Jesus, God’s Final Word
About this series
Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.
So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk
Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-3
Vs 1 & 2 highlight the continuity and discontinuity of the old and new covenants:
Continuity in that “In the past the God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways” - it’s not that, with the coming of Jesus, an entirely new story has begun, but that he is the continuation of the entire story of the Bible. And continuity also in that many of the terms used of Christ in v 3 have their origin in the old covenant.
Discontinuity in the NIV’s use of “But” at the start of v 2. Something connected to the past but decisively different has happened because he has now spoken to us by his Son.
This passage can be divided into two main sections: Christ’s glorious nature (who he is) and Christ’s glorious work (what he has done for us). Jesus Christ is not just another messenger, but the unique and decisive voice / word, as explained in the things said about him here:
His glorious nature: he is God’s Son; he is heir of all things and the one through whom everything was made; he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being; he sustains all things; he is now reigning at the Father’s right hand.
His glorious work: he provided purification for sins.
That Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” means that his work was completed and he is now reigning (he is ‘on the throne’).
We look further into:
What does it mean, v 3, that he is “the radiance (Gk. απαυγασμα, apaugasma) of God’s glory” and “the exact representation (Gk. χαρακτηρ, character) of his being”?
What practical difference does it / can it make - to our daily lives and our various circumstances - that Jesus is “sustaining all things” (v 3) and reigning?
Once again, the answer to our needs and difficulties is a truer and grander vision of Christ. Can you give some practical examples of how this passage does that?Watch it here
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In Revelation 1, John sees a magnificent vision of Jesus. This chapter presents us with the magnificence of Jesus Christ - the Lion, the Lamb, the one of whom all in heaven and earth forever cry “Worthy.”