Hebrews 1:1-3a Jesus the Son
Good morning!
John 1:1-18 says,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Let’s pray.
I know that you were all expecting Hebrews and not the Gospel of John so you can turn there to Hebrews 1:1-3, page 1001 in the pew Bibles.
When you picture Jesus what do you see? Do you see Him on the cross dying in your place? Do you see Him in the street preaching good news to the poor and the blind and lame? Do you see a baby in a manger surrounded by peasants and shepherds? Do you see Him seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, interceding for you?
None of these images are wrong, they are all facets of Christ. I think that it is completely beyond us to comprehend all that Jesus is. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
The book of Hebrews is given to us to fill in some of the gaps, I think. I said to you last time that the original author’s intent was to encourage believers in times of trial by focusing on the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. Are supremacy and sufficiency words you tend to use to describe Jesus?
Maybe not but hopefully at least the concepts themselves will resonate with you.
As we look at Hebrews one, I pray that the Lord would color in a bit of the picture for us.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
I’d like to examine one phrase at a time of these few verses to hopefully bring clarity and fulness to the Word of the Lord. We joked this week about having to stop at every word to look at it closely as we worked our way through this letter. It may not be one word at a time but it’s going to be close!
Long ago… Let’s stop right there. I told you it would be close!
The Old Testament, beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi records the message of the Lord God to the prophets. This time came to an end and was followed by four hundred years of silence. No prophets spoke, no oracles were given. Not until John, known as John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
Malachi wrote in Chapter 3, verse 1,
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”
During that time between Malachi and Genesis, roughly 3,500 years, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets at many times and in many ways.
That the Lord spoke at many times or in many parts, through different people displays that the revelation was not complete, not yet perfected, the Lord’s revelation was not given in its fulness but fragmented. It’s been said that the entire prophetic function of humanity bears the characteristic of being, “in part,” meaning incomplete.
God also spoke in many ways, many different modes. His message took various forms and He used different methods. He used the Law, prophecy, doctrine, exhortation, warning, consolation, threatening, and promises. All parts of one whole yet to be revealed.
A revelation like this can’t be final and complete, it needs perfection, it needs Messiah.
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, in their Critical Commentary wrote,
“All was not revealed to each one prophet; but one received one portion of revelation, and another another. To Noah the quarter of the world to which Messiah should belong was revealed; to Abraham, the nation; to Jacob, the tribe; to David and Isaiah, the family; to Micah, the town of nativity; to Daniel, the exact time; to Malachi, the coming of His forerunner, and His second advent; through Jonah, His burial and resurrection; through Isaiah and Hosea, His resurrection. Each only knew in part; but when that which was perfect came in Messiah, that which was in part was done away.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you read the Old Testament without looking for or thinking of Jesus Christ, the revelation will continue to be incomplete because all of it is about Him.
There is no question that it was God who was speaking by the prophets about His Son. JP Lange wrote,
“He who speaks is God. The prophets are the organs of His revelation, completely controlled by Him, and in whom His own utterances are heard.”
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…
“These last days…”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked if I think we are living in the last days.
Here is the true definition of the last days, the start and stop of them:
The last days began at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the last days will come to an end at our resurrection at the return of Christ. Are we living in the last days? Yes.
And as we live in the last days we have no need to look for any new and special revelation. When we come to Jesus we do not need to look any further. In these last days God has spoken to us by His Son.
Everything is now to be viewed through the lens of Jesus. Like I’ve already said, we view the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus and we start to see that the whole thing points to Him, people’s need for Him, and for His work on behalf of mankind. When we read the New Testament it’s the same thing, it’s all about Jesus, that which was spoken by the prophets long ago, in many times, and many ways, was spoken by God, and the same God still speaks by Jesus, His Son through the records and writings of His Apostles.
2 …in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things
What does it mean to be the heir of all things? As the Son of God He has inherited everything from His Father. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.”
And since He is the heir of all things, the earth, the whole world, and everyone who lives in it are subject to His authority. He is exalted as the ruler and is to be worshipped as Lord!
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Psalm 24 says more than just that the world belongs to the Lord, it says that it is His because He made it!
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
And as was read from John chapter one, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Jesus is the instrument of creation, the mediator of God’s final revelation, He is the demonstration of God’s invisible qualities, he is the eternally existent Son! What Adam lost, Jesus restored!
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
In Jesus Christ the glory of God is concentrated into an individual, personal image. He expresses the essential being of God.
In John 14:8 Philip said to [Jesus], “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature, the stamp itself as well as the image to be impressed.
John Calvin wrote, “God is in Himself to us incomprehensible, His form only appears to us in His Son.”
Without Jesus there is no light, only darkness. By Him God is truly and really known; He is no obscure or shadowy image. The true substance of the Father is engraved in the Son.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
In Jesus all things hold together. He carries all of creation forward to the accomplishment of its purposes. He sustains it, He guides it. Everything would blow apart if it were not held together by Jesus.
Colossians 1:15-23 says, and I’ll close with this…
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven…
Amen.
I told you this was going to be a lot of work!
Let’s pray.
