The Supremacy of Christ - Part 1

Let's take our Bibles. Let's turn back to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 1. I did say earlier in our scripture reading that we will be in verses 1 to 4, but we will only cover verses 1 to 2. One of the tasks as one who preaches God's Word is you try to keep scripture together. Scripture needs to be kept together, but then sometimes you have to break it up because it just takes some time to divide God's Word adequately. But verses 1 to 4 go together. We'll be in verses 1 to 2 this morning. We'll pick back up where we leave off next week, of course.

Now this morning we begin a study through the book of Hebrews, which for some can be very intimidating for several reasons. That is if you know anything about the book of Hebrews. On the surface the book of Hebrews can be very mysterious. First of all, we really do not know who wrote the book. The author never identifies himself and although a case can be made for many different possible authors, we really do not know who wrote the book. But on the flip side, we can know quite a few things about the author from the things that he says about himself in the book, especially in Chapter 13. And then there is the form in the style of the letter.

Hebrews is much different than anything we read in the New Testament. Hebrews is more of a systematic argument than a personal letter. It is more of an exposition or more of a sermon than it is a personal letter. But Hebrews certainly was a letter written to a particular people or a congregation. And we see this at the end of the book, specifically Chapter 13 verse 22. The author says, "I appeal to you brothers." You see that personal language? "Bear with my word of exhortation." That would be teaching.

"For I have written to you briefly." And then in Chapter 13 verse 24, he says, "Greet all your leaders and all of the saints." You can tell he's writing to a church. "Those who come from Italy send you greetings." Now, why do I point these things out? We cannot let the mysterious aspects of this book cause us to shy away from this study. We must wade through the mystery of the letter to the Hebrews to discover what God has to say in this book and how he wants this to be worked out in our lives, in our everyday lives. And then below the surface, the book of Hebrews can be very difficult.

First of all, scholars tell us that to understand what is in the book of Hebrews, we really need a working knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament book of Leviticus. And that can be very intimidating for some and that may even cause some of you to say, "Well, why are we even studying this book if it's connected to Leviticus?" If I had to guess, Leviticus would be one of the most intimidating books for us to study.

But if we were to study Leviticus, I believe we could grow in our knowledge of Christ and we would grow in our faith because, Brother Keith referenced this earlier, "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." Second Timothy 3.16. And that applies to Leviticus and that applies to how Hebrews is connected to Leviticus. And then there is all this language, this teaching and the arguments which obviously pertain to the Jews and not to Gentiles.

The letter to the Hebrews is full of language about the Old Covenant and there are all these contrasts between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Hebrews is full of language about the Old Covenant priesthood in the Old Covenant sacrificial system. And then there is all this language about angels, about the prophets of old and about the mysterious King Melchizedek. Now, why do I point out these things? We cannot let the difficulties of Hebrews cause us to shy away from the study either. We must work hard in and through the difficulties to understand what God is saying here.

And then we need to work hard to see how God wants to apply Hebrews to our lives today. So I have begun to introduce to us the book of Hebrews and our study of Hebrews by saying this is a mysterious book and a difficult book. You could say pastor that's no way to attract people to the study. Look church, we should always be attracted to study God's Word no matter the book. Let me repeat that. As a church and as God's people, we should always be attracted to study God's Word no matter the book, even if it is Leviticus. And if that's not our hearts, then something's wrong. We're backslidden or we are in sin.

Now I want us to get to the purpose of the book, but to get to the purpose of the book, first we need to see something about the author and the recipients of the book because these things have a bearing on the purpose of the book. Now first the author of the book. Now, I have already said that we do not know who the author was, but we do see a few things about the author from the book. In chapter 10 verse 34, the author writes that he knew they had compassion on those who were in prison. And in chapter 13 verses 18 and 19, we see that the author asks them to pray that he may be restored to them.

