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Meditations on the Glory of Christ: He is the Exact Imprint of the Nature of God

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In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The fourth claim the author makes is that he is the exact imprint of the nature of God. The word for “exact imprint,” character in Greek, referred to “an engraver or an engraving tool or a stamp” of some sort. It was sometimes used of the image of a ruler that was stamped on the currency of his kingdom, which is what I think the author has in mind here.

The idea is that God has put the flawless imprint of his being on the currency of his Kingdom, but in this case the currency is not a medium of exchange like money, but the being of his Son. And this imprint is made up of everything God is, in other words, it’s made up of his very nature. It’s made up of his very being.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, perfectly represents the essence of the being of God, and in this way he perfectly displays the glory of God for all to see. This is why Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Since the exact imprint of the essence of the Father has been stamped upon his Son, the visible manifestation of the Son perfectly represents the being of the Father. And this is why 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.

And this is why the Apostle Paul prayed this prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Beloved, this is no theoretical claim: Jesus is the exact imprint of the nature of God! Think about how great he must be in light of this truth. Think about how exalted a position he must hold in light of this truth. Indeed, Jesus is highly exalted and he alone is worthy of our praise, our allegiance, our souls, our lives, our all. Oh that God would grant us eyes to see the glory of Christ, and hearts to worship the Christ who is so glorious!


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