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Hebrews chapter 1, I'll just 
pick up reading verse 1. God, who at various times and 
in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, 
has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has 
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the 
worlds, 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 at 
the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much 
better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a 
more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did 
he ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten you? And 
again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. 
But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he 
says, let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels 
he says, who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame 
of fire. But to the Son, He says, your 
throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness 
is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness 
and hated lawlessness. Therefore your God has anointed 
you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. And 
you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, 
and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, 
but you remain, and they will all grow old like a garment. 
Like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed. 
But you are the same, and your years will not fail. But to which 
of the angels has he ever said, sit in my right hand, till I 
make your enemies your footstool? Are they not all ministering 
spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? 
Amen. Well, we're going to look specifically 
this evening at the supremacy of Jesus Christ over the prophets 
in chapter 1, verses 1 to 3. And I must confess, there's a 
lot packed in here. Do you have a question? there's 
a lot And when we say that he is supreme 
over the prophets, we're not saying that therefore they are 
not, that they are useless, that they have no benefit whatsoever. No, rather Christ is the fulfillment. In fact, if you look here at 
verse 4 for just a moment, it says, having become so much better 
than the angels, but in chapter 1 verse 14, are they not all 
ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who are 
in our salvation. So the fact that Christ is better 
than the angels does not mean the angels serve no purpose whatsoever. The fact that Christ is supreme 
over the old covenant prophets does not mean you shouldn't read 
Isaiah or you shouldn't read Jeremiah or you shouldn't read 
Hosea or Joel or the idea is that realization something parallel to this is 
found in John 1 in John 1 is the apostle is introducing the 
Lord Jesus Christ he says in verse 16 of John 1 and of his 
fullness we have all received in grace for grace for the law 
was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through 
Jesus Christ. This does not mean there was 
no grace or truth at the time of Moses. Of course there was 
grace and truth. We saw when we studied the covenant 
with Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes 
of the Lord. When Moses asked for a manifestation 
of God's glory, God demonstrated His grace. Everything God spoke 
to and through Moses was true. So the idea is not we have a 
Christ in whom is grace and truth and therefore we don't need Moses 
anymore. No, the idea is one of fulfillment 
or realization. The Old Testament was about promise 
looking forward the New Covenant of the New Testament is about 
fulfilling those promises made and so understand that as we 
come to these opening verses in the book of Hebrews do not 
leave here tonight saying well I don't need the Old Testament. 
Of course you need the Old Testament. We need the entirety of God's 
Word. It is all authoritative, it is 
all sufficient, it is all excellent for our study and our consideration. Well, as we look at chapter 1, 
verses 1 to 3, we're going to break it down into two major 
sections. The first is the voice of God, 
and secondly, it's the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Notice it says 
in verse 1, God spoke. This is the foundational assumption 
of Christianity or the foundational presupposition that the Bible 
is the Word of God. That being the case, everything 
else logically from that. Our God is not silent. Our God is not so far removed 
that he doesn't communicate, but rather our God spoke. Our God spoke in the Bible. as I said, this is fundamental 
to Christianity. You don't have Christianity without 
the Bible. You don't have Christianity without 
revelation. God's revealing of himself. When you hear the word revelation, 
that doesn't always just mean the last book of the Bible. It 
refers to that act of God revealing himself unto his people, unto 
his creatures. God made man in his own image, 
and as a result, God communicates with man. He gave us the ability 
to communicate. He gave us the ability to understand. There is a sense where God is 
incomprehensible, where we can't fully understand and know everything 
there is to know about him. But in another sense, God is 
very much in order to be understood, we 
are supposed to take these things and we are supposed to learn 
about him. We cannot conclude that he's 