This seems to indicate that the author of the letter was in prison or had been in prison. And later in chapter 13 verse 23, the author expressed a confident expectation that he would be able to come see them soon and that he was a well-known friend to Timothy. And see it's verses like these that cause some to believe that Paul was the one who wrote the letter. But verses like chapter 2 verse 3 seem to indicate otherwise. Chapter 2 verse 3, the author says that the things he declared were declared by the Lord and he received those things from others. So the author seems to say that what he was declaring and writing was second-hand information.

And that was contrary to Paul's habit. Paul's habit was to declare that all that he had received came directly from the Lord and Paul never declared that what he received had come from other men. So these things seem to tell us that the author of the letter to the Hebrews must have known Paul and must have been someone of Paul's caliber other than an apostle. Someone maybe like Barnabas or someone like Luke, someone like Silas or even Apollos. Now what is my point here? The author of the book knew the recipients of this letter.

And the author of this book knew Timothy and that would lead us to believe that he was in some way associated with Paul. So he must have been someone of Paul's caliber other than an apostle. Someone like Barnabas, someone like Luke or Silas or Apollos. But no matter who wrote the book, it was God who inspired this man to write the letter to the Hebrews. And then second, the recipients of the book. Now it is obvious that the recipients of the book were Jews and seemingly only Jews. And we can say that for several reasons. First, there are no references to Gentiles or Gentile problems and issues within the book.

And then second, it is obvious that the recipients were facing the temptation to turn from Christ and go back into Judaism. And this would not have been a temptation for any other people other than Jewish people or Jewish Christians. And last, the title of the book. The title that has been given to this book throughout church history has remained the same to the Hebrews, which is obvious. This letter was addressed to the Hebrews, to the Hebrews who would have been Jews. But what needs to be seen about the recipients is this. The recipients of this letter were Jews and a Jewish congregation.

We do not know where they were located, but it seems that they were outside of the land of Israel and they had been evangelized by the apostles and those New Testament prophets according to what was seen in chapter two. Well, this finally leads us to the purpose of the book. Now, I want to quickly explain the purpose of the book in two ways. First, I want us to see the practical and then second, I want us to see the theological. The practical purpose of the book was and is simple. The recipients of the book were Jewish converts to Christ. Some were truly converted, while some were only intellectually converted to Christ.

And they were facing a very, very real temptation to go back into Judaism. They were a minority people involved in this new minority religion that was not popular at all. They were facing isolation. They were facing mistreatment and persecution in ways that would have been hard for us to imagine. They were facing opposition and mistreatment and isolation from other Jews, from the Jewish community and even from their own families. So they were tempted to go back into Judaism. Some of you know this, but at the heart of this letter are about seven or so warnings. And these warnings all pertain to the temptations to go back into Judaism.

There is the warning about drifting away in Chapter 2, verse 1. There is the warning about the sin of rebellion and hardening the heart in Chapter 3, verses 17 and 19. There is the warning about falling away in Chapter 6, verse 6. There is the warning about forsaking the assembly of believers in Chapter 10, verse 25. There is the warning about willful and deliberate sin in Chapter 10, verse 26. There is the warning about selling one's birthright for a meal in Chapter 12. There is the warning about refusal to hear Christ speaking from heaven in Chapter 12.

One commentator said, and I'm quoting, "It is imperative to understand that the warnings, plural, with all of their diversity, essentially make the same point." Well, what is the point? The point is, he was warning them, "Don't go back to Judaism." So practically, this book is all about calling these Jews in this local congregation not to go back to Judaism no matter the pressures they faced. And for us, we may not have come from the same circumstances, and we may not face the same temptations, but we face the temptation to go back into our old lives, especially when we have first come to faith.

And it is not just the temptation to go back into a life of sin that some face. Some face the temptation to go back into a church or a denomination or a religion, especially if family is involved. And I've seen that all throughout the years. And the theological purpose of the book is simple as well. The recipients of this book were Jewish converts to Christ. I have said that numerous times. Some of them were genuine, and some of them were not. And the author was writing to explain the fact that Christ was superior. He was indeed preeminent. He was better than anyone or anything before.

