The Absolute Superiority of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Scene 1: Many things rule over our lives!
Family,
Money
Careers,
Work,
Worry.
So often the visible & invisible have superiority.
It might be something that is in plain sight.
But so often it is things that others can not so easily see.
It might be a hurt which we will not let go off.
And it eats away at us, making us bitter and resentful.
It ends up being the thing that defines our lives.
It might be an attitude towards others that makes us unable to truly appreciate people as they are.
We demand of them that which they cannot give and we end up unable to freely & openly enter into relationship because they cannot live up to our self centred expectations.
It might be rebelliousness towards God where we harbour a desire, a sin which we know God demands we surrender to him.
We justify our actions to ourselves and that area of our life becomes like an infection; a disgusting septic sore, that threatens to destroy us.
Throughout history many things have ruled over people and today, for us, there will be things which rule in our lives.
Scene 2: This is in stark contrast to what the Bible says about who is superior to all.
READ Hebrews 1:1-4
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
One preacher put it this way
“He is not just a Carpenter’s son from Nazareth, or a Rabbi of incredible wisdom. He is the eternal Son of God, creator of the universe, the unique mediator between God and man and the one who governs the creator order by the power of his Word.” (Pastor Stuart Blount - Sermon Central)
Verses 1 to 3 set out this incredible truth, one that is maintained throughout the whole Epistle.
Christ is superior!
He is not just another prophet that God had sent to speak to his people.
He is the Son, the heir of all things.
In ancient culture the standing of the Son was well understood.
The concept of inheritance, total and absolute was clearly understood.
Right in the first few verses the standing of Christ is confronting.
Not only is there the clear and culturally powerful claim of standing with God the Father.
It is followed in the second half of verse 2 and then into verse 3 with two more confronting demonstrations of Christ’s superiority.
Christ is the agent of creation.
The entire universe came into being through Christ.
And on the writer goes; Christ is the creator, he is also the sustainer of the universe.
If Christ’s miraculous power were taken away the whole thing would come crashing down!
He is also the exact representation of God.
Jesus himself said in John 14:9 to Phillip that if you have seen him you have seen the Father.
In Christ we see the true character of God.
God is love!
Christ himself said “greater love have no man than this than to lay his life down for his friends”. John 15:13
John 15:13 (NLT)
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
And then on the cross that is exactly what he did!
And the last sentence of verse 3 makes it very plain that this work was once, for all time for all who believe.
“When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven”
He cleansed us, then he sat down.
A sign of completion, of having finished the job.
But it wasn’t just any place of sitting down.
It is at the right hand of the Father.
The throne room of heaven.
The place from which God rules.
Christ will not leave that place of ruling.
Until he comes again to earth as the King of Kings & Lord of Lords, sweeping all before him.
For in his own words from the cross; and in John’s vision of the end, Jesus said, “it is finished!”(John 19:30 & Revelation 21:6)
Christ is superior.
To creation.
To sin.
To everything!
For he is one with God!
Scene 3: The recipients’ of the Epistle to the Hebrews struggled with this same idea, they were under pressure to return to the old religion instead of letting Christ be Lord of all (Background, Author? Date)
That is why there is this central theme of the superiority of Christ.
Those to whom this letter was written were almost certainly converts from Judaism to Christianity.
Some of them may have been priests.
The pressure was strong to return to what they knew.
To escape persecution for leaving the faith of their ancestors.
Even today for Middle Eastern people, wether Jewish or Muslim, there is intense pressure to not dishonour the family by changing faith to Christianity.
Then, as for today, you put your life on the line to declare yourself a Christian.
Whoever wrote this letter to the Hebrews, knew their faith inside out.
Their level of education and what we call rhetoric, the ability to argue a point is first class.
Their style of writing and sophisticated use of the Greek language point to someone like Apollos as the author.
Other possibilities are Barnabas, an unknown Jewish Priest who converted to Christianity or recently one scholar suggested Priscilla the businesswoman, because she taught Apollos when it was seen that he did not fully understand the way of Christ in Acts 18.
