HEBREWS HEB1
The
Son is God – greater than Angels Hebrews 1:1 2:4
Introduction: The Son: He’s God’s great communicator. He supercedes the prophets; He surpasses the angels.
We can ask ourselves a series of questions about this
section of the letter:
1.
Who is the Son?
(1:2,3)
a.
Heir of all things.
What does this convey?
Think about Matt. 21:33-44
especially vs 38, 44 (Kingdom of God); Rom. 8:17.
b.
The Radiance of God’s glory. See Matt. 17:2, John 1:14,
c.
Exact representation of His being. John 14:9, John 10:30.
Other major N.T. references
are: John 1:1, Phil. 2:6, Col. 1:15-17.
2.
What does the Son do? (1:2,3)
a. What did He make? (2)
b.
What does He sustain? (3)
Note the links with John
1:2-5, Col. 1:16,17.
c.
What does He provide? (3)
What qualifies Jesus to do
this? Think about Heb. 7:26-28.
d.
What is the significance of the Son’s sitting down at
God’s right hand?
Think about Acts 2:34-36,
Eph. 1:19-23, Rev. 3:21.
3.
How is the Son superior to Angels?
(1:4-14)
a.
The Angels (4,7,14)
ii. Why is His name superior to theirs? (4)
iii. How are angels described? (7, 14) What O.T.
& N.T. incidents can you recall that
embody these functions?
b.
The Son (5-13)
Note how in a series of 5 contrasts the Son’s characteristics mentioned here fill out those of vs 2-4, and demonstrate His superiority to angels.
i.
Deity (5): note the Father/Son relationship which
emphasises the essence of His being
(John 1:1, 14, 18).
ii.
Worshipped (6): Who worship?
iii.
Divine King establishing a righteous kingdom
(8,9). Note the contrast with v7
What is the significance of
taking O.T. verses (Ps. 45:6,7) referring to God and applying them here to
Jesus Christ?
iv.
Eternal and never-ending Lord in contrast to an impermanent creation (10-12)
How does this relate to His
role of sustainer?
Think about 2 Peter 3:10;
Rev. 21:1-5.
v.
Victor in contrast to angels who serve (13,14)
4.
What is the application?
In the light of Christ’s deity and His work of salvation, there is both exhortation and warning.
a.
What are they to pay more careful attention to?
b. What is
meant by `drift away’? (1)
In this letter there seems to be various questions
which might cause some of these Jewish believers to drift away from the
truth. Most were true believers, others
possibly not: they were on the fringe, recognising Jesus as Messiah, but not
yet born again through faith in Him.
They needed to `pay more attention’ to what they heard (1).
There was a danger of neglecting or ignoring (3) this
salvation. The message could be ignored
in spite of 2:3,4. The same Greek word
for `ignore’ is used in Matt. 22:5 – ignoring the King’s invitation. The parable is significant. The situation described in
2:1-4 helps us to understand such passages as 6:4-8.
c.
How would you describe this salvation of vs. 3,4? What light is shed by 1:3?
d.
Itemise the important elements in vs 3,4 which relate
to this salvation. Recall N.T.
examples and incidents.
e.
What is the alternative to this salvation? (2 &
3a)
What was Peter’s conclusion? (Acts 4:12). Note how
this reference occurs in the
context of a miracle (Acts 4:8-17 – see Heb. 2:4)
The Greek word for `salvation’ is the same as that
used in Heb. 11:7 (translated in NIV `to save’).
What insights into salvation does the incident of the ark suggest?