Letter to the Hebrews Volume 2

God the Father's Supreme and Final Revelation to Humanity Part 2

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; KJV Note: MKJV = Modern King James Version

The final revelation of God the Father to humanity is our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ who always was and who always will be, for His 'being' is that of absolute and timeless existence as it is written with these words concerning Him by the Apostle John, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." (John 1:1-2) (MKJV) and also these words in this same first chapter of the Gospel of John, "And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth." (John 1:14) (MKJV). Therefore, the writer to the Hebrews declares these words here concerning Christ Jesus our Lord, "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" (Hebrews 1:3) (KJV). The little English phrase 'the express image' is translated by the Greek word charaktēr (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning a graver (the tool or the person), that is, (by implication) engraving 'character', the figure stamped, that is, an exact copy or [figuratively] representation): - express image.

In other words, the baby born in  Bethlehem celebrated on Christmas day is the very God who said, 'Let there be light, and there was light' (Genesis 1:3). Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself affirmed this fact of He being God when He spoke these words to an inquiring disciple Philip as also documented for us again by the Apostle John, "Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you such a long time and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. And how do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The Words that I speak to you I do not speak of Myself, but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works themselves." (John 14:8-11) (MKJV).

When the writer of Hebrews says this 'upholding all things by the word of His power', he means that the numerous universes He created are all sustained by Him and kept in harmony throughout the ages and millenniums and centuries (Colossians 1:17) declares this as we quoted in the last study/commentary in Volume 1. The word of His power is what He is inherently, inevitably, and internally, for from Him and by His spoken words the universes we made and every living creature was made with the most complex of detail. The Word of His power was witnessed by the early Apostles as documented for us by Mark, "And evening having come, He said to them on that day, Let us pass over to the other side. And when they had sent away the crowd, they took Him with them as He was in the boat. And there were also other little boats with Him. And there arose a windstorm, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full. And He was in the stern of the boat, asleep on a headrest. And they awakened Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we perish? And He awakened and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" (Mark 4:35-41) (MKJV).

When the writer of Hebrews says 'when He had by Himself purged our sins', he means that Christ alone by His sacrifice cleansed and continually cleanses everyone who comes to Him from their sin/sins. The English word 'purged' used here by the writer of Hebrews is translated by the Greek word katharismos meaning a washing off, that is, (ceremonially) ablution, (morally) expiation: - cleansing, purge, purification, or purifying. In other words, Christ atonement (His Blood) is the purifying agent from the penalty of sin, from the guilt of sin, and also from the crippling power of sin. Because of our nature being sinful and sinning, we could never even approach God the Father without being cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, as it is written here again by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, "And one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes, and from where do they come? And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes, and have whitened them in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. And He sitting on the throne will dwell among them. They will not hunger any more, nor thirst any more, nor will the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them and will lead them to the fountains of living waters. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Revelation 7:13-17) (MKJV). Lastly, when the writer of Hebrews says 'sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high', he means to refer to Christ ascension back to heaven where He is given an exalted place next to God the Father as the mediator between God the Father and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Here is the Throne of Grace which our Lord Jesus Christ now sits upon. As the mediator between God and man, our Lord Jesus is continually dealing with sin as the bearer of it, the cleanser of it, and the forgiver of it before the Majesty on High (God the Father).

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…