We open the Word of God together to Hebrews,
the first chapter this morning, where our text
will be in verse 6. I am not given to quoting
Harry Truman because that can get a preacher
into trouble. But on Harry Truman's desk was
a little motto which came into use a number of
times in his presidency. The little motto simply
said, the buck stops here. He was willing to
take the full responsibility for his office as
president and the decisions that he had to make.
We can appreciate that grasp of what leadership
is all about, especially when that same statement,
the buck stops here, seems to have a different
meaning to some contemporary politicians. The
office of president pales, however, in comparison
to the authority which belongs to another supreme
and superior preeminent one who is above everyone
and everything, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
He is the final authority over all other authorities.
That idea of supremacy and preeminence is in
the theme of Hebrews. Hebrews tells us about
the superiority of Jesus Christ. It was written,
of course, to Christians from a Jewish background.
Some of them were apparently tempted to return
to their Judaism and to abandon their faith in
Jesus. And so the writer of this book gives them
what he calls in chapter 13, verse 22, a word
of exhortation. to encourage them to stick with
it and to endure, to go on to maturity in their
faith. The content of the book of Hebrews illustrates
the superiority of Christ over anything that
Judaism had to offer. Did Judaism have its prophets?
Christianity has the Son. The prophets were partial,
but the Son is the final and full revelation
of God. Did Judaism have a covenant delivered
by the angels? Christianity has Jesus, in whose
blood the final covenant has been established.
The angels were but servants. Jesus Christ is
the enthroned Son. Did Judaism have Moses? Indeed.
And Moses was faithful in all his house. But
Christianity has the Son, who is faithful over.
all his house, including Moses. Did Judaism have
a priesthood? Of course. But it was a priesthood
that was limited in duration and effect. It was
a priesthood on the order of Aaron. But Christianity
has the Son, whose priesthood is forever, for
he ever lives to intercede for those who come
to God through him. and his priesthood is based
upon the order of Melchizedek. Did Judaism have
sacrifices? Yes, many of them, daily offered
in the temple on earth. But Christianity has
the Son, one priest, one sacrifice, made forever,
and now he appears in the Holy of Holies in heaven
on our behalf. And so you see the book of Hebrews
is about the preeminence of Jesus Christ. It
is an argument regarding the Son's superiority.
In the first part of the book, he speaks about
the Son's superiority over the angels. And it
is in that context that we find this word, this
title that we've been looking at, firstborn.
He says in chapter 1, verse 6, The firstborn
into the world, he says, let all the angels of
God worship him. Remember that this name firstborn
has nothing to do really with time, nor is it
really a word describing created order as though
Jesus were the first created thing. But as we
have seen, the title firstborn refers to the
chief one, the one who is above everyone else,
the one who is preeminent. Jesus Christ is the
only Son of the Father, the firstborn of God.
As the firstborn of God, He is in the first place
preeminent as the Word of God. How do we know
about God? Well, the answer is by revelation.
Whether it be natural revelation in the world
around us or the personal revelation in Jesus
Christ or the written revelation of this book,
the way that we know about God is by revelation.
God is not discovered by man. God reveals himself
to man. The finite cannot discover the infinite,
but the infinite can reveal himself to the finite,
and that he has done. In the first few verses
of this marvelous first chapter of Hebrews, he
speaks about revelation and the fact that God
spoke. God has spoken. God is not a silent God
who has been wound up the universe and then gone
off somewhere else to tend to other things. God
has spoken. You will notice in these first verses,
verses 1 and 2, several couplets that are really
contrasting couplets. He tells us in the first
place that God spoke long ago. But God has spoken
again in these last days. Long ago, in these
last days. In times past, the Old Testament times.
But then in these last days, once again, God
has spoken. These Messianic times. He says God
has spoken to the forefathers and to us. Another
couplet. The forefathers referring to the Old
Testament believers. to us, referring to believers
in that first century, but by way of extension
to us as well in their writings. God has spoken
in the prophets. God has spoken in His Son. Another
couplet. The prophets refers to the Old Testament
prophets who were special instruments of the
Holy Spirit, pointing to the coming of Christ.
But, likewise, God has spoken in His Son. the
one whose nature is that of being a son. And
in the son, he has fully revealed himself. This
does not mean that what the prophets said was
of no consequence, but rather it was foundational.
And now God has completed what the prophets began.
God has spoken in many portions and in many ways
in times past. But now he has spoken finally.
