If you will take your Bibles
and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1, we'll be
looking at verses 1 through 3 this morning. The title of my message
this morning is, Jesus Christ, the final Word of God. Jesus
Christ, the final Word of God. Hebrews 1 verse 1 says, "...God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past to
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by His Son." Now here in the book of Hebrews, as you
study this book, you will find out that this book speaks on
the superiority of Christ. The superiority of Christ, it
speaks of the superiority of Christ in His person. He's better
than the angels. He's better than Moses. He's
better than Aaron and all the prophets. It speaks concerning
the superiority of Christ's work. That His work was better than
the law. That His work was better than
the Old Testament prophets or high priests. That His office
was higher. and that He made a better covenant
than that covenant of works. In the covenant of works, He
made a better covenant, the covenant of grace. Now, all of these things
that are contained in the law and in the prophets in the Old
Testament by the kings and by the priests and by the men of
God, they only picture something far better than they actually
were. They all spoke of this one here
called the Son of God. God in grace, willing to make
Himself known unto man after the fall, He came to Adam, did
He not? He came to Adam and He spoke
to Adam and He said, The seed of the woman shall bruise the
head of the serpent, and he shall bruise his heel. This was the
express revelation of God in mercy to man. He could have let
man go on. He could have let man go on in
his sin and God would have been just as good and just as holy
as He ever was. But God who is rich in mercy,
He came down to man. He came down. And He gave man
a hope, a message of salvation. You see, God, from that time
forward, when He spoke to Adam, from that time forward, even
until the coming of Christ, God at sundry times and in diverse
manners, spake unto the fathers by the prophets. How did Cain
and Seth learn the Gospel? They learned it from their father
Adam. They learned it from their father Adam. He told it to them. And so God came down to Adam
and spoke personally. To Moses, He spoke audibly. To many other prophets, He spoke
in dreams and in visions. And He used nature by which to
tell His prophets the Word that He would have them to tell His
people. And He showed them many signs
and wonders and miracles. And all that was spoken In the
Old Testament, even though it was different, even though God
spoke in different ways and at different times, the Old Testament
is just as valid as the New Testament. I hear many people, and I believe
lost people, they say, well, I like the New Testament, I just
don't understand and like the Old Testament. Friends, they're
both the authoritative Word of God. They're both the authoritative
Word of God because They both have the same subject and object. They both speak of only one,
and that is the Son of God. The Son of God. Friends, when
you read the Law, when you read the Prophets, when you read the
Psalms, I want you to know that this is telling us of God's redemptive
plan to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 10 and verse 43,
Peter in his sermon said this, To him give all the prophets
witness, that through his name, whoso believeth in him shall
receive the remission of sins. Jesus said this, These words
which I have spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. You see, all of the Old Testament
spoke of Jesus Christ. God spoke of these men in different
times, in different ways, but He always spoke about His Redeemer. He always spoke about Christ.
Now, the Old Testament is what we may call progressive revelation. A progressive revelation. You think when Adam heard the
seed of the woman, shall bruise the head of the
serpent." You see, God gave a little light to Adam. He gave just a
little glimpse of how it is that God would deal with sin. But
then when you come to Moses, you see a bigger light, don't
you? You see the Passover lamb and you see how that Passover
lamb pictures the sacrifice of Christ more clearly to us. And then as you go on, the light
grows brighter and brighter. Paul said this in Romans 16,
25, now to him, that is a power to establish you according to
my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation. Here it is of the mystery. Of the mystery, which was kept
secret since the world began, but is now made manifest. Friends, this gospel of God was
hid in mysteries and types and pictures. But now, Peter says,
we have a more sure word of prophecy. Peter said, I heard the voice
of God. And God said, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. But Peter says, we have even a more sure word than that.
