“LORDSHIP REVEALED”
HEBREWS 1:1-12

I. Introduction
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is fully God and fully man. That is the single most basic and important truth in Christianity and every true Christian believes it. Beyond that, Jesus is the creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, and the heir of all things. He is the Savior of all who will trust Him, and He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In fact, Colossians 3:11 tells us that, for believers, “…Christ is all, and in all.” You say, “That’s Basic Christianity 101. We believe all of that.”

But is there anything the Lord Jesus Christ is not? Yes, He is not a created being! When it comes to Jesus this is the one thing the religions of this world all challenge. While nearly all of them recognize the fact of the historic Jesus, they refuse to believe that He Himself is God in human flesh! The reason should be obvious. If they did believe that Jesus is God, they would have no choice but to abandon their false religions, believe what He says about Himself and them, admit their sin, and turn to Him for forgiveness.

But since most people refuse to do any of those things, they invent their own Jesus. They invent a Jesus who will fit into their religion, whatever it may be. They invent a Jesus who will “work” for them. They invent a Jesus who they can keep in a box and bring out whenever they need Him. They invent a Jesus who is always a very nice man and one who just can’t wait to pour out an endless stream of “warm fuzzies” on everyone. None of this is new. It has been going on for the last two thousand years.

Why? The world has to reduce Jesus to someone other than who He really is so that it can keep its own man-made religions. Because if there is anything the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ always destroys, it is man-made religions.

Listen to how just some of the world’s religions define Jesus.
• Hinduism – Jesus was just a man, a guru, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

• Buddhism – Jesus was merely an enlightened man.

• Islam – Jesus was just one of the prophets of Allah. He was simply a man on a par Abraham and Moses. Islam says the greatest prophet of all was Muhammad.

• Judaism – Jesus was a good man but a false Messiah who did not rise from the dead.

• The Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) – Jesus was created by God and is Michael the archangel.

• Christian Science – Jesus was just a man who displayed the “Christ idea,” meaning that it is possible to be perfect.

• Latter Day Saints (Mormons) – Mormons deny the Trinity. They say God created Jesus as a “spirit child.” His body was created when God had sex with Mary.
And on and on it goes. The world seems to think Jesus is just fine. That is, until the sub-ject of His deity comes up. Then the world says, “No! We aren’t going to believe that.”
But the Bible makes it crystal-clear that Jesus is deity. He always was and He always will be.

I know that virtually everyone here this morning believes that. So why am I bringing it to the fore? Aren’t we continuing in our verse-by-verse study of Luke’s gospel? Yes, we are. Next week we’ll return to the gospel and begin at Luke 15:1. Then in the following weeks we’ll see Jesus’ concern for the lost in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (“the prodigal son”).
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II. Review
By the time we finished Luke 14 it had become obvious that Jesus was calling all those who would follow after Him to put Him ahead of their families, friends, homes, jobs, positions, possessions, and even themselves. He taught that in no uncertain terms. He said that anyone who refused to do so could not be His disciple (His follower). More than that, He said that anyone who refused to put Him first was not worthy of Him.

Jesus’ point was that if we would be true Christians, we would need to turn our backs on the things of this world. We would need to “count the cost” of being a true Christian. He was going to the cross, and if we were going to follow Him, we would need to under-stand what we were getting ourselves into.

But sadly that isn’t the way the gospel is usually preached anymore. Today’s modern gospel tends to leave out the cost. It usually presents a Jesus who just can’t wait to save everyone whether or not they have any intention of following Him at all. People are sel-dom told there is a cost to be paid for following Jesus, for submitting to Him as Lord of their lives. Rather, sinners are usually led to believe that they can have all the benefits of the Savior Jesus and not worry about submitting themselves to the Lord Jesus.

But Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Lord and Savior cannot be separated. So we spent two weeks on the subject of the Lordship of Christ. We looked at the theology of His Lordship and we learned that salvation in Christ demands that we receive Him as Lord.

Then we looked at the history of His church and we saw that for nineteen hundred years the church taught that very truth. Only in the last century has theological liberalism begun to cheapen the gospel and present a so-called salvation that diminishes or even eliminates the need to recognize and submit to the Lordship of Christ. It’s a gospel that says, “Just believe,” but that’s only half of the truth.
John 3:36
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son (submit to Him as Lord), shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Since we’ve already explored the theology of Jesus’ lordship and the history of it in the church, today, we’re going to focus on the reality of His lordship as it is revealed by God the Father’s own words.
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II. Text
I don’t know of anywhere in Scripture that packs so much of that truth into one place as Hebrews 1. So let’s turn there and read.
*Hebrews 1:1-12 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word)
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many por-tions 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;
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, today I have begotten you”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me”?
6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, and His minis-ters a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands;
11 They will perish, but You will remain; and they all will become old as a garment,
12 and as a mantle You will roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.”

