Hebrews 1:1-4

The Unrivaled Excellence of Christ

 

If you are ever tempted to imagine that there might be some similarity between the weak, frustrated, helpless Jesus of this idolatrous generation and the exalted Lord of glory, just re-read the opening verses of the Book of Hebrews. Here we have the Christ of God revealed to us, the real Christ, our all-glorious Savior. If the Christ you worship is not this Christ, the Christ you worship is antichrist, a false Christ. In the first two verses, the Holy Spirit shows us the unrivalled excellence of our Lord Jesus Christ in three glorious facts.

 

The Word of God

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the Word of God, the revelation of the invisible God. – “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (vv. 1-2).

 

Though God spoke to men in the Old Testament in the types, shadows, ceremonies and pictures of the law, and by the visions of faithful prophets, all the law and the prophets spoke of and pointed to Christ. And, now, in these last days, God has spoken to us one more time, this time with finality and in one way – “by his Son”.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is not one of many revelations. He is the revelation of the invisible God. Christ is not one of many words. He is the Word of God (John 1:1-3; 18). You and I cannot see God, know God, speak to God, be spoken to by God, or come to God except by Christ (John 14:6: Matt. 11:25-27). Christ is the Way. – Without him, there is no going to God. Christ is the Truth. – Without him, there is no knowing God. Christ is the Life. – Without him, there is no living before God. There is no prophet like Christ our Prophet. He is unrivalled in his excellence as the Revelation of the invisible God.

 

The Heir of God

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the Heir of God, the appointed heir of all things. – “Whom he hath appointed heir of all things” (v. 2; John 3:35). All things belong to Christ, our great Mediator and Substitute. He who is our Savior holds all things in his hands by rightful and lawful possession. Being heir of all things, he has the absolute right to do exactly what he will with all things. “None can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” No one is about to slap him on the wrist and say, “Oh, no, don’t do that.” No one in heaven, earth, or hell, is going to call him into account!

 

Jesus Christ our Lord is the unrivalled Sovereign of the universe (Matt. 28:18; John 17:2). He who is God our Savior does as he will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. He makes one a vessel of honor and another a vessel of dishonor, one a vessel of mercy and another a vessel of wrath, one to show forth the riches of his grace and another to show forth the severity of his justice, exactly as it pleased him from all eternity. Christ is the appointed heir of all things personally (Ps. 2:8). He is the appointed heir of all things representatively (Heb. 6:20). And he who is the heir of all things is the dispenser of all things. “Behold your God!” – Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the appointed heir of all things.

 

Creator of All Things

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the Creator of the Worlds. – “By whom also he made the worlds” (v. 2). There is an obvious reference here to the distinct divinity and personality of our Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son. John tells us that “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3; Col. 1:14-17).

 

Everything the triune God does he does through the mediation of Christ. The measurements of the universe were laid down by Christ. The power of the sun and the brilliance of every star is energized by his sovereign, almighty, irresistible will! It was Christ, our Savior, the great Mediator and Surety of his people, who laid the foundations of the earth! Christ is the Creator of all things! He is not the great Spectator of all things, or great Evolver of all things, but the great Creator of all things!

 

When the Holy Spirit tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of the worlds, he is not suggesting that there might be more than one inhabited planet. Rather, he is telling us that every realm of existence in the universe was created by Christ and is ruled by Christ: The Heavenly World, The Habitation of God and the Holy Angels, -- The Upper World, The Vast Expanse of Space, -- The Lower World, The Habitation of Man, -- The World Beneath, The Prison of the Damned.

 

Christ is Lord of all! Behold God’s vast creation, in all its orderly splendor, beauty, and majesty, and know that Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as our great Creator. Perhaps you think, “Why is this so important? Why are you so vehemently insistent upon declaring that Christ made all things and rules all things in absolute sovereignty?” Let me show you.

