Daily Writing

Friday, 3 August 2018

…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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3

The words here speak of Christ Jesus. First, it says of Him, “who being.” The word ōn, or “being,” speaks of His absolute being. It is in the present tense, speaking of the timeless nature of what will be conveyed. Christ, being now spoken about in relation to God (and in the absolute sense and in a timeless manner), is said to be “the brightness of His glory.” The word is only used here in the Bible. It bears a suffix which intensifies the word “shine.” Thus it is someone who literally blazes forth in radiance. This speaks of the eternal radiance of Christ who shines forth the refulgent glory of the Godhead. This shining glory of God breaks through all darkness. This is both literal and spiritual. In a literal demonstration of this, we have the passage of the transfiguration which gives a glimpse of His glory. In a spiritual sense, we have numerous references in the writings of the apostles, such as 2 Corinthians 4:6 –

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

The glory of God radiates through Christ who is also described as “the express image of His person.” Again, another word unique in Scripture is used to convey the thought, charaktér. One can see where the word “character” we now use is derived from. In the Greek, it signifies an engraving, and thus an exact impression or likeness. The original word signified the tool used for engraving. Eventually, it specifically referred to “a die.” The die would be used to impress an image which then conveyed the reality behind the image.

This express image is of “His person.” This is speaking of God, and uses another rare word to describe Him, hupostasis. It speaks of an entitlement to someone; that which is guaranteed under a particular agreement. The thought here being conveyed is that Christ is in entitlement to the glory of the Godhead; to convey it and reveal it in the creation. He is the link between the unseen God and His creation. He is how God reveals Himself to us. Thus, the glory of God – both His brightness and His essential being – is expressed in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Godhead is in agreement that Christ is the means by which His glory is so revealed. But there is yet more…

We are next told that Jesus Christ is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” Elsewhere, Jesus is clearly shown to be the Creator (e.g. John 1:1-3 & Colossians 1:16). He is here spoken of as the Sustainer. It is a thought similar to Colossians 1:17 which says, “…in Him all things subsist” (Darby). Jesus is not only the means by which God created, but He is the means by which all things are sustained. He is how all things are upheld and how they hold together. Without Him there would be no continuance of the creation.

God created by His spoken word. This is seen in Genesis 1. It is expressed also in Psalm 33:9 which says –

“For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.”

It is this same Word which continues to uphold that which was created. The word translated as “word” is rhéma. It is a spoken word made by the living voice; an utterance. Christ is the Word, and He both creates and sustains “by the word of His power.” Logically, if the universe was created by Christ, and the universe is sustained by Christ, then He is the omnipotent God. No thing, from the movement of the smallest particle, to the intense boiling heat of ten billion stars, exists or works apart from the sustaining and energetic power of Christ. But there is more…

The author has brought us from God, speaking through His Son, to the understanding that His Son is both the Creator and Sustainer. But He is also our Redeemer. This is seen with the words, “when He had by Himself purged our sins.” The same God who set all things in motion, and who continues to work in the sustaining efforts of the universe, also purged our sins through His own work. It was not through something (or someone) else in creation; but Christ Himself is the agent of our purification.

One must ask, “Why is this placed here in the author’s discourse on the nature of Christ?” The answer shouts back that it is God Himself, through Christ, who alone purifies, sanctifies, and makes holy. Whatever the value of man is, that value stands as the greatest reason for the creation itself. It is not merely that man is a part of creation, but that he is the point of creation. God determined to create, not because He had a need in Himself for the creation, but out of an act of love, He created in order to share His glory with His creatures. Everything that is made was with this in view. And so in order to have that sharing come about, and knowing that man would fall, God chose (even before creating, see Revelation 13:8) to accept what would come about after the fall, which is redemption through the sacrifice of Christ.

It is Christ – the Creator, Sustainer, and Purifier – who then “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The “Majesty” here is God the Father. Christ is said to have “sat down,” thus ceasing from His now accomplished work of purification. The position of His seating is at the Majesty’s “right hand.” This is not a literal, tangible position, but rather a position of authority and power. God doesn’t have parts, and so to express meaning for us to understand, anthropomorphic terms are used. The “right hand” is this symbolic position of power and authority within the Godhead. As Vincent’s Word Studies states, “The verb denotes a solemn, formal act; the assumption of a position of dignity and authority.” He sat down, thus resting from His labors, and with the full power, authority, and dignity of the Godhead being worked through Him.