so big and so lofty and so glorious that we're not going to read 
his Bible. He gave us His Bible for the very reason that we would 
know Him, that we would understand Him, and that we would rightly 
relate to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. God made man in 
His own image, and God revealed Himself to man. I love the way 
it says here, God at various times and in various ways. What are some of the ways God 
spoke? through burning books, through 
direct communication. There were other times where 
men had visions, or men had dreams, where God communicated directly 
to specific individuals. When we consider revelation, 
or God's revealing of Himself, theologians often refer to general 
and special. General means God's revelation 
of Himself in creation. When we look outside, we cannot 
escape the conclusion that God is. I mean, the heavens declare 
the glory of God, according to Psalm 19. Spurgeon said, anybody 
who can look up into the sky and brand himself an atheist 
is at the same time a fool and stupid. I think it's the word 
that he uses, is that correct? An idiot, yeah. He's an idiot. I mean you cannot escape when 
you look out, of course God is, but general revelation does not 
lead us to a knowledge of, lead us to saving knowledge. General 
revelation does not reveal Golgotha, does not teach us about Jesus 
Christ at Calvary. We need what's called revelation, 
and today we don't get dreams, we don't get visions, we don't 
have mystical experiences, we have the Bible, we have the written 
word of God. All 66 books are the special 
revelation of God given for our well-being. The London Baptist 
Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Paragraph 1 says, The Holy 
Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule 
of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. They go on to 
say, although the light of nature, general revelation, and the works 
of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, 
wisdom, and power of God as to leave men inexcusable, understand 
that they are without excuse in Romans chapter 1 there is 
a accountable and to bring him 
to damnation. There is not enough out there 
to bring him to salvation. We must have the scripture. This 
is why we pray for missionaries. This is why we hope that God 
raises men up to preach the gospel. Because if sinners don't hear 
the truth as it is in Jesus, they will go to hell. They have 
offended a Christ holy God and they will suffer as a result 
of that. The confession goes on to say, 
yet they are not sufficient, talking about general revelation, 
to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary 
unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord 
at sundry times and in diverse manners to reveal Himself and 
to declare His will unto His church. and afterwards for the 
better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more 
sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption 
of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the world to commit 
the same holy unto writing which makes the Holy Scriptures to 
be most necessary those former ways of God's revealing his will 
unto his people being now completed. God has spoken. You're not to 
go sit on a mountaintop and try to hear new things from the Lord. 
First of all, you probably haven't exhausted all of the old things 
from the Lord. But secondly, he's not going 
to speak to you in an audible voice. He's not going to write 
a message to you in the clouds. He has spoken in His word and 
we have it. The canon, the rule of scripture 
is now closed. It is sufficient for all matters 
of faith and practice. And we need to appreciate that. And I think actually this section 
confirms that whole mindset. He spoke in times past. through 
the prophets, through the fathers, and he has spoken in these last 
days by his son, and by extension his son and his apostles, those 
men whom Christ chose to write or inscripturate the Bible. Once 
those men are gone, there's no more revelation from on high. God has finished revealing himself. And that doesn't mean you can 
sit on a mountaintop and God the Spirit bring to your mind, 
God the Spirit illumines and gives you understanding to what 
the written word already has, but we live in a day and age 
that is seeking after more that is not capitalized on what God 
has given. We need to understand that we 
have enough in these 66 books to keep us busy for several eternities. We're not all the diligent students 
we like to think we are. And very often those people who 
say they're getting new revelation haven't even availed themselves 
to the revelation that is available. We need to have a high view of 
Scripture. Because in Scripture, God has 
spoken. When I speak in my house, hopefully 
everybody takes heed. Because I'm the authority in 
my home. When God speaks, hopefully all 
of us take heed. The voice of the Lord is able 
to shatter the cedars of Lebanon according to Psalm 29. And we do very well to have an 
understanding of the truth of God's Word. Notice, he says, 
he spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. The 
prophets, just to explain for just a moment, the difference 
between a prophet and a priest. You're going to hear that tonight. 
