A Little Bit of Jesus from Hebrews 1

A Little Bit of Jesus from Hebrews 1

The Spirit of God, through the author of Hebrews, meticulously made a case for the supremacy of Jesus. Here in chapter one, the focus is on how superior Jesus is to angels. To the Hebrews this was important and compelling, but it is not something most people today think about. However, in making his case, the Holy Spirit gives us insight into Jesus that can help our growth in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.

Let’s dig into some of this wonderful treasure.

Hebrews 1 (KJV 1900)

“1 GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 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;”

The very first thing we learn about Jesus is that He is the Son of God. We are trinitarian believers. That means that we believe that there is one God, who exists in three persons. We affirm that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, yet God is One.

For years, I felt like I could understand that idea when it came to Father and Holy Spirit. Son was a different matter. I took trinitarian teaching at face value and determined to believe it, but the concept of God the Son of God always mystified me.

Here in the realm of human people confined by time, a son is the offspring of a mother and a father. A son inherits traits from his parents, Mom’s eyes, Dad’s jaw line. He inherits aspects of their way of speaking and behaving too. A son grows up as a member of the family headed by his parents. He is subject to them until the age of majority. Upon the death of his parents, a son inherits his parents’ estate.

But the Bible is problematic. It does not allow mere human musings about sonship to be applied willy-nilly to the Infinite One. The Bible throws a monkey wrench into the works. It actually teaches that the Son of God created everything that exists. Right here in the verse we are looking at we find that God the Father created the worlds through Jesus.

Later in this chapter we find this, “10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.” Perhaps the use of Lord here does not mean Jesus. Oh, but gloriously, Scripture will not abide that thought.

In Colossians 1:12–17 (KJV 1900) we find this inconvenient declaration, “12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Jesus, the Son of the Living God has been around eternally. Before time ever existed, He was. John put it this way, “1 IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1–3 (KJV 1900)

The sonship of Jesus is unlike what we think of as sonship here in our tiny terrarium. It is different because God is different. Even so, the sonship of Jesus does share important traits with the kind of sonship we understand.

While Jesus is eternal and existed before time began, Jesus is also God in the flesh. The theologians call this the theandric union. That’s just a fancy way of saying that Jesus is fully God and fully human.

Jesus is a real human person. Galatians 4:4–5 says that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.” (KJV 1900) That woman was Mary. She was just a regular Jewish girl, but the Holy Spirit caused her to conceive as we read in Luke 1:34–35 “34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (KJV 1900)

Hebrews 1 verse 2 goes on to say that God has appointed His Son heir of all things. This is not surprising for us because we know that children inherit from their parents. This inheritance is different, however. First, it is impossible for God, the Father of Jesus, to die, and second it turns out that Jesus has siblings who will share in His inheritance.

Romans 8:14–17 tells us about these siblings. It says, “14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” And verse 15 goes on saying, “but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Verse 16 and 17 put the cap on it in saying, “16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” (KJV 1900)

John D. Rockefeller left an enormous estate to his children. At its peak, his fortune was worth about $24 billion 2021 dollars. That’s inconsequential compared to the inheritance Jesus shares with us. Our Father’s fortune is infinite. It is eternal. It has no end and cannot be diminished in the least aspect.

Maybe you’ve noticed the real point of all this. At the beginning of this study, I said we were going to look for insight into Jesus that can help our growth in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.

Our Brother is Jesus the Son of God. He is human like us, but He is God in every way. What He inherits, we inherit. That’s just the way He is. He is selfless and giving. So we are among those who are “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (fit or qualified) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” Colossians 1:12 (KJV 1900)

Let’s continue in Hebrews 1 with verse 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.”

Jesus is the radiance of God, the shining example. More even than that, this verse tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God. In John 14:9, Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” and in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”

Because Jesus is the express image of God, to know God the Father, we need only know Jesus. Jesus made this clear in John 14:7 “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (KJV 1900)

So important are these thoughts that we see them reenforced. The name of Jesus is part of the inheritance He has been given, as we read in verse 4.

Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Much is made of the name of Jesus, and with good reason. When scripture speaks of the name of Jesus, it is not merely referring to the name Jesus, or Emmanuel.

We read about things such as the disciples baptizing people in the name of Jesus. Acts 19:5 is one example. “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” We also read of believing on His name. In John 1:12 we read that the power to become sons of God is given to those who believe on His name. and in 1 John 3:23 we read “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” (KJV 1900)

When we see a cross, we think of the life and death of Jesus. We remember His resurrection and all these events mean to us and provided for us. The cross is an icon, a compressed expression, of all that.

If we spend much time online, we see icons all the time. Often these days we call the emoticons because they are intended to express emotion in a venue that is devoid of it. A smiley-face, a thumbs-up, a heart. These are also icons. They carry a great deal of meaning in a very small form.

So it is with the name of Jesus. When we speak of His name, we are speaking of all He is and all He has done. To believe on Jesus’ name then is to place our trust in all that He is and has done. His name is above every name because all that He is and does is above every other being.

So great is His name that He has names no one has ever heard. Revelation 19:11–13 “11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” (KJV 1900)

Hebrews 1:5-6 “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”

Jesus is the begotten Son of God. Not created, He has always existed. But He was the One who was promised from the beginning. The One who would come as a human to rescue us. He would subject Himself to the will of the Father and live as we live, setting aside His prerogatives as God He would humble Himself to live in dependence on God, walking by faith and not by sight. All this and more He would do on our behalf.

Hebrews 1:7-9 “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

These verses quote Psalm 45:6–7 “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (KJV 1900)

It is interesting to notice here that in verse six, this King is referred to as God, yet in verse seven, God is distinguished from Him. Because this scripture is quoted here in Hebrews we can be certain that Jesus is in view as the King here. That He is referred to as God and as distinct from God is strong confirmation of the triune nature of God. Distinct in persons, yet one God.

This passage in Psalms contains wonderful insight into the nature of Jesus, and by extension, the nature of the Father and the nature of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 45:2 provides an excellent example in saying, “Thou art fairer than the children of men: Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” (KJV 1900)

God is Love, and grace characterizes His relationship with us.

Hebrews 1:10-12 “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”

Years ago, I attended a church where the pastor was moved to another place. The denomination supplied a temporary pastor who was highly qualified in terms of education and credentials. One of the things this new minister taught was that God changes over time. He taught that God changed between the time of the Old Testament and the New and that He had continued to change to the present day. He used this assertion to justify his very liberal view of scripture and salvation.

Hebrews puts the lie to that assertion, however. In these verses we read that although the heavens and the earth will grow old and worn out, be consummated and changed, God remains the same. Confirmation for this idea can be found in the Old Testament passage quoted here. Psalm 102:25–27 “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.” (KJV 1900)

James also makes it clear that God does not change. In James 1:17 he wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (KJV 1900)

This is very important because if God changes, we cannot be sure He is, or will remain, trustworthy. All our hope is in the Lord. Christ in us is our hope of glory. If God is not trustworthy, we are still dead in our sins. God does not change. Or, as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (KJV 1900)

13But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

As the writer of Hebrews points out in many ways throughout the text, Jesus is supreme. Christianity is all about Jesus and it is only about Jesus. Our faith rests in Jesus alone. There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.

Revelation 22:13 (KJV 1900) “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Jesus is our life.
In Him we live and move and exist.
It’s Jesus from first to last.
All our hope is in Jesus.