GOD SPEAKING
No doubt we have all noticed how wonderfully this epistle to the Hebrews begins. You rightly say, with great abruptness; it brings us face to face with God in the very first verse. It is the only book in the Bible that begins with that word—God! One feels very much cast on the Lord in attempting to speak of this scripture, for we are brought face to face with God in a marvellous way. The wonderful fact is brought before us that God has spoken to us. The mere fact of God speaking is not peculiar to Christianity, but the manner in which God has spoken is.
The opening verse of the chapter brings before us how God has spoken in previous times, and the great feature of God’s previous speaking is that He has spoken instrumentally. (I read verse 1 in JND’s translation for the sake of exactness): “God having spoken ... in the prophets”. This is how God has spoken in times past. Nothing can be of greater importance than God speaking, and it is to us that God has been speaking. God has not left man from the very outset. He has been speaking intelligibly. He has condescended to express His mind, but He has been speaking instrumentally. God forbid that I should make light of the way He has spoken previous to Christianity, but I want to shew you that God has now laid aside instruments. He no longer speaks instrumentally, God has now become His own speaker. So it reads here: “has spoken unto us in Son”. I do not know whether our minds are familiar with a certain change here—I am only saying what has been often said. God is not a personal name, it is the official title of the Deity; we cannot substitute another title without missing the truth. It is God who has spoken, but He has spoken in Son. He has come out and revealed Himself. We are all familiar with one thing that has been often pointed out. In Old Testament times God dwelt in the thick darkness, but now God has come out. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5), but the wonderful thing is God has come out. We all know what took place on the occasion of the death of our Lord, when Jesus cried, “It is finished”. God took hold of the veil that divided the temple and rent it from top to bottom. As has often been said, the veil was not rent to let man in but that God might come out. God, as it were, made haste to come out. What a marvellous fact that there was love in God’s heart! Man had a place in the heart of God, and when that thing was removed that hindered God coming out, He, as it were, made haste to come out. God is in the light. He is in perfect revelation; but now the point is, God having come out, we not only learn that “God is light” (1 John 1: 5), but we are told that “God is love”. The order is perfect. We have to learn first what God is relatively—that is, light—and then what He is absolutely—that is, love.
At the end of these days God has spoken in the “Person of the Son”—a divine Person in the Godhead, Heb 1: 1. He is the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, John 1: 18. It says, “has spoken unto us in Son”. This is a wonderful thing, for that involves incarnation. I hasten to say that we have not taken account of incarnation as we should, and let me say that incarnation was the necessity in the purposes and counsels of God. It was equally the necessity of our condition. How otherwise could God speak to us? It involves incarnation on God’s part, otherwise how could He become His own speaker and tell us all that was in His heart to us in respect to blessing? God spoke previous to Christianity, but you would not expect to find the fulness of God in “many parts and in many ways” (v 1), but now God speaks not instrumentally but in Son—that is, in Son incarnate.
This scripture is a marvellous proof of the fact that in the Son taking up the position in manhood there was no change in His Person. He was incarnate; He was a divine Person. Scripture presents that Person in three ways: with the Father; as the Word become flesh; and taking up the condition of man here but the same Person. He goes to the cross, God raises Him, glorifies Him, but the same Person unchangeable. It seems to me that these things should have a place in our souls. Many could express it better than I—it is nothing new. It is wonderful how the Spirit of God calls attention to Himself as a divine Person. He takes up the condition of man, goes through death, is raised, glorified—but the same Person. He is unchangeable. I feel more than I can express how we do need to cleave to these things. He has taken up a place as man Godward. If you are clear on this, thank God! If you do not understand the position He has taken Godward you cannot understand Christianity. “Who has spoken unto us in Son, whom he has established heir of all things”, for He is a divine Person and equal with the Father. The Spirit of God is drawing attention to the greatness of His Person. What will enable you to stand in the presence of all the evil and confusion of the present time is the knowledge of Himself. The Spirit unfolds all the glories of His Person, all the glories that belong to Him, so that He might have His proper place in our hearts.
“Established heir of all things ... made the worlds”, that is, the whole universe of God without limitations. It is in Him God has spoken to us, the One whom He has established heir of all things. I would like you to take in that you are one of the joint-heirs—joint-heirs with the heir of God’s universe. He created the worlds by the Son. “By whom also he made the worlds”. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, but when you come to know distinction of divine Persons, creation is predicated to the Son—it was by Him God made the universe. It was by Him God made the worlds. What a Person! Who was “the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance”. There was an outshining of glory at the creation. The morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38: 7), and again in connection with the giving of the law, but the full unfolding awaited incarnation. How wonderful! The Son as Man. Mark, there is the outshining of His glory, there is His Person, who is the image of the invisible God; but the Son entered into the condition of man here. There was the expression of divine substance. You must come back to God for everything, but it has all come out and found expression in Him who, being the effulgence of His glory and the expression of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made by Himself the purification of sins. We must keep ourselves out here; we are not big enough to have a place here. Are you going to measure the death of the Son of God by what you are? Are you going to measure the purification of sins? It is sins in their entirety in relation to God.
“Set himself down”. Mr Raven said19 one of the most striking proofs of the divinity of Christ was the place He has taken as Man. He is now “on the right hand of the greatness on high”. “Taking a place by so much better ... than they”. It is as man He has taken that place. For a little time He took a place inferior to the angels, but now He is in every way superior. Angels were not created for the earth. “Makes his angels spirits”. You do not read of earthly angels in the Bible; they are properly heavenly creatures, but as Man He has taken a place better than the angels. We sometimes sing about our feeble faith, but the Lord opens our eyes to the wonderful dignity of sonship, taking a place better than angels as He inherits a name more excellent than they. Angels had a good name, but He inherited a better name than they, and He is up above angels. “For to which of the angels said he ever, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee?” This is not begotten in eternity, but in time—it says this day. This is when He was born here: “this day have I begotten thee”. Gabriel said to Mary; “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee”, &c. (Luke 1: 35), and God could say, “Thou art my Son”, and again, “I will be to him for father, and he shall be to me for son”. And He shall be to me as Son and I as Father. This is sonship. He is Man brought into a new relationship. Never before had God said this even to an angel. The eternal purposes and counsels of God called for sonship. They demanded it. Father and Son involves reciprocal affection. All the infinite love that fills the heart of God is free to come out, and “Abba, Father!” is just the responsive cry in our hearts to the love of God.
“Let all God’s angels worship him”. He is now the object of angelic worship. Think for a moment what an angel can do. Just one angel smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. One angel broke the seal set by the mighty empire of Rome, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. Not to let Christ out, but to let the timid disciples look in. Caesar’s soldiers could not stand against the angel. The Roman Empire is gone, but as to the Son, it is said, “Thy throne, O God, is to the age of the age”. Unto the Son he says it! Where is His seal? It is on the throne of God. He has a right to it and came into possession as a Man—sitting there as man. Do not think you will share that seat with Him. No, indeed! that is His unique place. “Thy throne, O God, is to the age of the age”. Make sure of believing it. Never mind if you do not understand it; God honours faith. “A sceptre of uprightness ... Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness”! Oh, what a path! Straight as a sunbeam in the sky, undeviating holiness and righteousness. “Therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy companions”. Now you see, beloved, where we come in. We come in at the top—that is where God brings us in. We are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. He went to the top and associated us with Him there. Companions of the Son of God. His eternal companions. That is a good beginning! May God be pleased in some little measure to make it good to our souls and that we may know something of the oil of gladness as companions of Him.
It is the grand climax.
PENGE
26th March 1912
From The Believer’s Friend 1912