It is my sincere hope that you can turn to this passage when your faith falters, or when you find yourself wondering if what you know about Jesus is really true, or when some-one challenges your belief that Jesus is God in the flesh. Or when someone erroneously says this, something you’ve probably all heard at one time or another – “Jesus might be God’s Son, but He isn’t God.”

Let me urge you to mark this passage in your Bibles so you can find it when you need it.
*Hebrews 1:1-2a
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many por-tions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son…

This passage opens with an assumption. In Genesis God is assumed to exist. The writer of Hebrews begins with the same assumption. There’s no argument put forth to deal with the atheist or the fool. Actually, they’re one in the same. Psalm 14:1a says, “The fool has said in heart, ‘There is no God.’” So the writer of Hebrews is essentially saying, “Of course there’s a God. Only a fool would think otherwise.”

God has revealed Himself in nature (natural revelation), and He has revealed Himself in His written Word, the Bible (special revelation). So here is a second assumption. Since God exists, then that which He has revealed (the OT) is divine truth. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “…no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

But while both nature and the Scriptures attest to God’s revelation of Himself, neither of them constitute complete revelation. Nature and the thirty-nine books of the OT are all truth, but something else is needed to complete truth. In the OT terms like “in that day” or “the last day” had clear Messianic meaning for the Jews. In the former days the revelation was true but it was incomplete as it was delivered through God’s prophets.

But now look at the first half of v. 2. In “these last days” God has made His revelation complete in the Person of His Son. The point is this – the former was good but the latter is better! In Christ alone do we find complete truth. Listen to A.W. Pink. “The fullness of time had come when God sent forth His Son. He has nothing now in reserve. He has no further revelation to make. Christ is the final spokesman of Deity. The written word is now complete.”

By the way, since nature, the Scriptures, and the Person of Jesus Christ, encompass all of God’s revelation for this age, it should be clear that there will be no new revelation until Jesus’ Second Coming. This is why you can be sure that the canon of Scripture is closed. There is to be nothing added to it, and there is to be nothing taken away from it. (Roman Catholicism – Pentacostalism) Listen to the Apostle John.
Revelation 22:18-19 (reference also Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 12:32)
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city…
(back to Hebrew 1:2)
*Hebrews 1:2b
2b (in these last days has spoken to us in His Son) whom (the Father) appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

“All things” really means all things! Not only were all things created by the Son, they were created through Him. And since He is the heir of all things, it only follows that all things were created for Him. The word “world” here is “aiōn.” It means “ages,” and refers to the physical creation as well as everything in the physical creation, including time, space, energy, and matter. Paul confirms all of this.
*Colossians 1:15-17
15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

What an amazing passage! This is the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible. But there’s more.
*Hebrews 1:3a
3a 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.

The Greek word translated “radiance” refers to light or splendor that is emitted from a luminous body, such as the light that comes from the sun. It is important to note that this radiance is generated, not merely reflected. In that sense Jesus is like the sun, not the moon. The moon isn’t a producer of light, it’s only a reflector. Using the same analogy, Jesus is not just a reflection of God. He is God! Do you remember Philip’s plea?
*John 14:8-9a
8 Philip said to (Jesus), “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
9a Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”

The radiance of God’s glory in Hebrews 1:3 was seen in the “shekinah glory” in the tabernacle in the wilderness. Peter and James and John caught a glimpse of it in Jesus’ face when He was transfigured. And John saw it again in the Revelation.
Revelation 1:14
14 …His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. (back to Hebrews 1:3)

Jesus is the exact representation of the Father’s nature. R. Kent Hughes explains the Greek word translated “exact representation” this way. He says, “(It) refers to the image on a coin which perfectly corresponds to the image on the die. Jesus is therefore completely the same in His being as the Father. However, there is still an important distinction – both exist separately, as do the die and its image.”
Then Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus “upholds all things by the word of His power.” The Lord Jesus doesn’t do this with physical power, with brute force, if you will. He does it with the very same thing that created all things in the first place – His Word! Here is just one example: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).”
*Hebrews 1:3b-4
3b When (Jesus) had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

When Jesus had paid the price for our sins (made us pure in the sight of God), His work was finished. He said, “It is finished.” There is no other work to be done. Our salvation is an accomplished fact. No one can add to it, and even though people keep trying, there is no other purification possible. So while there is a heaven and there is a hell, there is no purgatory. There is no place to go and “work off” any remaining debt, because, for the Christian, there is no remaining debt. It has been paid in full.

That’s why Hebrews 1:3 tells us Jesus sat down at His Father’s right hand. He has com-pleted His work. He is not seated because He is tired. He is seated because His work is finished. And He is seated at God’s right hand because that is the place of honor, of power, and of authority. “On high” literally means “the highest height,” a position that cannot be surpassed.

Look again at Hebrews 1:4. What the writer is telling us is that Jesus, having accom-plished and completed His work, is “much better than the angels.” Not only that, He has “a more excellent name than they.” You and I believe both of those things.

