The Supremacy of Christ - Part 3

Well, let's take our Bible. Let's turn back to Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 to 4. I did say earlier that we will finish out this section and we will get into those verses here in just a moment so you can just have your Bible turn there. Now two weeks ago we started our study through the book of Hebrews and I am titling this study, "The Supremacy of Christ." That's rather easy. I'm titling this study, "The Supremacy of Christ" because that was and is the major point of the theme of the book. Ultimately the author was writing to explain and to exalt the supremacy of Christ.

And we have learned that the author of the book was writing to this Jewish congregation. Scholars tell us this was a small congregation and he's writing for two serious reasons. First, he was writing to warn these Jewish Christians not to go back to their previous religion and their way of life in that religion. Of course that was Judaism. Some of the congregation were true converts and we're going to learn that some of them were not. But all of this congregation were facing great hardships. They were even being persecuted from the Jews because of their new found religion. Of course that's in Christ.

So the author was writing to warn them not to cave in to the pressure and to the temptations to return to their old life and their old religion. Second, the author was writing to explain and to exalt the supremacy and the preeminence of Christ. He was explaining the fact that Jesus was in fact the promised Messiah of the Old Testament and that Jesus had fulfilled all that is found in the Old Covenant in every way. And because Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant, he was in fact better than anything in everyone in the Old Covenant.

He was even better than the entire Old Covenant as an institution because he had fulfilled everything found in the Old Covenant in every way. So practically the author was writing to warn these in this Jewish congregation not to go back to their former religion, their former life. Theologically he was writing to explain and to exalt the supremacy of Christ. Now in our first message we looked at some background information. That's always important. It helps us get the context. And we got into the great and the deep teaching of verse 1 and the first part of verse 2.

And in our second message we dug deeper into verse 1 and the first part of verse 2 and we covered four of the eight facts that the author gives that reveal the supremacy and preeminence of Christ. But before we finish up the eight things we see about the Son, I want to dig a little deeper here. I want to go a little deeper with verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2. Let me read the verses again. But I want to read them in the New American Standard. That translation says God starts off with God, I like that. God after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets, that would be the Old Testament prophets, in many ways portions.

In these last days he has spoken to us in or by his Son. Now we have seen that what we have here in these words is a great contrast. We have a great contrast between what God said in the former times through the prophets and what God said in the last days by and in his Son. And we have seen that this is a contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And we have learned how we must understand and relate to these things. What God said through the prophets of the Old Covenant was all about God's promises to send a Savior. But what God said by and in his Son or the New Covenant is all about God fulfilling those promises in every way.

Yes we can and we should learn much about God, much about His character. And we can learn a lot if we study how God related to His people in those former times. We should not disconnect from the Old in any way, but we adhere to the New Covenant because we live in the last days. We live in the days of the Old Covenant promises fulfilled. Simply the promised Messiah has come. And we have also seen that in these verses we have what is called special revelation, not general revelation. General revelation is the revelation of God in and through the creation which can never reveal salvation from man and man.

But special revelation is God revealing Himself to a particular people in a particular way. And special revelation is all about God revealing His Son and salvation for man and man to a particular people. And we learn that starting here in verse 1 and continuing we have God's special revelation which is progressive. God was revealing Himself as He spoke in the former times through the prophets and He was revealing more and more Himself as He spoke in the last days by His Son.

But before we finish these 8 facts that reveal the supremacy of the Son, there are a few more things I want to say about what we see in verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2. I'm just digging a little deeper. One thing that is at the center of verse 1 and following is this. God is speaking. God is speaking. He is speaking again to the new American. Starts off, God after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken, has spoken to us in His Son. Now notice when and how much God was and is still speaking.

Long ago God spoke to the Old Testament fathers by the prophets in many ways and at many times and in these last days God spoke by, in and through His Son. And look at how God is still speaking even today. In these last days He spoke by and through the Son. And John 1 1 says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. So this tells us that God is still speaking. He is still speaking through His Son, through the Word which we have today. And look at how important this is church. Listen to what A.W. Pink says here. He says and I'm quoting, "A silent God is an unknown God." Let that sink in.

"A silent God is an unknown God." This means that because God spoke and is still speaking He is revealing Himself even to us. He is revealing Himself more and more about who He is, how He feels, who He wants us to be and how He wants us to live. Now what is my point here? What am I wanting us to see? As we dig a little deeper in verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2. God is all about speaking to a particular people. God is all about revealing Himself to that particular people and making Himself known why? For His purpose and for His glory. That is called special revelation. And right here that particular people is us.

