Title: “The Miracle of the Message” Scripture: Hebrews 1
Type: Advent 2023 Where: GNBC 12-10-23
Intro: Last week we considered “The Miracle of the Moment” in relation to the Advent of Christ’s coming. History is replete with amazing messages: Henry the 5th’s famous “St. Crispin’s Day Speech before the Battle of Agincourt”; Queen Eliz I. “Tilburg Speech”, Washington’s famous “Farewell Address”; Lincoln’s 272 words that became “The Gettysburg Address” are as famous as any speech in history; Between May and August of 1940, Winston Churchill produced no fewer than 7 notably famous speeches, including: “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat”, “Fight on the Beaches”, and “Their Finest Hour”. MLK’s “I Have a Dream” must be included in the great speeches of history. “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." – Twelve little words spoken by Neil Armstrong that signified a monumental accomplishment by man. All of these messages were amazing. However, no one would say they were miraculous. The message I will speak of today was MIRACULOUS!
Prop: Exam Heb. 1:1ff we’ll realize 3 truths in relations to Advent’s Miraculous Message.
BG: 1. Hebrews – no one is sure of authorship. You may have an older Bible that states Paul. Could be, but that was added. Not sure. Many arguments for many different individuals.
2. Written to 1st century Jews who had converted to Christianity.
3. Theme of the entire letter – Christ is better!
Prop: Let’s examine Heb. 1 to realize 3 important truths relating to Advent’s miraculous message.
I. God Had Spoken in History Past. V. 1
A. Notice the Means By Which God Spoke in the Past.
1. God Exists and is Active.
a. Illust – Do not miss the importance of the Opening Axiom. In Geometry you have theorem and axioms. An axiom is a law is not “proven” but assumed in order to explain the observed geometrical system. Illust – Parallel lines will never cross. The author of the Hebrew letter begins with a theological axiom: “God”! God is presented. Not defended. Simply stated and understood. God! The assumption begins with God! There are two views of history – secular/materialistic/evolutionary with time and chance as the means and method. Or, there is theological – design, intelligence, and purpose with God being both means and method. Advent/Christmas is built upon the truth God exists!
b. As we begin today’s message we need to realize not a single one of us can argue another into the KOG. Not a single one of us can argue a person into salvation. It is a sovereign work of God’s divine grace that moves a person from unbelief to faith in Christ in a matter of moments. The author here is declaring an essential truth: Christianity isn’t a manmade religion. Rather, it is a God-revealed religion. God is active and He spoke!
2. God was also Alive and Active in the Past.
a. “after He spoke long ago…” The writer of Hebrews, well aware of the history of the Jewish people, recognizes that God had spoken in times past to the people Through whom He would bring salvation’s blessings and the fulfillment of the miraculous message: The Messiah!
b. For 400 years even Israel had sat in spiritual silence. When God delivered His final message through Malachi, He paused His communications through man for nearly 400 years. The book of Malachi was completed in 397 BC, starting this period of silence until the angel’s announcement of the birth of John the Baptist in 4 BC (Luke 1:11-17). The silence of God gave rise to many theories about His nature. Some might have argued that He was acting as He had always acted. Others might have surmised that man was too sinful to hear God (which is absurd; all sin is an affront to God). Still others might have suggested that man’s lack of faith was the cause of God’s silence and apparent inactivity.
None of these theories would have taken into account the omniscience and sovereignty of God. His determined, covenantal love had already set His course. Rather, He was preparing to speaking His greatest and most powerful message to mankind: JESUS! The Miraculous Message!
B. God Spoke In Different Times and Ways so as to Secure a Single Unified Message.
1. God Spoke to Specific People in Times Past of the Coming Advent.
a. The author of the Hebrew Letter Takes the Reader Back in History to Be Reminded of God’s Dealings with men. Fathers – Who were the “Fathers” to these Jewish Christian converts? The patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are being referred to here. Possibly others. But at least these. It was God, speaking to a man, a pagan man, a hopeless, and hapless man, Abram, in Ur of the Chaldees. (Read Gen. 12:1-4). God reached into history, to initiate and secure His Story thru one man who had absolutely nothing by which he was spiritually recommended to God. Friend, some people find that message disturbing. I find it gloriously comforting. God had compassion. God demonstrated mercy. God initiated salvation’s blessings not just to one man, but to all who would claim faith in Christ.
b. The author also informs us that God spoke thru the prophets. God was speaking thru prophets in the OT, men like Enoch, Noah, Aaron, Moses, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, David, Gad, Nathan, Jehu, our old friend Elijah, and Elisha, and all of the major and minor prophets (And all the others I left out!) Not a single prophet had the entire message. But the message was being manifest, over time, to all of these men, pointing each to the Person of Christ.