That word is not used, but that is implied in
the tense of the verb when it says, God has spoken
to us in verse 2. God has spoken finally and
fully. The point is this, that we should expect
no further revelation from God than that which
He has given. He has now fully addressed Himself
to us in His Son. All additional so -called revelations
after the Son are spurious and fraudulent. However
sincere the worshipers of Allah be, Muhammad
was not the prophet of God. Jesus Christ was
the final prophet of God. We expect no further
revelation from him, and because of his preeminence,
As the Word of God, He is the firstborn of God,
the firstborn of God to whom we must give heed.
He is not only preeminent as the firstborn of
God in the Word of God, but He is preeminent
in the work of God. Notice beginning in verse
2 and on down through verse 3, He lists seven.
marvelous aspects of the work of God in His Son,
the firstborn. He says in the first place that
He has been appointed heir of all things. This
word heir is an interesting word. In the linguistic
key to the Greek New Testament, we have this
helpful couple of sentences. It says this word
is derived from the term lot. and referred to
a situation in which lots were drawn to divide
property or to select a winner. The one who drew
the lot was the heir. The word came to be used
for dividing the property that a father left
to his children when he died. When there was
only one son, there would be only one heir. Christ
is the heir of all things precisely because God
has only one son. and only one heir. So as the
firstborn of God, He has been appointed the heir
of everything. All things have been given to
Him because He is the Son. Everything is His
lawful possession. The marvelous thing is that
those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ and
who have been joined to Him by faith, are called
joint heirs. We are called the joint heirs of
Jesus Christ, of all things. All things belong
to us in him. That term joint heirs means that
Jesus cannot claim his inheritance unless you
are there with him to claim it. And when he claims
what is his alone, we all will share in it, equally
because we are His joint heirs. A second work
of God that we see here in the firstborn is that
He was the origin of the world. Literally, the
word world in verse 2 is ages. It's a word that
has to do with more than time, though. It refers
to the whole universe. It means time and space
and matter. Everything that is, He was the origin
of it. He is the planner of human history. And
all of the events of history are moving toward
a purposed culmination. History is not out of
control. It's in His control. He is the origin
of it. And as we saw in Colossians, He's the
beginning. And we saw in Revelation that He's
also the ending. So where history and the universe
began, history and the universe will culminate.
In Jesus Christ, the firstborn of God. Thirdly,
we see that he is the radiance of God's glory.
The outshining of God's glory, the great brightness,
the splendor, the Shekinah, if you please, of
God. That brilliant display of his deity that
men were able to see on occasion. in the Old
Testament. It is a light that no man can look
at, really. That radiance of God's deity is in
Jesus Christ, veiled in flesh, to be sure, but
there, and as you know, once seen through his
flesh at the transfiguration. The writer goes
on to say that he is the exact representation
of God's nature. He is the character of God.
It's as though the invisible God impressed himself
in human flesh, and the form that was left is
the person of Jesus Christ. When it says that
he is the exact representation of God, it's the
word for a stamp. Jesus Christ... is the exact
reproduction, if you please, of all that God
is so that we can see it down where we live.
He is deity impressed in humanity so that we
might see the likeness of what is invisible.
He is the essence of the infinite in flesh and
blood. It goes on to say that he upholds All
things by the word of his power. The idea here
is that he carries everything forward on its
appointed course. When you see he upholds everything,
you might in your mind picture Atlas, who in
the Greek and Roman mythology bears the world
upon his back. A static figure, frozen in stone,
who holds the world. That is not the picture
here. It is a dynamic picture of the Son of God,
the firstborn, who bears up everything and carries
it forward to its appointed end. The totality
of the universe is born on toward its goal by
the firstborn, the Son of God. It tells us further
in the context that he made purification of sins.
Why is he preeminent in the work of God? Because
he is the one who made purification. He himself,
no other. He provided cleansing of sin in a single
act at the cross where he sacrificed himself.
That is God's catharsis for the removal of sin.
It is futile for human beings to seek a cleansing,
From any other source, there is none. For he
himself and he alone has made purification of
sins. All the stain and all the pollution of
sin is removed by the work of the firstborn.
And then it says, finally, that he sat down at
the right hand of God. The majesty on high. In
sitting down, it signifies that his work was
finished in redemption. His work was completed
at the cross. He said, it is finished, and it
was. And when he got into the presence of the
Father after his ascension, the Father said,
sit right here. Why did Jesus sit? Because he
was done with his work. He had accomplished on
the earth the work he was sent to do in providing
the only sacrifice. for our sin and notice where
he's seated at the right hand of the father that
is the place of supreme authority and highest
privilege and he alone occupies that seat at
the right hand does that mean that god has a
right hand that god is in a body no it's but
an expression that simply means he's in that
place of supreme authority in the heavens over
the earth And so he is the preeminent one as
the firstborn of God. Preeminent as the Word
of God. There is no revelation that will surpass
him. He completed what God had to say to us.
