Hebrews 1 New International Version (NIV)
God’s Final Word: His
Son
1
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and
in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom
he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is
superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to
Angels
5
For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You
are my Son;
today I have become your Father”[a]?
Or
again,
“I
will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”[b]?
6
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let
all God’s angels worship him.”[c]
7
In speaking of the angels he says,
“He
makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”[d]
8
But about the Son he says,
“Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of
your kingdom.
9
You
have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above
your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[e]
10
He also says,
“In
the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11
They
will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12
You
will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But
you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”[f]
13
To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit
at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”[g]?
14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?
Who is Jesus?, from Elim Missions
Hebrews 1
Here are 10 things regarding who Jesus is.
Meditate on one of these today ...
God, v3,8
Purifier, v3
Relational, v5
Worshipped, v6
Eternal, v8,11
Joyful, v9
Creator, v10
Unchanging, v12
Rest, v13
Victorious, v13
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Verses 1-3
Here
the apostle begins with a general declaration of the excellency of the gospel
dispensation above that of the law, which he demonstrates from the different
way and manner of God’s communicating himself and his mind and will to men in
the one and in the other: both these dispensations were of God, and both of
them very good, but there is a great difference in the way of their coming from
God. Observe,
I.
The way wherein God communicated himself and his will to men under the Old
Testament. We have here an account, 1. Of the persons by whom God delivered his
mind under the Old Testament; they were the prophets, that is, persons chosen
of God, and qualified by him, for that office of revealing the will of God to
men. No man takes this honour to himself, unless called; and whoever are called
of God are qualified by him. 2. The persons to whom God spoke by the prophets:
To the fathers, to all the Old-Testament saints who were under that
dispensation. God favoured and honoured them with much clearer light than that
of nature, under which the rest of the world were left. 3. The order in which
God spoke to men in those times that went before the gospel, those past times:
he spoke to his ancient people at sundry times and in divers manners. (1.) At
sundry times, or by several parts, as the word signifies, which may refer
either to the several ages of the Old-Testament dispensation—the patriarchal,
the Mosaic, and the prophetic; or to the several gradual openings of his mind
concerning the Redeemer: to Adam, that the Messiah should come of the seed of
the woman,—to Abraham, that he should spring from his loins,—to Jacob, that he
should be of the tribe of Judah,—to David, that he should be of his house,—to
Micah, that he should be born at Bethlehem,—to Isaiah, that he should be born
of a virgin. (2.) In divers manners, according to the different ways in which
God though fit to communicate his mind to his prophets; sometimes by the
illapses of his Spirit, sometimes by dreams, sometimes by visions, sometimes by
an audible voice, sometimes by legible characters under his own hand, as when
he wrote the ten commandments on tables of stone. Of some of these different
ways God himself gave an account in Num. 12:6-8, If there be a prophet among
you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to
him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: with him I will speak mouth to
mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.
II.
God’s method of communicating his mind and will under the New-Testament
dispensation, these last days as they are called, that is, either towards the
end of the world, or the end of the Jewish state. The times of the gospel are
the last times, the gospel revelation is the last we are to expect from God.
There was first the natural revelation; then the patriarchal, by dreams,
visions, and voices; then the Mosaic, in the law given forth and written down;
then the prophetic, in explaining the law, and giving clearer discoveries of
Christ: but now we must expect no new revelation, but only more of the Spirit
of Christ to help us better to understand what is already revealed. Now the
excellency of the gospel revelation above the former consists in two things:—
1.
It is the final, the finishing revelation, given forth in the last days of divine
revelation, to which nothing is to be added, but the canon of scripture is to
be settled and sealed: so that now the minds of men are no longer kept in
suspense by the expectation of new discoveries, but they rejoice in a complete
revelation of the will of God, both preceptive and providential, so far as is
necessary for them to know in order to their direction and comfort. For the
gospel includes a discovery of the great events that shall befal the church of
God to the end of the world.
2.
It is a revelation which God has made by his Son, the most excellent messenger
that was ever sent into the world, far superior to all the ancient patriarchs
and prophets, by whom God communicated his will to his people in former times.
And here we have an excellent account of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1.)
The glory of his office, and that in three respects:—[1.] God hath appointed
him to be heir of all things. As God, he was equal to the Father; but, as
God-man and Mediator, he was appointed by the Father to be the heir of all
things, the sovereign Lord of all, the absolute disposer, director, and
governor of all persons and of all things, Ps. 2:6, 7. All power in heaven and
earth is given to him; all judgment is committed to him, Matt. 28:18; John
5:22. [2.] By him God made the worlds, both visible and invisible, the heavens
and the earth; not as an instrumental cause, but as his essential word and
wisdom. By him he made the old creation, by him he makes the new creature, and
by him he rules and governs both. [3.] He upholds all things by the word of his
power: he keeps the world from dissolving. By him all things consist. The
weight of the whole creation is laid upon Christ: he supports the whole and all
the parts. When, upon the apostasy, the world was breaking to pieces under the
wrath and curse of God, the Son of God, undertaking the work of redemption,
bound it up again, and established it by his almighty power and goodness. None
of the ancient prophets sustained such an office as this, none was sufficient
for it.
