Jesus: The exact representation of the nature of God.

Hebrews 1 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

God’s Final Word in His Son

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² 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. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?

⁶ And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

⁷ And of the angels He says,

“Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸ But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. ⁹ “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.” ¹⁰ And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; ¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; And they all will become old like a garment, ¹² And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”

¹³ But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet”?

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

In today’s text it says:  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. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.      I have often heard people quote this verse, that Jesus is the exact representation of the nature of God and interpret it to say that God’s entire nature is of love, compassion, mercy and grace. Surely those are primary and foundational aspects of the nature of God represented and revealed through Jesus. But to ignore what Jesus Himself said about righteousness, holiness and judgment against sin limits the nature of God and so creates a false God. Perhaps we have a hard time understanding that God can be loving, compassionate, full of grace and also a righteous judge because we try to understand God based on the injustice and lack of compassion in our own human systems. Jesus taught us to pray: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We cannot or at least should not limit God based on man’s imperfect nature. It is to be that earth is to align with the perfection of heaven, not heaven that aligns with the imperfection of earth. As the psalmist says:  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. (Psalm 89:14) 

In Matthew 25: 29-46 Jesus says:   “to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’  Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”     The first few verses are part of a parable Jesus told. Still, the outer darkness; a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, does not exactly sound like something all warm and fuzzy. In the rest of this portion of scripture, Jesus is speaking of a time when He, the Son of Man, the King, will come as the Righteous Judge. All the nations will be gathered before Him. The word nations used here is the Greek word ethnos, referring to races, tribes, people of every ethnic background, not a judgment of political entities but rather a judgment of individuals based on how they treated and responded to other people. You can decide for yourself if it seems that the entire nature of God, represented and revealed through Jesus is without judgment.

Just to be clear that it is not only how we treat others which will be judged by the Righteous Judge, In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:   “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”     In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says:   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”  

Today’s text says:  But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”  And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands;  They will perish, but You remain; And they all will become old like a garment,  And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”     Jesus is the exact representation of the nature of God. He is eternal. He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. He is the God of creation.    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit forgive me when I try to limit You based on human understanding or according to human nature. I am thankful that You are full of love, compassion, grace and mercy; and that You are also righteous and just. Thank You that Jesus is the exact representation and revelation of Your complete nature. Because of Your love and grace He paid the price required by Your justice. Thank You; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.   Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Amen