Hebrews 1. Now this epistle,
it says the epistle of Paul, the apostle to the Hebrews. This epistle was written by Paul,
and it was written to the Hebrew believers, Jewish believers,
scattered all over the world. And in this epistle, Paul brings
together for these Hebrews the Old Testament and the New Testament.
These Hebrew believers, many of them were students of the
Old Testament. Some of them had been teachers
of the Old Testament. And Paul in this epistle brings
together the Old Testament and the New Testament as no other
epistle. Now Paul was the one best able
to write this epistle to the Hebrew believers concerning the
Old Testament types and tabernacle, priesthood, and sacrifices. because
he was a Hebrew. He spoke Hebrew. He said in Philippians
3, you don't turn to it, most of you are familiar with it.
He said in Hebrews 3, I am a Hebrew of Hebrews. He said I was circumcised
the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin. He said I was a Pharisee,
a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish Hebrew court. concerning the law, blameless. And I was so steeped in Hebrew
beliefs and doctrine that I persecuted what I now believe, the Church
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it may seem strange to you
that the Apostle Paul's name does not appear in this epistle.
He wrote 13 other epistles, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, go on. And in every salutation,
he uses his name, High Paul, Paul the Apostle, so forth and
so on. Always Paul, Paul, Paul. He always begins Paul, or Paul
and Timothy, Paul and Silas, but always his name Thirteen
epistles, his name up to the forefront, identifying the person
God used to write it. But when he wrote this one, he
didn't begin with his name. And I've searched and struggled
to find out why. And I'm not sure that I know
why. But I've got an idea. I got it from someone else. His name was not affixed to this
epistle. by the Spirit of God, by Paul
on purpose, probably, I say probably, because he was primarily an apostle
to the Gentiles. You remember when God called
him? There were eleven apostles. Judas had committed suicide.
He was a son of perdition from the beginning, but the disciples
ran ahead of God and tried to replace Judas with a fellow called
Matthias by the means of casting lots, which was unwise, but we
can understand unwise people, can't we? And unwise things.
But God chose Paul, who was Saul of Tarsus, a Hebrew of Hebrews,
revealed Christ to him, saved his soul, revealed the gospel
to him, taught him the gospel. And made him, he said to Ananias,
an apostle to the Gentiles. He'll bear my name to the Gentiles. And on one occasion, Paul rebuked
the Jews and, boy, he got angry with them. And he said, you won't
have it. I'll turn to the Gentiles. And
he wrote this epistle to the Hebrews. And a man said this,
and I think he's got something. He was primarily an apostle to
the Gentiles, and he had stirred up among the Hebrews some delicate
feelings. And God, in His divine purpose,
sent this epistle without the name of the writer. And sometimes we can pick up
something and read it, and maybe it's a good thing we don't know
who wrote it, because that may influence our acceptance or the
way it's a blessing to us. That's the only reason I can
find. But it's clear that Paul wrote it. There's too many evidences
that Paul wrote it. And he wrote it to the Hebrews.
And in this epistle, we're going to look at chapter 1 and 2 today,
but Paul shows how all the promises and prophecies and types that
God gave to these Hebrews and their forefathers, are fulfilled
in Christ Jesus. He shows in this epistle to these
Hebrews the excellency of Christ over Moses and over the law, over the tabernacle,
over the priesthood. They held those things in the
highest. In fact, the Apostle Peter Even
years after our Lord chose him and called him and anointed him
and sent him and blessed him, even years later he still had
a struggle, a struggle with this law business. He had been taught
it all his life. The holy days, the Sabbath days,
the tithe, the sacrifices, the ceremonies, the feast days, the Jews' place in the favor
of God and the Gentile rejection. And Paul shows these Hebrews
in this epistle the superiority of Christ over all these things,
Moses, over the angels, over the priesthood, over Aaron, the
sons of Levi, over the tabernacle, over the sacrifices, and shows
the efficacy of Christ's precious blood. And how that His blood
does away with all the sacrifices. And His rest does away with all
the holy days. And His glory does away with
the mercy seat. We're talking about something
that had been in practice two thousand years. Two thousand
years. Typical. And this comes as a
strong point. He shows the glory of the new
covenant over the old covenant with its types and pictures.
