A long time ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote concerning the greatness, superiority, and excellence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's read it together in Isaiah chapter nine and verse six. Isaiah chapter nine and verse six.

When you consider how this prophet spoke concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ in his humanity, Hundreds, hundreds of years, almost a thousand years before the Son of God came into the world. It is remarkable. It's remarkable. But not when you realize that Isaiah didn't write by his own ingenuity. He didn't write by his own knowledge or by his own study. Isaiah wrote as he was moved by God the Holy Spirit to give us the very Word of God. And so that which is written here was written by a pen writing miraculously the Word of God.

Now listen to how he describes the greatness of our Savior. Isaiah 9 and verse 6, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. What precision the prophet uses as he writes. The child Christ Jesus as a man was born in time. Our Lord Jesus Christ in his humanity is not eternal. In his humanity, he is not preexistent. In his humanity, he is not one who coexisted with God, not at all. His humanity was created in the womb of the Virgin specifically to be a sacrifice for sin. There was no way for sin to be put away except his humanity, body and soul be formed in the Virgin's womb by miraculous work of God the Spirit.

But look at the next line. Unto us a son. is given. Now as God the Son, he could never be born. As God the Son, there was no beginning to his existence. As God the Son, he is one with the Father, co-equal with the Father, possessor of all the attributes of divinity, one in the Holy Trinity with the Father and the Spirit. But when Jesus Christ came into this world, as the prophet here speaks, He came into this world in union with humanity. Humanity created in time, but now joined forever to Godhood in one glorious person. So this one who comes forth from the virgin's womb is God and man in one glorious being.

Look at this now. Let's see what's going to happen with it. And the government I love the language of scripture. Underscore that definite article. The government ain't but one. There's only one. There's only one. Now we talk about the United States government, the British government, the Soviet government, used to be Soviet, Russian government, Mexican government. There's just one government. It's his. He rules all rulers. His throne controls all thrones. This king is the king of kings. The government of all the universe shall be upon his broad, broad shoulder. And his name, his name, Jesus, Lord, Savior, his name, it shall be called wonderful. Never did a word More wonderful are even so close to being wonderful. Fall from human lips, says his name, Christ Jesus the Lord, Counselor, the Mighty God.

Now our Savior is never called what he isn't, not by the Spirit of God. How come he calls him the Mighty God for the same reason he calls him Wonderful Counselor? Because he is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Well, how can that be? He's the father of all creation, not the father in the Triune Godhead, not at all. We wouldn't think about confusing the persons of the Godhead. But insofar as his covenant relationship is concerned, insofar as his mediatorial work is concerned, he is that one who is the father of all things. For without him was not anything made that was made. He's the Prince of Peace. of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. That means simply his throne and his influence and his kingdom is going to continue to grow and grow and grow and grow until time shall be no more. He's going to continually gather his elect out of this world.

And upon the throne of David, now wait a minute, I thought we were talking about The throne of God, same thing. Same thing. His throne is the throne of grace. When the scripture talks about the throne of David and Christ sitting on it, it's not talking about a little peanut thrown over in Palestine. That's not what it's talking about. It's talking about the throne of absolute monarchy and dominion of this our God, the covenant head, the lamb, our mediator, our savior.

And upon his kingdom, what's he going to do? To order it. order it. He orders it exactly according to his will, and establish it, establish it firm with judgment, that is with righteousness, and with justice from henceforth even forever. In other words, he's going to establish and build and order and increase his kingdom and rule on the basis of strict justice and strict righteousness as the God-man, our mediator. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Now those were Isaiah's words. Then hundreds and hundreds of years later, when the angel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that though she was a virgin, though she had never known a man, she would conceive and bring forth a son by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that her child would be the Son of God, the Savior of his people, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. This is what the angel told the virgin. He shall be great. Oh, roll those words over his head. He shall be great. Never anything less than great. Even in his most abject voluntary humiliation, he shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Now then, turn to Colossians chapter one. Colossians one. Here we read in verse 18, Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18, that it is the will and purpose of the triune God. It is the will and purpose of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is the will and purpose of God our Father, and our Redeemer's Father, that in all things Lord Jesus Christ the God-man, our mediator, might have the pre-eminence. Now this is God's purpose. This is why God sticks things the way he sticks them. This is why God does things the way he does them. This is why God saves sinners in Christ the way he saves them. Without any effort on your part, without any contribution from you, without anything done by you, totally lock, stock, and barrel, salvation's locked up in, wrapped up in, and given to sinners in and by Jesus Christ alone. That in all things, he might have the preeminence. That's God's purpose. God make it my purpose and yours. That Christ be preeminent.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. I sat this afternoon while I was working on this message and I just meditated on that statement a little bit. All fullness. All the fullness of God, as we'll see in just a little bit, is in him. All the, that's a mouthful. I can't begin to describe it. All the fullness of the incomprehensible God resides in him who is the God-man, our Savior. All the fullness of mediation, all the fullness of the covenant, all the fullness of all things given to sinners by God's grace, it's all in Christ, in Christ. Not in the church. Not in the picture, not in your works, not in your experiences. It's all in Christ, in Christ. All the fullness of God dwells in him. All the fullness of grace is in him. All the fullness of the glory of God is in him.