As John MacArthur explains it, I'm quoting, "He thus Christ is better than any Old Testament institution. He thus Christ is better than any Old Testament ritual. He is better than any Old Testament sacrifice. He is better than anyone or anything else." So simply, the theological purpose of the book was to present Christ as the fulfillment of everything in the Old Covenant, but he was even more than that. The writer of this letter to the Hebrews was working to present Christ as the superior, the preeminent one, the superior, preeminent one that he is.

And as one who loved these Jews, as one who loved this congregation, the writer, no matter who he may have been, the writer was saying, "Why in the world would you go back?" He was even saying, "Please do not entertain the temptation to go back." And as your pastor, I'm saying this to you. Please do not entertain the thought of going back. Please do not entertain the thought of going back to a dead church that you came out of, even if your family was there. Please do not entertain going back to an old way of life, to your old friends. No matter what that may be, please do not entertain the temptation to go back.

Now before we move into the book, we need to see that the writer of this book was addressing three groups in and around the congregation. And if we do not realize this, some of what is in the book will be confusing. Now I ran across this years ago in some John MacArthur material. I have seen that William Macdonald has a similar list and others touch on this. The first group the writer addresses, genuine Jewish converts to Christ. The first group, genuine Jewish converts to Christ. Understanding and identifying this group should be obvious. These were Jews who had believed in Christ as the promised Messiah.

They had come out of Judaism and the religion of their forefathers. They had embraced Christ savingly. They had been baptized. They were identified with the church and they had forsaken Judaism. And the results, they suffered. They suffered great hostility and persecution from their own people and even their own families. They would have been ostracized. They would have been mistreated and even persecuted. They would have been cut off from Jewish life. They certainly would have lost their jobs, even their livelihoods. Their parents could have cut them out of an inheritance.

Their parents could have even had a funeral for them because they had left the faith of Judaism. So they would have suffered in a great way and in many ways, although it does not seem that any had been killed according to chapter 10, verses 32 to 34 and chapter 12 verse 4. And what was their temptation? Again, going back. That's why the writer gives them all these warnings. And then the second group he addresses, Jewish converts to Christ who were merely intellectual converts. The second group, Jewish converts who were merely intellectual converts. And understanding this group is very important.

These were Jews with and around this Jewish congregation who were intellectually convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God, but they had not been converted to Christ. They had not savingly believed in Christ, so they were mere intellectual Christians at best. William McDonald says that they only had an outward veneer of Christianity. You know what a veneer is? It's an external covering. He says they only had an outward veneer of Christianity. And the results, they faced a great hostility. They faced persecution as well. They would have been ostracized. They would have been mistreated.

They would have been persecuted by their own people and even their own family. They would have been suffering in many ways, just like the true believers were suffering. And what was their temptation? Going back. And the writer of the book of Hebrews was warning this group as well. He was warning them not to go back into Judaism. And the question, how long do you think it took the intellectual converts here? How long do you think it took them to go back? How well do you think they were able to hold true to Christ? Under these persecutions and pressures, not long. You know it's the same today with intellectual converts. It's the same today.

The pressures are different, but that's why so many go back. And then the third group. Jews who were connected or associated with the congregation, but they rejected Christ. And seeing and understanding this group is important as well. These were Jews who were somehow associated with the congregation, but they did not believe. They rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. And even though it seems that they had some association with the Jewish believers, they didn't believe in any way. That is why the author of the book really works to show them that Jesus was in fact, who he claimed to be the promised Messiah of God.

And the author did this repeatedly all throughout the book. And what was their temptation? They had Christ and salvation in Christ right before them. And they were tempted to walk away from what was before them. They were tempted to walk away from the opportunity in Christ that was before them and return wholeheartedly back into Judaism. And look, there are people just like that today. There are even people just like that here today. You're not converted. And secretly you do not believe. Secretly you may scoff at God. You may scoff at Christ. You may even scoff at the faith. You hear the gospel from this pulpit time after time.