You're going to hear that Jesus fulfills those roles of prophet, 
priest, and king. A prophet was acting on behalf 
of God to men. The prophet received the word 
of God from God and then he went and he declared it to man. The 
priest... takes the requests, the agonies, 
the burdens of the people, and goes to God on their behalf. Everybody with me? It's the difference 
between a prophet and a priest. The prophet functions on behalf 
of God to the people. The priest functions on behalf 
of the people to God. That's the difference. Well, 
in Christ, we have both prophet and grace and of course we have 
king but when we talk about the prophets very often we only think 
of the prophets role in foretelling the future we've almost reduced 
the prophet to this sort of crystal ball gazer you know he's sitting 
there it's kind of getting this word and then he's telling the 
people of God what's going to happen in 100 years or in 700 
years or he's just forecasting those things which 
are to come. Now the prophets did that to 
be sure. They foretold the future, but 
not a lot. That wasn't the bulk of their 
ministry. The bulk of their ministry was 
foretelling. In other words, coming on behalf 
of God with his message to the people. I want us to have this 
understanding, what a priest does, what a prophet does, and 
ultimately I think we all know what a king does, because so 
much of Hebrews focuses on Christ's role as the prophet, Christ's 
role as the priest. We don't know what a prophet 
and a priest is, we really can't enjoy the fullness of Jesus functioning 
in each of those offices. So you have to get these things 
down. So the prophet foretold the future, 
but he foretold the word of God. And that's precisely what Jesus 
did. He spoke about events that were 
going to happen in the future to be sure. But much of what 
he did was simply telling people the message of God, the kingdom 
of God. He didn't walk around with a 
crystal ball, satisfying everybody's curiosity, saying, you know, 
in 2012, on December 21st, the world is going to end. You've 
all heard that, I'm sure. You've all heard about December 
21st, I think it's the 21st, 2012. That's the new day that's 
being advertised out there as the end of the world. So Jesus 
didn't do that. What did he say? So that day 
and hour no man knows, not even the sun. So not only did he not 
walk around predicting the future, he did tell about things that 
were going to happen, but much of what he did was to tell forth 
the word of the Living God. And then notice something here 
about the unity of scripture. As much as the New Covenant is 
better, as much as the Lord Jesus Christ is superior, in this very 
first we see a unity between the Old and the New Testament. 
In fact, the very fact of the New Testament fulfilling the 
Old speaks of its unity. Notice, God who at various times 
and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the 
prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. same 
God, same voice, same message, but in different times. we don't understand something 
about those old covenant truths as well. And it's interesting, 
he uses this phrase, or this term, the last days. Just a question, 
are the last days in our future? Kind of a weird question. We're living in the last days. 
That's right. A lot of people are looking forward 
to the last days. That just sounds weird to me. But a lot of people, when you 
talk about the bad things going on in the world, they'll say 
things like, oh, this is a sign that we're in the last days. 
Or, when you see these bad things happening, it's an indicator 
that the last days are coming. The last days, as the prophets 
used that phrase, was the time of Jesus. It was the time of 
the Messiah. The Old Testament prophets often 
spoke of in the latter days, or in the last days. And those 
days, or that time frame, was initiated by the first coming 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1-2 tells us He has in 
these last days spoken to us by His Son. We argued that He 
wrote this letter about A.D. 64. That was the last days when 
this apostle wrote. The last days, according to Joel, 
and the book of Acts in chapter 2, is the time when the Holy 
Spirit would be poured out in a very powerful way. In Acts 
2, 16 and 17, and then in verse 33. The Apostle Peter says, or 
he interprets, this phenomena of the Holy Spirit being poured 
out on the church. He said, this is what Joel the 
prophet spoke. And Joel the prophet had said, 
in the last days the Holy Spirit would come upon all men, man 
servants, maid servants, all blacks would know the power of 
the Holy Spirit. The last days began in the apostolic 
era. We're not waiting for that. The 
bad things that are going on right now in our generation is 
not the sign that the last days have come. The last days came 
when Jesus Christ entered into this world. Turn for a moment 
to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 11. First Corinthians chapter 10 
in verse 11. It's not the same language, but 
a similar concept. First Corinthians 10, 11. Now 
all these things happened to them as examples, and they were 
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have 
come. The idea here is that God has 
dealt with humanity in two major epochs. The time before the coming 
of Christ and the time after. And we are living in that time, 
the last days. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3 for 
a moment. second Timothy chapter 3 and 
this is the passage where a lot of people today say well these 
bad things give evidence to the fact that the last days are upon 
us now. Notice in second Timothy 3.1 
notice that in the last days perilous times will come. For 
men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, 
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, 
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers 
of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather 
than lovers of God. Sounds like our time, doesn't 
it? We could say, the last days have come. Well notice what he 
says in verse 5. Having a form of godliness, but 
denying its power, and from such people turn away. Paul in the 
first century is telling Timothy to turn away from those kinds 
of people. He's not saying that in 2000 
years from now this is what the earth is going to look like. 
That's what the earth looked like when Timothy was alive and 
well and trying to deal with false teachers in Ephesus. Paul's 
encouragement is in this time called the last days when Jesus 
is at the right hand of God the Father he is ruling and he is 
reigning till all of his enemies are made his footstool. That 
presupposes that his enemies are out there. They are alive 
They are doing bad things. They are lovers of pleasure. 
