August 31, 2003
Psalm 19:1-4: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night
they display knowledge.
This morning I want to look at these lines from the 19th Psalm
as a way of getting at the meaning of our passage in Hebrews.
What the Psalmist tells us here is that the creation, particularly the heavens
(but certainly every aspect of creation could be included in this), is speaking
a message to us. It is continually telling us something. Every day it speaks
if we are listening.
And what is that message? They are telling us about the glory of God.
Notice that they are not telling us about the glory of creation, although
that is profound thing. After all, we have all been moved by the beauty of
creation, whether we are talking about a sunset, a moment in our own garden,
or the stillness of the cool dawn on a September morning. There is an intrinsic
beauty that we see in creation. We are often moved by it. We are often stirred
by it. We are often inspired by it. This is why millions of Americans visit
our national parks each year. It requires no belief in or faith in God to
enjoy and even benefit from such experiences.
But for our part, we need to note that this is not what the Psalmist tells
us the heavens declare day after day. They do not declare the beauty of creation.
They declare the glory of God.
When I drive to school in the mornings, especially this time of year, I
try to enjoy the trip fully. I am refreshed by the cool morning air’s surging
around me. I am blinded by the sun’s glistening on the lake. I take in the
deep greens of mature summer, just beginning to show the advances of autumn.
I try not to use that time to rehearse my day. I try not to think about
the duties that await me, the people I need to talk to, or the problems that
might arise.
I want to enjoy the now of that moment. I have always thought that it was
helpful to enjoy the beauty of creation, and then to thank God for it.
That is a good thing. It is important to thank God for the beauty of creation.
But these words from Psalm 19 make us realize that there is something more
to be gained by these moments. There is a deeper message. It is what the Psalmist
says: to hear the message of God’s glory.
What is God’s glory? It is everything that makes God God. It is His character.
It is His actions. It is His heart. It is His purpose. It is His power. All
of this is God’s glory.
And the message we are to hear is not just the message of the beauty of
creation, but the message of what that beauty tells us about God.
So for instance, when I am inspired by the beauty of God’s creation, the
symmetry and the gracefulness of trees and land and water and sky, I think
beyond that beauty, and I hear what it tells me about the glory of God.
It tells me that if God has made such beauty, then He is well able to satisfy
my hunger for beauty in my life. He is able to satisfy the deep hunger in
our hearts for our lives to be things of beauty, something symmetrical, something
of grace, something profound and deep and satisfying.
Or perhaps we are struck by the peacefulness of a scene before our eyes.
We hear the message of God’s glory by thinking of the peacefulness of God
Himself. God is never rushed, or harried, or in a hurry. He is always a source
of deep and almost unfathomable peace. So I reflect on that peace. I may
call to mind that Jesus said that He gives us His peace and that I can draw
on that peace right now. This peace is not dependent on being in the midst
of beautiful scenery. But it is only dependent on my looking to Him, at
any given moment, even when I am neck deep in busyness and deadlines and
demands of others. In this way I allow God’s creation to speak to me not
just of the beauty of creation itself and not simply to lead me to thank
God, but to actually hear the message of God’s glory.
Now let’s turn to Hebrews 1:1-3: In the past God spoke to our forefathers
through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last
days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things,
and through whom he made the universe. The son is the radiance of God’s glory
and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful
word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the majesty in heaven.
Last Sunday we looked at verses one and two. We saw that God has spoken
to us very clearly and very often. He spoke over the centuries through the
law and the prophets and through His actions in caring for His chosen people,
the nation of Israel. We noted that all of those actions, and all of the revelation,
was about one thing. It was preparing us for the coming of Jesus Christ.
The message has a marvelous continuity to it. This is one of the reasons
we know it is authentic - dozens of authors, writing over centuries of time,
and actions that weave their way through millennia, all pointing to one person.
Now the long anticipated event has arrived. We now live in the last days.
The last days constitute that time when God speaks to us through the person
of Jesus Christ.
This morning I want to focus our attention on verse three. But before we
get to that let’s just pause to remind ourselves of that which is obvious
yet not always clear in our thinking.
The pronoun“he” that is the subject of these verses is the one Who is speaking
to us today, in these last days. In these days, God is revealing Himself,
seeking us, through the person of Jesus Christ. “He” is not an idea or a tradition
or a religion or a practice. He is a person Who is alive. It is His will
and settled purpose to be known, loved, trusted, followed, worshipped, enjoyed,
and obeyed.“He” is in this room among us by His Spirit this morning, receiving
all that we do and responding to us.
Now let’s turn our attention to verse 3.
