Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Hebrews 1:1-4
Transcript
- 0:00Hebrews 1, just to read with me in chapter 1, verse 1.
- 0:06Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
- 0:14But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son,
- 0:18whom He appointed the heir of all things,
- 0:21through whom He also created the world.
- 0:24He is the radiance of the glory of God.
- 0:27He has given the exact imprint of His nature,
- 0:31and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
- 0:35After making purification for sins,
- 0:38He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
- 0:41having become much as superior to angels
- 0:44as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
- 0:50One of my favorite little descriptions of who Jesus is in the whole Bible,
- 0:55and so what we're going to talk about this morning is just the person of Christ,
- 1:02who He is, what He's done.
- 1:06I thought, man, if you have just to talk about one thing,
- 1:09what could you talk about?
- 1:10And I thought we'd just talk about how excellent and glorious Christ is.
- 1:15And so some of you who were here last semester on Thursday night
- 1:20might have heard a variation of this message.
- 1:22I've changed it a little bit, but it was good for me just to reread it
- 1:27and adapt a few things.
- 1:29But many people today are wondering who Jesus really is.
- 1:33Some of you may be, but most of you, I assume,
- 1:36have encountered and experienced Christ in a real way.
- 1:41And during the first century, in 94 A.D.,
- 1:46there was a Jewish historian named Josephus,
- 1:52and he was captured by the Romans,
- 1:54and the Romans were coming into Judea
- 1:56and trying to suppress the uprising that happened.
- 2:00It's the same time when the temple was destroyed by Titus.
- 2:04But he was taken back to Rome,
- 2:06and they allowed him to write and to do things there
- 2:09and to kind of represent the Jews in some way.
- 2:12But he wrote, he was a Pharisee,
- 2:17and he helped lead the rebellion before his capture.
- 2:20But this is something he wrote in the histories, he said,
- 2:23about the first century.
- 2:26Now there was almost at this time,
- 2:28there rose a source further in the trouble of one person, Jesus.
- 2:35So he's saying there's a lot of trouble,
- 2:36but this man Jesus caused more trouble.
- 2:38A wise man who performed surprising works,
- 2:42a teacher of men who gladly welcomed strange things.
- 2:46He led away many Jews and also some Gentiles.
- 2:49He was the so-called Christ.
- 2:52When Pilate, acting on information supplied by the chief men around us,
- 2:56condemned him to the cross,
- 2:58those who attached themselves to him at first did not cease,
- 3:02did not cause trouble.
- 3:04And the tribe of Christians,
- 3:06which has taken his name from him,
- 3:08is not extinct to this day, 94 A.D.
- 3:12So a lot of people look at Christ,
- 3:15and they don't really know what he was about and what he was.
- 3:17This is somebody who lived around that time,
- 3:20who actually heard and maybe even saw Jesus in the flesh walking around.
- 3:25He didn't really know who Jesus was.
- 3:28He was the so-called Christ.
- 3:30But he did say he was a wise man.
- 3:32And another translation of this same text said,
- 3:35if it be lawful to call him a man,
- 3:38is something else that Josephus writes.
- 3:41But we, who have been saved and redeemed by Christ,
- 3:44have a completely different relationship as someone who does not.
- 3:49And one man who actually did have an awesome brother of ours,
- 3:53a long time ago in the colonial America, 1700,
- 3:57Jonathan Edwards,
- 3:59he had a sermon called,
- 4:01The Excellency of Christ.
- 4:02And it's a great sermon.
- 4:04You ought to go and look it up and just read it.
- 4:06But it's from Revelation 5 that compares Christ to both the lamb and the lion,
- 4:13and how Christ is lamb-like and lion-like,
- 4:15and how he is so beyond anything like any human could imagine.
- 4:23And his excellencies are so diverse.
- 4:26And I'll just read you a couple of things that he wrote in the sermon.
- 4:28So although he was worthy of all good,
- 4:56he had amazing patience just to endure evil.
- 5:00It says,
- 5:01We admire him because of his sovereign dominion over all the world,
- 5:05but even more because his dominion was clothed with a spirit of obedience and submission.
- 5:12This is really cool.
- 5:14We love the way he stooped the proud scribes with his wisdom.
- 5:19And we love it even more because he could be simple enough to like children and spend time with them.
- 5:26So awesome stuff.
- 5:27Like Christ was unlike anything.
- 5:30He's so diverse, so infinite,
- 5:33that even the greatest among us, the greatest theologians in history,
- 5:38couldn't even tap who he really was.
- 5:40Right?
- 5:41There's so much of him to be had.
- 5:42But yet, at the same time, a child can understand him and know him.
- 5:46The diversity of Jesus.
- 5:48So when we say Jesus Christ, our Lord,
- 5:52like what are we actually saying?
- 5:54This is a great way to even just share Christ with somebody,
- 5:58someone who calls themselves a Christian or a follower of Christ,
- 6:00and ask them,
- 6:01what do you mean by saying that?
- 6:06Jesus is the Hebrew, or from the Hebrew, the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua.
- 6:12Right?
- 6:13It means to save, designates the Savior.
- 6:15And Christ, the Greek form of Messiah,
- 6:19the one who would save us and deliver us from sin,
- 6:23the one that the anointed one of whom the Spirit would not ever pull away from,
- 6:28that rested on without measure, Scripture says.
- 6:31He's called the Son of Man.
- 6:34From Daniel, right?
- 6:36Where he pictured the Son of Man coming in the clouds of power and great glory.
- 6:39Then, the Lord, meaning the ruler, the sovereign over all things.
- 6:46You know, the Son of God.
- 6:47The third person of the Trinity.
- 6:49You know, three in one.
- 6:51Jesus Christ.
- 6:53So if you look at our text in verse 1,
- 6:57in Hebrews, it says,
- 6:59Long ago, and many times in many ways,
- 7:02God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
- 7:05But in these last days,
- 7:06He has spoken to us by His Son.
