Previous Sermon

Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010

"In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Introduction

It goes without saying that there has never been or ever will be anyone like Jesus. One of the distinct glories of the Lord Jesus is that He is the Son of God. Verse two begins with the declaration that God, "In these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” In our last study we considered these words and thought about how God speaks. I want you to look at them again and pay special attention to the words “His Son.” You will notice that the personal pronoun “His” is in italics indicating that it was added by the translators. It literally reads that God has spoken “unto us by Son.” God has many sons. I am a son of God. Each person that is saved is a son of God. The Bible says in John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” 1 John 3: 1 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.”

When we were saved we became sons of God. However, the writer of Hebrews is not talking about just any son of God. God has spoken “by Son.” He is talking about Jesus, the divine Son. The words “by Son” denote equality. The Bible says in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” What an ocean of truth can be gleaned from John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word.” There is the eternity of Jesus. “And the Word was with God.” There is the personality of Jesus. “A nd the Word was God.” There is the deity of Jesus. Jesus was in the beginning with God indicating that He is co-eternal with God. Jesus was with God indicating that He is co-existent with God. Jesus was God indicating that He co-equal with God. Jesus as the Son of God is a declaration of His deity. You see, Jesus is not A son of God; He is THE Son of God. Once the writer of Hebrews declares that Jesus is the Son of God, he then shows us the uniqueness of Jesus the Son of God and how He is without an equal. Notice with me what He says about Jesus the Son of God.

First, he speaks of Jesus as:

The Supreme Son of God

As the eternal and divine Son of God, Jesus is without a peer. His preeminence is declared in the words of verse 2: “whom He appointed heir of all things.” The Bible speaks of how we as sons of God are spiritual heirs. Hebrews 1:14 says that we are “heirs of salvation.” The Bible says in Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” As sons of God we are heirs of many wonderful things in Christ Jesus. Yet, Jesus is preeminent in that He is the heir of “all things.” By virtue of this His Sonship, God has made him heir of all that He possesses, that is, of the universe, and constituted him the sovereign Lord and Ruler of all things. All things have been given to Him by the Father. He holds the title-deed to this earth. This world belongs to Him and one day He will rule and reign over that which has been given to Him by the Father. The Bible tells us in Colossians 1:16, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”

Now, notice the words i n verse 3: "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature." In Jesus, God the Son, we see God the Father. The King James uses the word "express image". They are actually one Greek word. We get our English word “character” from this Greek word. It was a word that was used to speak of a tool for engraving. When the Bible says that Jesus was the express image of God, it is saying that Jesus revealed in His person the very nature and character of God. Jesus is the exact reproduction of God Himself. He is the perfect copy of God. Now, let me be very clear that Jesus is not a reproduction or copy. He is God Himself. Jesus became man, but He never became God. He is God and always has been God. When He became man He gave us in flesh a reproduction or copy of God.

Then back up in verse 2 we see His power magnified: "through whom also He made the world." One of the great examples of His power is His ability to create. The Bible tells us in John 1:3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The ability to create belongs to God and God alone and the fact that Jesus creates is another indication that He is God. Jesus created everything material and spiritual. The Bible says in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” There is no contradiction here. Jesus is God; therefore He is the Creator of all things. The word that is translated “world” in Hebrews 1:2 actually means “age” or “ages.” Jesus not only created the physical earth, but He is also responsible for creating time, space, energy, and matter. Christ created the whole universe and everything that makes it function.

Notice in verse 3 that Jesus is not only the Creator of all things, but He is also "upholds all things by the word of His power." The word “upholds” means to support, to maintain.” The words are in the present tense meaning that even at this moment Jesus is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” All scientists will tell you that the earth operates on a fantastically delicate balance of laws. These laws are often referred to as the laws of nature. If these laws were altered in the smallest degree it would result in chaos. The sun has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If it were any closer to us we would burn up; if it were any farther away we would freeze. Our globe is tilted on an exact angle of 23 degrees, providing us with four seasons. If it were not so tilted, vapors from the oceans would move north and south and develop into monstrous continents of ice. What keeps the earth the exact perfect distance from the sun? What keeps the earth at the exact tilt necessary to sustain life? The question is not what, but Who! The Lord Jesus not only created this world, but He is the one who holds it all together.