And he shows how true rest in Christ is better. Now that's
the key word. Let me give you two key words
for Hebrews. Two key words. The first is this. This man. This man. Take all the other
men, an angel. This man. Let me show you that.
And you can write these Scriptures down. Look at Hebrews 3, 3. Hebrews
3, chapter 3. We're talking about Christ now. The man, Christ Jesus. Christ
who became a man. Verse 3, For this man, was counted
worthy of more glory than Moses, this man. Alright? Hebrews 7.24. Now you just underscore
that, this man. Hebrews 7.24, verse 24, Hebrews
7. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an ever unchanging, unchangeable priesthood. You
see, Paul is taking all that went before. Abraham, Moses,
Enoch, Isaac, David, the angel, Abram, the Levite. But he said,
but this man. But this man. Alright, look now
at chapter 8, verse 3, right across the page. Every high priest
is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of
necessity that this man has somewhat to offer. This man. The God-man. And then Hebrews
10, 12. Look at this one. It talks about verse 11. Every
priest standeth daily, ministering, offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices which can never take away sin, but this man. After he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. You see
that? You take the book of Hebrews and you hold in your hand that
word, this man, but this man. And everything in the book of
the Old Testament that Hebrews deals with, he's better. Now, let me show you the better.
The word better in reference to Christ occurs seven times.
And you'll want to write these down or underscore them. In our
text, Hebrews 1-4. Hebrews 1-4. Being made so much better than
the angels. I tell you, if there's someone
or something better, I want to know it, don't you? Better. I
want to know. I don't want to be satisfied
with something that's inferior when you can have something better.
And He's better! That's what I say. Alright? Hebrews 7, 19. This is the key
to this book. Hebrews 7.90, For the law made
nothing perfect, much less you and me. But the
bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw now
to God. A better hope. Look at verse
23, 22. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament, covenant. There is a better covenant. The
old covenant with Moses or Abraham or David is a better covenant.
I want the better covenant, don't you? Hebrews 8, 6, right across
the page. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a
better covenant which was established upon better promises. Better promises. God promised
Israel a land flowing with milk and honey. We've got a better
land. He promises them a king. We've
got a better king. All these things He promised
better, better promises. Chapter 9, verse 23, "...is therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
these, that is, with blood, but the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices. These typical sacrifices serve
their day as types and shadows. His blood is a better sacrifice.
And then verse 11, verse 16, Chapter 11, verse 16. But now they desire a better
country. Abraham looked for a better country, didn't he? Better than
Canaan. A heavenly country. Wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God. He hath prepared for
them a city. And chapter 11, verse 35. Women received their dead raised
to life again. When? Well, Elijah raised a woman's
son. Elisha raised one's son. Some received their dead to life
again. But now wait a minute. And others
were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better
resurrection. Better. That's what Hebrews is
all about. So let's look at it. for a few
moments, Hebrews 1, it says, God, who at various times, that
is, in separate revelations, He set forth the truth. He spake
to our fathers. There were times of silence and
times when God was pleased to speak. We need to realize that
even now. At times when God speaks, I don't
know how far I can carry this. There are times when we pray.
There are times when we go through the motions. There are times
when we worship. There are times when we try.
There are times when we hear from God.
There are other times, David said, when the heavens are like
brass. Isn't that right? This happy all the time just
ain't so. This open line, red phone to
heaven all the time just is not reality. God spake to our fathers
at various times. So it's a pretty good idea to
be listening when He does have something to say. Pretty good
idea to be to be present when God does speak. He spoke to our
fathers in different manners or ways by the prophets. You
see, the Lord raised up prophets. And to those prophets, He revealed
His ways. Psalm 103 says, He made known
His ways to Moses. His acts to the children of Israel.
If the children of Israel wanted to know God's ways, they had
to hear Moses. That's just true. He raised up prophets and revealed
His ways to the prophets and spoke to the prophets by the
people. And the prophets spoke of Christ. A lot of people think the prophets
ran around predicting the future. There were times when they did
tell the people what future held as far as God dealing with them.
