In this final article of this three-part devotional series, we’ll consider a divine name found in the Scriptures that corresponds to the third letter of the alphabet. May this brief series of articles move each reader to explore the Scriptures continually to learn more about the person of Christ.
The Captain of Our Salvation
“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” (Heb 2:10).1
The imagery associated with this divine name, The Captain of Our Salvation, is so rich that perhaps even a Rembrandt would concede and put down his brush. May the words of this article serve to illustrate to each reader the breadth and depth of meaning found in this name, and lead us to a fuller appreciation of our Savior.
Picture in your mind a large group of men and women, and children as well, marching in a procession. The size of this multitude is described only as “many,” and the true number is known only to God, but could be estimated as ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. They’re all following One who stands out clearly and distinctly from the others. He leads them (for that is what the name captain means), and they confidently follow. There is a unique glory that surrounds this Captain they are following, and yet there is a clear indication that He knows what it is to suffer. All the evidence proves that He is a qualified, faithful leader who cares for those He leads, and who will not lose even one of His own.
They can all look back to better days that were behind them. Their federal head by nature had been given by the Creator dominion over His creation; he had been crowned with glory and honor, and all things had been put in subjection under his feet. This previous federal head had experienced this glory and honor, but soon fell to temptation and sinned. The entire race was now a fallen race, the dominion lost, the glory gone.
But now this great multitude is following Another, and by divine power, by God the Father Himself, they are being brought to glory. And they are being led in the way by God the Son, who is significantly called by His earthly, human name, Jesus: “but we see Jesus.” It is a Man who is leading them, none other than the Man of Calvary, the One who suffered in the days of His flesh, who suffered as a sacrifice for sin, a suffering that was foretold in the Old Testament and recorded in the New Testament. It was a suffering that met the demands of God and was fitting to the character of God. In fact, the great purpose of His descent lower than the angels was “for the suffering of death.”
This same One is crowned with glory and honor. All the glory, honor and dominion that the first man, Adam, lost in the fall have been restored in a Man, the Last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. The longer the multitude follows this Captain of Their Salvation, the more they can see of His glory and honor. The more they look upon Him, the more clearly His righteous humanity shows. The glory of His person shines brighter, the excellency of His character is more keenly seen, and their devotion to Him as the Captain of Their Salvation increases more and more. He has opened up the way to salvation, and He leads them in that way. And along the way, there is an ever-increasing understanding that He is leading them to glory, to be “conformed to the image of His Son,” and that He will share His glory with His own. Another has said, “Our captain has gone before and met the foe: He stood in the place of danger and overcame, and now his followers receive of his mighty grace, and share his victory and spoils” (J.R. Caldwell).
As well, in this imagery, there are shades of the Kinsman-Redeemer, for a fraternal relationship is established, the redemptive price has been paid, something that had been lost has been restored, and there is release from bondage. As we pause and gaze at the image, we apprehend a bit more easily the sympathetic High Priest, for as He suffered, being tempted, “he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
Each one who has entered, by faith, into the number of those called “many sons” is being brought to glory. We can look back to the day when we trusted Christ and He first became the Captain of Our Salvation. We can presently enjoy, day by day, a sense of nearness to Him and communion with Him as we closely follow the Captain of Our Salvation. And one day, we’ll arrive where God intends for us, simply called in our text “glory,” and it will be the Captain of Our Salvation who has led us there. Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed!
This brief article concludes this series, Finding Christ in the Alphabet. Each reader is strongly encouraged to explore the Scriptures to find the many other names throughout the written Word. The first chapter of John’s Gospel alone contains about a dozen names and titles of Christ, and elsewhere, there are seemingly countless others. Some are tender names, such as the Shepherd of our Souls (1Pe 2:25); other names present Him in His august glory, such as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5). Each presents something different of His glorious Person, and your meditations of Him will be sweet.
O my Saviour, Shield, and Sun,
Shepherd, Counsellor, and Friend!
Every precious name in One;
I will love Thee without end.2
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
2 John Newton (1725–1807)
