Skip to main content

Meditations on the Glory of Christ: He is the Final Word of God

Image
By
Over the next several weeks, I want to draw our minds back to the Letter of Hebrews and meditate with you on several aspects of the glory of Christ. The author begins his letter with these words: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...” (1:1-2a). Here the author draws a comparison between two things that begin to establish the superiority of Jesus over all things.

One the one hand, God spoke and spoke and spoke over a period of about ten centuries, through a number of people, and in a variety of ways. He spoke to Adam and Noah and Abraham and Moses and many others by means of commandments, exhortations, oracles, stories, miracles, visions and dreams, theophanies, natural and supernatural events, pillars of fire and smoke, the Urim and Thummim, a still small voice, and so on. God issued an extensive amount of speech, over an extensive period of time, through a number of people, and in a variety of ways. But as powerful and important as that speech was, in the end it was preparatory and partial. It was begging for, and pointing toward, something outside of itself. Something greater. Something that would fulfill what it promised and anticipated.

On the other hand, in these last days, God has spoken once for all, at one period of time, through one person and in one way. Namely, in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son. And when he spoke in this way, he was not simply offering new or more information about himself, rather, he was providing a much fuller image of himself. He was saying, “Here I am, here’s what I’m like, here’s a display of the fullness of my glory.” So the speech of God by the Son includes the words of Jesus, the deeds of Jesus, but more importantly the very being of Jesus. Jesus reveals the Father to us by revealing himself to us because in him all the fullness of deity is pleased to dwell (Col 1:19 and 2:9).

Now, this does not mean that God’s former speech is irrelevant. To the contrary, all of God’s speech is still speaking and all of God’s speech is still pointing toward his Son. This is why the author of Hebrews quotes or refers to the Old Testament over one hundred times, often introducing the quotes with, “The Holy Spirit says.” Not said, but says. So all of God’s speech is still speaking, but in the end, God has nothing more or less to say than what he’s spoken by his Son. God has fully revealed himself in Jesus, and he has nothing more to reveal than Jesus.

O Beloved, since God has spoken so completely and decisively in his Son, may we listen to that speech until we hear, meditate until we comprehend, consider until we receive, and apply until we truly understand. May God reveal to us the fullness of his glory through his most precious Son, Jesus.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Worship Songs, October 15, 2017

By
We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. My Redeemers Love Hope Has Come I Will Glory In My Redeemer Blessed Be Your Name Here In Your Presence Your Glory Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) -- Sermon Text: John 11:1-16 That the next generation will set their hope in God and not forget the works of God (Psalm 78:7).
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vendi...
Post a Comment
Read more