The Captain of our Salvation
“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 ii. 10.
OBSERVE, dear friends, how glorious God is. The description given here by the apostle contains but few words, and those nearly all little ones, but how full of meaning they are! “Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things.” Here you have God set forth as being both the beginning and the end of everything. All things are for him, — to do his bidding, to accomplish his purpose, to set forth his glory; and this because all things are by him, — in their first creation, in their subsequent preservation, and in all that is yet to come of them. Of whom speaks the apostle this but of the Triune God, to whom be glory for ever and ever? Of whom speaks he this — if we would be still more exact, — but of the Father who has made his Son perfect in bringing many sons unto glory? It is the Father “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things.”
And, my dear brethren, the apostle was wisely guided by the Holy Spirit to give this title to the Father in this particular place. Sometimes, in prayer, men call God by one or another of Ins names, and each name may be correct, yet it may not be well chosen for that special occasion. But you will notice that, if the Holy Spirit describes either God the Father or the Lord Jesus by any term other than his usual name, the title is always very wisely chosen, and is most appropriate in that place. Now, in the matter of our salvation, we need One, “by whom are all things,” for none but the Creator can create us anew in Christ Jesus. No one who has less power than the Divine Preserver of men can keep us from falling; and none but the Divine Being, who encompasses all things within the range of his infinite mind, can guard us against the many terrible perils on the way to heaven. If ever we are to be brought to glory, it must be by the God “by whom are all things;” and certainly, if we are brought there, — as I pray that we all may be, — it will be by him “for whom are all things,” and wo shall for ever adore the mystery of his grace which landed us safely on the heavenly shore.
Every part of the great plan of salvation sets forth the splendour of the grace of the Most High God. What do we see in our election hut his grace? What do we see in our redemption but his grace? What do we see in our conversion but his grace? What do we see in our justification, sanctification, adoption, and final preservation, but his grace? By him, in grace as well as in nature, are all things; and for him, in grace as well as in nature, are all things; unto him belong both the power and the glory, the two must ever go together. He works all our works in us, and unto him be all the praise, world without end!
We start, then, with this as a sort of key-note, — that the great Father, who has purposed, our salvation, is able to fully carry out what he has planned, for by him are all things; and he also has an admirable reason for accomplishing it, because it will bring to him glory, and for him are all things. If our salvation would degrade his name in any sense or respect, if the salvation of sinners would even obscure the severity of his justice, it might be a question whether it would ever be accomplished; but, since there is nothing about this work but what will bring to him honour and glory, we rest assured that, having put his hand to it, he will not withdraw his arm until he has fully accomplished his eternal purpose to the praise of the glory of his grace.
Our text sets before us some most precious truth concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and his people. First, here is a high enterprise, — the bringing of many sons unto glory. In the second place, this enterprise is being carried out by an ordained Captain; there is a Captain of our salvation, through whom the many sons are to be brought to glory. And, thirdly, we are to notice the becoming work of the Father upon him who is Captain. “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.”
I. First, then, here is A HIGH ENTERPRISE, — the bringing of many sons unto glory.
I think that you will find the historical parallel of this enterprise in the Lord’s great work of bringing the tribes of Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and into Canaan. The Lord, in his deliverance of his ancient people, gives us a type of what he is doing and will do for all his chosen. The exodus was not merely the bringing of the people out of Egypt into the wilderness, for then they might truly have said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?” But the whole transaction was not completed, the enterprise was not finished, until all those whom the Lord intended to bless had actually crossed the Jordan, and had taken possession of the promised land. He led not the children of Israel merely out of Egypt, but he led them into Canaan; and his leadership of them through the desert is a picture and emblem of Christ’s leadership of the many sons whom he is bringing unto glory. I want you to think of the salvation of the redeemed in that light.
