<p>2:14- see on Gal. 1:4; Rev. 20:5.</p><p><i>Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same nature; so that through his death he might bring to nothing him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil</i>- The language of sharing and partaking does not mean that the Lord only shared part of our nature; for we the children are sharers or partakers in flesh and blood, and we are fully human. He likewise participated or shard fully in our condition. Not an an actor, playing out a theological necessity that was scripted in the heavenly text, but in full total reality.</p><p>&ldquo;Him that had the power of death, that is the Devil&rdquo; (Heb. 2:14) may refer to the fact that &ldquo;the sting (power) of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the (Jewish) Law&rdquo; (1 Cor. 15:56; see also Rom. 4:15; 5:13;7:8, where &lsquo;the Law&rsquo; that gives power to sin is clearly the Jewish law). Bearing in mind that the &lsquo;Devil&rsquo; often refers to sin and the flesh, it seems significant that &lsquo;the flesh&rsquo; and &lsquo;sin&rsquo; are often associated with the Mosaic Law. The whole passage in Heb. 2:14 can be read with reference to the Jewish Law being &lsquo;taken out of the way&rsquo; by the death of Jesus A.V. &ldquo;destroy him that hath the power of death&rdquo;. The Devil kept men in bondage, just as the Law did (Gal. 4:9; 5:1; Acts 15:10; Rom. 7:6&ndash;11). The Law was an &lsquo;accuser&rsquo; (Rom. 2:19,20; 7:7) just as the Devil is. Hebrews 2:14 states that the Devil was destroyed by Christ&rsquo;s death. The Greek for &lsquo;destroy&rsquo; is translated &lsquo;abolish&rsquo; in Ephesians 2:15: &ldquo;Having abolished Darby: &lsquo;annulled&rsquo; in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances&rdquo;. This would equate the Devil with the enmity, or fleshly mind (Rom. 8:7) generated by the Mosaic Law; remember that Hebrews was written mainly to Jewish believers. The Law itself was perfect, in itself it was not the minister of sin, but the effect it had on man was to stimulate the &lsquo;Devil&rsquo; within man because of our disobedience. &ldquo;The strength of sin is the Law&rdquo; (1 Cor.15:56). &ldquo;Sin taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me (Rom. 7:8,11). Hence &ldquo;the wages of sin (stimulated by the Law) is death&rdquo; (Rom. 6:23). It is quite possible that the &ldquo;sin&rdquo; in Romans 6, which we should not keep serving, may have some reference to the Mosaic Law. It is probable that the Judaizers were by far the biggest source of false teaching in the early church. The assumption that Paul is battling Gnosticism is an anachronism, because the Gnostic heresies developed some time later. It would be true to say that incipient Gnostic ideas were presented by the Judaizers in the form of saying that sin was not to be taken too seriously because the Law provided set formulae for getting round it. The Law produced an outward showing in the &ldquo;flesh&rdquo;, not least in the sign of circumcision (Rom. 2:28).</p><p>This passage places extraordinary emphasis upon the fact that the Lord Jesus had human nature: &ldquo;He <i>also himself likewise</i>&rdquo; partook of it (Heb. 2:14). This phrase uses three words all with the same meaning, just to drive the point home. He partook &ldquo;of the <i>same</i>&rdquo; nature; the record could have said &lsquo;he partook of <i>it</i> too&rsquo;, but it stresses, &ldquo;he partook of the <i>same</i>&rdquo;. The passages hammers home the same truth multiple times: &quot;Himself... likewise... in like manner... partook... the same&quot;. The Lord's humanity was of huge moment to Paul. It is the basis for our salvation. The Lord partook in our nature, and we are made partakers in Him unto salvation (Heb. 2:14 cp. 3:14; 12:10; 2 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:13). As He partook in our nature, so we partake in Him and symbolize it by partaking at His table (s.w. 1 Cor. 10:17,21,30). His humanity, when preached and understood, is a powerful invitation to partake in Him by baptism and a life lived in Him. A Divine &quot;God the Son&quot; has no such appeal.&nbsp;</p>