of the Creator? Noris the manifestation
of Himself apart from the highest hope of the universe, for God is love; the
manifestation of love and beneficence is, therefore, the diffusion of happiness.
There is no greater, more benevolent purpose than the creationof all things
for Himself. All things in the universe, howevergreat, are subservient to an
end infinitely greaterthan themselves. Howeversmall, they are not so
insignificant as not to be employed for the greatestofall ends — for the
manifestation of God the infinite.
II. THE GRACIOUS DESIGN OF THIS GLORIOUS, THIS INFINITE
BEING. It is to bring many sons unto glory. These many sons are to be
brought unto glory from among a rebellious and condemned race.
1. The first step towards this is to make them sons — to convert, to change
them from foes to children; for by nature and by practice we are enemies to
God, and not subject to the will of God. We are thus constituted sons through
an act of God's free, sovereign, unmerited favour. He pardons all our sins. He
puts the spirit of adoption into Us, and as He manifests Himself to us as our
loving Father, He enables us to feelto Him as loving and trusting children. We
seek Him whom we avoided; we trust Him whom we dreaded; we serve Him
againstwhom we rebelled; we are sons.
2. And, having made us sons, He then brings us to glory. God does not form
children for Himself and then forsake them.
III. But what is HIS METHOD? Bya Mediator, calledin the text the Captain
of Salvation. The same word is translatedin other passages, the Prince of Life
— in others, "the Author and Finisher of faith." Here it is translated
"Captain." He is our Captain. He goes in advance. He acts as our Champion.
He fights our great adversarythe devil for us — defeats him — "destroys him
that had the power of death, even the devil." We can do all things through our
Captain strengthening us. But we go on to observe that this Captain of
Salvationwas to be qualified for His office by suffering. He was to be made
perfect by suffering. Emphatically He was a man of sorrows. Bythose sorrows
He was made perfect, not as to His Divinity, for that could not be made more
perfect, nor as to his moral purity, for that was perfectnecessarily;but made
perfect — that is, qualified for His office. The suffering was sacrificial. He had
to atone for our sins. He had not merely to go before us as our Captain, but to
bear the cross. So He was made a sacrifice for us. And He was to be made an
example as well as a sacrifice. Mensuffer. This is a world of trouble, and He
could not have been an adequate example if He had not been an example in

that which we are called to endure. He was to be a sympathising friend on
whom we could look as understanding our case, as able to feelwith us and for
us, awedthis would be impossible except by suffering. And, therefore, He was
fitted to be the Captain and Leader of our Salvationby suffering.
IV. THE GREAT PROPOSITION. It was befitting in Him for whom and by
whom are all things, in thus bringing many sons into glory through the
mediation of the Captain of Salvation, to make the Captain of Salvationfitted
for His work through suffering. It was befitting the Eternal God that His
designs should be accomplished;and as suffering was essentialto the end He
had in view, was it not befitting that God should not spare even His own Son
in order that He might be qualified for the work of bringing many sons to
glory?
(NewmanHall, LL. B.)
The bringing of many sons to glory
Alex McNaughton.
I. THE OBJECTTO BE ACCOMPLISHED WAS THE BRINGING OF
MANY SONS TO GLORY, A parent deals not with his children on selfish
and mercenary principles. He does not, like a lawgiver, merely protectthem,
and dispense to them according to their merits; or, like a master, merely
remunerate their work. He deals with them in love. "Son, thou art ever with
me, and all that I have is thine," is the language of parental affection. The
riches of Divine all-sufficiency are not, like the possessionsofan earthly
parent, diminished by being shared, affording the less for eachthat many
partake. No;like the light of the sun, eachreceives the full enjoyment. "He
that overcomethshall inherit all things, and 1 will be his God and he shall be
My son." The abode destined to receive them is the heaven of glory, where
every object and scene is resplendent with the glory of God and of the Lamb;
their inheritance, the kingdom of glory; their portion the God of glory; their
associates,His glorious family; their employments and enjoyments are all
glorious:and, what is essentialto their enjoyment of all is, that they are for
ever perfectedin personal glory — the glory not merely of celestialsplendour,
but the moral glory of unsullied holiness — the noblest glory in the eyes of
God and of all holy intelligences.
II. THE PLAN ADOPTED FOR THIS END. A leaderto glory is appointed,
and He is made "perfectthrough sufferings." We have a country to possess, a
journey and a warfare to accomplish, an enemy to conquer, and a victory to
win. Christ is the breaker-up of the way, the leader and commander of the

