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Looking at Christ’s ID (Hebrews 1:1-4)
53 Plays3 years ago
Looking at Christ's ID (Hebrews 1:1-4)
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Growing in Grace' Series
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, FBCColumbusTX.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
Fraud Cases and God's Revealed Identity
00:00:44
Speaker
Welcome back to Growing in Grace. The US Federal Trade Commission published this statistic in 2021. They said that there were 5.8 million cases of fraud that had been reported across the United States. This was an increase of 19% over 2020 and resulted in $6.1 billion worth of losses. Have you ever had someone steal your identity
00:01:14
Speaker
Well, while it is true that there are lots of bad people stealing identity, it's also true that there's a good God revealing His identity. Our text this morning enables us to see, to see the invisible, to hear the inaudible. The theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ.
00:01:39
Speaker
The historical setting of the book of Hebrews most likely was during the early to mid 60s AD.
Historical Background of Hebrews
00:01:48
Speaker
Jewish Christian is writing discouraged, persecuted Christians living in Rome who were converted out of a background of Judaism.
00:01:59
Speaker
But now, because of their new faith in Christ, they're struggling. They're being marginalized and ostracized just for following Christ. Some of them must have been questioning, is it really worth it? All that we're encountering. Would it not be better for us to go back to the Old Covenant?
00:02:21
Speaker
Well, the Spirit of God inspired the author to strengthen these struggling new believers with a clear word, a vivid portrait of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Now, the Bible scholars don't know for certain who the human instrument was.
Purpose and Sufficiency of Christ
00:02:40
Speaker
Did Paul write the book of Hebrews? Did Apollos write it or Luke or Barnabas or Silas? No one really knows for certain.
00:02:49
Speaker
You see, this letter is not about the identity of the writer. It's about the identity of the Savior. The Apostle Paul would say later in Philippians 3, verse 8, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. My prayer has been that this
00:03:13
Speaker
broadcast today, this podcast would be a blessing to you. And so let me read the text and then we'll jump right in and we're going to learn who is Jesus
Supremacy of Christ
00:03:24
Speaker
Christ? What makes up his identity? It says in Hebrews chapter one, verses one through four.
00:03:33
Speaker
Long ago, and many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But 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.
00:03:52
Speaker
He 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. Having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
00:04:21
Speaker
Let me tell you, that's four packed verses all about the identity of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at it together.
00:04:33
Speaker
The first thing it tells us is that Christ is an incredible communicator. The claws at the core of this long sentence in the original language of Greek, there are no periods there. That whole thing was one long sentence.
00:04:51
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But it's all pulled forward by one clause. That core is, He has spoken to us by His Son. Isn't that amazing? Wow. As a matter of fact, God is speaking always. The writer of Hebrews knew that. That's why he referred to God 68 times.
00:05:13
Speaker
If you were to go back to the first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis, go back to the first chapter where it all started. God was already speaking before we were even created.
00:05:26
Speaker
Do you know that 10 times in that first chapter of Genesis, it says over and over, and God said. You see, we hear in this passage in Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2, we hear the voice of God speaking. God spoke, it says. He has spoken to us. And it says that He spoke in a variety of ways over many different times.
00:05:53
Speaker
The vehicles that he spoke through, he spoke to our fathers, it says, by the prophets. But I notice that there's also this apex or a vertex, the highest point, the summit, the top of what God has to say. Do you know what it is? It says here, in these last days, he has spoken to us
00:06:17
Speaker
by His Son." Wow, that's the clearest word that God has to say is, just listen and look at my Son. So the first thing I want you to know is that Christ is an incredible communicator.
Christ as Heir and Creator
00:06:33
Speaker
There's a second thing though. I think verse two also tells us that Christ is not only the communicator, He's the heir. It says in verse two, by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things.
00:06:47
Speaker
Do you know that the writer of Hebrews, whoever he was, he knew the Old Testament well. As a matter of fact, he quoted from Old Testament passages 29 times throughout the book of Hebrews. He actually makes all kind of allusions that are not quite quotations, but he's referring to what was located in the tabernacle or the temple or all these kinds of things. 53 times he makes an allusion to the Old Testament.
