The Right Hand of God

Q: What does the Bible say about the right hand of God?

The right hand of God signifies His highest honor and the exaltation of Christ after His sacrificial work. The right hand of God represents the place of highest honor, indicating that Christ is exalted above all. Hebrews 1:3 states that Christ, having purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, emphasizing the completion of His redemptive work. This position reflects His authority and power, as demonstrated in Matthew 26:64, where Jesus claims He will be seen sitting at the right hand of power. The right hand is not only a place of honor but also of nearness, as Psalm 16 indicates, illustrating the intimate relationship believers have with their Savior.

Q: How do we know Christ is at the right hand of God?

Christ's ascension and seating at the right hand of God is affirmed in Scripture as a fulfillment of His role as mediator and king. The Scriptures confirm that Christ is at the right hand of God, a teaching rooted in both the Old and New Testaments. Hebrews 10:12 mentions that after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, Christ sat down at God's right hand, which signifies His completed work of atonement. In 1 Corinthians 15:24, it is stated that He will deliver the kingdom back to God at the end, thus reinforcing His ongoing reign as King. Furthermore, Psalm 110:1 declares God's invitation to the Messiah to sit at His right hand until all enemies are made His footstool, which provides prophetic evidence of Christ's exalted position.

Q: Why is Christ sitting at the right hand of God important for Christians?

Christ's position at the right hand of God assures believers of His completed work, acceptance by the Father, and ongoing intercession. The significance of Christ sitting at the right hand of God is profound for Christians. It assures us that the work of redemption is fully accomplished, as highlighted in Hebrews 10:12. This position signifies the Father's acceptance and satisfaction with Christ's sacrifice, validating that it is sufficient for our salvation. Additionally, being at the right hand means that Christ continually intercedes for believers, providing a source of hope and assurance in our daily struggles. His presence in heaven represents not only our future glory but also the certainty that one day we will be made like Him and share in His exaltation.

Q: What does it mean that Christ purged our sins?

Christ purged our sins means He completely atoned for them through His sacrifice, ensuring they are removed from our record. The phrase that Christ purged our sins signifies that He carried the weight of our transgressions, offering a singular, effective sacrifice that eternally removes our guilt. In Hebrews 1:3, it is stated that 'by Himself' He purged our sins, highlighting the sufficiency and the uniqueness of Christ's sacrifice. This means that we are declared righteous in Him, as our sins have been cast away and remembered no more, as indicated in Isaiah 43:25. Believers can thus rest assured in their salvation, recognizing the fullness of Christ's atoning work and its implications for eternal life.

