Hebrews
1
Mike Barnett,
Hebrews 1:1-14 says:
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The 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. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he
has inherited is superior to theirs.
5For to
which of the angels did God ever say,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father[a]"[b]? Or again,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"[c]? 6And again, when
God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."[d] 7In speaking of the
angels he says,
"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."[e] 8But about the Son
he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of
your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated
wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above
your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."[f] 10He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of
the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You 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."[g] 13To which of the
angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"[h]? 14Are not all
angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
·
It is not
clear who God used to write this letter.
·
For many
centuries it was believed that the Apostle Paul wrote the book.
·
Most Bible
scholars now agree that Paul did not write this book.
·
The two
leading candidates are Barnabas and Apollos.
·
Barnabas was
a Jew of the priestly tribe of Levi who became a close friend and mentor of the
Apostle Paul.
·
The other leading
candidate is Apollos, whose name was first suggested by Martin Luther and who
is favored by many scholars today.
·
Apollos an
Alexandrian by birth, was also a Jewish Christian with notable intellectual and
oratorical abilities.
·
Luke tells us
“he was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures”
·
We also know
that Apollo’s was associated with Paul in the early years of the church in
·
Both Barnabas
and Apollos were highly educated Jews who had a connection with the Apostle
Paul and are therefore the leading candidates to being the author of the book
of Hebrews.
·
Ultimately we
know that God is the author who wrote through a man.
·
Hebrews was
written before A.D. 70.
·
This letter
was addressed primarily to Jewish converts who were familiar with the OT and
who were being tempted to revert back to Judaism or to Judaize the Gospel.
·
Some have
suggested that these professing Jewish Christians were thinking of merging with
a Jewish sect, such as the one at
·
It has been
suggested that the recipients were from the “large number of priests who became
obedient to the faith”.
·
The theme of
Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and
as mediator of God’s grace which is far superior than the Old Testament
prophecies that predicted this age.
·
The readers
are told that there can be no turning back to or continuation of the old Jewish
system, which has been superseded by the unique priesthood of Christ.
·
In the past
God spoke through angels and the prophets.
·
It was
through the angels that God revealed himself on Mt Sinai.
·
In Jewish
culture, angels were exalted beings just below God.
·
The point the
author is making is: The God who spoke in the Old Testament has now spoken
through Jesus his son.
·
We see how
great the Son is by comparing him with the angels.
·
Those who
disobeyed God’s angles at Sinai perished as described in Hebrews 3:7-4:11.
·
How much
worse it will be for us if we disobey God’s gracious word through his Son.
·
The rest of
Hebrews teaches us the importance of continued obedience to this revelation and
the means of obedience available through our high priest, Jesus Christ.
·
The God who
revealed himself to His people in the Old Testament has now given His final
revelation in One who is his son.
·
The speaker
is the same.
·
The God who
spoke in the Old Testament has now spoken through his son. It is the same God!
·
There is
continuity in those addressed: He spoke then to our forefathers (1:1) but now to us (1:2).
·
Forefathers
includes all those in the Old Testament.
·
Forefathers
is also a relational word. They are our spiritual fathers.
·
Old Testament
truth was partial and preliminary. It was given at many times in various ways.
·
That revelation
was partial and fragmentary, never complete in itself.
·
It was like a
puzzle that no one could put together because the most important pieces were
missing – namely Jesus Christ.
1) God has always tried
to communicate to people - In ancient days before Christ, God used prophets and
angels to tell people what was going to happen in various ways. V.1
·
“These days”,
the time since Christ has come, are the last days when the Word of God’s
prophets are fulfilled.
·
All earlier
revelation has looked forward to what God has now revealed!
·
The prophets
looked forward to a fulfillment.
·
Now, however
God has spoken through one who is his Son.
·
The finality
and fullness of God’s revelation are guaranteed because of the quality and
nature of the person through whom he has revealed himself.