To begin at the end, the Lord Jesus is bringing many sons unto glory, just as God brought his ancient people into Canaan. The ultimate destination of every believer is eternal glory. There is not one of us who will be perfect and complete until we stand at the right hand of God, even the Father. There is no secondary position where some of the redeemed may be satisfied to remain; but the many sons are all to be brought unto “glory.” That is the word, — one of the biggest words that can be spoken by any mortal mouth. Do you know all its meaning? No, my brethren, that you do not; and there is another word that comes before it: “The Lord will give grace and glory.” Do you know all the meaning even of “grace”? No, you do not; yet you have tasted of God’s grace, and if you know not all the meaning of that of which you daily partake, I am sure you do not know the meaning of that “glory” which you have not yet obtained.
Heaven is rightly called “glory.” I do not doubt that it is a very glorious place. People have written books in which they have sought to give us some idea of heaven as perfecting all the joys of our earthly domestic life, and artists have tried to depict the plains of heaven; but the books and the works of art are equally worthy to be burnt, for they fall so infinitely short of what the reality must be that they are only a caricature and a mockery of what “glory” must be. No, beloved; no tongue can tell what it is, and no pencil can depict the glory of the place itself, the Father’s house, where the many mansions be.
“Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy;
Ear hath not heard its sweet songs of joy;”
nor shall your imagination be able to bring these things down to you; for there is a spiritual glory which must far exceed all the glories of which you know anything on earth.
I think, also, that heaven is called “glory” because its inhabitants follow glorious pursuits. What they are doing there all day long, I shall not attempt to guess; but we are told that “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him. They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” They will have enough to do to cast their crowns at his dear feet who gave them all the joy they have, and to make known to principalities and powers in heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God. Of this we are quite sure, all their pursuits will be glorious; there will be nothing low, nothing grovelling, nothing selfish, done in heaven; certainly, nothing wearisome, nothing laborious, that can bring again to the brow the sweat that comes here because of the curse. No; it is a glorious place, where the happy dwellers are engaged in glorious pursuits.
And they also have glorious pleasures. They realize to the full what David said, “In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Did you ever think — have you the power to conceive — what the pleasures of God must be? What is the joy of the Lord, — the infinite satisfaction of the Eternal, — the profound bliss of him who is most blessed for ever? It is that joy, that bliss, that peace, of which they shall have a share as the Master Bays to each one of them, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high is God’s joy above our joy. Therefore we cannot attempt to describe it; but we can only say of it that the joy of heaven is glory, the bliss of heaven is “from glory unto glory” for ever and ever.
And, as heaven is a glorious place for glorious pursuits and glorious pleasures, so all there will be glorious persons. There is not one low or mean inhabitant of heaven. There are many there who were despised on earth, — the lowly and the suffering and the persecuted; but they are no longer despised. God has put eternal honour upon them. They are all priests and kings unto God; the priestly garments they wear are grander than Aaron’s raiment of glory and beauty, and in their royal robes they keep high holiday, where the sun goes no more down, and the days of their mourning are for ever ended. It is all glorious, and I do not wonder that heaven is called “glory”, and that we have so little said about it. There is just this great word — “glory” — which by itself says more than I should be able to say if I kept you here till the clock tolled out the midnight hour.
This is the high enterprise of God, to bring his many sons to glory. I call it a high enterprise, and so it is; for he will bring them to glory despite all difficulties. Where do the redeemed begin their march? Down there, at the iron furnace, where they have lien among the pots, and where their slavery has been hard and cruel. Their march begins with Pharaoh to oppose them; but, with a high hand and an outstretched arm, does God bring them up out of the bondage of nature, and out of the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. How gloriously does he lead them through the Red Sea, and destroy their adversaries with the precious blood of Jesus, till the depths have covered them, and there is not one of them left! And the rest of the passage of his people, from that high day at the Red Sea onward till they reach the glory, what is it but a march of miracles, an ever-moving panorama of wonders? I do but speak of the experience of the true Christian when I say that he is opposed from within and from without, and that he is his own greatest enemy; and that is not saying a small thing when I remind you that the world, the flesh, and the devil are all leagued against him. It is with push of pike that I make my way to heaven, disputing with my fierce foe every inch of the road. Yet shall I win the day, for he “by whom are all things,” has undertaken to lead his sons to glory, and he will lead them there. If they had to cut their way through a whole legion of devils, as when men reap their road through a thick cornfield, yet should they every one of them pass through unharmed. If there were seven thousand hells between them and heaven, yet should they reach it in safety because he, “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,” has determined to bring them there. Yet it is no easy march, and it will be no little glory that shall redound to him who will lead us all through the wilderness, and bring us to the Canaan which is above, that is, to “glory.”