Life application: Jesus Christ is God. Nothing could be more clearly understood from a right interpretation of Scripture. God did not use a mere part or person in His creation to purify His people. Rather, He took the role upon Himself, uniting with His creation in the Person of Jesus Christ. To state that Jesus Christ is a created being is the highest blasphemy of all. It is a denial of the Son which is explained by John as antichrist –

“Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:22, 23

If you cannot come to the confession of faith that Jesus Christ is Lord (meaning God), you will be condemned when He comes for judgment. Believe and be forgiven.

Lord God, it is hard to imagine the value of man. We are only a part of Your creation, and we are the part which has brought rebellion, hatred, and death to it. And yet, You were willing to come and redeem us from our sins in the Person of Jesus. What is worth such a high cost? What is man that You take notice of Him? Help us, Lord God, to honor You and glorify You for the high cost of Calvary’s cross, and the full redemption we have through the giving of Jesus. Amen.

Thursday, 2 August 2018

…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; Hebrews 1:2

These words are a contrast to verse 1. God once spoke in a certain way to the fathers by the prophets, but something new has come. He “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” The term, “these last days,” is literally “at the last of these days.” One must think of God’s revelation coming in one of two distinct epochs. The first is the period of the Old Covenant; the second is the period of the New Covenant. But what must be considered is that the New Covenant was not initiated until the night of Christ’s crucifixion. Thus, the period of record in the gospels is not included in the New, but in the Old. The New Covenant is given because of the shed blood of Christ, and it is a Covenant given not to the church, but to the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31). The letter to the Hebrews is explaining this to them.

It is in the last of these days that God has “spoken” to us. The word is in the aorist tense. There is a single act involved in the matter. As Cambridge says –

“Are, and were, and will be are but is
And all creation is one act at once.”

God’s revelation is put forth, and it has come to us at various times and in various ways, but it is one word which is spoken forth from Him. We are in the stream of time; He is not. The reception of that revelation to the fathers and now to us bears one common element – God has spoken to the people of the world. He once spoke through the prophets; He now speaks through the Son. However, in the Greek, there is no article before “Son,” and the word “His” has been inserted. It more literally reads, “…spoken to us by a Son.” This doesn’t mean one of any number of sons, but the nature of how the revelation is given – “How is the revelation now given? It is given by a Son, not merely by a prophet, or through an angel.” The contrast to verse 1 is further highlighted by this statement. It is this Son, “whom He has appointed heir of all things.”

Again, an aorist verb is used. It more correctly reads, “whom he appointed.” It is the Son who was appointed in the eternal counsels of God to be the means by which God would speak to the people of the world in the time of the New Covenant, and it is this Son who is appointed “heir of all things.”

As soon as the Son is mentioned comes the noting of the appointment as heir. And this occurred not after God made the worlds, but before. God determined before the worlds were made that they were appointed to the Son. What we are seeing is the determining mind of God, before anything existed, concerning the order and structure of how things would be done, and how things would be determined. This is seen with the words following the appointment as heir which state, “through whom also He made the worlds.”

By place the making of the worlds after the appointment of being heir, we are left with the understanding that the Son was designated heir, the worlds were then made, and they were destined to be His possession. Thus, the glory of the Son precedes creation. He was with the Father all along. John 1:1-3 is called to mind with the structure of how Hebrews 1:2 is presented –

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” 

None of the glory of the Son is diminished in what is being said. Rather, it is being highlighted. Finally, the word translated as “worlds” is the Greek word aiōnas. It speaks of an age, a cycle (of time), especially of the present age as contrasted with the future age, and of one of a series of ages stretching to infinity. Thus, this is speaking not just of the physical worlds which comprise the universe, but the span in which they exist as well. Everything associated with the creation is contained in this thought. The word “universe” closes in on the thought, but it is insufficient unless one thinks beyond the physical aspect of it to include the span of the ages in which the universe exists.

Life application: The comments on Hebrews 1:2 by great scholars of the past are lengthy, detailed, and even complicated. Each approaches the words in a different manner, and each struggles to explain what is being relayed in a careful, coherent manner. Be sure to not limit yourself to one commentary on the Bible. There is an immense amount of information out there which is given to bring the student of the Bible to a fuller understanding of the marvelous workings of God.