But the prophets didn't run around amazing people with their unusual
knowledge of what was going to happen. They went around telling
people about Christ Jesus, how God saved sinners. Could I show
you that in a few verses? John 5. John chapter 5. John chapter 5, verse 39. Search the Scriptures. Now that's
the prophets wrote the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures. But in
them you think you have eternal life. There they which testify
of me. That's what the Scriptures are
all about. The things concerning me, he
said. Look at verse 46. Had you believed Moses, you would
have believed me. He wrote of me. God spake to
our fathers by the prophets. And He spake to the prophets
to the people through the prophets about Christ. Acts chapter 3. Look at this. Acts chapter 3
verse 17 and 18. What was the message of the prophets?
Christ, the coming of Christ, the character of Christ, the
work of Christ. Acts 3 verse 17. I want that through ignorance
you did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which
God before had showed by the mouth of all the prophets that
Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled." What did God show
by the mouth of the prophets? God spake to our fathers by the
prophets. Well, what did He speak? How
Christ should suffer. Look at Acts 10, verse 43. And then I'll move on. Acts 10,
verse 43. Verse 42 of Acts 10, And he commanded
us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he,
it is Christ, who was ordained of God to be the judge of the
quick and the dead. To him give all the prophets
witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him should
receive remission of sins. spake to our fathers by the prophets. All right, verse 2. He hath in
these last days spoken to us by His Son. What does that mean,
in these last days? Brother May, do you believe we
are in the last days? Emphatically, decidedly, completely. We have been in the last days
since Christ was here. When the Bible uses the term,
these last days, it's talking, every time it uses that word,
it talks about from Christ, from His first coming until His second
coming. These are the last days. Now
some teach, and I'll give you this, some teach that what is called
the last days, are called the last days this period of time
because the duration of the world, they believe, will be 6,000 years. From the creation to Moses is
2,000 years. From creation of this world,
when God said, let there be light, to Moses was 2,000 years. From
Moses to the manger in Bethlehem when
Christ came to this world was 2,000 years. From the coming of Christ to
His return. Possibility. 2,000 years, these
last days. I'm not sure. I don't know. I
hope so. I hope so. One author used a
scripture in 2 Peter. Would you want to turn over there?
to verify what he believed about it. He believed that we who live
near the 20th century, which is 2,000 years from the coming
of Christ, were in the closing days of world history because
it says this in 2 Peter 3. This is verse 4, it says, and
where is the promise of His coming, of His second coming? Since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of creation. That's true in a sense. From
the beginning of creation to the day, things are about the
same. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, by the word
of God He spake, and the world was created, and the earth standing
out of water and in the water. God said, separate the water
and the dry land appeared by His word. Verse 6, whereby the
world that then was being overflowed with water, that's the flood
of Noah, perished. But the heavens and earth which
are now, by the same Word are kept in store. In other words,
Christ in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
the Word was God, and all things were made by Him. He spake and
the world was created. He spake and the world was destroyed
by water. And that same world is kept in
store by that same Word, His Word, the Word of Christ. Alright, read on. Reserved under
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But beloved, this is talking to believers, isn't it? Beloved
children of God, be not ignorant of this one thing. One day is
with the Lord as a thousand years. And a thousand years is one day. And that's where some of them
believe that six days, God created the heavens and the earth, six
days, the seventh day He rested. And this world and its present
existence will be six days. One day is a thousand years,
a thousand years is a day. I give you that just to think
about. It would be wonderful, wouldn't
it? It would be wonderful for Christ to come. God speaks to us. Verse 2. Hath in these last days spoken
to us by His Son. By His Son. You know, He said
God spake to our fathers by the prophets. He's spoken to us by
the Prophet. The Prophet. You know, they said
to John the Baptist, to ask him two things. They said, are you
the Christ? He said, no. They said, are you that Prophet?
He said, no. Who is that prophet? Well, it's
Christ. I want to ask you to turn to
Deuteronomy 18. God told Israel by Moses, I'll
raise up a prophet from among the brethren like unto you. I'll
put my words in his mouth. You know, Christ said, I speak
not my words, but the words of him that sent me. I'll put my
words in his mouth. And whosoever hears Him will
be blessed, and whoever does not hear Him will be judged.
So we have a prophet. It's His Son. Now, let's say
who He is. Our prophet. He has spoken to
us by His Son. His Son. Unto us a child is born, a Son
is given. His Son. Whom He hath appointed heir.