Here is a crucial observation in the way that the writer originally wrote
this verse: it is one clause with one subject and one main verb. Everything else serves to shed light on that one main
assertion. The subject is "He” (or“Who" in the
original)--that is, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The
one main verb is “sat down." So the one main clause of the verse is, "He
sat down at the right hand of majesty." Everything else in the verse
serves that assertion and sheds light on that.
So we could hear it this way:
“He... being the radiance of God's glory ... sat down at the right hand
of majesty."
“He... being the exact representation of God's nature ... sat down at
the right hand of majesty."
"He ... upholding all things by the word of His power ... sat down at
the right hand of majesty."
“He ... having made purification of sins…sat down at the right hand of
majesty."
What the author here wants us to see is what makes it fitting for Christ
to sit down at the right hand of God's majesty.
Let's look at these connections. As we do, ask
God to illumine your mind and heart to see the true greatness and glory of
Jesus Christ.
First, consider the connection between the work of Christ in making purification
of sins and his sitting down at the right hand of God.
We can see the connection made explicit for us in Hebrews 10:12-14: "But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be
made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy."
Notice the sense of completeness, sufficiency, and finality of these words:
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins by one sacrifice he has made perfect
forever.
The book of Romans in chapter 6, verse 10 echoes this sense of completeness
and finality of the accomplishment of Jesus Christ. Paul proclaims this as
the basis for our sanctification. He says, "The death he died, he died
to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God."
What is plain from these verses is that Christ was seated at the right hand
of God to honor Him for the total completeness of His sin-bearing work on
the cross. He sat down at the right hand, waiting
until all His enemies are subdued, for by one offering He has perfected
for all time those who are being sanctified. This
word "for" means that He sits in this place of honor and authority and power
because His offering accomplished exactly what God wanted it to.
If you put trust and hope in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Savior
and Lord, Christ will be united to you in a saving relationship and you
will be given His Spirit Who starts a lifelong work of “sanctifying” you,
that is, bringing your mind and heart and life more and more into conformity
to Christ. That's what Hebrews 10:14 means here
by “those who are being made holy.” It's those who are banking their
hope on Christ and are being changed from one degree to the next into His
image by His Spirit (II Corinthians 3:18).
This is why Christ was exalted to the honored place at the right hand of
God. His sin-bearing work was perfect. The resurrection and exaltation and coronation of
Christ at God's right hand are a declaration and celebration of His perfect
work of sin-bearing.
So all our worship of the risen Christ on this Sunday is a reflection of
the total sufficiency of the death of Christ to cover and cleanse and remove
all the sins of everyone who trusts Him and enters the road to life called
sanctification.
Now back to Hebrews 1:3. When it says, “When
he had made purification of sins he sat down at the right hand of majesty,”
it means that the sitting down in this place of preeminence and honor and
authority and power was a declaration of how perfect was Christ's work of
purification of sins. Christ was fit for this
place of honor by the fullness and perfection of His sin-bearing work for
us.
These words and this reasoning are given to us to fortify us against the
terrible temptation to doubt whether your sins can really be forgiven. The
sitting down of Christ in the place of preeminence is meant to make you confident
in the moment of trial and in the moment of death - that the purification
of your soul is sure and real and sufficient to give entrance into the kingdom
of God.
There is another great work Christ does to fit Him for this exalted place
at God's right hand.
Hebrews 1:3 says, "sustaining all things by his powerful word." Literally:
"He. . . . sustaining all things by his powerful word ... sat down at the
right hand of the majesty in heaven.”
We live in a world that treats our physical existence as the fundamental
reality of life. What we can feel and taste and smell is real and becomes
the measure of everything else. But we live in a physical world that is dependent
on a spiritual world, the kingdom of God. And behind it all is Christ, Who
sustains it all.
This seems strange to us because most who live behave as if this were not
the case. That is why this reminder is crucial to our living effectively in
the kingdom of God.
The truth is the creation around us is really very fragile. It depends each
second on the word of Christ’s power to continue. If for one second Christ
failed to sustain it, we would cease to exist.
Over 350 years ago, Rene Descartes tried to build a foundation for our own
existence on the words, “I think, therefore I am.” But this is insufficient.
This does not capture the depth of the world we live in.
What is really significant about my thinking? What is really profound about
my entire existence?
What we should say is, “I think, therefore Christ is.”
My existence is a testimony to the sustaining power of Christ.
Forgetting this fact is the very essence of our fallen condition.
Francis Schaeffer taught about coming to Christ as meaning we bow to Him
or acknowledge His supremacy in two ways. We bow to Him as Creator, and we
bow to Him as Redeemer. But we could also add that we bow to Him as our
Sustainer.