But the writer of Hebrews had to make these points clear because some readers would argue that angels are extremely prominent in the OT. And they are from heaven, aren’t they? So if Jewish Christians – the ones to whom Hebrews is addressed – only had to believe that Jesus was an angel, then they could get along with the Jews who rejected Jesus’ deity. But the angels created and sustain nothing. Jesus created and sustains them. So, of course, Jesus is better than the angels and has a more excellent name than do they.

But the writer of Hebrews isn’t finished with comparing Jesus to the angels.
*Hebrews 1:5
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are My Son, today I have begotten you”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me”?

While it is true that angels are sometimes collectively referred to as “sons of God (small “s”),” they are never called sons individually. But Jesus is specifically called “My Son.” When He was baptized God spoke from heaven and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matthew 3:17).”
When the writer of Hebrews quotes God saying, “I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me,” he’s repeating an OT prophecy. God originally spoke these words to King David through the prophet Nathan. Listen to just a portion of what God said.
2 Samuel 7:13, 16
13 “He (David’s son, Solomon) shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
16 “And your house and your kingdom (David) shall endure before Me for-ever; your throne (David) shall be established forever.”

The initial fulfillment of that prophecy came with David’s son, Solomon. Solomon did build the first temple, but is Solomon sitting on David’s throne now – or will he be doing so forever? No. The ultimate fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy will come only in Christ. The angel Gabriel announced that at Jesus’ birth. We talk about it every Christmas.
Luke 1:32-33
32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever; and His king-dom will have no end.”

Such is the Son of God, and He is unlike any angel. In fact, the angels are commanded to worship Him.
*Hebrews 1:6-7
6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, and His minis-ters a flame of fire.”

It is true that for a time He was made “a little while lower than the angels,” but that time has come and gone. The day is coming when He will be worshipped by all of creation.
Philippians 2:10-11
10 …at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (“believers” in hell?)

Hebrews 1:7 speaks metaphorically about the substantive difference between the ministry of angels and the ministry of Christ. Wind cannot be seen and fire is temporary. But Christ and His ministry are both visible and eternal.
*Hebrews 1:8-9
8 But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
Anyone who persists in denying the deity of Christ should be shown Hebrews 1:8. Here, clearly and forcefully is all the proof one should ever need to establish the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father calls His Son “God.” The writer of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 45:8. The psalm is addressed to a Jewish king but its prophetic fulfillment is only possible in the Jewish Messiah, the Christ. Again, and don’t miss this, here in Hebrews 1:8, the Father is speaking to His Son and calling Him “God.”

While there are myriads of angels around the God’s throne, there are no angels sitting on it! One angel, Lucifer, tried to take that throne but failed. This heavenly throne repre-sents eternal sovereignty and it belongs to Jesus Christ. God will not share His glory.
Isaiah 42:8a
42a “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another…”

Now look at what God the Father says about God the Son in Hebrews 1:9. “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.” Loving righteousness and hating lawless-ness go together. One does not exist without the other. This is yet another clear “black and white” statement, but oh, how we love the gray.

For example, the Nicolaitans were a sect that tolerated false teaching. In speaking through John to the church at Ephesus the Lord commended them by saying, “…you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate (Revelation 2:6).” So one of the things Jesus hates is false teaching. He will not tolerate it, and neither should we. Listen, you and I are to love what Christ loves and to hate what Christ hates.

Notice that it is precisely because Jesus loves righteousness and hates lawlessness that the Father says what He says in the last part of Hebrews 1:9. “…therefore God, Your God, has anointed You (Jesus) with the oil of gladness above Your companions.” This speaks of Jesus’ title of “Messiah” or “Christ,” which means, “God’s anointed.”

Now, as if all that has been said isn’t enough to affirm Jesus’ deity and place above the angels, and all of creation, for that matter, God makes one magnificent and final state-ment about the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator and eternal God.
*Hebrews 1:10-12
10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands;
11 They will perish, but You will remain; and they all will become old as a garment,
12 and as a mantle You will roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.”

While this creation is not eternal, He is. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” All of this testifies to the Person of Christ and to who and what He is.

IV. Conclusion
We’ve taken a considerable amount time away from Luke’s gospel to testify to the Lord-ship of Jesus Christ. We’ve done so, not merely because the world denies it, but because some in the church have begun to lose sight of it. And that is being reflected in the way the gospel is often presented to a lost and dying world today.

But the idea that a lost sinner can have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord was unknown to the early church. Such thinking only began to take hold in the last century. But a gospel without Jesus Christ as Lord is no gospel at all.

So we’ve explored the theology of Jesus’ lordship in the Scriptures and we’ve looked at the church’s proclamation of Jesus’ lordship throughout the last two thousand years. And today, we’ve zeroed in on what God the Father says about His only begotten Son, Jesus.

“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…’ and, ‘You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands…’” (Hebrews 1:8, 10)

May these things be burned into your mind and into your heart. And whenever you look at Jesus remember His encounter with Philip.
*John 14:8-9a
8 Philip said to (Jesus), “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
9a Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”

~ Pray ~