Hebrews 1:1-4 — Part 5: Finished and Seated

Finished and seated

“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.”
(Hebrews 1:3–4, ESV)

We need to feel the impact of this. Verses 1–3 outline the majesty and glorious beauty of the Son, esteemed above all, and hallmarked with the nature of God. It would be a privilege above anything this world offers even to be acquainted with such a noble Lord. We should count it more precious than any work of any artist to be part of, to live in, the astounding work of his deep knowledge, great skill and infinitely careful construction: not a static production, but a growing, developing, integrated complexity which perfectly harmonises and interrelates. Louis Armstrong sings “What a wonderful world”. My heart sings “What a wonderful God!”

Verse 4 moves to another level. It can be no accident that the writer moves from the heights of glory, and the co-existence of Son with the Father, to the return to that same glory when his earthly role is fulfilled and his mission completed. The Son is back in his place, but with what astounding changes accomplished. He comes to the world to live his humanity, lays down his life and takes it up again, and ascends to where he was before. And the whole of it is summarised in the brief “having made purification for sins”.

This, then, in the eyes of the writer of Hebrews, is the esteemed pinnacle of his achievement. He has taken all that separates ruined rebels from the presence of the holy God and has wiped it away. And then, to demonstrate that the whole thing is completed, done, he sits down in the very court of the Father – something no earthly priest would ever dare to do. Thus he signifies that his sacrifice is not only perfectly offered, it is perfectly and eternally accepted.

In the words of Wesley’s glorious hymn:

’Tis finished! The Messiah dies –
cut off for sins, but not His own;
accomplished is the sacrifice –
the great redeeming work is done.

The veil is rent; in Christ alone
the living way to heav’n is seen;
the middle wall is broken down,
and all mankind may enter in.

’Tis finished! All my guilt and pain,
I want no sacrifice beside;
for me, for me the Lamb is slain,
’tis finished! I am justified.

The reign of sin and death is o’er;
all grace is now to sinners giv’n;
and, lo! I plead th’atoning blood,
and in Thy right I claim my heav’n.
(Charles Wesley, 1707–88)

Hebrews 1:1-4 — Part 4: Creator and Sustainer

Creator and sustainer

There is yet another strain in these opening verses, by which, it seems to me, the writer is setting up the easel and the canvas on which the revelation which is the remainder of the book will be painted. Something is revealed here which could not possibly have been fully known even by Christ’s Apostles before their Lord departed. But when the Spirit, who is promised to them by Jesus, brings his ‘this is that’ enlightenment to their understanding of all they have seen and heard, then they know completely what previously they had only glimpsed, even though they had begun to know it then. They had asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). Now they know.

Creator

Later, Hebrews 11 declares:

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
(Hebrews 11:3, ESV)

The very man who lived and breathed and walked and slept in their very midst is both Creator and sustainer – upholder – of all that is.

Pause and think of that. The Word that called light and life into being dwelt among us; the Voice that spoke at the forming of the earth was heard – and heeded – by earthly ears. The hands that formed Adam from the dust broke and gave the bread to them. The Author of life lived as a man. He who was hidden was revealed.

Paul says the same:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
(Colossians 1:16–17, ESV)

Sustainer

And the very fabric of the physical universe not only came into being by his word, but continues to exist by it. What is seen has for its very foundations what is not seen. If we trace that through to what is later said about ‘faith’ we will see that it is not just something the author of Hebrews decides to throw in. It is here at the start and underlies all that he goes on to say. If, for one moment, the mighty sustaining power of the word of the Son was to cease, existence itself would stop.

Light is another picture. We hardly ever look at the sun, yet we see everything else by it. C. S. Lewis said he believed in Christianity as he believed the sun had risen – not only because he saw it, but because by it, in his words, he saw “everything else” (“Is Theology Poetry?”). So with the Son: the one by whom, and through whom, all else is seen and held.

Think of breath. We never notice it, yet it is given moment by moment, and the day it is withheld we are gone. Paul told the Athenians that God “himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Every breath the atheist draws to deny him is a breath he was given.

Paul goes on:

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.”
(Acts 17:26–27, ESV)

And then he quotes, with approval, a line from the Greek seer, poet and sage Epimenides – “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It was written to Zeus; Paul takes it and shows who it really belongs to.

Even the atheist, the denier of God’s existence, depends in entirety on the enabling action, in pure grace, of the Son of God he refuses to turn to. What irony is that!