Somehow, somehow, I don't know how to explain this. I don't know how to say it. But all the glory of God, which shall be revealed to men now and forever, is wrapped up and made known in the glory of that man who is God our Savior. Everything. Everything.

All right, now then, let's look at our text, Hebrews chapter 1. that which God spoke by the prophet and announced by the angel and proclaimed by his apostles has come to pass. And we read about it in this first sentence of Hebrews chapter one.

Now the sentence is a little long. It goes for four verses, but read it with me. I won't begin to think about trying to expound all four verses this evening. We'll just touch maybe the first two, but let's read these four verses together.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, that is at different times in different ways, spoke 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 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 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.

Now here the Holy Spirit shows us plainly that our Lord Jesus Christ is superior to, greater than, and exalted above all things.

Now let me give you an assignment. Sometime between now and next Tuesday evening, try to find time to sit down and read all 13 chapters of this book at once, and mark one word, just mark one word. All the way through it, mark the word better, better, better, better. That's the key word in this book, better, better.

Throughout the book, one great purpose of the book is to show us that Christ is better. He's better than all who came before him. He's better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, better than Aaron. He is a surety of a better covenant established upon better promises, giving a better hope.

The Lord Jesus Christ is better than the tabernacle and better than the temple. He has a better altar and a better mercy seat. He is a better sacrifice, offering better blood, giving us a better access and a better standing before God Almighty. In all things, Christ is better than all others. He's infinitely better. He's the best. He says himself, I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the A and the Z and everything in between.

Now his purpose in this book is to show the Jewish believers particularly who were being tempted and enticed to go back to the rudiments and elements of the law. They were being enticed to go back under the law to somehow mix the ceremonialism and the ritualism and the legality of the law with Christianity and grace and faith in Christ. And this book is written specifically to show that Christ fulfilled it all and he's better than all that ever gave any glory to Israel in the Old Testament. He's the best.

Now then, the topic of my message this evening is the unrivaled excellence of Christ. And that's clearly the message of these opening verses. Listen carefully. If ever you're tempted to imagine that there might be some similarity between the weak, frustrated, helpless Jesus of this idolatrous, reprobate generation and the exalted Lord of glory, just reread these verses. The Christ described here is not even remotely similar to the Christ you'll hear preached on television.

You go and turn it on tonight. Just go turn it on. Any channel you want to. Very, very few exceptions. Turn the radio on as you're going to work in the morning. Any station you want to. The Christ being preached in this age no more resembles the Christ described in these opening verses of Hebrews than a gnat resembles an angel.

Jesus Christ as he is described here. He is the Christ. All others, Larry, are Antichrist. All others are false Christ. And such as worship them, worship Antichrist, they have the mark of the beast in their forehead, and they shall perish with the beast, unless God saves them for their delusion.

Now in these verses, let's look at verses one and two this evening, and I want to show you three glorious facts about our Lord Jesus Christ. First, our Lord Jesus is unrivaled in his excellence as the Word of God. Look in verse one. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.

Here the scriptures speak of our Lord Jesus Christ as the word or the revelation of the invisible God. It is true. In the Old Testament and during the bridge period, if we can use that, during that transitional period between the Old Testament and the New, during the apostolic age, God spoke in time past in the Old Testament through types, shadows, ceremonies, and pictures in the law. And he spoke by the visions given to faithful prophets and apostles. All those things were given, however, to point us to and to bring us to understand who Jesus Christ our Lord is.