- 7:09And so throughout the centuries,
- 7:12God has had a prophetic eloquence of communicating with us.
- 7:17And where it says there, many times in many ways,
- 7:20it means many portions in many ways,
- 7:23emphasizes the great diversity of speech in which God has communicated to us.
- 7:27So think about it.
- 7:29In the Old Testament,
- 7:31He communicated to Jacob through an angel.
- 7:33Moses through fire at Sinai, right?
- 7:37Balaam through a donkey.
- 7:38Elijah with a whisper.
- 7:41Such a huge diversity of communication.
- 7:44God could use whatever He wanted to use.
- 7:46And then even by the law, right?
- 7:48The law that came to Moses.
- 7:50The teachings, the warnings, and the exhortation found in the law.
- 7:54So God greatly accommodated us in breaking Himself down so that we could understand Him.
- 8:04Right?
- 8:04Because just the human mind, the human soul is not able to completely take in at one time
- 8:09the fullness of who God is.
- 8:11So He's broken Himself down for us to understand throughout the centuries.
- 8:15And so, it's His loving desire to do that, to break Himself down for us to understand.
- 8:21So He's accommodated us.
- 8:24And as you see in the Old Testament, there's like a progressive revelation of who God is kind of going on.
- 8:29So, more and more we learn about Him.
- 8:33But all that eloquence of the Old Testament was not complete.
- 8:38It remained kind of unfinished.
- 8:40It was fragmented.
- 8:41And it was sufficient a little bit for the time, but it was lacking.
- 8:46And it called for something greater.
- 8:48Right?
- 8:50And as we can see in our text, God has spoken in these last days through His Son.
- 8:58Not...
- 8:58So, that's it.
- 9:00Nothing else.
- 9:00He's spoken to us in His Son.
- 9:02Not...
- 9:03And more prophets.
- 9:05And more creepy ways that people come up with that think that God communicates to them.
- 9:09He's spoken to us in the Son.
- 9:13That means literally in Son.
- 9:15Meaning that the fullness of who God was was communicated by the coming of His Son.
- 9:21He embodies everything that God is.
- 9:24So, if you want to see God, you look to Christ.
- 9:28Jesus is the ultimate medium of communication between us and God.
- 9:33So, as Moses couldn't see God's full glory.
- 9:36Remember that?
- 9:37On Sinai, like I said,
- 9:38Show me your glory.
- 9:39I can't.
- 9:40It'll kill you.
- 9:42I'll show you my backside.
- 9:44Hide you in the cleft of the rock.
- 9:46Moses couldn't see that.
- 9:48But in Jesus, God has accommodated Himself in the ultimate way in communicating to us.
- 9:55The old phrase,
- 9:56In veiled in flesh, the Godhead see.
- 9:59Right?
- 10:00Jesus, our Lord.
- 10:01Turn to John 1.
- 10:02Keep your hand in Hebrews, but turn to John 1.
- 10:04John 1.
- 10:06John 1.
- 10:08Excuse me.
- 10:15God has drawn near to us in the greatest way in Jesus.
- 10:18And even His name, Emmanuel, God with us, implies the same thing.
- 10:23But in John 1, you look at verse 1.
- 10:28In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- 10:34He was in the beginning with God.
- 10:36There's a description of our Lord.
- 10:39Jump down to verse 14, same chapter.
- 10:42The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory.
- 10:48The glory Moses could not see.
- 10:50Right?
- 10:51We have seen His glory.
- 10:53Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 10:58Look at verse 18.
- 10:59No one has ever seen God.
- 11:04Alright?
- 11:04So, false prophets that have come in the past.
- 11:08Joseph Smith, Muhammad, they all have claimed to have actually seen or encountered this kind of stuff.
- 11:14No man has ever seen God.
- 11:16The only God who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known.
- 11:20So, Jesus came from the Father.
- 11:22He's the only one who came from the Father to make Him known.
- 11:25And that's it.
- 11:25Not and more prophets or anything else.
- 11:28Right?
- 11:28He took on flesh.
- 11:31God became flesh, literally, and walked among us.
- 11:35Right?
- 11:36In the person of Jesus.
- 11:38St. Augustine, he said about this idea of the incarnation,
- 11:43He took to Himself what He was not, while remaining what He was.
- 11:49He continued to be what He is, while appearing to us as we are.
- 11:54Really awesome.
- 11:56Awesome stuff.
- 11:57He took to Himself what He was not, while remaining what He was.
- 12:01He continued to be what He is, while appearing to us as we are.
- 12:07Awesome.
- 12:08So, God has communicated Himself in the ultimate way in Jesus to us.
- 12:14There's not any other way that He could have done it more fully than sending His Son.
- 12:18So, we're going to look at, back in Hebrews, turn back to Hebrews, chapter 1.
- 12:23We're going to look at, we're going to break those few verses down and look at each little phrase that's used here to kind of get a better picture of who Jesus is.
- 12:32So, if you're taking notes, this would be number one.
- 12:38We see that Jesus is the inheritor.
- 12:40The inheritor.
- 12:42Verse 2.
- 12:43All right.
- 12:52Everything in existence will ultimately end up under the control and rule of Christ.
- 12:58So, in addition to inheriting the universe, you think that that's pretty awesome.
- 13:04Like, to inherit the universe, what greater inheritance could Christ have?
- 13:08And He does have a greater inheritance than just the universe.
- 13:12And that inheritance is us.
- 13:15The saints.
- 13:16Right?
- 13:17We are His most treasured possession.
- 13:19He bought us with His blood.
- 13:21Ephesians 1, 18 says this.
- 13:24Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which you have been called.
- 13:30And here it is.
- 13:31What are the riches of Christ's glorious inheritance in the saints?
