THE BOOK OF HEBREWS. HEBREWS 1:1-4 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has.

THE BOOK OF HEBREWS

HEBREWS 1:1-41 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 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.

3 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,4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

HEBREWS 1:1-4

• Introduces the book as a whole • These first four verses are a single sentence in

the Greek text• They contain some of the most elegantly written

Greek in the New Testament• Both the author's best literary skill and most

profound theology appear in his opening words. – A spectacular understanding of Biblical faith is

expressed in these verses.

HEBREWS 1:1

• “1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets …. “

• One could also translate the words as "In many times and many ways."

• The point is that revelation came from God in the Old Testament era in a variety of ways and at a variety of times

HEBREWS 1:1

• There was both diversity and fullness in the revelation of the Old Testament that the author describes

• The reference to the prophets would have meant more than just books we call prophecy

Hebrews 1:1

• Since the beginning of the world, God has been speaking to His people

• He spoke to people in Genesis

• Adam and Eve communed with God in the Garden

• Enoch walked with God (and was even translated)

• Abraham became the friend of God

Hebrews 1:1

• He spoke to Moses when he led his people out of Egypt and gave the Law

• “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11)

HEBREWS 1:1

• God spoke to His people through the Prophets

• What do we mean by “Prophets”?

• W.E. Vine says, “Prophecy is not necessarily, nor even primarily, foretelling. It is the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means, Matthew 26:68, it is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether with reference to the past, the present, or the future” (Expository Dictionary, p. 221).

HEBREWS 1:1

• The first verse of Hebrews begins with the subject of inspiration

• Every word that constitutes the Bible is inspired

• We do not have a partially inspired Bible

HEBREWS 1:1

• In the Old Testament, the bridge of truth was connected by the prophets

• God → the prophets → the fathers

HEBREWS 1:1

• Again, God previously spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3)

• To Elijah in a still, small voice (I Kings 19)

• To Isaiah in a heavenly vision (Isaiah 6)

• To Hosea in his family crisis (Hosea 1:2) and

• To Amos in a basket of fruit (Amos 8:1)

• BUT He now speaks through His Son

HEBREWS 1:2

• 2 “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.”

• “these last days” refers to the age of the Messiah

• Perhaps a better translation of v. 2a would be that in these last days God the Father has spoken to us “in Son”

HEBREWS 1:2

• It is not so much that Jesus brought a message from the Father

• He is THE message from the Father

• This revelation by God of Himself through Christ possesses a completeness that will make further revelation unnecessary

• Analogy: Letter vs. Personal Visit

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• 2“[B]ut 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. 3He 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 ….”

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• There are seven facts in these verses which stress the Son's unique greatness and the culminating character of His revelation

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• First, Christ is the "heir of all things."

• All things fall under His authority.

• And in the future God the Father will subject all things to Him in an even more direct sense (cf. Phil. 2:9-11).

• The writer also introduces the concept of inheritance here and it is developed more in the next chapter (Heb. 2:5-9).

• The believer's inheritance is a major theme in Hebrews.

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Second, the Son "made the world" (i.e., the whole created universe of time and space).

• The Son was God's agent in creation (John 1:3; Col. 1:16).

• Jesus Christ is not a created being, as Jehovah's Witnesses and some others claim.

• He is the Creator of all.

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Third, the Son is "the radiance of His [God's] glory."

• Jesus Christ revealed the glory of God, albeit in a veiled way during His incarnation.

• Peter, James, and John saw that radiance revealed more directly on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2).

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Fourth, the Son is "the exact representation of His [God's] nature."

• The Greek word “charakter” - translated "representation“ - occurs only here in the New Testament.

• Greek writers used it to describe the emperor's picture on Roman coins and the clear-cut impression made by a seal (a facsimile).

• It did not express a general likeness but an exact duplication of the original.

• Jesus Christ let humankind see and know exactly what the nature of God - whom no one has seen

HEBREWS 1:2b-3• Fifth, the Son "upholds all things by the word of His power"

(i.e., His mighty, enabling word).

• The idea is not so much that Jesus upholds the universe as a dead weight

• He’s not like Atlas shouldering the world

• Rather He carries all things forward on their appointed course (Col. 1:17)

• Jesus Christ's word has tremendous power and authority

• It is the greatest force in the universe (cf. Gen. 1:3)

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Sixth, the Son "made purification of sins" as no one else could

• He did so by His self-sacrifice as a sin offering on the Cross and by His work as the ultimate priest

• The Greek word katharismos, translated "purification," means both removal and cleansing (cf. Mark 1:44; 2 Pet.1:9)

• "Sin" (hamartia) is a very common word in Hebrews occurring 25 times

• The only other New Testament book in which it appears more frequently is Romans, where Paul used it 48 times

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Hebrews says little about individual sins, and contains no list of vices comparable to Rom. 1:29-31; Gal. 5:19-21; or 1 Pet. 4:3

• The fundamental sin for Hebrews is that of unfaithfulness to God

• That may superficially appear to merely be neglect or lassitude

• But it really is in essence rebellion against God's will, and more specifically apostasy (see 2:1-4; 3:7-19; 6:4-6; 10:26-31)."

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• Seventh, the Son "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" when He returned to heaven after His ascension

• He took the choice place of honor and authority in relation to God the Father (cf. Eph. 4:10; Phil. 2:9; Luke 22:69)

• Here the writer introduced his key text, Psalm 110 (he will expound on that passage in the chapters to follow)

HEBREWS 1:2b-3

• The writer referred to the place where Jesus now sits ruling as the Father's right hand in heaven

• So this original Jewish audience, faced with temptation to abandon discipleship of Jesus for return to Judaism, received a strong reminder of His deity at the very outset of this epistle

• The writer also presented Him as Creator, Prophet, Priest, and King in these verses

HEBREWS 1:1-4

• These seven facts also reveal clearly the Son's superiority to any other of God's messengers, even the angels

• There is no source of knowledge about God as reliable as Christ

• As Paul will put it in 2 Corinthians 4:6 we see God in the face of Jesus Christ

• No fuller and no more complete revelation of God can be, or ever will be, made

HEBREWS 1:1-4

• Second, any religious movement that claims further revelation beyond Christ and the New Testament witness to Christ is not just false

• It is also heresy

• Some people find this a painful or difficult conclusion

• It runs counter to our ideas of continual progress

• There is no improvement on the revelation of God made by Christ

APPLICATION

• A Reminder –

• The Book of Hebrews gave a warning to professing Jewish believers of lapsing back into Judaism

• We should also take full notice of that warning

• We not drift back into worldliness, but instead hold fast the confidence of our salvation, “for we are made partakers of Christ.”

SMALL GROUPS