I want you next to notice that this high enterprise on God’s part is concerning the bringing of “many sons unto glory” In the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress, we read about Mr. Great-heart, who had a tough task to lead those women and children all the way to the Celestial City. They caused him a deal of trouble; and he is a picture of many a Christian minister. Some of us have not to go before a few faint-hearted pilgrims; but we have to lead hundreds, or even thousands. Every morning before breakfast, I have to kill a giant for somebody or other, and hard fighting it is; and as soon as ever I have killed him, I hear some one of the dear children crying out that he is going to be eaten up alive by another, so that I have to keep my sword always drawn. It is no easy task to be, under Christ, helping to bring some of these sons unto glory; but think of the work that God has undertaken, — to bring many sons unto glory, — untold millions of them. I shall not attempt to use figures to represent the numbers of the saved, for I believe my Master’s redeemed ones will be as the dew of the morning, as the drops of the spray, as the sands on the sea shore, and far excelling the starry hosts marshalled on the midnight plains. Many sons will be brought to glory by the great Father. Sometimes, in the old days of war, there used to be a number of little ships wanting to cross the sea; but the privateers were on the watch, so the seamen were afraid to hoist the sail, and get away from the shelter of the shore, for they would soon be caught by their enemies, like doves by the hawk. Well, what was done? There they lay, in port, until his Majesty sent down a man-of-war, perhaps two or three, to be a convoy. Then the little ships would all be safe; their crews need not any longer be afraid of the Frenchmen or the Spaniards. So is it with those who are under the protection of God. We, weak little vessels, could never by ourselves reach our desired haven; but, lo! the Lord High Admiral of the seas and the great Emperor of the land has come forth in the majesty of his power to conduct us to glory; and we shall get there safely, even though our enemies should be beyond all count. It was a grand thing when those convoys brought many little ships into harbour; but what a fleet the Lord will bring into the Fair Havens of eternal felicity! We read that, on one occasion, when the Lord Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee, “there were also with him other little ships;” and there are still with him many other little ships, but he will bring them all safely into the harbour. Let the enemy attack them if he dares to do so, but their Protector will preserve them all, for it is his purpose to bring many sons unto glory.
I have not yet said all I want to say about this high enterprise, for perhaps the chief wonder of it all is that he, “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,” has resolved to bring unto glory many sons. They shall all of them be his sons; oh, what a marvel it is that they should be his sons! Who will have them for sons? I am sure that there is many a man who might be ashamed to take for sons those whom God takes, — the most depraved, debased, and fallen, whom men have passed by, as those to whom they could not even speak. The Lord, in infinite love, has taken them to be his children, and he has said of them, “I will be a Father unto them, and they shall be my sons and daughters.” But, oh, what a work is needed in order to turn these rebels into children! What a wonder of grace it is that they should first be regenerated, and so get the nature of children; and thon that they should be adopted, and so have the status of children; and then that they should be sanctified, and so exhibit from day to day those qualities that must be found in the children of a holy God! To make them sons is indeed a wonderful work. God did not do so much as that for the people in the wilderness; in that respect, the type broke down, for the Israelites would not be God’s sons. He acted as a father towards them, but they were rebels against him; and, therefore, the carcases of that first generation fell in the wilderness. What a mercy it is that God does not now write the law on tables of stone, but on the fleshy tablets of our hearts; and the law being written there, he gives us the grace to obey it; and especially, he gives us grace to believe in Jesus, and to receive him! John wrote, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name;” and it is still true of ail who receive him, and believe on his name. Oh, what a mercy it is that guilty sinners may so receive the adoption of children! What a blessed thing it is that God will not only bring us to glory, but that we shall be sons when he gets us there! He will bring us to glory as sons; we shall be his sons while on the road, and we shall be owned as his sons in the presence of the entire universe in that day when the righteous shall “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” for that is the glorious kingdom to which he is going to bring us. Blessed be his name that ever he should make us sons, and resolve to bring us to glory! Ah, well, he has set his heart upon doing it, and he can do it; therefore let us again bless and praise his holy name!