What do we have, Peter? We have the Word of God. This
is God's sure prophecy. He revealed Himself in types
and shadows and pictures and signs in the Old Testament. But
now He has revealed Himself, how? By His Son. By His Son. Even now, friends, the Son of
Righteousness has risen and the Messiah has now come. So there's
no more need for pictures and types. There's no more need for
shadows and dreams and visions. Why? Because we have the real.
I like this illustration because it's very affectionate to me. Marrying my wife. She had to
go back before we get married. She had to go back to Tennessee
And what I did is I took a picture of her and I stuck it right on
my dash And so every time I drove I'd look at that picture and
I would I would feel the affection for her I missed her I wanted
to be with her but that picture is all I had now when she came
here What do you think happened to the picture? That went on
the shelf. That went in the closet. Why?
Because I had the real. I don't need anything else. And
so it is with Christ. We have the real. And so in these
last times, God has taken away the shadows. He's taken away
the types and given us His Son and spoken to us by His Son.
Now look at our text. They said in verse 2, He said,
"...hath in these last days..." Now, to the Jewish mind, This
phrase definitely had reference to the Messiah. When they heard the last days,
they knew that that was talking about the coming of the Messiah. Because when He would come, they
knew that He would do away with all of the law and the ceremony,
and He would do away with all of their governmental rule, and
He Himself would be the object of their affection. And they
knew this from Genesis 49, 10. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until when?
till Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people
be." They knew that when Christ would come, He would do away
with temple worship and the governmental laws. He would be everything. Friends, Shiloh has come. Shiloh has come. The veil of
the temple has been rent in twain and access to God is granted
by this one, by the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Man was created
at the beginning having peace and fellowship with God. You
know, Adam knew God. Adam knew God. He had a comfortable
relationship with God. He could speak to God. And God
could speak to him as a man to a man. Isn't that something? You see, when Adam failed and
disobeyed God, he lost that peace and fellowship. And he not only
lost peace and fellowship, he also lost the ability to know
God. He lost the ability to know God. He, by his corrupt and carnal
mind, could not know God anymore. The God he once loved and served,
what happened when he sinned? He ran from God. And his idea of God's law and
holy justice was tainted because he thought fig leaves could cover
himself before an Almighty God. You see, his reason was corrupted.
His logic was corrupted. And he could not know God, and
you know what? He didn't want to. He didn't
want to. And so it is with all of us by
nature, like our Father. All men by nature know there's
a God, and they go about blindly trying by their reason or logic
to understand who He is. I know some people that I've
met, they rely on visions they've seen. They rely on dreams. Oh, I had a dream about God.
You see, I know God because I had a dream about God. I know God
because I saw a vision of God. One lady said she saw a picture
of Jesus over this truck, guiding this truck. And her son was a
truck driver. And she said, well, that's how I know God is by seeing
that I had a vision. I had an epiphany. I know God
because I've seen this light come down out of heaven. And
I know God that way. No, you don't. No, you don't. You will not know God by dreams
and visions. Why? Because God took that away. No man can know God by nature
of religion either. I know God because I've studied
Calvinism. I know God because I'm a member
of a church. I know God because I've been
baptized. No, you don't. You will never
know God by religious ceremony. You will never know God by religious
ceremony. Men think that if they're sincere,
if they've done their best, then God will somehow overlook their
sins and iniquities and accept them in. Why? Because men by
nature think God to be like themselves. That's what men think. That's
what I thought. When I was lost, that's what
I thought, and I know that's what you thought. You thought
God was much like yourself, so you can go on in your sin and
be comfortable. He said, surely God, His love,
He'll forgive me of my sin in the end. No, He won't. You don't
know God. You don't know God. If that's
how God, you said God revealed Himself to you, I know immediately
you don't know God. Let me ask you, how can a man
truly know God? How can a man in a physical world
understand and know an invisible God? How is that possible? How can a man who is carnal and
at enmity against God, hating God, know who he is and know
what he demands? Friends, I point you to the only