He's the heir of all things. The Father has given all things
to Christ. In Him, all things. That's where
it all is, in Christ. By whom He made the worlds. Christ
is the Creator. By whom He made the worlds. Who
being the brightness of His glory. You know what that is? Someone
gave this illustration. There's the sun. S-U-N, the sun. And you and I see the rays of
the sun. There's a sun and its rays which
reveal the sun, which is a part of the sun, which is in essence
the sun. You can't separate the sun and
the rays. You can't have the rays without
the sun. And so Christ is the brightness of God's glory. No man has seen God save the
Son. He whom the Son will reveal. The rays of the Son declare the
Son. So He's the brightness of His
glory. The rays and the Son can't be
divided. Neither can the Godhead. Distinct, but one. He says He's the express image
of His person. He that hath seen Me hath seen
the Father. He's the exact image of His person. And He not only
created all things, but He upholdeth all things by the word of His
power. He said in that great priestly prayer, He said, all
authority, You've given Me all authority over all flesh. I raise that hand by His authority. I stand here breathing by His
authority. I live and move and have my being
in Him. He upholdeth all things, but
by Him all things are held together. Christ, that's right. That's
who I'm talking about. And what did He do when He had
by Himself, by Himself, Himself, He became a man. Himself
took our flesh and blood. Himself became obedient to His
law. Himself was born of a woman and
lived and died. Himself lay in a tomb by Himself. When Abraham and Isaac were walking
up that mountain, Isaac was carrying the wood and the fire and his
father walking along with a knife and he said, Here's the wood
and here's the fire. Where's the lamb? Where's your lamb? Where's my
lamb? Where's our lamb? You can't come
to the Father without a lamb, without a sacrifice, without
blood. My son, God will provide Himself a lamb. By Himself. It took God to save
us. It took an act of God, will of
God, power of God, death of God. God could create a world by speaking
a word. But to redeem that world, He
had to die on a cross. By Himself. And watch it, by
Himself. without any help, without any
help from you or me or anyone else, alone. He walked the winepress
of God's wrath alone, by Himself. And by Himself, He purged our
sins. He purged our sins. Let me read
you some good news. Turn to Hebrews 10. You know, I don't know I talk about preaching from Hebrews,
I don't even know where to turn, just anywhere in Hebrews. But Hebrews 10 verse 14, For
by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. While the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant I'll make with them after those days, saith
the Lord. I'll put my law in their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more." He had purged our sins. Who is He? His Son, Heir, brightness
of His Shekinah glory, exact image of His person, who upholdeth
all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself
purged our sins, where is He now? sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty on high. Now listen to me. We preach the incarnation of
Jesus Christ. That's essential and vital. God
became a man. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. Virgin birth. I believe it. You
believe it. God became a man. We preach the
life and righteousness of our Lord. He lived a perfect life. He was in total submission, agreeably,
lovingly to the will of His Father, whatever it was. Thy will be
done. Perfect righteousness. Never
offended in word or deed. Died on that cross as a sin offering
for every believer. redeeming death. He was buried
and He rose again. But I'm saying this, the whole
of His work and our hope depends on where He is now. Where is your Lord now? David said, the Lord said to
my Lord, sit thou on my right hand. That's our hope. Our hope is this, that our substitute,
not only was born, lived, and died, but he was accepted. That
our great high priest has entered in, not to the holy place made
with hands, but into heaven itself. And that our forerunner is welcomed
within the veil. Come in. Now if an enemy comes
to your door, You say, be gone. If a person you don't care for
comes to your door, you talk to him a moment and then close
it. When a beloved son or daughter or friend comes, welcome. Come in. Take the best chair,
the best seat, the best place. Take my bedroom. Take my bed. Welcome. My Lord Jesus Christ
came down here and became a sinner for me and you. Took our guilt,
shame, filth. Died on that cross. Was buried.
And God raised Him. And He went back to glory. And
the Father said, Welcome. Welcome. And when He welcomed
Him, He welcomed you. See that? That's so vile. He sat down. Alright, let me...
I think I'll read you. A verse here from Acts 17 that
needs to be read right here. Acts 17, verse 31. Because He hath appointed a day,
God hath appointed a day in which He is going to judge this world
in righteousness by that man, that man, whom He hath ordained
whereof He gave assurance unto all men in that He raised him
from the dead. That is the assurance. That that
man is accepted, and that man is the basis of all judgment, because he's seated at God's
right hand. All right, you're afraid I'm not going to get through.