00:07:17
Speaker
That's why Bible scholars are quite certain that when it says, by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things, they're saying he's referring to Psalm chapter 2 verse 8. You know, in that chapter, in that Psalm, Psalm 2 and in verse 8, it's like the Father is speaking to someone and the Father says,
00:07:40
Speaker
Just ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession." Who was he speaking to? Well, I believe he was speaking to Jesus. You know, Colossians 1.16 says, all things were created by him, but also it goes on to say all things were created not only by him, but for him.
00:08:06
Speaker
That's why Romans 8, 17 says that whenever we trust Christ, we become fellow heirs with Christ. That's wonderful that Jesus is the heir of all the things that belong to the Father. But there's a third thing, Christ is also the creator. He's the creator, he's the heir, he's the communicator.
Christ in Creation and Revelation
00:08:28
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It says in verse two, through whom also he created the world.
00:08:35
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You see, Christ is not only the end of all things, Christ was there at the beginning of all things. I mean, whatever you can think of, He created it. He created matter and time and space and energy. Jesus was the agent of creation.
00:08:53
Speaker
When I think of creation, I can't help but think of my first year at seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. The Dean of Theology, his name at the time was Dr. William Tolar. God's called him home to heaven now, but I remember when he spoke to us. I was so impressionable, and he spoke on the theme, How Great Thou Art.
00:09:19
Speaker
And I couldn't believe it. I mean, I couldn't even hardly breathe when I heard him talk about how God established the angle of the earth, 23%, how God established the rotation on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour, how God allowed it to wobble 3% upward, then come back to that 23% mark and then 3% downward.
00:09:46
Speaker
how God also established the depth of the oceans at just the right depth. The earth's crust at 10 feet, just the right thickness, the elliptical orbit, just the right speed, 4,800 miles per hour. He said that the earth is just the right distance from the sun, 93 million miles. We couldn't be closer, but we also couldn't be further away.
00:10:12
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The moon's orbit around the Earth is moving at just the right speed, 240,000 miles per hour. And then he talked about these little things that all of the green vegetation gives off, called the chloroplasts.
00:10:27
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which helps with carbon dioxide and helps all of us to breathe without which none of us would live. But he goes through all of these things. I think he had about 10 different things and he said, what are the chances that all of those 10 things would be just right? In his message, he talked about what if they were just a little bit different, a little one way or a little bit the other direction? It would be disastrous. He said it would be like,
00:10:57
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taking ten coins, writing the numbers one through ten on each coin. You put them in your pocket. What are the odds that the first time you reach in your pocket, you pull out the coin labeled number one, then you place it back in your pocket, you pull out the second time coin number two, and you continue to do that
00:11:19
Speaker
all 10 times in sequential order. He said that would be one out of 10 billion chances. That's what he was saying. God's left us with so much evidence of how great he is as our creator. That's why Romans 1, 18 through 32 warns us, if we try to suppress the truth about the Lord being our creator, then he's going to give us over to a debased mind.
00:11:50
Speaker
But I couldn't help but notice verse three goes on to talk about Jesus being the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. I think it's telling us that Christ is also the great revealer.
00:12:06
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He's trying to manifest to us what the Father's like. He's manifesting to us the glory of God. No wonder Jesus said in John 8.12 that He was the light of the world. Light itself travels at 186,000 miles per second. Light's amazing.
00:12:28
Speaker
But isn't it sad that the Bible says that within the heart of man and woman, boy and girl, there's darkness. The God of this world blinds us. But the wonderful news is the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 says, the gospel can shine the light of Jesus Christ down into our hearts, and it can light the place up. That's wonderful, isn't it? What is all that light? You know what I think it is?
00:12:57
Speaker
It's Christ manifesting the character, the nature of God. No wonder Colossians says at least three times, Colossians 1.15, he's the image of the invisible God. You want to know what God the Father's like? Look at the life of Jesus.
00:13:16
Speaker
Colossians 1.19, in Jesus, all the fullness would dwell. Colossians 2.9, in him, the wholefulness of deity dwells bodily. Man, it's fantastic to think about who Jesus is. Why, Jesus is the revealer. He's the creator. He's the heir. He's the communicator.
