Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
God wants His people to be strong in Him. The only way for God’s people to be strong is to be in His Word. We need a very powerful diet of God’s Word in order to be strong. We can see things changing in our world and we need to be well grounded to be able to walk soberly in this age. The Bible is God’s Word. God wants us to be sure we are trusting in Him. He gave us His Word to guide us along this short road we walk in this world. It might seem long for some, but it is relatively short in comparison to eternity. The book of Hebrews is one of the 66 books of the Bible. Its primary audience was to Jewish believers. God wanted them to rest assured that Jesus Christ had fulfilled the law and its purpose. God also wanted to keep the Jewish saints from falling away from their faith in Christ. Judaism was a very powerful false religion of the time. The Judaizers had very subtle arguments for those who were not well taught. There are professing Christians today who are also being drawn back to law keeping as a means of growing in the Lord. Some years back we had a family in our church that seemed to be interested in truth. They were never members and had not attended long before we discovered they were also listening to some Seventh Day Adventist cds and they became convinced that the Sabbath was the right day of rest for New Testament saints. Among other false teaching, they also believed that we should call God Yahweh. We tried to help them but they eventually left our church. We met them in a store a while later and the father tried to convince me that we were missing some great blessings by not following the law as they were. If people do not want to believe the Word of God and if they are not saved they will not have the discernment needed to reject the lies of groups like the Seventh Day Adventists. God knows all about the many false religions in the world. He knows the subtlety of the devil as well. He warns of that. He gives us the truth so that we can build our lives properly. It is essential to be born again in order to be able to receive the truth. In Hebrews 1:1 God began by reminding the first recipients as well as all others that God had spoken to the fathers in the past in divers manners. He spoke through prophets and He used different ways to help them to understand what He was saying. We are currently studying the book of Hosea in our Sunday afternoon services. God directed Hosea to marry a woman involved in whoredoms. Gomer was an unfaithful wife who wanted many men. God told Hosea to stick with her and be a faithful husband. God used that difficult relationship to show Israel how they were playing the harlot and were despising their one true “husband” — God. Hosea wrote about that to help the people to see their sinfulness. In our Wednesday Bible study we are looking at the book of Ezekiel. God directed Ezekiel to use different methods to show the nation of Israel of their wickedness. God used different forms of illustrations to help the people to see the sinfulness of their ways. The prophets like Ezekiel and Hosea were faithful, but the people were quite hardened in their sins. They did not want to know the truth. In verse 2 of our text God reminded the readers that in these last days He spoke through His Son. Jesus Christ is the heir of all things. He is also the One through Whom He made the worlds. John 1:1-3 also makes that clear. God began this book by helping the saints to see again that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The book of Hebrews points out that Jesus is better than all others. The typology had its place. However, Jesus Christ fulfilled it all. The real thing is always better than the type. In verse 3 we are reminded that Jesus Christ is the brightness of God’s glory. Jesus stated:
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
God pointed that fact out in Hebrews 1:3 as well. Jesus Christ cloaked Himself in humanity, but He was still sinless. He was still much wiser than any man. He was also able to do things that only God could do. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated His power in stopping the storms on the Sea of Galilee and by walking on water as well as many miracles that He did. He proved His deity and yet He was rejected by the Jews of His day. Jesus Christ also purged our sins by Himself. The Catholics claim that Mary was necessary to help Jesus take care of sin. That is a heresy. Mary stood at Jesus’ cross. She was not on that cross with Him. She never once suggested that she would help Him. She stood there and wondered at what was happening to her son. Jesus told John to look after Mary. If Mary needed John to look after her, how then could she be the “co-redemptrix” with Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ purged our sins and then He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Jesus Christ is seated on the right hand of His Father in glory now. He will be there until He comes in the clouds to receive the New Testament saints at the time of the “rapture”. He will come back to this earth at the end of the Tribulation and will set His feet on the Mount of Olives. He will destroy the wicked at that time and cast the antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire. One of His angels will bind the devil and cast him into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. In verse 4 we are reminded that Jesus Christ is so much better than the angels. The angels are created beings. Jesus Christ is the Creator. He has a better name by inheritance. His name is better because He is the eternal second person of the Godhead. God is setting the foundation for the entire book here in exalting His Son. He wants us to know that we can have full confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. He is the only Saviour and man must trust in Him for salvation. He did come to this earth and die on the cross of Calvary and He did shed His blood there and He did rise again three days later and He did ascend back up to heaven. He is currently seated on the right hand of His Father in heaven and He will come back one day soon. Just a short time ago Boeing launched a spaceship to the space station. That spaceship had multiple problems prior to launching. It finally got to the space station and docked. Since then they have wanted to come back to earth with that spacecraft but they cannot do so. It has multiple problems that Boeing cannot figure out yet. The return to earth has been delayed several times and there is talk that another spaceship will need to go up there to rescue that crew. Boeing has received a bad name lately because they are more concerned about making money, than they are about safety. Their leaders do not seem to realize that short term profits can soon be eroded due to having a bad name. God is not like that. He is not interested in material things. He made the world. He designed it and He is watching over it. For about 6,000 years, man has done many things that have the capacity to do great harm to the earth, and yet it is still here. It is here because Jesus Christ created it and He is also watching over it. Man will not destroy this earth, no matter how hard he tries. Jesus Christ will come back and will rule for 1,000 years. After that, He will destroy this earth and the heavens and will create new heavens and a new earth. It is important to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and serve Him. Those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ can walk with confidence and they can help others to know the peace of God. Today is the Lord’s Day. Go to a good church and learn of the true God today. Be blessed by His Word in the presence of some of His saints. Pastor Bartel
Older
Top