II. Now I turn to my second point, which is concerning THE ORDAINED CAPTAIN. God intends to bring “many sons unto glory,” but he means to do it by the hand of a chosen Captain, greater than Joshua, who will fight for his people, and conduct them safely into the Canaan of “glory.”
The word here translated “captain” is, in another place, rendered “author”, and, in yet another passage, “prince.” In fact, it is twice translated “prince.” But I feel perfectly satisfied to take the term as our Authorized Version gives it, and to say that the Lord our God leads his people unto glory by a Captain. He might have done it, if so it had pleased him, by his own power and might, apart from a Mediator; but he has not done so. He has ordained everything by the hand of a Mediator; and it is an essential part of his arrangement of the whole system of grace that the Father should work by the Son to bring the many sons to glory, that the Son should bring them there by being the Captain in their midst, representing him amongst men, being clothed with his power, effecting his divine purpose for them. God will bring no sons to glory except through this Captain; none may ever hope to enter glory except by Christ Jesus. He himself has said, “I am the way;” and he is the only way; therefore, woe be to those who refuse to come unto God by him! God will bring all his sons to glory, but it must be by the Captain whom he has ordained. Let us think for a little while what a captain is, and what a captain has to do, for that will help us to understand the office and work of the Captain of our salvation.
First, then, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to conduct us to glory by making all arrangements for the march. There is a great deal of responsibility connected with the leader of an army, not only in deciding as to where his troops shall encamp for the night, but where they shall march on the morrow, and in what direction they will be likely to be needed many days ahead. The commissariat of an army requires great thoughtfulness and care on the part of the leader; and our Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, has made all needful arrangements for his people between here and heaven. I am quite sure that we shall never come to a halting-place, between here and glory, of which we shall be able to say that no provision has been made for us there. Providence, or seeing beforehand, is ever at work on behalf of the Lord’s people. God is always looking ahead, and Christ makes every arrangement for the salvation of all his people, even down to the minutest details. He is a most blessed Captain.
A captain’s work, after he has arranged for the march, is, next, to give the word of command. “Go,” says he, or, “Stay;” “Do this or, “Be still.” The soldier’s one business is to obey his orders; he has not any right to choose what he will do; his marching orders are to be his law. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ will lead many sons to the glory of his Father by giving those gracious commands which always bring a blessing with them whenever they are obeyed.
Captains, however, do more than command; for, if they are wise, they lead the way. I have heard that a Turkish officer says to his men, “Go along,” and stops behind, and watches the soldiers; but that a British officer cries, “Come on!” and leads the way. That is what our Lord has done. In the sternest fight, he is always conspicuous; and there is no weary march that he bids us tramp in which he does not foot it at our side. You shall never climb so high that you will not find the footprint of the Crucified there; nor shall you be called to descend even into the depths of the sea but you shall find that he has been there too, for he leads us always as the Captain of our salvation.
