Hebrews 1: Christ, Eternal Son of God
HEBREWS 1:1-14
APPLICATION: RECOGNIZE THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST AS GOD THE SON AND SUBMIT TO HIS RIGHT RULE IN EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE.
VERSES 1:1-14
BEFORE WE BEGIN ON OUR JOURNEY INTO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IT MAKES SENSE TO DISCUSS THE IDEA OF WHO WROTE THIS IMPORTANT BOOK.
THE SIMPLE DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK OF HEBREWS IS “THE BETTER WAY”.
AS WE SPENT THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE SAW MANY TYPES AND SHADOWS OF THE COMING OF CHRIST ON HIS MESSIAH MISSION TO EARTH.
NOW, IN HEBREWS WE CELEBRATE THE COMING OF THE LORD AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN HE CAME, ALL SHADOWS WERE REMOVED.
THE FUTURE THAT THE EARLIER SHADOWS FORECASTED WAS NOW AMONG US.
WHEN THE SUBSTANCE OF THE ACTUAL THING FORECASTED ARRIVES, THE SHADOWS ALL FALL AWAY.
THE REAL SUBSTANCE IS HERE AND HEBREWS SPENDS IT CHAPTERS CELEBRATING THAT FACT.
JESUS CAME, FULFILLED THE ENTIRE LAW, AND BROUGHT A NEW COVENANT TO MAN, WRITTEN IN HIS OWN BLOOD.
BETWEEN THE LAST PROPHET, MALACHI, AND THE PREACHING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, OVER 400 YEARS OF SILENCE HAD COME UPON THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
BUT DURING THE MINISTRY OF JESUS, NOT ONLY WAS THE NEED FOR PROPHETS TO SPEAK FOREVER MADE SILENT, THE LORD GOD THE FATHER HIMSELF SPOKE THREE TIMES FROM HEAVEN TO HIS CREATION CONCERNING JESUS, HIS SON:
BAPTISM
TRANSFIGURATION
PASSOVER
AS HEBREWS BEGINS WE ARE TOLD OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF JESUS:
HE IS THE HEIR OF ALL THINGS
HE IS THE AGENT OF ALL CREATION
HE IS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
(NOTICE HE IS NOT A REFLECTION OF THE GLORY, HE IS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE GLORY HIMSELF)
HE IS THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF GOD'S PERSON.
HE UPHOLDS ALL THINGS BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD.
HE FINISHED THE WORK GIVEN, AND THROUGHT HIS SACRIFICE & DEATH, PURGED AND CLEANSED ALL WHO BELIVE IN HIM OF SIN.
NEXT WE ARE GIVEN THE WAYS IN WHICH JESUS IS BETTER THAN ALL THAT HAS COME BEFORE OR MAY EVER EXIST:
1.GOD RECOGNIZED JESUS AS HIS SON.
THE ANGELS WORSHIPPED JESUS AT HIS BIRTH. HE DID NOT WORSHIP ANGELS, THEY WORSHIPPED HIM.
HE HAS COME AS OUR ETERNAL KING, AND WILL BE THE ULTIMATE RULER OF THE WORLD. (PSALMS 102:25-27)
SO, AS BETTER THAN ALL PROPHETS WHO CAME BEFORE, AND NONE CAME AFTER, AND BETTER THAT THE ANGELS, AND BETTER THAN ANY KING WHO HAS LIVED OR MAY LIVE AFTER, WE SEE THE TRUTH THAT HEBREWS PRESENTS.
NOW, IT SEEMS RIGHT TO DIG DEEPER INTO THE BOOK TO KEEP IN OUR MINDS THE WONDERFUL TRUTHS THAT HEBREWS PRESENTS TO US:
IT'S ADDRESSES:
THE VERY FIRST FEW WORDS IN THE BOOK SHOW THAT IT IS ADDRESSED TO THE BELIEVING JEWS INSIDE ISRAEL
WE WILL SEE LATER IN 3:1 THE CONFIRMATION OF THIS FACT AS IT SAYS “...HOLY BRETHREN, PARTEKERS OF THE HEAVENLY CALLING”.
HEBREWS 5:12 WILL TEACH US THAT THE BOOK WAS ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT YOUNG IN THE FAITH.
IT WAS SENT TO THOSE WHO UNDERSTOOD AND SUFFERED PERSECUTIONS.
HEBREWS 13:24 TEACHES THAT THE COMMUNITY OF BELEIVERS ADDRESSED WAS SIGNIFICANT IN SIZE, NOT A SMALL GROUP.
IT'S PURPOSE:
HEBREWS WAS DESIGNED TO INSTRUCT JEWISH BELIEVERS THAT JUDAISM HAD BEEN SUPERCEEDED BY CHRISTIANITY.
REMEMBER THAT THESE BELEIVERS WERE FORMER JEWS.
THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT PAUL HAD WRITTEN THAT HE WAS WORKING DILIGENTLY TO WEAN THESE TYPES OF BELIEVERS AWAY FROM THE RESTRICTIVE LAW WHICH COULD NOT SAVE AND TOWARD CHRIST, WHO COULD AND DID.
LET'S NEVER FORGET THAT THE SADUCEES HAD PERSECUTED AND TORTURED AND KILLED EARLY CHRISTIANS FOR WHAT THEY SAW AS BETRAYAL TO TRUE JEWISH FAITH.
THE TEST OF THE FAITH OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WAS VERY DIFFICULT.
THEY WERE CUT AWAY FROM THE TEMPLE AND ANY WORSHIP THERE, WHERE THEIR FATHERS AND MANY GENERATIONS HAD WORSHIPPED.
THEY WERE ANNOUNCED TO BE LOWER THAT THE GENTILES, WHO WERE CONSIDERED AS LOW AS DOGS ON SOCIETY.