They are lovers of self. They are lovers of money. Paul's 
word to Timothy is from such people. Turn away. Withdraw yourself. Have nothing to do with that. 
The implication is the last days were upon Timothy in this particular 
instance. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 20. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 20. He, indeed, was foreordained 
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these 
last times for you, who through Him believe in God, who raised 
Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and 
hope are in God. James chapter 5 and verse 3. 
James 5 and verse 3. Your gold and silver are corroded, 
and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your 
flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in 
the last days. The last days are not in our 
future. We are in the last days. It is 
that messianic period wherein the Lord Jesus Christ is ruling 
at the right hand of God the Father and He will consummate 
that when He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead. So the book of Hebrews acknowledges 
this truth as well that the time frame in which we live is called 
the last days. And then it's very interesting 
back to Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 has in these last days spoken 
to us by his son. The contrast between the prophets 
of the Old Covenant and the Son of God. Matthew 17, the Lord 
Jesus goes on to the Mount of Transfiguration and he takes 
with him Peter, James and John. And when they're on the Mount 
of Transfiguration, they see Jesus transfigured, and they 
see two characters, two persons, standing with Jesus. Who are 
those two men? Moses and Elijah. And it's interesting, 
in the book of Luke, it tells us that they were discussing 
his exodus. Discussing his departure. Discussing his death at Calvary. Kind of an interesting aside. 
But when God announces, or God speaks to that scene, He says, 
this is my beloved son in whom I am wealthy. And then He says, 
hear him. Again, it's not forget everything 
about Moses and Elijah. He's not saying get rid of your 
Old Testament, become a dispensationalist. You're a New Testament Christian. 
In fact, just get a red letter edition and don't even care about 
what the apostles had to say. Only hear Christ. No, that's 
not what he's doing. He's setting him apart as the 
fulfillment, as the realization, as the one to whom Moses and 
Elijah pointed. We gotta get that. The contrast here is not so that 
we get rid of these men, but so that we appreciate that these 
men were pointing to Him. It's like when John the Baptist 
saw Jesus and he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world. He's directing us to consider 
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the Father does on 
the Mount of Transfiguration. Philip Hughes comments on the 
contrast that is set up here in Hebrews 1 verse 1 and verse 
2 between the prophets of old and the Lord Jesus Christ at 
the New Covenant. He says this contrast too plays 
a prominent part in the structure of this letter, 
as our author demonstrates, that the old order of patriarchal 
expectation, that simply means that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and 
Joseph, the patriarchs, they expected something. Remember 
when Jesus was having that throwdown, or He's going down with the Pharisees, 
and they said, you're not yet 50 years old, and have you seen 
Abraham? What does Jesus say? Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. How did he see it? Forward. He's 
looking forward. He had expectation. Based on 
the promise given in Genesis 3.15 and other promises along 
the way. Abraham walked by faith. He didn't 
get into heaven because he was a great guy. He got into heaven 
because Jesus is a great Savior. The old covenant saints look 
forward. As we look back to Calvary, they 
look forward to Calvary. But Calvary was the central point. 
The death and resurrection of Jesus is where all the saints 
look. So he says, the old order of 
patriarchal expectation, prophetic utterance, Mosaic Covenant, and 
Levitical priesthood has given way to the new order of messianic 
reality, which, unlike the old, is final and permanent because 
its leadership, its priesthood, and its kingdom belong uniquely 
to him who is the eternal son. That is such a packed and excellent 
explanation. of the contrast that is set up 
here between the prophets of old and the Son of God, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Just listen. It is final and 
permanent in Christ because its leadership, its priesthood, and 
its kingdom belong uniquely to Him who is the Eternal Son. That is blessed. Those concepts 
of prophet, priest, and king, which we will see in just a few 
minutes, are all applied here to the Lord Jesus Christ. You 
look back in the Old Testament, the prophet operated, as I said, 
on behalf of God and the people. The priest took the requests 
of the people to God. The king ruled over them all. 
