Trust God's Son Part 1: Hebrews

[Prayer of Illumination]

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Introduction

Introduction

Growing up, my parents would take me to the pool quite often. Though I learned how to swim at a young age, I was still afraid to jump off the diving board into the deep end. To a little kid, the diving board was a million feet tall and the water a million feet deep. However, my fears were minimized when my mother or father agreed to swim out into the middle of the deep end and catch me. They would then help me get to the side of the pool. How could something that I as a child found so terrifying instantly become something I would do over and over again? The answer is simple. I trusted my mom and dad. They had fed me, clothed me, comforted me in sadness, pain, and illness, and loved me ever since I could remember. So when they said jump in and I’ll catch you, I jumped joyously into their arms. As you can tell by my being here my trust was returned with their faithfulness. Trust is a hard concept for many of us. It is hard to trust someone and it is even harder to trust when your trust has been broken. Indeed none of us have been perfect with the trust that people have given us. Is there anyone we can trust in this life that won’t ever betray our trust? If so, then who? The author of Hebrews answers this question throughout his 13 chapters. The answer is that we can and should trust God’s Son Jesus. Yes, trust God’s Son Jesus. This exhortation will be the Big Idea of today’s and next weeks sermon. After I have finished the two part overview we will then march through Hebrews in detail and gather the precious gems of truth within it. Today we will look at two of the four reasons the author of Hebrews instructs his original audience and us to trust God’s Son Jesus. It is to those we now turn.

FCF: Who should you trust?

· BI: Approach God by trusting in His Son Jesus

BI: Trust God’s Son Jesus

Body

First, Trust God’s Son Jesus because He is first. By saying Jesus is first I mean that He is supreme or the best. There is no creature or being that is greater than Him. You are not better than Him, I am not better than Him, the saints of the Old Testament are not better than Him. He comes in first place when compared to anyone or anything. The author of Hebrews shows this truth in a variety of ways.

9 But we see him owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, pcrowned with glory and honor qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might rtaste death sfor everyone.

10 For it twas fitting that he, ufor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons vto glory, should make the wfounder of their salvation xperfect through suffering. 11 For yhe who sanctifies and zthose who are sanctified aall have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them bbrothers,3 12 saying,

He is preexistent: , ; ; ;

o He is preexistent: , ; ; ;

c“I will tell of your name to my brothers;

He teaches us that before God the Son became the man Jesus He always existed. The World was created through Him (). He is said to be God with a forever kingdom (). He was made to be a little lower than angles for a time in His becoming a man and suffering, meaning that prior to that He was above the angels and will be forevermore (). It is implied that He neither has beginning or end (). Prior to having a body prepared for Him He existed (). Unlike the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness, Muslims, and Oneness Pentecostals, we agree with the testimony of Scripture that God the son, the second member of the trinity always was, is, and will be. This person in a specific time became a true human being, yet remained truly God.

in the midst of the dcongregation I will sing your praise.”

o He is truly human, but without sin:

13 And again,

He is truly human, but without sin:

e“I will put my trust in him.”

The author of Hebrews teaches that Jesus is first when it comes to His humanity, meaning He is the best and most fully human to have ever existed. He had flesh and blood, and in His humanity He suffered, bleed, and died. He was tempted as we are, but didn’t sin (; ). Indeed, Jesus is truly human in every way. After completing His mission to save sinners through His substitutionary death, He was and exalted.

And again,

§ Humanity: , , ; ; ; ; , ; ,

Humanity: , , ; ; ; ; , ; ,

f“Behold, I and the children gGod has given me.”

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise hpartook of the same things, that ithrough death he might jdestroy kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,Humanity: , , ; ; ; ; , ; ,

He is exalted and superior to angels (). Both as a messenger and in His being He is supreme of over the angels. He is very God very God the eternally begotten of the father. Angles obey Him and demons fear Him. This is the Jesus we trust, follow, and worship. He is also said to be superior to Moses and Joshua, who served as prophets and mediators between God and Israel. He brings people to a better and eternal rest (). He is a better high priest than Aaron, for the He fulfills what the Old Testament priest, rituals, and sacrifices symbolized ().

Holy: ; ; ;

§ Holy: ; ; ;

He is exalted: ; , ; ;

o He is exalted: ; , ; ;

§ Over angels:

Over angels:

He is the better priest of a better covenant. Unlike the priesthood of the Old Covenant made with Moses, Jesus is of a priesthood that last for ever (, ). The covenant that He mediates is better because He is the mediator, His sacrifice is superior to the sacrifices of old, and the promises of the covenant are better. I’ve already stated He is a better mediator and Him being the fulfillment of the prior sacrifices implies His superiority. However, what makes the promises of the New Covenant better than the Old? Unlike the Old Covenants that pointed forward and provided the law, the New Covenant promises future glory, but also provides us with the ability to obey the law. That is within the new covenant their is the promise of regeneration, the promise of God being our God unconditionally, and the promise of total forgiveness of sins ().

