"Our Superlative Savior"
Hebrews 1:1-14
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 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; 3 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; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Introduction: In our day there are those who teach that the God of heaven is the same god that is worshipped by many religions, therefore it really doesn't matter which god you call on or serve; that this god sent forth many teachers like Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus. If you remember our message a few weeks ago this is called pluralism and let me say right here and now that there is no such thing. There is only one God and He is the God of the Bible, not the Koran or the Book of Mormon or any other religion. His name is Jesus and He is the superlative Savior! He is excellent, unmatched, unbeatable, untouchable, outstanding, exceptional, incomparable, unparalleled, consummate, unrivaled, supreme, peerless unrivalled and without equal. He is all of this and more. Jesus is matchless in salvation, for He is the way:
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"
Jesus is matchless in supplication, for He is life.
John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
John 16:23 "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."
Jesus is matchless in the Scriptures, for He the truth.
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
Matthew: The Messiah
Mark: The Miracle Worker
Luke: The Son of Man
John: The Son of God
Acts: The Power of the Church
Romans: Our Justifier
Corinthians: The one that shall reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet
Galatians: The Redeemer from the Curse of the Law
Ephesians: The one in whom we have redemption through His blood even the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of His grace
Philippians: The one that shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory
Colossians: The fullness of the Godhead Bodily
Thessalonians: The one coming himself, not sending Gabriel, or Micheal, but He Himself shall descend, from heaven with a shout, at the voice of the archangel and when he comes we'll rise to meet Him in the air and so shall we ever be with Him.
Timothy: The one Mediator between God and man.
Titus: The Blessed Hope
Philemon: The Faithful Partner
Hebrews: The high priest after the order of Melisedec
James: The great physician
Peter: The One coming as a thief in the night
John: He is love
Jude: The Lord of vengeance
Revelation: The Lord of Lords, The Lamb on the Throne, The Light of the New Jerusalem and the King of all Kings
He is the "I am" of the Old and New Testaments. I found the following statement based on this truth entitled:
MY NAME IS "I AM"
I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking: "My name is "I AM." He paused. I waited.
He continued, "When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not 'I WAS.'
When you live in the future with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not 'I WILL BE.'
When you live in this moment it is not hard; I am there! My name is 'I AM!'
Can I get an amen! That was all introduction; the rest is the message! Let's examine the text to see what God has for us this morning. First, Paul declares that:
I. He is the inerrant revelator
a. It was fragmentary revelation
The word "places" can be translated portions and means that God revealed His word to the fathers by different prophets a piece at a time or a portion at a time. He gave each prophet a fragment of His revelation and these men delivered the message that they had received but it was only part of His revelation.
b. It became full revelation
The next verse tells us that God's revelation of Himself reached its fullness, its completeness in His Son. Everything we want to know about the Father we can learn from what He has revealed through His Son Jesus.
Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
c. It is final revelation
The Psalmist David who loved God's Word writes:
Psalms 119:89...For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven..."
We say that God has finished the revelation of himself for several reasons. Not the least of which is the prohibition against changing it in any way.
Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Second:
II. He is the immutable regulator
a. He is the Creator of all things
Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA from 1953 - 1993. He entered heaven in 2000. He had the most wonderful cadence and expression to his preaching. This is how he described the creation of the universe as only Dr. Lockridge could do.
"The reason God came from nowhere, was there was nowhere for Him to come from. And coming from nowhere, He stood on nothing for there was nowhere for Him to stand. And standing on nothing, He reached out where there was nowhere to reach and caught something where there was nothing to catch, and hung something on nothing, and told it to stay there. And nobody said anything because there was no one there but Him."
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
b. He is the Controller of all things
Have you ever given any thought to what would happen if Jesus should ever stop "...upholding all things by the power of His word..." What if something as basic as the law of gravity suddenly stopped? Have you ever watched the astronauts in the space station? They just float around in the air. Now think about that on a global scale! Right now everything in orbit is pulled by gravity towards the earth and burns up in the atmosphere. Just the opposite would happen without His "upholding power!"
Hebrews 1:3 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;
Third:
III. He is the incomparable redeemer
a. He is the exalted One
Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
b. He is the enthroned One
Hebrews 1:3 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;
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
c. He is the excellent one
He is more excellent than the angels in glory; greater than Michael or even Gabriel. The angels bow and worship Him. The angels are His attendants; they serve Him and wait upon Him. Verse 9 declares that "...He has been anointed with the oil of gladness above thy fellows..."
"The ideas of the royal and the festive unction are combined. The thought includes the royal anointing and the fullness of blessing and festivity which attend the enthronement." VWS
Finally:
IV. He is the indisputable ruler
a. He is returning to claim His kingdom
Verse 2 declares that Jesus is "...heir..." to all things.
If a son, then he is an heir - for so it is usually among people. This is not to be taken literally, as if he inherits anything as a man does. An heir is one who inherits anything after the death of its possessor - usually his father. But this cannot be applied in this sense to the Lord Jesus. The language is used to denote his rank and dignity as the Son of God. As such all things are his, as the property of a father descends to his son. Barnes
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
b. He will initiate a day of reckoning
This indisputable ruler comes not as the savior of the world but the judge of all men. The saints and the ain'ts will be judged. The saints for the way we have served and the anit's for the way they have sinned! Either way this judgment will be final.
Acts 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
c. He shall reign for all eternity
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Conclusion: WHAT DOES REVELATION MEAN?
A group of kids were playing basketball in the high school gym. An elderly janitor was reading the Bible while waiting patiently for the game to end. After the game, one of the kids said "What are you reading?"
The janitor said "I'm reading the book of Revelation."
The kid said "I hear that Revelation is hard to understand. Do you know what it means?"
The janitor said "Yes I do."
The kid said "What does it mean?"
Janitor says "It means that Jesus wins!"
(From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, The One Who Inspires Worship and Witness, 6/29/2010)
Jesus wins and those who know Him win with Him for we are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We win because: He is the inerrant revelator, He is the immutable regulator, He is the incomparable redeemer, He is the indisputable ruler, praise His name. Do you know Him today? I'm not talking about religion. Buddhism is a religion but Buddha can't take you to heaven. Islam is a religion but Mohammed can't take you to heaven. Only one way and that's by the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
