Fathers and Sons

Part 3 of 7

In continuing our glimpse into the book of Hebrews, let's ask ourselves, is Jesus' honest and humble "humiliation" to our human state a token of His lesser glorification? Of course not! In other words, is the fact that He is called the "Son" of God evidence that He is not co-equal with His Father, and is not therefore God Himself, even as an earthly son possesses a lesser respect than his earthly father? No. But these are the questions the Hebrews were posing. First, they thought Jesus was only a greatly anointed prophet. That was refused. Second, they thought Him to be some form of special angelic manifestation, but that too was refused by Hebrews' author. Now, the Hebrews are actually using the occasion of His humiliation as a man to be evidence against His co-equality with the Father. "He very well may have been God, but He wasn't equal with the Almighty Father! How can a son and a father be uniformly exalted with the same glory?", they must have argued. Quite simply, divine sonship is not human sonship! Simple, really.

But what a scary hypothesis! They were using Jesus' motivation for the atonement as evidence against His deity! Jesus became a man because of His fervent love for creation, and because of His desire to see them come to fullness. He became a man so that He could sympathize and become the only perfect substitution. But the Hebrews actually used this intense love for creation as a reason why He cannot be equal to His Father! For some reason, they believed that because Jesus was called a "Son", He therefore, by definition, COULD NOT be equal with the Father. How preposterous!

Oh how thankful we should be that the writer to the Hebrews has already overcome these carnal inquiries made by the fruit of mere faithless and humanistic religion. Again, "They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies..." (Ps 62:4). It's only as we approach such things in humility and sincere hunger for the truth that our eyes will be opened and our hearts susceptible to receive (Matt 11:25).

So, how does the Hebrew author defend and answer such a position?

Observe...

The writer to the Hebrews compares the Son to the Father, and in seeing their striking likeness, defends their Godly similarity:

1. Jesus is the Son, not in human terms, but in divine terms (Heb 1:2; Mk 1:1).

2. Jesus is the heir of all things (Heb 1:2, 4; Ps 2:6-8; Isa 9:6-7).

3. Jesus is the creator of the worlds (Heb 1:2; 1:10-12; Isa 44:24; Jn 1:3).

4. Jesus is the brightness of the Father's glory (Heb 1:3; Jn 1:14; 2 Cor 4:6)

5. Jesus is the express image of God the Father (Heb 1:3; Col 1:15; 2 Cor 4:4). Interestingly, the phrase "express image" means, "a figure stamped, an exact copy or representation, a precise reproduction in every respect".

6. Jesus is the upholder of all things (Heb 1:3; Ps 75:3; Jn 1:4; Col 1:17).

7. Jesus' Words have power (Heb 1:3; Eccl 8:4; Ps 107:20; Gen 1-2).

8. Jesus is the purger of our sins (Heb 1:3; 7:27; 9:12-14; Jn 1:29).

9. Jesus is seated at the Father's right hand (Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1; Mk 16:19).

10. Jesus' name is exalted above all others (Heb 1:4; Phil 2:9-11; Eph 1:18-22; Acts 2:36).

11. Jesus has defeated death, being resurrected (Acts 13:33; Heb 1:5; Rom 1:4).

12. Jesus is the only incarnated One (1 Jn 4:9; Jn 1:14, 18).

13. Jesus is worshipped as God (Heb 1:6; Lk 2:9-14; Rev 5:9-12; 1 Pet 3:22).

14. Jesus is called "God" (Heb 1:8; Ps 45:6-7; Heb 3:3-4; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Tit 2:13).

15. Jesus is declared as eternal King (Heb 1:8; 2 Pet 1:11; Jer 23:5).

16. Jesus is pre-existent (Heb 1:10; Jn 1:1; 17:5, 24; Eph 1:4).

17. Jesus is immutable (unchanging) (Heb 1:10-12; Jas 1:17; Heb 13:8; Mal 3:6).

So we see therefore, contrary to Hebrew opinion, that not only is Jesus far greater than any prophet, angel or created being, but He is the Son of God. His Sonship is divine and permanent. Therefore, He is God, and is to be worshipped as God. The Hebrew believers, who believed the sacred writings of the Law, Psalms and prophets, as given to them, should surely believe that God has a Son, and that His Son is the Lord Jesus.

Clearly, Jesus is more than simple human offspring! He Himself is God. With such clear and obvious God-likenesses as these aforementioned, Jesus can only be labeled as God, and is equal to His Father! Just because He is called the "Son" in no way negates His divinity! He far surpasses any mere human son!

To Be Continued...