- 13:35See that?
- 13:37So, Paul is praying that we would understand more fully how treasured and how valued we are by Christ as His inheritance.
- 13:44Right?
- 13:45He has heavens and innumerable worlds at His disposal, but we are still His treasured possession.
- 13:52Bought with His own blood.
- 13:54And one day, all the nations will rightfully give Him praise.
- 13:59The nations are His inheritance.
- 14:01Right?
- 14:02Psalm 2.
- 14:03Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.
- 14:08So, Christ is the inheritor of all things.
- 14:10Not just the universe, but of us.
- 14:13The people that He saved and bought.
- 14:15So, that's the first one, the inheritor.
- 14:17Number two.
- 14:19We see that Christ is the creator.
- 14:22Right?
- 14:22Look at verse 2, the second part.
- 14:24It says,
- 14:25Through whom He created the world.
- 14:29Right?
- 14:29So, if you read the rest of the scriptures, even in Genesis 1, let us create.
- 14:36Let us create.
- 14:37You see this idea that Christ was the agent of creation.
- 14:42He existed before creation.
- 14:44This is why He cannot be just never created being.
- 14:48Turn to Colossians and hold your place in Hebrews again.
- 14:51But turn to Colossians 1.
- 14:52There are just a few places to turn this morning.
- 14:55I don't want to overwhelm you, but it's good to look at stuff.
- 14:58Colossians 1.
- 15:03If Christ created all things and He existed before creation,
- 15:07then He Himself was not created.
- 15:10He existed with God.
- 15:12Just like we read in John just a little while ago.
- 15:17So, He created all things, both visible and invisible.
- 15:22Alright?
- 15:23Look at this.
- 15:26Verse 15 in chapter 1.
- 15:31He, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God,
- 15:35the firstborn of all creation.
- 15:37And that idea of firstborn just has to do with rank,
- 15:39not the way that some people would think of that.
- 15:41It has to do with rank.
- 15:43Of the highest rank, Jesus.
- 15:46For by Him all things were created,
- 15:48in heaven and on earth,
- 15:50visible and invisible,
- 15:52whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities,
- 15:55all things were created through Him and for Him.
- 16:00So, stuff exists for Jesus too.
- 16:03For His glory, for His honor.
- 16:05Right?
- 16:05I have a...
- 16:08I think he's my second cousin.
- 16:10I think he is.
- 16:12My dad's side of the family is from Alabama.
- 16:15Before you start hating on Alabama,
- 16:17like, my family doesn't meet any of those stereotypes
- 16:20that people think about.
- 16:22They are farmers.
- 16:23It's like stepping back a couple centuries
- 16:24if you go back to where they are.
- 16:25But they are great people.
- 16:27But among the farmer family over there,
- 16:32there's one guy.
- 16:33I think he's my second cousin.
- 16:34His name's Johnny Frank.
- 16:36And he works in Huntsville at the NASA station.
- 16:42And he's worked there for a long time, actually.
- 16:44And I don't even know what his salary is,
- 16:46but he makes a lot of money.
- 16:48He's working for NASA.
- 16:49But he's also a brother in the Lord.
- 16:51And he always has told me, like,
- 16:53man, the stuff that we look at
- 16:56and the stuff that we talk about,
- 16:57not just the people at the Space Center here,
- 17:00but the astronauts that come in
- 17:02that have actually been there and seen things,
- 17:04like, it's impossible to just believe
- 17:08that this just happened by chance,
- 17:10that there was or had to have been
- 17:13an all-powerful creator who made all this stuff.
- 17:16It's foolish to think otherwise.
- 17:18And even most physicists actually are thinking that way, too.
- 17:22They don't want that to get out to people.
- 17:24But I think this just can't happen by itself.
- 17:27But he would say, like, wow, like, God made all of this.
- 17:32You know, all things visible and invisible he made.
- 17:36Not just me and you and things that we can see,
- 17:38but also angels, demons,
- 17:41the things in the spiritual realm.
- 17:43He created those things in the beginning, right?
- 17:46And he created them good before they were corrupted.
- 17:49So absolutely nothing was made without him.
- 17:51And John 1, verse 3, it says,
- 17:55All things were made through him.
- 17:57And without him was not anything made that was made.
- 18:01He was in the world, and the world was made through him.
- 18:04Yet the world did not know him.
- 18:06That's John 1, 3, and 10.
- 18:10So he created all things, you and me.
- 18:13So, number three under this, back in Hebrews,
- 18:17number three is he is the sustainer of all things.
- 18:23He's the sustainer of all things.
- 18:25So not only is he the creator,
- 18:27he created things,
- 18:29but then he just didn't back away from them
- 18:31and let them run on their own.
- 18:33But he actually is actively upholding these things,
- 18:36like actively involved in every little thing that goes on.
- 18:40Verse 3, first part, it says,
- 18:43He upholds the universe by the word of his power.
- 18:48Right?
- 18:49So he's not just holding dead weight.
- 18:50He is actively involved in what goes on.
- 18:54Right?
- 18:54And what's really cool here,
- 18:56that word, word,
- 18:58that's used here in verse 3,
- 19:01it means like a spoken word,
- 19:03like an active word that's coming out of his mouth.
- 19:07It's not like he spoke it,
- 19:08and now he's not speaking.
- 19:09He is speaking, like right now.
- 19:11The reason that the universe is doing what it's doing
- 19:14and the reason that your heart is beating
- 19:16is because he's speaking.
- 19:19Remember Jesus,
- 19:20man does not live by bread alone,
- 19:23but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
- 19:26Right?
- 19:27That's an active tense.
- 19:30God is speaking and keeping us alive,
- 19:32sustaining us and upholding us by the word of his power.
- 19:35Colossians 1, verse 17,
- 19:40says that Christ is before all things,
- 19:43so before anything was made,
- 19:45and in him all things hold together.