When we look back at the history of Israel, we look back at Old 
Testament history, you take a man like Moses, the prophet, I mean, 
prophet par excellence, you take an Isaiah, you take a Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, you look at the priesthood, all these men that went daily 
into the holy place or to the temple to offer up sacrifices, 
you look at the kingdom as it was blessed in a beautiful reality 
in David, but Christ supersedes all of them, Christ puts those 
men not a bad way, but he is what they pointed to. Moses and 
the prophets and the priests and the kings all pointed to 
the one whom the author says in these last days has spoken 
to us. I believe This is a great place 
to go when you're arguing with a charismatic. We don't need 
new revelation. He has spoken to us definitively 
in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't need anything 
new. We have everything fulfilled and confirmed in our Lord Jesus. Well, any questions or comments 
before we move on quickly to the supremacy of Jesus Christ? Yes. I was thinking that it's 
no wonder that when the Lord walked the earth that he did 
the kind of miracles that he did to affirm that he truly was 
deity. Absolutely. Absolutely. And just 
consider some of his claims. I mean, I think, you know, we 
rightly focus on the humility of Christ. That's a good thing 
to focus on. When he says, come to me, all 
you who are weary and heavy laden. How does he describe himself? 
My yoke is easy. My burden is light. He describes 
himself as meek, and he is. But in his meekness, he claimed 
to be I Am. He claimed to supersede Moses. He claimed to supersede the whole 
Old Covenant system. He said to the high priest, hereafter 
you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven in great 
power. Why did the high priest rip his 
garment? Because he understood that Jesus was referring to the 
book of Daniel. That Jesus was saying he was 
the Son of Man who would come in that glory. When you trace 
through what Jesus actually said, if he was not who he claimed 
to be, he was the biggest This egotistical man that ever lived 
on this earth. He claimed to be God. He received 
worship. You look in the book of Revelation. 
When John starts to worship angels, what do they do? Don't do that. What happens in the book of Acts 
when Paul and Barnabas come into some pagan land and they do a 
mighty work? The people fall down at their 
feet and start to worship. They say, don't do that. We're 
men just like you. What happened when men worshiped 
Jesus? He received it. my Lord and my God, he received 
it. He didn't correct it. He didn't 
say, well, you know, you're greatly mistaken. I'm not really. I'm 
sort of just a prophet along the lines of Muhammad. In fact, 
he's going to supersede me. Or Sun Yun Kim, or Moon, he's 
going to supersede me. No. He received that worship. 
He received that praise. He said of himself, I am. Before 
Abraham was, I am. I mean, who can make that claim 
but God alone? That's the Christ of Hebrews. 
That's the Christ of our Gospel. That's the Christ upon whom we 
hang our souls. We must appreciate this Christ. And the longer you live, the 
more I hope you'll continue to look to Him. We are not saved 
because we're good performers. We are not saved because we come 
to this church. We are not saved because we carry 
Bibles or even read Bibles. We are not saved because we can 
recite a catechism. We are saved by grace alone through 
faith alone. alone in Christ alone. It is 
all about Him. It is that event at Calvary that 
has secured our everlasting salvation. Do not suppose for a moment that 
your salvation rests upon you. You will be a miserable, a very 
unhappy, very wrong, heretical person. Our salvation rests solely 
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the Christ that the 
book of Hebrews points us to. Notice in verses 2 and 3, he 
gives us specific evidences of Christ's supremacy. And he gives 
us 7 of them. As I said, verses 1 to 3 are 
very packed. I mean, we could spend a long 
time just in this section. But he gives us 7 evidences. 
I mean, it's one thing to say Jesus is better than the prophets. 
Well, why would you say that? Remember who he's writing to? 
He's writing to Jewish Christians. They loved Elijah. They loved 
Moses. They loved Isaiah. They loved 
Jeremiah. These were national heroes. So for this man to come and say, 
Jesus is better than them, they might ask the question, why? 
What? Show us the good. Why is he that 
much better? Well, he has seven reasons. The 
first is he is the heir of all things. Heir, H-E-I-R. That means the inheritor of all 
things. Whom he has appointed heir of 
all things. It's important for us, as we 
work our way through this passage, to understand that Jesus as God 
isn't necessarily being spoken of here. It's Jesus as Messiah. Jesus as God has always owned 
all things all the time. But Jesus in the incarnation 
left heaven and came into this world. He took on a body. He became a man. That's whom 
the author is treating here. Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus as 
the God-man. When Jesus says in Matthew 28, 
18-20, authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 
Well, sometimes we scratch our heads and say, wait a minute, 
he's God, didn't he always have all authority? Yes, as God he 
had all authority. But what he's talking about now 
is Acts and Messiah. When Jesus rose from the grave, 
he rose bodily. Remember when he told Thomas 
to reach your hand dear and touch. Jesus is the God-man still. He actually occupies space. You cannot think that heaven 
is just a concept of the mind. Jesus is actually there. Right? So was Enoch. He was just taken up. Not just 
his spirit, but his body as well. Elijah was taken up, wasn't he? Those are physical bodies, glorified 
that they are occupying space. Heaven isn't just you laying 
on a cloud, strumming your heart. Heaven is society. God's society. It is temple. It is worship. It is interaction. The saints 
of God are gathered together before the throne of God. So 
here on earth, when we're singing and praising God on Sunday, sometimes 
our minds wander, and we go a thousand other places. But in heaven, 
when we gather together, and we are worshiping before the 
Lord, it'll be whole-souled. We will give God everything. 
