Hebrews 1:1-3
Notes
Transcript
Hebrews 1:1-3
Hebrews 1:1-3
The most important question we will ever answer
Who is Jesus?
Author: Not known, but possibly Barnabas
Not an apostle based on 2:3
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
Date: Prior to AD 95 (Prior to the Book of Clement), Likely around AD 65
Written to Jewish Christians
Facing persecution, and facing a fading compromise away from Christ
Structure: Sermon that has been transcribed (13:22)
I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
Theme: Christ is better!
Christ is better than Abraham, better than Moses
Better than angels, and as we will see this morning, Christ is better than the prophets
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 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. 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,
1. God Has Spoken
1. God Has Spoken
One of the distinctives of the Christian Faith is that God has revealed himself to man
Carl F.H. Henry calls this revelation “God’s willful disclosure”
That’s helpful because we sometimes are lulled into thinking of God’s revelation to man as obvious, but we must be reminded that God was under no compulsion to reveal Himself to us
God did not create and then reveal Himself to creation because He was lonely, or needy, but solely because He chose to
Francis Shaeffer wrote a book called “He is there and he is not silent”
This morning, whatever your situation in life, whatever your worries, cares, concerns
It is a blessed gift to know that not only is He there, but that He is not silent
That revelation of Himself comes in two forms
General Revelation Through Creation
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Special Revelation through the Prophets/Christ
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
A Better Revelation in Christ Jesus
In the Old Covenant,
At many times and in many ways, God revealed His Word through the Prophets
But now, the revelation of this New Covenant comes only one way
Through Christ
Whereas the messages of the prophets were from God, they were also only partial
They didn’t have the fullness of the message
But Christ is the completeness of the message
There is no need for further revelation, Christ is the complete and final Word of God
This is why Paul would write 1 Corinthians that he sought only to know one thing, Christ and His crucifixion.
All of the Old Testament looks forward to the revelation of Jesus Christ, and all of the New Testament looks back on living in light of the Person and Work of Christ.
Christ has spoken through a better messenger
Christ has spoken through a better messenger
In the old Covenant, God spoke through the prophets
They were known as friends of God
Abraham is called a friend of God in James 2
In Exodus 33, Moses is said to talk to God face to face as a friend would
But the new covenant messenger is not just a friend of God
He is a son
There is a qualitative difference between a friend and a son in the 1st century
The son is your progeny
Your legacy
Your heir
Everything that the father has built, the son will posess
And we see that here, as the Son is described as the Heir of all things
But this is no ordinary son
Look at the end of verse 2
Through whom also he created the world
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
This is not the work of the father that is handed down to the Son
It is through this son that the creation was brought into existence
This is a son who is on the same level as the father
He is equal in substance, equal in value
And we see this principle continued in verse 3
“He is the radiance of His glory and the exact imprint of His nature”
Radiance = Shekinah glory
Shekinah glory = shining visible glory that demonstrated the majesty of God
There is a part in the Movie movie Moana, where a crab fancies himself as glorious and fantastic because of the gold he has affixed to his shell
And he sings a song about how he is “so shiny”
This is not that
This is not a shining glory because something shiny has been affixed
This is a shining glory that exudes from Him
He is the exact representation of the Glory of God, because He is of the exact same nature as God the Father
And His work is the exact work of the father
Through the Son everything was created, and we see in verse 3 that through the son, he upholds the universe by His power
Purification of Sin = Person and Work of Christ are related always
Raymond Brown
The Message of Hebrews 8. Jesus Is God’s Unique Sacrifice
The Old Testament priest’s cultic work had constantly to be repeated because it was only temporarily beneficial. But Christ ‘offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins’. The priest stood because his task was never complete. He could never hope to bring it to the moment of final achievement. Only Christ’s sacrifice could be eternally effective. He sat down to indicate that the work was finished.