Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Four)

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Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Four)

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The theme of our new series, Christ Is Greater, is presented powerfully in the first verses of Hebrews 1. In the last part of our study we saw that Jesus, who God speaks through in these last days, is “heir of all things” and “made the worlds.” Jesus Christ, the Creator God, is the inheritor of “all things.”

We move next to verse three where we learn more about our amazing Lord and Savior.

[Listen to a Podcast of this study by clicking this link.]

Hebrews 1:3

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 on the right hand of the Majesty on high KJV

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 NKJV

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high NASB

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high ESV

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. NIV

ος ων απαυγασμα της δοξης και χαρακτηρ της υποστασεως αυτου φερων τε τα παντα τω ρηματι της δυναμεως αυτου δι εαυτου καθαρισμον ποιησαμενος των αμαρτιων ημων εκαθισεν εν δεξια της μεγαλωσυνης εν υψηλοις … 1550 Stephanus New Testament

who being the radiance of His glory and the exact expression of the substance of Him upholding then all things by the word of the power through of Himself the purification of sins having made sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high … Literal

The Brightness of God’s Glory

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is greater than all others because God the Father appointed Him as “heir of all things” and “made the worlds” through Him. We see that in verse two.

Verse three declares that Jesus is the “brightness” of the glory of God. The Greek word, apaugasma, means “radiance, shines, gleams, radiation, reflected brightness, effulgence, a light flashing forth from, of a light coming from a luminous body, to emit light or splender.” This word is used only once in Scripture, here in Hebrews 1:3.

The word ‘efflulgence’ seems to mean not rays of light streaming from a body in their connection with that body or as part of it, still less the reflection of these rays caused by their falling upon another body, but rather rays of light coming out from the original body and forming a similar light-body themselves” (Davidson). Expositor’s Greek Testament

This is an eternal description of the Son of God. Jesus has always been the “brightness” of God’s glory. That is part of the eternal nature of Christ.

On the night before the crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples some insight into the eternal relationship He has with His Father:

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. John 14:10-11

Notice that Jesus said “the Father who dwells in Me.” God is One Being in Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no other Being like God, so we have nothing to compare with it. Jesus spoke of the Father dwelling (menōn – abide, remain .. present active participle) in Him and He (Jesus) being “in” (en – within, inside, operating from within) the Father. The eternal and continual relationship Father, Son and Holy Spirit have with each other is beyond our comprehension and understanding.

Concerning “being the brightness of His glory” — though this “radiance,” sometimes referred to as “out-raying” (Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament), was veiled in the flesh of Jesus during His earthly ministry, He had already given a glimpse of His eternal glory to three of His disciples:

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Matthew 17:1-3

This “brightness, radiance” is a great Light that shines like the sun. In the Apostle John’s opening words of his Gospel account, we read this:

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:4-5

We read this in John 8:12 ..

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

This in Revelation 1:12-16 ..

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

And this in Revelation 21:22-24 ..

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

The Apostle Paul wrote Timothy that Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, dwells “in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). This is the brilliant light that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – exist in eternally. This radiance emanates from God’s nature.

I think it’s difficult for many of us to grasp the true glory of our Lord and Savior. Peter saw the Lord’s glory and wanted to build a tabernacle for Jesus. Paul saw the Lord’s glory and was blinded by it. John saw the Lord’s glory and “fell at His feet as dead.” The saints of God will one day see Jesus in all His glory and we will be amazed. Jesus is the brightness, the radiance, of God’s glory. This is the Jesus of Hebrews.

The Express Image of God

The Greek word charaktēr means “an engraving, exact representation, express image, exact likeness that reflects inner character.” An engraver in Ancient Greece would “stamp” or “imprint” an image on coins. The imprinted image on the coin was an “express image” or “likeness” of a character.

The Greek word hupostaseōs means “substance, essence, essential nature, reality, that which has foundation, support, to stand under guaranteed agreement, to possess a guaranteed agreement, a legitimate claim, confidence, assurance.” The word is used five times in Scripture (2 Corinthians 9:4; 11:17; Hebrews 1:3; 3:14; 11:1).

This too is an eternal concept. The Son of God is eternally the “express image” of the Father. Jesus Christ is in His “essential nature” eternal God.

This was one of the great debates in the early Church about the nature of God. Is Jesus Christ in His nature the eternal God? After centuries of disagreement, Church leaders agreed on the Nicene Creed which used the word hupostasis to describe Christ’s divine nature.

Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων· καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, Φῶς ἐκ Φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο· … Nicene Creed, Greek text

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence … Nicene Creed, English text
Early Church Texts

I am reminded of these verses concerning the divinity of Jesus Christ:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7

… looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ … Titus 2:13

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:15-17

Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ Jesus said, ‘I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! Mark 14:61-64

Jesus Christ is the express, exact representation of the eternal God.

Jesus, the Word of God, is God!

[Listen to a Podcast of this study by clicking this link.]

Next Time

We will study the second half of Hebrews 1:3 in the next part of our series, Hebrews: Christ Is Greater.

Book of HebrewsGodGod's GloryJesus Christ Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Four)

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Hebrews: Christ Is Greater (Part Four)