And if you leave the place you are in in your life, you will turn your back on Christ and salvation. You'll turn your back on the window of opportunity that you have before you today. Just like some of those Jews did in their day. So the letter to the Hebrews. This letter presents Christ as the supreme one, the preeminent one. For this Jewish congregation this was meant to keep them from going back into Judaism. And this was meant to grow them and to mature them in their faith. Now this morning I want to get started in the verses in what I'm calling the supremacy of Christ.

Again this is a part one because we're going to pick up here next week. The supremacy of Christ. Let's go back and read our verses. I want to read verses 1 and 2 because those are the verses we'll cover this morning. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he, that's God, has spoken to us by his son whom he, that's God, appointed the heir of all things through whom he also he created the world. Now right away we see that the writer gets straight to the point. No introduction, no greeting, no preparatory remarks.

He jumps right into making his case that Christ was and is the superior one. McDonald says no other New Testament epistle comes to the point as quickly as this one. And in jumping right in, the author here shows us that God has spoken and he shows us that God has spoken by the Old Testament prophets and by or in his son. And then the author tells us eight things about God's son that all have to do with the supremacy and the preeminence of his son. And this is how we're going to deal with the verses. First, we will look at what verse 1 and 2 says about God. We'll cover that this morning.

And then second, we will look at what verses 2 to 4 say about God's son. And we will get into that part of the message next week. And I make no guarantee that we'll cover that next week. So number 1, God. Number 1, God. Now, if you look at verse 1, the first actions that we see is God speaking. But we need to see the subject of this first action was and is God. And if we continue throughout the letter, we will see that the writer uses the word for God some 68 times. One language scholar said that the writer of Hebrews speaks of God about once every 73 words all throughout the letter. And what that tells us is this.

God was constantly on the mind of the writer of the book. And this reminds us of the reality of God and the fact that God was front and center and very active. This shows us and reminds us that God did not create the world and then retire to the background. But the opposite, God was, is, always has been, and always will be on the forefront of everything. And as God's people, this should be very, very comforting. The world seems to be out of control. It even seems that sin and wickedness is winning. We may be even tempted to ask where in the world has God in all of these things? Well, He is right where He has always been, front and center.

There is no need to worry. Remember, we learned that worry is a sin. And at the heart of worry is a lack of trust in God. But then number two, God spoke. Number two, God spoke. Here we see that God spoke and we see that He has spoken in two times, or two dispensations, or two ages. First, God spoke in many ways in the former days. The verse tells us. Now, what does men hear is simple. The writer is saying that God spoke in the past, at many times and in many ways. And if we know our Old Testament, we know this. God spoke to Moses through the burning bush in Exodus chapter three. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice in 1 Kings 19 12.

God spoke to Isaiah in a vision in the temple in Isaiah chapter six, verse one. And there are many other examples of God speaking like this. And also all throughout the Old Testament, God spoke. And He spoke through dreams and visions. He spoke through angels. He spoke through symbols. He spoke through natural and supernatural events and in other ways. One commentator even pointed out that God could even appear and speak in pagan lands. So He wasn't restricted by geography. He spoke in Ur of the Chaldees. We know that that was to Abram. He spoke in Haran. He spoke in Canaan. He spoke in Egypt and even in Babylon.

So God spoke in many different ways in many different times to many different people. But we also see that He spoke through the prophets. This simply means that the Old Testament prophets of God did not speak on their own or from their own ideas. God's Word actually came to them and went out through them as God inspired them. As God filled them and as God directed them. But this term prophets is not limited to the Old Testament prophets or those who held the office of the position. This would include men like Abram who came before those particular prophets. So God spoke. God spoke to, in, and through the Old Testament prophets.

But look at when this took place. This term to our fathers gives us a clue. This simply refers to the time of the Old Testament Jewish fathers. This refers to the time of the Old Testament saints or the Old Testament believers. So God spoke during the time of the Old Testament Jewish fathers or the Old Testament Jewish believers which would have been the former days as compared to the last days. We can say it like this. This was a different time. This was a dispensation before the time before the Messiah or the time of the Old Testament fathers and believers. Now before we move on there is a lesson we need here.