Heavenly Father, it is beyond our ability to grasp the wisdom which You display in Your creation. From the intricacy of the flowers we see, to the balance of the elements in the world which allows life, to the placement of the worlds in their heavenly orbits for proper order… Nothing is missing, everything works as it should, and beauty and glory are seen in all of it. How great You are, O God. Amen.

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 1:1

Rather than opening with a greeting, or an appeal for blessing upon the reader, the epistle to the Hebrews begins with an outright statement of theological truth. Rendered in its original order, and in a literal translation, it reads, “Variously (in parts), and variously (in ways), formerly the God having spoken to the fathers in the prophets.”

In this, a contrast is going to be made between what God has done, and what He will now do. This is the first half of that contrast. There is a revelation of God through the prophetic word, just as there is a revelation of God in His creation. They differ though. Creation speaks of God’s revelation in a general way (general revelation). We can know He is there, and we can deduce things about Him from creation. However, unless He specifically reveals certain things, we could never deduce them. His name is a good example of this. As His name reflects His being, we are left with a void in our understanding of many things about God without knowing His name. That is only one of a countless host of things that we could never deduce without Him revealing the information to us.

However, God does reveal Himself to us in a special way (special revelation). That is through His spoken word. And so the author says that God, “at various times and in various ways spoke.”

“At various times” speaks of God’s progressive revelation of Himself. He reveals what He wishes when He wishes to reveal it. There is a logical, orderly succession of revelations which are leading to a fuller and fuller understanding of who He is, what He expects, how He will fix what happened at the fall, and so on. A good example of progressive revelation is when He spoke to Moses with the words –

“And God spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.’” Exodus 6:2, 3

God chose, at a particular time, and for a particular reason, to reveal His name to Moses. He also chose to conceal what He would do in the church. The Jews had no idea what was coming in Christ, and how he would establish the church. This is spoken of by Paul. He calls it a “mystery” in Ephesians 3:8-13. Elsewhere, this term “mystery” is used to explain other things that had never been previously revealed by God, but which were revealed at exactly the right moment in order to effect His purposes and to reveal His hidden knowledge to the people of the world. This was even alluded to in all the way back in Deuteronomy –

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29

Several of the various ways that God spoke are noted in the Old Testament. Job hints at some of them –

“For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
¹⁶ Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.” Job 33:14-16

There are times when the Lord spoke directly to an individual, Moses for example. There are other times where He would speak through an individual, such as is recorded in 1 Chronicles 12:18.

Further, God would increase the sophistication of His revelation based on the maturity of the audience, and even within a particular concept – going from elementary revelation of an issue to a more developed and spiritual understanding of that issue. The sacrificial system is a good example of this. At first, the people were instructed to simply obey the sacrificial laws in a prescribed manner. However, it was later revealed that sacrifices without an accompanying heart that was right before the Lord were unacceptable (e.g. see Isaiah 1:11).

These are some of the various times and ways God “spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.” The Greek word for “in time past” is an adverb which signifies “formerly.” We could say, “of old.” It is the way God once spoke, but no longer does. God gave revelation in these times and ways, but that way is now over. The contrasting way will be explained in the next verse. This can be fully understood in Jesus’ words about John the Baptist. In Matthew 11:13, Jesus says, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Now, something new has come about.

God spoke to the fathers through the prophets. He did it in that way in the past, and He did it at various times and in various ways. However, all things were leading to something greater. Our author will next reveal that to us.

Life application: Hebrews is going to be an involved study. It will contain as much instruction as a technical manual, and it will hold as much doctrine as any in-depth work needed to obtain a doctoral dissertation (and more); but one verse at a time, and each verse in its proper context, and we will get through it all the wiser in the things of God. Let us be patient, meticulous, and willing to see this book through until the end.

Lord God, what an absolute treasure Your word is. Thank You for the many levels of understanding which can be drawn out of it. A child can hear the simple message of Jesus and come to an understanding of his need for Him, and the greatest scholarly mind ever can come away astonished at the depth of information he has learned from a careful study of a particular doctrine found in it. There is abundant wealth in Your word. Thank You for the riches we receive from it! Amen.

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Hebrews – an introduction.