He is preeminent in the work of God. From creation
all the way to the end of history, he is supreme.
And finally, we see that he is preeminent in
the worship of God. One of the basic principles
of God is that none other can be worshipped but
God alone. That's one of the Ten Commandments,
isn't it? You shall worship God only. God cannot
be worshipped without worshipping the firstborn.
It is impossible. We see four acts regarding
Jesus Christ here in the rest of the chapter
that we're going to look at very quickly. Four
acts of God that show to us that He must be preeminent
in the worship of God. I repeat, one cannot worship
God unless he worships God through the firstborn.
Notice that the first act is in this verse quoted
in Hebrews 1 .6. It is a verse... taken from
the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy, and
it says, Let all the angels of God worship him.
Notice that God himself commands that the angels
worship the firstborn, the Son of God. If the
firstborn were not God, then God would be contradicting
himself. Because God has told us that he alone
must be worshipped. And yet he commands worship
of the firstborn by the angels of heaven. And
then notice in verse 8 that God himself calls
the firstborn God. Of the Son, he says, thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. and the righteous
scepter is the scepter of his kingdom. Notice
that God the Father speaks regarding his firstborn,
his only begotten Son, and he says to him, Thy
throne, O God. Why is it that Jesus Christ is
preeminent in the worship of God? Because he
is God himself. And we cannot worship God and
reject Jesus Christ as full deity. Notice further
that he attributes to the Son both the work and
the character of God. What is the work of God?
Creation. He goes back to that in verse 10. God
is speaking and he says again, Thou, Lord, in
the beginning... didst lay the foundation of
the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy
hands. And so to the firstborn once again, we
see attributed the work of God in creation. He
says, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens themselves are but the works
of your hands. But he goes on. Not only the work
of deity, but the character of deity is in the
firstborn, because he says, they will perish,
that is the heavens, but thou remainest, and
they all will become old as a garment, as a mantle
thou wilt roll them up, as a garment they will
also be changed, but thou art the same, and thy
years will not come to an end. Here we have the
attribute of God that is called immutability.
That is, God cannot change. God does not grow
old as human beings grow old. God does not change.
He does not weaken with time. He does not gain
strength with time. He cannot, for all power
is His. He is immutable. He is unchangeable.
And so that attribute is accorded to... the firstborn,
the son. Why is it that we declare that the firstborn
is preeminent in the worship of God? Because
as God, he created everything, and as God, he
is unchangeable. But then again, in verse 13,
we find a fourth act of God. God placed him in
a position of highest honor. He says, sit at
my right hand. There is no place in the universe
higher than that. You draw out all of the organizational
charts you want to draw out. Ultimately, all
of those lines and responsibilities come to one
place in the universe, the right hand of God.
And there is one who has been appointed to sit
there, and that is the firstborn Son of God.
He is preeminent as the Word of God. He is preeminent
in the work of God. He is preeminent in the worship
of God. But what does all of that mean to us?
We who, like these first century people, claim
to be Christians. and profess faith in this firstborn
Son of God. What does it mean to us that He is
superior, that He is supreme above all? Well,
He tells us as He begins chapter 2. Notice carefully.
For this reason, we must pay much closer attention.
to what we have heard. That's what it means.
It is so easy for us, raised in a culture as
we have been, where we hear God language and
God speech, songs with familiar words that grow
old, it is easy for us not to pay close attention
any longer. As it may have been easy for these
Jewish, Christians in the first century to do
the same. But because of the uniqueness of the
one whom we claim to trust, because of his uniqueness
as the firstborn of God, we must pay much closer
attention to what we've heard, lest we drift
away. Drift away. Drift away from salvation?
To possess it and then lose it? Well, there are
those who interpret Hebrews that way. That is
not my interpretation of the book. I think a
consistent interpretation of Hebrews disallows
that, in fact. But what does he mean then by
drifting away? The picture is of a boat. A boat
that is pushed away from the shore out into the
river toward a goal on the opposite bank. But
what happens? Does the boat simply go across
the river? Oh, no. The boat, if it has no movement,
no energy, no power of its own, will hit the
current of the stream. And instead of ending
up on the opposite bank at the goal, will go
down the stream somewhere else. The point of
the writer of Hebrews is that we are like that
boat, and we have been pushed off from the bank,
as it were, by our faith in Christ, out into
the stream. And the opposite shore is the goal
of maturity in Christ, steadfastness, knowing
the deep things of God. living a godly life.