2. God Spoke in Different Times and Ways to Secure the Message of Advent.
a. V.1 – There is a rhythmic beauty here that we cannot see in English. “many portions” is the Gk word, “polumeros” – meaning various times; “many ways” is “polutropos” – different ways of communicating. So think about it, in various times: At the Fall, Antediluvian – Noah, time of Abraham, Egyptian bondage to Moses, Judges, Prophets etc. Different ways of communicating included: dreams, Law, Types, history, Prophecy, Poetry.
b. Do you know how I know that the Bible is the Divine Word of God? Because in just the OT alone, you have roughly 45 authors in various lands (Mostly Israel.), who write a unified body of literature pointing in the same direction (To the Person of Christ!) over the period of 1500 years! Friends, only God could speak in “many portions” and “at various times” thru so great a numbers of ways and thru so great a number of people, over so great a period of time with the unified focus of pointing to the Advent of Christ! My friend, Advent is a MIRACULOUS MESSAGE!
C. Applic: God spoke a miraculous message in the past in various times and ways.
II. God Has Spoken Thru The Advent of Christ vv.2
A. God Has Spoken Thru the Advent of His Son – Jesus Christ.
1. The Author of the Epistle Directs his Readers attention to the Advent.
a. “In these last days” – As evangelical Christians whenever we hear the expression “last days” we tend to think prophetically or eschatalogically (future events). But hear, the author is thinking historically. “In these last days” refers to those previous days. The days prior to his writing. The time that preceded his writing Hebrews, probably about 30+ yrs. following the death and resurrection of our Savior.
b. “to us” – Now, here, I think contextually, the author is referring here to the Jewish people. He is writing to Jewish converts to Christianity. Christ came as a Jew, descended from David, to the city of David, to take rule and reign eternally over the thrown of David. Illust: One of the great Christmas Carols is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” first stanza: “And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel.” Christ’s Advent was as the long expected and awaited Messiah to those who were His people ethnically.
2. How did the Author Say that God Had Spoken to Them in these Last Days?
a. “in His Son” – Year ago next month in several church services in Poland. Guess what language they spoke? They spoke in Polish. The Father spoke IN HIS SON. It was the language of His love. Jesus is the Son of God in two aspects: eternally, He is the Son, one with the Father, the second person of the Trinity. Temporally, He was God’s Son incarnate, born of the virgin Mary, taking on our human nature so that He could bear our sins (Luke 1:38).
b. Illust: The most important question for every person to answer is Jesus’ question to the disciples, Mt. 16:15 - “Who do you say that I am?” Everything hangs on the correct answer to that question! If you are mistaken about Jesus’ identity, you will not bow before Him as Lord and Savior, but rather as Judge in condemnation, and you will spend eternity in hell.
B. What Did God Say About this Son that Had Come in these Last Days?
1. The Advent Message Declares that Christ is Heir of All Things.
a. “appointed heir of all things” – Christ is the program of God! There is no secondary program. There is no other means or method of salvation. The first Adam was given dominion over all of creation. All of creation was under him. However, when he willfully sinned and rebelled against God, ever aspect of creation was marred by man’s Satanically inspired rebellion. As “heir of all things” – Christ has a salvage plan! “[God] hangs on to
his fallen original creation and salvages it. He refuses to abandon the work of his hands—in fact, he sacrifices his own Son to save his original project. Humankind, which has botched its original mandate and the whole creation along with it, is given another chance in Christ. (Christmas is about 2nd chance! You and me! Salvation. Family. Marriage. Hope, help! You may be so low in life right now that need a step stool to give a grasshopper a pedicure! Friend, Christ loves you and offers new life!
b. “God has never given up on his original creation. Yet, somehow, we’ve managed to
overlook an entire biblical vocabulary that makes this point clear. Reconcile. Redeem. Restore. Recover. Return. Renew. Regenerate. Resurrect. Each of these biblical words begins with the re- prefix, suggesting a return to an original condition that was ruined or lost. For example, redemption means to buy back what was formerly owned. Similarly, reconciliation means the restoration or reestablishment of a prior friendship or unity. Renewal means to make new again, restoring to an original state. Resurrection means becoming physically alive again, after death. These words emphasize that God always sees us in light of what he intended us to be, and he always seeks to restore us to that design. Likewise, he sees the earth in terms of what he intended it to be, and he seeks to restore it to its original design.” (Alcorn, Heaven, chap. 9).
2. The Advent Message Declares that Christ is Creator of All Things.
a. “He made the world” – Might assume word here for world is “cosmos” – world, people, universe, but its not. Might assume it is “ephilios” – world or globe…but it’s not. Rather, it is “ion” – meaning ages. Don’t let your thinking be limited to the creation of the world and universe. What this verse is saying goes beyond that limitation! He made the worlds for a purpose and a time! This world runs on God’s time table, not man’s! The Advent of Christ was part of that purposeful plan! Praise the Lord!
b. Illust: “Think of the intricacies of the atom, or the mysteries of human and animal DNA, which modern science only barely understands. It all reflects amazing design, and that design is often interdependent, so that you can’t have only part of it. The parts depend on the design of other parts that work in harmony. Or, consider the immensity of the universe. Our galaxy is just an average-sized galaxy that takes 100,000 light years to cross (600 trillion miles). Modern telescopes can see about 100,000 million galaxies, with each galaxy containing 100,000 million stars. The average distance between these galaxies is three million light years. Some estimate that the most distant galaxy is about eight billion light years away! (R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul [Crossway Books], 1:27, citing Stephen Hawking) And Christ created it all, not just for existence, but for purpose! The Advent was a Miraculous Message!
