Jesus, more than just a name!

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Names are important. As consumers, we are conditioned to buy by brand name. Certain brands are better than others, and we buy by brand name because we want quality of manufacture, longevity of service, and trouble-free living after we have purchased that item, whatever it might be.

As individuals, our names are also important to us. We spend our lives, as soon as we have grown up, trying to make a name for ourselves. If you question people about this, you’ll find that some are still trying to make a name for themselves. Why do we do that? Because we want to be known as people of integrity, of excellence, of faithfulness and reliability—people who can be trusted, people who are responsible. We appreciate it when we say our name and someone spells it correctly. We feel a bit insulted when they don’t take their time and our name becomes something other than what we spoke.

But we can also talk about names in a slightly different way—not a brand name, not my name, but a name behind which we gather. For example, the name “Christian” highlights for us that we are followers of Jesus Christ. We rally behind the name of Jesus, whereas Buddhists or Muslims gather behind a different name.

Acts chapter 4 says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” The name being referred to is the name of Jesus. There is no other name except the name of Jesus whereby men or women may be saved and delivered from the judgment that their sin deserves.

That name, Jesus, is key. When the angel visited Mary, and later appeared to Joseph, the angel was very clear: “You must give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

But have you considered the other truths that go with that name? In Hebrews chapter 1, we are going to see that the name of Jesus, and the person and work of Jesus, is highlighted in several different ways. These are precious truths. They are deep truths. When I used to lead Bible studies, I would say, “Let’s pray together and let’s praise the Lord,” and you would hear things like, “We praise you for your love, your faithfulness, your forgiveness.” All of that is good, but often we run out of steam very quickly.

This morning, in these verses, you are given deep content. You are given rich truths. I want you to focus on them with me so that when we are called to praise the Lord, we are able to exalt Him—not just with the common things, but with an understanding of these deep truths. I want us to go away from here enriched in our hearts and in our lives because of them.

I’m going to make two points:
1. **What we are told concerning the nature of God.** (Verse 1)
2. **What we are told concerning the nature of Jesus Christ.** (Verses 2-4)

The Nature of God: A Self-Revealing God

Listen to verse one again: “Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways.”

Has the thought ever crossed your mind that you would not be able to know anything about God unless God chose to reveal himself to you? Natural, sinful man does not desire the knowledge of God. According to Ephesians chapter 2, we are dead in our sin. Dead people cannot make a response. Dead people cannot hear truth. But God quickens us by his Spirit and brings us to spiritual life. He opens our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our understanding so that we can know something about himself.

Those words “God spoke” are key. They tell us that God wants us to have a knowledge of himself. He wants us to come into a personal relationship with him. That is why Jeremiah writes in chapter 9, verses 23 and 24: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, says the Lord.” Coming to know God is an act of the Spirit of God in our hearts.

In theology, we refer to two forms of revelation.

**General Revelation** is the revelation that God gives to all people everywhere at any given time concerning himself as the Creator. For example, Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Through creation, we see a sense of order, design, and intelligent design. We see majesty in the heavens, in the mountains, and even in the small, beautiful flowers that come after the dead of winter. Who made this? Who orders the seasons? That is general revelation.

Your conscience also falls into the realm of general revelation. When someone wrongs you, you say, “How can they get away with that?” Why do you have that sense of justice built into your life? Because God has ordered it. When you look at the providence of God throughout history, you see cycles—there is nothing new under the sun. It’s because God is the God of order.

General revelation speaks to us about God, but it will not lead you to salvation. It gives you the knowledge of a Creator and shows you there are moral standards and a God behind everything.

**Special Revelation** is God’s special disclosure concerning himself in regard to salvation. Here, God reveals himself to certain people in certain ways at certain times with one intention and purpose: to bring those people into the realm of salvation—consciousness of sin, and of the judgment of God that rests upon sin. At the same time, He brings us to the place where we are conscious of the gift and offer of salvation.

