"The Purpose of Christmas" Hebrews 1:1-4

When I am referring to the “Purpose of Christmas” I am not talking of the way we may think of Christmas as a holiday celebration once a year.

I am trying to get us to move beyond that and see Christmas through the eyes of God from the perspective of His eternal plan.

Certainly the New Testament gives us the narrative account of the birth of Christ but the birth of Christ was the eternal plan of God coming to bear upon a lost and temporal world at a point in space, time and history.

The Church in the first century looked at the incarnation of Christ as a whole event. As Christianity spread in the ancient eastern world and then to the western world pagan holidays were Christianized as people embraced Christianity and rejected their pagan rituals.

But in the first century there was no such thing as what we know as a Christmas holiday.

There were no gift exchanges or celebrations with decorations hanging on evergreen trees. There was none of that. Even the term “Christmas” wasn’t used in written form until the year 1038. Christmas as a holiday celebration has evolved through the centuries.

In the early Church the Christ event was holistically seen as a wondrous mystery where the eternal Son of God took on flesh and came to earth. This is what we mean when we use the term incarnation.

He was born of a virgin who conceived by the Holy Spirit, He lived and ministered and then died on a Cross and rose again on the third day. And now He is seated at the right hand of the Father as He makes intercession for us.

You see Christian from a first century perspective the focus was on Christ as God’s expression of the Incarnation. And the ultimate purpose of this expression of Christ’s revelation is much bigger and glorious than gift exchanges and Christmas decorations on an evergreen tree.

Our text this morning points us to Christ in a holistic manner as God’s expressed revelation to us. And this helps us to see the ultimate purpose of Christmas as seen through the eyes of God. Look back at your text to verses 1-2:

I. Christ is God’s Revelation of His Son (1-2).

First we see that as the Son of God, He is the heir of all things (2a). The Father has endowed all things as an inheritance to the Son. This has always been the plan and purpose of God.

Psalm 2:8 “8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

The Son fulfilled the Father’s plan of redemption and was given all authority over heaven and earth as Jesus declared post-resurrection to His disciples:

Matthew 28:18 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

The we see at the end of verse 2 in Hebrews chapter 1 that the Son is the creator of the world (2b).

God created the world through His Son. He inherits it all and He made it all. The Son made it at the beginning and He retains it as an inheritance in eternity.

John 1:3 “3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Colossians 1:16 “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.”

God speaks to us through the revelation of His Son but in doing so what is it that God is attempting to convey in this communication? God is conveying the radiance of His own glory through the revelation of His Son. Look back to verses 3-4:

II. Christ is God’s Radiance of Glory (3-4). (There are 4 ways in which Christ radiates the glory of God)

First, Christ radiates the glory of God because He is the “exact imprint” of God’s divine nature (3a). This idea of exact imprint is terminology used in the production of ancient coinage. Where the image of Caesar was struck into a coin by a hammer with a stamp pressing the image onto the coin. In this case it is the very nature or essence of God Himself that Christ possesses as His own. And this is what we see in other Scriptures of the New Testament like:

John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “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.”

Colossians 1:15 “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

Colossians 1:19 “19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,”

Second, Christ radiates the glory of God because He upholds the Universe by the power of His word (3b). Christ made it but He also sustains all things by the power of His word. It was created by word in the beginning and it is sustained by the same word. This is why the order that is built into the Universe is being maintained. From the smallest particle to largest of the galaxies and everything in between is sustained by Christ, the Son of God.

Colossians 1:17 “17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

All things have their origin and their order in Christ.

Third, Christ radiates the glory of God because He is our great high priest who is exalted to the right hand of God (3c). This is not just a display of His majesty and prominence but it is the place of His intercessory function on our behalf.

Colossians 1:20 “20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Romans 8:34 “34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

You can also read Ephesians 1:15-23 this afternoon. Paul there reiterates many of these same truths and before he does he tells the Christians at Ephesus that he prays that they will have this understanding of the wisdom and knowledge of Christ. Just think, the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that the would know the glorious truths of Christology.

Fourth, Christ radiates the glory of God because He is supreme over angels (4).

This is talking about after willfully taking on flesh in the humility of His humanity and subjecting Himself to death for our sake, He was raised on the third day from the dead and exalted to the highest place over all things, including angels once again and forever more.

We will talk more about this in the weeks to come but understand this superiority over angels reflects His authority and dominion over them as it is with God.

Psalm 8:4-6 is quoted later in that section of Hebrews 2:5-9 where the writer of Hebrews is arguing that the plan of God was not to make angels supreme but Christ supreme. Just turn there and see it as it is helpful for us to see that it is fulfilled post-incarnation:

Turn and read Hebrews 2:5–9

Understand Christian that Psalm 8 is not primarily talking about redeemed man in general but it is primarily talking about Christ and Hebrews 2:5-9 understands this to be the case. We triumph through Christ because Christ has won the victory on our behalf through His death, burial and resurrection.

IV. That may be the application to us but that is still secondary to God’s ultimate purpose. The ultimate purpose of Christ coming into the world was to accomplish the Fathers will in order that the Son may be exalted over all things to the glory of God. God is consumed from all eternity with high Christology because that is the means by which He glorifies Himself in all things.

Conclusion:

This is why you can’t make your Christianity primarily about you. You will get so bored and disenchanted eventually especially if suffering is taking place in your life. It all has to be about Christ in order for your life to be lived out in consistency with God’s ultimate purpose for you.

Many want to do something great in life. To leave a legacy after they are gone but Christ is the only legacy that will matter in eternity.

Unbeliever God’s ultimate purpose is that your life will glorify Him through the exaltation of Christ. Not once a year at Christmas but holistically, from beginning to the end. Believe the gospel!

Believer has life for His glory had any competition from the world this week? I bet it has. I know it has for me. And God invites us this morning to His table to partake of His provision to us in Christ to remind us of our ultimate purpose in Him and not in ourselves.

Confess your sin to Him turn from it as we prepare our hearts today to feast upon Christ. It is in Him that we find our rest. Turn from your sin and be restored to Christ by His sovereign grace. Let’s pray!