But it's possible for us not to start the engine
in that boat, or not to put the oars in the water,
and the result is that when we hit the currents
of life, instead of going to the opposite shore
to maturity, we just drift along. And the writer
of the book is saying that that is dangerous
for us. He says, if God recompensed judgment
to those Jews in the Old Testament who did not
esteem the covenant that was given to them and
treasure it, how shall we escape God's judgment
if we neglect so great a salvation as we have
in the firstborn? A strong warning that we should
avoid drifting in our faith. Drifting leads to
dullness of heart, coldness, and other dangers
that are delineated for us in the book of Hebrews.
But it begins by just drifting with the current.
You cannot drift. And grow toward maturity as
a Christian. Part of growing to maturity is exerting
the energy and the drive and the discipline that
it takes to cut across the current of the world
and of life. If we simply let go of the oars,
we will go downstream and miss God's goal. Oh,
that we should understand the preeminence of
the one that we trust and of the gospel that
he has brought to us through his once -for -all
sacrifice and determine that having left the
shore of faith, we will now oar, row on with
diligence and discipline toward maturity on the
opposite bank. Jesus Christ, as the firstborn
of God, fulfills all the offices of Messiah,
prophet, priest, and king. As the prophet, he
is the one through whom God has finally spoken.
As the priest, he is the one in whom perfect
redemption has been accomplished. As the king,
he is the one who sits enthroned at the right
hand of God in awesome majesty. Because Jesus
Christ is preeminent above all as the firstborn,
he alone is God's way of salvation. He alone
can be trusted not to fail us. And if he is rejected,
how can one escape certain judgment? God has
spoken. Now, as it were, the ball is in your
court and in mine. What are we going to say to
God in response to what He has said in His Son?
There is only one appropriate response, and that
is the response of an obedient faith, one that
trusts in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and
then goes on. to maturity. Let's pray. Our heads
are bowed as we bring the service to a close.
I wonder if there is someone or some ones who
would say before God in your heart, I am adrift.
And I acknowledge it. There is not the determination
and the discipline in my soul that is taking
me on to maturity. But the currents of life have
captured me, and I am floating downstream. But
by the grace of God, I desire to begin again.
And this morning I acknowledge my drifting. and
determined by faith that I will begin disciplining
myself and putting energy into my Christian life
again, that I might go on to maturity. Is that
your decision this morning? Tell God so if it
is. Father, I thank you for what you have said
to us in Christ. May we never take it lightly,
but understand rather the preeminence of the
firstborn and what our awesome responsibility
is to you in light of who he is and what he's
done on our behalf. Amen. If we can be of aid
to you spiritually and you desire counsel, Our
pastors are available during the week. If you
can catch us on Sunday, we're available then
too. But during the week, we can set up an appointment
with you to sit down and talk. And we invite
you to phone in this week. If you need to trust
Jesus Christ as your Savior, please do not neglect
the salvation. If you're drifting, determine
that this begins a new week for you in your walk
with God. Before we close, we want to extend
a right hand of fellowship this morning to a
number who've joined our church in recent weeks.
As I call your name, I ask you please just to
stand up where you are and come right here to
the front and be in a line in front of these
steps so that our church family can come by afterward
and greet you. Bassem Abu Zaid, did I get that
right or did I murder it? Well, apparently...
I'll find out next hour. Mark and Gail Berg,
Doug Burton, Irv and Irene Carlson, Ben Dahl,
Vicki Egan, Doug and Melanie Gilquist, Karen
Gwynn, Rob and Angela Hackett, Chet and Dorothy
King, and Charles Myrie. Would you please come?
We are glad for these that God has brought. We'll
welcome the rest of them next hour, but don't
you miss an opportunity to come by and warmly
welcome each of these officially into our church
family. Let's stand together now, please, as
we are dismissed in prayer. Father, thank you
for those that you are bringing to be a part
of this body of Jesus Christ. For these who stand
before us, we give thanks, and we pray that you
will add to them as you already have in meaningful
ways. Strengthen, we pray, our church, that we
might go on ourselves to maturity and to become
all that you want us to be. As we leave here
this morning, may Jesus Christ be preeminent
not only in the universe, but in our hearts as
well. In his name we pray, amen.