Hebrews 1:1-4: God has Spoken
Hebrews - Jesus is Greater • Sermon • Submitted
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· 230 viewsGod has spoken through the Son who is superior to the angels
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Introduction
Introduction
Exordium Passage
Exordium Passage
David Allen - The New American Commentary
Hebrews Prologue: God’s Final Revelation in the Son (1:1–4)
The opening paragraph of Hebrews may be the stylistic apex of the entire Greek New Testament. With the possible exception of the prologue to Luke’s Gospel, nothing quite like the lofty rhetorical and literary expression of Heb 1:1–4 occurs elsewhere in the New Testament. The intricate structural organization of the clauses, phrases, and words that constitute the single four-verse sentence reveals the author’s literary skill. The structural weight of the entire 72 words in Greek rests upon a single finite verb elalēsen and its subject ho theos: “God … has spoken.” The author’s use of rhetorical techniques such as alliteration, meter, rhythm, phonetic and semantic parallelism, syntactical/semantic repetition, and chiasm are all evidenced in this sentence. Thiselton claims that these verses “provide one of the most arresting beginnings possible, combining elegance, alliteration, rhythm, rhetorical artistry, and unstoppable force with probably the most sophisticated and stylish Greek in the entire New Testament.”
The doctrinal sweep of these verses is breathtaking, making a major contribution to our understanding of the biblical doctrines of revelation, christology, soteriology, creation, and eschatology.
Background Information
Background Information
Outline
Outline
Hebrews 1:1-4 - God has Spoken
Hebrews 1:1-4 - God has Spoken
Hebrews 1:1-2a - God Spoke
Hebrews 1:1 - Through the Prophets
Hebrews 1:2a - Through His Son
Hebrews 1:2b - The Son Appointed
Hebrews 1:2c - The Son is Creator
Hebrews 1:3a - The Nature of the Son
Hebrews 1:3b - The Power of the Son
Hebrews 1:3c - The Work of the Son
Hebrews 1:3d-4 - The Position of the Son
Purpose of Book
Purpose of Book
Christ, who has accomplished salvation through His atoning sacrifice, is greater than all things; therefore, persevere in true faith and encourage others to do likewise
Christ, who has accomplished salvation through His atoning sacrifice, is greater than all things; therefore, persevere in true faith and encourage others to do likewise
Main point of Passage
Main point of Passage
God has spoken through the Son who is superior to the angels
God has spoken through the Son who is superior to the angels
Greek Text - One Sentence
Greek Text - One Sentence
1 Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις 2 ἐπʼ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ ὃν ἔθηκεν κληρονόμον πάντων, διʼ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας, 3 ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς 4 τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὅσῳ διαφορώτερον παρʼ αὐτοὺς κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα.
Hebrews 1:1 - God Spoke: Through the Prophets
Hebrews 1:1 - God Spoke: Through the Prophets
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
Time
Long ago
① pert. to a point of time in the past, long ago, formerly
At many times and in many ways
The Old Testament was written over a period of approximately 1,800 years in 39 different books
6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Prophets
Mouth-to-mouth
Dreams
Visions
Theophanies
Writings with different genres
God spoke
God spoke
Speaker
God the Father
Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 1: Revelation and God The Revelation of the Sovereign God to His Image Bearers
God is the great agent of Genesis 1, the One constantly acting and speaking. This reminds us that creation is his work, and our knowledge of God depends completely on his voluntary act of self-revelation.
To our fathers
To our fathers
Recipients
The forefathers of the Israelite faith
By the Prophets
By the Prophets
Messengers
Hebrews 1:2a - God Spoke: Through His Son
Hebrews 1:2a - God Spoke: Through His Son
Hebrews 1:2 (ESV)
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son
But in these last days
But in these last days
Time
Last days - Eschatology
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
The age between the first coming of the Messiah and his second coming
He has spoken
He has spoken
Speaker
To us
To us
Recipients
By His Son
By His Son
Messenger
His works, person, and word reveals the Father
Revelation for eternal salvation has become complete
Hebrews 1:2b - The Son Appointed
Hebrews 1:2b - The Son Appointed
Hebrews 1:2 (ESV)
Whom he appointed the heir of all things
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 1:2c - The Son is Creator
Hebrews 1:2c - The Son is Creator
Hebrews 1:2 (ESV)
Through whom also he created the world.
1 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. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 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. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Created everything - time, space, seen, unseen
As creator, Jesus is the Lord of all
Hebrews 1:3a - The Nature of Christ
Hebrews 1:3a - The Nature of Christ
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
He is the radiance of the glory of God
He is the radiance of the glory of God
NOT REFLECTION, but RADIANCE
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Hebrews Christ as the Final Prophet
“A servant may be able to say everything that is right about his lord and master, he may know him well and intimately, but he can never represent him in the way that the son can. The son is a manifestation of the father by being what he is. Thus our Lord himself, while here on earth, represented and manifested the name of God in a way that is incomparable and greater than all others, because he is the Son of God.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
The exact imprint of His nature
The exact imprint of His nature
Imprint
Impression or mark made by coins
He is the true embodiment of God Himself - He is the same essence
Nature
① the essential or basic structure/nature of an entity,
Hebrews 1:3b - The Power of Christ
Hebrews 1:3b - The Power of Christ
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
And he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Upholds the universe
Upholds the universe
Upholds
⑤ to cause to continue in a state or condition, sustain,
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
By the word of His power
By the word of His power
The Son moves everything forward to its appointed end
Hebrews 1:3c - The Work of Christ
Hebrews 1:3c - The Work of Christ
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
After making purification for sins,
Making purification
Making purification
Purification
② cleansing from inward pollution, purify, fig.
For sins
For sins
Day of Atonement
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Day of Atonement
DAY OF ATONEMENT (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים, yom kippurim). A day on which Israel fasted, cleansed the sanctuary of impurity, and dealt with their sin through blood rituals and sending a goat into the wilderness. Took place on the 10th day of the seventh month.
10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses.
High Priestly work - the barrier between God and man has been removed
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hebrews 1:3d-4 - The Position of Christ
Hebrews 1:3d-4 - The Position of Christ
Hebrews 1:3–4 (ESV)
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
Sat down at the right hand
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Majesty
a state of greatness or preeminence, majesty, used only of God;
Having become as much superior to angels
Having become as much superior to angels
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
As the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs
As the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs
A name - Son
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
Jesus enters into the full inheritance promised to the Messiah after his birth, life, death, and resurrection