- 19:48Right?
- 19:49This was this idea of this old word
- 19:51that I like to use a lot,
- 19:52but you don't hear much anymore in the church,
- 19:55but the word providence,
- 19:56God,
- 19:57God's sovereign governing and involvement
- 19:59of all things in his creation.
- 20:01Everything,
- 20:02from a bird,
- 20:04a sparrow falling,
- 20:05that's what Jesus says,
- 20:06right to the grass growing,
- 20:08to empires,
- 20:10rising and falling,
- 20:11like God is in control of those things.
- 20:13He's not just distant,
- 20:15he is actively involved.
- 20:17He upholds the universe
- 20:18by the word of his power,
- 20:21governing and sustaining all things.
- 20:23So,
- 20:23let that be a comfort to you,
- 20:25right?
- 20:26That he's not away from you right now.
- 20:29If you indeed have Christ,
- 20:30he is going to uphold you
- 20:32and he's going to do what he promised.
- 20:34Right?
- 20:34He can't be thwarted.
- 20:35There's no power outside of him
- 20:37that can overtake him.
- 20:40He has all things under his control.
- 20:42And I had to even believe that this morning,
- 20:44even like in a frustrating situation,
- 20:45but I thought,
- 20:47am I going to believe what I'm talking about?
- 20:50You know,
- 20:50one of those things.
- 20:51And so,
- 20:52God is in control of all things.
- 20:55It demands such worship to understand that,
- 20:58that Christ is in control.
- 21:00Right?
- 21:00So,
- 21:02your heart beating,
- 21:02your lungs taking breath,
- 21:04that's being sustained by the active word of Christ right now.
- 21:07So,
- 21:09he's the sustainer,
- 21:10but he's also,
- 21:10number four,
- 21:12he's the radiator.
- 21:13Not like a car radiator,
- 21:15but a different kind of radiator.
- 21:18Look at verse three,
- 21:20where it says,
- 21:22he is the radiance of the glory of God.
- 21:27Right?
- 21:27I hope that your English translation doesn't use the word reflection.
- 21:33And if it does,
- 21:34just cross it out.
- 21:35It's okay.
- 21:36And put the word radiance instead.
- 21:40Because there's a vast difference.
- 21:42Big difference.
- 21:43One really proves to not be true at all about Jesus.
- 21:47And one proves to be true.
- 21:49How much difference?
- 21:51Well,
- 21:52to reflect and to radiate.
- 21:54A vast difference is much as like,
- 21:56the sun and the moon difference.
- 21:59The sun,
- 22:00excuse me,
- 22:00the moon,
- 22:01has no light of its own.
- 22:03You know that,
- 22:03right?
- 22:04There's no such thing as the light of the moon.
- 22:06It's,
- 22:06it's reflecting the sun's light.
- 22:09Right?
- 22:09The sun,
- 22:10unlike the moon,
- 22:11the sun radiates light.
- 22:13It's the source of light.
- 22:15Right?
- 22:15So,
- 22:15if you're saying that Jesus is just a reflection,
- 22:18you're saying that he really is not,
- 22:19the scripture says,
- 22:21that he is God.
- 22:22That he's not just reflecting the source,
- 22:24but he is a part of the source itself of light.
- 22:28Right?
- 22:30Jesus doesn't reflect it.
- 22:31He is a part of the glory of God.
- 22:34And that's shown even in the transfiguration.
- 22:37Right?
- 22:38Briefly,
- 22:39Peter,
- 22:39James,
- 22:39and John got to see this.
- 22:41Right?
- 22:42To look at the full strength of who he is.
- 22:45In Mark 9,
- 22:46verse 2,
- 22:47it says this,
- 22:48we're not there yet.
- 22:50We will get there.
- 22:52In Mark,
- 22:53after six days,
- 22:54Jesus took with him Peter,
- 22:56James,
- 22:56and John,
- 22:57and they led him up to a high mountain by themselves.
- 23:00And he was transfigured before them.
- 23:03And his clothes became radiant.
- 23:06There's the word.
- 23:08Intensely white,
- 23:09as no one on earth could bleach them.
- 23:13Intense moment.
- 23:13I've mentioned this before,
- 23:16but,
- 23:16like,
- 23:18you wonder,
- 23:19if you read that passage in Luke,
- 23:20and you read it here in Mark,
- 23:22it says that,
- 23:23like,
- 23:24they actually fell asleep.
- 23:26And you would think,
- 23:27what a lame time to fall asleep.
- 23:29Like,
- 23:29you're,
- 23:29you're standing there,
- 23:31watching Christ transfigured,
- 23:33and you fall asleep.
- 23:34Um,
- 23:36that's not what happened,
- 23:38really.
- 23:38But when you really read the language there,
- 23:41it kind of gives us impression
- 23:42that they were so overwhelmed
- 23:44with what happened,
- 23:46like,
- 23:47adrenaline,
- 23:47everything,
- 23:48that they literally just,
- 23:49like,
- 23:50lost their strength
- 23:50by being there,
- 23:51probably.
- 23:52They just passed out.
- 23:54Um,
- 23:54so whenever you ask,
- 23:55like,
- 23:56just to,
- 23:56God,
- 23:57show me your faith,
- 23:58show me your glory,
- 23:58like,
- 23:59it's a really intense moment.
- 24:01Most people in Scripture
- 24:01have terrifying experiences
- 24:04when they ask for God
- 24:05to show them His glory.
- 24:07Um,
- 24:08it's not something
- 24:08you just kind of waltz into.
- 24:09It's something that will
- 24:10terrify you.
- 24:12Um,
- 24:13so,
- 24:13he is the radiance
- 24:15of the glory of God.
- 24:17It's the same radiance
- 24:18that blinded Saul,
- 24:19right,
- 24:20on the road to Damascus.