Next notice that the writer of Hebrews speaks of Jesus as the:

The Redeeming Son of God

In verse 3 the words, "When He had made purification of sins." It was a wondrous work when Jesus created the worlds but it was an even greater work when He saved our poor hell-deserving souls. Glory to His name, Jesus the unique Son of God is Jesus the redeeming Son of God. Look closer with me at His work as Redeemer.

First, we see the personal nature of His redeeming work. Note carefully that the work of redeeming was done by Jesus "Himself". Salvation could not have been bought or accomplished by any other than Jesus “Himself.” I love the song “Oh What a Savior.” It is one of my favorite songs and it blesses my heart every time I hear it. But, there is a line in the song that is not factual or Scriptural and it is the line “they searched through heaven and found a Savior.” Friend, there was no search. There was no need to search. There was only One qualified to be the Redeemer and that was Jesus! Only a sinless One who becomes a substitute for sinful ones could qualify to be the redeemer of man. One that is guilty cannot take the place of another that is guilty. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5:21, “For He has made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus alone could be the sacrifice for sin. Only Jesus could take our place!

But not only do we see the personal nature of His redeeming work, we also see the purifying nature of His redeeming work. The Scripture says that He “purified our sins.” The purification of our sins speaks of the taking away of our sins. When John the Baptist introduced Jesus he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Praise God, through Jesus our sins are gone! The purging of our sins that the writer of Hebrews is speaking of includes more than just our sins being forgiven. The idea behind purification is that we are not only personally cleansed of sin, but also that we are clean in God’s sight. When one offered a sacrifice they would place their hand upon the head of the sacrifice. This was a symbolic act that said, “I am placing all my sin upon this sacrifice.” It also said, “I am taking on myself the virtues of this sacrifice that is without spot or blemish.” Salvation is not only accepting the death of Christ for your sins, but it is also an act whereby we are accepted in the beloved. When God looks at us, He sees us in His Son and sees us without spot and blemish.

And finally, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Jesus as:

The Reigning Son of God

In verse 3 we read that having accomplished our redemption, Jesus “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty of high.” Four times in the book of Hebrews the Bible says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. In these words we see Jesus, as we shall see Him often in the book of Hebrews, in a priestly role. The Bible says in Hebrews 3:1, “Wherefore, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”

Jesus is our High Priest and as we look at verse 3 we see first of all that He is "a seated priest." Hebrew 1:3 tells us that He is seated at the right hand of God. As a seated Priest we are reminded that He has finished the work of redemption. You will notice carefully that verse 3 tells us that once He had purged our sins, He “sat down.” In Hebrews 10:11-12, we read, “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” In the Old Testament, no priest ever sat down in the Most Holy Place. The reason was their work was never done. However, when Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin, He sat down. It signified that salvation was complete and the work of redemption was finished. Salvation is not based on what we have done, but on what He has done. D.L. Moody once said to a man who was arguing with about how to be saved, “The difference between what you believe and what I believe is two letters. Yours is ‘do” and mine is ‘done.”

But not only is Jesus as "seated priest", He is also a "sovereign priest." Notice in our scripture where Christ is seated; He is seated at the “right hand of the Majesty on high.” The word “Majesty” speaks of God’s greatness. The “right hand” is the place of power and authority. Jesus is seen sitting as a ruler. Sitting on the right hand of God He is seen ruling and reigning. Philippians 2:7-11, that Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even th e death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As the resurrected and exalted Son of God, He sits at the right hand of God as the ruling and reigning Son of God. As the ruling and reigning One, He is Lord. Because He is Lord every person should bow before Him and acknowledge His Lordship.

When Alexander the Great was coming with his army against Jerusalem, Jaddus the high priest went out of the City to meet him. He was adorned with his priestly robes, an upper garment of purple embroidered with gold, and a golden plate on the foreside, wherein the Name of God was written. The sight was so grave and solemn, that the Emperor fell to the ground in reverence.

Jesus the reigning Son of God deserves the same from each one of us. He is the Unique Son of God, the Redeeming Son of God, and the Reigning Son of God. He deserves nothing less than our total and absolute submission. This morning, is Jesus truly the Lord of your life? Have you this morning submitted every part of your life to Him? Or is there things in your life that you are not willing to give over to Him?