I'm going to begin back at verse
1 in a few moments, but my objective this morning is to answer two
questions. Let's read verse 3. It says,
"...who, being the brightness of the Father's glory, and the
exact express image of His person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, he
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high." Here are
the two questions that I want to deal with in a
few moments. What are we to understand by
the right hand of God? We encounter that phrase frequently
in God's Word, the right hand of God. The right hand of God. What are we to understand by
the right hand of God? And then the second question
is this, well, if Christ, and Christ is at the right hand of
God, His being there, what does that mean to us? What blessings
are ours? as a result of his sitting at
God's right hand. All right, now the book of Hebrews,
the purpose and design of this epistle to the Hebrews is to
set forth what I want to set forth in my message today, and
that is the excellency and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want, if I possibly can, if
the Spirit of God will give me the ability, and the words, and
the message. I want to focus not only our
eyes, but our hearts and minds on Christ. The excellency, the
beauty, the power, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what this book's all about. Let me show you that in verse
4. It says, being made so much better than the angels. Talking
about our Savior, our Lord. better than the angels, so much
better than the angels. Then in Hebrews 3, look over
here just a moment, verse 3. For this man counted worthy of
more glory than Moses, far above Moses, far above Moses, inasmuch
as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house.
God has given him a name more excellent than the name of Moses.
And then Hebrews 7, look at verse 22. Talk about the covenant God
made with Abraham and with Noah and with Moses and with Israel.
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant, better
than all the covenants, better than all of them put together.
And they truly were many priests because they were not suffered
to continue by reason of death. But this man, Oh, this man, this
God-man, because he continueth forever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood, wherefore he is able to say to the uttermost, them
that come to God by him, seeing he ever lives, to make intercession
for them. Greater than the angels, greater
than Moses, greater than the covenant, greater than the priesthood. Greater than the tabernacle.
Turn to Hebrews 9. This is the theme running through
this whole book. The excellency. The glory. The power of our Lord. Our Redeemer. Talking about our
Savior. That's what I'm talking about.
My Redeemer. In Hebrews 9 verse 11. But Christ been talking about
these old testament priest in the old testament tabernacle
holy place but clarence being karma how priesthood good things
to come good things all the good things that are to come by greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with pain that is to say
not this bill neither by the blood of goats and carries but
by here's own blood he entered once into the holy place having
obtained eternal redemption for us. Now these men, the angels,
Moses, the priest, the tabernacle, all of these things, these men
were types and shadows and pictures of Christ who've gone before
and God ordained them back in those days, to shed some light
on what is to come. That's the reason God gave these
men, to shed a little light for Abraham and Jacob and Isaac and
Joseph and David. All of these priests and sacrifices
and appearance of angels and tithes were to shed a little
light on His redemptive glory in Christ Jesus. And they did
shed some light. Look at John 1, just a moment. Look at this verse here. But
they were not that light. They were not that light. Christ
is that light. In John 1, verse 6, it says there
was a man sent from God whose name was John, as all the rest
of them were sent from God. The same came for a witness,
to bear witness of the light, capital L-I-G-H-T. that all men through him might
believe. He was not that light, nor was Moses, nor was Abraham,
nor was anybody who's gone before. They are not that light. They
are not that light. They are sent to bear witness
of that light. That was the true light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Ah, yes. There
are many kinds of light. Darcy and I sit on our patio
and watch the fireflies. That's a mystery. See those little
things fly? The kids love them. I remember
when I was a kid, I'd get me a jar and punch holes in the
lid and go capture those little glowworms, you know. Get light,
lightning bolts. Just a little light. Why do they
do that? Our God's creation is amazing,
isn't it? Those little fireflies. There's that light and then there's
There's the light of the fire. Everybody likes to sit by the
fire. Our young people used to have get-togethers out at Brother
Harding's, and we'd build a fire. We'd all just sit around, stare
at the fire. Stare at the fire. A little comfort
and joy looking at the fire. And then there's candlelight.
Doesn't do much, does it? Then there's starlight. And then
there's moonlight. But there's a light that all
of these lights put together won't compare. That's the sunlight.
The sunlight. The sunlight. And when that sun
is shining and when it's revealed, it overshadows all the rest of
them. All the rest of them just go
out. And that's what I'm talking about. That's what John, he was
not that light. Nor was Angel, nor Moses, nor
Aaron, nor any of the rest of them. They were sent to bear
witness of the sunlight. S-O-N. The sunlight. And that's what it says here
in verse 2 of Hebrews 1. God hath in these last days spoken
to us by sun. All of the promises point to
the sun. All of the prophecies point to
the sun. All of the patterns Point to
the Son, all the sacrifices to the Son. These served their purposes
