The Deity Of Christ

The Deity of Christ

Hebrews 1:1-12

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"?

6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."

8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

10 And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."

Hebrews begins by laying the foundation of faith in Christ. Our image of Christ is essential to our faith. If our view of Jesus Christ is flawed, we do not have a foundation on which we can build our faith. Many false religions name the name of Jesus, but their Jesus is not the Christ of the Bible. A false Jesus cannot give salvation. The single greatest area of attack against Christianity is the divinity of Christ. Jesus’ question "Who do you say that I am" is the acid test of faith. The Bible tells us that anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ is not of God. What confuses people is that false teachers use the name Jesus Christ but redefine it to fit their unbiblical doctrines. When the Bible says that anyone who professes Jesus Christ is speaking by the Holy Spirit, it should be understood that this means ‘Christ’ as defined by the Bible. The determining factor is not whether they use the name Jesus Christ, but whether they hold to the Jesus Christ of scripture.

If we are worshipping a false Christ, we are committing idolatry. We are also violating the foundation of God’s commands. The very first commandment God spelled out is, "Thou shall not have any other gods before me". If we create, or follow a god created that does not represent God as He has revealed Himself through scriptures, we do not have faith, but a counterfeit religion. Because our belief in Christ is so important, the book of Hebrews begins by explaining in unmistakable detail just who this Christ really is. If you don’t understand Christ, you can’t move ahead. The foundation must be laid before our faith can be built into a strong relationship with God. There are four explanations of Jesus’ authority in this introduction.

Jesus completed all things.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.

Does God still speak through prophets by direct revelation? Once scripture was completed, there was no need of direct revelation. Our revelation today comes directly from scripture. All the prophets pointed to the coming of Christ who would reveal all things and fulfill all things. This passage makes it clear that in times past God used prophets to communicate His will. Through Jesus Christ, the will of God has been revealed and the need of prophets no longer applies. I should clarify that there is a gift of prophecy that comes through the Holy Spirit, but the message always must point to Christ. The Old Testament prophets pointed ahead to the coming Messiah and the redemption offered through the cross. The gift of prophecy has not changed in this respect. Prophecy still points to the cross. Only now the message doesn’t point forward to a coming redeemer, but back to the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Anyone who stands up to prophesy in the name of the Lord should be pointing to Jesus Christ and the revealed word of God. We know that Jesus will come bodily back to the earth, but we also know that it is not our place to know. All prophecy should draw people into a closer relationship with Christ. The future events foretold in scripture are provided to give us hope for the future and give us confidence that God is truly in control. The events are not our focus, these prophecies are provided to encourage us to look to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Anything that falls short of that is not of God.