God Has Spoken Through His Son

English Standard Version Chapter 1

The Supremacy of God’s Son

1 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. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Communication

I have on my bookshelf somewhere, a book called “A Bridge Too Far”

Story happened in WW2

of one of the most ambitious military operations that the Allies put together

Became known as Operation Market Garden

it happened in September of 1944.

The Allies had landed in Normandy (D Day) in June of that year and they believed that they had the Germans mostly on the run

They were in high spirits

They wanted to strike a decisive blow at the Germans and begin advancing into Germany itself

So, the plan that they devised involved dropping almost 35,000 paratroopers into southern Netherlands, which was the largest airborne operations ever attempted

while 4 divisions of ground forces pushed overland to meet them

The idea was to secure several key bridges around the Dutch city of Arnhem, paving the way for the Allies to bypass Germany’s defenses on their western front and strike directly into the heart of Germany

It was an ambitious plan that from the beginning was frought with difficulty

Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower and British Commander, General Bernard Montgomery were at odds with one another and found it difficult to agree on a plan of action

Once the plan was put into action, however, there were many other difficulties

Main issue: Communication and correct information

Allies failed miserably to account for the number of German troops that were in the area

They failed to account for how rested and prepared these troops were

They did not account for how difficult it would be for a huge column of ground forces to advance along a two-lane road

The column got bogged down and they were easy targets for German troops and tanks

But one of their main difficulties were their radios

on the best of days their radios had a range of 6 miles

But this battle was to be fought in the city of Arnhem

They did not account for how buildings and the woods around the city would affect the range of their radios

And so, on top of being faced with an enemy that was far more prepared than they had imagined, the various allied groups could not communicate with one another and could not coordinate their actions

and so, the attack, as bold as it was, and even though the Allied troops fought valiantly and enjoyed some initial success, ultimately bogged down

And what followed was a bloody battle that lasted for nearly 10 days and in which the Allies suffered close to 17,000 casualties

And what was supposed to be a quick strike at the heart of Germany, ended in a colossal defeat

And the Allies were forced to retreat, lick their wounds, and face almost 8 more months of war until the Germans finally surrendered

Communication, correct information, is so important isn’t it?

We live in a society which recognizes the necessity of good and [and correct] communication

Advertisers put a great deal of thought into the message that they send

Most politicians try to craft their words correctly so that they send the correct message

Diplomats know full well that if they use the wrong words, it can result in international crisis.

Marriages can suffer when communication breaks down

Relationships in church can deteriorate when communication breaks down

The letter to Hebrews begins by asserting this monumental and wonderful truth:

God has spoken to us through His word, spoken through the prophets of old, and through His Son, Jesus.

In Christ, God has closed the greatest communication gap of all time, that which exists between a Holy God and sinful mankind

Why is this so important? Why does Hebrews emphasize this?

The reason is that having a God who speaks to His people is not something to be taken for granted

This is something that sets our God apart from any other god

The gods of the pagans do not reach out and speak to their worshipers

They do not truly respond to prayer

They are gods to be appeased by their followers, not gods who reach out and speak to them

Remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel

They were to cry out to their gods and which ever god answered with fire, that was the true God

But the prophets of Baal simply could not get their god to respond to them, no matter

how loud they cried

how hard they danced

how much they cut themselves

The reason

is that the pagan gods of the land were not used to answering prayer.

They were used to be appeased by sacrifices and essentially keeping people in bondage and slavery

They weren’t going to step out from behind their shroud of secrecy and answer a prayer

This is the way the gods of the pagans are

This is where so many people around the world find themselves

Living in bondage to gods who demand everything from them yet who will not reveal themselves

And when they do, they reveal something terrifying and evil

and since the beginning of time, people around the world desire and long for a God who will reach out to them and speak to them

This is the amazing thing about our God, is that He has always stepped out from behind the veil, so to speak, and revealed Himself to His people

Elijah on Mt. Carmel, when it was his turn, he just prayed a very simple and humble prayer:

English Standard Version Chapter 18

O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back

And BAM!!