God is speaking to us by and through His Son as we learn more and more about the Son and as we see the Son in His supremacy and His preeminence. And as we know more about the Son we should expect to know Him personally more and more. To worship Him more and more. To be changed by Him more and more. To be used by Him more and more. Now let's finish out verses 3 to 4 in these 8 facts that we see concerning the Son. Now real quickly 2 weeks ago we covered the first 4. In verse 2 we saw that He, this is Christ, was appointed heir of all things. We saw that through Him God created the universe. And then we started verse 3.

We saw that He is the radiance of the glory of God. And then still in verse 3 we saw that He is the exact imprint or representation of God's nature. Now let's continue. This morning in verse 3 we see that number 5 He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. He that's Christ upholds the universe by the Word of His power. Let's go back to verse 3. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. Now here in verse 3 I want you to see that the writer is returning to what he wrote in verse 2 which is the Son's role in creation.

In verse 2 we learn that God created the universe through the Son. But here we learn that the creation was not left alone. God did not create the world through His Son and then take His hands off the creation. And we will see that it's really actually the opposite. And there are three things we need to see that enable us to see what this looks like. First I want us to see what the Son is doing. Verse 3 says He upholds all things. And what we have here is this. In the original this word upholds, it's translated upholds, it speaks of carrying something along. It speaks of carrying something or carrying some load.

But we need to see that this carrying along is not static. It's not that He is upholding dead weight. This carrying along is not static, it's dynamic which means that all things are being carried along to a particular goal for a particular purpose in a particular direction. I like how Vincent explains this. He says and I'm quoting, "Upholding conveys too much the idea of the passive support of a burden. The Son is not an atlas sustaining the dead weight of the world. This implies sustaining but also movement and it is continual." And also this word here for upholding in the original, it speaks of an ongoing continual work.

That means that right after God created the universe through His Son, the Son was upholding all things and He continues to do so even today. And this is an ongoing continual work. Again, hear what Vincent says. This implies sustaining but this also implies movement and it is continual. And then second, I want us to see what the Son is upholding and sustaining. The New American says that the Son upholds all things. The English Standard says He upholds the universe. And what this is is simple, all things, the entire universe, things seen and unseen, the spiritual, the physical, all things. Now look at how all of this comes together.

In verse 2, we see that the Son is the active agent of the creation. And in verse 3, we see that the Son is continuing His divine interests in all the universe so much so that He upholds and He carries all things towards the complete fulfillment of the predetermined plan of God. Listen to what Leon Morris says and I'm quoting, "Creation is not aimless." I like that. "Creation is not aimless, it is a part of God's plan." So the Son is continually bearing creation along toward the fulfillment of that plan. What plan? The plan of God.

Now before we look at the third thing, which is how the Son does all these things, there are two lessons that we need to learn right here. There is no such thing as Mother Nature. Anybody ever heard that term? Well think about it. That is an insult in the face of the Son who was the active agent in the creation of the universe and who upholds and carries the entire universe towards the fulfillment of God's plan for His creation. And also, although we do see what we could call the laws of nature, that can be an insult in the face of the Son who upholds and carries the entire universe towards the fulfillment of God's plan for His creation.

Look Church, referring to the creation as being governed by the laws of nature can smell of deism. Deism is a system or a way of thinking which advocates more of a natural religion. Deism denies the involvement of a creator in the world and emphasizes what is called the laws of the universe. Look, there is no Mother Nature. And the universe is not governed by the laws of nature and I don't really care what an academic says or what someone teaches. God the Son is upholding and maintaining and propelling all things, the entire physical and spiritual universe by the powerful word carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal.

And we need to see that when we think and say otherwise, that is an insult in the face of the Son who was the active agent in the creation of the universe and who upholds and carries the entire universe towards the fulfillment of God's plan for His creation. But then third, I want us to see how the Son is doing all these things. Both the New American and the English standards say by the word of His power, this simply means that the universe is upheld and carried along to its intended purpose and goal by the powerful word of the Son. As one commentator said it, this word is not empty, it has force. It has force. It does things.

