Jesus: the ultimate Voice: Devotional meditation for April 7-13
Hebrews 1:1–4 (NASB)
This is the Word of God. May the Spirit of Truth give us wisdom and insight to receive what has been conveyed through His Word by His Inspiration.
Who or what can separate us from the Love of God?!
1:1-4
1God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
It has been a week since we observed the day designated as the date of Jesus' Resurrection. But what more do the Scriptures say about Jesus? Who is this Jesus Whose Resurrection we just celebrated? Is he just a baby born in a barn, or just the sacrificial Lamb?
The Writer of Hebrews offers an extensive exposition of the Scriptures, expounding the pervasive constant message of the Prophets, the Psalms, and the Law regarding the timeless and the true identity of Jesus Christ. After having spoken about Jesus Christ for ages through the Prophets, the Psalms, and the Law, God finally revealed Himself through His Son and spoke to us through Jesus Christ, the Supreme Prophet.
In the past, God spoke through the Prophets He specially appointed to convey His message to His people. He declared various aspects of His eternal message through His Word, as reflected by the commandments, prophecies, the Psalms, revelations, judgments, and all the precepts issued to the children of Israel and the saints across the ages, instructing us how we ought to live as God's people. In the same way, God conveyed His eternal truth to the world through spoken words purveyed by specifically appointed messengers; the Apostles.
But now, says the Writer of Hebrews, God has spoken to the world through His Son Jesus Christ. Indeed, God has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. He fulfilled His plan and accomplished His divine purposes through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus is far more than an Old Testament Prophet. He is far more than a Prophet Who is superior to other Prophets. He is the lone Heir of God's inheritance because He is the only One found worthy to possess everything created and owned by God His Father. Jesus Christ is not only the Heir of all things, but He is the glorious express image of the invisible God.
God created the entire creation through Jesus Christ His Son; God the incarnate Son, the eternal Word. Nothing created was made without Him.
God glorified Jesus Christ above all things in His entire creation, with His own eternal and magnificent glory. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus always did have this glory with His Father even before time ever began. Jesus Christ is God the Incarnate Son, and the fullness of God resides in Him. He completely and absolutely embodies God in His fullness. Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God and is the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among men to fulfill God’s plan of salvation.
In His life on earth, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law as the righteous Son of God and paid the penalty for sin as the sinless Sacrificial Lamb of God. Having fully accomplished His Father's Will, God gave Jesus Christ the Name above all names by which salvation is given. Having accomplished His Father's Will, God set Jesus Christ at His Right Hand, giving Him the ultimate position of authority. Every tongue will confess Him Lord and every knee shall bow before Him.
Jesus Christ is Lord and even the hosts of angels serve and worship Him. The supremacy of Jesus Christ and the excellence of His glory is declared and affirmed by God Himself throughout His Holy Word.
Who is Jesus? We might ask: He is the Son of God Who came to us as Jesus through a humble virgin birth for our good, for our salvation.
Notes/Applications
The epistle to the Hebrews is a living testimonial to the supremacy and the true identity of Jesus Christ. After reminding the Hebrew people and the saints across the ages that God spoke to us through Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, the Writer points us to God’s eternal Word—the everlasting voice of God the Almighty, so that we might understand Who the Messiah is. Nevertheless, even though we were well informed in matters of prophecy, even though we were exhorted to expect the Messiah, the Jewish people and the rest of the world resisted Jesus Christ when He came to us as God’s holy Child born as the fulfillment of God’s spoken promise of redemption.
In the past, God spoke through Prophets who faithfully declared what He commissioned them to say. However, these prophets were passing human beings like all of us, even though they were appointed by God to speak God’s Word to God's people. But God finally spoke with His own eternal Voice through Jesus Christ His Son.
God revealed Himself, and therefore His Truth, through His Son because Jesus Christ is His express image. God spoke to the world in Jesus Christ His Son through His virgin birth, His righteous life, His profound teaching, His humble obedience, His mighty miracles, His quiet solitude, His loving surrender, His redeeming sacrifice, His painful death, His victorious resurrection, His spectacular ascension, and His certain return. Nevertheless, His own people resisted God’s Son and failed to recognize their promised Messiah, as did the rest of the world. God’s Holy Word affirms that Jesus Christ is the Creator, the Judge over the living and the dead, the eternal King, and the triumphant Lord. But His own and the rest of the world failed to acknowledge Him as Lord.
The prophet Isaiah says that Jesus Christ is God's gift to us: "for unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given:" The government shall be upon His shoulders. He rules the nations and the entire creation. His rule is eternal and will never cease. He is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
Jesus Christ is not one-among-many. He is the only One in Who He is. He is the Voice of God. He is the supreme Prophet. He is the humble Baby. He is the righteous Man. He is the Perfect One; the only One. He is the friend of sinners. He is the mighty Healer. He is the Lamb of God. He is the dead and buried sacrifice. He is the risen Lord. He is the ascended Victor. He is the returning Judge. He is the eternal King. He is the ultimate High Priest. He is the Lord and the Savior of the lost. He is the eternal Word of God. He is the Creator. Have you met Him yet?