Fire fell from heaven and devoured the sacrifice, the altar, and the water around the altar

And God proved again that He is a God who speaks, responds!

And as we start this letter, this is how this author chooses to set the stage: God has spoken!

Why can we endure through our lives, through hardship? Because God has spoken. He has revealed Himself!

As we dive into Hebrews, we will notice that the author uses different tools in his belt to make a point

One of those is contrast

First of all, I want you to see how this author sets up his discussion to introduce us to how God has spoken to us

He contrasts the way that God has spoken to us

Long ago, at many times................in these last days

God spoke........................................He has spoken

to our forefathers..............................to us

through the prophets.......................through His Son

Long ago at many times

we can look back in history and learn about God

we have records of long ago

In these last days

God continues

God is real, present, active

He has not gone anywhere

He continues to work

The same God that was, still is

God spoke

God approached His people and spoke to them

God spoke and the universe was created

After Adam and Eve sinned, God came searching for them

calling their names

And ever after that, God continued to speak

He called Noah

He called Abraham

He called Moses

He spoke to His people from Mt. Sinai

God continued to speak

But when Hebrews was written, the Jewish people were coming off of nearly 500 years when it seemed that God was silent

There was no new revelation, no new law. Very few, if any, prophets

And they had to have been wondering by now, will God ever speak?

Long ago, God used to speak. He spoke to the prophets. He spoke to our forefathers. But he hasn’t spoken to me

Is He speaking and we just aren’t hearing Him?

He has spoken.

But this is the wonderful good news

God has indeed spoken again

He is not silent! He has not forsaken us!

To the forefathers through the prophets

In the days of the forefathers, in the generations past, God delivered His message to His people through prophets

men that He had chosen to carry His message

Men that God would put His finger on and say, “You are going to take my message to the people”

And when the Spirit of the Lord would come upon them, they would go out and proclaim whatever message that God had given them

These prophets were a select group of people. God did not speak to everyone directly

God remained, as it were, behind a veil, shrouded in mystery, unapproachable, untouchable

But now He has spoken to us through His Son.

With these words, the author doing 2 things for us

First, he is building a bridge between the OT and the NT

Again, the author is bringing it into the present. God used to speak. And He has spoken again now to us!

But this time He isn’t using prophets

He’s not “way up there”, sending messages through this select group of people while remaining behind the veil

Secondly—he is highlighting the fact that in Christ, God has closed one of the biggest communication gaps that has ever existed—the gap between a Holy God and sinful man

But He goes on to describe Christ

Remember, the theme of our series on Hebrews is “endure”

Some Believers had abandoned their faith because they did not recognize the deity of Christ and His equality with God

So, in these opening verses, the author sets the stage by highlighting at least 8 things about Jesus

Jesus is God’s prophetic voice

We’ve already referred to this, but one of the author’s main point’s in Hebrews is that Jesus does not break with Jewish past

Rather, He brings it to fulfillment

And without Jesus, the OT is partial, and incomplete

God used to speak in different and various ways.

But in Christ He spoke fully decisively, finally, perfectly

Jesus was, and is the greatest prophet of all time

Ezekiel portrayed the glory of God. Jesus reflected it

Isaiah expounded on the nature of God. Jesus manifested the nature of God

Jeremiah described the power of God, but Jesus displayed the power of God

Jesus far surpassed the OT prophets and the challenge for the early Christians and for us is to listen to His voice!

The challenge for us is that we don’t discard the OT. We don’t ignore it—”All Scripture is God-breathed”

Rather, we read it through the lens of Jesus, who more perfectly fulfilled the OT

Jesus is God’s Son

The theme of Jesus as God’s Son is one that comes up a number of times in this letter

The reason that the author highlights this is just as valid today as it was back then

That is, that there are many who try to put Jesus into the category of either a “good man”, “a great teacher”, or “a great prophet”

He was all of those things. But He was much more than that. He was God’s Son

He was God’s King

He was the One whom God specially chose and anointed to bring salvation to His people

by taking the place of punishment and bearing our sin to the cross

the problem is that when you relegate Jesus to simply being a good man or great teacher, what do you do about salvation?