(2.)
Hence the apostle passes to the glory of the person of Christ, who was able to
execute such an office: He was the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the
express image of his person, Heb. 1:3. This is a high and lofty description of
the glorious Redeemer, this is an account of his personal excellency. [1.] He
is, in person, the Son of God, the only-begotten Son of God, and as such he
must have the same nature. This personal distinction always supposes one and
the same nature. Every son of man is man; were not the nature the same, the
generation would be monstrous. [2.] The person of the Son is the glory of the
Father, shining forth with a truly divine splendour. As the beams are effulgent
emanations of the sun, the father and fountain of light, Jesus Christ in his
person is God manifest in the flesh, he is light of light, the true Shechinah.
[3.] The person of the Son is the true image and character of the person of the
Father; being of the same nature, he must bear the same image and likeness. In
beholding the power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold
the power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Father; for he hath the nature and
perfections of God in him. He that hath seen the Son hath seen the Father; that
is, he hath seen the same Being. He that hath known the Son hath known the
Father, John 14:7-9. For the Son is in the Father, and the Father in the Son;
the personal distinction is no other than will consist with essential union.
This is the glory of the person of Christ; the fulness of the Godhead dwells,
not typically, but really, in him.
(3.)
From the glory of the person of Christ he proceeds to mention the glory of his
grace; his condescension itself was truly glorious. The sufferings of Christ
had this great honour in them, to be a full satisfaction for the sins of his
people: By himself he purged away our sins, that is, by the proper innate merit
of his death and bloodshed, by their infinite intrinsic value; as they were the
sufferings of himself, he has made atonement for sin. Himself, the glory of his
person and nature, gave to his sufferings such merit as was a sufficient
reparation of honour to God, who had suffered an infinite injury and affront by
the sins of men.
(4.)
From the glory of his sufferings we are at length led to consider the glory of
his exaltation: When by himself he had purged away our sins, he sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high, at his Father’s right hand. As Mediator and
Redeemer, he is invested with the highest honour, authority, and activity, for
the good of his people; the Father now does all things by him, and receives all
the services of his people from him. Having assumed our nature, and suffered in
it on earth, he has taken it up with him to heaven, and there it has the high
honour to be next to God, and this was the reward of his humiliation.
Now
it was by no less a person than this that God in these last days spoke to men;
and, since the dignity of the messenger gives authority and excellency to the
message, the dispensations of the gospel must therefore exceed, very far
exceed, the dispensation of the law.
When
Jesus walked through his homeland, he asked His disciples who do people say who
I am ? then he asked them but who do you say I am ?
To
many the name Jesus is a swear word, to
the Muslim’s Jesus is a less superior
prophet than Mohammed , to many
he is a good man, to some he is a
historical teacher, to some he is an anathema,
we can answer this question many, many times, but the most important to us as Believers is
who is Jesus to us?
Can
we answer this question in the same way, Peter answered ?
Matthew
16:13-20New International Version (NIV)
Peter
Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others,
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed
to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that
you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples
not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
The Bible Panorama
Hebrews 1
V 1–4: RADIANT
REVELATION
God has revealed Himself by prophets in the past. Now He has revealed Himself
by His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, who, being God, radiates deity just as the
sun’s rays radiate the sun. The key word in Hebrews is ‘better’. Jesus, as
Creator, Sustainer and risen Saviour, is better than the angels.
V 5: SUPERNATURAL SON From eternity, Jesus is
the supernatural, begotten Son of God. Thus He is both the Son of God and God
the Son.
V 6–7: WILLING WORSHIP Only God can be
worshipped, according to the Bible. As the very angels of heaven are told to
worship Jesus, clearly He is God.
V 8–9: GREAT GOD The Father addresses Him
as ‘O God’, and yet Jesus has an eternal filial relationship within the Trinity
with God the Father. This mystery is unfathomable by the mere human mind
without the illuminating teaching of God’s revelation in Scripture.
V 10–12: CREATION’S
CLOAK Jesus,
within the Trinity, created the world, and one day will fold it up like a
cloak.
V 13–14: MIGHTY MONARCH The Father’s will is
that the Son should reign from the right of the throne. Compare this with the
angels who are simply there to minister to those who will become
Can
you join me in saying these words ?
That’s
My King, Rev S M Lockridge
The
Bible says
He’s the King of the Jews
He’s the King of Israel
He’s the King of Righteousness
He’s the King of the Ages
He’s the King of Heaven
He’s the King of Glory
He’s the King of Kings
and He is the Lord of Lords
Now
that’s my King!
David says
The Heavens declare the glory of God
And the firmament showeth His handiwork
No means of measure can define His limitless
love
No far seeing telescope can bring into
visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out
His blessing
He’s
enduringly strong
He’s entirely sincere
He’s eternally steadfast
He’s immortally graceful
He’s imperially powerful
He’s impartially merciful
That’s
my King!