- 24:22And back in the Nicene Creed,
- 24:23uh,
- 24:24381 A.D.,
- 24:26they wrote,
- 24:27God of light,
- 24:28God of God,
- 24:29light of light,
- 24:31very God of very God,
- 24:33Jesus Christ our Lord,
- 24:34right?
- 24:35That's the description
- 24:36of who Jesus is.
- 24:38So,
- 24:38number five,
- 24:39he's the representative.
- 24:41It's a big word.
- 24:43Um,
- 24:44number five,
- 24:45representative.
- 24:46And back in Hebrews,
- 24:48the third part of verse three
- 24:51says that Jesus is the
- 24:53exact imprint
- 24:54of his nature,
- 24:56of God's nature.
- 24:58And this idea
- 24:59of an imprint
- 25:00refers to an image
- 25:01on a coin
- 25:02which perfectly
- 25:03corresponds to the die,
- 25:05right?
- 25:06It's being used,
- 25:06the image of the die.
- 25:08So,
- 25:08Jesus is,
- 25:09in fact,
- 25:10completely the same
- 25:11as the Father.
- 25:12He also,
- 25:13but he also isn't just the same,
- 25:14but he is a representative
- 25:15of the Father.
- 25:17He's the source.
- 25:18John 1,
- 25:19like we said,
- 25:20the Word was God.
- 25:22Not just,
- 25:24um,
- 25:24the Word was,
- 25:25was like a God.
- 25:26It was,
- 25:26the Word was God.
- 25:29Um,
- 25:29Jesus is the representative
- 25:30of all things,
- 25:32especially his people,
- 25:33right?
- 25:34And the Word was with God.
- 25:36Uh,
- 25:36turn back to Colossians.
- 25:38I should have told you
- 25:39to keep your hand there.
- 25:40I apologize.
- 25:41But,
- 25:41there's two more places to turn.
- 25:44This one and one more.
- 25:44but also just hold your place
- 25:47in Hebrews.
- 25:51So,
- 25:51when we see Christ,
- 25:53we see the Father,
- 25:54right?
- 25:55But,
- 25:56he also is a distinct person
- 25:57bound up in the mystery
- 25:59of the Trinity,
- 26:00right?
- 26:01He is,
- 26:01he is God,
- 26:03but he also is a distinct member
- 26:04of the Trinity.
- 26:07Don't look at two verses here.
- 26:10Colossians 1,
- 26:10verse 19.
- 26:12For in Christ,
- 26:14right?
- 26:14All the fullness of God
- 26:16was pleased to dwell.
- 26:20Alright,
- 26:20look at that.
- 26:21Then jump to Colossians 2.
- 26:23Just go down a little bit.
- 26:25Colossians 2,
- 26:26verse 9.
- 26:30It says,
- 26:30For in him,
- 26:31the whole fullness of deity
- 26:33dwells bodily.
- 26:35And you have been filled with him,
- 26:37who is the head and rule,
- 26:39head of all,
- 26:40rule and authority.
- 26:42Okay?
- 26:42So,
- 26:44you see these words of all fullness
- 26:45dwelt in Christ.
- 26:48Pleruma.
- 26:49The idea of fullness.
- 26:51It means,
- 26:52at least in the Greek,
- 26:53what this would imply
- 26:53was the sum total
- 26:54of divine power and attributes.
- 26:57The fullness.
- 26:57The sum total of divine attributes
- 26:59dwelled in Christ.
- 27:01And that's used eight times
- 27:03in Colossians.
- 27:04That phrase.
- 27:06That the fullness
- 27:06dwelt in him of God.
- 27:08Right?
- 27:09And so,
- 27:09and that word dwell
- 27:10means to be at home permanently.
- 27:12So he didn't ever lose it.
- 27:13It stayed there.
- 27:15Like he embodied
- 27:16all of who God was
- 27:17at all times.
- 27:19Right?
- 27:20There's,
- 27:20there's not another created thing
- 27:22that could actually say that.
- 27:24No created thing
- 27:25could say what Jesus said.
- 27:26He said,
- 27:27you think that Abraham was great,
- 27:30but I tell you truly
- 27:31before Abraham was,
- 27:33I am.
- 27:34That same name
- 27:36that God used of himself
- 27:37at Sinai.
- 27:39So,
- 27:39that's why they tried to stone him.
- 27:41So,
- 27:41yes,
- 27:43the fullness of deity
- 27:44dwelt in Christ
- 27:45at all times.
- 27:47So he's the representative
- 27:48of God here
- 27:49before us.
- 27:50Number six.
- 27:51Just two more.
- 27:51Number six.
- 27:52He's the purifier.
- 27:55Back in Hebrews.
- 27:57The purifier.
- 27:59Verse three.
- 28:02After making purification
- 28:04for sins,
- 28:05he sat down
- 28:06at the right hand
- 28:07of the majesty on high.
- 28:09Right?
- 28:11No.
- 28:11Christ has shown himself
- 28:13to be the priestly purifier.
- 28:15Right?
- 28:15He is our high priest.
- 28:16He represents us
- 28:18before God.
- 28:20So unlike the other priests,
- 28:21Christ offered himself,
- 28:23his own body,
- 28:24right,
- 28:24as a sufficient sacrifice
- 28:26for our sins.
- 28:27And he died.
- 28:29He died.
- 28:29No priestly,
- 28:30no earthly priest
- 28:31could do this.
- 28:32The priesthood of Aaron
- 28:33was lacking.
- 28:34It had so many issues.
- 28:36Right?
- 28:36And God just tolerated it
- 28:38for a short time,
- 28:39pointing to
- 28:39a greater fulfillment
- 28:41when Jesus would come
- 28:42to be
- 28:42the ultimate high priest.
