Sunday Night, July 26, 2020 PM

So I'm glad to have you all here tonight.

It's a joy.

I've been looking forward to this, have our brother Josiah come and preach the word for us. Josiah, come on up here. He's gonna preach to us from Hebrews. And most of you know that he is our pastoral intern here.

The Lord has arranged for such a time as this for Josiah with the giftings that he's exhibited and the encouragements that he's always brought me. I'm glad that you're here tonight, brother, to preach to us.

So I'll just let you have it, okay?

Appreciate it, Michael. I would invite you tonight to take a look at Christ in the scriptures and look at how he is supreme as the son. So let's go ahead and pray. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for another day to live and to focus upon you and to run to you, Lord, when we need it.

Help us to focus upon you as revealed in your word. May we submit to it in all things and all its wisdom. And help us to see Christ tonight, for we need Christ every day. In Jesus' name, amen. So yes, tonight we'll be in Hebrews chapter one, verses one through four.

Hebrews chapter one, verses one through four. This epistle is very distinct from other parts of the New Testament in two particular ways. One is that there's uncertainty about who the original author was.

Nothing at the beginning or at the end or in the title itself indicates a clear, strong message of who wrote this book. Theologians, commentators, historians have taken a look at the book and have tried to build cases to support it might have been Paul, one of his companions, or one of the church leaders during the first century.

But there's still uncertainty there. The question who wrote this epistle after I've studied this book and done some research has really made it to my top 10 questions when I get to heaven, is who wrote this epistle?

To know that would be interesting to say the least. It's also distinct in that it creates a very strong connection and a very strong bridge between the New Testament and the Old. The writer hearkens back and looks back to the ceremonies, the laws, the practices of the Old Testimony and the Old Covenant that the Israelites followed for centuries.

Because of that, sometimes for us in 21st century America it's difficult to understand the different parts and pieces of the epistle to the Hebrews. I kind of like to think of Hebrews as that one unique, distinct note on a sheet of music.

If you ever played an instrument before, read through a sheet of music with that instrument, chances are, and I'm willing to guess, that there's at least one particular note that you can recall coming across and having trouble understanding how to utilize it, to understand how it works together with the rest of the music.

But after faithful study and after delving into it more, practicing it, seeing how it should be used, you understand that it makes a very distinct and majestic sound. And we should follow that sort of example when we come to the Word of God.

Studying it faithfully, submitting to it, and that's not always easy, but it's the right thing to do. So, once you understand that note, you see how it comes alongside the different notes alongside it, and how they're each unique and distinct in and of themselves, and they come together in a unified fashion to form a complete piece of music that proclaims a majestic theme.

And even though we don't know who the writer is, and even though it's unique and distinct, the epistle to the Hebrews is still inspired scripture, it's still God-breathed, and a part of the canon of the Bible.

We can also understand the epistle to the Hebrews as a word of exhortation. This is what the writer calls it near the end of its pages in chapter 13, verse 22. Exhortation, we can understand, is meaning encouragement.

So, this was a word of encouragement. We can then ask the question, what was the writer trying to encourage his audience about? What was he trying to encourage his audience to do? This epistle is a call to remain in Christ.

It's an encouragement to continue to abide in Christ as totally sufficient. The audience were believing Christian Hebrews that for some reason were thinking about going back, putting their trust and their hope in the laws, the ceremonies, the practices of old.

They were tempted to leave Christ and to go back to the shadow instead of clinging to the substance that had come, the substance that had been revealed to them. So, the writer wants to encourage his audience, these Hebrews, that in light of the supremacy of the sun, nothing else is sufficient and in light of the supremacy of Jesus Christ, nothing else is sufficient.

And in these first four verses, we'll see how the writer shows Christ as supreme in revelation, in power, and in authority. So, let's go ahead and read the text and see what it has to say. Chapter one, verse one.

It says, 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, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world.

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 at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name, than they.

Here we have the word of God, here we have the epistle, the beginning part of the epistle to the Hebrews. So, right off the bat, the writer wants to establish that Christ is supreme in revelation. He does so by showing Christ completing the Old Testament and being the son of God.

Verse one says, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. This one verse that begins the epistle holds within itself several centuries of history, real life stories, miracles, signs and wonders, blessings and judgments.

If we think back for a moment, we can think of how God revealed himself to Abraham, originally Abram, as he called him to be a father of a nation. How he revealed himself to Abraham by giving him a son who without God's help would not have been born.

How he revealed himself to Abraham's descendants when he delivered them into Egypt, saving them from a famine of the land. And how he delivered them out of Egypt, out of Egyptian bondage, utilizing his prophet Moses and revealing himself in the 10 plagues, showing himself to be mighty and powerful indeed.

We can think of how God revealed himself by giving the Israelites his law, his moral law, which reflected his character and his holy nature. We can think of how God revealed himself to the nation of Israel as he brought them to the land that he promised them, established them as a nation, gave them a culture and identity that was distinct from the other nations around them.

We can think of how God used his prophets and his priests through the time of this nation, giving unto them messages of blessing and of judgments. We can think of how God revealed himself beyond this time and how he revealed himself to Job.

