Hebrews chapter 1, as we said
last week in the introduction to this book,
this book sums up the whole Old Testament. It's a brief summary
of the whole Old Testament. Like the Old Testament, this
book and every other book can be summed up in the words found
in verse 3, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the brightness
of God's glory, the express image of His person, upholding all
things by the word of His power. And when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high."
Those two words, glory, well, three words, power and majesty. Glory, power and majesty. It
sums up this book, the whole Bible, which speaks of, our Lord
said, they testify of me. The scriptures were written to
testify of the glory, the power, the majesty of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Peter said that. He said we were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. The majesty of the Lord Jesus
Christ. In those first three verses, I think we've got a little
glimpse of his glorious person and his majesty. Verse 4 is where
we left off. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
he says he's made so much better than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Now, this book,
Hebrews, could also be the theme is Christ is better. Christ is far superior to anyone
and everything. Vastly superior. Far better. Much is going to be said about
the angels. Christ is far and above them. Much is going to be said about
the law. Much is going to be said about Moses and so on. And the Lord Jesus Christ, Scripture
says, is far better, vastly superior. Listen to Ephesians 1. Listen
to this. It says, He is far above all
principality and power. and might and dominion and every
name that is named, not only in the world, but also in that
which is to come. And God hath put all things under
his feet. And Colossians, listen to this,
Colossians chapter 1, most of you know these verses, he's the
head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have preeminence, the
preeminent one, or the vastly superior Lord Jesus Christ, the
fairest of ten thousand, the bright and morning star. And
verse 4 says that he hath been given a more excellent name than
the angel, verse 5, for unto which Which of the angels did
God say at any time, thou art my son? That's his name, the
Son of God. God said, which of the angels
did he say that to? 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. God said that concerning Christ. He is my son. And then when he
came to this earth, God said it out loud, didn't He? Twice,
this is my well-beloved son, the only begotten of the Father. John said, full of grace and
truth. And verse 5 says, again, I will
be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. Now, this verse of Scripture,
It is found in 2 Samuel 7. I want you to turn there with
me. 2 Samuel 7, as I just quoted,
they are they which testify of Christ. The Old Testament scriptures
speak of Christ. They are written to bear witness
of the Christ, the Christ who was to come. The Old Testament
says someone is coming. That's what the whole book is
about. From Genesis to Malachi, someone is coming. That's why
God had that book written. The Gospels say He's here, the
one that we waited for. This is our God. We've waited
for Him. He'll save us. God manifests in the flesh. Immanuel. God with us. The epistles and
the revelations say He's coming again. He's coming again. So they are they, the Scriptures,
Old Testament, speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there are no
less than seven verses of Scripture quoted in the first chapter of
Hebrews. Alright? 2 Samuel is one of them. We just read it. Look at verse
14. Now, he quoted it. I will be his father and he shall
be my son. Who was, this is God speaking
here in 2 Samuel of, you know who he was speaking of? Solomon.
Right? David's son, in that chapter. Right? That's the story here. But the Hebrews doesn't even
mention Solomon. As if this is, strictly speaking,
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Doesn't even mention it. It says,
this is what God said of his son. Alright? Now, look at the
next part of that verse. I will be his father, and he
shall be my son, if he commit iniquity. I will chasten him
with the rod of men, with the stripes of the children of men,
but my mercy shall not depart away from him." Right there is 2 Corinthians
5.21, for those of you who are students. God hath made him to be sin for
us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Him who knew no sin. That's substitution
right there. Though Christ committed no sin,
God made Him to be sin. He's the Son of God, and God
sent Him down to this earth to do that work. For Him to be made
sin for His people. A substitute. A sin sacrifice. And God laid on Him all the iniquity
of all of God's people. He didn't personally commit those
sins, but he became sin. And he was smitten with the rod
of man, crucified by man. Yet it pleased the Father to
bruise him. God killed his son because his
son was our substitute. So right there you have it. Right
there you have it. So the writer, go back to Hebrews.
God had Hebrews written, and there's no mention of Solomon.
