God's Final Word (Hebrews)
- Will Rubie
THE FINAL WORD
Hebrews 1: 1- 4
THE GLORIOUS SON
Hebrews 1:5 - 2:4
Wanting more - boredom: perpetual restlessness;
The state of society - craving for new stimulation & satisfaction
The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews had grown weary of persecution;
of spiritual struggle; were bored of praying, even of Jesus
Letter works like a sermon; the book of Hebrews acts both a tonic & a challenge:
- a tonic - to their restless state &
- a challenge in the wonder of Jesus which encloses a warning: stick with Him
“If Hebrews were a symphony, these verses would be the majestic overture that thrills you & captivates you & makes you think - I’ve got to read on...”
Ø Jesus is God’s final word
All four verses exist as one sentence,
built around God’s voice - His spoken word, His revelation
Two ages are summed up as phases of God’s speaking:
(1) 'In the Past'
the prophets as mouthpieces; the ancestors of the Old Testament;
the poetry, the succession of Kings - many times in many different ways
... expansive but incomplete, something was still lacking...
(2) 'in these last days”; this era
- a continuity: it’s still God speaking but also,
- a contrast: by the One person, by the Son
God did speak through His Son but also by Him & in Him.
- Jesus himself, the Word from God, was the full revelation
- Perfect & final; there is no need for a third phase or era.
“How firm a foundation” ....
“what more can He say to you than what He hath said?”
“We have more to learn but God has no more to teach;
Of course, we have more to receive but it’s not that God has more to give.”
Ø Jesus is God’s final word
So: is he still worth listening to?
- What if there are other words to seek out?
“Why can’t you just reveal yourself?!”
Ø Jesus is God’s majestic Son
Not to say, don’t drift from Him but to say, there is no way I could
- one’s overall attitude to be: I want to know His word better
The majesty of Jesus
(i.e.: seven reasons of why to listen) structured in pairs:
Ø Heir & the Lord
: a direct allusion back to Psalm 2
The inheritance of the nations,
they belong to him, the King
Psalm 2 & Psalm 110 v3 -
He sat down; the Lord
- all authority & glory & majesty & power
“ The Writer is saying: You want more?
No, there is no more than that.
Listen to Him, don’t drift from Him. “
Ø Creator & the Redeemer
the fingerprints of the Son; by the Son, through the Son
- after He provided,
after He made purification for sins
... this given as a brief, almost throwaway line:
Mankind’s greatest problem - our uncleanness -
not so much the dirt of our hands as our hearts, in rebellion before God
- God who is Holy, a consuming fire
After that, he sat down *what we do when our work is finished
OT ref.:
the Tabernacle, where the sacrifices were made, there was no place to sit down
- the prest had to go in & perform sacrifice after sacrifice, again & again
- they couldn’t sit down because they had to keep on with their task
Jesus, once & for all, made a sacrifice of himself -
providing purification to anyone who would come to Him that they might be forgiven
& then he ‘sat down’ - first saying, “It is finished” as there was no more to do.
He made the universe & He made purification;
the Supreme in Creation & the Supreme in Redemption.
Ø Jesus: the final word from God & a finished work.
The two things are inseparable, they stand or fall together.
‘no more work to be done so no more words to say
- if we say we need more words from God,
we’re implying we need more work from God.
If you deny the final Word,
you’ll find yourself denying the finished work from Christ.’
___________
RC: the Pope, the Priests - more work needs to be done so more words are needed
Charismatic:
expectation & requirement of needing new words, direct revelation from the Spirit
" Where did I look for my assurance?
Well, not to the Cross, for Jesus’ finished work
but to the worship service for a new experience of God
& I find myself drifting away from Jesus."
Jesus is supreme, he’s Lord,
he’s God’s glorious Son.
At the centrepiece of the poem:
Jesus: the radiance & representation of God
Radiance -
The Son perfectly reflects the Father: emphasis here on unity
Representation -
of what the Father is like;
if you want to know God you cannot do that more vividly than by looking at the Son.
cf: Nicene Creed: “of one being with the Father”
"You want more? What more is there?
Jesus alone reveals, Jesus alone rescues, Jesus alone
: there is no further revelation, there is no further salvation than the Son."
Be careful that you listen to Him,
don't drift from Him
- like the safety announcement on an aeroplane,
Pluralistic society, in spirit of tolerance
- listening to multiple different approaches
Jesus is not just one voice among many,
Jesus is the great “revealer” of God
- a challenge to Society - to say, listen to him
- a tonic: come to Jesus - God’s final Word
- Where might we be drifting from Jesus?
the question is not: Is God speaking?
but
Are we listening?
§ Decisions for the future
§ A relationship dulling our ears to God’s voice
§ Tired from standing out, of being persecuted
Re-align your gaze
The remedy is not to shout louder, to self-admonish
Be compelled, drawn & anchored again
Prayer: To re-fix our gaze on God’s glorious son,
To pay more careful attention to Him.