You're afraid we're going to be here all morning. But the
rest of the chapter depends on what I've been saying. I had
to stay here, because once that's settled, who He is, and what
He did, and where He is. The rest of it just unfolds.
Therefore He said, verse 4, "...being so much better than the angels,
as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
For unto which of the angels said He at any time, You are
my Son, this day have I begotten you." To which of the angels
did he ever say, I'll be to him a father and he'll be to me a
son? We're talking about our Redeemer, our High Priest, our
Savior. And again, when He bringeth in
the first begotten unto the world, He said, let the angels of God
worship Him. That's your Savior. That's your
Mediator. Let the angels worship Him. I'll
tell you what He did say about the angels. He maketh His angels
spirits and His ministers a flame of fire. But he said to the son,
your throne, O God, is forever. That's my Lord. But this man,
he said to the angel, you're good servants and you're good
ministers, but to the son, thy throne, O God. Let me tell you
something. Anybody ever lays a question
mark to you about the deity, Godhead, the Godhood, of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Use these verses, Matthew 1,
21-23. When he told Joseph, called his
name Jesus, which is a fulfillment of the prophecy, called his name
Emmanuel, God with us. God with us. Use this verse,
John 1, 1-3. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Use this verse,
John 10, 30. I and my Father are one. And then took they up stones
to stone him. He said, why are you stoning
me? For what work? I've done many good works among
you. For what work are you stoning me? They said, we don't stone
you for good work. We stone you because you're a man and you
say you're God. That's what he was saying. I
am a father of one. Use this verse. Acts 20, verse
28. Paul said to the elders, feed
the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. God purchased His church with
His own blood. God. Use this verse. In 2 Corinthians 5.19, God was
in Christ. Reconciling the world to himself.
And use this verse, Hebrews 1.8, Under the sun he saith, Thy throne,
O son of God, no, O God, is forever. The only throne that's forever
is God's throne. And the only throne that's forever
is a throne with a scepter of righteousness. And then he talks
about our Lord. He says, you have loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God... Why does he say to the Lord Jesus
Christ, thy God, if Christ is God? Christ is a man when he
says this to him. He's speaking to him as a man,
as a man on a mission, as a mediator. That's when Christ said, the
words that I speak are not mine, but the words of Him that sent
me, when God sent Him. He sent him as a Messiah, as
a Christ, as a man. And as a man, he was subject
to God. That's right. He said, Even thy
God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above all thy
fellows, and thou, Lord... Now watch this. Still speaking
to Christ. In the beginning, you laid the
foundations of the earth. The heavens are the work of your
hands. The heavens declare the glory of God, Christ. Now watch it, they're going to
perish. The heavens and the earth are both going to perish. But
you're going to remain. They're all wax old as a garment. You know, I see Over at my house,
and I know at your house too, we wear clothes as long as you
can wear them. And they get old, don't they? They get ragged.
The lining falls out. Don't look too bad on the outside,
but the lining rots. And what do you do? We have a
box in the basement. We fold them up and they don't
wear them anymore. Said here, as a vesture, you
fold them up. Fold them up. And they're changed. They rot. Throw them away or
something. And that's this world. Heavens
and the earth are getting old and decayed. One of these days,
my Lord is just going to fold them up. Put them away. But thou art the same, and thy
years shall not fail. He's going to have a new heaven
and a new earth. Now which of the angels said
He at any time, Sit on my right hand till I make thine enemies
thy footstool. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be theirs
of salvation?" They are our ministers. He gives His angels charge over
us lest we dash our foot against a stone. I want to read a scripture
in Revelation 21, and I'll close. He said, the heavens and the
earth wax old as a garment, and you fold them up and lay them
aside. And Revelation 21, verse 1, John
said, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Well, the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no
more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His people. And God Himself
shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
for the former things have passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne..." Would you know who that is? That's Christ. That's Christ. "...said, Behold,
I make all things new. He said to me, Now you write..."
These words are true and they're faithful. They're true and they're
certain and sure. Alright. Let's sing Number 48.