"Jesus...became the source of eternal salvation"

Luke 2:52 says,
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

There was growth and development in Jesus’ earthly life. Though he was God's Son and possessed all the attributes of God the Father, Jesus didn't use his divinity to help him to obey his Heavenly Father perfectly. Jesus was a real man, and he grew mentally, socially, and spiritually.

Philippians 2:6-8 says,
"Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be held on to for advantage, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus "emptied himself", that is, he purposely deprived himself of his divine right to use his divine powers in living as a true man the perfectly obedient life we ought to live, but we do not; and in dying in our place the death, we deserve. Jesus lived and died in our place as our substitute.

Hebrews 5:8-9 says,
“Jesus...Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”.

Jesus had no sin nature and never sinned, but as a man, he had to learn obedience as a man. He learned to obey his Heavenly Father perfectly throughout his life of suffering which ended on the cross. Once Jesus became perfect through his obedience and suffering he became the source of eternal salvation to those who obey him.

Jesus as a man glorified God perfectly as no other man has or ever will, and as such he is “the source of eternal salvation” to the believers. We are eternally saved through Jesus’ perfect obedience and suffering and so we glorify God perfectly through Jesus.

Our obedience to Jesus doesn’t add anything to our salvation. However, our obedience is evidence that we are partakers of that eternal salvation, and faith in Jesus is the initial mark of our obedience to him. As John 6:28-29 says, "Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Jesus perfectly obeyed his Father to the point of death that we may be eternally saved. We obey Jesus because we are eternally saved.

So we need to ask ourselves: Do I evidence that I am eternally saved in Christ Jesus, by trusting in him for salvation? Am I growing in favor with God, and with people - loving God, and loving people?