There are two things that can keep you from entering the kingdom of heaven
and enjoying the glory of God and all His works. One
is if your sins are not purified. The other is if you went out of existence
and all the works of God went out of existence. So
if you are to have a happy future in God's presence, two great works are needed:
a work of purification of sins, and a work of preservation of your existence.
So the challenge before us this morning from this writer is tremendous:
will we just sing along with the modern song of human self-sufficiency? Or will we listen to the Word of God and learn that
Christ upholds all things by the word of His power?
When we see Him at the right hand of the majesty it is not only to honor
the work of His purification in saving us, but also to honor the word of His
power in preserving us. We owe our purification
to Him, and we owe our being to Him.
And remember this is a person Who is alive today. He
is hearing everything that is being said in this room.
He can be known and trusted and loved and worshipped, which is exactly
why these words are written and why He arranged it that you are here this
morning.
There is one last reason Hebrews 1:3 gives for Christ's sitting down at
the right hand of the majesty.
There are two more phrases in the verse to look at, but they are easily
combined and in fact do go together: “The son is the radiance of God’s
glory … and the exact representation of his being,”
or, as we saw from the original words, “He,
being the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his nature
... sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.”
The difference between this qualification for sitting at God's right hand
and the other two is that those described what Christ did, while this describes
who He is. What He does is "uphold all things
by the word of his power" and "make purification of sins" by
the worth of His blood. But what is He? Who is He? That's our
last question this morning. Who died for sins? Who rose from the dead? Who
upholds the universe by the word of His power? Who is sitting at the right
hand of God?
The answer is: Christ is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation
of his nature.” What does this mean? It's
important that we take these two phrases together because they control each
other and keep us on track.
When it says that Christ is the exact representation of God's nature, we
are to realize that to see Christ is to see God. Jesus
said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father" (John 14:9). Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the
invisible God.” To see what God is like, you see what Christ is like.
But that could be taken in an entirely wrong way. Suppose
you take it to mean that Christ represents God the way a photograph or a painting
represents a person, or the way an authorized letter represents the king,
or the way a wax impression represents a gold ring.
That would be totally wrong. And the other
phrase here is meant to protect us from that misunderstanding. He is the exact representation of God's nature not
the way a painting represents a person but the way radiance represents glory. Verse 3 says, He is "the radiance of God's glory."
In other words He relates to God the way radiance relates to glory or the
way the rays of sunlight relate to the sun. Keep
in mind that every analogy between God and natural things is imperfect and
will distort if you press it. Nevertheless, consider
for example that there is no time that the sun exists without the beams of
radiance. They cannot be separated. The radiance is co-eternal with the glory. Christ is co-eternal with God the Father.
The radiance is the glory’s radiating out. It
is not essentially different from the glory. Christ
is God’s standing forth as a separate being, yet not essentially different
from the Father.
We see the sun by means of seeing the rays of the sun.
So we see God the Father by seeing Jesus. The
rays of the sun arrive here about 8 minutes after they leave the sun, and
the round ball of fire that we see in the sky is the image - the exact representation
- of the sun, not because it is a painting of the sun but because it is the
sun’s streaming forth in its radiance.
Now let’s briefly bring this around to what Psalm 19 said about the message
of nature. Nature’s message is about the glory of God. But it is very limited.
We can only see a reflection in creation of God’s glory. It is helpful but
not complete.
Even the whole Old Testament is the same way. It helps a great deal. It
takes us far beyond what we could see in creation alone.
But when we come to Christ, we come to the very substance, the very reality
of the glory of God. Now we see what God is like because we see God.
This is what we have in the gospels. When you open the gospels and read
as Jesus moves through the Judean hills, you are seeing the very radiance
of God’s glory.
Speculation has ended. Now we see God. Now we see how God interacts with
people just like us. Now we see what God thinks of us, of our world, and of
our humanness. Now we see God in our world, living with our limitations, sharing
our humanity.
When the gospels tell us that Christ is the light of the world, it means
that by seeing Christ, we see the very radiance of God Himself. And quite
literally, as we see Jesus walk through the pages of the gospels, we can understand
what He did, and Who He is, and what He is like and this brings light into
our world.
We no longer stumble because now we know what Jesus is like. We know we
can trust Him. We know that He cares for us.
When we read that He will not snuff out a dying ember, we know that He will
deal with us gently, taking our slightest desire for Him and fanning it into
a flame.
So I close this morning by commending this great Person to you, that you
might trust in Him and love Him and worship Him. He
is alive and sitting at the right hand of God with all power and authority
and will one day come in great glory. He has that
exalted place because He is Himself God the Son, because He upholds you and
me by the word of His power, and because He made a perfect purification of
sins.
In these last days, God is speaking to us through His Son. We can know the
One Who holds you in being, offers you purification from your sins, and reveals
God to you the way light reveals the sun.