It is a captain’s business, also, to encourage his men. How often the presence of a true leader has effected more for the army than all their own strength could do! When Basing could not be taken by the Parliamentary troops in Cromwell’s day, “Old Noll” went down, and' he took Basing directly, as he did every other place that he determined to capture; and infinitely more glorious is the Captain of our salvation, whose presence secures victory to the most discouraged band. If they do but see him, and say, “It is he,” the next word is, “Be not afraid,” for where he comes, devils fly. The earth shakes at the presence of the Christ of God. It is the captain’s business to encourage his men, and that our great Captain does continually.
Sometimes, it is the captain’s delight to reward his followers. A wise leader gives words of praise when they are deserved; and, on special occasions, he distributes more substantial things. As for our blessed Lord, his gracious commendation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” would more than repay us for the toils of a lifetime, even if our lifetime were longer than Methuselah’s. Let us, then, be faithful and true as we have such a Captain as our Lord Jesus Christ, who can do for us all that captains should do for their soldiers, and a great deal more.
Now, seeing that it is the will of the Lord to lead us to glory by the Captain of our salvation, I want you to be worthy of your Leader. Do you not think that, sometimes, we act as if we had no Captain? We fancy that we have to fight our way to heaven by the might of our own right hand, and by our own skill; but it is not so. If you start before your Captain gives you the order to march, you will have to come back again; and if you try to fight apart from your Captain, you will rue the day. “Oh!” says one, “but I have been thinking to-day what I shall do if so-and-so happens.” My dear brother, it would be a great deal better for you to remember that “the Lord liveth,” and to leave the thinking and arranging in his hands. There are a great many ifs in the world that are like a swarm of wasps; if you let those ifs out, they will sting you from head to foot; but there is one glorious if that will kill them all, it is this, — if the Lord Jesus Christ could fail, — if he could desert us, then all would be lost. That kills all the other ifs, because it is an impossible if. He cannot fail us or leave us; he must live; he must conquer; and while that is the case, the other ifs do not signify anything to us. Therefore, cast yourselves on your Captain’s care. March onward though you cannot see your way; fly at the enemy though they seem to outnumber you by ten to one, for greater is he that is for you than all that can be against you. Be not afraid of anything, for your Captain is equal to all emergencies. When the Lord our God chose him as our Leader and Commander, he laid help upon One that was mighty. He did not take some poor weak mortal to be the captain of such a company as we are; he did not even select an angel for this great task. He exalted One chosen out of the people, who was most suitable for the position, and God’s wisdom would be dishonoured if Christ were found incapable of bringing the many sons unto glory. But he is blessedly capable of all that is required of him; and the ancient prophecies concerning him shall be completely fulfilled: “He shall not fail nor be discouraged;” “and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
III. Thus far, then, we have seen that the Great Father will bring his many sons to glory by a Captain, but the pith of the text lies in the part we have now to consider; and that is, THE BECOMING WORK OF THE FATHER UPON OUR CAPTAIN: “It became him, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
God always acts becomingly; and, therefore, it was right that Christ should suffer. I have sometimes heard discussions as to whether the Lord might not have saved sinners without a Mediator, or, if through a Mediator, whether we might not have been saved by some other method without the death of Christ. I do not think it is right for us to form any kind of judgment upon that matter, but to say, as our risen Lord said to his disciples, “It behoved Christ to suffer.” It was becoming that Christ should die: “It pleased the Lord to bruise him.” It was a seemly and proper thing, in the sight of him, “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,” that we should be saved by a Mediator, and that the chosen Mediator should not save us apart from his own terrible sufferings.
It was becoming that our Captain should be made perfect, complete, fully equipped for saving us, by suffering. The agony could not be left out; the cup must not pass from him without his drinking its awful contents. It was becoming that Christ should be poor; so he had not where to lay his head. It was becoming that he should be hungry, so he fasted for forty days. It was becoming that he should sweat great drops of blood; it was a becoming thing in the sight of God that there should be suffering on the part of his chosen Captain. It was becoming that he should be spit upon, — that he should be mocked, — that he should be scourged, — that he should be nailed to a tree, — that he should be parched with fever, and in awful depression of spirit should cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It was becoming that all this should happen, and therefore it did happen. Let that be a sufficient answer to us whenever we are asking any questions about Christ’s suffering, — it was becoming in God’s sight. And let those who deny the atonement, and those precious critics who sneer at every hymn that tells of the agonies of Christ, understand that it was becoming that he should endure all this, and that we are not ashamed to sing of what God counts becoming. I, for one, mean still to sing, —
“His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the tree.”
