I. Introduction
A. In order to get the most out of this series on Hebrews, I want to remind you, if you haven’t already, to please listen to, or at least read, last week’s introductory sermon.
B. Read Hebrews 1:1-3.
C. There comes a time in some marriages when divorce is being considered by one or both parties, when the advantages and disadvantages of splitting are being weighed, when the marriage is not broken but is standing at the precipice. This is the situation with the Hebrews to whom this letter is written. They have come to Christ, they have enjoyed a honeymoon period, but now they’re beginning to waver.
II. Explanation of Hebrews 1:1-3
A. 1 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,”
1. God speaks.
a. Many believe in a supreme being, but one which cannot be known.
b. But the God of the Bible has not remained shrouded in darkness. He has communicated to us. He has not left mankind in the dark. He has spoken. In the words of Francis Schaeffer, “He is there and He is not silent.”
2. God is so smart that He knows how to speak to us. He knows who He’s speaking to. He knows how to make Himself clear to us. He knows how to speak so that His hearers will understand.
3. People criticize Christians for what they believe. But the issue is not what we believe, the issue is: Has God spoken? And if He has, then, of course, we must believe what He tells us. And, non-Christians have a legitimate complaint if we don’t believe what He tells us. But, if God HAS spoken to us, then what He says is all that matters. Whether others LIKE what He says is irrelevant.
4. In the OT He chose to speak in partial and shrouded ways.
a. God spoke “at many times and in many ways.” The Greek here implies in these words the idea that in those days God spoke in bits and pieces.
b. In the OT God spoke to His people primarily through the OT prophets...
B. 2a “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,”
1. This is very different than what Islam teaches, where Jesus is one in a continuum of prophets.
2. In the NT, all God’s communication has become focused on One.
3. In the NT, God has spoken in a final way through His Son.
4. In the OT, God spoke His word through the prophets. They came saying, “Thus says the Lord!” But Jesus is not just a prophet. He’s not just the greatest prophet. Jesus never says, “Thus says the Lord!” but, “Truly, truly I say to you.”
5. It’s no wonder that God speaks about Jesus out of heaven and says, “Listen to Him!” (Luke 9:35)
6. It’s not just that God speaks to us more fully or more accurately through Jesus. He speaks to us in Jesus, not just through Jesus.
7. Jesus is the word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.” (John 1:1-2, 14)
8. He IS the word of God. He is God revealing Himself to us fully and finally.
9. So that Jesus can say in John 14:9, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”
10. Why is this? “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” (v.3)
11. Part of the author’s point in these verses is to show these converted Jews tempted to go back to Judaism that Jesus is far superior to the OT prophets, as if to say, “Don’t go back there.”
12. The OT is the word of God. But it’s not the final word.
a. This is why, over the last few months, I have been emphasizing the danger of OT Christianity.
C. 2b “whom he appointed the heir of all things,”
1. There are many tremendous statements about Christ in the Bible. This is perhaps the greatest of them all: He was appointed by God to be the heir of all things.
a. This list of statements are in chronological order. This means that the appointment of Christ to be the heir of all things took place before the creation of the world.
2. Before the world was created, Jesus was destined to inherit EVERYTHING!
a. This is what God says to Jesus in Ps.2:8: “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”
b. This is the ultimate result of it all Jesus did, and everything He did is explainable only by this statement.
c. “All things were created...for him.” – Col.1:17
3. You have a Savior who will be the big winner in the end, whose vindication and victory will be the final chapter of the story of history, who will own everything and rule over everything. And you’re thinking about abandoning Him?
D. 2c “through whom also he created the world.”
1. Amazing! A man who is said to have had the whole world created through Him!
2. As it says in Col.1:16 “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.”
3. The Bible tells us some absolutely amazing things about Jesus Christ! And there’s even more in v.3...
E. 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.”
1. “He is the radiance of the glory of God.”
a. In the OT God sometimes revealed Himself in s visible way. He manifested His presence by means of the glory cloud, a cloud with fire inside which can be seen in the story of Moses and leading the peop0le of Israel through the wilderness, and filling the temple.
b. In the NT, Jesus is the glory cloud, the radiance of God’s glory.
c. We get a glimpse of this in the story of the Transfiguration (Matt.17:1-6)
2. “He is the exact imprint of his nature.”
a. The shape of God has been imprinted on human flesh in the person of Jesus!
b. The Bible knows that God often reveals Himself in imperfect ways. “We see as through a glass dimly.” (1Cor.13:12) But this kind of language is never used to describe Jesus, but rather the opposite:
(1) “He is the exact imprint of his nature.”
(2) “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” (Col.1:19)
3. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
a. Imagine saying this of a man! He doesn’t just intervene when necessary. He upholds the universe!
b. Col.1:17 “In him all things hold together.”
c. Do you realize that there is Someone who upholds everything in your life: your body, your job, your relationships, your mental and physical abilities, your future? It just doesn’t make sense to wander away from Him.
4. “He made purification for sins.”
a. Here the author refers to the work of Christ upon the cross, His self-sacrifice to purify us from our sin by taking them upon Himself!
b. At the cross God turned His back on Jesus, He abandoned Him: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” in order that we would not have to be rejected and cast out.
5. “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
a. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
b. After His crucifixion He was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven where He sits at the Father’s right hand waiting to return on the last day.
III. Application
A. Remember the theme of Hebrews: Don’t leave Christ! And remember that the author marshals many arguments to this effect. But where does he start? What point does he make first? He begins by talking about who Jesus is.
1. This is leading to the application in 2:1-4: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For...how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
2. Do you realize who it is that you’re thinking about leaving?
3. Imagine if you had a friend who had a wonderful husband, but who told you, “I’m thinking about divorcing my husband.”
a. What would you say to her? “Do you realize who it is you’d be leaving? Do you realize what a wonderful and amazing husband you have?”
b. This is what the author of Hebrews is saying, “Do you really want to leave this Christ? He is the final self-revelation of God, who is the heir of all things, through whom the world was created, who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature, who upholds the universe by the word of his power, who suffered on the cross in order to cleanse you from sin, and who now sits at the right hand of God! How could you ever think about leaving such a Lover?”
4. Why would anyone want to divorce the perfect husband?
a. We are prone to wander. We have lustful, adulterous hearts.
b. He is not popular among your peers. These Jews lived in a society which had disdain for Jesus. They were constantly hearing negative things about this One they had come to believe in. And it was beginning to give them second thoughts.
B. This doesn’t just apply to falling away in a big, final way. It refers to each one of us each day as we’re tempted to turn away from Christ in smaller ways. We are prone to wander. We like to go our own way and do our own thing. We must consider who it is we keep spurning.
C. Or maybe you’ve never come to Him in the first place, never known Him. On His behalf I want to propose to you. I guarantee you that you will never get a better proposal. Would you refuse such an offer?