one that God will ever speak to you by, and that is Jesus
Christ. I tell you that God has in many
times spoken to His people in times past by these visions and
signs, but He no more speaks to people in that way. He speaks
to them only by His Son, Jesus Christ. If there's anyone that
desires to know God, If there's anyone that will long to know
the person and character of God, if anyone will know the sinfulness
of man and be reconciled to God and have peace with God, you
must know Him only by one person. You will only know Him by Jesus
Christ. No other way. No other way. You
will not know God in any other way. Why? Because God has chosen
to reveal Himself only in His Son. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the final Word of God to
man concerning matters of the immortal souls of men. He is God's final Word as how
God can be just and justify the ungodly. Jesus Christ who was
spoken of, has now come and He alone reveals God. Friends, we can sit down and
I can academically show you God. But unless God the Father comes
down and reveals Himself personally to you, you will never know God
but by Jesus Christ. Scripture says in John 1.18,
no man has seen the Father at any time. The only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Now, in our passage this morning,
I want us to see three things set forth concerning the Son
of God. And it is by knowing these things,
by knowing these three traits of the Son of God, that any man
could have fellowship with God. You must know these things. You
must know these things. First of all, I want us to see
the person. of Jesus Christ. God reveals
Himself by the person of Jesus Christ. Second of all, God reveals
Himself by the work of Jesus Christ. And third, God reveals
Himself by the place of Jesus Christ. Person, work and place
of Christ. First of all, the person of Christ. The only way, the only way for
a man to know the invisible God, is for God Himself to manifest
Himself visibly. Isn't that true? The only way
that we can ever know Christ is for God to manifest Himself
visibly. And He has manifest Himself visibly. How? In Christ. In Christ. God before the world began. I
tell you that the Scriptures speak of this, that God chose
an elect people. God chose a people from before
the foundation of the world that He would save. And friends, He
has also devised the way by which those people may know Him and that He may be worshipped
by them. In the Old Testament, He gave
the visible law, didn't He? When those people looked, they
could see that land, spotless, pure. And when that high priest
took the knife and slit the throat of that animal, they could see
the blood. You see, they needed something
so that they could understand and perceive the justice of God,
the righteousness of God, and the demands of a holy God. They
needed something they could see. How can invisible God be made
known to man but by uniting Himself with humanity? The glory of this, my friends,
it's a glory in this. Think of this, that Adam, that
Christ was not created in the image of Adam, but Adam was created
in the image of Christ. He is the man, the God-man, the
God-man. He who was before all things
in our text is said to be the heir of all things. This is not
speaking of the Son as God only. For as God, He had all things. How can He who has all things
be the heir of all things? No, this is speaking of God who
united Himself with humanity. God came down and made Himself
and by His obedience became the heir. What was He the heir of? He was the heir of all things,
especially the elect of God. God's elect. God the Father gave
God the Son His people. He was the heir of the elect. God the Father chose them and
gave them to the Son, so then Jesus Christ, who is the true
essence and nature of the invisible God, equal with the Father and
the Spirit, was being the heir of the elect, and He took them. He took upon Him their nature,
that they might know Him. Philippians 2, 2, 6 says, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robber to be equal with
God. Friends, Jesus Christ thought it not robber to be equal with
God because He was God. He is God. He is God. But He made of Himself no reputation
and took upon Him the form of a servant. And being found in
the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, He
humbled Himself. Oh, the greatness of this, my
friends, that the invisible God was now manifest to visible men. He was made visible to men by
becoming a man. Colossians 1.15 says, who is
the image of the invisible God? The firstborn of every creature.
For by Him were all things created in heaven and in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, or principalities
and powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him." The Son of God is not like God. He is God. He is God. He is the image, the
express image of the invisible God. And when I speak of Jesus
Christ this morning, friends, I'm not talking about just a
man. I am talking about the God-man, the God-man, Jesus Christ. He is the express image of God.
