Jesus Christ is Superior to the Prophets as God’s Spokesman (Hebrews 1:1-3)

“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, 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 ...” (Hebrews 1:1-3, NKJV)

God Reveals Himself

The various ways God has spoken in the distant past have included direct address,¹ communicating through nature,² angels,³ judges,⁴ priests and scribes,⁵ dreams and visions,⁶ the Law of Moses,⁷ and by the prophets.⁸ But in these last days, the final period of biblical history,⁹ God speaks through a Son, namely his own Son (Heb. 1:5; 5:5; 6:6), Jesus the Christ (Heb. 3:6; 4:14).

All authority has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ, conveyed through his words (Matt. 28:18; John 12:48), transmitted via the Holy Spirit to specially chosen emissaries (John 14:25-26; 15:26-27; 16:12-13), and preserved in writing through divine inspiration (Eph. 2:19–3:5; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). The New Testament—the new and better covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6, 13)—is the avenue through which God now speaks, the inspired word of God (Heb. 4:12; 6:5; 13:7).

Dual Nature of God’s Son

As the Son of God, Jesus is equal with God in his inherent nature, while subordinate in his functional (incarnate) role. The opening verses of Hebrews recognize Jesus as the one whom God “has appointed heir of all things” (1:2b), the natural consequence of divine sonship, albeit subordinate in relation to the Father.¹⁰ At the same time Jesus is the one “through whom also He made the worlds” (1:2c), descriptive of deity’s supernatural activity,¹¹ “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person ...” (1:3a). He is the personification of God, bearing the very stamp of the divine essence, while “upholding all things by the word of His power” (1:3b). He is equally divine as creator and sustainer of the material world.¹²

The Son’s Humiliation and Exaltation

Jesus, having taken on human flesh, “purged our sins” (1:3c) through his sacrificial life and death (cf. 9:15-18, 22). He then “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (1:3d).¹³ The “right hand” is a position of power, authority, and honor (cf. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; cp. 1 Kings 2:19; Psa. 110:1). Jesus is currently enthroned with God and shares in God’s dominion.

Whether from the perspective of mid-first-century Hellenistic Jewish Christians who first received the message of Hebrews, or of modern-day westerners reading the same text, Jesus Christ is still deity’s great spokesman reigning from the heavenly throne.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Gen. 1:28-30; 2:16-17; 3:9-17; 4:6, 9-15; 6:13; 7:1; 9:1; 12:1; Ex. 33:11.

     ² Gen. 6:17; 9:13; Num. 22:28. 

     ³ Gen. 18:1-2; 19:1; 32:24-30 (Hos. 12:2-4); Ex. 3:2; Judg. 6:11-12. 

     ⁴ Judg. 3:10, 20. 

     ⁵ Lev. 10:11; Ezra 7:6, 10. 

     ⁶ Gen. 31:11; Dan. 2:1-45. 

     ⁷ Deut. 4:1, 13; 10:4.

     ⁸ Num. 22:38; 1 Sam. 8:7-10; 2 Pet. 1:21.

     ⁹ The expression “last days” is in reference to the final period of Bible history: see Heb. 9:26; Acts 2:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:20; 2 Pet. 3:3.

     ¹⁰ See also Matt. 17:5; 28:18; John 16:15; 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

     ¹¹ See also John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16.

     ¹² See also John 1:18; 14:7-9; Col. 1:15, 17.

     ¹³ See also Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; 5:31; Rom. 8:34; Phil. 2:9; Col. 3:1; 1 Pet. 3:22.

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