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120603 nt vistas 22 the christ supremacy - Hebrews
- 2. Hebrews 1:1-3 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
- 4. As Son, Jesus is Superior to Angels He is Son – Angels are mere servants
- 5. As Son, Jesus is Superior to Angels Angels He is Son worship – Angels the Son are mere servants
- 6. As Son, Jesus is Superior to Angels God Angels regards worship the Son He is Son the Son as “God” – Angels are mere servants
- 7. As Son, Jesus is Superior to Angels The Son God is eternal regards and Angels the Son supreme He is Son worship the Son as “God” – Angels are mere servants
- 8. As Son, Jesus is Superior to Angels God, The Son himself, is eternal serves God and the Son Angels regards the Son supreme He is Son worship the Son as “God” – Angels are mere servants
- 9. First Warning: Hebrews 2:1-3 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
- 11. Second Warning: Hebrews 3:6-14 And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. … 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
- 12. Perseverance Brings Assurance Assurance • If we share in Christ • If we persevere
- 13. Perseverance Brings Assurance Assurance • If we share in Christ • If we persevere No Assurance • If we turn away from God • If we are hardened by sin
- 15. Third Warning: Hebrews 5:11-14 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
- 17. After Conversion, then what? Perseverance: Draw near to God
- 18. After Conversion, then what? Perseverance: Draw near to God Continued Sin: Fall into the hands of God
Editor's Notes
- We don’t know who wrote Hebrews (“author”)Jewish converts — persecuted for their new faithConsidering reverting to Judaism and later returning to ChristianitySolution1. Teacher: superiority/pre-eminence of ChristSee who Christ is in all his glory, not even consider worshiping anyone/thing else?2. Preacher: Interspersed — warning passages — must “persevere”God will continue to empower his true children for obedience (desire/strength)God’s true children will/must continue to live in obedience — maturityHebrews is going to step on almost everyone’s toes, one time or anotherBelieve all Scripture is true and that it doesn’t contradict itselfDoesn’t fit your theology, then your theology is wrong.Tendency — hear a passage — “Well, I believe this.”Challenge for all of us to think like Scripture thinks.
- Summarized at the very beginning (1:1-3)Why worship anyone/thing else?
- Superior to angels (1:4-14)
- Seven OT quotations show Christ is superior to angels1. He is Son – Angels are mere servants (Heb. 1:5, 7)Heb. 1:5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father? Or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son? … 7 In speaking of the angels he says, He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.Quotes from Ps. 2:7 – of the king – and 2 Sam 7:14 – of Solomon – taken as messianic because Messiah was to be descendant of David.Note: Angels occasionally called “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1) but not in Hebrews, and none could claim to have been singled out for the kind of status these passages give to Christ. In Hebrews, they are regarded as servants, in contrast to the Son in v. 7.
- 2. Angels worship the Son (Heb 1:6)Heb 1:6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, Let all Gods angels worship him.Quotes from Deut 32:43 (LXX) & Ps 97:7Note: Some make much of Jesus being called “firstborn” (Gk. Prototokos). The significance is that he is not a created being, as were the angels (and man), and that he has the status of firstborn (e.g. legal heir receives right to govern the family and receives double share of estate). This is putting eternal things in temporal terms so we can get the idea that Jesus stands above everyone and everything else.Also note: Some churches rebel at the idea of Jesus being divine, so they write their own translations here and change the text to fit their theology. JWs translate this: "But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: 'And let all God's angels do obeisance to him" The New World Translation, 1981.In the 1970 edition, Heb. 1:6 is translated as the word "worship." In the 1980 version it is translated as 'obeisance.' Why the change? Simple, the Watchtower Organization is methodically altering the Bible to make it agree with their theology.Jesus said in Matthew 4:10 that you should worship (proskuneo) God only, yet He willingly receives worship in Matt. 2:2; 2:11; 14:33; 28:9; and John 9:35-38. Just check any Bible other than the New World Translation and you can plainly see this.