00:13:39
Speaker
That's not all. It goes on to say that Christ is also the sustainer. It says that He right now upholds the universe by the word of His power.
00:13:52
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What this is telling us is, is that he's not disengaged from creation. No, quite the contrary. He's very involved. He's supporting and providing. That word upholds is continuous action.
Christ's Sustaining Power
00:14:06
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Do you know what holds the protons and the neutrons together in a nucleus?
00:14:12
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Maybe people say it's a force, but what is the force? Well, scripture tells us, Colossians 1.17 says, in Him all things hold together. I love that.
00:14:24
Speaker
You know, the earth's rotation is just right. The earth's tilt is just right. The earth's distance to the sun is just right. The moon's distance from the earth is just right. How can all of that be? What holds it in place? Well, I think it's the Lord Jesus Christ. He upholds the universe by the word of His power. We'd be history without Him.
Role of Christ in Redemption
00:14:47
Speaker
Well, let's look at verse three some more, because I see that Christ is also not just the sustainer, he's the Redeemer. After making purification for sins, do you know that Christ's substitutionary death met all the holy requirements of God? See, God's holy, and we are very sinful. We're very broken. I'm including myself in that group. But do you know what?
00:15:14
Speaker
Peter said in 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19, that we're not redeemed by silver or gold. You know what it took to redeem us, to help us to be able to enter into God's family, to redeem us out of such control by sin? It took the precious blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:15:38
Speaker
Sometime when you have some time, I encourage you to read through Hebrews chapter 9. It tells us about the blood of Christ. Hebrews 9.22 says, without the shedding of blood, there would be no remission of sins. There would be no forgiveness. But whenever Jesus died, His blood secured for us eternal redemption. Because, verse 26 says, He put away sin by His sacrifice.
00:16:08
Speaker
That's why really, when you think about it, every man and woman and boy and girl over the whole face of the earth, either we will choose to pay the penalty for our own sins or, here's a better deal, we will choose to accept His payment for our sins.
00:16:28
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I don't know about you, but I would rather run in the direction of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to have to pay the penalty for my own sins. Wow, His blood was sinless.
Aspects of Christ's Identity
00:16:41
Speaker
That's why He could atone for all of my sins and yours. Listen, the Redeemer, the Sustainer, the Revealer, the Creator, the Heir, the Communicator, it's all the same person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:16:56
Speaker
But verse three ends on a great note, Christ the ruler. It says, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. You know, the right hand of whoever sits at the right hand of the one sitting upon a throne,
00:17:13
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That's the place of honor. That's the place of authority. Whoever that is, they are given tremendous power because they can influence the King one way or the other. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated right now
00:17:30
Speaker
at the right hand of the Father, the majesty on high. I think that's incredible. But I thought it was interesting that it uses the terminology, he is seated. He sat down. Why did he sit down? Because it's finished.
00:17:47
Speaker
You know, if you were to go back into the Old Testament and you were to look up what God revealed the tabernacle should be, what God revealed later the temple should be, the Old Testament tabernacle, the Old Testament temple, they each had very specific instructions on the furnishings. There was only one chair. It's called the mercy seat. But the no high priest, no priest would dare sit in that seat.
00:18:14
Speaker
Because if he did, he would be defiling God's holy place. So that wasn't an option. But what I thought's interesting is there are no chairs. There are no chairs in there. You know why? Because during those days,
00:18:29
Speaker
The Lord knew that all across the nation of Israel, somebody's gonna sin. And so those priests were never finished. They had to continually offer these sacrifices and say, okay, we got another one that just blew it down the street over there. We better offer up an offering for him. But here we find Jesus sitting down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Do you know why he could do that?
00:18:59
Speaker
It's recorded in the Gospels. It says that when Jesus died on that cross, because he was sinless and innocent, he had never sinned, he said, it is finished. So no wonder the Father says, you know what? My son doesn't deserve death.
00:19:17
Speaker
I'm going to raise my son. I'm going to raise Jesus from the dead because, well, the wages of sin is death, but Jesus had never sinned. So he didn't deserve death. So the father raised him from the dead, but that's not all. The father welcomed the son to the right hand and he said, please be seated.
