Hebrews Intro and Chapter 1

Hebrews Intro and Chapter 1

BETTER:

(some of the BETTERs)     Revelation 1: 1-4    Hope 7:19    Priesthood v.20-28           Covenant 8:6            Promises 8:6           Sacrifices 9:23        Possessions 10:34 Country 11:16         Resurrection 11:35

Hebrews is a book of encouraging evaluation of one’s self:  Three important words that are repeated many times…Better, Perfect, and Eternal.  The Lord gives us BETTER BECAUSE THESE BLESSINGS ARE eternal AND THEY GIVE US a perfect STANDING BEFORE God.  The religious system under the Mosaic Law was imperfect because it could not accomplish a once-for-all redemption that was eternal.  Hebrews is written during a time that the temple was still standing and all the priestly ceremonies were still being carried on daily.  During the trials and difficult times of their lives these Jewish believers could have easily escaped persecution by going back into the old Mosaic system which they had known before. Discouragement and trials can cause a believer to go backwards…there is really no standstill spiritually – we must go forward.  The writer of Hebrews is encouraging the readers to evaluate what they have in Jesus…He is BETTER than anything you ever had under the Law.  As we study the book of Hebrews which exalts the Person and the work of Jesus, the Son of God, we will realize anew what we have in and through Him and that knowledge will lessen any desire for anyone else or anything else.

In a sense the theme of Hebrews seems to be:  “God has spoken; we have His Word.  What are we doing about it?”

Problem passages in Hebrews:  DRIFTING from the Word 2: 1-4 Neglect; DOUBTING the Word 3:7-4:13 Hard Heart; DULLNESS toward the Word 5:11-6:20 Sluggishness; DESPISING the Word 10:26-39 Willfulness; DEFYING the Word 12:14-29 Refusing to hear!  Listen and HEAR or you will drift!  Neglect always leads to drifting and when we drift we start to doubt the Word.  (faith comes by hearing and hearing by).  Hard hearts begin and leads to spiritual sluggishness…produces dullness toward the Word.  We become lazy listeners!...which leads to a despiteful attitude toward the Word…leads to disobedience and a defiant attitude … almost as tho we are daring the LORD to do anything about it.  During this digression, He continues to speak…drawing us back to the Word and Himself. 

The book of Hebrews will draw each of us into a state of examination…What am I depending upon in my life?  It offers us a key message: “You can be secure while everything around you is falling apart!” 

Hebrews is a book of EXPECTATION:  “the world to come”.  The emphasis is not on what the Lord did while on earth but what He is now doing in heaven…He is the great High Priest Who enables us by giving us grace…the Great Shepherd of the sheep who Equips Us to do His will…working IN US to accomplish His purposes.

Hebrews is a book of EXALTATION:  exalts the Person and the work of our Lord.  The Lord is far superior to the prophets…He is God…Christ is to the Father what the rays of the sun are to the sun…He is the radiance of God’s glory…you cannot separate the rays from the sun. He is the Express Image v. 3 – the exact Imprint.  He is the God of Creation and the God of providence Who guides this universe to its divinely ordained destiny. 

Our purpose in studying Hebrews is to hear God speak in Jesus Christ and to heed that Word. 

Hebrews 1…  Jesus is superior to the old Judaic system…superior to the O.T. prophets because He is the Son of God…superior to the angels because they worship Him.  He became human in order to die for sinful humanity.  To reject Him is to reject hope itself.

CHAPTER 1: Yes, God spoke to us through many different ways (to our fathers)…through the prophets – in visions, dreams, and even face to face = telling them little by little about His plans. But now in these days He has spoken to us through His Son to whom He has given everything and through whom He made the world and everything there is.  God’s Son shines out with God’s glory and all that God’s Son is and does marks Him as God.  He regulates the universe by the mighty power of His command.  He is the One Who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in highest honor beside the great God of heaven.  Thus, He became far greater than the angels as proved by the fact that His name Son of God which was passed on to Him from His Father is far greater than the names and titles of the angels.  For God never said to any angel, You are my Son, and today I have given you the honor that goes with that name.  But God said it about Jesus.  Another time He said, “I am His Father and He is my Son.”  And still another time when His firstborn Son came to earth God said, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”  God speaks of his angels as messengers swift as the wind and as servants made of flaming fire; but of His Son He says, Your Kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever (GOD CALLS HIS SON GOD!); its commands are always just and right. You love right and hate wrong; so God, even your God, has poured out more gladness upon you than on any one else.”  God also called Him “Lord” when He said, “Lord, in the beginning you made the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.  They will disappear into nothingness, but You will remain forever.  They will become worn out like old clothese, and some day You will fold them up and replace them.  But you Yourself will never change, and your years will never end.”  And did God ever say to an angel, as He does to His Son, “Sit here beside Me in honor until I crush all Your enemies beneath Your feet”?  No, for the angels are only spirit-messengers sent out to help and care for those who are to receive His salvation. 

God the Father affirms that Christ is superior to the angels:  He is the Son, the Firstborn(v.6) of all creation, served by the angels (7), God enthroned and anointed (8-9) … His throne is forever…eternal God, eternal Creator (10-12), is the Sovereign angels are the servants (13-14).  It would be impossible to do away with the evidence presented in the O.T. quotations…Jesus Christ is greater than the angels and this means He is also greater than the Law which they helped deliver to the people of Israel. 

The writer of Hebrews cautions regarding neglecting our salvation…he is not encouraging sinners to become Christians; rather, he is encouraging Christians to pay attention to the great salvation they have received from the Lord.  Some/Many today have the idea that believers today “under grace” can escape the chastening hand of God that was so evident “under Law.”.  Today we have the completed Word of God; so there is no need for apostolic miracles.  God now bears witness through His Spirit using the Word…  We must not take the Word of God for granted and neglect it.  It is easy to drift with the current, but it is difficult to return against the stream.  Our salvation is a “great salvation” purchased at a great price.  It brings with it great promises and blessings, and it leads to a great inheritance in glory.  How can we neglect it?