Do you desire to know God? Do you long to see the character
and nature of God? And friends, I will tell you,
you will find the image and character and nature of God nowhere to
be found in your mind, in your dreams, in your vision, in this
nature of this cursed world. You will only find the character
and nature of God only in Jesus Christ. That's it. It's the only
place you'll ever find God. It's the only place you'll ever
see the characteristics of God is in Jesus Christ. He will not be revealed by anything
else but Christ. Friends, see that Jesus created
all things, and that all things were created by Him and for Him.
And this same Jesus, who was a servant, was also the maker
and sustainer of all things. I hear this question a lot. If
God is so sovereign, then why is there so much sin? Why did
God allow sin into this world? What's the purpose of that? Friends,
the only answer the Holy Word of God gives us is this. He did
it for His own glory. God does everything for His own
glory. People say, I don't like that.
Well, I don't think God really cares. God does everything for His glory. Everything. The only answer is
God is doing everything for His glory. And who is His glory?
Look in our text, verse 3. Who being the brightness of His
glory. Who is this person? Jesus. He
is the brightness of His glory. This has the idea of the sun
and its rays. Let me ask you this. Can you
separate the sun from its rays? But how can you know the sun
is there but by the rays? If the rays never came down,
you would never know there was sun. It would never bring heat
to this world, and there would be no life here. Even so, Jesus
Christ, as He is the ray and the Father is the sun, He says,
I and my Father are one, one in essence, one in being, one
in authority. Jesus Christ is the only ray
of light that will ever cause anyone to know who God is. If anyone says they know God
apart from Jesus Christ, they are deceived and do not know
God. If a man does not love the Son of God, then I tell you right
now, he does not love the Father. If a man does not bow down to
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he has not bowed down before
God and he does not know Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ said this,
if God were your father, then would you love me? Is God your father? Not if you
hate Christ. In Matthew 11, 27, all things
are delivered unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son, but
the father. Neither knoweth any man the father
save the son, and to whomsoever the son will reveal him. To whomsoever
the Son reveals the Father, they'll know the Father. But if God the
Son does not reveal God the Father to you, you'll never know Him.
Never. The Son who has revealed Himself to you, if the Son has
revealed Himself to you, then you know the Father. But if He
has not, you don't know God. If you have not seen Jesus Christ
as the incarnate God manifest in the flesh, and bowed down
to Him, you do not know God." That's very simple. I hope I've
made that plain. Number two, we can know God by
the work of Christ. God expressed to us His person
by the coming of Jesus Christ. and that we cannot know God but
by Jesus Christ, the express image of God, the brightness
of His glory, who is manifest in the flesh. You can't know
God apart from that. And even so, the work of Christ, God is
expressing to us His redemption of sinners. It is by the work
of Jesus Christ that God reveals to us that no man will ever be
accepted unless he is perfect as God is.
No man will ever be accepted unless he is as perfect as Jesus
Christ. Jesus told His disciples this.
He said, If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not
sinned. Now does that mean they didn't have any sin? No. If I
had not come and spoken, I would not have exposed their sin. but
now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth
the Father also." The work of Jesus Christ in speaking the
Word of God and performing the works of God exposes sin. Let me ask you this. Personally,
every one of you, listen, pay attention. Have you obeyed God like Jesus Christ. Have you in every thought, every
word, every deed, honored God's law absolutely, perfectly, without
exception? You see, by looking at the life
of Christ, you know what I see? I see my sin. My sin is exposed
by looking at him. What did his enemies say about
him? This man is just. That's what Pilate said. I find
no fault in him. His other enemies said, never
a man spake like this man. That's what his enemies said.
Jesus said, which of you convinces me of sin? Friends, without Christ, I tell
you this, you have no hope. Without Christ, you have no fellowship
with God. And you're standing on the brink
of hell, ready to fall off in eternal destruction at any moment.
