Seeing the Supremacy of God’s Final Revelation - Jesus
HEBREWS 1:3. Verse 3 is an exposition of how the Son reveals the Father to us. The idea of “radiance” goes back to the notion of the shekinah glory in the Old Testament. The shekinah was a shining, visible glory that demonstrated the majesty of God, as in the exodus (Exod 13:21; 40:34-35) and at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11). Looking at Christ is the way we see most fully the glory of God.
More than that, Christ is the exact expression of the Father’s nature. Christ shares the divine nature with the Father as the Second Person of the Trinity. This is where the divine Son is different from a human son. No human son is the exact representation of his father. There is a close relation, but not an exact representation. Christ, however, is an “exact representation.” He and God are of the same divine essence.
There are almost innumerable applications to the doctrine of the Trinity as expressed here in Hebrews 1. For example, this is one of the reasons Protestants have been opposed to the use of icons. There is no need to hang icons on a wall when you believe in the One who was hung on a cross. A Trinitarian Christology is of vital importance to the health of the church. The author of Hebrews is clear: we only understand Christ rightly when we see him in a redemptive-historical context as the climax of God’s revelation, and in a theological context as the Second Person of the Trinity.
As this important divine figure, the Son is not only the active agent of creation, but he is also active in the preservation of creation. He sustains “all things by his powerful word.”
There are almost innumerable applications to the doctrine of the Trinity as expressed here in Hebrews 1. For example, this is one of the reasons Protestants have been opposed to the use of icons. There is no need to hang icons on a wall when you believe in the One who was hung on a cross. A Trinitarian Christology is of vital importance to the health of the church. The author of Hebrews is clear: we only understand Christ rightly when we see him in a redemptive-historical context as the climax of God’s revelation, and in a theological context as the Second Person of the Trinity.
As this important divine figure, the Son is not only the active agent of creation, but he is also active in the preservation of creation. He sustains “all things by his powerful word.”
If the Son ever ceased to will the universe to remain, then the universe would cease to exist. The power to create is also the power to preserve, the power to control, and the power to bring to an end. Hebrews tells us the Son possesses this kind of power.
These are deep waters. The inner workings of the Trinity are indeed a profound and glorious mystery. Martin Luther, the great Reformer of the sixteenth century, was once asked by a young theology student a speculative question about the nature of God. Luther responded, “I think an angel would be scared to ask that question.”
Similar reverence should accompany our own study of the doctrine of the Trinity. There are certain questions we simply cannot ask since God has not revealed an answer to us. What is revealed, however, is that the Father through the Son accomplished creation and continues to sustain it.
The transition to “purification for sins” happens rather suddenly. Yet we must see in this how tightly the Bible intertwines the person and work of Christ. The word purification is not one we typically use to summarize the gospel. This word encapsulates the priestly work of Christ and recalls the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. .
The final statement highlights the kingly authority of Christ. To be at someone’s “right hand” is to be in a place of favor and authority. For Christ to be at the right hand of the heavenly “Majesty” means he is above all powers and he rules over the cosmos. The place of Christ in heaven at God’s right hand also alludes to his work of intercession for us (Rom 8:34).
These are deep waters. The inner workings of the Trinity are indeed a profound and glorious mystery. Martin Luther, the great Reformer of the sixteenth century, was once asked by a young theology student a speculative question about the nature of God. Luther responded, “I think an angel would be scared to ask that question.”
Similar reverence should accompany our own study of the doctrine of the Trinity. There are certain questions we simply cannot ask since God has not revealed an answer to us. What is revealed, however, is that the Father through the Son accomplished creation and continues to sustain it.
The transition to “purification for sins” happens rather suddenly. Yet we must see in this how tightly the Bible intertwines the person and work of Christ. The word purification is not one we typically use to summarize the gospel. This word encapsulates the priestly work of Christ and recalls the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. .
The final statement highlights the kingly authority of Christ. To be at someone’s “right hand” is to be in a place of favor and authority. For Christ to be at the right hand of the heavenly “Majesty” means he is above all powers and he rules over the cosmos. The place of Christ in heaven at God’s right hand also alludes to his work of intercession for us (Rom 8:34).