There'll be no holding back. There will be no diversion. We 
won't be holding our handbooks wondering why isn't our son singing. We won't be looking over our 
shoulders at who just walked in late. But we will be corporately 
worshipping God. I have often heard people say, 
cities are wicked. We gotta live in the country. 
It's a lot more righteous. Well, there's a lot of wickedness 
out in the country, too. But you know that the New Jerusalem 
descending out of heaven is described as a temple city of God? God is not anti-city. God is 
not anti-community. God is anti-sin. So we mustn't 
think that when we get to heaven, it's just sort of this non-physical, 
we're just gonna bask in this, you know, and Ham and Sham. No, 
we're going to worship God and glorify Him. And the Bible envisions 
it as a new heaven and a new earth. Now, do we get sometime 
in heaven, sometime on earth? I don't know how to describe 
all that stuff. But it certainly seems to bespeak, 
in the book of Revelation, social interaction, not only with God, 
but with one another. And without sin, might I add. 
There will be no sin. We won't We won't be wicked toward 
one another. We won't have wicked thoughts 
or evil suspicions. We won't get bent out of shape. 
We won't feel like we've been short-changed. It'll just be 
whole-souled commitment to the Lord God Most High. But Jesus 
is the heir of all things, specifically as the Messiah, as the God-man. John Calvin describes it this 
way. He said the word heir is ascribed 
to Christ as manifested in the flesh. For being made man, he 
put on our nature, and as such received this airship, and back 
for this purpose, that he might restore to us what we had lost 
in Adam." Beautiful. Great statement. Some of this 
language here is just amazing. Jesus Christ God did something with him. He installed him as Lord and 
Christ or Messiah. He gave him the reigns to the 
universe. as the God-man at his right hand. You see, the Father is well pleased 
with the work of the Son and gives Him all things. I've often 
thought, we need to be as pleased with the Son as the Father is 
and give Him all things. Give Him praise, give Him worship, 
give Him honors. You know, there's a statement 
in the book of Ephesians, has exalted Him, or in Philippians, 
and given Him the name which is above every name. Which we 
see such similarity between these verses and other Pauline epistles. The Lord Christ is the heir of 
all things. A. W. Pink says that the heir, 
that this idea of being the heir of all things speaks of His dignity 
and His dominion. I like that. His dignity and 
His dominion. Secondly, Jesus is the Creator. of all things. Notice in verse 
2, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also 
he made the worlds. How is Jesus supreme to the prophets? 
Because they didn't make the world. Right? I mean, face it 
brethren, when you make a world, you can talk about being great. 
So when you speak the universe into being, then I'll listen 
to how wonderful you are. But until then, we all just need 
to stay with John the Baptist. He must increase and I must decrease. He made the world. That's not 
just confined to the New Testament. I think, arguably, Genesis 1.3 
compared with Psalm 33.6 indicates the agency of Christ in the creation 
of the world. John 1.3 spells it out and makes 
it very clear. Colossians 1.15 and 16 spells 
it out and makes it very clear. Hebrews 1.2 spells it out. and 
makes it very clear. Again, Philip Hughes says the 
implication of this doctrine here and elsewhere is the priority 
of Christ to the whole created order and therefore his pre-existence 
and his co-existence with the Father. His pre-existence to 
everything that we see and his co-existence with the Father. In the beginning was the word 
and the word was with God. Coexistence with the Father. Thirdly, He is the brightness 
of the glory of God. Look at that, verse 3. Who being 
the brightness of His glory. The glory of God was described 
as the Shekinah glory. There'd be times in temple worship, 
imagine that, when you could visibly see the glory of God 
settling upon the temple. I actually think we can see that 
now, not with the eye, the physical eye, but we see it with the eye 
of faith. When believers are gathered together, they're worshiping 
in spirit of faith. glory of God is resting upon 
the church of Jesus Christ. It doesn't have to be a million 
people. It doesn't have to be three million people. It doesn't 
have to be a mega church. It has to be blood-bought children 
of God who are seeking to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Shekinah glory of God rests 
upon them. Well, in the Old Covenant, that 
Shekinah would rest upon the temple. When you look at Christ, 
the brightness of the glory of God was manifested. Not in some 
physical way. I mean, the prophet Isaiah says, 
he has no form or homeliness that we should look upon him. 