Without the Son, there is no salvation

Without Jesus being established as God’s chosen King and Anointed One, He just becomes another prophet in the dustbin of history, and there is no hope of salvation

And the book of Hebrews includes some strongly worded warnings pointed toward those who “Spurn the Son of God”, 10:29

those words mean, to think less of Him than we should

to think of Him in a common way

Jesus is God’s appointed heir

Christ was appointed heir of all things

The author is most likely drawing this idea of Jesus being the “heir” from Psalm 2:8 “8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

Jesus himself confirms that what He has He received from The Father

John 16:12–15 “12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Before He left the earth, He declared, “All power in heaven and earth has been given to me”

Jesus has been given a rich inheritance. And we as His people share it with Him

Jesus is God’s creative agent—through whom He created the world

The Apostle John opens his story of Jesus by making this exact point

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 God’s glory personified—He is the radiance of the glory of God

again, this is a point that the apostle John makes

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.”

When you get to know Jesus, you begin to see the very glory of the Father

Glory—comes from a word meaning “weight”

Jesus is God’s perfect revelation—He is the exact imprint of His nature

Jesus said to His disciples: “If you have seen me, you have seen The Father”

There are many people who wonder what God really is like.

For some, God is just some cosmic force out there somewhere which might or might not be a part of their lives.

with whom they may or may not be able to communicate when they need to

Or God is a brutal dictator just waiting to crack down on them when they stray off the beaten path

Or, He is a kindly old gentleman who certainly would never hurt anyone, but isn’t always aware of everything that goes on in our lives

People have all kinds of ideas about God

But to understand what God is like, all we have to do is learn to know Jesus

We learn to know about Him by reading His Word

And we learn to know Him experientially by walking with Him and learning how He wants to work in my life

And as we do that, we learn to know who God is as well!

When you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father!

Jesus is God’s cosmic sustainer—He upholds the universe by the word of His power

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

Jesus is God’s unique sacrifice—after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

This is the Gospel in a very small nutshell

Jesus purified us from our sins

And after He did the will of The Father

He sat down at the Father’s right hand. That is the place of honor that all hosts reserved for the most honored guest.

Whoever was at the right hand of the host was someone who had been brought up to equality with the host, someone whom the host thought of as being his equal

And the fact that Jesus “sat down” is an indication that the work that He had come do do was finished.

There was nothing more to be done

And this statement is crucial to hang on to because the warnings in this book are based on this thought:

Jesus has come and completed the work that needed to be done to make us right with God

Now, we have a choice to make. We can choose to accept His mercy and live our lives in response to that mercy

Or we can choose to disregard that mercy and count it as insignificant and ineffective

And if we do that, we are on dangerous ground,

First, because we are, in essence, thumbing our noses at God and at the great cost of Jesus sacrifice

Secondly, because there is no other sacrifice that can be made for sin. There is no other means of salvation

we can search for salvation and meaning in other places

But it’s a futile search which will only end up in disaster

So, as we come to an end this morning, here is the point again:

GOD HAS SPOKEN TO US THROUGH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST

God, the Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe has spoken to US

And that puts the ball in our court, doesn’t it?

God has spoken and revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, and now we have the opportunity to respond

Have you responded to God?

Have you considered God’s offer of reconciliation through Christ Jesus?

Have you experienced the cleansing and the joy that comes from having your sins washed away and your life made new

And are you still responding to Jesus?

Is each day a new walk with Jesus, hearing His word and

The invitation is very clear. God is inviting each one of us into a close relationship with Himself

Through believing His Son, Jesus Christ