All of these views have some validity, but in reality we simply don’t know.
Whoever it was; was certainly familiar with the Apostle Paul’s work and wrote before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; as they don’t specifically refer to it and it would have suited their argument to do so.
They wrote to a people somewhere in the Ancient Mediterranean world who were struggling.
Their faith was costing them.
What they knew and previously followed was a safe option.
They needed to know that there was no other option.
What they knew and previously followed was inferior.
Christ and Christ alone is superior.
To go back to reliance on prophets, or angels, or an inferior priesthood compared to the perfect High Priest Christ.
Would be to go back to something which will not ultimately bring salvation.
For in Christ, “it is finished!”
In the old way, the sacrifice for sin goes on forever.
Their choice is like some choices we make.
When faced with a leaking tap.
We can keep putting a bucket under it.
And every time we go back to that tap we have to empty the bucket and put it back in place again.
And we could go on doing this for the rest of our lives.
Backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.
Being constantly annoyed by the drip, drip, drip.
The drip is just like our sin.
It just keeps coming up.
The emptying of the bucket is just like the sacrifices of the Old Testament.
Being endlessly repeated.
Or we can recognise and rely on the superiority of Christ.
Once for all, for all time.
Just as if we had fixed the tap.
Scene 4: That is why the author to the Hebrews points out to his audience how Christ stands above all things for all times.
To demonstrate this in first 14 verses there are at least at least 9 references to Old Testament.
Verse 5 quotes Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13.
Verse 6 quotes Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 97:7
Verse 7 quotes Psalm 104:4
Verse 8 & 9 quotes Psalm 45:6-7
Verses 10 to 12 quotes Psalm 102:25-27
And verse 13 quotes Psalm 110:1
And on top of that there is the association with the creation passages in Genesis.
These quotations are put in such a way that we the readers of this Epistle are listening in on a conversation between God the Father and God the Son.
It is like a Father setting out for a Son his dreams and ambitions for him.
Not just putting before him a vision of what he could become.
But a statement of who he truly is
And as we listen on the sidelines, we are invited to acknowledge the truth of these statements.
We are invited to demonstrate their truth by placing our total and absolute trust in the superiority of the Son.
Whoever wrote this letter did not need to set out a formal proof.
There isn’t a logical argument in these verses.
They are simply summarizing the Biblical Testimony.
Putting before us the conversation between Father and Son.[1]
The Father says that;
Christ is the ultimate prophet (1:1-2a)
The eternal ruler & creator of the universe (1:2b-3)
The very glory of God, sustainer of all creation, cleanser for sins and occupier of the ultimate place of honour. (1:3-4)
Son of God (1:5)
Receiver of the worship of angels (1:6)
Receiver of the service of angels (1:7)
Whose throne endures forever (1:8)
Who rules with Justice (1:9)
Who is God and is anointed by God with joy beyond comprehension (1:9)
Who laid the very foundations of the earth, (1:10)
Yet will outlast them & bring them to a close (1:11-12a)
Who remains the same for all eternity (1:12b)
Who sits in the ultimate place of honour at the right hand of God the Father (1:13)
My friends; Christ is above all and over all and we are in Christ so we will be served by angels those over whom he is greater (1:14)
Scene 5: What a privilege, what an honour, to be amongst those who share in the superiority of Christ!
Legend has it that a wealthy merchant, travelled through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee Paul.
He came across Paul’s assistant Timothy, who agreed to arrange a visit.
Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged him.
They talked for hours.
Finally the merchant left with Paul’s blessing.
Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, “What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before.”
“Did you not guess?” replied Timothy. “Paul is in love.” The merchant looked bewildered. “In love?”
“Yes,” Timothy answered, “Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.”
The merchant looked even more bewildered. “Is that all?”
Smiling, Timothy replied, “That is everything.”[2]
So let Christ rule in your life, let his love and justice rule so that his joy will also consume you!
[1] Lane, W. L. (1998). Hebrews 1–8. Word Biblical Commentary (Vol. 47A, pp. 32–33). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
[2]Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (p. 225). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.