His Superior Word

God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial.

The Letter to the Hebrews encourages us not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come. It does so by emphasizing the superiority of what God has done in His “Son.” The Word “spoken” in Jesus is superior to the earlier revelations provided “to the fathers in the prophets.” The Letter compares the Levitical system with its incomplete rituals to the “better” priesthood and “once for all” sacrifice of the “Son,” Jesus Christ.

The Letter demonstrates the superiority of the ministry, priesthood, and sacrifice of Jesus over the priestly services and sacrifices of the obsolete Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial rituals of the “former covenant.” Only Jesus ever “achieved the purification of sins.”

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The Letter shows by comparison how much the “Word spoken in a Son” surpasses the words spoken “in the prophets to the fathers.” The Letter to the Hebrews was sent to a congregation experiencing pressure from outsiders, and some members were contemplating returning to the local synagogue to avoid persecution.

• “In many parts and in many ways of old, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets; upon the last of these days, He spoke to us in a Son, Whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages, who, being an eradiated brightness of his glory and an exact impress of his being, also, bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, having achieved purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High, by so much becoming better than the angels, by as much as, going beyond them, he inherited a more distinguished name” - (Hebrews 1:1-4).

God spoke partially to the “fathers” (“in many parts and many ways”), but now, He is speaking fully and clearly “in a Son.” The passage describes the accomplishments of the “Son” through several declarations, each prefaced with the relative pronoun “who,” and it alludes to the main proof text of the Letter, Psalm 110:1:

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. <…> Yahweh has sworn, and will not repent: you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The final clause of the first paragraph concludes with the word “name” (“He inherited a more distinguished name”). This prepares the reader for the next paragraph where the one identified as “Son” is compared to the “angels” of God.

If discouraged believers return to the synagogue, it will become necessary for them to conform to the rituals of Leviticus. However, doing so would dishonor the “Son” through whom God has spoken with such finality and completeness. Hence, the severe warnings against apostasy threaded throughout the Letter - (e.g., Hebrews 2:1-3, 2:15, 6:1-12, 10:25-39).

The opening declaration begins with two Greek adverbs, ‘polumerōs’ and ‘polutropōs’. Each is formed with the adjective ‘polus’, meaning, “much, many.” ‘Polumerōs’ is composed with ‘meros’ or “part,” and ‘polutropōs’ with tropos or “manner.” They stress different aspects of the older revelations given “by the prophets.” These individual prophetic “words” were parts of a larger but incomplete whole. God did speak before, but He only disclosed “glimpses and shadows” of His coming “good things.”

Three contrasts are presented. First, God spoke “of old,” but now, He speaks “upon these last days.” Second, He spoke to “the fathers, but now, “to us,” the Assembly of God and Christ. Third, He spoke “in the prophets,” but now, He is speaking in one who is “a son.”

The earlier revelations were promissory but incomplete. They did not reveal all that God would do for His children. Therefore, fuller disclosure was required. As the Letter argues, the priestly services and sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood proved incapable of achieving the “purification of sins” or the “cleansing of the conscience from dead works to serve the living God” – (Hebrews 9:14).

SON AND HEIR

The term “upon these Last Days” provides the time element of this “Word.” It began with the Death and Resurrection of the “Son.” Afterward, he “sat down” in God’s presence where he now intercedes for his people as their “High Priest forevermore” - (Acts 2:17, Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10).

In the Greek sentence, there is no definite article or “the” before the term “son.” The omission stresses the class or status of the one who is called “son,” not his identity. The “Word” that God now speaks is through one who is a son.

The familial closeness emphasizes the elevated status of the one who now speaks to his brothers and sisters. As the “Son,” he is superior even to Moses, the servant of God and the greatest of the prophets. Therefore, the “Word” of the Son is superior to all others by its nature and contents.

Obedience to the Word of the Son is not optional or something of secondary importance. Put another way, failure to hear and obey the Word spoken by God in his Beloved Son will bring catastrophe upon the offender:

• “Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which, having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by them that heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his will?” – (Hebrews 2:1-4).

• “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do” - (Hebrews 4:12-13).

God appointed Jesus as the “heir of all things.” This alludes to the Second Psalm. Yahweh promised to give His Son the “nations as an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth.” The Letter shortens but also expands the original promise so that he is said to inherit “all things” - (Psalm 2:7-8).

Jesus reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the “exact impress” of His being. He expresses the glory and nature of God. The Nazarene is the living oracle of God who continues to speak His Father’s words to us. Only in Christ can the essence and splendor of God be seen and understood.

The “Word” of the Son is superior to all past revelations and supersedes them. This is especially so in two ways. Firstly, it is the last word in a long series of prophetic utterances. It is final and ultimate. There will never be another.

Secondly, the “Son” is the means of this Divine communication and the consummation and fulfillment of all God’s past “words.” To ignore or violate it is to dishonor the Son of God and thus God Himself.

What preceded this final Word was preparatory, promissory, and never intended to be God’s final answer to His children. With the advent of the Son, Jesus Christ, God has “spoken” decisively and with absolute finality, and nothing can ever be the same again.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Word of Life - (God has spoken clearly and decisively in His Son, the same Word by which God created life and the ages)

• These Last Days - (The era of the Levitical priesthood terminated with the arrival of the word in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, our High Priest forever)

• Purification of Sins - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to intercede for his people as their faithful High Priest)

• Do Not Drift Away - (The Letter gives a dire warning of the consequences for failing to heed the superior word spoken by God in His Son – Hebrews 1:4-2:7)