Archive for the ‘Sharing In His Suffering’ Tag
“Humans Are The Glory in God’s Love Story!” Pt.2
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Audio Part 2A:
Audio Part 2B:
Full Audio message:
Watch on YouTube
Scripture: Hebrews 1-5 (CSB)
Summary:
This second message builds on Part 1 by pressing deeper into the truth that Jesus Christ reveals both who God is and who humanity truly is. Drawing from Hebrews 1–5, Pastor Timothy Brassell reminded us that human beings are not a problem God needed to solve, but the very place where God chose to reveal His glory. From before the foundation of the world, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit purposed to share divine life with humanity and Jesus is the fulfillment of that eternal plan. As George MacDonald so beautifully expressed:
“I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking.”
In Christ, God did not merely forgive humanity from a distance; He took our humanity as His own, lived it fully, healed it completely, and secured it forever. Jesus lived the entire human journey: birth, growth, obedience, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, because every stage of human life needed renewal. Hebrews reminds us that immaturity is not a lack of effort, but a failure to keep Christ at the center. True maturity begins when we learn to see everything through Jesus.
This is why the incarnation is not simply God becoming one human among many, but God becoming humanity’s faithful representative. As T. F. Torrance states:
“He did not come to be merely one man among others, but to be man for all men.”
Salvation, then, is restoration rather than replacement. God does not discard humanity because it is broken; He cleanses it. Jesus clothed Himself in our humanity, entered fully into its suffering, and through faithful obedience purified and renewed it by the Spirit in the love of the Father. This is why the Christian life involves real suffering, not as punishment, but as participation in Christ’s redemptive work.
Hebrews proclaims the good news that Jesus Himself is our eternal security. Our salvation does not rest in our consistency, but in His faithfulness as the true human before the Father. We are called not to achieve salvation, but to keep receiving it, resisting apathy and growing up into the life already ours in Christ.
Jesus’ ascension reveals humanity’s destiny: to be fully alive, fully healed, and forever united to God. In Him, human beings are the glory in God’s love story. As C. S. Lewis reminds us:
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Key Themes and Reflection Questions:
1. Humanity Chosen in Christ 👑
Theme: Humanity was God’s intention from the beginning, fulfilled and secured in Jesus Christ.
Discipleship Question: How does knowing your humanity is chosen in Christ reshape how you see yourself?
#ChosenInChrist
2. Maturity Begins with Christ 🌱
Theme: Spiritual maturity is learning to see all things through Jesus rather than through self.
Discipleship Question: Where might Christ need to return to the center of your thinking and living?
#GrowingUpInChrist
3. Jesus Lived the Whole Human Life 🤍
Theme: Every stage of Jesus’ life mattered because every stage of our humanity needed healing.
Discipleship Question: Which part of Jesus’ human life gives you hope right now?
#JesusOurHumanity
4. Suffering as Participation 🔥
Theme: Suffering is not punishment, but participation in Christ’s work of restoring humanity.
Discipleship Question: How might your suffering be forming you rather than failing you?
#SharingInHisSuffering
5. Glorified Humanity and Living Hope ✨
Theme: In Jesus’ ascension, humanity is glorified and destined for eternal communion with God.
Discipleship Question: How does Christ’s ascension shape your hope for the future?
#GlorifiedHumanity
Reflective Moment:
Pause and remember: in Jesus Christ, your humanity has already been taken up, healed, and secured in God’s love. You are not striving to become acceptable, you are learning to receive who you already are in Him. Where you feel weak or unfinished, Christ remains faithful for you. Let gratitude rise, let your focus return to Jesus, and trust that God is gently growing you up into the life He has already given.