This is the Lord we worship. There is none greater. See how magnificent he is. Begin to grasp what privilege and honour we have been given to not only know his name, but to apprehend his person, through the Apostles’ witness. To worship him, not from afar, as if we were staring up at the night sky, captivated by all it is, but heart to heart, soul to soul. To have him – HIM! – call us his very own and know us by name.

Commenting on this, I have been heard to say that non-believers are people with no invisible means of support! But those who know him have their feet on solid ground.

Hebrews 1:1-4 — Part 3: Heir and Inheritance

Jesus - Heir of all things

"…whom he appointed the heir of all things… having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." — Hebrews 1:2, 4

A third thread runs through these opening verses, alongside the radiance and the exact imprint already traced: heirship. Verse 2 says God "appointed" him heir. Verse 4 says he "has inherited." Two moments, one unbroken right — intention, then fulfilment.

Appointed

Before a word of creation was spoken, the Son already held the title. The same verse that names him heir also names him maker: "through whom also he created the world." Heirship was not a reward added later; it belonged to him from the first, by the Father's own appointment. This is high ground indeed — worthy of worship even in the ages before Bethlehem, before Calvary, before the empty tomb.

Inherited

Yet verse 4 speaks of something newly taken up: he has inherited a name, and because of it he is now shown superior to angels. The One who always held the right has now entered its full possession. His exaltation grants him nothing he lacked — it unveils, before heaven and earth, what was always his.

And what name is this? Hebrews does not leave us guessing. The very next verse answers it: 

"You are my Son, today I have begotten you" (Psalm 2:7). 

The name inherited is Son — revealed by the Father at his baptism, declared in majesty and glory at hiis transfiguration, and spoken over him in power at his resurrection. Declared to a watching universe.

Worthy

Appointed from before, inherited in time — the glorious Son we worship was never just a candidate for honour; he was always its rightful owner. And now, raised and seated, he has taken what was his to take. The One of such high placing, infinitely worthy of praise even through the old covenant ages, has by his redemptive love qualified — and been qualified — to receive the name that is above every name.

"Lord — this day, my knee will bow, and my tongue will confess your Name."

Hebrews 1:1-4 — Part 2: Radiance and Exact Imprint

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature." — Hebrews 1:3

Two words carry the weight of verse 3: radiance and exact imprint. Neither is decoration. Together they answer the question Part 1 raised — how does the unseen God become known?

Radiance

"He is the radiance of the glory of God" (Heb 1:3). The Greek apaugasma pictures light shooting forth from its source — not a borrowed glow, but light that belongs to what it comes from. As the Father is light, the Son is the radiance of that light.

The word can be read two ways: passively, as a reflection of a glory that stays centred in the Father; or actively, as light streaming out, carrying its own brightness. Hebrews' own emphasis — the Son as agent of creation, sustainer of all things, seated in power — favours the active sense, and that's the reading the early fathers reached for against every attempt to make Christ a lesser, derivative being. 

Radiance isn't a copy of light; it's light doing what light does.

One honest caveat: Wisdom 7:26 calls Wisdom "a reflection (apaugasma) of eternal light," using the identical word in a context that leans passive. But the word alone doesn't settle the question — it's Hebrews' larger argument about the Son that tips the reading toward active emanation, not the term in isolation. Not merely image. Procession.

Exact Imprint

"The exact imprint of his nature" — charaktēr, the mark a seal leaves in wax or a die leaves on a coin. Every detail of the stamp transfers to what's stamped. No loss, no approximation.

What makes this striking isn't just the picture but who else used the word. 

Philo, writing in the same world as Hebrews, uses charaktēr for exactly this kind of exact impress — then insists nothing is the charaktēr of God's own being. Not Wisdom. Not the Logos. Nothing gets that close. Hebrews reaches for the very term Philo reserved for "impossible" - and lays it on Christ without qualification.

That's the claim verse 3 makes: not that Christ resembles God, but that in him God's own nature is reproduced without remainder.

Together

Radiance says the Son's glory is his own, not borrowed. Exact imprint says nothing of God's nature is missing in him. Prophets spoke fragments, at many times and in many ways (v.1). 

The Son doesn't add another fragment — he is the thing itself, finally shown.