And notice how all this comes together with verse 2 again. "All things were created by God through the Son." How? How? Hebrews 11.3 says, "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God." And verse 3 tells us that all things are sustained, governed and carried along to God's intended goal. How? How? The Amplified says, "By His powerful word." And how do we believe this? Hebrews 11.3 says we believe these things by faith, by faith. And look at the lesson here church. We do not need God to do anything or to move anything. Now He can. Sometimes we use language like we want God to do things, move things.

And there's nothing wrong with that. But all we need to see is this. All we need is for our Lord to speak. You see? By the word of His power He can bring our lost loved ones to life. By the word of His power He can answer any of our prayers. By the word of His power He can provide all that we need in our personal lives and also in the life of the church. So the Son upholds and He carries along the entire universe how? By the word of His power. Continuing in verse 3, number 6 we see that He made purification for sin. Number 6 He made purification for sin. Let's go back to verse 3.

He is the radiance of the glory of God in the exact imprint of His nature and He upholds the universe by the word of His power after making purification for sins. And I'm going to read a certain portion that we won't cover right here. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Now here we have a transition. I like what one commentator says here. His name is F. F. Bruce. He says and I'm quoting, "Here we pass from the cosmic functions of the Son of God to His personal relations with mankind." And I'm going to come back to that comparison because it really will speak to us. But here we see the Son is doing one thing.

He made purification for sins. The English Standard and the New Americans say purification for sins. The King James says purged our sins. The Legacy Standard Bible says cleansing for sins. And what is said here is very, very important. Actually this one statement gets at the heart of the entire letter. This one statement encapsulates the purpose of the book. And that is the fact that the very Son of God was promised and He was provided so as to deal with the problem of man's sin. And if we study the book of Hebrews we will see that the author speaks of what the Son of God did for man and man's problem of sin in several ways.

Listen to these verses. In chapter 2 verse 17 we see that the Son of God made propitiation for sin. He was the atoning sacrifice. In chapter 8 verse 8, in chapter 10 verse 17 we see that the Son put sins away so that God remembers them no more. In chapter 9 verse 15 we see that the Son brought about redemption from sin and transgressions. In chapter 9 verse 28 we see that the Son bore sin. In chapter 9 verse 26 we see that the Son annulled sin by His sacrifice. In chapter 10 verse 12 we see that the Son offered a sacrifice for sins. In chapter 10 verse 18 we see that the Son brought about remission for sin. Now what is my point here?

Why do I mention all these verses? At the heart of the book of Hebrews is the fact that the very Son of God who was promised and who did come He has provided a way to deal with the problem of man's sin which was and is a real problem between God and man, man and God. As a matter of fact the writer of the book of Hebrews mentions this problem of sin 75 times in the book. And there is a lesson here. Actually there are two lessons that are tied to what we see here. First, there is no need for anyone who hears the message of the Gospel to stay in their sin. Why? Because the Son came to deal with the problem of man's sin and He did.

And then second, there is no need for any true believer to have a lingering haunting sin in their life. Why? Because the Son came to deal with the problem of man's sin and He did. But let's look at what this purification or cleansing from sin truly is. This word translated purification or cleansing in the original is used all throughout the New Testament for ritual cleansing. It simply means cleansing or purification. And right here and in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 9 this speaks of cleansing from sin. This speaks of removing of sin. That's why the King James uses the word purged and I like that.

Simply this speaks of the cleansing from sin because the defilement of sin and the corruption of sin was in the life of the man. As one commentator said it, sin stains. Sin stains. But Christ has affected a complete cleansing. Notice one important detail here. This purification and cleansing is complete. The verb tense and purification or cleansing in the original speaks of a completed action. That means that Christ provided a full and a complete purification and cleansing from sin. It is finished. The work is done. So what we have here is this. The main problem that man has with God is his sin.

The main problem that God has with man is man's sin. And the writer addresses that problem. And this leads to the heart of the book of Hebrews which is the fact that God the Son was promised and he was provided to deal with the problem of man's sin. Listen to the Amplified. I love it. It says, "When he himself and no other," who is the "he," the one and only Son of God, "when he himself and no other had by offering himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt." This leads me to a question or two.

Have you attained this purification from your sin or are you still stained and defiled because of your sin? Are you cleansed? Are you purified? Now I am not talking about perfection. Have you been cleansed? Have you been purified? Have you been purified from the guilt and the condemnation of your sin? And look if that is you. Please come. The sacrifice has been made. The work is complete. Purification has been provided. The gospel has been proclaimed. There is no reason for you to stay in your sin other than the fact that you hold on to your sin. Do you see that?

