Jesus: God's Final Word Series

Jesus: God’s Final Word

Hebrews 1:1-4

SICC 6/9/02

One of the most difficult things for a person to endure is separation from someone they love. That difficulty is compounded when, along with the separation, there is a breech in communication as well. If you are apart from someone, and have no communication with that person – you don’t know if they are healthy or happy – it is torturous. When Rebekah and I moved here to Staten Island, one of the things that my parents asked – knowing that we would be separated by a great distance – was that we keep in contact. “Call us once a week,” they said. At the time it seemed like a lot to ask. Call them every week? What are we going to talk about? After doing if for a little while I realized that they didn’t want a long conversation every week. They just wanted us to let them know we were ok. They wanted us to communicate with them. I realized that it makes a difference. We never want to be left without a word from those whom we love. It is good to know that God has never left his people without a word. He has always spoken to His people. They have always known how He is and what he expected from them. He has never left his people without a word.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. God spoke to them. He would fellowship with them in person. He walked with them. He gave them direct instruction. That didn’t last long though. That fellowship was broken by Adam & Eve’s sin. They were cast out of the garden. God still spoke to them outside of the garden, but it would never be the same. It would not be enough.

Let’s skip ahead to a time when the Hebrews were slaves. For over 400 years they were slaves in Egypt. God heard their cries for mercy though. He spoke to Moses and had Moses lead them out of the bondage of Egypt. He spoke to Moses, giving him the Law, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Many years later they were captives again, this time in Babylonia. Again, after over 400 years God heard their cries and led them back to the promised land. In the midst of all of this He sent His prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Daniel, Ezekiel and others. Men called of God, spoken to by God, relaying the message of God to God’s people. The Israelites were never left without a word from God. But it would not be enough. God spoke, but He never said all that he needed to say. There was something lacking.

We continued to lack that something until God spoke his final word. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” Today God speaks to us through Jesus. There is nothing left to be said. Jesus is God’s final word. The author of the Book of Hebrews lists what qualifies Jesus to be God’s final word. Let’s look at those qualifications. There are seven of them.

First, Jesus will inherit everything. He is the one whom God “appointed him heir of all things.” The Psalms are very important in the Book of Hebrews. Psalm 2 is alluded to several times in Hebrews 1. The second Psalm is a coronation Psalm. It was used in a coronation service where a king was installed over Israel. Some say the Psalm was written in the context of Solomon’s coronation. He took over the kingship when there was a lot of people vying for the throne. They conspired to get their way, but God in Heaven laughed, because his anointed – Solomon – was destined to be king. His anointed one would inherit the Kingdom. Philippians 2 tells us that every person – ruler or ruled – will one day worship the son. The son will inherit all the kingdoms of this world. The writer of Hebrews takes it even a step further. He understands the inheritance to go beyond the things of this life. In chapter 2 that Jesus is the one to whom the Father has subjected “The world to come.”

Let me ask you a question about inheritance. Who receives the inheritance? The one honored by the present owner. Jesus is worthy to be God’s final word because God has chosen him to inherit all things.

Second, Jesus was the agent of creation. Jesus was he “Through whom {God} made the universe.” God, the Father, used Jesus, the Son, to create the universe. God spoke the world into existence with a word. Jesus is that word. Proverbs 8 uses the term “wisdom.” In reference to the agent of creation. Speaking in the first person Wisdom says, “Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.” I believe that Proverbs 8 is finally fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is God’s wisdom. John’s gospel says that Jesus is the word of God and everything that has been made was made through him. Jesus is uniquely qualified to speak to us because he created us. He knows us from the inside out because he created us.