Together, these two descriptions comprise one of the most succinct statements anywhere of the Son's nature and essence, and a profound window onto his relationship with the Father and the Spirit. If the Godhead is the symphony — its orchestration, its melodies, its harmonies — the Son is the song sung. This is far from theoretical. It turns our eyes to the magnificence of the one who is our Saviour and Lord, worthy of adoration and worship.

"At your feet we fall; mighty, risen Lord,

As we come before your throne to worship you"

Hebrews 1:1-4 — The Radiance of His Glory

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature." — Hebrews 1:3

Central thought: Jesus shines God at us, and Jesus shows God to us.

Reflection: how do I 'see' him?

1. I need to hear him as revealer.

He is God's last and final word to us. In him, through him, the Almighty shouts what before has only been whispered.

The prophets who preceded him were sent by God to bring his word to his people. Jesus comes as God's Word to those who are not yet his people. Many prophets cannot add up to the sum of all he is – even though they be multiplied a thousand-fold. The fullness of the Son's word is not, cannot be and will not be exceeded. God shines through his word – always – but in the Son there is supernova.

2. I need to know him as eminence.

Heir of all things, maker of all things, upholder of all things. The Son is the hands of God. He does what God purposes. He performs what God plans. All that is owes what it is, and that it is, to the Son. And it is his inheritance – his by sovereign right as 'the Son'.

Without him, I would not be. My life, my living, with all of its wonders, everything owes him. How can I not serve him when I have and am nothing without him?

3. I need to worship him as exalted.

I can only bow before such majesty. He owns me in every respect. All that I am and have is by his 'sustaining'; only by the word of his power. He has stooped to the lowest measure of the stained world of men to bleach out our unholiness and make it clean. And only after he has done this does he rise again above all creation to take his rightful seat in that place of eminence, the throne of glory at the right hand of the Father. That throne stands on legs of grace, truth, mercy and love.

In such a royal court, who cannot, who will not bow the knee? In the presence of such a one, what words are sufficient to sound his praise, what mouth worthy? Beholding such a sight as this, we will, like the seraphim, hide our eyes – sight will seem inadequate to perceive his being.

But, wonder of wonders, it is this Son who draws us to himself, who bids us 'come'. The glory that would consume us in an instant, instead, wraps its arms around us and speaks to our souls.

In these last days, God has spoken …

… to us!

Let's Be Clear ... Who sinned?

Let's be clear ...

Some Christian brothers and sisters seem mightily preoccupied with evaluating their lifestyle using the
question 'is this a sin'. It would seem that life in Christ is being thought of as a kind of spiritual tightrope walk. God draws the line of obedience. Put a foot wrong on either side, and you're off the 'righteous road' and straying into the sin-swamp. This is tragic! Overall, it has nothing of the 'flavour' of new life in Christ as portrayed in the New Testament. You can almost hear Paul shouting the same frantic plea that he uses when he writes to the church at Galatia:

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5 vs 1)

I want to ask such believers 'does this life you're living, and how you think you go about pleasing God sound anything like being free in Christ?' Or does it look more like the kind of law-obedience which was proscribed under the old covenant?

Who sinned?

It appears that the disciples of Jesus also had definitive ideas concerning their God and how He dealt with sin. John ch 9 recounts the story of the healing of a blind man. Evidently, they had heard from somewhere that this had been his condition from birth, and they asked Jesus the question:

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9 vs 2)

It would appear that their theology was telling them:

1. God hates sin and He judges it
2. Sickness or illness or tragedy in someone's life is a sign of judgement and God's displeasure, as a direct result of sin

Therefore, there were only two possible explanations for this man's condition. He was either suffering as a result of his parents' sin - and their judgement was to give birth to a blind baby (with all the attendant heartache and disappointment that would have caused), or his own sin, in some kind of time-reversed sin-judgement sequence which God could bring about.

Jesus' answer challenges this 'equasionology' type of thinking. He said,

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (vs 3)

Wrong question!

Jesus' answer is intended to indicate the wrongness of the question rather than to directly answer it. We need to understand precisely what He is saying. So, to move through it step by step -

1. This man was a sinner, just like everyone else. Jesus cannot be inferring that the man was without sin - of course not.
2. The man's parents were sinners too.
3. Neither the sins of the man himself, or of his parents, were the cause of his being born blind. And this is what the Lord is asserting. Perhaps the sentence would be better phrased:

“It was not because either this man or his parents sinned that he was born blind. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

...But right answer!