Over Moses and Joshua:

§ Over Moses and Joshua:

“Regeneration,” Geerhardus Vos, the late 19th and early 20th century theologian, accurately and succinctly defines, “is an immediate re-creation of the sinful nature by God the Holy Spirit and an implanting into the body of Christ.”

§Over Aaron:

Over Aaron:

Jesus is first and superior to all in every way.

When considering the superiority, holiness, immensity, majesty of Jesus, we might consider that Mother Teresa is closer in her inherent holiness to Hitler than she is to Jesus. Indeed we might say by our very nature all of us is a lot closer to Hitler than we are to Jesus. In power the angels have the power of push mower, whereas Jesus has the power of the sun. These analogies hardly scratch the surface of the grandness of our savior Jesus Christ for even the sun was made by Him and through Him.

Regeneration is an immediate re-creation of the sinful nature by God the Holy Spirit and an implanting into the body of Christ.

When considering the superiority, holiness, immensity, majesty of Jesus, we might consider that Mother Teresa is closer in her inherent holiness to Hitler than she is to Jesus. Indeed we might say by our very nature all of us is a lot closer to Hitler than we are to Jesus. In power the angels have the power of push mower, whereas Jesus has the power of the sun. These analogies hardly scratch the surface of the grandness of our savior Jesus Christ for even the sun was made by Him and through Him.

o He is a better priest of a better covenant

He is a better priest of a better covenant

Now you might be thinking, so Jesus is first, so what? What does that mean for me? Well, it means a whole lot, but let me give you a few suggestions.

It means you should trust Jesus no matter what because nothing can hinder Him from accomplishing what He desires. If you belong to Him, then He desires to conform you to His likeness and establish you in the New Earth where you will reign with Him for all eternity. Cancer cannot stop Him. Governments and powers cannot stop Him. Sin cannot stop Him. Death cannot stop Him. Demons cannot stop Him. Nothing can stop Him from redeeming and saving His people. So you should trust Him.

Next, it means that He is worthy of your exclusive worship and absolute devotion. Circumstances don’t change His worthiness and entitlement to your devotion and worship. Even under the threat of death you chose Christ over life, for in Him you have eternal life. Even if the government or a mob seizes and destroys our building we must meet in houses, fields, or anywhere to partner together in our love for the Lord, obedience to His Word, and to fulfill the mission He has given us.

§ He is priest of a different and eternal order: ; ;

He is priest of a different and eternal order: ; ;

Also, it should lead us to ask ourselves and each other a tough question. Since Jesus is first, do we live as if He is first in our life? Put differently, is Jesus—who He is, what He has done, and what He expects—the guiding principle of our lives? In our homes, in our work, in our communities, and in our fellowship?

One of the major themes of Hebrews is that the author instructs you to Trust God’s Son Jesus because He is First. As I said in the beginning though He provides other reasons. The remainder of our time we will look at the second reason.

§ He is a priest of a different and better covenant:

He is a priest of a different and better covenant:

· This covenant is built on a better sacrifice:

This covenant is built on a better sacrifice:

· This covenant is built on better promises:

This covenant is built on better promises:

· Trust God’s Son Jesus because He is Final: 1:1-4

Second, trust God’s Son Jesus because He is final. By saying that Jesus is final I mean that He is the end, perfect, and the fulfillment of all that came before Him in history. The author of Hebrews shows us the finality and fulness of Jesus Christ in all of the same ways that he showed is that Jesus is first. However, let me point your minds attention and hearts affection to a couple of additional truths. Hebrews declares that Jesus is God’s final Word (). He is also the final sacrifice and the mediator of the final covenant God has made with men (). Similarly Jesus provides a rest that is final and eternal unlike the the temporary rest and promised land of the Old Testament (). Jesus is the founder and finisher of our faith ().

o All prior revelation points to and is fulfilled in Him

All prior revelation points to and is fulfilled in Him

There are a couple of implications worth considering on the point of Jesus being final.