until He came, the Son, and fulfilled them, and put them away, and
buried them in the tomb where He lay. Yes, sir, look at verse
2. God has spoken to us by His Son. The Father loved the Son. called
him the son of his love. He said there at the baptism
in the River Jordan, this is my beloved son. This is my son
in whom I'm well pleased. And then when he went up on the
mountain with James and Peter and John and was transfigured
before them again, the voice came from heaven and said, this
is my son. This is my beloved son. Hear
him. Hear Him. God has spoken to us
by His Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. And not only is He the Son, but
He's the, look at that next line, He's the heir. God has appointed
Him heir. He's the heir of all things.
All things belong to Him. God loves the Son and has given
all things into His hands. Belongs to Him. I want to show
you some scripture in regard to that over Psalm chapter 2. Psalm chapter 2. It says here
in verse 6. Psalm 2 verse 6. Yet have I set
my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree
the Lord has set unto me. Thou art my Son. Thou art my
Son. This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I'll give thee the heathen. That's me and you.
That's right. Gentile heathens. I'll give you
the heathen for your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for your possession. It's His. All belongs to Him. Look at Psalm 8. Listen to the
Lord here in Psalm 8, verse 3. This is talking about Christ
and you who know the book of Hebrews know that the Apostle
Paul quoted this in reference to Christ. Psalm 8, verse 3,
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the
moon, the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man, that thou
art mindful of him? And the Son of man, that thou
visitest him, for you made him a little lower than the angels.
That was Christ. That's right. Made him a little
lower than the angels. That he might taste death. That's
right. and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have
dominion over the works of your hands. You put all things under
his feet, but one person, that's Christ. All sheep and oxen, yea,
on the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of
the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.
O Lord, our Lord, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand. Oh Lord, my Lord, how excellent
is thy name in all the earth. It's His. The cattle on a thousand hills,
the sheep, the oxen, the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air.
Thou hast given Him authority over all flesh. He's the heir. And I'm so glad, I am so glad. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15. Listen to this. The Lord is King. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
heir. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. Listen to it. 1 Corinthians 15
verse 24. Then cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power,
for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet,
and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For God
hath put all things under Christ's feet. But when God said all things
are put under his feet, it's clear that he is accepted which
put all things under his feet. The Father is not under his feet,
but everything else is. You see that, Chuck? The only
exception The only exception is the Father. Everything and
everyone, every creature, everything that moves is under Him. He's there. All right, back to
our text. By whom He made the worlds, He's
the Creator. I want to share one scripture
with you, Colossians 1. You're familiar with this. But
it was by Christ that God created all things. In Colossians 1.16,
listen, for by Him, verse 15 says that He's the image of the
invisible God, He's the firstborn of every creature, and by Him
all things were created that are in heaven, that are in earth,
visible and invisible. What's invisible? Spirits. demons, whatever is invisible,
thrones, thrones of men, all thrones, dominions, principalities,
powers, all things are created by Him and for Him, and He's
before all things, and by Him all these things exist, are held
together. He's the Creator. Now back to
the text. Now watch this. And verse 3 says,
"...who being the brightness of His glory." He's the brightness
of God's glory. Now, I don't know how to handle
this. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But He's the brightness of God's
glory. He's the sole expression of the
glory of God. No man has seen God at any time. The Son declares Him. He's the
sole expression of God, of the glory of God, of the person of
God, of the righteousness of God. Let's try John 1, verse
18. This is that scripture that I
just quoted. The word declared is to unfold. No man has seen
God at any time. We read over in the epistles
where God is invisible, the invisible God, the only potentate who dwells
in a life to which no man can approach. God told Moses, you
can't look on me and live. And here it says, no man has
seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath unfolded, he hath told,
he hath declared him. He's the sole expression. of the glory of God. The disciple
said, show us the Father. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. Someone gave this illustration.
The Father and the Son are as the Son and its rays. The Son
and its rays. One is not without the other.
One is not before the other. The Son and its expression. The Son and its rays. The sun and its glory. The sun is not
without its rays, and the rays are not without the sun. One
is not before the other. Christ is the express or exact
image of the Father. Christ is a manifestation of
the character of the Father. That's what that says. He's the
brightness of His glory. He's the express image of His
person. The exact expressed image of
His person. He's a manifestation of His character. The Son is. Alright, look at
the next line in verse 3. And He upholdeth all things by
