The
Little Babe, The Supreme Christ (Heb
1:1-4)
Introduction
– Don’t put Christmas away quite so fast.
The Supremacy of Christ – The Book of
Hebrews is all about the supremacy of Christ.
The argument begins in showing that Christ is greater than the angels
(v4). The angels of God worship Him
(v6). And they did so from the beginning
of His incarnation (Luke
A New Word, A Final Word (v1) – Since Adam, there has been the promise of a
Savior, and for four thousand years, while He did not come, the word of His
coming continued to be given “at various times and in various ways.” God did not send His Son until the time was
perfect (Gal 4:4). In the New Testament,
we have a more clear revelation of the same story of God’s redemptive history,
and in Jesus Christ, we have the final Word, the very fulfillment of all God
was promising to do. Peter said men of
the past longed for the book we have (1 Pet 1:10f).
The Word of the
Last Days (v2) – The ‘last days’ were the days of
Christ’s incarnation. They are not days
that still lie ahead. These were the
last days prophesied before Christ was born (Is 2:2, Mic
4:1, Acts 2:16ff) and testified to as fulfilled after His ascension by the
apostles). It disparages Christ’s glory
to look for a return to prophetic utterances as were given before the greater
and final Word came. We do not need a
new revelation. We are told what this
Babe accomplished in His coming.
The Word
Appointed Heir of All Things (v2) – The Baby would
be given all things by His Father. He
would bind the strongman and loot his house.
He was mercy, the Great Deliverer, the Prince of Peace, the King of
Kings, from the day of His birth. And so
we see how the
The Word Who
Created and Sustains All Things (v2) – This Word that
came is the same Word that was spoken by God.
The Father is the Source of all creation, and the Son is the Agent of
all creation, proceeding from the Father.
Created out of nothing, the entire creation is sustained personally by
the Word Himself. Christ upholds
creation, “from sinking into its original confusion and nothingness”
(John Owen).
The Word Who Is
the Radiant Glory of God (v3) – God has built us with a longing
for the transcendent. But we are unable
in our finiteness and sinfulness to reach this.
But God has given transcendence to us in the incarnation, “He is the
image of the invisible God.” (
The Word, Born
to Die (v3) – The miracle of the virgin birth was a
miracle with a particular purpose. He
was named Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins. God’s love for His people is manifest in
Christmas, but only because Christmas points to
The Word, Raised To Rule All Things (v3) – Christ
really came, and He really now sits at the Father’s right hand ruling the
nations (Dan 7:13f). You cannot affirm
the one and deny the other.
The Word’s More
Excellent Name (v4) – He came to rule, not to be cuddled in
the manger. His name is greater than the
angels. His name is Wonderful (Isaiah
9:6f) and it was even at the moment He lay in the manger.
The Days After Christmas – For a few
days, the world remembers the birth of Jesus Christ,
regardless of whether they believe it or respond appropriately to
it. In many ways, our homes became more
Christ-centered as well during the Christmas celebrations. But these are the days of the Christmas
celebration – they are to go on and on.
Box Up the
Decorations, But Not Christ – These were small beginnings
again. Now, our lives are to grow in
meditation, in devotion, in obedience, in the fruit of the Spirit. The mercy of His reign and dominion is to
spread out into the corners of our lives.
The Message
Lost By the Church – We gather to worship a Person, not a
set of propositions. We gather to be
sent by a Person Who has bound the strong man and is looting His house. We are to go and disciple the nations.
Lord of All
– Christmas is the reminder, the renewal, of the incarnation of the redemptive
rule of Jesus Christ over all of our lives.
Has He settled your salvation? If
not, you are only rebelling against reality – a bad idea. The Lord of lords has visited the earth. The Lord demands your complete trust, your
complete obedience, your complete submission. And it is all His mercy to give it to you
more and more this year.