“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by 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 on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
(Hebrews 1:1-3)
While working at Standard Aero, a fellow employee spotted my Bible sitting on the bench. “Is that the Bible?” he asked. “Yup” I replied. “Have you read the whole thing?” “You bet.” With a confused look on his face he asked, “then why do you keep reading it?” I chuckled then explained that the Bible is unique. Unlike other books, the Bible is “living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). There are levels of meaning to the ancient text, amazing themes that wind their way through this sacred library that took 40 men over 1500 years to complete. The Bible has a wonderful transformative power also. When we study it with believing hearts we see Jesus, the grand theme of the entire corpus of inscripturated revelation (John 5:39). Considering Him, we are guarded against discouragement and weariness (Hebrews 12:3). Beholding Him in the Bible, we find ourselves being molded into His very image (1 Corinthians 3:17-18). As best as I can tell, today’s verse passage encapsulates the basic message of the Bible as good as any stretch of Scripture can. We are reminded first of all that God is a Personal Agent Who has been speaking to man throughout history. In the last of these days, God revealed Himself perfectly and decisively in the Person of His Beloved Son. He is very God of very God, having the same substance and nature as God the Father. As it turns out, the Son is the actual Agent of creation; He performed the actual creative acts documented in Genesis 1:1-31 (also see John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:1-17). This Second Person of the Trinity took a human nature and experienced death for us (Hebrews 2:9). This was absolutely essential and central to His redemptive work (Philippians 2:5-8). Today’s verse passage makes it crystal clear that Christ’s redemptive work was accomplished alone; by Himself He purged our sins. We dare not, as so many cultists and false religionists do, insist that we must contribute something to our own salvation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith,” wrote the great apostle, “and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Gifts, in the nature of the case, cannot be owed or earned. They are simply offered and then either received or rejected. God counsels us to receive His free gift of salvation in Christ. If so, our Savior’s now glorified and exalted position will be ours one day also. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). May these words provide encouragement and comfort today.
God bless, dear saints,
pastor john
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