the power of His word. It says the word of His power. I believe a good translation
of that is this. He upholdeth all things by the
power of His word. Now let's look at 2 Peter 3 and
see about that in a moment. 2 Peter chapter 3, He upholdeth
all things by the power of His Word. It was by the Word of Christ
that the worlds were made. It's by the Word of Christ that
the world was flooded. It's by the Word of Christ that
the worlds are kept. It's by the Word of Christ that
the worlds will be destroyed. It's by the Word of Christ that
a new heaven, new earth will be created. Now watch this, verse
5, 2 Peter 3. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old. He spake,
Let there be light. And by His Word the heavens were
of old. And the earth standing out of
the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being
overflowed with water perished. Who gave the word on that? He
did, by his word. Noah built the ark and the world. What's verse 7? But the heavens
and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in
store, preserved under fire against the day of judgment, perdition
of ungodly men. This world is kept in storage,
held together by His Word. And someday it will perish with
fire by His Word. And then in verse 13 it says,
Nevertheless, we according to His what? Word. We look for a new heaven and
a new earth. See, this is the confidence we have in Him. This
is the confidence that we have in His redemption, in His salvation,
His Word. This was the basis of Abraham's
faith. He believed God. He believed
that God was able to do what He said, what He promised. This is the foundation of faith.
The Word of God. And that's what it says here. He upholdeth all things by the
power of His Word. Our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
Son Our Lord is the Son. He's the heir. He's the creator. He's the sole expression of God. No man knoweth the Father but
the Son, He to whom the Son will reveal. And He upholdeth all
things by His Word. Don't you reckon He can take
care of me? Keep me? Preserve me? Deliver me? Present me? By His Word? By His
Word. You can trust Him. You can believe
Him. You can't always believe men,
but you can believe our Lord. His Word is sure. All right, look at the text again.
One more statement here before we get to the one I want to answer
the question. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, past tense, He purged our sins. They're gone, my friend. It says, by himself he purged
our sins, that is, alone. He took our sins in his body
on the tree, and as the high priest of old entered into the
Holy of Holies alone, once a year, our Lord Jesus Christ walked
the winepress of God's wrath alone. By himself. By himself. By himself. No one aided him in redemption.
He redeemed us. He's the only one who could. He's the only one who has a sufficient
sacrifice. And by Himself means by the sacrifice
of Himself. He was wounded for our transgression.
By Himself, He purged our sins. He took them. He bore them. He paid for them. He removed
them. He cast them into the depths
of the sea. He separated them from us. He abolished them. He
said, I'll remember them no more. They're gone. My sins are gone. Under the blood
of Jesus, safe in the shepherd's foal. Under the blood of Jesus,
safe while the ages roll. Safe though the world will crumble. Safe though the stars will grow
dim. But under the blood. We're secure. Nowhere else. You know that. And I know that. Why do we doubt? Why do fears fill our hearts?
Why are we troubled? He purged our sin. Purged it
by Himself. Now watch this. And He sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Two questions. You know,
David saw him there. He said, Lord, said unto my Lord,
sit thou on my right hand. Stephen got a glimpse of him.
Remember when they stoned Stephen? He said, I see the Lord Jesus
standing at the right hand of God. Somebody said, but it says he
sat down. And Stephen said, I see Him standing. I don't know, I may be a little
foolish here, but I read something that appealed to me on that. Our Lord is victorious and He
sits, having finished His work, purged our sins and paid for
them. He sat down, finished His work, entered His rest, it's
over. But his people are precious to him. And when he saw Stephen going
under this affliction and suffering and death, he stood up. He stood up to welcome him home,
and he stood up opposed to his enemies that did that to him. Now, vengeance is mine, I'll
repay, saith the Lord. Touch not my anointed, do my
prophets no harm. precious in the sight of the
Lord the death of his people. He stood up. Maybe, I don't know. Take it for what it's worth.
But Paul wrote of him, he said, God has exalted him above all
exaltation at his right hand. Now, what are we to understand
about the right hand of God? Well, three things. The right
hand is the place of highest honor. That's the highest honor,
the right hand. And we're talking about the God
band. We're talking about our Savior, our Lord. Our representative. We're talking about Him and us.
We're one. And God has exalted Him and us
to His right hand. That's the place of highest honor.
Let me show you an example. 1 Kings 2. This is beautiful. This is beautiful here. If you've
never seen it, you're going to love it. You're going to love
it. And us men learn a lesson, and
you women get a blessing. Listen. 1 Kings 2.19. Verse 18. The mother of Solomon
is Bathsheba. You remember that. Solomon is
the son of Bathsheba. 1 Kings 2.18. And Bathsheba said,
well, I'll speak for thee unto the king. I'll speak to the king
for you. Talking about this fellow. And Bathsheba therefore went
in unto King Solomon, her son, to speak unto him for Adonijah. Now watch this. And the king
rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down
on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother,
and she sat on his right hand. Honor. He honored his mother. got up and bowed to her, and