2) God has appointed
Jesus, heir of all things in the Universe which includes everything that is visible
and invisible. V. 2
3) God worked through
Jesus to create the Universe and God will work through Jesus to bring about
it’s end as we know it today because Christ is the Alpha and the Omega
(Beginning and end). V. 2
·
This
affirmation of the son’s role in creation establishes His preexistence and
points toward His eternal deity. V. 2
·
Whereas the
prophets and angles revealed partial truth – Christ has given the final and
complete truth. Vs.1-2
John 8:31–32 says:
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,
"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then
you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
4) God still speaks today
through the written and complete Word known to us today as the Bible and
through the Holy Spirit. V. 2
5) God is seen and known
through the personhood of Jesus Christ.
V. 3
·
The Son is
the radiance of God’s glory and the
exact representation of his being.
·
God’s glory
is like a great beacon light.
·
The Son is
the radiance, the rays of light, that shine out of that beacon.
·
Just as the
radiance of light is one with the light and yet distinct from it, so the Son is
One with the Father in essence.
·
Just as the
light rays reveal what the light truly is because they are part of that
reality, so the Son reveals what God truly is because He is one with the
Father.
·
The son is
the exact representation of God’s essential being.
·
The son is
the perfect image of God.
·
If you want
to know what God looks like, then study the life of Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION. Water’s chemical
make up is known as H2O and as three forms.
1. Liquid
2. Gas
3. Solid
·
The son is
involved not only with the Father in the creation and consummation, but also in
the sustaining and governing of the world.
6) Purification and
freedom from sin is a finished work completed solely by Jesus, the Son. V.3b
·
The Son’s
purification for sins includes both forgiveness of past sins and a heart
cleansing that empowers Christians to live a life of holiness.
Hebrews
14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death,[a] so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews
10And by that will, we have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
5) Jesus is superior to
the angles and so are his disciples that confess faith in Him. Vs. 4-14
John 14 says:
Thomas said to him,
"Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the
way?"
6Jesus
answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you
would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know
him and have seen him."
8Philip
said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus
answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you
such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in
the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just
my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do
what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in
my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
15"If
you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be[c] in you. 18I will not
leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long,
the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am
in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever
has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to
him."
John 10:34-36 says:
34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in
your Law, 'I have said you are gods'[a]? 35If he called them
'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own
and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said,
'I am God's Son'?
·
To most Jews,
angels were exalted beings, especially revered because they were involved in
giving the law of Sinai, and to the Jews the law was God’s supreme revelation.
·
The
·
It appears
that the original recipients of the book of Hebrews were tempted to assign
angels a place above Christ.
·
QUESTION: ARE
YOU TEMPTED TO PUT SOMETHING OR SOMEBODY ABOVE JESUS CHRIST, WHETHER IT BE A
SAINT, AN ANGEL, A PERSON, AN IDOL, A POSSESSION OR A THING?
·
If so then
listen to the message –
·
NO CREATED
THING IS TO BE GIVEN STATUS ABOVE CHRIST BECAUSE CHRIST IS ABOVE ALL CREATION
AND IS ETERNAL JUST LIKE THE FATHER!
·
To the Jews a
name stood for the full character of a person in all he was and did.
·
This name was
“Son” which no angel could lay claim to.
Psalm 2:1-12 says:
1 Why do the nations conspire [a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings
of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One. [b]
3 "Let
us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
4 The One
enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then he
rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 "I
have installed my King [c]
on
7 I will
proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, "You are my Son [d] ;
today I have become your Father. [e]
8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your
inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will
rule them with an iron scepter [f] ;
you will dash them to pieces like
pottery."
10 Therefore,
you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve
the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss
the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a
moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in
him.
·
As the
eternal Son, He has always been superior to the angels.
·
Jesus is
superior to the angels in that:
1.
He provided purification for our sins.
2.
He entered Heaven.
3.
He sat down at the Father’s right hand.
7) Whereas angels are created
servants – the son is eternal just like the Father through whom he used to
create the Universe. Vs. 1-14
·
The angles
are created servants.
·
Jesus is
eternal, uncreated and sovereign being.
·
The angels
are called to worship the son. V. 6
·
The firstborn
is head over his father’s house and is his heir. So to, is Jesus heir of all
things.
