Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Five)

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Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Five)

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We began looking at Hebrews 1:3 in the last part of our study. We learned that Jesus is the “brightness” (radiance) of God’s glory and the “express image” (exact expression) of His person (substance).

… the Son is the perfect embodiment of God as He really is. God’s being is being made manifest in Christ, so that to see him is to see the very nature or character of God himself. Peter O’Brien, God has Spoken in his Son: A biblical theology of Hebrews, APOLLOS (IVP Imprint), 2016

This is a remarkable statement concerning the “greatness” and “superiority” of Jesus Christ. We move now to the second half of verse 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

We see Jesus accomplishing three great things that no one else has ever done nor will ever do.

upholding all things by the word of His power
purged our sins
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Let’s look closely at each accomplishment.

Upholding All Things

The Greek word pherōn means “to bear, bear burden, carry, carry burden, bring forth, conduct, lead, uphold, sustain.” It’s a verb that is a present, active, nominative participle. Martin Luther, in his Lectures on Hebrews, wrote that the participle “upholding” is a Hebraism (Hebrew idiom) that “expresses a certain tender and, so to speak, motherly care for things that he created and that should be cherished.”

The Greek word panta means “all, every, the whole, every kind of, each part.” That’s “every thing.” Every thing. One of my teachers used to say, “all means all and that’s all means.” Jesus upholds “all things.”

Think about that truth claim for a moment. Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, is actively, currently, “upholding all things.” Jesus Christ, “through whom also He made the worlds,” is bearing up all things in the world and the universe. Jesus created all things and bears all things He created. Truly amazing!

By The Word Of His Power

Jesus accomplishes this amazing feat (upholding all things) “by the word of His power.”

The Greek word rhēmati means “a thing spoken, to speak, to command.” It comes from the word rhéō (command, make, say, speak of). The idea of the noun rhēmatiis that it is the spoken word of a living being – a living voice.

Jesus upholds all things “by the” (tō) “word” (rhēmati) of His “power” (dynameōs). What is the “word” of Christ’s “power”?

The word rhēmati means “a thing spoken, a command” from a living voice. How did Jesus create everything in the universe? By speaking things into existence.

Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. Genesis 1:3

Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Genesis 1:6

Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. Genesis 1:9

Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. Genesis 1:11

Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Genesis 1:14-15

Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. Genesis 1:20

Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. Genesis 1:24

Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Genesis 1:26

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Psalm 33:6

For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalm 33:9

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3

God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Romans 4:17

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3

Look at the words “framed by the word of God” in Hebrews 11:3 — katērtisthai rhēmati — meaning “founded, completed, fitted” by the “thing spoken, command” of God. God created the heavens and the earth by “speaking” them into existence.

The word dynameōs means “power, force, might, strength, ability.” Only God has the “ability” to create the heavens and the earth. Only God has the “ability” to uphold all things by the “word” of His power. Jesus spoke His Word and created all things. Jesus also upholds all things through the power of His Word.

The term also conveys the concept of movement or progress–the Son of God directs all things toward the consummation of all things according to God’s sovereign purpose. He who spoke all things into existence also sustains His creation and consummates His purpose by His word. The MacArthur Study Bible, Second Edition, Thomas Nelson, 2019

Purged Our Sins

The Greek word katharismon means “a cleansing, purifying, expiation, purge.” The word comes from katharizó (to purge). The word for “sin” is hamartiōn (missing the mark, loss because of missing the mark, fault, failure). The word poiēsamenos (had, having made) is a verb in the aorist tense (aorist participle middle). It points to something Jesus accomplished in the past that we can consider now. Jesus purged our sins when He died on the Cross.

Did Jesus purge sin for Himself? No, because Jesus committed no sin (e.g. 1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). Then, whose sins did Jesus purge? For us!

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

… knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 1 Peter 1:18-19

We are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Who caused Jesus to bleed? Roman soldiers. The Roman soldiers caused Jesus to bleed when they mocked and beat Him. Jesus bled when Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged. Jesus bled when the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns on His head and took a reed and struck Him on the head. Jesus bled when the soldiers nailed Him to a cross. Jesus bled and died to purge sin and redeem us.

What did Jesus do after He died, rose from the dead, and ascended back to Heaven? He sat down.

Sat Down At The Right Hand Of The Majesty On High

What did Jesus do for us? He —

Laid down His life on the Cross
Stood up alive in the tomb
Sat down victorious at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

The Greek word ekathisen means “sat down.” It’s a verb in the aorist tense (aorist indicative active), which means something accomplished in the past that we can consider now. Jesus sat down a long time ago. Where did He sit? “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

The Greek word dexia means “right hand” or “right side.” The right hand of what or who? “the Majesty on high.” The word “Majesty” is Megalōsynēs and means “greatness, majesty.” It comes from the word megas (large, great).

Sitting at the “right hand” or right side of someone has long been seen as a special place of status and honor. We find that true throughout history. Standing at the right hand of a person with high rank gave them equal honor and authority. Jesus sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high shows that He is greater than anyone or anything.

Israel’s King David prophesied about this event a thousand years before it happened:

The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Psalm 110:1-2

Jesus prophesied to the leaders of Israel that He would sit at the right hand of God and declared Himself to be the Son of Man and Son of God. The leaders believed those words to be blasphemy because Jesus was claiming to be equal with God.

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, tell us.’ But He said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.’ Then they all said, ‘Are You then the Son of God?’ So He said to them, ‘You rightly say that I am.’ And they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth. Luke 22:66-71

Jesus accomplished His Father’s will. He left the glory of Heaven, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bondservant, and came to earth in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself and died on the Cross. Because of that, God highly exalted Jesus and gave Him the name which is above every name – “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)

Here’s how some of the New Testament writers addressed Jesus sitting down at the right hand of God.

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19

This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. Acts 2:32-33

… and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:19-23

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. 1 Peter 3:18-22

Hebrews 1:3 is a wonderful declaration of the beauty and majesty of our Blessed Redeemer!

… 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.

Next Time

We will study Hebrews 1:4 in the next part of our series, Hebrews: Christ Is Greater.

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Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Five)