That's the reality of it. And yet, what is the response
of lost people without God revealing Himself to them? What's their
response? No interest. They don't have
any interest in the things of God. These things are foreign
to them, and they don't care about the things of God. They're
standing on the brink of hell, ready to fall off into eternal
damnation, and what is their response? I don't care. I don't
care. No concern. Why? I'll tell you
why, because they hate Christ. They hate Christ and defy God
to do what He promised to do. But friends, if there are any
of you that God has opened your eyes to see your sin, if there
are any sinners in need of hope, then hear the final Word of God. Hear the final Word of God by
the work of His Son. God is speaking by the work of
His Son. In verse 3 of our text, this
is the Word of God. Verse 3 says, "...who being the
brightness of His glory, the express image of His person,
upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins." Friends, God the Son came not
to call the righteous. He came to call sinners to repentance. He said, they that are whole,
they don't need a doctor. But they that are sick need a
doctor. If you're sick of sin, then Jesus Christ is the only
remedy for sin. He's the only remedy for sin.
The Word of God says Christ came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Are you a sinner? Are you in need of redemption? Hope? To know God? To love Christ? Do you need that? If you do, then how is it done? By the purging of sins. Sin must be purged. God cannot nor will not accept
man with sin. If you have sin, God will not
accept you. God will not allow you in His
presence. Therefore, by His grace, He sent His Son. He sent His
Son to wash away the sins of His people. What did the law
require for sin? Death. The soul that sinneth
it shall surely die, says the Word of God. That without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Friends, a
bloodless religion is a worthless religion. A bloodless religion
is a worthless religion. And I tell you, there's no greater
bloodless religion in our day as freewill works religion. It
is a bloodless religion. Why do you say that? They believe
in the blood. They believe Jesus died. They believe in His blood
that saved them. No, they don't. You see, they
believe that the blood of Christ was shed for all men without
exception. But yet His blood is not powerful
enough to save anyone without the sovereign will of man." Friends, to say that Christ's
blood is powerless is to have a bloodless religion. If the
blood of Christ did not accomplish salvation, then His blood is
worthless. God has spoken, my friends. The
blood of Christ is powerful to save. God has spoken and sang
when He had. I want you to notice that every
word there is important. He had. I'm not an English teacher,
but that's past tense. He had already. purged our sins. This expresses that the blood
of Christ did not make salvation possible, but that the blood
of Christ had actually purged sin. See, friends, and bow down
for Jesus' blood has accomplished salvation for sinners. He has
already purged all the sins of all His elect people. He has
purposed and is even right now calling His people to Himself.
See friend, this is the good news. I don't speak of a salvation
that's possible. I speak of a salvation that's
already accomplished. It's already finished. Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, He bore our sins in His own body on the
tree, and the justice of God poured out His wrath on His Son,
and His blood, when it flowed from His body, God said, your
sins are washed away. They're gone. They're gone. Already
gone. Oh, the payment for sin of all
His people of all times. His blood had purged. and made them perfect before
God. Do you believe the word that
God has spoken? Do you believe the blood of Jesus
Christ as your only atonement for sin? If you don't, friends, I say
come. Come and bow down to the cross
of Jesus Christ. Come forward to Calvary for a
cleansing tide. Friends, His blood. And wash
away each stain it has to all who come to Christ. Friends,
see that faith does not and does not have power to wash away sin.
Did you know that? Faith does not wash away sin. Faith only realizes what Christ
has already done. So when you come to Christ, you're
seeing that He has already accomplished salvation. You're not seeing
that your faith made salvation effectual. You're seeing by faith
that He has already accomplished it. He already purged sins. Believe
Him. Trust Him. Rest in Him. And know this, He's done it by
Himself. when He had by Himself purged our sins. Friends, while
we were yet in our sins, while we were yet in unbelief, Christ
died and put away our sins even before we came to Him. Isn't that something? He had
already put away our sins. Remember when David repented?