He’s God’s Son
He’s the sinners’ Saviour
He’s the centrepiece of civilisation
He stands alone in Himself
He’s august
He’s unique
He’s unparalleled
He’s unprecedented
He’s supreme
He’s pre-eminent
He’s the loftiest idea in literature
He’s the highest personality in philosophy
He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism
He’s the fundamental doctrine in true theology
He’s the cardinal necessity of spiritual
religion
That’s
my King!
He’s the miracle of the age
He’s the superlative of everything good that
you choose to call Him
He’s the only one able to supply all of our
needs simultaneously
He supplies strength for the weak
He’s available for the tempted and the tried
He sympathises and He saves
He guards and He guides
He heals the sick
He cleansed the lepers
He forgives sinners
He discharges debtors
He delivers the captives
He defends the feeble
He blesses the young
He serves the unfortunate
He regards the aged
He rewards the diligent
And He beautifies the meek
Do
you know Him?
My King is the key of knowledge
He’s the wellspring of wisdom
He’s the doorway of deliverance
He’s the pathway of peace
He’s the roadway of righteousness
He’s the highway of holiness
He’s the gateway of glory
He’s the master of the mighty
He’s the captain of the conquerors
He’s the head of the heroes
He’s the leader of the legislators
He’s the overseer of the overcomers
He’s the governor of governors
He’s the prince of princes
He’s the King of Kings
And He’s the Lord of Lords
That’s
my King
That’s my King!
My King
His office is manifold
His promise is sure
His life is matchless
His goodness is limitless
His mercy is everlasting
His love never changes
His word is enough
His grace is sufficient
His reign is righteous
His yoke is easy
and His burden is light
I wish I could describe Him to you
He’s indescribable
He’s indescribable
He’s incomprehensible
He’s invincible
He’s irresistible
I’m trying to tell you
The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him
Let alone a man explain Him
You can’t get Him out of your mind
You can’t get Him off of your hands
You can’t outlive Him
And you can’t live without Him
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him
but they found out they couldn’t stop Him
Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him
The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies
to agree
And Herod couldn’t kill Him
Death couldn’t handle Him
And the grave couldn’t hold Him
That’s
my King!
He always has been
And He always will be
I’m talking about
He had no predecessor
and He’ll have no successor
There was nobody before Him
and there’ll be nobody after Him
You can’t impeach Him
and He’s not going to resign
That’s
my King!
Praise the Lord
That’s my King
Thine is the Kingdom
And the power
And the glory
The glory is all His
Thine is the Kingdom
And the power
And the glory
For ever
And ever
And ever
And when you get through with all of the
forevers
Then
Amen
My
King
The
Bible says my King is the King of the Jews. He’s the King of Israel. He’s the
King of Righteousness. He’s the King of the Ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s
the King of Glory. He’s the King of kings, and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s
my King.
I
wonder, do you know Him?
My
King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love.
He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s
immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful.
Do
you know Him?
He’s
the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s
God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s Saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization.
He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He is the loftiest idea in literature. He’s
the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the fundamental doctrine of true
theology. He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour.
I
wonder if you know Him today?
He
supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He
guides. He heals the sick. He cleansed the lepers. He forgives sinners. He
discharges debtors. He delivers the captive. He defends the feeble. He blesses
the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the
diligent. And He beautifies the meek.
I
wonder if you know Him?
He’s
the key to knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of
deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s
the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory.
Do
you know Him? Well…
His
life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His
love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is
righteous. And His yoke is easy. And His burden is light.
I
wish I could describe Him to you. Yes…
He’s
indescribable! He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible. He’s irresistible. You
can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hand. You can’t
outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Well, the Pharisees couldn’t stand
Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault
in Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave
couldn’t hold Him.
Yeah!
That’s my King, that’s my King.
Amen!
Seven
Way King
My
King was born King. The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the
Jews – that’s a racial King. He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King.
He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of
Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of
lords. Now that’s my King. Well I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him?
Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament show His handiwork. My King is the only one
whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing
telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies. No
barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. Well, well, He’s
enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s
immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful.
That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece
of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s august. He’s unique. He’s
unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. Well, He’s
the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy.
He’s the supreme problem in high criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of
proved theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my
King. He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that
you choose to call Him. Well, He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs
simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the
tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s strong God and He
guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He
discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses
the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the
diligent and He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him? Well, my King is the key
of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance.
He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway
of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the
captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the
legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of
governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord
of lords. That’s my King. Yeah. Yeah. That’s my King. My King, yeah. His office
is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is
limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is
enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and
His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s
indescribable. He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible.
He’s irresistible. I’m coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot
contain Him, let alone a man explaining Him. You can’t get Him out of your
mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t
live without Him. Well, Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they
couldn’t stop Him. Pilot couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t
get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle
Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my King. Yeah. He always has been
and He always will be. I’m talking about He had no predecessor and He’ll have
no successor. There was nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You
cant impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. That’s my King! That’s my King!
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs
to my King. We’re around here talking about black power and white power and
green power, but it’s God’s power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We
try to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all
His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and
ever and ever. How long is that? And ever and ever and ever and ever. And when
you get through with all of the evers, then, Amen.