We cannot make the mistake of believing that God speaks today just like he did in those former days. Let me repeat that. We cannot make the mistake of believing that God speaks today just like he did in the former days. This is a mistake that many make today. And in their desire for a dream, for a vision, or for some kind of a prophecy, they fail to read verse 2. So they completely miss God and they literally give the devil an open door. Remember that back in Ephesians we learned that the schemes of the devil are very, very real. 2 Timothy 11.4 even says that the devil is an angel of light.

And through the devil's scheming he certainly can and certainly does manufacture some dream or vision that feels like God and seems like it comes from God and people are tricked into thinking that it is God. I'll give you an example. Years ago I was speaking with someone in my family who desperately, desperately needs the Lord. Their lifestyle proves that. A life of sin, open sin, and rebellion. At times going to church, yes. But no one in our family would think that this person is a true Christian.

Well, when they were facing some serious health crisis and they were in the hospital and they were worried about the condition of their soul, they begin to seek out a dream and begin to seek out a vision. Well, one night while they were under the influence of a lot of medicine, oh, they had a dream and they had a vision. Said that Jesus came and sat by his bed and said he's okay. He's right with God. You see? And in my opinion that's nothing more than a scheme of the devil, an angel of light. But then second, God is spoken by his son in the last days. Now what has meant here is simple as well, but great and wonderful.

Here the writer of Hebrews is saying that God has spoken by and in his son. But we must not make a mistake here. We must not think that the writer is saying that Jesus is one of, or even the last of the long line of prophets. Yes, Jesus was a prophet, but he was much, much more than a prophet. He was and is God's one and only son. He was and is God the son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He was and is God. And it is important to see that in Jesus, there was a continuation with the Old Testament prophets, as well as a discontinuation. Now let me explain that. In verse one, we see that God spoke by the Old Testament prophets.

And in verse two, we see that God spoke by his son. And in a sense, Jesus continues with what God said through the Old Testament prophets. What God said before was not made irrelevant, but Jesus continued in what God said. One scholar said it this way, the Old prepares the way for the new. So in one way, there is a continuation from the Old Testament prophets to and through Jesus, the son. But the discontinuation is seen in verse two. In verse two, we see that God has spoken by his son. But in the original, the word his is not there. It is implied. It is understood. And by this, we see that the emphasis is on son, not his son.

The emphasis is on son. And language scholars tell us that the writer was emphasizing and stressing the son, the person of the son and the nature of the son. Scholars tell us the writer was emphasizing the fact that the son was God. And this stands in stark contrast to the Old Testament prophets. Let me explain what this means. What we have in the son is the continuation in one sense and the consummation of God's revelation. Simply, God began revealing himself when he spoke at many times and in many ways. And when he spoke to and through the Old Testament believers, through the Old Testament prophets.

But when God spoke by and through the son, his one and only son, his revelation was complete. His revelation was and is complete. And so there is a discontinuation. And what that meant for those Jews is this. If God had completed his revelatory work by speaking by and through his son, the one and only and he has and he did, then why in the world would they go back to Judaism and leave the son? But look at when this took place. This term in these last days gives us a clue. This simply refers to the time of the Messiah or the time when the Messiah came.

This refers to the time when God's promises to bring a savior into the world had been fulfilled. And look at what this meant for those Jews who received the letter. They lived in the day of the Messiah. He had come. So why in the world would they go back to the days when they waited for God to fulfill his promise to send a savior? He had already come. One scholar says, and I'm quoting, "It is inconceivable that the readers would embrace an old era with its sacrifices and rituals now that the new has come in Jesus Christ." And look at how this applies to us in our day. We live in the last days.

We live in the day or the days of the promised Messiah. He has come. We can say it like this. We live in the day of grace. This is the time of the Messiah, the dispensation of the Messiah, the dispensation of grace. 1 John 2 2 says, "He," that is Jesus, "He is the propitiation or the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not just for ours, but also for the sins of the world. He has come." But you may not realize that some of you are just like those Jews in this letter. Instead of embracing Christ and salvation by grace through faith, you hold on to law keeping.