·
Jesus the son
has cleansed His people from sin and opened the heavenly homeland for them.
·
The angels
are temporal, changeable, created beings who are God’s servants (1:7).
·
Hebrews 1:7
shows Jesus’ complete sovereignty over all the angels because they are part of
creation.
·
He and He
alone makes them take the form of the end and the flames of fire.
·
God can cause
his angles to take any form in order to serve him.
·
God created
the angels and is sovereign over them.
·
Many people
today worship angels, speak to angels, look for guidance from angels- this is
wrong.
·
We are to
look to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit for help, not the
angles.
8) The Son’s kingdom is
founded and built on righteousness which he graciously gave to sinners who call
out to him. V. 8
·
Those who
live in the kingdom are to practice righteousness.
·
Without
holiness no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews
14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to
be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
9. Jesus and his
made-righteous followers will remain forever while all unrepentant sinners will
perish. Vs. 8-12
Hebrews 1:11-12 says:
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You 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."[a]
·
With these
words, the writer of Hebrews contrasts the permanence of the Son of God with
the transitory nature of the Universe.
·
His
unchanging permanence is part of the reason why we can have confidence in Him
for salvation and for victory over temptation.
Hebrews
24but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent
priesthood.
Hebrews 13:8 says:
8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever.
·
Jesus’
unchanging permanence is part of the reason why we can have confidence in Him
for salvation and for victory over temptation.
“They will all wear out
like a garment…like a garment they will be changed.”
·
The universe
is not eternal. It will last forever.
·
The imagery
is clear.
·
Clothes do not
last. They wear out.
·
We throw them
away and get new clothes.
·
Someday this visible
universe will wear out and be removed – but the son will remain and establish a
new Heaven and a new earth.
·
The Son not
only created the Universe, He is the One who will bring it to an end.
·
It will be no
harder for him to bring it to an end than it would be for a human being to roll
up a shirt and put it in a drawer.
·
Jesus really
is the beginning and the end - the alpha and Omega.
·
If we are
going to have someone we can trust, he must be eternal and permanent in the
midst of this changing and temporal world.
·
Jesus is the
leader and ruler of the Universe.
·
The Angels do
not lead, they serve.
·
Angels
brought messages from God.
Acts
26Now
an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert
road—that goes down from
·
Angels delivered
God’s children from harm.
Acts 12:6-10 says:
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries
stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the
Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and
woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off
Peter's wrists.
8Then the angel
said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so.
"Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that
what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a
vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and
came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and
they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly
the angel left him.
·
They gave people
physical strength.
Luke
43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened
him.
·
Angles do
amazing things but…they did not and do not provide for cleansing from sin.
·
They do not
give grace to overcome temptation.
·
They do not
make the way for us to enter into God’s presence.
·
Only Jesus
the Son does these things.
·
Just as the
Son has set down at the right hand AND NOW PROVIDES THE GRACE NECESSARY FOR US
FROM HEAVEN.
·
We and not
the angles will inherit his salvation. The son is the heir of all. 1:2
10) Those who believe in
Christ also become sons/daughters of God whom the angels serve. V14
14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve
those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
·
If we look to
God for help, He will summon His angels to serve and to minister His joy to us.
HOW TO APPLY THE TRUTHS
LEARNED FROM HEBREWS 1 TO MY
·
JOYFULLY PONDER
THAT JESUS IS THE CREATOR AND LEADER OF THE UNIVERSE AND HE NOW LIVES IN ME AND
I LIVE IN HIM. SO WHAT AM I AFRAID OF?
MY LIFE IS IN SUCH GOOD HANDS!
Hebrews 1:1-14 says:
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The 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. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he
has inherited is superior to theirs.
5For to
which of the angels did God ever say,
"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father[a]"[b]? Or again,
"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son"[c]? 6And again, when
God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."[d] 7In speaking of the
angels he says,
"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."[e] 8But about the Son
he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of
your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated
wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above
your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."[f] 10He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of
the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You 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."[g] 13To which of the
angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"[h]? 14Are not all
angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?