Bible Truth #335 - Hebrews 2:6-11

Hebrews 2:6-11

6  But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Some will jump on verse 9 and claim, “Here is proof that Jesus died for everyone! It says that Christ tasted death for every man.”

I would like to point out the reason why they misunderstand this passage. When the King James Version translators wrote “every man” in this verse, they wrote it from the Greek word pas (Strong’s #3956), which can be used two ways:
1) individually - each, any, every, anyone, etc... OR
2) collectively - some of all types or groups.

It can even be misunderstood in this passage - out of context - as those who believe in decisional salvation will claim. If verse 9 is casually read in light of verses 6-8, some will get the wrong interpretation of the context of “every man” (pas) and believe that the writer is referring to each and every man of the human race. They could not be more mistaken. First because it would contradict the rest of God’s Word in that there is no one in Hell for whom Christ died (Matthew 1:21, Romans 8:29-30, Ephesians 5:25), and second is because verse 9 starts with a contrasting conjunction.

So please, yes, read verses 6-8 and understand the writer is talking about mankind, or even each and every man. However, because verse 9 begins with a contrasting conjunction, the author is now changing the subject from that of the preceding verses. The author writes “But we...” Should the reader understand he is still referring to each and every man of the human race? NO! “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;” Does each and every man of the human race see Jesus crowned with glory and honor? Of course not!

The author of this letter has now qualified the recipients to a specific group. It is clear he is now referring to believers, for only believers will see Jesus crowned with glory and honor. This is confirmed by his continued writing in verses 10 and 11 when he writes of Him bringing many sons to glory (a specific, limited group), they who are sanctified (a specific, limited group), and He is not ashamed to call them brethren (again, a specific, limited group).

The bottom line is clear, the Greek tells us NOT that He tasted death for each and every man. It says He tasted death for “all,” pas (Strong’s #3956). All of who? Answer: All of the Elect, those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Or you can understand that He tasted death for all - used in the collective context, some of all types of men; i.e. some rich, some poor, some Jews, some Gentiles, some white, some black, some tall, some short, etc...

One of the biggest stumbling blocks Arminians have, and anyone who believes in decisional salvation, is that they believe the Greek word pas (Strong’s #3956) can only mean individually (each and every) every time it is used. Besides studying the word itself which should provide clear understanding for every believer, I give several examples of “all” being used collectively (some of all types) in Bible Truth #330.

The truth may be argued but it can never be refuted.