- 28:45And he would,
- 28:46nothing in the Old Testament,
- 28:47even today,
- 28:48right,
- 28:49nothing can cleanse
- 28:50our conscience.
- 28:52A guilty,
- 28:53sinful,
- 28:54broken conscience.
- 28:55So if you're without Christ today,
- 28:57that may be how you feel.
- 28:59And just know
- 28:59there's hope in Christ.
- 29:01Christ can take care of this
- 29:02because of what he has done.
- 29:04Right?
- 29:05We are all filthy
- 29:06and unrighteous
- 29:07before God.
- 29:08Yet Hebrews 9,
- 29:0914,
- 29:10says this,
- 29:11how much more
- 29:13will the blood of Christ
- 29:14who through the eternal spirit
- 29:16offered himself
- 29:17without blemish to God
- 29:19to purify our conscience
- 29:21from dead works
- 29:22to serve a living God.
- 29:25Right?
- 29:27His blood,
- 29:28his sacrifice,
- 29:30his priesthood
- 29:31can cleanse our conscience.
- 29:34What an awesome gift.
- 29:35Like,
- 29:36I don't think,
- 29:37to a man at least,
- 29:38there is nothing more appealing
- 29:39than just an approving conscience
- 29:41because of what you've done.
- 29:43Right?
- 29:43Because of,
- 29:45excuse me,
- 29:45because of what Christ
- 29:46has done for you.
- 29:48And so,
- 29:49and the Levitical priests,
- 29:50most of you could be aware
- 29:51of this probably,
- 29:52but they were always
- 29:53moving around.
- 29:53There was never no resting.
- 29:55When the time
- 29:55for sacrifices came,
- 29:57stuff got busy.
- 29:58Animals being
- 29:59slaughtered like crazy.
- 30:01Right?
- 30:01Blood dripping everywhere.
- 30:04They never sat down
- 30:05because they always
- 30:06had work to do.
- 30:08But as we read here
- 30:08in Hebrews,
- 30:10back in verse 3,
- 30:11it says that Christ
- 30:11sat down
- 30:12at the majesty on high
- 30:14after making
- 30:15purification.
- 30:17Right?
- 30:18Awesome.
- 30:19He sat down
- 30:20symbolizing that
- 30:21he was finished.
- 30:22That nothing else
- 30:23had to be done.
- 30:24That it was the perfect
- 30:25sacrifice.
- 30:26And he sat down
- 30:27showing that his work
- 30:29was sufficient,
- 30:30decisive,
- 30:31final.
- 30:32He's not going to
- 30:32go do it again.
- 30:34So,
- 30:34whenever,
- 30:34even as believers,
- 30:35I think that all the time,
- 30:37man,
- 30:37I've got to be
- 30:38cleansed again.
- 30:39That's how you think.
- 30:40You wouldn't say that,
- 30:41but like you think,
- 30:42man,
- 30:42I've screwed up again.
- 30:44I've gone back to this
- 30:46or I've done something
- 30:46grievous to the Lord.
- 30:48It's still there.
- 30:49His work was
- 30:50decisive and final.
- 30:52And you can rest
- 30:52in that truth.
- 30:54He sat down
- 30:55at the majesty
- 30:55on high.
- 30:57Then,
- 30:58lastly,
- 31:00number seven,
- 31:01he is the ruler.
- 31:04Christ is the ruler.
- 31:06Verse three.
- 31:08It says,
- 31:08after he sat down
- 31:09at the right hand
- 31:10of the majesty
- 31:10on high,
- 31:12having become
- 31:12as much superior
- 31:14to angels
- 31:14as the name
- 31:15he has inherited
- 31:16is much more
- 31:18excellent than theirs.
- 31:20Right?
- 31:20So,
- 31:22in Hebrews,
- 31:24a huge theme,
- 31:25huge theme,
- 31:26I won't dare say
- 31:26the only theme,
- 31:27but a huge theme
- 31:29is that Christ
- 31:29is much,
- 31:31much better
- 31:32than what they
- 31:33used to have.
- 31:35So,
- 31:35if you start
- 31:36reading Hebrews,
- 31:36you'll see that
- 31:37he is better
- 31:37than the old covenant.
- 31:40He is better
- 31:41than Aaron's priesthood.
- 31:43He is better
- 31:43than Moses
- 31:44as a deliverer.
- 31:45He is better
- 31:46than the Sabbath
- 31:47they had.
- 31:48All these things.
- 31:49And so,
- 31:50another thing is
- 31:50they all had a big deal
- 31:52with angels.
- 31:53Angels this
- 31:54and angels that.
- 31:56Like,
- 31:56Christ created angels
- 31:57and he has a much
- 31:58more excellent name
- 31:59than them.
- 32:00He rules over them.
- 32:02Right?
- 32:04The last place
- 32:04I wanted you to turn,
- 32:05Psalm 110.
- 32:09Psalm 110.
- 32:10All things
- 32:16are under the
- 32:16authority of the Father,
- 32:18but yet the Father
- 32:19has granted authority
- 32:20to all things
- 32:21for the Son.
- 32:22Right?
- 32:22Christ is the ruler
- 32:23over all things,
- 32:24the authority
- 32:24over all creation.
- 32:27This is a,
- 32:28Psalm 110
- 32:29is a
- 32:31messianic psalm
- 32:32that talks about
- 32:33Christ,
- 32:34David,
- 32:35King David
- 32:36prophesying,
- 32:37speaking of
- 32:37the Messiah
- 32:38to come.
- 32:40I love this,
- 32:41this psalm.
- 32:43Verse 1.
- 32:45The Lord
- 32:45says to my Lord,
- 32:47or God the Father
- 32:48says to the Son,
- 32:50sit at my right hand
- 32:52until I make
- 32:53your enemies
- 32:54your footstool.
- 32:55The Lord
- 32:56sends forth
- 32:57from Zion
- 32:57your mighty scepter.