At the end of the book, God speaks through a hurricane, showing himself to be mighty indeed and very powerful. We can think of how God revealed himself to Noah and to his family, giving them mercy and judging the rest of the world with a global flood that will never again happen.

So, if we spent more time, we can certainly think more about how God revealed himself. But the writer moves on. Verse two, has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

On one side, you have Old Testament revelation and on the other, you have Jesus Christ, who is revealed in the last days, signifying a culmination of everything that came beforehand. Everything that came beforehand finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is appointed heir of all things.

Matthew 5 .17, Jesus said during his Sermon on the Mount, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Excuse me.

The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1 .20, for all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him, amen, to the glory of God through us. Here we have Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen, who fulfills the law and the prophets, who is appointed heir of all things.

It's interesting to note, and I think very important, to take time to realize that this is not the writer of the Hebrews setting Old Testament and Jesus Christ to pit them against each other in a fight, as if they oppose one another, or are somehow different.

They are different, but in a particular way. I'm sure you've heard at least once in your lifetime that Old Testament for the modern Christian is no longer needed. It's obsolete. We don't need to study it anymore.

There's no value there. I'm pretty sure you've also heard at some point that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. But this is not the case. He's the same God, and it is Christ who fulfills the Old Covenant and who completes the Old Testament, for he is the Son of God.

And that's the next point we can help us to understand how Christ is supreme in revelation, is he is the Son of God. There are two terms in verse three of this passage that we can utilize to help us understand what it means to be the Son of God.

Verse three says, 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 at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Two terms. One is the brightness of his glory. Christ is the brightness of God's glory. This reveals to us that Christ is not a reflection of the glory of God, as if you were hold up a mirror to a light, bounce off to another surface.

Christ is rather a shining forth of the glory of God. He is a part of it. Thinking about the glory of God, we can understand it as the radiant character of God, his whole majesty and splendor of who he is.

We can think about the stories like Isaiah six, when the prophet Isaiah experiences this vision where he sees the Lord enthroned above everything else, high and lifted up, and he's surrounded in glory and in holiness.

The prophet's response is to fall on his face, realizing that he is a sinner in the land of sinners before a glorious God. We can also think of Exodus 33, when the prophet Moses, he was having a conversation one-on-one with God, and he asks a very bold thing.

He asks of God, please, show me your glory. And so the Lord, in his gracious way, does so in part. Takes Moses, places him in the cleft of the rock, covers the rock, and the Lord passes by. He lifts up his hand, and Moses is able to see the very back of God, but not his face, for that would have been too much for the man Moses.

The Jews understood the glory of God as being unapproachable. Yet now, the glory of God had approached them in the form of Jesus Christ. The next term we can use to help us understand the title, Son of God, is the express image of his person.

I liked how one translation puts it, the exact imprint of his nature. And phrasing it like so, I think, helps us better understand what this means. It shows us that Christ is the exact imprint of God himself.

John 14, nine says, and this is Christ speaking of himself, he who has seen me has seen the Father. In Colossians 115, it says, Christ is the image of the invisible God. This reveals to us that Jesus Christ is distinct in his person, yet sharing the same essence and nature of God himself, revealing to us that he is God himself.

Jesus Christ is fully God. Both the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person shows us the reality of the Trinity. It shows us that Christ is distinct, yet holy God himself. How much better of a revelation is this in the person of Jesus Christ than anything else that came beforehand?

This is God himself, wrapped in human flesh on their doorstep. So in light of the supremacy of the Son in Revelation, who completes the Old Testament, who fulfills everything that came beforehand, not conflicting with it, and being the Son of God, both distinct, yet fully God himself, holding onto the old ways, leaving Christ for the old practices, would not be sufficient for the Hebrews.

It would be a fatal error. The church, ever since the beginning of time, has always been tempted with putting their trust and their hope in other revelation, putting their trust and their hope in the letters and the messages, rather than the one who wrote the letters and the messages, rather than the one of whom they testify, rather than the one who has been revealed to them in human flesh.

The church must make it a point. When we take up the scriptures, rely on the letters and the messages that we have been graciously given that make up the Old Testament as well as the New. Rely upon those as they testify of Christ.

We should find joy and delight in the whole canon of the Bible. But we are to abide in Christ as the supreme revelation of God. The writer to the Hebrews also wants to show Christ as supreme in power.

And he does so by showing that Christ has power in creation. In verse two, about the middle of the verse, it says, whom he has appointed heir of all things, and afterward, through whom also he made the worlds.

By the power of Christ, creation comes to be. Everything and everyone owes their existence to Jesus Christ. John 1 .3 says, all things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made that was made.

Colossians 1 .16 says, 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.

Whether or not you subscribe to this idea of Christ having power in your creation and in everything else does not change the fact that it is real and that this is all brought about by the power of Christ.

And just as the potter has power over the clay, so Christ has power over all of creation, every land mass, every botter of water, every society, every country, every leader, every ruler, over the very rings of Saturn, over every star that's hung in the vastness of space, over every planet, and also over every soul and over every individual.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made in Christ. He has knit us in the mother's womb. Without Christ, none of us would be here. Christ's power is also shown in supremacy by his providence. In verse three, about the middle of the verse, it says, and upholding all things by the word of his power.