It speaks of Christ. It speaks of Christ. And you're so blessed if you
know this, if you believe this. Not many wise men, not many mighty,
not many noble do. Not many masters in Israel know
these things, but if you do, you're so blessed. Salvation. What we're seeing here in in
Hebrews 1, right from the beginning, is God revealing His Son, God
showing us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said,
He that seeth the Son, seeth His glory, seeth who He is, seeth
His glory, and believeth on Him, believes He's all. That He is
salvation, 100%. Christ said, I'll lift him up,
I'll raise him up at the last day. That's my people. And God is revealing His Son,
who He really is. Not just that man named Jesus
that people thought was just a man. But as He is, high and
lifted up, majesty, glory, honor, God manifests in the flesh. The other day, we ate dinner
with some neighbors, and they just kept insisting we go out
to dinner with them, and this one lady just would not take
no for an answer, so we went. And there was a man sitting there
that obviously had lived a very rough life, and he was talking
about various things. And I got up and left the table
and came back, and when I came back, Mindy was talking about
me. She was telling that man a little bit
about my story, the prodigal son, you know, my past. And she made this statement.
This is all I heard her say. But the Lord revealed Himself
to Paul. Now, the world does not know
what you're talking about when you say that. They really don't. Salvation
is to have the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to you. And Paul said,
in me, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb, Paul said, and called me by His grace to reveal His Son
in me. This is salvation. Our Lord said
it, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. And that doesn't mean just know
about him, not just believe some facts concerning him, but to
have his true person revealed not only to you, but in you.
And the messages today will be very similar. I'm getting into
the morning message right now. That's because there's only one
message. And it's of the person and the work, salvation that's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. But this is salvation, to have
the Son, Christ, revealed to you who He is, why He came, what
He did, where He is now, and what that means to you. and revealed
in you means to give you love for it. So she said when the
Lord revealed Himself to Paul, as He does with all of His people,
Peter, James, and John, here it is in short. They said, We
beheld His glory. Most people just see a man named
Jesus, a good man, a powerful man, a charismatic man. But he's more than that. And God hath revealed him unto
us. Here's what the Lord himself
said. He said, No man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Meaning, nobody knows who Christ
was unless the Father revealed him to them. He said to his disciples,
who do you say that I am? The heart to Christ. He said,
flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father which
is in heaven. And our Lord said, and no man knoweth the Father,
but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. Nobody knows
God unless Christ says, reveals him to the Father. Alright, who
is that? Philip said, Show us the Father.
Remember? No man knoweth the Father but
the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal the Father. Philip
said, Show us the Father. He said, Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And that Thomas later on, who
didn't believe before, he did later, and he fell at his feet
and said, My Lord and my God. Jesus? Yeah. God. Far more than just a man named
Jesus. What angel did he say, this is my son? In verse 6 in
our text, again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the
world, he saith, let the angels, all angels of God worship him.
Well, Scripture says you should worship the Lord God and him
alone, doesn't it? Thou shalt worship no other.
Thou shalt worship the Lord God. God said, worship my son. That he must be God. He must
be God. And all the angels worship Him.
Verse 7, And of the angels he saith, For God maketh his angels
spirits, and his ministers are servants that are flames of fire. Angels are powerful and glorious
creatures. The Lord is going to send four
angels to do a great work upon this earth. are often spoken
of in scripture and often referred to or used in reference to fire. When God Almighty cast the man
and the woman out of the garden, he barred the way to the tree
of life with an angel with a fiery sword. And the angel, you know,
was a fiery pillar leading the way and so forth. Angels are
powerful. flaming servants as it were. There was an angel, remember,
ascended up in that sacrifice before Manoah and his wife. Angels are glorious, powerful,
fiery, yet they must worship the Lord Jesus Christ. God said
so. Bow down and worship the Son.
And though Christ, Hebrews says, was made a little lower than
the angels, Made flesh. Angels weren't. He was made flesh. The body hath thou prepared me.
Made a little lower than the angel. That was for the express
purpose of dying as a man. But he's not lower than the angels
now. Catholicism likes to talk about
Jesus in this term. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
Now, he was. But not now. Scripture says,
high and lifted up. Revelation 1 talks about his
countenance shining as the sun in all its strength. His feet
burning as brass in a furnace. John couldn't even look upon
it. That's as he is. Not as he was. He robed himself. He hid himself. He veiled himself
in flesh. And the only ones who knew then
and know now who He is are the ones that He revealed Himself
to, like Peter, James, and John. So that's what the Lord does
for His people. Look at verse 8. Here's what
the Father says of the Son. Verse 8, unto the Son, He, God,
that is, sayeth, Thy throne, O God. This is Psalm 45. Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever a scepter of righteousness."
It's a scepter of thy kingdom, His kingdom. Well, our Lord said,
pray this way, our Father which is in heaven, thine is the kingdom.
