“The express image of his person" (1:3). In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is the very image of God. Jesus is all that God is. The only picture of God man may see is in the face of His only begotten Son. As a stylus makes an exact repro duction of its shape upon the wax or clay, so God has caused an exact reproduction of Himself to be ex pressed in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verses 2 and 3 of this chapter, there is presented a seven-fold portrayal of the Son of God, showing some of the attributes of His Deity. “Being made so much better" (1:4). The word better is the key word of Hebrews. It occurs 13 times in the Epistle. If literally means strong er, more powerful. Its purpose is to show Jesus to be of far more value to needy men than prophets, angels, Moses, Aaron, tabernacle, or anything else that might be named. We live in a “better” dispensation now than the former because we have the revelation of Christ. Study the better’s of this book and go away with a new appreciation of the Gospel! 'Therefore we ought" (2:1). Great truth revealed brings with it the ne cessity to do something about it. The word ought really means it is necessary. In view of the fact that Jesus is superior to prophets and an gels, and because the Gospel dis pensation is superior to that of the law, responsibility rests upon those who„have heard the blessed truth to act upon it. It dare not be side stepped. The destiny of the soul is at stake. For the Children T he F ather ’ s S on (H eb . 1:1-4; M att . 3:16, 17) M emory V erse : “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (John 3:35). Since the day when God placed Adam and Eve in the lovely Garden of Eden, He has spoken to men in many ways. In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through His prophets. Later, to show men what He was like, and to bring to them the message of His love, God T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
OCTOBER 5, 1947 THE BETTER REVELATION H eb . 1:1-4; 2:1-3; 8:6-11
The new covenant is perfect because of those with whom it deals. The new compact deals with those who have the law written upon their hearts, guaranteeing its fulfillment. They are the people of God. They will not need teaching by prophets, but all shall know me from the least to the greatest. The new covenant is superior because of the better rev elation in the Son in whom God speaks in the last days.
Outline and Exposition T he B etter M edium (H eb . 1 :l-4 )
The contrasts here are between the old and new revelations. In time past God spoke by the prophets; in the last days He delivered His mes sage in the person of His Son. The former revelation was fragmentary, coming at intervals; it consisted of shadows, dimly seen, and it contained only communications from God. In the Son, the new disclosure is com plete, there is no more to come; it is the substance of the shadows, and contains the revelation of God. This Son is heir to all God’s pos sessions, creator and upholder of all God’s universe, manifestation of all God’s Person, redeemer of all God’s people, ruler of all God’s dominions, and supreme over all of God’s crea tion. T he F inal S alvation (H eb . 2:1-3) Therefore, because of that Son, in whom and by whom alone is the salvation of God, the believer is urged to neither allow the truth to drift away, nor to drift away from the truth himself. Careful heed must be given to what has been revealed. The message of the angels was steadfast; how much more the mes sage o f the Son! The validity of that message has been confirmed by mir acles, signs, and wonders. The mir acles were to be seen, but the mes sage is to be believed. According to this Scripture, the message is the im portant thing because in it is the great, final, salvation of God. T he N ew C ovenant (H eb . 8:6-11) The Son is the mediator of a bet ter covenant than that typified in the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament. The first covenant was faulty because of those with whom it had to deal; the weakness was not in it, but in its'executors. PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
Outline and Exposition B. B. S utcliffe Points and Problems H omer A. K ent For the Children A llison A rrowood
Lesson material is based upon outlines of Internation al Sunday School Lessons, copyrighted by the Interna tional Council of Religious Education; used by permis-
Points and Problems "In time past...by the prophets . . . in these last days. . . by his Son" (1:1-2). A tremendous contrast ap pears in these words. In olden times God spoke to men through human instruments, whereas, in the present dispensation, He has spoken by Him self, even through the Person of His Son. This in large measure is the distinguishing feature between the past dispensations and the present one. God is not now sending messen gers to make known His will to men; God has appeared Himself. He is no longer far away. He has come down to earth to wear our flesh and now man may know exactly what God is like (cf. John 1:14, 18; 14:9).
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