 

To deny that Christ created all things and rules all things is to deny that he is God. To deny that he is God is to mock him, blaspheme him, and attempt to deny him his glory. To deny that Christ is God, sovereign upon his throne is to deny hope to needy sinners who look to him alone for grace, salvation, and eternal life (John 17:2; Rom. 14:9). None but an absolute, sovereign Lord can save. None but an absolute sovereign can be trusted implicitly. None but an absolute, sovereign Lord can save. None but an absolute sovereign will be worshipped.

 

A long, long time ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote of the greatness, superiority, and excellence of our Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 9:6-7). Then hundreds of years later, when the angel appeared to Mary and announced that, though she was a virgin, having never known a man, she would conceive and bring forth a Son by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that her child would be the Son of God, the Savior of his people, Jesus – He said, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Lk. 1:31-33).

 

We read in Colossians 1:18-19 that it is the will and purpose of the triune God “that in all things he (the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, our Mediator) might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Now, that which God spoke by the prophet, announced by his angel, and proclaimed by his apostles has come to pass.

 

In Hebrews 1:1-4 the Spirit of God informs us that the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to, greater than, and exalted above all things. In fact, this is really the message of the entire Book of Hebrews. A key word in the book is the word “better.” The primary purpose of this book is to show us that Christ is “better” than all who came before him. He is better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, and better than Aaron. He is Surety of a better covenant, established upon better promises, giving a better hope. Christ our Savior is better than the tabernacle, the altar, and the mercy-seat. He is a better Sacrifice, offering better blood, giving us a better access to and better standing before the holy Lord God. In all things Christ is better than all others. He is infinitely better. He is the best! He is, to put it in a word, unrivalled. That is clearly the message of the book.

 

“The Brightness of His Glory”

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the brightness of the glory of God. – “Who being the brightness of his glory” (v. 3). Christ is the glory of his glory who is Glory! He is God, having the same glorious name, nature, attributes, and being as the Father. Therefore, he rightfully claims worship, homage, and glory from men and angels. He is God, in all the fulness of Godhood; and he is the glory of God, the brightness of the glory of God. That is a statement which simply exceeds the limits of my puny brain!

 

Christ shows us the nature of God, the purity, brilliance, and splendor of his perfections as God. Yet, there is more. Jesus Christ, the Man who is God, is the glory of the triune God. “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

 

“The Express Image of His Person”

 

                The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the express Image of God’s person. – “The express image of his person” (v. 3). Without question, this description of our Savior implies the equality of the Father and the Son, the sameness of essence within the godhead, and a distinction of persons in the trinity (John 5:7). Certainly, that is more than we can begin to comprehend. Yet, there is something here which is commonly over looked. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Mediator, is that man who is the image of God in whose image the first man, Adam, was made (Gen. 1:26-27).

 

The Upholder of the Universe

 

Christ’s unrivalled excellence is also seen in the fact that He upholds all things by the word of his power. Again and again, throughout the Inspired Volume, the Holy Spirit tells us, and emphasizes the fact, that our Lord Jesus Christ governs the universe and all things in it absolutely. He controls what men call “the balance of nature.” He is the Balancer! He is the One, who as the Lawgiver of the universe, established and controls what scientists call the “laws of nature.” It is Christ, our God and Savior, who determines all the affairs of providence. He preserves; and he destroys. He kills; and he makes alive. He enables; and he disenables, not by force of arms, but by the mere word of his power! Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, rules all things absolutely (Ps. 76:10; 115:3; 135:6; Pro. 16:1, 33; 21:1).

 

No event takes God by surprise. Nothing happens without his direction. From the election of his people, to salvation and everlasting glory, to the election of civil magistrates, to the consummation of the universe, everything in the universe happens, or not, at the will, decree, and order of Christ our God! Even the cursing of Shemei and the kiss of Judas were as much under his rule as the worship of the holy angels around his throne. When the Jews cried, “crucify him,” and Pilate delivered him to their will, when the soldiers nailed him to the tree and the mobs spit in his face, he who was crucified was in absolute control of his crucifiers. I hear him as he hangs upon the cursed tree, covered in his own blood and the excrement of their vile throats, declare, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life for the sheep…No man taketh my life from me, I have power to lay it down, and power to take it again!”