C. Applic: When Jesus was presented in the temple 8 days after his birth, Simeon declared (Read Lke 2:30-32). It was a miraculous message! Messiah had come for Jews and Savior for Gentiles.
III. God Speaks Redemptively Thru The Person of Christ Today vv.3-4
A. The Author of Hebrews Declares the Present and Continuing Excellencies of Christ.
(The author of Hebrews declares the ongoing Perfection of Christ’s Person.)
1. Radiance of His glory –The early church fathers often used this verse to refute the heretics, especially the Arians. The Arians rejected Hebrews from the canon because of this text (P. Hughes, p. 41). This statement reflects both the oneness of the Son with the Father and yet His distinctness from the Father. The ascription of Jesus as “the radiance of His glory” pictures the rays of the sun displaying its brilliance. Jesus, of course, reflects the Father’s glory, but also possesses an inherent glory of His own, as seen on the Mount of Transfiguration and by John in Revelation Illust- We cannot look directly at the sun. However, thru the rays of the sun we get light, heat, life, growth, healing. We know about the sun thru its radiance. Friend, we could never have known about had not this miraculous message been proclaimed and Christ came to earth to “show us the Father”. (Jn. 14:8ff)
2. Exact representation of His nature – The Greek word translated exact representation refers to the engraved character or impression made on a stamped die or a seal as, for example, on a coin. The word translated nature “denotes the very essence of God. The principal idea intended is that of exact correspondence. (P. Hughes, ibid.). As Jesus told Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). To know God, we must know Him as He is revealed to us by the Son (Luke 10:22).
3. Upholds all things by the word of His power – Illust – “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” was written as a Black Spiritual in 1927, but became an international hit when English singer Laurie London recorded it and went to the charts in 1957. Nice song. Biblically speaking, incorrect. Christ spoke the world into being and keeps it all going. Do you realize the little baby, laying on Mary’s bosom, could have spoken the world out of existence had He wanted? This world would have come unglued had Christ not come! He holds this entire world together. Illust: Is your world coming unglued? Maybe it’s because you are trying to live without the One Who holds everything together! Turn to Christ.
B. The Miraculous Message of the Perfect, Finished Work of Christ. v. 3b
1. Christ made purification for sins.
a. “The juxtaposition of Christ’s upholding all things by the word of His power and the next phrase, “when He had made purification of sins,” is stunning! The almighty Lord who could simply “let go” and sinners would disintegrate, instead left the glory of heaven, took on the form of a servant, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross, to purify us from our sins (Phil. 2:5-11)! “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me” (Charles Wesley)!” (Steven Cole sermon Heb. 1)
b. Illust: The Greek aorist tense indicates that Jesus accomplished purification for sins once and for all. Jesus did not just make purification of sins possible, but effectual through His death on the cross (see 10:10, 12, 14, 18). You and I aren’t potentially saved. We are saved! It’s a finished, perfect work!
2. Christ sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
a. Christ’s sitting signifies the completion of the work of redemption. In the Old Testament, the priests always stood in the Holy of Holies when making atonement. But Jesus offered Himself for our sins once for all and took His seat on high. His sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high (a reverent term for God) also signifies His being in the place of highest honor.
b. “Time past and time present are both together in time future,” wrote T.S. Elliot. His rhythmic words simply and eloquently describe the ordinary flow of history. But the letter to the Hebrews presents a very different perspective on God’s purposes and patterns in the flow of history. There, it would be true to say, the future determines the past and the present, rather than the other way round. The invisible is more substantial than the visible. The future comes before the past. The new is more fundamental than the old. What does all this mean? Simply put, it means that the story of the Lord Jesus, His person and work, is not a divine afterthought, a heavenly “plan b” hurriedly scrambled together when “plan a” went horribly wrong in Eden. No—the coming of Christ was in the plan before the Fall. Everything that precedes it chronologically actually follows it logically.
C. Applic: In the Spring of 1924, Jack Sundine was a four-year-old kid, standing in a line with his father inside the White House, waiting to meet President Calvin Coolidge. As they neared him, Jack noticed that he said something to each visitor as they shook hands. Soon, the thrilling moment arrived. Jack put his small hand into the President’s. Then the President said words Jack will always remember: “Move along.” In contrast, aren’t you glad that when we come to God, He doesn’t tell us to move along? No, the miraculous message of Advent is Christ has come to save!
