Christ the Center

Epistle to the Hebrews - Part 1 • Hebrews 1:1-3 • September 6, 2020 • English Service 10:00 AM

 
Hebrews E1 with Part 1.png

Sermon Overview

We begin a new series on the Epistle to the Hebrews.

The letter begins with a powerful statement. Before, God spoke through the prophets in different ways and in different times, but now, God speaks through His Son.

The Son is better than the OT prophets in different ways. Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature. He purified sins through His death and resurrection. And He sits at the highest authority in the universe, at the right hand of the Father. Christ is above the prophets, Thus, He cannot be compared to the prophets.

The author of Hebrews declared that it was now the last days — the days of fulfillment — as opposed to the days of promise. The days of promise were the days of the prophets. But the ‘last days’, the days of fulfillment, began with the coming of Christ.

Today, we live in the ‘last days’, the time in which God’s promises in the Old Testament are being fulfilled. Today, God speaks through Jesus and none other; He is incomparable, and all who preach must point only to Christ, the center.

Doy Sto. Domingo Elder

 
 
 

Hebrews 1:1-3 NASB

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 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,

Notes

The writer of Hebrews began with a powerful statement concerning the Son of God. Throughout the first part of the treatise, he expounded that the Son of God is superior to all, which include the angels and prophets. A.W. Pink stated that the first three verses were not a simple preface, but a summary of the doctrinal section of the epistle. The author of Hebrews would continue to assert the superiority of Christ over the Old Covenant.

Although the identity of the author is unclear, tradition attributes the book of Hebrews to Paul, the apostle. Aside from the superiority of Christ, the author encouraged the Jewish believers to keep the faith and endure persecution.

  1. God spoke to the Jewish ancestors through the prophets at different times and in different ways. Such was God’s ways in the Old Testament (1:1). But the principal prophecies would be about the Messiah.

  2. But in these last days, God has spoken through His Son, who is the heir of all things, whom He made the world with (1:2; John 1:1). According to Guthrie, the term last days means days of fulfillment as opposed to days of promises.

  3. The Son is the full representation of God in glory and nature. The Son upholds all things by the power of His word. He purified our sins, and He sits at the right hand of God (1:3). He is unlike any spiritual being or religious leader.

Application

  1. God spoke to Israel through the prophets, whose works were recorded in the Old Testament. The principal prophecies were those about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Thus, we should study the OT, knowing that Christ is superior to the prophets.

  2. God fulfilled His promises through Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. Christ is the fulfillment of the promises of God. Thus, we should proclaim that Christ is the center of God’s plan. Not any man or woman. Not self-proclaimed prophets. Not any so-called saints. But Christ.

  3. Our Lord Jesus Christ fully represents the Father in glory and nature. God created the world with the Son, and the Son upholds the world by the power of His word. Thus, we trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We also preach Christ and none other. He cannot be compared to anyone, nor does anyone come close.

Discussion Guide

  1. How did God speak to the Jewish ancestors in times past?

  2. How does God speak to us now?

  3. According to Guthrie, what is the meaning of the term last days for the Jew?

  4. What does this mean to us that the principal prophecies in the OT are about

    Christ? And what does it mean to us that God’s promises are fulfilled in

    Christ?

  5. Why is Christ incomparable?