The writer to the Hebrews is saying that God spoke long ago. God desires a relationship with us. God is making himself known because he wants to bring us into that relationship. If you are in that relationship with God today, you should say, “Thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes, ears, heart, and understanding. Thank you for revealing yourself to me.”

How does God do that? Specifically through the person and work of Jesus, and through the word of God. The writer says God spoke through the prophets in different ways throughout history so that we might come into this relationship with himself. Who convinces us of that truth? The Holy Spirit. Who convicts us of sin? The work of the Holy Spirit.

My point is that God desires a relationship with us. Importantly, it is not that God *needs* us. Some people paint a picture of God as lonely. God is never lonely. There is the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in perfect communion with each other. God is perfect, absolute, and completely satisfied with who He is. He does not need us. That He calls us to himself is grace and love. It is God’s undeserved favor to each one of us.

So, look at that again. “Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways.” Consider that. He spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He spoke through the different prophets—the whole of the Old Testament. He spoke through signs and wonders, through acts of judgment, and through angels bringing messages. He has spoken in a myriad of ways. He is not detached, distant, or disinterested. He is very interested in absolutely every detail of every one of our lives.

That’s the first point. God is a disclosing God, a self-revealing God. Do you know this God? He has spoken and revealed himself in a myriad of ways. Because we are sitting here this morning, we need to ask ourselves: Have I responded to him? Am I in fellowship with him? He is setting the scene for the richness of what comes next.

The Nature of Jesus Christ

Here is the second point: what we are told concerning the nature and person of Jesus.

**”In these last days…”** The “last days” commenced after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and said, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel; these are the last days.” It is a period of time that began then and will end with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We speak of “last days” as that time period, but also as the events just before Christ returns. In these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. This is the realm of special revelation.

**To understand the New, you need the Old.** As Christians, I think we lose out because we adopt the attitude that the Old Testament is old and has passed away. Many Christians hardly ever go back to the Old Testament. But the writer to the Hebrews is saying that if you really want to understand the New Testament and get its richness, beauty, and majesty, you need to understand the Old. The Old looks forward to the New, and the New is the fulfillment of the Old. When you stand in the New Testament period and look back, you see how God has spoken, worked, and shown his mercy, love, and favor. You should say, “Wow, isn’t God awesome?” That should be happening in our lives all the time.

Now, let’s look at how God has spoken through the person and work of Jesus Christ. I will make several points briefly.

**1. Jesus is God’s Son.**
Many will speak of Jesus as a good man, a captivating teacher, or a powerful leader. But what God says concerning Jesus is that he is not just a leader or a person—He is my Son. This point is developed throughout Hebrews. For example, in verses 5 through 14, he says Jesus is superior to the angels. There were people who believed Jesus was just another messenger, an angel. God is saying, “No, the angels had a specific task to deliver a message, but my Son is in a league all by himself.” He surpasses the angels, and in the chapters that follow, you will find he surpasses the law, Moses, and the high priests. He is superior in absolutely every single way.

Because he is, when John writes John 3:16, he writes with absolute conviction: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Unless you have Jesus, you have nothing. If you do not come under the authority and name of Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are not a child of God. Jesus is key.

**2. He is the Heir of all things.**
To be an heir is to inherit something. So what is God saying when he describes Jesus as the heir of all things? He is saying that Jesus is, for example, the Savior of sinners and the head of the church. The church is called the bride of Christ. So, what is Jesus inheriting? He is inheriting the people of God. They are his inheritance. One day, when he comes, he comes for the church, his bride, and they will be given to him by the Father. At the same time, Jesus is *our* inheritance. It is a tandem thing, rich and beautiful. That is why Paul writes in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”

**3. He is the Creator.**
Verse two also says God made the universe *through him*. Paul picks this up in Colossians chapter 1, affirming that truth in verses 16 and 17: “For in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” You cannot get a stronger affirmation that God and Christ are absolutely equal and are one. We believe in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one. But here you are being told that Jesus is God, and God is in Jesus. They are one and the same.