 

Jesus Christ is the absolute Monarch of the universe. Our Savior is the great King! Nothing more fully shows forth the unrivalled excellence of Christ than his total sovereignty, “upholding all things by the word of his power.”

 

Our Redeemer

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as the Redeemer of his people. – “He has by himself purged our sins.” Glorious word of grace! The Lord Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself, bare our sins in his own body on the tree, was made to be sin for us, suffered all the horror of the ignominious wrath of almighty God for our sins to the full satisfaction of his infinite justice, and bore them away forever! It is Christ who purged our sins (Heb. 9:24-26).; and he did it by himself (Isa. 63:1-5). All the sins of all God’s elect were washed away at one time in the blood of the Lamb, washed away forever! The Lord Jesus needed no help in doing the work. He did it by himself, without our involvement, without us putting forth our hand, or lifting up our tools. “He has purged our sins!” This is atonement, blood atonement, a just atonement, definite (limited - our sins”) atonement; and effectual atonement. Here is a Priest like no other priest. “He purged our sins!” Here is a sacrifice like no other sacrifice. All other sacrifices were consumed by the fire of God’s altar. Here is the Sacrifice that consumed the fire of God’s wrath. Truly, Christ is unrivalled in his excellence as our Redeemer.

 

Glorious Exaltation

 

Our Savior’s unrivalled excellence is to be seen in his glorious exaltation. -- “When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Behold the Lamb upon his throne, seated yonder in glory, at the right hand of the Majesty on High! What could be more appropriate? Christ achieved all that he came here to do. He has redeemed his people from their sins. He purged our sins. Now, he sits in glory, the Object of all worship, honor, and praise. This is our God. This is our Savior. He is seated on the right hand of the Majesty on High. What does that imply? His work is finished. His sacrifice is accepted. “His rest is glorious!” His people are secure. He is preeminent!

 

His Excellent Name

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is unrivalled in his excellence by reason of the excellent name he has obtained. – “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they.” Christ is better! -- Better than all the prophets! -- Better than all the priests! -- Better than all the kings! -- Better than all the sacrifices! -- Better than all the angels! -- Christ is better than all. “He hath obtained a more excellent name than they.” His name is who he his. His name is the name of salvation (Acts 4:12; John 1:12; 20:31). His name prevails in heaven (John 15:16). His name is the name that must be known and acknowledged. We preach that men everywhere may know his name (Acts 9:15). All will one day acknowledge and reverence his name (Phil. 2:9-11). This great, unrivalled, gloriously excellent Christ is the Savior of all who trust in his name!

 

A long, long time ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote of the greatness, superiority, and excellence of our Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 9:6-7). Then hundreds of years later, when the angel appeared to Mary and announced that, though she was a virgin, having never known a man, she would conceive and bring forth a Son by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that her child would be the Son of God, the Savior of his people, Jesus – He said, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Lk. 1:31-33).

 

            We read in Colossians 1:18-19 that it is the will and purpose of the triune God “that in all things he (the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, our Mediator) might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Now, that which God spoke by the prophet, announced by his angel, and proclaimed by his apostles has come to pass.

 

In Hebrews 1:1-4 the Spirit of God informs us that the Lord Jesus Christ is superior to, greater than, and exalted above all things. In fact, this is really the message of the entire Book of Hebrews. A key word in the book is the word “better.” The primary purpose of this book is to show use that Christ is “better” than all who came before him. He is better than the prophets, better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Joshua, and better than Aaron. He is Surety of a better covenant, established upon better promises, giving a better hope. Christ our Savior is better than the tabernacle, the altar, and the mercy-seat. He is a better Sacrifice, offering better blood, giving us a better access to and better standing before the holy Lord God. In all things Christ is better than all others. He is infinitely better. He is the best! He is, to put it in a word, unrivalled. That is clearly the message of the book.