- 32:59Rule
- 33:00in the midst
- 33:01of your enemies.
- 33:02Your people
- 33:03will offer
- 33:04themselves freely
- 33:05on the day
- 33:06of your power
- 33:06in holy garments
- 33:07and from the wound
- 33:09of the morning
- 33:10the dew
- 33:11of your youth
- 33:12will be yours.
- 33:13An awesome
- 33:14prophecy,
- 33:15right?
- 33:16That Christ
- 33:17will rule
- 33:17and his people
- 33:19will offer
- 33:20themselves
- 33:20freely.
- 33:22You know,
- 33:22why did you
- 33:23come here today?
- 33:23Did you come here
- 33:24because you had to
- 33:25or because you
- 33:26wanted to?
- 33:27Did you offer
- 33:27yourself freely
- 33:28today?
- 33:30Most of us
- 33:30who have come
- 33:31to know Christ,
- 33:31we want to
- 33:32not do anything
- 33:34out of duty.
- 33:35We want to
- 33:36because we love
- 33:36him and we're
- 33:37thankful,
- 33:38right?
- 33:38We offer
- 33:39ourselves
- 33:39freely.
- 33:40So when Christ
- 33:41returns,
- 33:42it says that his
- 33:43people will be
- 33:44ready.
- 33:44They'll like
- 33:45gladly offer
- 33:45themselves
- 33:46when he
- 33:47returns.
- 33:48John Calvin
- 33:49said of this
- 33:50text here
- 33:51in Psalm
- 33:51110,
- 33:53awesome phrase
- 33:55here,
- 33:55listen to this,
- 33:56from this
- 33:57text we learn
- 33:58that however
- 33:59numerous those
- 34:00enemies may be
- 34:01who conspire
- 34:02against the
- 34:02Son of God
- 34:03and they
- 34:04attempt the
- 34:05subversion of
- 34:05his kingdom,
- 34:07all will be
- 34:08brought unavailing
- 34:09for they shall
- 34:10never prevail
- 34:11against God's
- 34:12immutable purpose
- 34:13but on the
- 34:14contrary,
- 34:15they shall by
- 34:16the greatness
- 34:16of his power
- 34:17be laid
- 34:19prostrate at
- 34:20Christ's feet.
- 34:21Isn't that
- 34:21awesome?
- 34:22Like nothing
- 34:23can stop this.
- 34:24Yes,
- 34:25I'm so happy.
- 34:26Like nothing,
- 34:27no power can
- 34:28stand against
- 34:29Christ,
- 34:30right?
- 34:30Remember
- 34:31King Herod?
- 34:33He tried to
- 34:33do so many
- 34:34things to
- 34:35thwart the
- 34:36work of
- 34:36Christ.
- 34:37Both Herods
- 34:37did.
- 34:38Do you
- 34:39remember in
- 34:39Acts 12
- 34:40that he
- 34:42was singing
- 34:43or conducting
- 34:44some kind of
- 34:44poem and
- 34:45they began to
- 34:45applaud him
- 34:46and they
- 34:47said,
- 34:48the voice of
- 34:48a God
- 34:49and not a
- 34:50man.
- 34:51And what
- 34:51happened?
- 34:52Herod was
- 34:52struck down
- 34:53right there on
- 34:53the spot and
- 34:54he was eaten
- 34:54by worms,
- 34:55like right in
- 34:56their sight.
- 34:56The same
- 34:57guy who
- 34:58stood in
- 34:58judgment of
- 34:59Jesus.
- 35:00Right?
- 35:01Who spat
- 35:02on the
- 35:02glory of
- 35:03Christ.
- 35:04He was
- 35:04eaten by
- 35:04worms.
- 35:05It says he
- 35:05breathed his
- 35:06last.
- 35:07Right?
- 35:08No ruler
- 35:09can stand
- 35:10against Christ.
- 35:11Some of you
- 35:12probably may not
- 35:13know this,
- 35:13but in history
- 35:14there was a
- 35:14Roman soldier
- 35:16named Julian
- 35:17and he took
- 35:18it,
- 35:18his personal,
- 35:20made it his
- 35:20personal mission
- 35:21to help
- 35:21persecute and
- 35:23exterminate
- 35:23Christians.
- 35:24He made,
- 35:25he basically
- 35:25challenged Christ,
- 35:26like, I
- 35:27will basically
- 35:28blot out
- 35:29your name.
- 35:31But he
- 35:31was wounded
- 35:33severely,
- 35:33morally wounded
- 35:34and was
- 35:34dying.
- 35:35He took
- 35:36some of
- 35:36his blood
- 35:36and he
- 35:37threw it
- 35:37up to
- 35:37Heather
- 35:37and he
- 35:38said,
- 35:38you have
- 35:38conquered,
- 35:39oh you
- 35:39Galilean.
- 35:40That's like
- 35:40what he
- 35:41said,
- 35:41like Christ
- 35:42ruled over
- 35:43him.
- 35:45Right?
- 35:46So,
- 35:47you don't
- 35:48want to
- 35:48stand in
- 35:49opposition to
- 35:50this king.
- 35:50This king
- 35:51is powerful,
- 35:53you can't
- 35:54resist him,
- 35:54but he
- 35:55also is
- 35:56good and
- 35:56he'll call
- 35:56you to
- 35:57himself and
- 35:57he'll save
- 35:58you.
- 35:59Right?
- 35:59The
- 35:59omnipotent
- 36:00power of
- 36:00Christ,
- 36:01the work
- 36:02on the
- 36:02cross was
- 36:03for our
- 36:03everlasting
- 36:04good as
- 36:05believers.
- 36:07One last
- 36:08little quote
- 36:08by my
- 36:10John Calvin
- 36:10on that
- 36:11passage in
- 36:11Psalm 110.
