God Has Spoken Gloriously

Many people want a tame Jesus who is content to simply be a prophet or wise teacher or religious guru or social activist; who floats around telling us that “it’s all good,” “whatever” and “just listen to your heart”.  They want a tame Jesus who encourages us to be nice, but doesn’t demand that we love; who wants us to be happy without demanding that we be holy; who suggests we seek God without demanding that we follow Him; who shows us a way to God without demanding that He is the only Way truth and life – a Jesus who is optional rather than everything.

Many may want a tame Jesus, but that is not what we find in the book of Hebrews.  We find Christ not as an option, but as everything.  We find Christ the Center.

In a world that claims that God is silent or ‘God is dead’, the book of Hebrews declares that God has spoken.  In a world of pluralism that claims that there can be no absolute truth and that there are many equally valid ways to God, Hebrews declares the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ.  In a world that tempts us to give up and give in, Hebrews declares that we must and can persevere with eyes fixed on Jesus!   And the first four verses most definitely fix our eyes on Jesus.  They present an astounding picture of His glory.  Read: Hebrews 1:1-4.

In those verses, we see the themes of revelation and redemption. 

Revelation - God has spoken.  He spoke through the OT writers but has spoken definitively through His Son.  As one writer has put it, “Jesus is God’s final and definitive revelation” (ESVSB).  We do not require further revelation, whether it comes from the Mormons or the Jehovah’s witnesses or, for that matter, Islam.  God has spoken fully, clearly and definitively in Christ.

Redemption - In Christ, we find redemption.  The first four verses of Hebrews presents eight facets of our Redeemer that work together to form a glorious picture.

Jesus is the Son of God.  Revelation involves analogies.  And so it appears that when God wanted to communicate the relationship that exists within the Trinity, he chose that of a father and son, so that we would be able to understand it.  As son is like his father.  He is of the same essence.  He reflects his father.  That is what Jesus does.  Jesus is the definitive revelation of God.

Jesus is heir of all things.  Jesus said, in Mat 11:27, "All things have been committed to me by my Father.”  In Eph 1:9 we are told that God’s will is, “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”  And then in v. 22, “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”  All things belong to Jesus.  Every knee shall bow before Him.

Jesus created all things.  We read that God “has spoken to us by his Son … through whom also he created the world.”  Jesus is the agent of creation.  God spoke the world into existence and Jesus is the Word of God.  As we read in John’s Gospel, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  Likewise, in Colossians, Paul writes, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.  The glory of God, in Scripture, was always an expression of the presence of God.  We see it in the pillar of fire, on Mt Sinai, at the Tent of Meeting, with the Ark of the Covenant, but we see it most clearly we see it in the Person of Christ.  As John declared, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We read in Revelation 21:23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” 

Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature.  Jesus bears the stamp of God’s nature.  The Greek word for stamp or imprint is “charakter”.  Jesus is the character of God.  As we state in the Nicene Creed, Jesus is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.”  When we see Jesus, we see God.  As Jesus Himself said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).

Jesus upholds the universe.  Quite literally, “He’s got the whole world in His hands” – and then some!  Jesus sustains the universe.  He is the center – the hub of the wheel – who holds all things together.  We read in Colossians, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  And Jesus holds all things together by the word of His power.  God spoke creation into existence through His Word and the Word that created also sustains.

Jesus has made purification for sins.  Christ came, as we will be reminded in Hebrews, to be our Mediator (our High Priest) and as the sacrifice for our sins.  We read in Hebrews 9, “When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”  Jesus’ blood is the purification for sin.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high.  He died and rose again for our salvation  and now He intercedes for us as our Mediator.  We come to the father through His Son our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  We hear in Hebrews 4, “Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  Through Christ we have access to God and confidence in our prayers.  He is our Mediator.  He is the Way to God, the Way of salvation.

So much for a tame Jesus who floats around as a religious guru or spiritual therapist!  So much for a tame Jesus who is merely an important prophet or a good moral teacher!  So much for a tame Jesus who shrinkingly presents himself as one of many spiritual options – one of several equally valid life choices – one possible way a person could come to God if they chose!  So much for a Jesus that can be dismissed or ignored or controlled! 

What do we find?  We find a glorious Jesus!  An awesome Jesus!  A supreme Jesus!  We find the final and definitive revelation of God!  We find the Son of God who is heir of all things; the agent of creation; the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature who upholds the universe by the word of His power; who has provided purification for our sins and who now is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high! 

We need to hear that!  We need to see that!  As Raymond Brown writes, “We need a vision of Christ with these immense cosmic dimensions, a Christ who transcends all our noblest thoughts about him and all our best experience of him.”  We need a vision of this glorious Lord and beautiful Savior.  Brown continues, “[The] first century readers would be less likely to turn from Him in adversity if they had looked to him in adoration.  The opening sentences of the letter are designed to bring them and us to our knees; only then can we hope to stand firmly on our feet” (The Message of Hebrews, IVP 1982).

This vision brings us to knees in humility, wonder and adoration so that we can be raised up to stand firm and persevere. This vision has the power to burn away our pettiness, our bickering and complaining; to burn away our apathy and complacency; to burn away our fear and timidity and cause us to persevere, to hold fast, to live fully and confidently in the Lord.

God has spoken and He has spoken gloriously!