An introduction to the book of Hebrews could go on for many long pages and not speak properly of all that it encompasses. And so rather than give an introduction which will inevitably be repeated in substance throughout the entire book, three main points are to be noted. First, “Who is most likely the author of Hebrews?”

No author is assigned to it, and so only an educated guess can be made. The scholar E.W. Bullinger carefully defends the author as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He does this by making a detailed list of the words used by Paul in his other epistles and then making a list of the same words in Hebrews. From there, he demonstrates that the number of uses results in a perfection in numbers when Hebrews is added to Paul’s epistles. That listing can be found here – http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/number03.htm#41

And secondly, the words of Peter, the Apostle to the Circumcision (meaning the Jews), demonstrates that this letter is most likely from Paul’s hand. Peter states –

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 2 Peter 3:15, 16

Peter is the Apostle to the Jews. His first letter was specifically written to a Jewish audience. As it says, “To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” The “pilgrims of the dispersion” are Jews. It logically follows that his second epistle is to the same group of people based on his words of 2 Peter 3:1 which state, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder).”

As Peter notes that Paul wrote to the same group of people, and as no other letter of Paul meets this requirement, then it is without a doubt that the letter to the Hebrews is from Paul, or that Paul’s letter to the Hebrews has been lost. Based on the numerical perfection of adding Hebrews to Paul’s other letters, it appears that this is, in fact, Paul’s fourteenth, but unsigned, letter.

There would be good enough reason for it not to be signed. Paul’s very name caused (and still causes) deep-seated animosity among the Jews. Therefore, his name is not given in the actual body of the text. Even if Paul is not the author of Hebrews, the letter is purely Pauline in nature. It reflects a well-studied Jew who was fully versed in the law and the prophets, and who was able to lay out a case in a fully convincing and logical manner, just as all of his other letters are laid out.

The second main point of introduction has already been touched upon – “To who is the epistle written?” First, Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 that, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So in a real sense, the letter is, as all of Scripture, written to the people of the world. But it is also written specifically to the “Hebrews.” It is a letter of doctrine, coming after the church-age epistles, specifically intended for instruction of a Jewish audience. It deals with issues that are particularly essential for Jews to understand what they had missed in the coming of Christ; to correct those deficiencies; and to lead them to an understanding of the greatness of Christ – even His surpassing greatness in all ways. And that leads to the third main point of our introduction, which is, “What is the main theme of Hebrews?”

Hebrews is almost like a spiritual technical manual on how to understand the superlative nature of Christ. The author meticulously details his case for Christ’s surpassing of various things or people who are held in high esteem, both in the Hebrew Scriptures and among the Hebrew people. Although there is an overlapping of some of these concepts, Christ is compared to angels (1:5); Moses – meaning the law which bears his name (3:2); the Sabbath (4:1); the high priest who ministers the Old Covenant – meaning the Aaronic Priesthood (5:1); Melchizedek who ministered as a priest before Abraham, and who was also king of Salem (6:20); the Levitical priesthood itself which falls under Aaron (7:11); the Old Covenant as opposed to the New (8:7); the earthly sanctuary of God (9:1); the ministrations and services within the sanctuary (8:6); the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant (8:12); works in order to please God in contrast to faith in Christ (Chapter 11); and, finally, heroes of Israel’s past (Chapter 11).

In each of these points (and so much more), Christ and His ministry are shown to be “greater than.” Each point in which a Jew could place his hope is shown to be a false hope in comparison to the surpassing greatness of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Thus, the theme of Hebrews is “Greater Than.”

As noted above, this (or indeed any) introduction is insufficient to express the marvelous wonder which lies ahead in the book of Hebrews, and so the only way to discover that wonder is to enter into the book, and to study it. May you be blessed over the next 303 days as we take in the verses of this book, just like we take in each sunrise, one day at a time.

Life application: If you want to grow in your walk with Christ, then stick around for the next 303 verses, first learning them, and then appropriately applying them to your life as context determines.

Lord God, it is always a wonderful thing to start out on a new adventure. But let us never start out any such thing, or even any day of our lives (which really is a new adventure with each rising of the sun), without first asking You to guide us, bless us, and mold us to Your image. And so today we ask this as well. We are opening up the future – moment by moment – and we ask that You be with us and direct our steps as we go. We pray this in Jesus’ beautiful and exalted name. Amen.