God's Supreme Word

God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial.

God has spoken His supreme Word in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah who “achieved the purification of sins” through his “once and for all” sacrifice for sins. To now return to the Levitical system with its rituals and repeated animal sacrifices would mean disregarding and dishonoring this Supreme Word and Christ’s sacrifice. By doing so, we invite severe punishment.

The Letter to the Hebrews encourages believers not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come. It does so by emphasizing the superiority of what God has done in His “Son.” The Letter compares the Levitical system and its incomplete rituals to the “better” priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus, the only one who ever “achieved the purification of sins.”

[Cross at Twilight - Photo by Lino on Unsplash]

The Letter shows by comparison how much this Word surpasses the words spoken “in the prophets to the fathers.” The Letter to the Hebrews was sent to a congregation experiencing pressure from outsiders, and some members were contemplating returning to the local synagogue to avoid persecution.

• “In many parts and in many ways of old, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets; upon the last of these days, He spoke to us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages, who, being an eradiated brightness of his glory and an exact impress of his being, also, bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, having achieved purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High, by so much becoming better than the angels, by as much as, going beyond them, he inherited a more distinguished name” - (Hebrews 1:1-4).

God spoke partially to the “fathers” (“in many parts and many ways”), but now, He is speaking fully and clearly in His Son. The passage describes the accomplishments of the “Son” through several declarations, each prefaced with the relative pronoun “who,” and it alludes to the main proof text of the Letter, Psalm 110:1:

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. <…> Yahweh has sworn, and will not repent: you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The final clause of the first paragraph concludes with the word “name” (“He inherited a more distinguished name”). This prepares the reader for the next paragraph, where the one who is identified as “Son” is compared to God’s angels.

If discouraged believers return to the synagogue, it will become necessary for them to conform to the rituals described in the Book of Leviticus. Doing so would dishonor God’s Son, the very one through whom He has spoken with such finality. Hence, the severe warnings against apostasy that are threaded throughout this Letter - (e.g., Hebrews 2:15, 6:1-12, 10:25-39).

• “Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how will we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation, which, having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by them that heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?” – (Hebrews 2:1-4).

The Letter’s opening declaration begins with two Greek adverbs, ‘polumerōs’ and ‘polutropōs’. Each is formed with the adjective ‘polus’, meaning “much, many.” ‘Polumerōs’ is composed with ‘meros’ or “part,” and ‘polutropōs’ with tropos or “manner.”

These two adverbs stress different aspects of the older revelations given “by the prophets.” Those prophetic “words” were parts of a larger but incomplete whole. God did speak before, but He only disclosed “glimpses and shadows” of His coming “good things,” which He has now revealed fully in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Three contrasts are presented in the Letter’s first paragraph. Firstly, God spoke “of old,” but now, He speaks “upon these last days.” Secondly, He spoke to “the fathers, but now, “to us,” the Assembly of God and Christ. Thirdly, He spoke previously “in the prophets,” but now, He is speaking through His Son.

The earlier revelations were incomplete. They did not reveal all that God would do for His children. Therefore, fuller disclosure was required. As the Letter argues, the priestly services and sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood proved incapable of achieving the “purification of sins” or the “cleansing of the conscience from dead works to serve the living God” – (Hebrews 9:14).

SON AND HEIR

The term “upon these Last Days” provides the time element of this “Word.” It began with the Death and Resurrection of the “Son.” Afterward, he “sat down” in God’s presence where he now intercedes for his people as their “High Priest forevermore” - (Acts 2:17, Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10).

In the Greek sentence, there is no definite article or “the” before the term “son.” The omission stresses the class or status of the one who is called “son,” not his identity. The “Word” that God now speaks is through one who is a son and in the closest possible relationship to his Father. To offend or reject the Son is the same as offending God.

As the “Son,” Jesus is superior even to Moses, the servant of God and the greatest of the prophets. Therefore, the “Word” of the Son is superior to all others by its nature, contents, and the identity of the man who now delivers it.

Obedience to the Word of the Son is not optional or something of secondary importance. Put another way, failure to hear and obey the Word spoken by God in his Beloved Son will bring catastrophe upon the offender:

• “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do” - (Hebrews 4:12-13).

God appointed His Son as the “heir of all things.” This alludes to the Second Psalm. Yahweh promised to give His Son the “nations as an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth.” The Letter to the Hebrews shortens but also expands the original promise so that he is now said to inherit “all things,” not just the Earth’s nations - (Psalm 2:7-8).

Jesus reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the “exact impress” of His being. He manifests the glory and nature of God. Like the ‘Logos’ described by John, the Son is the living expression of the Creator of all things, the living oracle who continues to speak His Father’s words. Only in Christ can the essence and splendor of God be seen and understood – (John 1:14, 14:6-9).

The “Word” of the Son is superior to all past revelations and supersedes them. This is especially so in two ways. First, it is the last word in a long series of prophetic utterances. It is final and ultimate. There will never be another.

Second, the “Son” is the means of this Divine communication and the consummation and fulfillment of all God’s past “words.” To ignore or violate this Word is to dishonor the Son of God and disregard God Himself.

What preceded this final Word was preparatory and never intended to be God’s final answer to His children. With the advent of Jesus Christ, God has “spoken” decisively and with absolute finality, and nothing can ever be the same again. We neglect this Word at great personal peril.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Purification of Sins - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, where he now intercedes for his people as their faithful High Priest)

• These Last Days - (The era of the Levitical priesthood terminated with the arrival of the Word in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, our High Priest forevermore)

• Do Not Drift Away - (A dire warning of the consequences of failing to heed the superior word spoken in the Son)

• His Once for All Sacrifice - (The New Covenant results from the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus and his superior priesthood based on his resurrection life)