The Superiority of Christ
Hebrews 1:1-2
Intro
As we begin our study of the book of Hebrews tonight, I feel that is important for us to take a look at the background of the book to give us a strong foothold for the rest of our study. The book of Hebrews has one main theme throughout its text: Jesus Christ is superior to and preeminent over everyone and everything. The author of the book is very vocal about expressing it. Which brings us to the point of just who is the author of Hebrews.
Over the years people have been trying to pin down the author of Hebrews. Some saying that it was Paul, some say it was Peter, some say it was Apollos, and yet others believe that it was Luke. You can make a strong case for each of these being the author. But I don’t want us to dwell on who the earthly author of the book was, because we know who the Heavenly author and inspirer of the book of Hebrews was.
The book was written to not just one, but three separate audiences of the time it was written. The first group was the Hebrew Christians in the Jewish community, the true believers of Jesus Christ. The second and third groups were also Hebrew, but were not Christian. One being those that were convinced of Jesus Christ work and the other not being convinced.
You must understand for the book of Hebrews speaks of a New Covenant. For non-believing Hebrews this would be hard to swallow. They believed that one could not see God and live. The believed in the Levitical system of sacrifice to atone for their sins, now the author is expressing a need for the new sacrificial system through Jesus Christ. In essence the author of Hebrews is expressing to the people that everything from sacrifices to the priesthood is better.
So here is the whole summary of Hebrews in one sentence for you. Ours is the High Priest of high priests, and He is seated. His work is done, completely finished for all time and for us.
So now that we have a little background, lets dive into chapter one. Keep in mind though that all through the book Christ is presented as being better than the best of everyone and everything that was before Him.
READ TEXT
I. The Preparation for Christ (v. 1)
A. The first verse here is an indication of how God wrote the Old Testament.
B. Its purpose was to prepare for the coming of Christ.
1. Whether it be by prophecy or type or principle or commandment, it was preparation for Christ
C. No matter how great the senses of man are, we are incapable of reaching beyond the natural world.
1. For us to know anything about God, He himself must tell us.
2. We would never know God if He did not speak to us.
II. Man’s Way to God
A. See man lives in a natural “box”, which encloses him within the walls of time and space.
1. Outside of that box is something supernatural, which we all know is out there, but we just don’t know anything certain about it.
2. So someone comes along and says, “We must find out about the supernatural, the world outside our box.
1. This is how new religions are born
2. People become interested and run to the edge of their little box and try to see the secrets outside their mental reach.
a. Buddhist believe that when you go into that state of nirvana that you transport yourself out of our box and into the supernatural.
b. Muslims say the same thing but in a different words.
c. So do all the other false religions, Hinduism, Confucianism, Scientology, and whatever else may be out there.
3. These are all attempts by man to escape from the natural to the supernatural, to get out of the box.
4. But the problem is, he cannot get himself out.
III. God’s Way to Man
1. By definition, a natural man cannot escape into the supernatural.
1. We cannot go into a religious phone booth and change into a superman outfit and come out somewhere else.
2. We cannot in ourselves or by ourselves transcend our natural existence.
3. If we are to know anything about God, it will not be by escaping, or climbing, or thinking, or working our way to Him: it will only be by His coming to us and His speaking to us.
4. We cannot understand God any more than an insect we may hold in our hand may understand us.
5. BUT, God can come down to our level and He can communicate with us.
2. When God became a man Himself through Jesus Christ, he entered our box to tell us about Himself.
1. We can learn more about God know then we could ever before through the prophets of old.
2. when God burst into the box, in the form of Jesus Christ he did it in human form.
3. That is what makes the difference between Christianity an every other religion out there in the world today.
4. That is why it is so foolish for people to say, “It doesn’t make any difference what you believe or what religion you follow.”
a. It makes all the difference.
b. Every other religion out there is man’s attempt to discover God.
c. Christianity is God bursting into man’s world and showing and telling man what He is like.
3. God had to come into the world of man and speak to us about Himself.
IV. By the Prophets: Many Ways
A. Throughout the Old Testament God used men as instruments to enlighten and energize the people.
B. Deists teach that God started the world and just left it to run itself.
C. BUT God is not detached from His creation
1. The true and living God, unlike the false gods of man’s making, is not dumb or indifferent.
2. The God of Scripture, is not silent and he speaks to us even today.
D. Notice how God spoke: “in many portions and in many ways.”
1. In the original Greek language of the text here, these text respectively means, “in many portions” (as of books) and “in many ways” (manners).
2. God spoke to men, in many books using different manners to do such, may it be visions, parable, type or symbol.
3. There were many ways different ways in which God spoke in the Old Testament, but it is always God speaking.
1. Men were used, their minds and personalities, but they were totally controlled by the Spirit of God.
2. Every word they wrote was the word that God decided they should write.
V. Progressive Revelation
A. True, but Incomplete
1. The Old Testament books individually are fragmented and incomplete.
2. They were delivered over the course of 1500 years and by some 40+ writers, each with its own truths.
3. It builds and grows, truth upon truth.
4. God was pleased for the time dispensing his truth to the Jews through the mouth of prophets.
5. Divine revelation, then, going from Old Testament to the New Testament, is progressive revelation.
1. The Old testament is promise; the New Testament is fulfillment.
2. Matt. 5:17, Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” “this is, the Old Testament,”…but to fulfill.”
3. We must understand that the Old Testament was not in any way erroneous.
B. From God, through His messenger
1. Now that the pictures is set for us we can see that long ago God spoke to the Old Testament people
2. He even spoke to some of our Gentile predecessors, through His prophets and messengers.
3. The book of Hebrews has a great deal to say about priests, but the opening verse speaks of prophets.
1. The Holy Spirit establishes the divine authorship of the Old Testament, its accuracy and its authority, through the fact that it was given to and delivered by God’s prophets.
VI. By the Son: One way (v. 2)
A. God’s full, perfect revelation awaited the coming of His Son.
1. God who used to speak in many different ways, now finally spoke in one way, His Son.
2. The Old Testament was given to many men, in bites and pieces; Jesus brought the full and final revelation.
Closing
In the first verse and a half of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit establishes the preeminence of Jesus Christ over all the Old Testament, over its message, its methods, and its messengers. It was must what those Jews, believing and non-believing, needed to hear.
And so is established the priority of Jesus Christ. He is greater than the prophets. He is greater than any revelation in the Old Testament, for He is the embodiment of all that truth, and more. God has fully expressed Himself in Christ.
