| God Has Spoken
"God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, 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; Who being the
brightness of his glory and the epress 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; Being made so
much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews
1:1-4, KJV).
These words comprise the opening statement for the
letter to the Hebrews. It is one of the most beautiful
and sublime statements in all of Scripture. Notice that
these four verses form but one sentence. In order to
follow the central argument of these verses, let us
analyze it carefully.
The simple subject and verb of this sentence is: "God
hath spoken." Everything else is descriptive of God, or
of his means of speaking, or of the one through whom he
has spoken. The fact of divine revelation is the central
thought of these verses! "God hath spoken. . .", thus
there is no excuse for our ignorance of His word. "God
hath spoken. . .", and we must listen! "God hath spoken.
. .", and we must not neglect His self-revelation!
The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that he speaks not
of a previously unknown God, but refers to the same God
who had spoken in times past through the prophets. He
did this at various times and in a variety of ways. God
spoke in days of old to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to
Isaac, to Jacob. to Joseph, to Moses, to Joshua, to
Samuel, to David, and to many more. At Mt. Sinai he
spoke from a thundering cloud (Exodus 19,20), while to
Samuel he spoke in a still, small voice (1 Sam. 3). To
some he spoke in dreams and visions (Isa. 6:1ff.), while
to Moses he spoke, as it were, "face to face" (Deut.
18).
However, in these last days (a reference to the days
since Pentecost, Acts 2:16ff.), God has spoken to us by
His Son! In Matthew 17:1ff., at the Mount of
Transfiguration, God attested concerning Jesus, "This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him."
There was once a time when Moses and the prophets were
God's spokesmen. Now, however, they have been eclipsed
by the Son of God! He is the One to whom we are to give
our undivided attention, obedience, and allegiance! See
also the parable Jesus told in Matthew 21:33ff. How
urgent it is that we recognize that God has spoken to
us!
The remainder of this passage describes the Son of God.
Seven descriptions are given in these verses:
(1) The Son is the One whom God has appointed to be the
heir of all things (see Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7).
(2) The Son is the One by whom God created the worlds
(see Gen. 1:1,26; John 1:1-14; Col. 1:16).
(3) The Son is said to be the brightness of God's glory
(see Phil. 2:5-8; John 17:1-5).
(4) The Son is described as being the express image of
God's person (see also John 10:30; 14:1-9).
(5) The Son is the One who upholds all things by the
word of his power (see Col. 1:17).
(6) The Son, by himself (i.e., apart from the work of
those who came before, and having no successor) purged
our sins (see Matt. 26:28; Heb. 7:24-28; 10:10-17).
(7) The Son is seated at the right hand of the Majesty
on high (see Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:32-36).
Besides all of these glorious characteristics of the Son
of God, the writer contrasts His position, signified by
His name, with the angels: "Being made so much better
than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they." We must realize that the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the ultimate revelation of
the Father to mankind. We must find salvation in His
name, and only in His name (Acts 4:12).
Truly, we must "Hear Him!" Read His words regarding
salvation in the following passages: John 8:24; Luke
13:3,5; Matt. 10:32,33; Mark 16:15,16.
Kenneth W. Burton |