Upholding all things by the word of his power. Not just everything and everyone owes their existence to Christ by his power, but they owe their continuation in life to Christ's power. Gravity still works.

Time moves forward. History moves on. Kings and leaders rise and fall. Countries come and go. And Christ's church is preserved. Every saint that he redeems is held by Jesus Christ and will be held by his power.

The work that he began in each individual of his flock will be completed by Christ's power, and we will not fall away from him. Life will go on, as old life will go on, until Christ returns. It will not stop beforehand.

It will not go on when Christ brings the new life. Christ is also supreme in power. By his redemption, most excellent and glorious power of the savior we have, of our maker and our sustainer. In verse three, after upholding all things by the word of his power, it says, when he had by himself purged our sins.

Take that term, purged our sins, and give it to a Hebrew of the time. They're likely to think back to something like Day of Atonement, a yearly ceremony that was followed by the Jews that utilized various sacrifices to cleanse the people of their sins.

Among these sacrifices were two goats. One was utilized as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Its blood would be collected and used to cleanse the people of their sin. The other was a scapegoat. When the high priest would lay his hands on this goat, he would ceremoniously transfer the sins and the guilt of the people on this goat.

It would be let out into the wilderness outside of the camp of Israel to wander for a bit and eventually die. Leviticus 16 .30 says, for on that day the priest shall make atonement for you to cleanse you that you may be cleaned from all your sins before the Lord.

This was the Day of Atonement, and the Word of God reveals to us that this was the shadow of the substance to come. Ephesians 1 .7 says, in him, referring to Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.

Christ is supreme in power to meet all of our needs as our perfect savior, our perfect high priest, and our perfect sacrifice. During the Day of Atonement, the high priest would ceremoniously wash himself in water, signifying a cleansing of his own sins so that he could act on behalf of the people.

He would take upon himself the holy garments of his office as he followed through with his acts in this day. Christ did not need to wash himself with water to cleanse him of his sins. He followed perfectly all that the Old Covenant required of him.

He was pure, he was sinless, and faultless to his core. He did not clothe himself with the holy garments of the office of the high priest, yet he clothed himself with human flesh in preparation for his work.

Christ did not bring a sacrifice of a goat for the sins of his people. He rather brought himself and his own blood to cleanse those who would believe in him. Christ did not bring a scapegoat to bear the sins and the guilt of the people to be let out outside of Jerusalem, outside of the camp.

Rather, he himself was let outside of Jerusalem, and he bore the sins and the guilt of those who would believe in him. And indeed, sin and guilt are taken away by Christ. As only Christ, who has the power to fully accomplish this act for sinful people, and the writer of Hebrews will go on to show in more detail how the blood of goats and bulls were insufficient to truly save someone, to truly cleanse them of their sin.

Only Christ has the power to do that, and there's still a necessity for shedding of blood in the presence of sin. There's still a necessity of justice that needs to happen. For sinful people like you and like me, as sinful people who have broken the law of God, who are rebels, who are lawless, and who have broken too many of his laws.

We're at war with God spiritually. The old systems were ceremonial and meant to guide people to understand their need for real atonement and real redemption, and this occurs, this happens with Jesus Christ and him alone.

Titus 2 .14 says of Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. We also have the story of John the Baptist, who, when he first encounters Christ in John 1 .29, his expression is, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In light of the supremacy of the Son's power, no other power source comes to be sufficient for a created sinful race. Going back to the old ceremonies, the old laws, everything in the past, and ignoring the maker, the sustainer, and the real redeemer would be a fatal error for the Hebrews.

The church, ever since then, has always been tempted to put their trust and their hope in some other power besides Christ. Put their hope and their trust in being part of a church, the works they do in their religion, lies they believe from false leaders, from false prophets.

Some people put their hope and their trust in their own works, believing that they can somehow make it back to God, believing somehow they can build themselves up to God and to wash themselves clean. But these are all lies and they cannot work.

Only Christ has the power to redeem. Only Christ has the power to sustain. Only Christ has the power to make you. This is Jesus Christ. He's also supreme in authority, as he is appointed heir of all things, and as he is, in verse three, near the end, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, going into verse four, having become so much better than the angels as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

This is Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God, above all else, who has been given all authority and power in heaven and on earth. This is Jesus Christ, who is appointed heir of all things, and who has a better name than the very angels, the workers and the messengers of God.

He is supreme in revelation, in power, and in authority. If you have any time this week, I would encourage you to look through the scriptures, particularly in Hebrews, because the writer will go on to show more clearly how Christ is supreme in all areas of life.

Take time to look at the supremacy of the Son, and be blessed by him. Would you close with me in prayer? Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for his supremacy in our lives, to make us, to sustain us, and to redeem us, Lord, as a sinful, wretched people.

Thank you for his love, and for his care, and for his gentleness, Lord. Thank you for all you do for us, Lord, for your providential care. Thank you for sustaining your church, Lord, and may we remember that, and find joy and comfort in Jesus Christ, even through the hardships of life.

And it's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen. Thank you.