All the law and the prophets, all of them, spoke of him. That's what our Lord said in Luke chapter 24. All things written in the book, all of them, were written and revealed to point centers to heal them, so that those types and ceremonies and rituals and sacrifices and visions of the prophets were all designed to direct all men's eyes to heal them, who is the revelation of God Almighty, the Word made flesh.

Now, in these last days, and isn't it interesting that the writer here uses the term last days, A preacher, when do you think the last days are going to come? When do you think they're going to come? He's talking about right here in the first century. The last days? Boy, that's the case. Everybody got messed up with prophecy. I've been telling you that for a long time. Folks are going crazy with stuff. The last days began when the Messiah came. The last days began when all the prophets were fulfilled. The last days began when Jesus Christ came to redeem His people and gathered them from the four corners of the earth as the prophets said He would.

Oh, what about future things now? I'm telling you, don't pay any attention, don't pay the slightest bit of attention to the tomfoolery being passed off these days as prophecy and prophecy studies the scripture. These fellows don't have a hair-brain of an idea what's going on in God's providence, in God's purpose. The last days began when Christ came and nobody knows when the last days are going to end. When He comes again, they shall end. Well, what do we look for then? We look for Him. We look for him. All right, now look at this. In these last days, God has spoken to us one time with finality by his son. That's it. All the New Testament, all the epistles, were written under inspiration of God by men who were moved of God to write infallibly and give us the mind of Christ and instruction concerning the words of Christ. So that the epistles of the New Testament are but the explanation of the Holy Spirit of that which Christ taught while he was upon this earth.

Now then, we have then God's final word. Right here. Right here. Be smart to read it. It'd be smart to pay some attention to what it says. Be smart to find out what God says here. Oh, but what if somebody comes along and says, well, I've got a word from the Lord. He's a liar. Either that or the writer here is. God has in these last days spoken one time with finality son-wise. That's how he speaks.

Now let's see if that's the case. Let's see if that's true according to scripture. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not one of many revelations. He is the revelation of the invisible God. He is not one of many words from God. He is the word. Come back to John chapter 1. John chapter 1. We have here the written word. Now, please don't ever speak disparagingly this. Don't ever So the written word is nothing. Oh yes it is. It's God's word. This is God's word.

But the written word is nothing except the revelation of the living word. That's the difference. Take the Bible and use it as a code book of morality is to abuse this book. To take the Bible and use it as a history book of Israel is to abuse, twist, and pervert this book. To take the Bible and use it as a book about politics is to abuse, twist, and pervert this book and rest it to your own destruction. Well, what's it about? It's about the Word. It's all about the Word. Christ is the living Word of whom the whole written Word speaks.

Let's see here, John chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word, the Word, the Word. And the Word was with God, face to face with God, one with God. And the Word was God. Now, if you have some brussel lights out on your door, They'll come along and they'll say, if you don't know what a Russellite is, Jehovah's Witnesses. They'll come along and say, now really you see there's not a definite article in front of the word God and that's supposed to read, and the word was a God. Well, that's not what it reads like. This is exactly how it reads. If you want to check it out for yourself, I'll show you a Greek text and you can learn Greek. But this is how it reads. And God was the word. God was the Word. Doesn't leave much question about that, does it? That one who is the revelation of God, he is himself God in human flesh.

Read it now. The same was in the beginning with God and all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. That precludes the notion then that he was made, doesn't it? Read verse 14. And the Word The word, the word. How can I say this like it needs to be said? I have thoughts and sometimes my dear wife, she knows me pretty well and she says, I know what you're thinking. But sometimes she misses it. She just like misses it because there's no way you can really know what I'm thinking unless I form a word and tell you what I'm thinking. There's no way you can really know what's going on inside a man unless he opens his mouth and tells you what's going on inside him.

Now listen to me. There's no way anybody can ever know God except the Word be revealed to him. And Christ came here as the Word. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full, full, up to the brim and running over, full of grace and truth.

Verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time. Now I know people talk about near-death experiences and all that stuff. If you've ever been in the hospital and had any kind of major surgery, you know they give you pretty good stuff. And you liable to see or hear most anything, but it ain't God. That's right. That's exactly right. What does the book say here? No man with mortal eyes, no man with a mortal mind, no man with the limits of By night, creaturehood, no man has ever seen God. God's a spirit. You can't see a spirit. No man's seen God at any time.

The only begotten Son, look at this now, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared it. He sees the father because he's one with him. He knows the father because he's one with him. You can't, Paul, but you can see him. He speaks to us and makes known the father. You and I cannot see God, know God, speak to God, or be spoken to by God. We cannot come to God except by Christ alone.