If you are in this pew and you are in your sin and you are not cleansed, it is not God's fault. He has done all that needs to be done. The fault lies with you. And if you are holding on to sin or if you are holding on to religious pride which is sin, please let go and come to Christ. Now I did say I was going to come back to that comparison by F.F. Bruce. Listen close. Listen to what Bruce says. And if you listen you will get it and it is good. The wisdom which created the worlds and maintains them in their due order may well beget in us a sense of wonder in all. It does. I am pausing in the quote. It does. Let me say it again.

The wisdom, talking about the wisdom of God which created the worlds and maintains them in their due order may well beget or bring about in us a sense of wondering in all. But the grace which provided a remedy for the defilement of sin by the life freely offered up to God on our behalf calls forth a sense of personal indebtedness which the contemplation of divine active on the cosmic scale could never invoke. Now what does that mean to us? When we see and understand that God the Son provided purification for our sin, for my sin, that should move us to a place of indebtedness. Indebtedness.

And out of that it should move us to a place of great love for Christ and a devotion to Christ. How much do we owe Him? Everything. And then some. So He made or provided purification from sin. And then last in verse 3, not last because we do have verse 4 to cover, we see that He sat down at the right hand of God. I read that earlier but I want to read it again, the entire verse. He is the radiance of the glory of God in the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power after making purification for sins He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Now this is easy and connected to what we just learned. That's why I read it earlier together. Because atonement for sin had been finished, the Son sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And notice that we see two very important things here. First, sitting. Sitting is the position of rest. And contrast this with the Old Covenant priests. In Hebrews 10-11 the writer of Hebrews says, "And every priest stands daily in his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins." And what that tells us is this. Those Old Covenant priests never rested. They never rested.

They were always standing in their continual service as they made animal sacrifices day after day, day after day, year after year, year after year. And Hebrews 10-11 says, "Those sacrifices never ever took away sin, but not so with the one and only Son." After making purification for sins He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And He sat down because it was finished. Atonement for sin was made. It was complete. And if you do any study you will see that this is all an allusion to Psalm 10. Psalm 10. Listen to Psalm 110. Excuse me. It's just seven verses. Listen to those verses. "The Lord says to my Lord," I wonder who that is.

"The Lord says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand.'" I wonder what He's talking about. "Until I make your enemies your footstool, the Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power in holy garments. For the womb of the morning, the dew of your mouth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind. You are a priest forever." I wonder who He's talking about. "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand." I wonder who He's talking about. "He will shatter kings on the day of His wrath.

He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpse. He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook, by the way. Therefore, He will lift up His head." Now, what should we learn here? Why do we read Psalm 110? What should we learn here in this portion of verse 3? There is no hope so in the Atonement, folks. It is finished. "God the Son made purification for sins. He is seated. The work it is done." And then second, sitting at the right hand is a position of honor. Sitting at the right hand of the Father is a way of saying that Atonement has been made. Yes, it is finished. The work is done.

And that the Son who provided purification for sins is now in the highest of places, the highest place of honor. I like how one commentator said it. He elaborates and explains this position of honor. He says the right hand signifies power. And he's citing Exodus 15, verse 6 and 12. He says the right hand signifies protection. And he cites Psalm 16, verse 8, 73 and 23. He says the right hand signifies triumph. And he cites Psalm 20, verse 6 and Psalm 21, verse 8. And then this scholar goes on to say, "Indeed it signifies that Jesus shares the same identity of God." And again, all that echoes what we see in Psalm 110.

And the lesson here is this. These ideas and images that portray Jesus as some weak feminine Savior are nothing but a bunch of lies straight from hell. Jesus is the Son of God who has been exalted to the right hand of God on high. He has the position of power, the position of protection and triumph sharing the same identity of God. So we sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And then in verse 4 we see that He is superior to the angels. He, that's Christ, is superior to the angels. Now we need to see that verse 4 is connected to verse 3.

The Son is seated at the right hand which definitely implies that He is greater than the angels, even greater than all. But there are two questions I want to ask out of the verse and there's one observation that we need to make. First, the question. What does it mean that He became superior to the angels? What does it mean that He became superior to the angels? Look at the verse, verse 4. "Having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs." Now the Son becoming, hear that language? Seems odd.