SO THEIR SITUATION WAS CRITICAL AND THEY BADLY NEEDED THEIR FAITH AND STRENGTH TO BE REINFORCED BY THE TRUTH THAT THE BOOK OF HEBREWS BROUGHT BY ITS THEME.
IT'S THEME:
EVERY PART OF THAT WHICH HAD COME TO BELIEVE WAS BETTER THAT ALL THAT HAD COME BEFORE AND ALL THAT EXISTED IN ISRAEL NOW.
ALL OF THE FACTORS TAUGHT BY THE JEWS WERE PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE MAJESTY AND PERFECTION OF CHRIST.
FIRST HE WAS SUPERIOR TO THE PROPHETS (1:1-3)
SECOND, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS (1:4 – 2:18)
THIRD, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO MOSES (3:1-19)
FOURTH, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO JOSHUA (4:1-13)
FIFTH, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO AARON (5:14 – 7:18)
SIXTH, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO ALL RITUAL OF JUDAISM (7:19 – 10:39)
SEVENTH, HE WAS SUPERIOR TO EACH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS (11:1 – 12:3)
SO IN THE LORD JESUS, THESE BELIEVERS HAD THE SUBSTANCE AND REALITY OF GOD, NOT SHADOWS OF SOMETHING TO COME.
IT'S DIVISIONS:
THE BOOK IS PRESENTED IN TWO PARTS:
THE DOCTRINE (1:1 – 10:18)
THE PRACTICE (10:19 – END)
THE DOCTRINE IS THAT CHRIST IS BETTER THAN ALL OTHER THINGS THAT WERE, THAT ARE, OR THAT WILL BE.
CONSTANCY IN FAITH IN DUTY TO HIM ARE THE PRACTICE.
IT'S CHARACTERISTICS:
THE TEACHINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ARE EXPLAINED AND SHOWN BY COMPARISON NOT TO EQUAL THE NEW TEACHING.
THE GREAT HIGH PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST IS GIVEN.
THE WARNINGS AGAINST DISBELIEF ARE STRONGER AND MORE SOLEMN THAT IN OTHER NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS.
THE CALLS TO STEADFAST FAITH ARE MORE EMPHATIC.
THE MOST COMPLETE AND STRONGEST TESTIMONY OF FAITH IS GIVEN US IN CHAPTER 11 KNOWN AS THE FAITH CHAPTER.
THE MYSTERY OF THE ONLY OTHER GREAT HIGH PRIEST NAMED BY GOD IS PRESENTED IN CHAPTER 7.
IT'S VALUE:
THIS BOOK IS INDEED THE RICHEST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ON THE VERBAL INSIRATION OF SCRIPTURE.
WE SEE AS WONDERFUL EXAMPLE (AMONG MANY OTHERS WE WILL STUDY) IN 1:5-9 WHEN THE WRITE QUOTES FROM THE PSALMS, 2ND SAMUEL, DUETERONOMY, AND IN THIS INSTANCE WE ARE TOLD THAT THESE WORDS CAME FROM THE LIPS OF GOD.
IN HEBREWS 3:7 WE SEE SIMILAR WISDOM USING THE WORDS “THE HOLY GHOST SAITH”.
NOTICE HOW IN HEBREWS 2:8 THE WRITER USES THE WONDERFUL WORD “ALL” TO ESTABLISH THE TOTAL AUTHORITY OF JESUS.
THE BOOK PROVIDES SOME OF THE STRONGEST EVANGELICAL TEACHING IN ALL OF THE NEW TESTAMENT:
1:3 THE GREAT SACRIFICE AND THE PURGING OF SIN.
7:25 HE IS ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST.
10:14 HIS ONE OFFERING HAS “PROTECTED FOREVER THE SANCTIFIED”
10:19-20 BY HIS BLOOD A NEW AND LIVING WAY HAS BEEN OPENED.
5:9 HE HAS BROUGHT AN ETERNAL SALVATION.
9:12 AN ETERNAL REDEMPTION.
9:15 AND ETERNAL INHERITANCE.
AND FINALLY IN 8:5 WE BEGIN TO SEE THAT ALL OF THE SPECIFIC AND DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ALL POINTED TO CHRIST AS THE FINAL ANSWER AS THE PRIESTS WHO CAME BEFORE SERVED UNDER THE SHADOW OF HEAVENLY THINGS.
NOW IN HEBREWS WE SEE THAT THE WHOLE REVELATION AND THE ENTIRE MANIFESTATION OF GOD IS NOW IN CHRIST.
HE ALONE REVEALS THE HEART OF THE FATHER.
HE DOES NOT DELIVER THE FATHER'S MESSAGE, HE “IS” THE FATHER;S MESSAGE TO ALL CREATION.
(THE WORD ITSELF HAD BECOME FLESH).
ALL THAT GOD HAS TO SAY TO EVERY HUMAN FROM THIS TIME UNTIL THE END OF TIME IS WITHIN THE MESSIAH.
ALL THE THOUGHTS & PROMISES & GIFTS OF GOD ARE FOUND WITHIN THE SON.
HIS PERFECT LIFE, HIS MIRACLES, HIS TENDER COMPASSION, AND HIS MIGHTY POWER ALL ARE WITHIN JESUS AS HE IS GOD ON EARTH.
HIS DEATH WHICH SHOWED THE MAJESTY OF THE LOVE OF GOD PROVIDEED FOR ALL THEN AND FOREVER A WAY OUT OF SIN AND DARKNESS.
ALL THESE THINGS WE WILL SEE AND STUDY IN HEBREWS AND AS IN A TRAILER FOR A GREAT MOVIE, ALL THESE THINGS ARE SHOWN IN THE FIRST 14 VERSES WE STUDY TODAY.