He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature

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, and upholds all things by the word of His power.   Many people take those words, He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His (God’s) nature, and attempt to equate the full nature of God with the very limited knowledge we have of the very short time Jesus was here as a man.  Indeed, in John 14:7-11 it says:  “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.”  So more even than the exact representation of the Father, Jesus and the Father are one.  Jesus shares every characteristic with the Father, including that He is eternal. The text in Hebrews 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 eternal, in Revelation 1:8 the Lord says:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”   We err if we limit the character of God to the very limited finite time that Jesus ministered on earth as a man. We need to know the Alpha and the Omega. We need to know God and Christ who is, who was and who is to come. All of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation reveals who God is, was and is to come and what His will for all of creation is.

Who Jesus was and what He did when He walked this earth as a man was part of the fulfillment of God’s purpose and His plan. The Jesus who was 2000 years ago, the one who came to reveal the love, mercy and grace of God toward sinners, was the Savior and Redeemer and that He will always be.  Again though the text 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,”    So Jesus is also Lord and King. He sits on the throne forever and ever; and forever and ever, He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. Philippiands 2:5-11 says:  Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Jesus left His place and position for a short time. He fully accomplished the Father’s will on the cross. In John 19:30 He said: “It is finished.”  Then Jesus, who died on the cross, was burried in a grave, was resurrected back to life. That same Jesus, then ascended back to His place and position with God the Father. While the few years that Jesus spent on earth as a man are the most significant and impactful years the world has ever known, they are but a twinkling in the scheme of eternity. We should not limit our understanding of God or Christ to what we know of Him as Savior and redeemer. In John 5:21-24 Jesus says: “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”   So Jesus is not only Savior and Redeemer; He is not only Lord and King, He is also the judge of all. In John 3:16-21 Jesus says:   “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  Jesus was sent into the world to save it, but those who do not believe in Him and those who love darkness rather than light will know Him as judge. In Revelation 21:5-8 the Lord says: He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Write, for these words are faithful and true. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.  He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.  But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He who is, who was and is to come, may I truly know the eternal God; Jesus my Savior and Redeemer; the Lord of lords and the King of kings, the righteous judge who hates lawlessness. Because of what You did, may I walk in the glory of who You are.  Amen.