Saying that the Son becomes or became, it even seems wrong or incorrect because we know that God the Son is God the Son and He is the never-changing God the Son. So what does that mean? Here the writer is referring to what the Son did in the Incarnation. He is speaking of what the Son of God did in becoming a man and dying in the place of man for the propitiation of sin. The writer is saying that because God the Son made purification for sin and sat down to the right hand of God in the place of highest honor, it is in this aspect that He is seen as becoming greater than the angels.

But we also know that the Son was and always has been eternally superior to the angels to all. But the second question. What is this name that is more excellent than the name of the angels? What is this name? Look back again at the verse. "Having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs." Notice this name actually marks Him out as superior to the angels. But what is the name? Actually we do not know. Commentators and scholars really debate back and forth. But what we need to see here is this.

In Old Testament times, in New Testament times, scholars say it like this, "In antiquity, a person's name meant a lot more than it does today in our time and our culture." In our time and culture a name is just a name. But in the time and the culture of the Old Testament, in the New Testament, the name of a person represented the entire person. And it summed up all that they were, all that they ever would be. So what that means here is this. We do not know this name, but this name represents the entire person of the Son. And this name even sums up all that the Son is.

And this name is obviously, obviously, obviously superior to the names of the angels. And to me, this name must speak of His deity. And the lesson here for us is this. We should be careful how we use the name of our Lord. He is God. He sits at the right hand of God, and He has a name that is higher than any name, and His name should be spoken lightly. It should be spoken carefully. It should be spoken reverently. It is the greatest name of all names. And then third, this observation. Notice that the writer uses this word "excellent." Look back at the verse.

Verse 4, "Having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs." Now this word translated "excellent" comes from a word in the original that means more excellent. It means better. It means surpassing. And as we continue in the study of the book, we will see that this is a word that the author uses often. One scholar pointed out that he uses this word 13 times in the book, always pointing out that the New in the New Covenant is better than the Old. Now we do not have time to go through all the times that the author points out how Christ in the New is better. But what we have here is this.

Right here the author is pointing out that the Son and the name of the Son is better, more excellent than the angels and their names. Now what is the point? Christ Jesus is better. He is more excellent. He is better, more excellent than any and all. But a question that you need to ponder. Is He better? Is He seen as better and more excellent in our lives? By the way we live? Is He? Or does He get second place? Third place? Does He get second place? Third place? Fourth place? Until we come to Sunday? Is He seen as better and more excellent in our lives? Every day? Or is He second place? Third place? Fifth place? Sixth place?

Until a crisis hits. You see? And look church, if Christ is better, if Christ is more excellent and He is, then the way we live should reflect that fact and reflect those truths. So He is superior to the angels. Now I want to close by reading our verses one more time. I read these verses over and over and over because it helps seal in our minds and hearts and understanding folks. And then I want to make three quick observations about the supreme position that the Son now holds. And you need to hear these observations. But let's read the verses. Long ago, many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, He has spoken to us by 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 in the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. And after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Now here out of these verses, we have seen that Jesus, the Son of God, He is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and all of their promises.

And He is the culmination of God's revelation to men and man. And simply what we have learned in these verses is this. Jesus is prophet. Jesus is priest. Jesus is king. Jesus is prophet because by Him and through Him, we have God's final words spoken. Let me repeat that. Jesus is prophet because by Him and through Him, we have God's final words spoken. Now listen. In one sense, Jesus is prophet, a continuation of all of those Old Testament prophets. But in another sense, He is a discontinuation because what? He fulfills all that those Old Testament prophets ever said and He is God's final words ever spoken.

Jesus is priest because by Him and through Him, we finally have purification from sin from man. Let me repeat that. Jesus is priest because by Him and through Him, we finally have purification from sin for man. There is a sense in which Jesus is a continuation of all of those Old Covenant priests. But there is a sense in which there is a discontinuation because those priests made sacrifices day after day, day after day, never removing sin. But Jesus is the final, the ultimate, the best sacrifice for the purification for sin. And through His sacrifice, He took away sin.

And Jesus is king because He is the King of kings who rules and reigns at the right hand of God. Let me repeat that. Jesus is king because He is the King of kings and He rules and reigns at the very right hand of God. And there is a sense that He succeeds kings, earthly kings like King David. He continues in their lineage. But there is a sense that there is a discontinuation because David's reign ended and Jesus' reign never will end. So what do we have here? Jesus, the Son of God in His supremacy and preeminence. And that brings me to the title of the message. It's simply a part three, the supremacy of Christ.