Jesus saith unto his disciples, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. What on earth does that mean? Christ is the way. Without him, there's no going. Christ is the truth. Without him, there's no knowing. Christ is the life. Without him, there's no living.

There is no prophet like Christ our prophet. He is the unrivaled, excellent revelation of the invisible God. We know God in him, only in him. He said, no man knoweth the father save the son, and he to whomsoever the son is pleased to reveal him.

All right, look at the next line. The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivaled in his excellence as the word of God and as the heir of all things, whom he hath appointed heir of all things. What a word. all things belong to Christ, our great mediator, our divine substitute.

Now when the scripture says the father has appointed him to be heir of all things, obviously that does not refer to him as God the son. Being God the Son, he possesses all things with the Father. He is co-eternal, co-equal with the Father. But it does mean that as the Son, our mediator, as the God-man, our surety, as the God-man, our substitute, the Father has appointed him who would come in time to assume our nature. to the heir of all things because of his obedience as our surety.

This is what our Savior said, therefore doth my father love me because I laid down my life for the sheep. Now, that doesn't mean the father didn't love him before. No, not at all. The father always loved the son, always. But he's speaking as a man. And he says, now my father loves me and shows his love to me because of my perfect obedience. in laying down my life for the sheep. And the Father has given him all things as a man.

He said, ask of me, and I'll give you the heathen for thine inheritance. When our Lord was about to go up to Calvary, declaring his work finished, he said, I finished the work you gave me. Now, Father, glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. Thou hast given him power over all flesh. He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And the scripture tells us that he is the heir of all things. The father loves the son, hath given all things into his hands. The meaning is simply this. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by virtue of his obedience as a man, owns, possesses, rules, and disposes of everything exactly as he will. No one's about to stay his hand and say unto him, what doest thou? Nobody's going to slap him on the wrist and say, oh, don't do that. There's a better way.

A few years ago, when they had that tidal wave in Bangladesh, there's thousands of people killed just like that. Some ignorant preacher got on television on Larry King. He said, God's going to have a lot of things to answer for. To who? To who? Who, you going to set in judgment over the almighty? Oh, not me. Folks do it every day. I think they do. Oh, God. Well, God can't do it. It's not right for God. Larry, Chris, whatever God does is right and is right because God doesn't give an account to anybody.

Is it not right for me to do with mine own what I will? And that includes Bob, you and me. That includes our children and grandchildren. It's right for him to do with his own what he will.

Jesus Christ, the Lord, is unrivaled in his excellence as the sovereign of the universe. He says, all power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. Now that's the motive for all evangelism, isn't it? That's the motive for every endeavor of the gospel. Christ sits on the throne and he sends us to declare that he sits on the throne to give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him.

He who is God our Savior does as he will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. He makes one a vessel of honor and another a vessel of dishonor. He makes one a vessel of mercy and another a vessel of wrath. He makes one a vessel of honor to show forth the riches of his grace and another a vessel of dishonor to show forth the severity of his justice. And he does it exactly as it pleases him.

That means God's put everything in his hands. You remember how Joseph was made prime minister in Egypt, and Pharaoh set him on the throne right beside him? And anybody who wanted anything from Pharaoh, they'd come and say, Pharaoh, we need some corn. He'd say, go to Joseph. Pharaoh, our kids are hungry. Go see Joseph. Pharaoh, we've done this, we've done that, but now things are getting in bad shape. Go see Joseph. Go see Joseph. How come? Because Joseph has everything. I gave it to him.

Now listen to me, if you would meet God Almighty and have God meet you in mercy, if you would have forgiveness and life eternal, if you would have God's salvation, you're going to have to do business with Him who sits on the throne, God's Joseph, Jesus Christ the Lord. He's the heir of all things. All things. Behold your God.

Jesus Christ is unrivaled in his excellence as the word by whom God is revealed, in whom God is revealed, and as the appointed heir of all things. He's seated upon the throne of glory, made heir of all things, by the hand of God, through the work of wicked men, Nailing him to the tree 2,000 years ago by divine appointment. I don't understand that me either. I just know it's so. Somehow men who hated him and wanted him to die nailed him to the tree and did exactly what God ordained from eternity must be done for the saving of our souls.

You see, we worship God. And one of these days, you're going to worship Him, too. One way or the other. Oh, may God give you grace to worship Him now. For Christ's sake. Amen.