Articles
The Incomparable Christ
Who is Jesus? The Bible contains many answers. None is more succinct than the one given in the opening statement of Hebrews (1:1-3). “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 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. 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.”
Jesus is no fictional character. He is not just a man, just a good teacher, just a prophet, etc. Jesus is. . .
God’s Son
All of us are sons of God in a broad sense (Acts 17:28-29). Those in Christ are God’s children in a spiritual sense (1 John 3:1). But Jesus is uniquely His Son: not an offspring, but the fullness of God. The word rendered “only begotten” in our English Bibles literally means one-of-a-kind. Jesus is God the Son. “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).
The Heir of All Things
Inheritance naturally goes with sonship. The Father willed that Christ be heir of all things (Colossians 1:18-19); therefore we read expressions such as . . .
• “To Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:14).
• “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father” (Matthew 11:27).
• “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
• “He has given all judgment to the Son. . . He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” (John 5:22, 26).
If we are to inherit anything from God, it must be in connection with the Son (Romans 8:16-17).
The Maker and Sustainer of the World
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Hebrews 1, along with John 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-16, affirms that God the Son was the creator. He is also the sustainer. Just as He spoke the world into existence (Hebrews 11:3), Jesus con-tinues to uphold all things by the word of His power.
The Exact Representation of God’s Nature
Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). That does not mean they are the same person; they are the same nature. When you look at Jesus’ life, teaching, and miracles, you see the Father’s character, wisdom, and power.
The Radiance of God’s Glory
John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In the Old Testament God’s glory was manifested by “appearances” at the tabernacle (e.g., Exodus 40:34-35). Likewise, when Jesus tabernacled (that is literally John’s word) on earth He reflected God’s glory. He certainly did so in His character, His teaching, and His miracles. But John may also have been thinking of His transfiguration. Peter described that as an occasion when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and said of it, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16-17).
Our Purification of Sin
Upholding the world brought Jesus face to face with its biggest problem, the problem of sin. What did He do? He made purification. To an audience of Hebrews, this would immediately call to mind pictures of the annual day of atonement (Leviticus 16:30). But Jesus offered Himself, a better sacrifice, and presented it in the very presence of God, not in the tabernacle, which was only a copy of heavenly things (Hebrews 9). “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
King and Priest
Making purification is a priestly function. When Jesus did that, He sat down, indicating He was finished (Hebrews 10:11-12). And where He sat is significant. Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty, the place of the Messiah’s reign (Psalm 110:1-2; cf. Psalm 2:7; Acts 13:33). Thus, He is both our high priest and king. That makes Him like Melchizedek of the Old Testament and clearly sets Him apart from Israel’s Levitical priesthood.
God’s Final Spokesman
This, in the immediate context, is the main point of our text. Given all that Jesus is, no one else could conceivably be a better spokesman for God than He. His word—a message of salvation (2:3)—is truthful, authoritative, and final. “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard . . .” (2:1). How are you responding to Jesus?
