Hebrews 1:1-4 Amplified
God’s Final Word in His Son
1 God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, 2 has in these last days spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus], whom He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things, through whom also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a space-time-matter continuum]. 3 The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s [a]Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority], 4 having become as much superior to angels, since He has inherited a more excellent and glorious [b]name than they [that is, Son—the name above all names].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Hebrews begins by making some big statements in its first three verses. Each day we are reminded, that we will focus on one of those primary statements and we refresh ourselves, refresh our spirits, what “supremacy of Christ” means for us.
Christ is the “heir of all things.”
Prophets were sent to speak to God’s people.
They ancient people brought important news and teachings from God, but they were merely His messengers. Now God has come into the works of man, and has spoken, to his people, directly through his Son, who is the “heir of all things.”
This reference points back to Psalm 2:7-8, which says,
“He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.’”
In Jesus, God fulfills this amazing promise.
Jesus is the heir who receives all that the Father has.
Peter says that this inheritance “can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).
So what does this mean for us in these 21st century times of disastrous, divisive, upheaval, people openly mocking God with their positions on ‘living for Jesus.’
God is a fairy tale, a fable, made up by those abusing some mind altering drugs.
The bible is a book of wild delusions, hallucinations penned by the drug addled.
There is “no such thing as God,” “no such a thing as a Resurrection, no such a thing as salvation,” “no such thing as sin.” “such a thing as salvation from sin.
As followers of Christ, we are graciously adopted into God’s family as his own children, and we are “co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).
As co-heirs with Christ, we are set to inherit all that Christ inherits—namely, salvation from sin and eternal life with him.
The Writings to the Hebrews starts out by laying the unshakeable foundation to debunk those who chose to spread erroneous teachings, man’s erroneous use of words like “sovereignty, supremacy” that they held man had an ironclad grip.
The Word which now comes to us in Jesus Christ, both by what he said and what he was, is a significantly stronger, more comprehensive, far more intimate and inclusive word than God ever originally spoke through those ancient prophets .
When you are studying the Old Testament, you are studying the Word of God.
The voice of God is heard through various forms and circumstances. (Psalm 19)
All of it is of God, but all of it is incomplete.
It never brings us to ultimate’s and absolutes.
But when you open the pages of the New Testament, read and study the fourfold picture of Jesus Christ, you find all the Old Testament writings merges into one voice, life, ministry, mission, works, His Passion, by the true voice of His Son.
The words by which God spoke in the Old Testament are merged into one complete discourse in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, God’s word to man has been fully, finally, uttered in the Son.
There is nothing more to be said. Jesus Christ is God’s own final Word to man.
Therefore, the word through the Son is greater than that through the prophets because it includes and surpasses theirs.
It is also greater because the Son created, established, the boundaries of history.
The writer says Jesus has been appointed the heir of all things, and through him God made the universe.
Further, his Word has greater power than the prophets’ because he sustains the matter of the universe.
He reflects the Shekinah glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.
In the hills behind Stanford University there is a linear accelerator, some two miles long, a gigantic instrument.
Scientists built it to be a great lever by which they can pry the lid off the secrets that lie behind matter.
They are trying to find what makes the universe tick,
what holds it together.
And as man probes deeper into the secrets of the universe around him, he discovers more and more that he is confronting the mystery of an untouchable, unfathomable force; that he Himself stands face to face with His pure force.
What is that force?
Scientists never name it, in fact they cannot name it, but the Scripture does. (Psalm 29)
The Scripture says that force is Jesus Christ, that he holds everything in place, whether it be large or small.
The reason we can sit or stand, though our earth is whirling at a furious rate, and not being randomly, sporadically, hurled off into space, is simply because he sustains the universe. Jesus Himself is the ultimate, the final spoken secret behind everything that exists. (John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-23, 1John 1:1-9)
The book of Hebrews is a part of the New Testament and is filled with rich theological teachings and insights.
The authorship of the book is not definitively known, but it is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul.
The specific audience and historical context of Hebrews are also somewhat uncertain, but it was likely written to a group of Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and considering reverting back to the ways of Judaism.
We live in a culture which is always force feeding, pitching us all manner of stuff which is better, greater, more superior than anything that’s come before. It turns out that “far better” is one of the Book of Hebrews’ favorite words.
Right from the start, the author is trying to convince us that Jesus is better.
Overall, this passage from Hebrews serves to exalt Jesus Christ as the supreme revelation of God to humanity.
By emphasizing His role in creation, His divine nature, and His redemptive work, the author establishes the unmatched significance and authority of Jesus.
The theological themes of Christ’s divinity, His role as Savior, and His infinite superiority over all other beings are central to the passage, and they continue to be foundational to Christian beliefs.
Ultimately, this passage serves to deepen our understanding, appreciation, of the person and work of Jesus Christ, inviting us to respond in faith and worship.
What is our response …
How can our response be more impactful, magnified, beyond God’s Kingdom?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 24
A psalm by David.
1 The earth and everything it contains are Yahweh’s.
The world and all who live in it are his.
2 He laid its foundation on the seas
and set it firmly on the rivers.
3 Who may go up Yahweh’s mountain?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart
and does not long for what is false[a]
or lie when he is under oath.
5 This person will receive a blessing from Yahweh
and righteousness from Elohim, his savior.
6 This is the person who seeks him,
who searches for the face of the El of Jacob.[b] Selah
7 Lift your heads, you gates.
Be lifted, you ancient doors,
so that the Melek of glory may come in.
8 Who is this Melek of glory?
Yahweh, strong and mighty!
Yahweh, heroic in battle!
9 Lift your heads, you gates.
Be lifted, you ancient doors,
so that the Melek of glory may come in.
10 Who, then, is this Melek of glory?
Yahweh Tsebaoth is the Melek of glory! Selah
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 