- 3. God regards the Son as “God” (Heb 1:8-9)Hebrews 1:7-9 In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire." 8 But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."Quotes from Psa 45:6-7 is applied to the Son, who is then addressed as “God”, who is anointed by God himself to rule on God’s throne!Note: NWT (JW) says “God is your throne forever and ever.” They change the text to fit their theology!NWT translation is quite doubtful, since:(1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son's throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν...δέ (men...de) construction that connects Heb_1:7 with Heb_1:8 clearly lays out this contrast: "On the one hand, he says of the angels...on the other hand, he says of the Son." Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (theos) in Heb_1:8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Heb_1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.
- 4. The Son is eternal and supreme (Heb 1:10-12)Heb. 1:10-12 He also says, In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.Quotes Ps 102:25-27God, himself says that created things wear out; but not the Son, who existed before creation, was the one who did the creating, and who will outlast creation.
- 5. God, himself, voluntarily serves the Son (Heb 1:13)Heb 1:13 To which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?Quotes Ps 110:1Get the image: God discharges the task of a servant in preparing the Son’s footstool. If the angels are God’s servants, how great must the Son be that no one less that God, himself, deigns to serve him!He ends by saying that, in contrast to the Son, the angels serve God by serving us!Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- First warning in 2:1-3 — gentleRarely do people bolt from the Christian faith — “drift away”One sin at a time — unresolved conflict — act of self-centered arrogance
- Superior to Moses (3:1ff.)Heb 3:1-6a Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.Like the angels: Moses was a servant IN God’s house, but Christ is Son OVER God’s House
- Second warning — 3:6b, 12-14Note: Moses was IN God’s house; Christ is OVER God’s house; we ARE his house.(Not an evangelistic tract but is addressed to the church — esp. v 14)Mt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.Hold fast to the confidence we had in Christ when we were first savedThat confidence in the work of Christ to save — living by faith
- Confidence that keeps us from drifting away to an unbelieving heart, hardened by sinThere is “Assurance” of our salvation/destinyIf we share in Christ (conversion is essential – Do you believe in Christ? Have you repented of your sins? Have you been baptized into Christ?)If we persevere – Being in Christ is not enough, we have to persevere as Christians, no matter what Satan and the world throw against us.
- Implicit warning: if we turn our backs on ChristIf we are hardened by sinIf we do not hold on through adversityThen: No assuranceNo assurance of salvation if our initial profession is not followed by perseverance.No matter how good a person you have been
- Superior to the High Priest (4:14ff.)Heb 4:14-16Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Third warning passage (5:11-14)The Hebrew writer has no room for an easy theology that allows Christians to spend all their time wallowing in the basics (Gk. Stoicheia refers to the letters of the alphabet, the ABCs)Some people never get beyond John 3:16. To be honest, some of our fellowship have never gotten beyond Acts 2:38.What does he mean by the ABCs? He answers in Heb. 6:1ffHeb 6:1-2 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.GodexpectsChristiansto GROW, and notremain spiritual infants.
- Two options and two outcomes1. What the Christian life is supposed to look like – 10:19-25 2. Another warning — 10:26-31
- Both choices begin with conversionPerseverance is what the Christian life is supposed to look likeHebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another –and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
- The alternative is continued sin – and its consequencesHebrews 10:26-31 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, It is mine to avenge; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- The choice is yours1. Jesus is supreme over all — greatest joy, deepest delightYet we so often drift away, one sin at a time.2. You can have full assurance that you truly are God’s childRests in the power of God:John 10:27-29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Fathers hand.Obedience: 1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, Gods love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.Not continuing in sin: 1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.3. You can still drift away, or even walk away.Conversion + perseverance = Drawing near to GodConversion + continued sin = Falling into the hands of GodI’d rather draw near to God than fall into his hands! How about you?