Hebrews 1:1-2
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB
Christ is the source
of revealed Truth - This is in direct contrast to the competing,
"would-be" points of greatest influence. We are only truly informed as our source of
information (what is the bias, the frame of reference, the limitations of our
sources of "truth"?) Our sources of information have
control/influence on our priorities, goals and ultimately become agenda-setters
for our lives. We are more what we
"think" than what we eat.
Practically speaking, we are (act/live) the summation of our
thoughts/thinking. "For as he
thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat
and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee." Proverbs
23:7 ASV As we control the gate of our
mind, so we are. What we "let in" becomes what we
are, just as the evil man in this passage is not what he says he is but is truly
seen in his thoughts and motives. We are
warned in Col. 2:8 of this competition for our minds and thoughts - there will
always be those looking to lead us away as if the spoils of war by means of
philosophies, empty deceits using the "building blocks" (step-by-step
processes) based upon the popular thought processes of the "age" and in contrast to Christ.
God spoke by varying
means to the Jewish ancestors through the prophets . It is key to note that God "spoke",
He revealed His Truth, reality, priorities, morality and more. As in 1 Peter 1:20-21, God directly
communicates His Word by means of these individuals and it was not and will
never be under the authority of "private interpretation"! His Word as He meant it is the authority and
not any particular take on it. Self must
be submissive to and not the dictator of God's Word. Even the wording of verse
1 demonstrates that God 'divvied-up' His word in many portions
through varying prophets over the years.
The writer is clearly advocating divine inspiration of the Old Testament
books.
Now God has spoken
in a greater "means" than before; He reveals His truth IN His
Son. "A mortal King speaks by his
ambassador, not (as the King of kings) in his ambassador. The Son is the last and highest manifestation
of God (Mt 21:34,37); not merely a measure, as in the prophets, but the
fullness of the Spirit of God dwelling in Him bodily (John 1:16; 3:34; Col
2:9). Thus he answers the Jewish
objection drawn from their prophets."
- Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
Christ is God, as
will be covered in verse 8 of this chapter - His authority is to be without
question. In a sense, the writings of
the prophets are not to be deemed as greater revelation or greater authority
than what was given in Christ. This
concept is key for us as well: we must be careful in how we 'rank'
philosophical influences over that of the Scripture at large. We may respect God's Word as A source of
Truth while placing a higher level of importance on personal opinion, popular
religious "authorities" of our day(or the past) or any other competitor.
God has spoken this
way in the "last days".
"In this final dispensation; or in this dispensation under which
the affairs of the world will be wound up.. It might be a very long period, bu
tit would be the last one; and, so far as the meaning of the phrase is
concerned, it might be the longest period, or longer than all the others put
together, but still it would be the last one." - Albert Barnes
The wording carries
with it the reality that the "age of man" and this world are limited
and are headed for a definite end.
God spoke in
Christ. Christ as "Son" is
placed as possessor/heir of "all things". Christ as "Son" made all
"worlds" (literally ages). As
clarified in Col. 1:15, "For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: al things were created by him, and for
him" (KJV)
The words/message
from our Creator should be the most important to us - why would anything else
compete? Doesn't it make sense that the
goal of the enemy is to keep us from it?
Seeing that Christ
is the "heir" of all things, then all things should be seen in their
relationship to Him and His glory and purposes.
All other views of "all things" are strictly secondary. As a side note, we being in Christ are called
"fellow heirs"(Romans 8:17) so a life pursuit of "all
things" is futile since what is to be had is ours in our relationship with
Christ. Having something just to have it
is vain; the true value of something is found in its use and usability.
-Don Lambert- Talking Points - Hebrews
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