took her and put her right beside Him. That's honor. And our God
of heaven has received the Lord Jesus and sat Him on His right
hand. Highest honor. Secondly, the
right hand of God is the place of power. Turn to Matthew 26. It's the place of indisputable
Unquestionable, unspeakable power. Right hand. He saves by His right
hand, He said. Matthew 26, 64. Oh, Jesus said
to him. Well, let's see what the high
priest said to Christ in verse 63 of Matthew 26. Jesus held
his priest, and the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure
thee by the living God. You tell us whether you be the
Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said to him, Thou hast
said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter
shall you see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven as our hope." Power. All authority is given
unto me in heaven and earth. He's at God's right hand of power. Thirdly, the right hand is the
place of nearness. Nearness. Close as you can get. Close as you can get. That's
right. Psalm 16, look at this. And we're seated with Him. Think
of it. Psalm 16, verse 7. Psalm 16, 7, it says, I bless
the Lord who has given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night season. I set the Lord always before
me because He's at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore
my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall
rest in hope. But I will not leave my soul
in hell, my body in the grave. Neither wilt thou suffer, thou
unholy one, to seek corruption. You know who's talking there,
that's Christ. Thou wilt show me the path of life, in thy presence
is fullness of joy at thy right hand of pleasures forevermore. That's the right hand. Honor,
power, nearness, pleasure. Well, what does that mean to
us, that Christ is at the Father's right hand? Well, number one,
I'll give it to you very briefly. Number one, it reveals the completing
of His work. He finished His work, and the
Father received Him, and sat Him down at His right hand. Paul
deals with that in Hebrews 10, verse 11. But this, verse 11,
Hebrews 10, and every priest standeth daily, offering and
ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can
never take away sin. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
foes too. Is Christ's sacrifice yours? That's sufficient. Is
He your hope? That's sufficient. Is His blood
your plea? That's sufficient. He sat down.
Secondly, it reveals the Father's acceptance and satisfaction. That's what Peter said, this
Christ whom you crucified, the Father has made Him Lord and
Christ. Let me read 2 Peter 1, verse
16 and 17. Listen. 2 Peter 1, verse 16 and 17. We've not followed cunningly
devised fables. This is not a fable that I'm
preaching, cunningly designed con game and fable, when we made
known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, but we were
eyewitnesses of His majesty, for He received from God the
Father, Honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him
from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased." Yes, sir, his work's not only finished, but
the Father's satisfied. Totally satisfied. And then this
glorious truth here. Thirdly, it reveals the advancement
of the human nature. Christ had a human nature. When
He arose from the grave, and appeared to his disciples, he
said, touch me. A ghost, a spirit doesn't have
flesh and bones. Reach hither your hand, touch
my side and my hands. It's I, myself. Don't be afraid. Have you something to eat? And
they gave him something to eat. And when God took him glorified
flesh, it's more than one kind of flesh, When we think of flesh,
we think of this old, decaying, withered, dying flesh. But He
has glorified flesh. There's several kinds of flesh.
There's a flesh of fish. There's a flesh of birds. There's
a flesh of animals. There's a flesh of men. And there's
a flesh of glory. Glorified flesh. This corruptible
puts on incorruption. This mortal puts on immortality.
This weakness puts on strength. This dishonor puts on glory.
And Christ was flesh and bones, and God took him as a man into,
within the veil, into glory, and sat down. So that's what
I'm saying, there's a man in glory, flesh and bones. There's
one God and one Mediator between God and man, God and men, and
that's the man, Christ Jesus. And I expect, and you do too,
I expect When this body lies in the grave, I'll have a new
body in glory, likened to the body of Christ. It'll never die. You see, he was born in a stable,
now he reigns in royalty. What I'm saying to him is true
of us. He was called a carpenter, now
he's got a name above every name. He was despised and rejected
of men, now he's worshipped of angels. He had no place to lay
His head. Now His head is crowned with
many crowns. He died for our sins. Now He
lives to die no more. And because He lives, we live.
And fourthly, His being in glory as a man reveals that one day
we will be too. We're going to be with Him. We're
going to be like Him. We're going to be enthroned before
the presence of God in our Redeemer. right hand of God. Isn't that
comforting? That's our gospel. That's our
gospel. Our redemption does not lie in
what we do for Him, but what He did for us, and what He's
doing for us, and what He shall do by His grace.

The Right Hand of God

What does the Bible say about the right hand of God?

How do we know Christ is at the right hand of God?

Why is Christ sitting at the right hand of God important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ purged our sins?

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The Right Hand of God

What does the Bible say about the right hand of God?

How do we know Christ is at the right hand of God?

Why is Christ sitting at the right hand of God important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ purged our sins?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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