Hebrews 2:11

‘For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren.’

For the wonderful fact is that the One Who was to be their Sanctifier, setting them apart for God and making them holy, had Himself become one with those who were to be sanctified, had necessarily taken on like nature and had suffered along with them, and was therefore ready to call them brothers and sisters.

And as the Author of their salvation He is their Sanctifier (the ‘One Who is sanctifying’ - present participle - a continuing process of sanctifying more and more people to God as time goes on). He it is Who through His death ‘sets them apart’ to God, and marks them off as His, providing for their ‘cleansing’ and fitness (Hebrews 1:3), so that they are presented as perfect before Him, perfecting for ever those who ‘have been and therefore are sanctified’ (Hebrews 10:14). ‘Those who are being sanctified.’ Again a present participle recognising that He is choosing more and more, a growing number, to be sanctified as time goes on.

It should be noted here that in Hebrews ‘sanctification’ (setting apart to God and making holy and acceptable to Him) is partially parallel to ‘justification’ elsewhere. It is in one sense a once-for-all event that makes a man continually acceptable with God (Hebrews 10:10; Hebrews 10:14; Hebrews 10:29). By it the blood of Christ effectively cleanses so that all that is contrary to God is removed (see 1 John 1:7 where it then continues also as a process). Christ becomes their sanctification ‘by one offering for ever’ so that they may be presented perfect before God, and then continues to sanctify them (Hebrews 10:14).

But in view of the context it is possible that we should also see the use of the present tense here as signifying the continuation of that sanctifying process throughout out lives as, being our Trek leader, ‘He is leading many sons to glory’. He sanctifies once for all, and then works out the process within us and for us continually.

‘Are all of one.’ And He is able to sanctify them through His sacrifice of Himself because He has Himself been made one with them through becoming man, and what is more, representative man. Thus could He incorporate into Himself those who believed. They are in Christ, and He is in them. They are all, as it were, of one ‘piece’, of one close-knit, united family conjoined in Him. They are one in Him. And this is why He is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers and sisters’. For they are united with Him in the unity of His perfection and of His death and resurrection. (It should be noted that the word for ‘brothers’ includes sisters as well, just as the word ‘man’ can mean all ‘man and womankind’). That is why we can sing quite truthfully, ‘the love wherewith He loved His Son, such is His love for me’.

Alternately we might translate ‘are all of one origin’ in God, the Father of the Messiah. And the result of that one origin is that we have been united with Him and share His life. The final significance is the same.