From the Diary Edwards

Arguably the greatest theologian America has ever produced, Jonathan Edwards has written and produced much that is noteworthy. Anyone reading his diary can see that He is Keenly aware of his faults and by the grace of God is ever reforming. This excerpt comes form the diary of Edwards written on Sunday, November 15, 1724.

Determined, when I am indisposed to prayer, always to premeditate what to pray for; and that it is better, that the prayer should be of almost any shortness, than  that my mind should be almost continually off from what I say.

Jesus Greater than Angels

3. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, 4. Having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:3-4

The author of Hebrews comes now to the first theme of the letter written. Having already stated  different qualifications of Jesus, the author now must come to both the thesis of His first topic in Hebrews and the proof of it. Once having stated his thesis in verse four, the author than focuses on the next two chapters in proving the superiority of Jesus to the angels.  However, the New Testament Jew immediately would question why Jesus is superior and what these qualifications are. Two themes that will be dealt with in the next two chapters of Hebrews would be Jesus' superiority based on both His name and His work. However, the first dealing would be that Jesus is superior on the basis of the superiority of His name.

 

Jesus is Superior because of His name,

After having dealt with some of the attributes and characteristics of Jesus, the author discusses what exactly makes Him superior to everything including angels. The New Testament Jew held the angels with great esteem; they were believed to have written down the law and often were viewed with admiration. However, the author of Hebrews would not let anything overshadow the "brightness of Jesus" {John Calvin}. The Bible refers to the name of Jesus as the "the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:9) and that it is the name " by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12) The significance of His name comes from the essence of the bearer. Because Jesus was both God and Man,  His name was more significant than the angels. Based both on the work that He had done (vs. 3) and His position as Son (vs. 1-3) Jesus is said to be the Son that made purification for our sins. Having said all of this, the author then transitions to Old Testament proofs that Jesus truly was the Son of God. 

The Name of Jesus is the basis for His ability to Atone

The significance of why Jesus name is important and why it is that which makes Him superior to the angels is that it is the basis of all that He did. Without Jesus as God, we have no Savior. The requirement for a Savior is not only that He be perfect but that He have the ability to sit on the right hand of God and intercede for us. This specific task required for the Savior presupposes His having authority to sit at the right hand of God which is based on His position as Son.  Having stated his first topic of Hebrews, the author then proceeds to proofs of Jesus' position as the Son of God which is important because upon this hinge hangs our salvation.

O Lord God, without the pardon of my sin I cannot rest satisfied

without the renovation of my nature by grace I can never rest easy,

without hopes of heaven I can never be at peace. 

All this I have in Thy Son Jesus; blessed be His name. - The Valley of Vision

Japan and God's Purposes

Anyone following the news recently will be inundated by Japan's recent 9.0 earthquake, the war against Libya, and the recent uprising in Egypt. The question that inevitably comes up is why would a Holy, sovereign God allow such things? In what possible way could God ultimately glorify Himself amidst all of these tragedies? Does God delight in watching humans suffer?


Let's Be Honest...
We all have thoughts about why would such things happen; however,  there are always a few things to remember. The first is that because of sin the whole earth is under condemnation and the Bible says that creation " groans together in the pains of child birth." Because of the sin of man, the earth has been subjected to futility. The question that we should be asking is not why did this happen to them, but rather, why has it not happened to us? Although the question of evil in the world often seems to be an unassailable obstacle for the Christian, the reason that evil exists is because ultimately God will be glorified by it. In ordaining that evil exists, God ultimately has a purpose and a plan behind it. We view with horrific awe the description of the crucifixion that the Gospels contain; however, the Bible tells us that God from the foundation of the world already had planned for the crucifixion of Jesus (Revelation 13:8, Acts 2:23). This shows us that even though we as Christians may not understand all of God's purposes for the existence of evil, ultimately it will lead to the glory of God and our greater good. Even when tragedy strikes, God has a greater purpose in it all.  

Jesus the Exact Imprint of the Father

But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things , through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of  the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Hebrews 1:2-4


Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of Jesus during His time on earth was the aspect of His being of the same substance of God. The Pharisees could not quite grasp the dual nature of the Man Christ Jesus. Perhaps fueled both by their jealousy and their religious zeal, the claim of Jesus to be equal with the Father is one of the primary factors of their seeking His death. 


Jesus was not just equal to the Father, 


but was of the same substance as the Father. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus was the exact imprint of the Father and representation of His nature. This understanding of Jesus is imperative to His ability to intercede for us. He needed both to be God and Man fully. When the disciples asked Jesus in John 14 to show them the Father, Jesus replied by saying, " Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  


Without the proper understanding of the duality of Jesus' Nature, we cannot truly understand Jesus ability to both atone for our sin and sit at the right hand of the Father to serve as our intercessor. Jesus' divine nature is required to serve as a proper intercessor, creator, and Lord; however, Jesus' humanity was necessary in order for Him to serve as a proper High Priest and substitute. 

Jesus as the Word of God

1. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.  Hebrews 1:1-4

The central theme in all of the Scriptures is Jesus; throughout all the Old Testament and all over the New Testament, the influence of Jesus is felt even to this very moment. Skeptics and Agnostics have attempted to find ways to suppress His influence and quiet His voice; however, we see Jesus all over. Cults have debated and tried to repudiate His divinity, but apart from the outside corroboration what does the Bible say about who He is?  

 Jesus As the Word of God

Before we start, we must get the fact across that Jesus is the Word of God; that is, He is the agent of revelation and the means with which God communicates to us as humans. John tells us this (John 1:1-3, I John 1:1-3) in what seems to be almost an exact replication of what we find by the author of the book of Hebrews.  No longer are we restricted to the partial revelation of God by the prophets, but instead are the blessed recipients of a greater revelation. So much of a revelation of God is Jesus that He Himself says to the pharisees that, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."  The author of Hebrews lets us know that in these last days He (God the Father) has spoken to us by His Son.

Jesus the Word of God is Equal with the Father

We are tempted to think that if Jesus revealed the Father that He is subordinate to Him. This is an especially confusing point among many professing Christians. John tells us that the "Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1)  We see then Jesus as a revelation of the God the Father and the perfect representation of Him " the exact imprint of His nature". 

So What does this Mean to Me?

This position of Christ is crucial to our understanding of the Gospel. This is important because without Jesus as the exact imprint of God and without Him as the revelation of God we could never know Him. Jesus is the centerpiece of the Gospel and without Him we remain in darkness. This also puts to rest the idea that communication with God is unattainable. The fact that we can communicate with Jesus allows us to know for sure that we can have a relationship with the God of heaven. Let us pray with the Puritans this prayer, 

                                    O Thou who hast the hearts of all men in Thy hand,  

                                      Form my heart according to the Word,

                                         According to the image of Thy Son,

The Surpassing Worth of Christ

The crucial question that we all must face is how much exactly is Christ worth? Because whether or not we consciously answer that question, our lives will unconsciously answer that question by whatever we hold in the highest regard. Our lives are faced with every day worries and cares that if we are not careful will seem to possess more worth than Christ. In Philippians, Paul said, " Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." The goal of this blog is to show how much Christ is truly worth, and how we can manifest that in our lives. How much did Paul value Him? Enough that he considered all that he possessed to be rubbish or dung  compared to simply knowing Christ.