people. In order that the Son of God might fulfil the offices of our Redeemer
— in order that He might have a banner to lift up in this character, and a
willing hast rangedunder it — it was necessarythat He Himself should pass
through the lastextremity of conflict and death, and be thus made perfect
through suffering. Let us inquire in what respects, andfor what ends, this was
necessary.
1. To make an atonementfor our sins, and redeem our souls.
2. His sufferings were requisite in order to His perfect adaptation as our
pattern and example.
3. His sufferings were endured also in order to His more perfectly identifying
Himself by sympathy with His people, and engaging their absolute confidence.
(Alex McNaughton.)
Eternal redemption
R. Philip.
There is, perhaps, nothing we understand better, in the conduct of others,
than what is becoming or unbecoming in their spirit and deportment. We are
almost eagle-eyedto discoverwhatever is worthy or unworthy of a man's rank
and character. This almostinstinctive sense ofpropriety in human conduct
might, if wisely employed, enable us to judge wiselyof what is becoming m the
Divine conduct. For, if we expect wise, good, and great, men to actup to their
characterand avowedprinciples, we may wellexpect that the infinitely wise,
great, and goodGod will do nothing unbecoming His characterand
supremacy. When, therefore, it is said that it "became" Him to save sinners,
only by the blood of the Lamb, it surely becomes us to searchin His character
and salvation, not for reasons why redemption could not, or should not, be by
atonement, but for reasons whyit is so. Now, upon the very surface of the
case, it is self-evident that an infinitely wise God would neither do too much
nor too little for the salvation of man. Less than enough would not become His
love; more than enough would not become His wisdom.
I. BRINGING MANY SONS TO GLORY IS GOD'S CHIEF AND FINAL
OBJECT,IN ALL THE MERCYAND GRACE WHICH HE EXERCISES
TOWARDS MAN.
1. NOW glory, as a place, is the heavenwhere God Himself dwells and reigns,
visibly and eternally. It is His own specialtemple, resplendent with His
presence, and vocalwith His worship. It is His own central throne, from
which He surveys and rules the universe.

2. Again, glory, as a state of character, is likeness to the God of heaven; — it is
to bear the image of His spotless holiness, andto breathe the spirit of His
perfect love. This is the glory to which God proposes to bring many sons. Now
this heavenis so unlike our earth — where. God is altogetherso invisible, and
man so unholy and unloving-that, to say the least, a very greatchange for the
better must take place in men before they can be fit for such glory. There are
some things in this heavenwhich are not very agreeable to the natural mind of
man, such as universal and eve lasting spirituality and harmony. Such being
the soberfacts of the case,it surely " becomes"Godto take care that this
heaven, which is to be His own eternal temple and throne, shall not be
disgracednor disturbed by the presence ofunholy or alienatedinhabitants.
II. THE SUFFERINGSOF CHRIST ARE DECLARED TO BE THE WAY
IN WHICH IT BECAME GOD TO BRING MAN TO GLORY.
III. It is declared that, in saving man by the suffering of Christ, GOD HAD A
REGARD TO THE RELATION IN WHICH ALL THINGS IN THE
UNIVERSE STOOD TO HIMSELF. What He did in making Christ a
sacrifice for our sins was what "because" Him to do as the author and end of
all things visible and invisible. Now —
1. It certainly became God to save man in a way that should not endangerthe
safetyof angels. Butthis could not have been done by penitential salvation.
That would have been to tell all the unfallen universe that tears would repair
any injury they might ever do to the honour of Godor their own interests. A
fine lessonin a universe where even innocence is no safeguardfrom
temptation!
2. It certainly became God to save man in a way which should not impeach
His characterfor not saving fallen angels. But could they have felt thus if the
next race of sinners had been pardoned on mere repentance? Eternal
happiness offeredto one race of sinners, and eternal misery inflicted on
another race of sinners, would be an eternalanomaly in the moral
government of God but for the atonement made by Christ on our behalf. But
now no holy nor wise being can wonder that grace reigns by the blood of the
Lamb of God. Nor can they wonderthat Satan and his angels are not
redeemed, seeing it was by opposing this scheme of redemption they sinned
and fell.
3. It became God to redeem man, and confirm angels, in such a way as to
leave no possibility of imagining that any higher happiness could be found out
than the voluntary gift of God conferred.

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