Foundations 3: God’s Revelation–Hebrews 1

 Hebrews 1:1-3

1. Historical Background:

Hebrews was written to prepare the Jews for the destruction of the temple and animal sacrificial system. Many Jews in Palestine after believing in Christ still zealously worshipped at the temple and continued sacrifices.  So they need to hear that Christ completed that system and there is no longer a need for it.  This came from the revelation of God.

2. Theological Observations:

God wants a relationship without a need for a middleman.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Verse 1-2

At one point in time, all people had were God’s messengers.  They were able to communicate something about God.  But God wanted a direct relationship with a man.  So God had the plan to send His Son.  The relationship we have through His Son is a direct line of communication with Him.

As long as there is a middleman in the relationship, there will never be any intimacy.

When young people meet and possibly would like to begin dating, in the beginning, they may fear rejection.  So they ask a friend to speak as a middleman.  As long as there is a middle-man, this shows they haven’t achieved the intimacy they would like because the fear of rejection still exists.

When a married couple comes into conflict, they may feel there is too much distrust to be able to have intimate communication.  Perhaps before they are divorced they may communicate through children or even a divorce lawyer.  The presence of a middleman in this situation shows they’ve lost the ability to have an intimate relationship.

God wants to do away with the middleman in the relationship because He desires intimacy with us.  He desires our trust in Him that only exists in intimate relationships.

When God sent His Son into the world, it was the ultimate proof that He loves us.  So when we speak of His “revelation” we are not only talking about how or when He revealed Himself to us, but also His motivation.   By removing the middleman and becoming a human being, He demonstrates the kind of relationship He wants with us—the kind of relationship we were created to have!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

John 3:16

There is another scripture that talks about Jesus being God in human flesh. But to stay with our passage in Hebrews, it tells us that Jesus is the true image of God. V3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person”

Being the express image of God means representing the Godhead with 100% accuracy. Even though we speak of Jesus being representative, we also speak of Him as being God Himself. When we know Jesus we know God in the flesh.  When Jesus was about to leave His disciples, Philip asked to see the Father (God).  Jesus’ response shows that knowing Jesus means personally knowing God who made the universe!

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father.

John 14:9

 It is apparent that His love for us is as infinite as His power that made and sustains the world! Our passage repeats what other Scriptures have been saying about Jesus, He is the Creator! 

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Verse 2

Perhaps someone here objects and says, in our belief system there is an ultimate God above all the gods.  How can it be that Jesus is this ultimate God and not others that we heard of?

 We have a rare opportunity to invest age Jesus claims.  Many other have claimed to be God but have ridiculously failed by providing any proof.  If the ultimate God is all-powerful and all-knowing, wouldn’t He be able to provide some sort of proof against that claim?

Verse 2 says, that the Almighty God has chosen His Son to be the final revelation of who He is.  We can begin putting Jesus to the test.    Is there any reason to doubt Jesus’ word and miracles?  Is there any inconsistency anywhere in the Bible that speaks of Christ and His plan?  If there is any discrepancy at all, this would prove that Jesus could not be the Almighty God, or at least He is not worth believing in.

The final test however must be His resurrection from the dead.  What kind of Ultimate God could be held by death?  If death is more powerful than the Almighty God, then wouldn’t the ultimate God be death instead?  But we believe the eyewitness accounts that Jesus is alive and is now sitting on the right hand of God’s throne.

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Verse 3

If Jesus passes all the tests, then what does that imply regarding our response to His commandment?

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. ³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 17:29-30

Is the one commanding you to repent just a trickster fooling the world, or is He the one who created you in His image?  What will God finally do with those who refuse His commandment?  So many people from all types of cultures have made the decision to listen to Jesus’ claims and make a decision, will you?

3. How Does this Passage Point to Christ and the Gospel?

Someone else says, “I already have a god in my home.  It gives me good feelings and I feel satisfied with it. I don’t need something else.”

Acts 17:³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹ Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Can your god deliver you from death and sin?  Verse three says God chose Jesus to cleanse from sin and give eternal life.  You may have good feelings about something you’ve seen every day, but when death comes upon you, will your idol save you?  Is there any reason to reject God’s revelation about death and judgment?  

If God is true, then He will be one you meet when you die and not another.  Would you want to stand before Him in rejection of His Son?

Human hearts can lead us to wrong very easily.  Do want to trust your eternity to the feelings of your heart?  Or would you like to investigate the truth in God’s claims?  God has given us all the necessary revelation in Jesus Christ to be sure about death and eternal life.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, ²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; ³ Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Verses 1-3

God’s motivation in all this is to save you from death and give you life.  He desires to invite you into a real relationship with Him.  He has revealed to the world in Word that He is God and there is no other.  You can be saved today. 

4. Application:

Rubio’s Testimony:

I grew up in a Taoist home. My parents taught me about Daoism and showed me idols they placed on the shelf.  Every day they would teach us to worship them and ask for peace, health, and money.  Afterward, I felt that this religion wasn’t enough. If the gods in our home weren’t powerful enough to guarantee health and money, then I would go looking for a more powerful god somewhere that could. 

When I reached the age of thirty, I began to have a real fear of death, knowing that half of my life was already complete. I didn’t find anything in temples or in Taoism that could give any peace. Their answer was always to keep doing good deeds and worship more and more gods for help. Still no peace.

I was invited to church where I heard the Bible.  I was taught that the Bible is God’s word, not taught by people.  The Bible wasn’t anything like what my parents taught me or what friends could show me.  The Bible claims of truth had to be from God and be without fault, otherwise, it wasn’t the truth at all.  The Bible talks about death with God’s authority and doesn’t rely on human traditions or my parent’s opinions.  

After that, through God’s word, I realized that death is more than just the death of my body, but also the death of my soul in hell.  This only added to my fear of death.  Even though my fears grew, I understood that reincarnation could not be true if the Bible is true.  But soon after, I heard the Gospel message.  Once I grasped its meaning, it completely rid me of fear.  

The Gospel message promises through the blood of Christ we have salvation from death.   There was nothing in the Daoist world that could deliver from death like this.  The Gospel did not require me to burn paper, give money, or do a lot of good deeds.  All I needed to do was trust what God said in His word.  His promise of eternal life gave me peace about my future.  I have no need to fear death knowing that there is eternal life in Christ.