JESUS, THE BRIGHTNESS OF GOD'S GLORY It is a principle in Scripture that the Word is always to be associated with God (its ultimate Author), the Son (Who is the embodiment and personification of Scripture), and the Holy Spirit (through Whom it was given). How marvelously this is confirmed in our text! -- Tomorrow:
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; 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; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews 1:1-4)
Devotion 1 of 14
It is GOD, who in various times and various ways, spoke in times past. It is GOD who is speaking to us now through His Son. GOD appointed His Son the heir of all things. GOD made the worlds through His Son. GOD the Majesty on high, at whose right hand the Son now sits.
The SON OF GOD is now the appointed heavenly spokesman. THE SON is the appointed Heir of everything. THE SON is the One who made the worlds. THE SON is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express Image of His person. Presently, THE SON is upholding everything by the word of His power. THE SON purged our sins by Himself, with no assistance from man. In His capacity as "the Man," THE SON is better than the angels, and has obtained a more excellent name. There, in four short verses, we have fourteen references to Deity – the Father and the Son. The references to the Father and the Son are the flavoring of the passage. They are what brings spiritual pungency to it.
This passage calls upon us to consider the One through whom the Lord is speaking to us: "God . . . Hath in these last days spoken unto us by HIS SON" (1:2). There you have both the Father and the Son behind the message we are to receive. The Father willed it, and the Son spoke it. In further support of this, throughout the book of Hebrews there are reminders of the Divine authorship of the message. "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice" (3:7). "The Holy Spirit indicating this . . . " (9:8). "But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us . . . (10:15). "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven" (12:25).
The intent of this series of devotions is to show the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the most precise revelation of God. His words unfold the purpose of God, and His Person clarifies the nature and will of God. Jesus is the expositor of God, unfolding what He is like, and what He has willed for mankind. In all of its aspects, salvation centers in Jesus Christ, the exclusive spokesman for God Almighty.
For this reason, our destiny depends upon our relationship to Jesus Christ the Lord. He cannot be replaced by a system of theological thought, a religious institution, or personal and earthly ambitions. God has nothing to offer you that does not come from His Son. And you can offer nothing to God that is not offered through the Son.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for drawing me to Your Son, and revealing to me that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.