OUTLINE:

Obedience
God’s Word teaches us that THROUGH obedience God sustains us in a way that we are blessed, and He is glorified.

Jn 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Love Cannot Help But Express Itself
Mt 23:11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.
Love often expresses itself as servitude.

The spiritual life in Christ is “All In”
Ro 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

What Does Abiding in Love Mean?
Jesus clearly stated that to abide in His love is a function of obedience. This is a reference to a life lived in the sphere of God’s love. The ONLY way to enter (positionally) / remain (experientially) is through OBEDIENCE!

Jas 2:17
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Mt 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Regarding Obedience and Salvation
Salvation is a function of obedience in every sense. The Gospel is a command, which implies belief is tantamount to obedience. Sanctification is a command, which implies growth is tantamount to obedience (e.g., a mature person is intrinsically obedient, and vice versa). Disclaimer: only a changed heart can obey and only God, by grace, can change a person’s heart.

Mk 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

String of Pearls
By grace through faith, being filled with grace and truth, Jesus obeyed His Father’s will out of love for you. How? He abided in the sphere of God always.

The Sphere of God
This “law of God” (Ro 7:25) and the “law of the Spirit of life” (Ro 8:2) and the “law of Christ” (Gal 6:2) are references to the same “law”. This “law” is what governs the “sphere of God”. This law is love (ala 1Co 13:13).

A Meditation on Ps 8
“What is man that you are mindful of him…” (Ps 8:4). In context to Heb 2, the pre-existent Son became a man and assumed the human condition, especially its liability to death, in order to redeem humankind.

Family
We ought to be encouraged by the fact that the holy one who saves and those who are saved are of the same holy family. “It is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1Pe 1:16).

Jesus Knew His Destiny
Jesus condescended to Earth in order to become like those He intended to save (Php 2:6-8). This was His mission and when He accomplished it, He became our relatable “Champion” over that which stood between us and God from the Fall – death.

Know Your Destiny
The writer of Hebrews draws his audience of believers into fellowship with their destiny, as co-victors with the Champion who overcame death, itself, and therefore any real opposition we might face in life from our enemies.

Celebrate life
You are a champion because Jesus Christ the preeminent Champion and you have been baptized into union with Him!

Central Theme of the Book of Hebrews
Be encouraged in Christ. E.g., “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). And, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).

Sub-Theme of Heb 3:1-5:10
The writer develops the priestly character of the divine Son.

Jesus as High Priest
Jesus Christ is worthy of our faith because He is the Son of God and was faithful to the One who appointed Him.