Instead of embracing Christ and salvation by grace through faith, you hold on to religion. You hold on to religious works, and you think that somehow those religious works will take you to Christ, and they never will. But there's something else we need to see. God has spoken by and in the Son His one and only, so there is no need to go looking anywhere else for revelation. Let me repeat that. God has spoken by and in the Son His one and only, so there is no need to go looking anywhere else for revelation. We have no need to look for God to speak to us in nature.

Look, folks, the most beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon, the most beautiful view from the top of Mount Everest is nothing more than steaming hot manure compared to the beauty of what God has said in the sun. And if you don't get that, something's wrong. We have no need to look for God to speak from us from man and other men. Look, the best preacher, the most successful writer, is nothing but a vile, wicked sinner who deserves the wrath of God and hell for all eternity at worst, or at best, he's nothing but a safe sinner. And he or she has nothing of beauty to say compared to the beauty of what God has said through his son.

We have no need to look for God to speak only in the Old Testament. Look, the best you can find in the Old Testament is just a shadow. The Old Testament in the Old Covenant was a shadow of what was to come. That is to promise Messiah, and he has come. Let me give you an example. Just imagine if I had not seen my wife for 12 or 14 days. I've done that. Been on a mission trip that took that long. But just imagine if I've been away from my wife for 12 or 14 days, and if she came and she met me at the airport and I ran to embrace her, but instead of embracing her, I reach for her shadow. Say, he's lost his mind.

Just imagine if I got off of that airplane and I haven't seen my wife in 10 or 12 or 14 days. And if I ran to her and right before I got to her, I pulled a picture out of my pocket and I embraced that picture. You'd say I was loony. And if I hadn't seen my wife for 10 or 12 or 14 days, forget the picture, I want the real thing. Well, it's the same when believers keep going to the Old Covenant. Do you hear God's voice? When everything from the Old Covenant was a shadow and it was fulfilled and complete in the New Covenant. So why would a believer listen for God primarily in the Old Covenant?

He has fulfilled and completed all of the Old Covenant in the New Covenant. The believer today only needs to listen to how God spoke and what God spoke in and through his Son, his one and only. And if a believer does look into the Old Covenant, and we should understand that Christ Jesus fulfilled all in the old, in the new, in the Old Covenant can only be a shadow of the substance and the substance has come, Colossians 2.17. So look at what we have here in verses 1-2, really just the first part of verse 2. God, God, God is on the forefront of all these things.

And God has spoken, God spoken many times and in many ways, even through his prophets in the time of the Old Testament and those Old Testament saints. But in the days of his Messiah and up until now, God has spoken to and by and through God the Son, God the Son, his one and only. I like what Al Mohler says in his Christ-centered expository commentary. He says the Son is the fullest, most complete revelation of the Father possible. And I'll add to that by saying, why would we want to go anywhere else? Why would we want to go anywhere else?

Now as I begin to close, I want us to see that we have not gotten into the eight things the author tells us about God's Son that had to do with Christ's supremacy and his preeminence. I don't think any of you thought I would ever get that far anyway. But I think we have gotten a glimpse of his supremacy. I think we've gotten a glimpse of his preeminence. Now let's read our verses one more time and then I want to quickly, quickly show you the eight things that we see in these verses. It'd be good for you to look at these throughout the week, study them, meditate over them. Let's read verses one to four.

Long ago, many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers. That would be the saints, the believers, by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by or in his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint or representation of his nature. And he thus Christ upholds the universe by the word of his power. And after making purification for sins, he thus Christ sat down at the right hand of the majestic on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Now, what do we see here? In verse two, we see that Christ is the heir of all things. In verse two, we see that Christ, that through Christ, God made the universe. In verse three, we see that Christ is the radiance of the glory of God. Christ is the exact imprint of God's nature. Christ upholds the universe by the word of his power. Christ made purifications for sins. Christ sat down at the right hand of God. And in verse four, we see that Christ is superior to the angels. So the supremacy of Christ, he is the supreme one, the preeminent one, he is God.