Whose kingdom is it? God's. Well, who's God? Christ is. The Father is, the Son is, the
Holy Spirit is. I don't understand. I don't either. But it's true. We're to worship
Him as we worship the Father, because He's God, manifest in
the flesh. God the Father called Him God. The Jehovah Witnesses, they say
this, they vehemently deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ,
as do the Mormons, as do many others, as does most modern religion
really, deny his absolute sovereignty as God, doing as he will, with
whom he will, just because he will. That's God. Working all
things at the counsel of his own will, not man's will, his
will. None can stay His hand and say unto Him, You can't do
that. That's God. That's the true God. And that's
Jesus Christ. Well, men vehemently deny that.
Vehemently deny that by saying things like that. Won't you let
God? Won't you let Jesus? Won't you let... Isaiah 43 says, God will work
and who shall let Him? Who shall prevent Him? Who does
He consult? Who can prevent him? Who can
thwart him? Nobody and nothing. He does as he will. They asked
David. They said, David, this is our
God. He does what we will. He does
what we let him do. That's an idol. And they said
to David, where's your God? He said, he's in the heaven.
He sitteth on the circle of the earth. They said, he hath done
whatsoever he hath pleased. That's God. That's Jesus Christ. All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth, he says. As thou hast given him authority
over all flesh, he says, that he should give eternal life to
as many as God hath given him. Not offer eternal life to those
that will let him. Christ of Scripture is God. Jesus Christ is God manifest
in the flesh without a question. There's no shadow of a doubt
in this. And God's people know that. They all know that. They're
all taught of God. Our Lord said that in John 6.45.
They shall all be taught of God. What does God teach them? Who
Christ is. That no man cometh unto the Father.
Nobody's going to see God, be with God, but Christ. That the
One on the throne they will see someday is none other than that
One that hung on the cross. Jesus Christ. Our Lord and our
Father. God manifests in the flesh. Listen to this. God said in Isaiah
43, 10, He said to His people, you are my witnesses, saith the
Lord, my servant, whom I have chosen, that you may know and
believe in me and understand that I am He. Before me there
was no God-form, neither shall there be after me. I, even I,
am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior." Who's that talking
about? The Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
God manifest in the flesh. And as we said, there are many
who vehemently deny this, argue against the truth that Christ
is God, equal with the Father. They say now, as they did then,
this is what men said back then, and this is why they killed him. They said, you're just a man,
and you make yourself God. That's what they said. They said,
we will not have this man. reign over it. But the fact is,
He was and He is God. But He made Himself a man. And
people get confused about words like made in verse 4. Made. Made. Well, in Scripture we're
going to see this in Hebrew. He who was with the Father in
the beginning. This Eternal One. He didn't begin
2,000 years ago. But it says, a body hast thou
prepared me. This was He who was and is and
is to come. The I Am. The Eternal One. This
is the Eternal One. And in the volume of the book
it is written of Him, Lo, I come. He had to come to earth as a
man. God prepared him a body and put that body in a virgin's
womb because Scripture says he would be born of a virgin without
sin, without the seed of man. Okay? On purpose. As a man. But he didn't begin then, did
he? And that confuses people. He's made a little lower than
the angel. Made. That confuses people. Well, no, it doesn't confuse
people. People are already confused.
They're born confused. They don't know the truth. They
don't know God. They don't know the Christ of
Scripture. And God leaves them confused with those things. He
hides those things. Our Lord said, He hid these things
from the wise and the prudent, but reveals them under behavior. We know why Christ had to become
a man. God can't die. God said, The
soul that sinneth must surely die. Man can't satisfy the law. God said it shall be perfectly
accepted. God can't die. Man can't keep
the law in order to live forever. So God became man. And a man named Jesus died as
a substitute for sin. But God fulfilled the law. Lived perfectly, holy, righteous
life. And he did it for his people.
For his people. To charge it to their account.
That's the gospel in a word. Substitution and satisfaction. And God said of his son. that there be no doubt about
it. God said, Die throne, O God, is forever and ever. Ever and ever. And I was going
to have you look at so many verses, because the Scriptures are full
of verses. Isaiah 7.14, A virgin shall conceive,
and thou shalt call his name Immanuel, which to be interpreted
is, God with us. Oh, it's a great mystery. But
God was manifest in the flesh. Tabernacle among us. And someday,
though no man hath seen God or can see God, we're going to see
God. In a body. The Lord Jesus Christ. And so, if you know who He really
is, Oh, blessed are you. Like he
said to old Simon, blessed art thou, Simon bar Jonah, flesh
and blood didn't reveal that to thee, but my Father which
is in heaven. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. I am
that I am. I am.