Hebrews Chapter One, Christ: The Word Of God

 

Hebrews 1:2c has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,

 

In these last days God has spoken to us by His Son. A more literal translation can be found in the NASB footnotes. “By His Son” is, “in Son.” Christ is God incarnate, the Prophet. As the prophets were servants of Yahweh, Jesus IS Yahweh and thus their employer. He gave them words to speak and they shared them, sometimes freely and boldly, sometimes with much resistance and distress. However, Christ, as the Word of God, spoke only what the Father commanded, doing so with an authority that demonstrated His sovereignty. The prophets prefaced their oracles by the likes of, “Thus says the Lord.” In turn, Jesus always addressed His audience by saying, “I say unto you.” Notice the tremendous difference. The prophets speak in the name of the Lord. It’s like a child that you’ve written a check for, and they are free to cash it, but only to the amount it was written and no more, regardless of how much funds are left in your account. Claiming the Lord’s name was a seal or validation for their testimony, a scrawl that reveals that what they are saying is not their own words or ideas, but it was inspired by, and approved of God.

Yet Christ came, who owns the account, so to speak. When He writes a check the funds are His, and He may employ them in whatever venture He deems suitable. The Father committed all things to Him, and Jesus only does what pleases the Father; there is a perfect oneness of essence and action in their unity. He spoke in His own authority, but He likewise spoke on the Father’s authority, John 7:17, 8:28. Christ is the summation of the prophetic office; He is the apex and the focus of it. His incarnation brought a condemning clarity upon the world, which resulted in those who rejected Him being damned due to the overwhelming evidence of the veracity of His words and person, John 15:22, 24. Peter, in his impassioned sermon to Cornelius and his household, concluded with these words: “To Him (Jesus) all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins,” Acts 10:43.

 

John writes, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” Revelation 19:10. The Greek word for “spirit” in this verse is, “pneuma.” While this word (and this entire verse) has been violently wrested out of context by various cults, it has numerous meanings that are allotted by the surrounding context it is found in. Typically, pneuma is in reference to the Holy Spirit and is often translated so (111 times). It can also mean by implication when contextually relevant, “a vital principle or disposition.” Principle’s meaning includes “origin,” while disposition’s meaning can incorporate “nature.” Paraphrased then, this verse reads, “For the testimony of Jesus is the origin and nature of prophecy.” The prophets were inspired by Christ. He was also their subject. In Him is the origin of prophecy as the Word of God. Prophecy is God’s message to a lost world about what He will do, and what He has already done, to redeem creation together, and us individually. The testimony of Jesus is the evidence or witness of Him. When we preach the gospel we are manifesting the spirit of prophecy; not in any kind of mystical way, but rather in the sense that we have come to understand and believe that the witness of Christ is the ultimate prophetic message for all time and all people. Christ’s name causes division between those foreknown and predestined by God, and those who resist the Holy Spirit. It is this conflict over the person of Jesus Christ that creates the battlefield we find ourselves marching across. The world has largely departed from God and waxes worse and worse. We are in this world, but are not a part of it, or at least we shouldn’t be part of it. Our purpose is to preach Christ, the Originator of prophecy and the focus of prophecy’s purpose. When God spoke in His Son there was nothing left to add. Our goal now is to reveal Christ to the lost. When we speak in His name, in a very real sense it is as if He is appealing through us to a lost world to be reconciled before the great Day that all saints should desire comes upon us as a thief in the night, 2 Corinthians 5:11, 20.

 

As a final thought, it is worth noting that while God spoke to the fathers by the prophets, now He has spoken in His Son. The prophets were given messages to convey to Israel in accordance with God’s command. Jesus, one might say, WAS the message to Israel. He was the fulfillment of their expectations, the summation of over 100 prophecies, and the culmination of 4,000 years of waiting. The prophets, like John the Baptist, prepared the path and the people for God’s final word: His Son. Those thus prepared received Him when the Son arrived, John 1:12.