How were the works of God displayed in him? The answer is apparent. By him receiving his sight. And it would seem that Jesus intends this to be a confrontational occasion for the leaders and Pharisees - the day is the Sabbath, and the Lord 'makes mud' (works) in a very public area to effect this miracle. Further, the man himself is directed to draw attention to this event by a public washing in the pool of Siloam.

What about us?

What are we to make of this? How does it relate to our relationship with God? First, here is the wrong thinking:

1. I am suffering
2. God judges sin
3. Suffering is the direct result of sin - at least sometimes
4. My suffering could be because God is punishing me for sin
5. Or I could be suffering so that my suffering somehow punishes someone else's sin

So I have to do 'hunt the sin' in order to deal with it - repent and confess and ask forgiveness. Oh, and then, as I go along, I have to be constantly examining my thoughts and my motives to detect what might be sin so that I can refuse it. Like if you have a nut allergy, you have to diligently look at everything you eat to make sure that it hasn't come anywhere near nuts.

Let me ask you this - does that sound like Jesus to you? Is that the kind of mindset you see your heavenly Father wanting you to have in Him? Does it look like grace? Mercy? Love? And the sin-allergy avoidance campaign - is that something you would describe as freedom in Christ?

How did you receive the Spirit? - the Galatians 3 question

Let me also ask you this - when you turned to Christ for salvation, was it on the understanding that you could come to him if you had sorted your sin out first? Or was it that precisely because you could not do that was why you needed him to be your Saviour? When your sins were washed away, who did that, you or Jesus? And where? It was ... at the cross.

So let's get this straight:

The cross on which Jesus died is always where God deals with your sin. Always. Because nothing you or I can do will do that. Only what God does, what Jesus does - at the cross. What he does there is - as his own cry announced - finished. Nothing needs adding to it. Your repentance, your confession as a believer simply takes you back to the cross of Christ, the place where the blood of God was shed to cover your sins. When you sin as a believer, that is where you need to be. And it is enough.

Mean to go on as you started

We will never know how much of 'me' is in our sinning. And God does not expect us to analyse and dissect each faltering fail so that we can own up to the bits that were down to us. Christ says 'just give the whole mess to me'. He will deal with it by his Spirit. If you need to learn from it, he will teach you, through his word, by his Spirit. And not falling again won't be because you have got it sorted and now know what to avoid. That is crass legalism!

Instead of which the whole business of living in Christ is the joy of not watching every step. That's God's job, not yours. Here what Paul says to Christians who have started to think they need to revert to the old Law covenant:

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."

Galatians 5:16–25

Your Lord does not intend you to walk his path as though you are picking your way through a minefield. He wants you to live as a flourishing tree in his orchard. Producing fruit which shows off who he is in you. And he does it by His Spirit. Who is already where he needs to be. In you.

The Lord's Supper

"Do this ..."

In preaching to myself, perhaps it serves to think about those first participants. What were they doing, and why?

It cannot be that any of them had 'earned' a right to be at that Table. What had been their discussion? Who was greatest among them. Did they understand, even vaguely, what the Lord meant, even only a few hours before his cross by "this is my body; this is my blood"? Evidently they did not. So what do we see? Do they say, "Unless I understand, I will not eat" or "until I know I am deserving, I will not drink"? Of course not. They eat, they drink because what was given came from the Master's hand. They do so because he instructs. Is their communion with each other dependent upon their perfect agreement with each other? No, it is in spite of it. For disagreements and separations fall away here. Let each hand pass the bread, the cup to his brother, who is next to him. All that is required is ... that that is his neighbour, whatever he has been to him before, or will be after. For this is the Lord's table, and it has the Lord's purpose:

To remember -  his death for us

"Do this - in remembrance of me"

Here, at this table, we both claim and proclaim it. What? 'The Lord's death'. Oh, but were there not much more noble things to recall? 

What about his amazing compassion, that reached his hand out to the leper? That called children to flock around him, waiting for his blessing? That moved his resolute heart to anger at calloused indifference to suffering in favour of legal 'correctness?

What of his stunning authority that drove demons out and silenced his worst opponents with truths that struck like lightning bolts? That stirred the hearts of his listeners to renewed vision and hope?

What about the power that stilled storms, gave sight to the blind and brought dead men back to life?

Ah, but all of these were

To remind - his love for us

To renew - our anticipation of his return