Today I Have Begotten You Series

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

“For to which of the angels did God ever say,

‘You are my Son,

today I have begotten you?’

“Or again,

‘I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son?’

“And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” [1]

We are rapidly approaching the day of feasting when we remember the birth of our Saviour—soon, it will be Christmas day. While the whole world will celebrate this day, too many of those celebrating will be ignorant of what they are celebrating. People will exchange gifts, dine sumptuously on rich foods before falling into a turkey coma, and some will become drunk on choice wines, but many of those celebrating—dare I say most—will give no thought to what they are celebrating. Ostensibly, the world will be celebrating the birth of the Son of God. The world ignored His birth when He was born, but the world will assuredly celebrate this year. Celebrating is almost mandatory.

For many years it has been my policy to speak of the Incarnation of the Christ during the Advent season. This policy is assuredly appropriate; we are, after all, rejoicing in the knowledge that God sent His Son to redeem His elect saints. Moreover, focusing on the Incarnation of the Christ is in line with the practise of almost all the churches of Christendom, even those churches that deny the foundational truths that define us as followers of the Christ.

It has always intrigued me that even the pagans celebrate Christmas; and many unsaved people will attend services during this holy season. I don’t say that the unsaved of our world seek to acknowledge Christ, but the trappings surrounding the fête are prominent throughout multiple societies.

What should be obvious is that providing sound instruction concerning the Person of the Christ is a good practise. Such teaching will equip the saints for a godly life and enable them to answer those who question whether Jesus is very God in human flesh. Also, providing the teaching of the Word concerning who the Christ is will perhaps open the heart of many outsiders to look to the Saviour and thus be saved.

Among the portions of the Word that present Jesus as God in human flesh, are these verses that constitute our text for this day. These are not the only verses that present Jesus as the Son of God, but they are powerful verses. As such, they merit our careful consideration. Let’s study God’s declaration as presented in HEBREWS 1:1-6.

GOD SPEAKS — “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” [HEBREWS 1:1-4].

Wherever Christians gather, you will sometimes hear some earnest soul assert, “The Lord told me,” or some variation of that statement. The individual making such a statement is obviously claiming to have a message from God, and they feel they must share what they have heard. I am hopeful that most believers making an assertion of this nature mean nothing more than that for the first time they have recognised some truth through studying the Scriptures. Tragically, such is not always the case.

It is beyond the pale of reason to think that anyone can discover “new” information from reading the Word. We can discount any expectation that anything “new” will be learned from our own reading of Scripture. The old adage still prevails:

If it is new; it isn’t true.

If it is true; it isn’t new.

I suppose some few may mean that they sense some particular guidance from the Spirit of God as they are confronting a particular challenge or as they make some particular decision. I would hope they were implying that they were dependent upon the Lord for whatever they faced, that they were seeking His will as they make decisions. However, there are some who actually mean to imply that God has spoken to them in some audible manner. These individuals may wish to convey the sense that they have some super-capacity to actually receive direct, specific communication with God. What is often obvious from such souls is that they actually believe their message is mandatory for fellow worshippers. Let me caution that an impression is not a definite word from God. God has spoken audibly in the past; but it is clearly the exception and not the rule.