I mean still to sing, —
“Well might the sun in darkness hide.
And shut his glories in,
When God, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin.”
Even though it seems to some as if we knew Christ after the flesh, I would rather know him so than not at all; and some seem to wish not to know him anyhow. They want especially to get rid of the blood; “the offence of the cross” has not yet ceased, it is still a cause of stumbling to a great many. But, oh, I pray you who are offended at the cross, not to think that you will ever get to heaven, for God and you would not agree there, for he counts the cross becoming, and you count it foolishness; so there is a radical difference of opinion between you two, and one heaven would not hold you. You must get agreed with God about that matter, or else, depend upon it, you will never enter the pearly gates. You must honour the Son even as you honour the Father, and honour the Son in his blood and wounds, and in all his agony and death, or else you shall not come where the Father takes pleasure in the Well-beloved.
Further, the text seems to say that it was becoming that Christ should be made perfect through suffering. There are many points in which Christ could not save us without suffering. He could not be a perfect Substitute unless he bore our sin and shame. He could not be a perfect Sympathizer unless he bore our suffering. This, perhaps, is the main point in which Christ is perfected; he becomes capable of entering into all the griefs that disturb the many sons whom he is to lead to glory. In our Elder Brother, the heir of all things, there is an epitome of all the sorrows of all the rest of the family. In Christ there is every pang that rends the heart, every grief that forces tears from the eyes, except such griefs as are sinful, and could not enter into his holy bosom; but everything that is inevitable to flesh and blood, and to hearts that break, and spirits that are depressed, everything of that kind Jesus knows. I have been sometimes where none of you have ever been, but I have never been where I could not find Christ. And some of you, my dear brothers, have been in heartbreaking trouble that I never knew; but the Master has been there, if the Pastor has not, and if the dearest Christian friend has not; and so he has become perfect through suffering. “I know their sorrows,” says he; “‘I know their sorrows,’ not by having read or heard about them, but by having suffered them.” Of all the bitter drugs in the great apothecary’s store, Christ has had a draught. He knows all about them; and this makes him “perfect through sufferings.”
Finally, it was becoming on the part of God, “for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,” that he should perfect his Son as our Captain through sufferings; but the original Greek gives us a fuller meaning than this, — that God should glorify his Son. It is becoming on God’s part that he should give to Christ everything that can make him glorious and honourable. Seeing that he bowed his head to suffer and to die, it was meet that God should raise him from the dead, that he should set him at his own right hand, that he should crown him with many crowns, that he should give him to “have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” It is becoming that Christ should have all honour and glory paid to him, that men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father.
In prayer, when I want an argument that I know will prevail with God, I say to him, “Father, glorify thy Son! Thou lovest him, look at him; is he not lovely in thine eyes, as the suffering, obedient Son of thy love? Dost thou not admire him beyond all conception? Therefore, hear my supplication, and grant my petition, for his sake.” I like, sometimes, to leave off praying and singing, and to sit still, and just gaze upward till my inmost soul has seen my Lord; then I say, “He is inexpressibly lovely; yea, he is altogether lovely.” If he is that to my poor eyes, which are so dull and dim that they cannot half discern his beauties, what must he be in the eyes of God? In the eyes of God, he is so precious that, as my text says, “It became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are ad things,” — it was becoming even in him, “in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings;” — glorified beyond all imaginable glory, and to have universal homage paid to him throughout the universe for ever and ever. God sees it to be becoming, and therefore we delight in it. Amen and amen.