Why would the writer to the Hebrews be saying these things? The answer takes us to who he is writing to: Jewish Christians. Some of them were suffering, and their disenfranchisement was leading them to consider turning back. He is going to deal with that in chapters five and six, exhorting them, “Whatever you do, don’t do that.” He encourages them by making these points: Look at who Jesus is. When you understand who Jesus is, you won’t want to turn your back on him—his Son, his Heir, his Creator.

**4. He is the Radiance of God’s Glory and the Exact Expression of His Nature.**
Verse three says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature.” In other words, to see Jesus is to see God.

In the Old Testament, God’s glory was revealed in the cloud that settled on Mount Sinai—the lightning, fire, and thunder that made the people tremble. The glory came to rest on the temple when it was dedicated under King Solomon. But there was a time when the glory of God departed. When the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines, it was written, “Ichabod”—the glory has departed. What a contrast. Well, here the scripture is saying the glory is in Jesus. Treasure Jesus, and you are treasuring God. Know Jesus, and you are knowing God.

The phrase “exact expression” brings to mind a mirror image. In the early days of computers, you could make a “mirror image” copy of a program. The point is, you could copy it exactly. To see Jesus is to look into the very face of God. The exact representation, the radiance of God’s glory, is revealed in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me give another illustration. Our coinage has to be minted for the image to come out. A die is engraved very carefully with an image, and it stamps those coins. The exact image on the die is stamped onto the coins. To see Jesus is to see the image of God stamped amongst us, with us, and if we know him, in us.

**5. He Sustains All Things.**
Jesus sustains all things by his powerful word. Again, consider the audience. They are struggling, going through hard times, tempted to turn back. It’s easier to go back to sacrifices. The writer is saying, “Listen, don’t do that. If he is able to sustain creation and history for millennia, do you think he is going to forsake you? He will keep you and bring you through whatever hardship you are going through.”

**6. He is the Means of Purification from Sin.**
He adds that Jesus has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. How did Jesus take away our sin? He humbled himself. He went to the cross and died in our place. Even on the cross, he looked at those crucifying him and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

When the scripture says, “After making purification for sins, he sat down,” what is that saying? When you sit down, the work is finished. There is nothing more that can be added to it. When you believe in the person and work of Jesus, you are saved from your sin. You can never again be judged for them. It is finished, done with, complete. God, in Jesus, has sat down. To know Jesus is to know salvation and deliverance from our sin forever. It is not something that needs to be done again and again. It is done.

**7. He is Superior to the Angels.**
He is going to develop this in the rest of the chapter. All of which is saying, lift Jesus high! Lift him and put him up there. Yes, he is loving, forgiving, faithful, and he hears our prayers. But keep lifting him up so that your vision is drawn higher and higher, off the troubles of this earth and onto the person who will bring you through absolutely everything.

Conclusion: A Call to Respond

Let’s tie it together. How do we conclude?

Application for the unbeliever

the Lord is saying, “I have spoken. I have revealed myself in a general way and in a special way. What more do you need?” Hebrews will go on to say, three times, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” He is speaking. Respond. Give your life to him so that he can be your Lord and Savior. Come under the authority of his name, for there is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus.

Application for the believer

I want you to go away saying, “Wow.” I don’t want you to say, “Andre preached a good sermon.” That’s not what this is about. I want you to go away saying, “What a great Savior! What an awesome God!” I want you to go away treasuring Jesus and living under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he is the one who has saved us from our sin, made purification for it, sat down at the right hand of God, and is superior to all. He is the Creator, the Son of God, the Heir of all things. I want you to say, “Wow, God be praised.”

That’s what I want this morning. And if I want that, God wants it all the more. There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved except the name of Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. There’s something about that name.

Let’s pray.

Father, we believe that you are yesterday, today, and forever the same. You change not. And because you change not, you are still speaking to us even today in these moments. I pray that you would cause your Spirit to speak with such conviction, clarity, and in such a compelling way that all of us this morning would bow down and say, “What an awesome Savior Jesus Christ is.” May none depart from here not having made things right with you. We pray that every one of us may know the joy of fellowship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. To him be the glory. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.