For you made him a little lower than ELOHIM (Psalm 8:5). Can you explain what it means?
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You seem to be especially interested in the meaning of the Hebrew word Elohim as used in Psalm 8. There are two ways of understanding the word in this sentence, ways that are faithful to the vocabulary and context of the psalm and also compatible with the rest of Scripture. The focus of the psalm and these verses is the "Son of Man" (Psalm 8:4), ultimately a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The first way of understanding the words is this: He was made a little lower than God (Elohim) in his humiliation, when he laid aside the full use of his divine powers and prerogatives for a time to serve as our Substitute and Redeemer. Some have seen the words as a foreshadowing especially of the events of Good Friday when Jesus was separated from God the Father and made to lack in that way.
A similar approach also sees this as a reference to Christ's humiliation but understands "Elohim" as a reference to angels rather than God Himself. The word Elohim can be used to denote representatives or messengers of God as well as God himself. The context is what leads us to make a decision regarding a given use of the term. See Psalm 82:1 and Psalm 82:6 for examples of how the word is used for civil authorities who serve as God's representatives. The translators of the Septuagint (early Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) translated Elohim as "angels" and the New Testament use of the verse in Hebrews 2:6-8 keeps "angels" in the translation used. Again, the humiliation of Jesus as the God-man in his service as our Sin-bearer is the focal point.
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When did Christ descend into hell?
There is little about Jesus' descent to hell in Scripture. The only direct reference is 1 Peter 3:18-20. As you see when you read this, Jesus did not descend to hell from the cross. He visited hell after he had been made alive again.
There have been various theories about the descent to hell. One is that "hell" refers to the suffering Jesus experienced on the cross. Another is that "descent" simply refers to being buried in the ground. But neither of these does justice to the passage in which Peter says that Christ "preached to the spirits in prison." Jesus' descent was not part of his suffering, but a display of his victory over Satan. Colossians 2:14-15 may refer to this.
Another wrong theory is that Jesus went to hell to rescue the Old Testament believers who had to stay there until his victory was won. Others thought Jesus went to hell to give the people there another chance. Both of these ideas contradict Scripture.
The word order of the Apostles' Creed is rather confusing. One way to explain it is that Jesus died on Friday, when both his soul and the soul of the repentant thief entered heaven (Luke 23:43,46), and Jesus' descent to hell was perhaps the first event that occurred when he returned to life on Sunday. Jesus' resurrection is mentioned after his descent by the Creed because Jesus' resurrection appearances to the disciples followed the descent to hell.
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I had a discussion with my friend, who said that Christ in his human nature was incapable of sin or of succumbing to temptation. I thought he was fully susceptible to the temptation to sin—but did not. What does the Word say about this?
This subject has intrigued and troubled many Christians for a long time. It is not a silly or frivolous question since it deals with the person of Jesus Christ and the union of the two natures in him.
The Bible clearly leads us to see that Jesus was really tempted just like we are, but that he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). This fact highlights his human nature, to be sure. Jesus was truly human and really tempted. This was no pretending.
But the person of Christ is unique and in addition to his human nature he also had his divine nature. As God, or according to his divine nature, Jesus could not be tempted (James 1:13) nor could he sin.
Being both God and man at the same time and in a unique way that surpasses our full comprehension, Jesus laid aside the full use of his divine characteristics and prerogatives for a time in order to carry out his work as our substitute. He was truly tempted and subject to temptation but as God was ultimately incapable of sinning. We let both truths stand side by side. Our task is not to plumb the depths of Christ's unique person but to rejoice in what he did on our behalf.
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