God Has Spoken to Us by His Son

✦ Not an Improvement — a Replacement

God spoke. That is the starting point. He has never been silent. But notice how He spoke before: at various times — in fragments, in portions, piece by piece. In various ways — through dreams to Joseph, a burning bush to Moses, a still small voice to Elijah, visions to Isaiah. Each prophet received a fragment. No single prophet received the whole picture. And always through intermediaries.

Then: in these last days — by His Son. The contrast is not improvement. It is replacement. The fragmentary has given way to the complete. God did not send a better prophet. He sent His Son. And the Son is not a messenger carrying God's word — the Son IS God's word. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Guyon taught that Christ is the eternal and essential Word, and hearing is the sense that receives Him. Bowen said it is one thing to hold the doctrine of Christ's divinity, and another to draw from it the fullness of blessing. Hebrews 1:2 is the doctrine. Drawing from it is the study we begin now.

Two staggering claims in one sentence. Heir of all things — not some things. Everything. And through whom He made the worlds — the heir was there before the inheritance existed. The Son through whom all things were made is the Son who will inherit all things. He is both the origin and the destination. Baker's divine principle from whom we flowed and to whom we return. The river and the sea.

The brightness of His glory — not a reflection but a radiance. The sun and its rays are not two suns. The ray IS the sun reaching you. Christ is not a mirror reflecting God's glory from a distance. He is the glory itself, emanating, reaching, arriving. Bowen's sun that exists only to dispense — now identified as the Son Himself.

The express image of His person — the Greek word is charaktér — the exact stamp, like a seal pressed into wax. Not a likeness. Not a copy. The precise impress of God's being. If you want to know what God looks like — look at Christ. He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).

Not only did He create — He sustains. Moment by moment. The word that spoke the worlds into existence is the same word that holds them together right now. Colossians 1:17: in Him all things consist — hold together, cohere. If He stopped speaking, everything would cease.

The Benimar driving through Spain right now is upheld by the word of His power. The road under the wheels. The air in the lungs. The gravity that keeps the motorhome on the road. All sustained by one word.

By Himself — alone. Bowen's wine-press from July 12. No helper. No assistant. He Himself.

Purged our sins — past tense. Completed. Done. The robes from Revelation 7 — not pure but purified. The blood of the Lamb did what no human effort could.

Sat down — the most important two words in the verse. In the Old Testament tabernacle, there were no chairs. The priests never sat down because the work was never finished. Every day, more sacrifices. Every year, another Day of Atonement. The standing was the proof that the work continued. But Christ sat down — because the work is complete. The sitting is the proof of the finished work.

This sets up the entire argument of Hebrews 1. The Old Testament law was delivered through angels (Acts 7:53). If Christ is greater than the angels, then Christ's word is greater than the law they delivered. And the name — the more excellent name — is the name above every name (Philippians 2:9). The name at which every knee shall bow.