I know, I always found it intriguing that the Jews said to him, you 
are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? 50? He 
was 30! He was a man of sorrows, and 
a queen who would dream. Maybe he looked older than what 
he was. It wasn't the physical eye. But when he said to the 
disciples, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. John 
12 is another passage. John 12 and verse 45. says, and he who sees me, sees 
him who sent me. He who sees me, sees him who 
sent me. He's the brightness of the glory 
of God. You see Christ, you see the brightness 
of God's glory. This is my beloved son, the Father 
says, in whom I am well pleased. That other passage I referred 
to, John 14 at verse 8. John 14 at verse 8. Remember, 
Jesus just said, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me. And then he goes 
on to say, if you had known me, you would have known my Father 
also. And from now on, you know Him and have seen Him. Philip 
said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient 
for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long, and 
yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the 
Father. So how can you say, show us the 
Father? And then in 2 Corinthians chapter 
4, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, again this glory, brightness of the 
glory of God. second Corinthians 4 6 for it 
is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who 
has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of 
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ you want to see 
the glory of God look at Christ you want to see the glory of 
God look at Jesus. That's what Hebrews 1.3 is telling 
us. But he goes on to say, fourthly, 
he is the express image of his person. Notice, who being the 
brightness of his glory, some have argued that that highlights 
the unity between the Father and the Son. And that this next 
phrase highlights the distinction There is a father, and there 
is a son. For the theologians and historians 
among us, he's arguing against Sabellianism and Arianism. In a little bit of a prolific, 
what is the word, proleptic way, before the event, he's arguing, 
I don't know if proleptic is the word, strike that, if that's 
wrong, I know what I mean. Before the fact, he is arguing 
against Sabellianism and Arianism. Sabellianism denied the distinction 
between the persons of the Trinity. Arianism denied the deity of 
the Lord Jesus. This passage stresses both. He is one with the Father. For 
when you see him, you see the glory of the Father. But he is 
deceived from the Father as well. The Father didn't die on the 
cross, the Son did. But the Son is the express image 
of His person. The Son is the exact representation 
of His person. He is exactly corresponding to 
Him. It's not like God the Father 
is up here and God the Son is down here. They are equal in 
deity. They are equal in power and in 
glory. He is the express image of the 
Father. Fifthly, He is the sovereign 
administrator of all things. Notice in verse 3, and upholding 
all things by the word of His power. One commentator said, 
this doesn't just mean He's like Atlas with the world on His shoulders. 
Not just the support. But it's support and it's movement. It is the execution of God's 
decree. In other words, Jesus is active 
in raising men up and setting men down. Jesus is active in 
the affairs of nations. In fact, in the book of Revelation, 
in chapter 1, verse 5, the seer, John, says that Jesus is the 
ruler over the kings of the earth. Our price is involved. He's not 
an absentee game. He's not distant. He's not gone. 
He's not on a holiday Everything that happens happens under the 
sovereign control of King Jesus Christ That's comforting. You 
may not know why you may not be able to explain it sufficiently 
to your unconverted neighbor There may be some things that 
cause you great turmoil You might look at certain events and certain 
instances going on in the world, but the Saint of God will ultimately 
come to that realization that Jesus is in control. And in this 
I submit, and in this I bow, and I realize that He is working 
all things for His glory and for my well-being. Because that's 
what the Bible says. He is sovereign in administration. Matthew 28, 18-20, we've already 
referred to this. Ephesians 1, Colossians 1, 17. 
He upholds by the word of his power. He says it is always and 
inevitably a word which affects its intended purpose. The word 
doesn't return to Jesus' voice. it always accomplishes the purpose 
for which he sent it. Notice here, he upholds all things 
by the word of his power. I've often thought, as I'm sitting 
reading this, he's upholding his chair right now. If Jesus 
stopped upholding his chair, I'd be on my side. He's upholding 
everything. He's upholding your life. He's 
upholding your family's lives. Everything is under the sovereign 
administration of this Jesus. That's what He's saying. How 
is Jesus not in the prophets? Because He upholds everything. 
Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, they were good, godly, 
solid men. But they weren't sitting at the 
right hand of the Father, upholding all things by the word of their 
power. That's what Christ does. Sixthly, He is the Savior. Notice 
what he goes on to say. Upholding all things by the word 
of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins. Isn't 
that amazing? You wouldn't think the Creator, 
the Sovereign Administrator, this glorious, amazing Lord, 
would purge our sins. And we know, of course, from 
the book of Hebrews and the rest of the New Testament, that He 
purged our sins through His own death. That's what's amazing. Isaiah didn't do this. Jeremiah 
didn't do this. Ezekiel didn't do this. Hosea 
didn't. Micah didn't. Joel didn't. As 
good and godly as those men were, they didn't purge our sins. They 
didn't cleanse us from our sins. They didn't remove our sins. 
And the way that he does it is through his own death at Calvary. Turn to Hebrews 7 and verse 27 
for just a moment. 27 who does not need daily as those 
high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then 
for the people's for this he did once for all when he offered 
up himself Christ Remember I told you the priest who comes on behalf 
of the people to God? Well, Christ is the priest who 
comes to God on behalf of the people. But Christ is also the 
victim. Christ is also the sacrifice. 
See, the priest would bring an animal that he would put a knife 
in, and then he would burn before the Lord God. That's not what 
Jesus did. He didn't bring something with 
Him. He was the very sacrifice Himself. So He is both priest 
and victim. And then seventhly and finally, 
He is exalted on high. When He had sat down by Himself, 
purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty 
on high. He is exalted on high. Now, Jeremiah, 
Isaiah, those men went to heaven, and they didn't sit down at the 
right hand of the majesty on high. Now, this doesn't mean 
we're to envision God as a right hand. You know, he's a spirit 
being, but he's got a big right hand. What's the idea here? Christ is in a place of dominion. 
Christ is in a place of rule and reign. Christ is in a place 
of dignity. Christ is in the most preeminent 
place there is. He is at the right hand of his 
Father. And I love what Calvin says here. 
As then he ought to be loved on account of his redemption, 
so he ought to be adored on account of his royal magnificence. He 
ought to be loved on account of his redemption, so he ought 
to be adored on account of his royal magnificence. Then why 
I highlighted the prophet, priest, and king, because all those three 
elements are here and they're all applied to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Christ speaks the word of God 
to us as our prophet. Christ offers himself up as a 
priest. A priest sacrifices and he makes 
intercession. And then of course Christ who 
sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high where he 
rules as a king. A.W. Pink said, it is to be observed 
that in verses 2 and 3, the Holy Spirit has, briefly, set forth 
the three great offices of the mediator. First, his prophetic 
office. He is the final spokesman of 
God. Second, his kingly, his royal 
majesty, upholding all things and that by the word of his power, 
which affirms his absolute sovereignty. Third, his priestly, the two 
parts of which are expiation of his people's sins, and intercession 
at God's right hand. Beautiful, beautiful statement 
concerning the glory of Jesus Christ. Any comments or questions 
before we close? So seven reasons why Jesus is 
supreme over the prophets. There will be a test next week. Our God, we truly are humbled 
as we look at just these few verses concerning our Lord Jesus. 
God, it amazes us that the One who created all things, the One 
who upholds all things by the word of His power, the One who 
has that place of majesty and reign and rule and excellency, 
is the same one who took away our sins at Calvary. God, truly 
this is an amazing gospel. Truly it is good news for the 
weary soul. We pray that you would refresh 
us, that you would encourage us, that you would help us to 
see that Christ has dealt with our sin once and for all. Help 
us to see Him now as our intercessor at Your right hand. Help us to 
see Him as King, as Prophet, and as Priest. And help us to 
adore Him in each of these offices. Help us to just be in love with 
the Savior and to walk according to Your Word, God, and to value 
and to prize Your Holy Word. We thank You that what You have 
spoken in the past and what You spoke in the last days through 
Your Son is abiding and is good for us even now. We pray that 
you would go with us. We pray that you would watch 
over us. We pray, Father, that you would forgive us now for 
all of our sins and just help us to walk in holiness and righteousness. And we ask through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.