Four Things

Four Things
Words of Faith 1-16-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Hebrews 2
[14] Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil— [15] and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. [16] For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. [17] For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. [18] Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus entered human flesh to do four things that angels cannot do for us, and we cannot do for ourselves…

1)Destroy the devil who holds the power of death. Only God ultimately holds the power of life and death (Job 2:6, Luke 12:5), but through the devil's temptation, death entered the world (Genesis 2:17, Romans 5:12), and this "power" was given to the devil by man's choice to sin. Jesus entered human flesh and defeated this enemy. The only power that Satan now has over you is that which you choose to once again turn over to him.

2)Free us from the slavery of the fear of death. Everyone on earth lives in fear of death or denial of death. In Christ, we have no such fear because He has vanquished even this enemy of life (1 Cor. 15:54‑57). We need no longer fear death. We have eternity. We have an eternal perspective. We know that though we grieve the loss of earthly life, we need not fear death, for it has no power over us.

3)Atone for our sins. Jesus became our High Priest and did for us the one thing that we cannot do for ourselves— make atonement for our sins. He made a covering over our sins so as to put aside the divine wrath that we arouse with our sins (Romans 1:18). By our sin, we made ourselves enemies of God (Romans5:10)— by His atonement, we are made to be at peace with God.

4)Help those who are tempted. The classic Jewish ideal of the High Priest was someone who had no feelings or "had his pity under control." Jesus is quite the opposite. He is a High Priest who has mercy and helps us in times of temptation. Because Jesus himself was tempted, He is able to help us in our times of temptation.

Have you ever had a friend who did so much for you? And certainly no angel of any level or description could ever do so much. What a friend we have in Jesus! All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son Jesus. Thank You for defeating my adversary. Thank You for setting me free from the fear of death and for atoning for my sins. Help me in my times of temptation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2026
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2026 Jeffrey D. Hoy.