INTRODUCTION
The Book of Hebrews possesses a unique introduction.Unlike a majority of other books contained in Holy Writ, there is an introductory statement given by the author. There is no salutation or greeting whereby the author of the book identifies himself. This omission has caused great speculation on the part of scholars as to who the author of this fabulous book is. Some have projected that it was written by Barnabas, some say it was Luke, some promote Apollos or Clement. It seems, however, that the Apostle Paul is the most popular choice. This most likely stems from Hebrews 13:22-25. These verses sound very Pauline. Listen to these concluding comments by the author:
"And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen" (KJV).
As this book was written to Hebrew believers, it is obvious that the Apostle Paul was able to speak authoritatively to them. Remember, he was trained in Jewish custom and law at the feet of the Jewish scholar Gamaliel. He described himself to the church at Philippi as being “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee" (Philippians 3:5).
PAUL’S AUDIENCE
Paul was writing to believing Jews who had come to embrace the Christian religion. Because of that, they were experiencing intense persecution. You will recall the intense hatred the Jews had for Jesus, a hatred shared by the Apostle Paul before his converting moment on Damascus Road. Doctor John Phillips in his exposition on the Book of Hebrews makes us acutely aware of the depths of the Jewish persecution of Christians:
Deciding to stake everything on the despised and rejected Jesus of Nazareth he becomes a Christian, makes his faith known, and is cut off from his people. His outraged parents disinherit him, cast him out of the family and outside the camp, hold a funeral for him, and consider him dead (Exploring Hebrews 10).
Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. The apostle emphasizes that he did not receive the gospel that he preached from men. Rather, he states to the church in Galatia “For neither I received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12, KJV, emphasis added). Because of these two factors, he was eminently prepared to rightly divide the Word of Truth in his main ministry to the Gentiles.
CHRIST IS THE WONDROUS FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION
The letter, if it can be referred to as such, begins to immediately express the many wonders of Christ. The author begins in chapter 1 stating:
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2, KJV).
There is certainly a progressiveness to the revelation of God’s purposes. We find such in Genesis 2, that following the sin of Adam and Eve, God made coats of skins and clothed them. Immediately we see the sacrifice of an innocent substitute. This practice of innocent substitution continued throughout Scripture. It is seen explicitly in Genesis 22 and in Isaiah 53. There are pronouncements by the prophets predicting a coming Messiah to deliver His people and through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God also spoke in “divers manners.” This would include dreams, visions, direct communication, types and shadows, and again through the major and minor prophets.
The author then states that God has “in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Jesus is the culmination of all revelation. All of the Old Testament utterings pointed directly to Him. In Him is revealed the way, the truth, and the life (cf. John 14:6). He is the way to God, the truth about God, and the life in God. Christ can announce unhesitatingly that “no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:65, KJV), and again “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). In Christ, the shrouded revelation of the Old Testament is fully revealed. There is nothing left to be said. There is nothing left to be revealed.
CHRIST IS THE WONDROUS CREATOR OF ALL THINGS
Verse 2 continues with “whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” Let’s take these two points in reverse order. The worlds were made by Him. The word “worlds” is translated from the Greek aion, rather than cosmos. Cosmos speaks predominantly of the world and its adornments, its inhabitants. Aion, however, is more expansive. It has as its meaning “For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity, the worlds, universe, age.” Of our wondrous Savior it is said “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16, KJV). John’s gospel commences with a most notable statement about Christ,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1-3, KJV).
Scripture continues to build on this amazing thought. In Hebrews 11:3, the writer states that “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (KJV). He is confirming that the creative work of the Savior is ex nihilo; that is, out of nothing. We can follow this thought by quoting Genesis 1:1 where we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The Hebrew word for God is Elohim. This Hebrew word is known as a uni-plural noun, and by its use, we see all three members of the Godhead involved in creation. Notice verses 2-3 of Genesis 1, “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (KJV). Thus, all 4 three members of the Godhead are revealed here. God did not simply request that there be light. He commanded the light to shine out of darkness (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6, KJV).
OUR WONDROUS SAVIOR IS THE HEIR OF ALL THINGS
As God the Father’s only begotten Son, He is the heir of all things (See Hebrews 1:2). The wonder of this statement cannot be minimized. He created all things and all things belong to Him. It is in Romans 8 that we begin to realize what His heirship has done for us. Romans 8 says the following:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. . ." (Romans 8:14-17, KJV).
There is nothing more to be said. Because of our adoption into the family of God, we are heirs of God. More importantly, however, we are joint-heirs with Christ. It is my opinion that we cannot even begin to assess what we will inherit.
OUR WONDROUS SAVIOR IS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE GLORY OF GOD
Hebrews 1:3 states that Christ is “the brightness of his [God’s] glory” (Brackets added). This brightness is referencing the shekinah glory of God. In Exodus 19:16, 18, and 20 the shekinah glory of God is visibly revealed with power:
"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. . . . And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. . . . And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up" (KJV).
In Exodus 24:15-18, there is another evidence of this shekinah glory of God. There we read the following:
"And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights" (KJV).
When we speak of the brightness of God’s glory revealed in Christ, there are two instances that come to mind. First, Christ revealed the glory of God on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:2. There we read that Christ “was transfigured before them [Peter, John and James]: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Brackets added]. The Apostle Paul gave three defenses of his conversion 5 in the book of Acts. In Acts 26, Paul relates to King Agrippa that “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me” (Verse 13, KJV).
Thus, Christ is revealed as the “brightness of his [God’s] glory,” which brightness is evidence of Jesus’ Divine nature.
OUR WONDROUS SAVIOR IS THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF GOD
Hebrews 1:3 also states that Christ is “the express image of his person.” This is referring to something engraved or impressed; much like a seal that bears line for line all the features of the instrument making it. Based upon this, we can say that all the lines of deity have been reproduced in Jesus’ humanity. Isn’t that what Christ said to Philip when he said to Him in John 14:8 “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us”? Christ responded saying, “. . . Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father: and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9, KJV). Again, in John 10:30, Jesus reiterates that He is the express image of the Father stating simply, “I and my Father are one” (KJV). If we desire to find out what God is like, we only need to look at Jesus.
OUR WONDROUS SAVIOR HAS PURGED OUR SINS
Not only is Jesus the express image of the person of God, He also “by himself purged our sins” (Hebrews 1:3). The Greek word purged means “a washing off, expiation, cleansing, purification.” Beloved, this was all done by the shed blood of our Lord as He gave His life on Calvary’s cross. Revelation 1:5 expresses this idea perfectly stating, “. . . Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (KJV). How precious it is to know that Christ did for us what we could not do. We are sinners by imputation, natural generation, and evil acts. But now, we have been made “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6, KJV). From Calvary’s cross, Jesus cried “It is finished.” What he had finished was the redemption of those given Him before the foundation of the world (cf. John 17:1-3).
CONCLUSION
The writer of Hebrews concludes his thoughts in verses 1-3 saying that the Lord Jesus “having purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (KJV). He is seated indicating that He rested from His work, but more than that, He is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The right hand is a place of honor. It is a place declaring His equality with the Majesty on high. Christ is not only our Savior; He is God himself manifest in the flesh. Truthfully, all of this is beyond my ability to fully express the wonders of Christ.