00:19:39
Speaker
at the right hand. You've finished your work. Man, that's great news for me and for you. I get excited about that because I don't have to come up with these sacrifices and all of this myself. I just have to trust in the finished, perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross.
00:20:01
Speaker
Wow. Well, let me close with verse four. That's where we'll come to a conclusion on today's text. But verse four in the ESV says, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. It's kind of comparing Jesus as the Son of God to all those holy angels.
00:20:26
Speaker
Well, I like what the NLT, the New Living Translation, how it words that same verse. Listen to what it says. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. You know those angels, there's myriads of them, but all of those angels, they have names. The Father knows all of their names.
00:20:56
Speaker
But Jesus was given a very special and unique holy name.
00:21:04
Speaker
The writer of Hebrews mentions 20 different names and titles for Jesus throughout the book of Hebrews. So sometime you might want to look that up. But you know what I was thinking when I read verse four? I thought, you know, there's another name. You don't hear it much for Jesus. But couldn't we call him Christ the greater?
00:21:28
Speaker
This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
00:21:38
Speaker
45 times throughout the book of Hebrews, words are used for Jesus' finished work like this, greater, great, more, better. The word better is used 12 times. You know, at the beginning, I told you that the theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ.
00:22:05
Speaker
So no wonder that Jesus is called greater when compared to the angels. Oh, listen, the angels are mighty in scripture. There's nothing weak about the angels. As a matter of fact, in one Old Testament passage, one angel took out an army of 185,000 soldiers. So there's nothing weak about the angels. But what it's saying is, as great as they are,
00:22:34
Speaker
There is one greater, one greater. And because of that, the Father is giving him a name that is greater. What do you think that name would be?
00:22:47
Speaker
In my study when I was preparing for this, it seemed like most of the Bible scholars say the name that is greater is the name, the Son, the Son of God. No one else could be called the Son of God like Jesus has called the Son. No doubt that is His name. No doubt that could be one that makes Him far greater than all of the angels combined. But you know why I also wondered?
00:23:15
Speaker
I wondered if the name that is greater could also possibly be Lord. Lord. It's the name that's above every name. It's the name that one day every knee, every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Wow. You just can't get around it. Christ is the greater.
00:23:43
Speaker
He is the ruler. He's the redeemer. He's the revealer. He's the creator. He's the heir.
00:23:53
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and there's no doubt about it, he is the communicator. I'm telling you, I get charged up when I look at Hebrews chapter one, verses one through four. You may want to do your own personal study after this and just look it up yourself, look it up in your own Bible. I want to encourage you to never just depend on the podcast alone for your spiritual nourishment. I hope that these will only whet your spiritual appetite.
00:24:21
Speaker
to dig into God's Word on your own. Whether that's a digital Bible, whether that's a hard copy Bible, you get into God's Word, and I guarantee you that the Lord will speak to you. His Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.
Conclusion and Prayer
00:24:38
Speaker
It will pierce down to the vision of soul and spirit. You know, that's what growing in grace is all about.
00:24:47
Speaker
We put these podcasts out here for you so that you can continue to grow in Christ and to grow in grace. So I pray that this has been a blessing to you. Let me close us in a word of prayer and let's just give thanks for who our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is. Father,
00:25:08
Speaker
Thank you so much for this time with those that listen to the broadcast or to this podcast. I pray you bless them. I pray that Lord, they would continue to increase in the knowledge of God, especially help them get to know who the Son of God is. I pray that you would deepen their understanding of who scripture reveals Jesus to be. Yes, He is our Savior.
00:25:35
Speaker
But there are so many facets of his identity that perhaps we've never realized. And so, Lord, guide each one into your word. Let them see you high and lifted up. And may we be like Isaiah, the prophet, saying, woe is me. And once our sins are forgiven and cleansed and atoned, may we then say, here am I, Lord, send me. Here am I, Lord, use me.
00:26:03
Speaker
Hear my Lord speak through me. Thank you once again for our friends. Bless them today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for listening. I pray that this has blessed you and been an encouragement to you. You have a great week. God bless. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milan Street, Columbus, Texas.