They Are All Of One

God wants sons who shall be joint-heirs with Christ in glory. That is His goal; but how can He bring that about? Turn now to Hebrews 2:10 and 11: “It became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

There are two parties mentioned here, namely, “many sons” and “the author of their salvation”, or, in different terms, “he that sanctifieth” and “they that are sanctified”. But these two parties are said to be “all of one”. The Lord Jesus as Man derived His life from God, and (in another sense, but just as truly) we derive our new life from God. He was “begotten... of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20 mg.), and we were “born of... the spirit”, “born... of God” (John 3:5; 1:13). So, God says, we are all of One. “Of” in the Greek means “out of”. The first begotten Son and the many sons are all (though in different senses) “out of” the one Source of life. Do you realize that we have the same life today that God has? The life which He has in Heaven is the life which He has imparted to us here on the earth. That is the precious “gift of God” (Rom. 6:23). It is for that reason that we can live a life of holiness, for it is not our own life that has been changed, but the life of God that has been imparted to us.

Do you notice that, in this consideration of the eternal purpose, the whole question of sin ultimately goes out? It no longer has a place. Sin came in with Adam, and even when it has been dealt with, as it has to be, we are only brought back to the point where Adam was. But in relating us again to the Divine purpose—in, as it were, restoring to us access to the tree of life—redemption has given us far more than Adam ever had. It has made us partakers of the very life of God Himself.