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

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.