David repented over his sin of murder and adultery. And what
did Nathan say? The Lord hath already put away
thy sins. You see, all that come to Christ,
they realize that their sins have already been put away. That He by Himself... You see,
Jesus Christ didn't need our help. Jesus Christ didn't need
our help to put away our sins. He did it all by Himself. Now Jesus Christ, I know this,
He never saves apart from faith. But friends, your sins are never
washed away by your faith. We don't have faith in our faith,
do we? Our faith is in Christ alone. Christ alone. Praise God,
Jesus said, it is finished. My sins are all pardoned. My guilt is all gone. Number three, we see God by the
place of Jesus Christ. Look at our text again in verse
3. It says, when He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down.
He sat down. Where is He? He's sitting down.
He's sitting down. Why is He sitting down? In the Old Testament priesthood,
you remember that the priest never sat down. They were always
working in the temple. Why? Because the work was never
finished. The work was never done. Let
me ask you this. If you were to earn God's favor,
when is enough enough? When is God going to say, well,
that's enough religion. You've done enough. Sit down.
Never. Never. If you come to God by
your will or works, there will never be enough you can do. But
all who come to Christ, we come because our Savior is sitting
down and finished the work of salvation. You see, there's nothing
left for me to do. There's nothing left for me to
do for my salvation. Friends, behold, the Lamb of
God is set down. Believe on Him and His work is
enough to satisfy God. And all who believe in Him, you
know where you are? Seated with Him. Seated with
Him. That's in Ephesians chapter 1.
Let me read that to you real fast. Ephesians chapter 1. I
don't want to misquote it. I just thought of it. It says,
Bless me, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Where? In Christ. Where is He? He's seated. Where are you? Seated. In Christ. Sitting down. It's
done. The work is done. This is the
glory of God's salvation is that it doesn't require your doing. Isn't that wonderful? Friends,
I've never done anything right in my life. Especially when it
comes to the things of God. But I know this, Christ did everything
right. And I believe Him. Therefore, I'm seated down, I'm
seated with Christ in heavenly places. And notice where He sat
down. Go back to your text. He went
over there and he said, "...He sat down on the right hand of
the Majesty on high." He's on the throne. He is on the throne. God has spoken to us by His Son
in that He not only killed Him for our sins, but He raised Him
for our justification. And He raised Him to the throne
of God where He's given all power to execute His will. Among the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, Jesus
Christ is doing all things according to His own will. See, I'm not
waiting for a millennial reign of Christ here on this earth.
Friends, Christ reigns now. He reigns now. He's not waiting
to reign. He's seated on the throne. This
Jesus who was pictured by this world as weak and effeminate
is an abomination, my friends. Poor little Jesus. That Jesus is not worthy of anybody's
worship. But friends, my Jesus is not
a weak, effeminate Savior. He is one that's seated on the
throne and He is Almighty God. and He does what He pleases. To us who believe this is a great
source of comfort, to us who believe this is a great source
of comfort, that Christ who loved us and washed us with His own
blood is right now ruling over all things. How shall He not
freely, if He gave Himself, how shall He not freely give us all
things? All things. And we who believe in Christ,
this is our song. Blessing and honor and glory
and power be to who? Him that sitteth on the throne,
even unto the Lamb of God forever and ever. But to all you who
are outside of Christ, let me tell you your song. You want
to know what your song is? They said to the mountains and
the rocks, fall on us, and hide us from Him that sitteth on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Sinners, see the only way to know God
is by Jesus Christ. You'll never know God any other
way. And if you will not bow down
and worship Him, you will not see God's heaven. But all who see Him, See Him as the Son of God, God
in the flesh, who by faith realized His salvation has accomplished
their salvation by His blood, that His blood accomplished their
salvation. For all who see that He is seated on the throne of
heaven doing whatsoever He pleases, for all who bow down to that
Jesus alone, They know God. They know God. Friends, this is the final word
of God to sinners. Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold, my Son. He's the only way to know God.
I pray that God would bless this to our hearts. The stand will
be dismissed in prayer.