He is God’s final Word ()

He is the final sacrifice ()

He provides final rest ()

He mediates the final covenant ()

The Old Testament relevant and to be read within a Christ-centered framework

o The Old Testament relevant and to be read within a Christ-centered framework

Recently a popular preacher by the name of Andy Stanley conveyed that the Old Testament is violent, irrelevant, and of no use to the Christian. He did this by butchering the interpretation of the Jersualem council in could go to that passage to prove how sloppy of a job he did, but I believe the author of Hebrews renders Andy Stanley’s comments and judgement entirely false. If you asked the author of Hebrews wether the Old Testament was irrelevant and should be disregarded by Christians, then He would scream at the top of His lungs, NO! Now the author of Hebrews doesn’t come out a say the Old Testament is relevant, he instead shows us by His use of it in His argument. He directly quotes the Old Testament 33 times in 13 chapters. He quotes from the the first five books of Moses 11 times, the historical books 1 time, the time, the prophetic books 7 times, and the times. He ascribes these Words to God 22 times, 4 times to Jesus, and 3 times to the Holy Spirit. Then 4 times the human authors are mention. In psalm is quoted and it was said that God said it through David. Furthermore, the Old Testament is alluded to potentially 55 more times in Hebrews. The point is simple the author of Hebrews declares that the Old Testament is the Word of God and uses it as an authority and proof for His entire argument. It should be no surprise that the author of Hebrew writes in agreement with Paul who says that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16). Paul’s of course was pointing predominately to the Old Testament because the New Testament was not complete yet. Indeed all of the New Testament apostles quote the Old Testament as the authoritative Word of God. If that is not enough Jesus preached from the Old Testament and Luke records that Jesus after His resurrection, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to [some of the disciples] in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). I stand with the New Testament authors, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that the Old Testament is God’s Word and, therefore authoritative. Andy Stanley and you should too.

o There is no new revelation beyond the Son

There is no new revelation beyond the Son

Also, from Hebrews we gain an interpretive insight on how we should understand and read the Old Testament. We should read the Old Testament through Jesus-centered glasses. After we figure out the original audience context of an Old Testament passage and the intended meaning the original audience was supposed to glean from the passage, we should ask the question, “How does this passage or truth point to or find its fulfillment in Jesus Christ?” In asking this question, we are reading and interpreting the Old Testament as Jesus and the other New Testament writers did. Now an entire class could be on Christ-centered interpretation, and maybe I’ll provide one in the future, but for our time this morning I want you to realize and believe that Old Testament is God’s Word and ultimately about God’s Son Jesus. And knowing and believing those two things I want you to commit to reading both the Old and New Testament regularly.

A final implication of Jesus being final is that we should expect no new revelation after Him and His appointed messengers—namely, the apostles. We don’t need the Quran, the Book of Mormon, Jesus Calling, Watch Tower, Kenneth Copland, or any other so called modern prophet to tell us what God wants us to believe or do. We find it all in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments and by these books we must weigh the claims and teachings of all. You want to know what Jesus is saying to you open up your Bible. You want to hear God speak to you attend a church where the Bible is read aloud or open up your Bible and read it out loud. God has spoken in the Scriptures and continues to speak through those same Scriptures. We shouldn’t wait for a new written revelation, because Jesus is the final revelation of God.

Trust God’s Son Jesus because He is first and final. The author of Hebrews clearly demonstrates these truths through out His letter and we should Trust Jesus.

Conclusion

As a child, I jumped confidently into the deep end where I rested in my parents arms. They caught me every single time. However, life in a fallen world is a lot scarier than the deep end. We daily are battling the remnants of our sinful nature, a corrupt world system, and the Devil and his cronies. Paul said to Timothy that, “those who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted.” Jesus said, that people will despise you. Also, as most of you know we will face illness, injury, and death this side of glory. My parents had the power and desire to keep me from drowning in the deep end, but no mere man has the ability to deliver us from the multifaceted hardships we face in this life. Furthermore, no mere parent can save their child from their depraved and sinful heart. Our children and we need a savior who is greater than us. We need a savior who can relate to and represent us. In Jesus, we get all of that. He is God in the flesh. Truly man and truly God. My encouragement to you is to place your trust in Him. He was tempted, yet He didn’t sin. He died on the cross willingly for all of us who rely on Him for our salvation. God’s justice was satisfied in His perfections and sacrifice. Jesus rose from the dead, being exalted, He ascended to the right hand of God where He now intercedes for His people and reigns over them. The covenant He has established is the final covenant God has made with men and apart from being a member of that covenant you have no hope. Trust in Jesus you can be made right with God. Trust in Jesus and you have a refuge of comfort in troubling times. Trust in Jesus and know that He will not fail to complete what He began in you and in the world. He will return and get rid of all the effects of sin, including death. We who trust in Him will enter the eternal rest and reign with Him on the New Earth forever. Who should and can you trust? Trust God’s Son Jesus because He is first and He is Final.