Hebrews 2:5–9 is an amazing passage that explains what the salvation through Jesus accomplish in us.
In just a few verses, the author explains why angels do not rule the world to come, why humanity was created for dominion, why that dominion is currently unseen, and how Jesus restores it through incarnation, suffering, and resurrection.
This is important, because a lot of believers still think that we are saved to just get by till the coming of Christ. Psalm 8 makes it clear:
Humanity was meant for dominion.
1️⃣ Hebrews 2:5 — The World to Come Is Not Subjected to Angels
“For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.”
This verse sets the frame for everything that follows.
The “world to come” does not mean a vague heavenly realm where souls escape the earth. In biblical thought, it refers to:
- the renewed creation
- the restored order of God’s rule
- the New Earth / New Eden
To say the world is “subjected” to someone is to say it is placed under their authority.
And Hebrews makes a decisive claim:
Angels are not the rulers of the world to come.
This is startling, especially since angels are often associated with power and glory. Yet Scripture draws a firm line:
- angels serve
- angels administer
- angels do not inherit
- angels do not reign
2️⃣ Hebrews 2:6–8a — Psalm 8 and Humanity’s Original Calling
The author then quotes Psalm 8, a creation psalm:
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
This quotation is crucial.
Psalm 8 is not primarily about Jesus. It is about humanity as God originally intended it.
Three truths stand out:
🔹 Humanity was created for rule
“Everything under his feet” is dominion language drawn directly from Genesis. Read (Authority of a believer). We were always created to rule, and to have dominion over this earth.
🔹 The lowering is temporary
“For a little while” implies that the present condition is not permanent. We are inferior by design, mortal, earth bound while angels are spiritual, heavenly and immortal.
🔹 Glory and honor belong to humans
David in Psalm 8 is saying that humans were created inferior to angels, but we were crowned with glory and honor, how? We were crowned with glory and honor by being entrusted with rule over this world.
But then what happened?
Adam sinned.
BUT Adam’s sin did not erase God’s purpose for humanity. It interrupted it.
3️⃣ Hebrews 2:8b — The Honest Tension: “We Do Not Yet See”
The author then makes a striking admission:
“Now in putting everything in subjection to him, He left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
This sentence holds the tension of the entire Bible.
If humanity was meant to rule:
- Why is creation broken?
- Why do death and oppression remain?
- Why do powers still dominate?
Hebrews does not deny reality.
It acknowledges:
- the promise is true
- the fulfillment is incomplete
- the problem must be solved
That solution comes in verse 9.
4️⃣ Hebrews 2:9 — Jesus as the Restored Human Ruler
“But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death…”
This is the turning point. What Psalm 8 said about humanity in general, Hebrews now applies to Jesus specifically.
Jesus:
- becomes truly human
- shares humanity’s temporary lowering
- enters suffering and death
- emerges crowned with glory and honor
Why?
Because He succeeds where Adam failed. Jesus is the last Adam — the representative human who fulfills humanity’s calling.
He does not rule instead of humanity. He rules as humanity restored.
5️⃣ Why the Incarnation Is Essential
This passage only works because God became human. God did not send an angel to fix Adam’s failure. God did not bypass humanity.
Instead:
- the problem was human
- the calling was human
- the solution had to be human
The incarnation is not an accessory to salvation. It is essential.
By becoming human, Jesus:
- redeems humanity from within
- restores human vocation
- secures human rule forever
6️⃣ Why Angels Are Excluded from the World to Come
Angels are powerful, but they are:
- not redeemed
- not adopted
- not heirs
- not united to Christ
The world to come belongs to sons, not servants.
This is why Scripture can later say:
- believers reign with Christ
- believers inherit the kingdom
- believers judge angels
Authority in God’s future flows from redemption and sonship, not spiritual rank.
7️⃣ What Hebrews 2:5–9 Is Ultimately Teaching
The author’s logic is clear:
- God intended humanity to rule
- Humanity fell
- Jesus enters as the representative human
- Through suffering and death, He restores human destiny
- The world to come is now secured for redeemed humanity in Christ
This is why the warning earlier in Hebrews is so serious.
Salvation is not merely forgiveness. It is restoration to purpose.
To drift from the gospel is to drift from the very destiny for which humanity was created.
Final Summary
Hebrews 2:5–9 teaches that the world to come is ruled not by angels but by redeemed humanity, because Jesus—through incarnation, suffering, and resurrection—restores the human vocation lost in Adam and secures it forever in Himself.
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