The Gloriousness of Christ

Text:

Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Introduction:

Taking time to dwell on the beauty of Christ.

How often do we think about Christ as beautiful?

The easiest way to make difficult theology applicable, is to let it fuel the beatific vision and let your studies always make Christ more beautiful to you.

A. The Beauty of Christ’s Divinity

1. Jesus is the Radiance (of God’s Glory)

Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory…”

The author of Hebrews wants to be clear: the man Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Word of God because He is God.

And, like those before Him and after Him — He defends the divinity of Christ in beautiful language here.

The word for Radiance in the Greek means radiance; brightness and is only used this single time in the NT.

The Old Commentators assert that at the root would be what we call effulgence.

Effulgence is sending out rays of light — what sends out rays of light? (Kids?)

The Son is the radiant light of the Father.

Just as the suns light and the sun itself are the distinct, they are of the same nature — which the author of Hebrews gets at next…

2. Jesus is the Representation (of God’s Nature)

Hebrews 1:3 “and the exact representation of His nature,…”

The Lord Jesus Christ has the same exact nature of the Father.

The Lord Jesus is distinct from the Father as a person, but not in nature — for He is the exact representation of the Father’s nature.

“The exact representation” is one word in the Greek — that word is: Charakter.

Not in the since of a role played by an actor — Christ is not a man pretending to be God or acting like God.

But rather, the connection is to the character of a stamp.

The symbol, distinct but exact, carrying all the information identical to stamp itself.

Why is this important?

Because since the incarnation, people have been challenging the deity of Christ.

In fact, we read a portion together tonight of the Nicene Creed which was the result of Council of Nicaea which gathered together to sort out what to do with Arius.

Arius was a priest who was teaching his people that Jesus was created and not the same nature as God. Although He is still like God, He is lesser and in His divinity, subordinate to the Father.

Clearly, the Creed contradicts and condemns the teachings of Arius and his followers (who abandoned him in the end): “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of Very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,”

This teaching that sounds like JW’s was confronted in 325 AD!

Not just Jehovah’s Witnesses, mormons, muslims, atheists, and the whole lot but even in Christ’s own time to His face.

John 10:24–33 “The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.””

The incarnation is a divine scandal to those who do not have eyes to see.

And for 1,000s of years we have been working to articulate and defend the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ against His accusers.

This is why it’s important.

3. Jesus is the Upholder (of God’s Creation)

Continuing on, the author of Hebrews not only establishes the nature of Christ, but also the power of Christ.

Hebrews 1:3 “and upholds all things by the word of His power.”

Because Christ has the exact same nature as the Father, He has His power as well — unlimited, inexhaustible power.

And Christ uses this power to uphold all things.

Existence is sustained by the powerful word of Christ.

B. The Beauty of Christ’s Incarnation

1. Jesus is the Humble Man

Hebrews 1:3 “…When He had made purification of sins,…”

In the preceding verses the author says in Hebrews 1:2 “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,”

We the readers know that He has the incarnation in mind.

According to God’s predetermined plan, the Son would come to us from Heaven as an incarnate man born of Virgin and dwell among us.

The Bible is clear:

Galatians 4:4–5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Now one would think given the above statement, that the Lord Jesus Christ being truly God would come and unleash upon those who disobey Him.

Just every town Jesus walks into “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel (which is statistically the coolest song ever) starts playing and He starts shooting lightning out of His fingers destroying those who blaspheme God, corrupt His word, abuse His elect, and reject Him.

But He doesn’t.

Hear these verses:

Luke 19:10 ““For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.””

Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.””

Luke 4:40 “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.”

The King and agent of Creation comes down to creation itself not as a tyrant, but a servant.

He doesn’t abuse His divine power, but rather heals the hurting, comforts the broken, and serves the helpless.

And you dear Christian, don’t forget this, don’t live like this isn’t true for you.

Don’t live thinking you’ve professed faith in a tyrant, but rather the Godman who serves you, and nourishes you through His Word and Spirit.

How often do you worry that you’re under punishment?

Can I remind you tonight Christian that Christ has been punished for you?

2. Jesus is the Pure Lamb.

Hebrews 1:3 “When He had made purification of sins,”

Dear Christian tonight, be reminded that Christ has been punished for you and that He has made purification for YOUR sins.

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Christ was not just a humble man, but he was the pure Lamb.

Go back to Daniel’s sermon on the Day of Atonement to get all of the biblical theological themes of Christ as the sacrificial lamb.

But suffice it to say, that in Jewish history and law, they were required once a year to offer up an unblemished lamb for their sins as a people (you can find this in Leviticus 16).

That is, until Christ — the final pure and spotless lamb was offered up for our sins once and for all.

Hebrews 7:26–27 “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

While incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ never sinned or broke God’s Law — meaning He was the spotless lamb, prepared for the slaughter and in His crucifixion atonement was made, redemption purchased, and our sins washed away.

The beauty of the incarnation is that Christ the King became ugly with our sin for us.

C. The Beauty of Christ’s Reign

1. Jesus the Ascendant King

Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

The Lord Jesus Christ, after dying for the sins of the elect, rose from the grave and a brief period on earth ascended before the eyes of His disciples into the super natural realm of Heaven.

He is the ascendant King, who in His death and resurrection conquers hell and rules from heaven — sitting at the Father’s right hand reigning over all.

Mark 16:19 “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Christ the King, has all authority and as we have seen because He is the exact representation of God’s nature, the power to rule over all.

And because He is perfect, there is no temptation for Christ to become a merciless despot, or a tyrannical overlord.

The saying goes: “absolute power corrupts absolutely” but this will never be the case for the Lord Jesus Christ because He cannot be corrupted.

His reign will always be just and perfect.

2. Jesus the Beautiful King

Finally, all of this brings the fact that Christ is the beautiful King.

The Lord Jesus is beautiful in His nature, person, and character.

He is just in doling out mercy to those whom He gives mercy and justice to those whom He chooses.

And forever, we the redeemed will gaze upon His beauty.

Isaiah 33:17 “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;”

Alas, at the end of time and we enter into eternity, we will get to behold the beautiful Godman-King in all His beauty and forever live in a new creation under His perfect rule.