Hebrews 1:1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Sundry means several or different times. Divers means different ways. God
spoke through visions, dreams, and through prophets. In the past before
Christ, God spoke to us by the prophets or by those chosen of God to speak to
the people His messages.
Heb 1:2 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;
Now God speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is now no other
mediator between the believer and God. Not Mary, not any saint, not an angel,
not a prophet or even a preacher. There is no other mediator between a believer
and God other than Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reference:
Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from
the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
New Testament Reference:
1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
Heb 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;
Jesus has returned to the Father. He was with the Father at the creation of the
world and even before that. He always existed and will always exist. He returned
to the glory He had before He came to earth as a man born of woman. He came to
purge us from sin and make the way that all who believe would inherit eternal
life. He sits at the Father's right hand as an intercessor and the only mediator
between God and man.
As wonderful as the mother of Jesus was, she is not a mediator between believers
and God or between believers and Jesus Christ. Mary herself needed a savior.
Here is what the word says concerning Mary.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of
the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for
Jesus was also Mary's savior as well as other believers.
Old Testament reference of a sacrifice for sins.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his
own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:5 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?
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he
saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Jesus was higher than the angels of heaven who worshipped Jesus and were subject
to Him. This privilege is not given to any other. He was begotten or came
from the Father, He was also the first begotten or raised from the dead to
receive a new immortal body that can no longer die. This He accomplished
so that we who believe will also be entitled to receive a new body at the
resurrection.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers a flame of fire.
The angels are never to be worshipped but are ministering spirits sent forth to
do the Lord's will and minister to the saints (believers) in Christ. Verse 14
says that they minister to the heirs of salvation.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a
scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.
The coming kingdom of Jesus Christ will be righteous and perfect. God has
appointed Him the head of the corner. He is the foundation of all things that
are truth. His will is to be accomplished no matter who may not believe or no
matter who will oppose it. Opposition will never change the truth of God's word.
What He says will come to pass. We cannot make this happen ahead of time and we
cannot set up the kingdom of Christ before He comes literally. Also we cannot
hinder this from taking place. The only thing we can do to hasten the Lord's
coming is to preach the gospel. The more the gospel of the kingdom is preached
the faster the coming of the Lord will be. We are not to set up a literal
earthly kingdom. That is for Christ to do. We are to preach the gospel. What is
the gospel? The good news that Jesus came to save all from sin. Sin cannot enter
the kingdom of God that is coming. Sin must be done away with. We must repent of
sin and turn to Christ for salvation. When we believe, we are "born again" by
the spirit of God. We receive the witness within us at that time. God's spirit
comes to us and confirms what we believe in our hearts. That doesn't mean that
we feel something all the time for we walk by faith and not feeling but many
times the spirit of God will reveal truth to us when we seek Him, little by
little, precept upon precept. The gospel is simply to believe in Christ as
savior from our sins.
Heb 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God,
even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Christ is anointed above all and is God that came into the flesh. He is "God
with us" Jesus came into the flesh by being born from a woman and becoming a
human being. The word became flesh and lived among us. Jesus loves righteousness
and truth and hates sin. That is why He came to get rid of the sin. Sin kills,
steals and destroys. Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly.
Old Testament reference: The New Testament fulfills the Old.
Psalm 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the
scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.
Psa 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the
earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Jesus was present at the creation.
Heb 1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as
doth a garment;
The present earth will be rolled up and changed. Old things will pass away and
all things will become new. Jesus remains the same.
Heb 1:12 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.
Revelation 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Old Testament reference:
Psa 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the
earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Psa 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of
them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they
shall be changed:
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation?
Old Testament reference:
Psa 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a
flaming fire:
Psa 104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should
not be removed forever.
Jesus is on the right hand of the Father. Steven saw this when he was martyred.
Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into
heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Act 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man
standing on the right hand of God.
Old Testament reference:
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
There is a song I once heard:
I see Jesus standing at the Father's right hand.
I see Jesus over in the promised land.
Life is over, now He's coming for me.
I see Jesus, standing, waiting for me.
The book of Hebrews speaks of the new covenant that God gives to
us through Jesus Christ. It speaks of the better covenant that
takes away sins. The first covenant and the law given by Moses
pointed the way to this covenant. The law showed us what sin was
but the law could not make the sinner clean from sin. Sacrifices
were made for sin but those sacrifices did not permanently
remove the sin that destroys the soul. The sacrifice of Jesus
removes the sin of the believer. Yes, we have the will power to
allow the sin to return but the Holy Spirit is given to us when
we become believers to enable us not to desire to return to
willful active sin. Sin will instead begin to grieve us. We will
not want to sin. If we do, we will repent right away and turn
from it by the help of the Holy Spirit.
As we study the bible and this book of Hebrews, we will learn
more of this mediator that was sent to us from God our Father to
show us the way to eternal life. The path to eternal life is
first to be saved from sin then we can receive the Holy Spirit.
This is being born again by the spirit of God.
The law was for Israel. The gospel is for Israel and everyone
else. This new covenant included all of every race or status. It
is for all who will just believe. We cannot possibly keep the
law in all points without fail. God made a way that someone kept
the law in all points for us. This was Jesus.
He died for our sins that we may live and inherit eternal life.
The perfect sacrifice has been made. It is up to us to receive
it.
