The Last Word

Sometimes I just have to shake my head....
Isn't God the most mysterious, and the most awesome?  Here I sit with my brand-spankin'-new Hebrews commentary (ch. 1-8) by William Lane, the third of the ones I'm using in this Hebrews study.  I have discovered that Lane is quite beyond me, although I will use it as I study this great Bible book.  Lane's book is the most meticulous and the most highly organized of the three. However, I will spare both me and you from things like, "The Woven Intermediary Transition".  SERIOUSLY! Who ever would have thought this is how I'd be spending my time, these days?

So, without further ado, Hebrews 1:1-4 (ESV).

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

God has spoken....One of the more puzzling aspects of the Bible is how God chose to reveal Himself in various ways to the human race, His most cherished creation on the Earth.  At first, before sin entered this world, He communed with Adam and Eve on a highly personal level.  After sin was committed, and the world began its inexorable disintegration toward ever-increasing rot, God made a promise of a Redeemer (Gen. 3:15 - - the protoevangelium) and then separated Himself from mankind-at-large.  For a while, He spoke to individuals, such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses. Later, He spoke through prophets, "signs and wonders" (burning bush, parting of the Red Sea, etc.), works of mercy/judgment, and through the Old Testament writings.  Then, there was (and I find this fascinating) a very long period of silence, where God did not speak to the Hebrew people at all.  400 years of silence.  Wow, that is a long, hard road.   And, then, of course, during that time, many priests and scholars "added on" to the Scriptures heaps of religious traditions.  By the time Jesus came of age the Hebrew people were heavily burdened by such "traditions", many of which were not "of God" at all.  Many served only to enhance and protect the power of the men who were of the ruling, priestly class.  Accordingly, these additions made during the so-called "Silent Period" are not revelations of God at all.

Then....Jesus.  God's ongoing disclosure of Himself continued through the revelation of His Son, the Last Word, the Fulfillment of the Promise.  He is the perfect, visible expression of who the Godhead, the Three-in-One, is/are.  In Jesus, all the prior, present and future promises of God are met with YES!

And, what else specifically do we learn about Him here in the opening verses of Hebrews 1?
Cockerill finds it helpful to imagine these first two chapters as like a conversation between God the Father and God the Son, as the Father affirms the Son's eternal Sonship and as the Son affirms His identity with God's people.  The first four verses, which we are studying today, serve as an introduction to the first two chapters.

1.  He is the Universal, "Alpha-Omega" Heir of all He created.  (See Psalm 2:8).
The author of Hebrews reaffirms this again in 2:5-9, the famous "all things under His feet" passage. The Greek word that we see as "world" above is actually much more broad than merely our world or even our universe.  It actually means "ages" or eons.  It connotes eternality, no beginning, no end.

2.  He is Creator and Sustainer (See John 1:3 and Proverbs 8:22-31).
Not only did He create all things, both visible and invisible; He also sustains them, or holds them all together.  He "holds it in the road".  When I was little (around age 9), I have vivid memories of sitting on my Daddy's lap as we rode down country roads.  It was so exhilarating to learn to drive with my Daddy!  Of course, he emphasized the importance of "holding the car in the road".  If it were not for Jesus, the entire universe would fly off into hundreds of trillions of pieces (probably more!)
Just as Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, spoke the "worlds" into existence, He likewise moves them along their appointed courses by the power of His spoken word.

3.  He is the Wisdom of God.  (Wisdom 7:25)
In the Alexandrian tradition, which heavily influenced Hebrews' author, where the personification of God as Divine Wisdom was studied and celebrated.  It was an idea with heavy Greek influence.  In fact, there are seven books called "the wisdom books" translated as part of the Septuagaint (Old Testament translated into Greek).  The "Book of Wisdom" and the book of Sirach are two of the seven which did not make it into the Protestant Bible.  So, if you don't recognize that "scripture reference above, that's why!) The others are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon (Song of Songs).

4.  He is the Radiance of God's Glory and God's Flawless Replica.
Cockerill, of the three commentaries, does the best job (in my limited mind) of expounding on this statement.  He says that "as 'the radiance of God's glory' the Son is the 'out-shining' of who God really is."  Radiance goes beyond mere "reflection".  God's glory is often pictured in Scripture as being "resplendent with light".  :)  See Exodus 24:16-17; 40:34-35 and 1 Kings 8:11.
The phrase "exact representation" is like when coins are pressed.  Each one is the same as the one pressed just before it.  Or, when a clone is made.  As a clone is genetically the exact same as the original, even more so is Jesus Christ, the exalted, eternal Son: an exact replica of God the Father and God the Spirit.

5.  He is our Sin Cleanser.
Now the author shifts our attention away from the cosmic deeds of our Savior to His intensely personal deeds on our behalf.  Here we reflect on how He did what no one else was qualified to do, and that He did it willingly.  This redemptive work will be explored more fully as we move on through Hebrews to examine Christ's role as our High Priest.

6.  He Rules and Reigns.  (Psalm 110, Ephesians 4:10, Philippians 2:9)
Because of the completeness and finality of Christ's finished work in His first Advent, He has now sat down beside the Father in Heaven to continue in His role from there.  The "right hand" was a designation understood in the first century to connote "co-rule".  From that vantage point and position of authority, the Son shares the Father's power without limitation.  This "sitting down" in such an exalted position also serves to put distance between the Son and the angels, to contrast the two as more different positionally than night and day.

In these several confirmations and commendations, we see Jesus exalted as God in His roles as Creator, Prophet (The Last Word), Priest and King.

The word "inherit" is a troublesome word to us time-bound mortals.  It speaks to us as to something that became ours after a period of time.  However, in its usage here in verse 4, it refers to the Father's divine, eternal decree, made in what we would call "eternity past", the only way we can describe (with great limitations) the "no beginning, no end" of the Godhead, Three-in-One.  That Christ Jesus "inherited" is an ageless facet of His Personhood within the Trinity.

Apparently, "angel worship" was a prevalent heresy that bedeviled the early Church.  We have already seen its influence in the Colossian church, as we studied that book recently.  If you recall, certain ones among the Colossians were led astray by the false teaching that Jesus was merely an archangel.  Hebrews 1:4 clearly "busts that myth".  In the verses we will examine in the next post, the author elaborates on that theme.

Enjoy this beautiful musical rendition of these verses today:

https://youtu.be/7psJ5vfYTFU

Dear Jesus, Your name is lifted higher, and we bless You, Lord.  Who can compare to You?  No one! You are God of all the ages.  We thank and exalt and praise Your Name, which is above EVERY name, the only Name by which we can receive eternal salvation.  Amen.

Sources:

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. Kindle edition. 

Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition. 

Lane, W. L. (1991). Word Biblical Commentary: Hebrews 1-8. Texas: Word. Print.