PM Home Bible Study Group; September 24, 2014
Hebrews 1:1-4; Introduction
Theme: To make a case for the supremacy of the Christian faith, Jesus is presented as superior to all..
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
The marvelous Book of Hebrews is vital to our understanding and grasping our faith. Dr. Harry Ironside argued that there are three New Testament books that help explain the great theme of Habakkuk 2:4–”But the just shall live by his faith”. The Book of Romans explains to us what it means to be “just”—that is, declared righteous in the sight of God by faith. The Book of Galatians explains what it means to “live” by faith—how to live a life of liberty in Christ on the basis of our justification. And the Book of Hebrews explains the nature of the “faith” that leads to justification—that is, how to leave the works of the flesh behind and cling devotedly to Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. We would be very poor if we didn’t have this wonderful book.
Who wrote it? That’s a much debated question. In the King James Version, it is titled “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews”; but this cannot be maintained dogmatically from the text itself. Tradition has attributed it to Paul; but it has also attributed it to other writers. Strong arguments can be made, however, for Paul’s authorship. The writer wrote while in chains (Hebrews 10:34), from Italy (13:24). Timothy was the author’s close associate (13:21). Peter—who wrote his epistles to Jewish people—spoke of how Paul had also written to them about some of the themes that he himself explained (2 Peter 3:15-16); and the only candidate for a book to the Jewish believers that we have in the New Testament that would fit that description would be Hebrews. One very interesting support for Paul’s authorship is that, in 2 Thessalonians 3:17-18, Paul gives a characteristic greeting that he says he uses in all his letters; and Hebrews 13:25 ends with that same characteristic greeting. But since the authorship of Paul cannot be asserted with absolute certainty, it’s best to simply know that whoever it was, the Holy Spirit led them in the writing of it and has preserved it for us in our Bibles.
When was it written? It would most likely have been written before 70 A.D.; since it would seem that the temple in Jerusalem was still standing and was in operation at the time the author wrote (Hebrews 10:11). And why was it written? It was written to encourage Jewish Christians not to give up on their faith in Jesus. The times were hard for them; and they suffered for their faith. They began to be tempted to give up and return to their old Judaistic ways. But the writer was writing to encourage them to stay true to Jesus and not quit. There was no turning back; because, in the working of God’s grace, there was nothing any longer of the Old Testament economy to turn back to. As the writer stresses:
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:19-25).
The book can be simply outlined like this:
I. THE SUPERIORITY JESUS OVER THE OLD COVENANT (Chapters 1-10).
A. The superior glories of Jesus (1:1-2:4).
B. The superior ministry of Jesus (2:5-4:13).
C. The superior priesthood of Jesus (4:14-10:39).
II. THE LIFE TO BE LIVED IN THE NEW COVENANT (Chapters 11-13).
A. The life of faith in Jesus (11:1-40).
B. The race of endurance before Jesus (12:1-29).
C. The love of the saints in Jesus (13:1-25).
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Because the burden of the writer is to show us the superiority of Jesus, he begins by laying before us—in the very introduction of this book—the glories of Christ. He shows Jesus’ superiorities to us . . .
I. AS THE REVELATION FROM GOD (vv. 1-2).
The writer begins by telling us, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son . . .”
Our God is a God who communicates Himself to mankind. And, as the writer points out, He has done so in the past “at various times”–or as it is in the New American Standard version, “in many portions”. This speaks of what theologians refer to as God’s “progressive revelation”. His revelation of Himself and His redemptive plan to mankind came at various phases in human history, and in various ways that accorded with the needs of those phases. He spoke through prophets who were only given portions of what He wanted said—sometimes even leaving the prophets themselves to wonder at the significance of what they wrote. And He spoke in various ways. Sometimes, He spoke through dreams and visions. Sometimes, He spoke through mighty miracles. He thundered from a mighty mountain, or He spoke softly after a whirlwind. And of course, He revealed Himself through His creation.
But in these times—in what are called the “last days” of His redemptive program—He has spoken most clearly and most comprehensively by His Son Jesus. Jesus did not come to do away with anything that those previous revelations from God had to tell us. Rather, He came to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17); and thus is superior to all the Old Testament revelation in that He what they all pointed to (John 6:39). Jesus, then, is the “Word made flesh”–the perfect and complete revelation of God to us.
II. AS THE HEIR OF ALL THINGS (v. 2).
The writer speaks of the Son of God as the one “whom He has appointed heir of all things . . .” That he is “heir” would have spoken to the Jewish people and reminded them of the land that their forefather’s had inherited from God. Each lot of the land was drawn up to each tribe; and it was their inheritance. Jesus, however, is greater in that He is the heir of all things—most of all because He is the only begotten Son of the Father. In Psalm 2:8, God said to His Son, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” As it says in John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.”
III. AS THE AGENT OF CREATION (v. 2).
Jesus’ superiority over all of God’s creation is shown in the fact that He is the one “through whom also He made the worlds”. The word “worlds” can be translated “ages”; but its meaning would be the ages and all that they contain of all Creation. As Colossians 1:16-17 has it, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Jesus is not, as some false religions portray Him, a created being. He is the Creator. As someone once said, “He died upon a cross of wood, yet made the hill on which it stood.”
IV. AS THE EXPOSITOR OF GOD (v. 3).
As the revelation of God, Jesus reveals the truth about God perfectly. As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person . . .” The “brightness of His glory” speaks of how He is not merely a “reflection” of God the Father, but is the “outshining” of Him. He shines a resplendence of God, not as a secondary source but as a primary source. “He who has seen Me,” He said, “has seen the Father . . .” (John 14:9). And the phrase “the expressed image of His person” speaks of an engraved stamp which, when pressed into wax, leaves an exact representation of the character of the stamp itself. “No one has seen God at any time,” John tell us. “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). This speaks of the superiority of the Son over all others. Paul spoke of Him as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15); and of the gospel message as “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). If we would know the Father, we have only to look at the Son; and we will know the Father perfectly with first-hand clarity.
V. AS THE UPHOLDER OF THE UNIVERSE (v. 3).
Not only is Jesus the one through whom all things are made; but He is also the one through whom all things are sustained. The writer of Hebrews adds, “and upholding all things by the word of His power . . .” In Colossians 1:17, we’re told that “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” He is superior to all else that exists, because all that is is held together by Him. Even the Old Testament covenant of law–the entire law of Moses that the Jewish people had been the custodians of for the world—was held together by Him.
VI. AS THE REDEEMER FROM SINS (v. 3).
His superiority is shown to the Jewish people by the fact that “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high . . .” In the original language, it is stressed to us that He Himself did this for us—without the aid of another. Because He had no sin of His own, He was able to atone for the sins of mankind in His own person. Those sins are now “purged”–that is cleansed away from us completely. And having done this, He then sat down at the right hand of God—having completed His work for us; because in the Old Testament economy, the priest stood and constantly made atonement (Hebrews 10:11). Jesus’ superiority is shown in we have in Him a High Priest who “is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (8:1), having completed His work for us (10:12; 12:2).
VII. AS SUPREME OVER THE ANGELS (v. 4).
He is even superior to the angels. No other angel is said to have sat at the right hand of the throne of God. But Jesus has; “having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” He is “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21); and it is at this name that every knee will bow (Philippians 2:10-11)–even those of the angels themselves.
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All of this sets the tone for the argument of this marvelous book. The Lord Jesus Christ—in all His superiorities—is supreme above all. We have no reason to fear if we leave behind the ceremonial works and rituals of the law, and trust completely in the work of Jesus for our salvation.