- 36:13He says,
- 36:14however much
- 36:14the world
- 36:16may rage
- 36:17against
- 36:17Christ,
- 36:19it will
- 36:19never be
- 36:20able to
- 36:20hurl him
- 36:21from the
- 36:21right hand
- 36:22of the
- 36:22Father.
- 36:24Moreover,
- 36:24as he
- 36:25does not
- 36:26reign on
- 36:26his own
- 36:27account,
- 36:27but for
- 36:27our
- 36:28salvation,
- 36:29we may
- 36:29rest assured
- 36:30that we
- 36:31will be
- 36:31protected
- 36:32and preserved
- 36:33from all
- 36:34ills under
- 36:35the guardianship
- 36:36of this
- 36:36invincible
- 36:37king.
- 36:38Isn't that
- 36:39awesome?
- 36:39We are
- 36:40protected by
- 36:41this king
- 36:42forever.
- 36:44So,
- 36:45just in
- 36:45conclusion,
- 36:47like,
- 36:47I've looked
- 36:48at,
- 36:49I've probably
- 36:49been a believer
- 36:50since I was
- 36:5018,
- 36:51I'm 31
- 36:52now,
- 36:53probably,
- 36:53that range
- 36:56of time.
- 36:59And as
- 36:59I've grown
- 37:00in my
- 37:01faith,
- 37:01Christ has
- 37:02gotten
- 37:02bigger to
- 37:03me,
- 37:04he has
- 37:04gotten
- 37:05more
- 37:05glorious
- 37:05to me,
- 37:06and I
- 37:07hope that
- 37:07that's the
- 37:07same for
- 37:08you.
- 37:09The more
- 37:10and more
- 37:10I see
- 37:11my sin,
- 37:12the greater
- 37:13Christ looks.
- 37:14That's a
- 37:14mark of
- 37:15true maturity
- 37:15as a
- 37:16believer,
- 37:16the more
- 37:16and more
- 37:17you'll see
- 37:17of your
- 37:17sin,
- 37:18not the
- 37:18less
- 37:18you'll see
- 37:19of it.
- 37:19But then
- 37:20it helps
- 37:20you kind
- 37:20of like
- 37:21forget about
- 37:21yourself and
- 37:22take heart
- 37:23in who
- 37:23Christ is.
- 37:26But as
- 37:27we grow
- 37:27in our
- 37:28faith,
- 37:29as children
- 37:29grow,
- 37:30as you
- 37:30grow,
- 37:30adults,
- 37:31older
- 37:31adults,
- 37:32students,
- 37:33like you're
- 37:33going to
- 37:34hopefully have
- 37:35an enlarged
- 37:36view of who
- 37:36Christ is.
- 37:38And in
- 37:38C.S.
- 37:39Lewis's
- 37:39Prince
- 37:41Caspian,
- 37:41the Chronicles
- 37:42of Narnia,
- 37:42it kind
- 37:43of depicts
- 37:43a cool
- 37:44picture of
- 37:44a growing
- 37:46idea,
- 37:46a growing
- 37:47view of who
- 37:48Christ is
- 37:48throughout
- 37:48those stories.
- 37:50And in
- 37:50Prince
- 37:51Caspian,
- 37:52young Lucy,
- 37:54on her
- 37:54quest,
- 37:55she saw
- 37:55the lion,
- 37:57Aslan,
- 37:57who represents
- 37:58Christ in
- 37:59the story,
- 37:59and she
- 38:00ran to
- 38:00him in
- 38:01the moonlight,
- 38:01right,
- 38:02and she
- 38:02burst of
- 38:03emotion,
- 38:04just laid
- 38:04hold of
- 38:04him,
- 38:06buried her
- 38:06face in
- 38:06his mane.
- 38:08And I'll
- 38:08just read
- 38:09you this
- 38:09little section
- 38:09here.
- 38:11She says,
- 38:11Aslan,
- 38:12dear Aslan,
- 38:14sobbed Lucy,
- 38:15at last,
- 38:17the great
- 38:17beast,
- 38:18rolled over
- 38:18on his
- 38:18side,
- 38:19so that
- 38:20Lucy fell,
- 38:21half sitting,
- 38:22half lying,
- 38:23between his
- 38:24front paws.
- 38:25He bent
- 38:25forward and
- 38:26just touched
- 38:27her nose
- 38:27with his
- 38:28tongue.
- 38:29His warm
- 38:30breath became
- 38:31all around
- 38:31her.
- 38:32She gazed
- 38:33up into
- 38:34the large,
- 38:35wise face.
- 38:36He said,
- 38:37welcome,
- 38:37child.
- 38:39Aslan,
- 38:40Lucy said,
- 38:41you're bigger.
- 38:43That is
- 38:43because you
- 38:44were older,
- 38:46little one,
- 38:47he answered.
- 38:48not because
- 38:49you are.
- 38:50I am not,
- 38:51Aslan said,
- 38:52but every
- 38:53year you
- 38:53grow,
- 38:55you will
- 38:55find me
- 38:56bigger.
- 38:57Pretty cool.
- 38:59So,
- 38:59expanding souls
- 39:00encounter and
- 39:01expanding Christ,
- 39:02right?
- 39:03Like,
- 39:04as we grow in
- 39:04our faith,
- 39:05Christ will
- 39:05seem more
- 39:06and more
- 39:06glorious,
- 39:08more bigger
- 39:08to us.
- 39:09Like,
- 39:09there's enough
- 39:09of him
- 39:10to go around
- 39:11for eternity,
- 39:12right?
- 39:13That's
- 39:13what we're
- 39:13going
- 39:14be
- 39:14doing.
- 39:14Pretty
- 39:15awesome.
- 39:16Right?
- 39:17So let's
- 39:17just pray
- 39:17together.
- 39:18Let's
- 39:18Let's