Jesus, “who being the BRIGHTNESS of His glory and the EXPRESS IMAGE of His nature, and UPHOLDING (pherō̄: to move with force or speed) all things by the word of HIS POWER, when He had by Himself PURGED (poieō katharismos: the author of cleansing and purifying) our sins, SAT DOWN at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3)
A major theme of the book of Hebrews is the SUPREMACY OF CHRIST. Faced with persecution, there is a temptation to follow the crowd. Jewish Christians of that era would have been under pressure to return to Judaism, rather than continue as Christians. The first four verses of Hebrews serve as an introduction to the idea that JESUS IS, BY FAR, THE BEST WAY. The Greek word characktēr is translated here as “express image” or “exact representation“. The Greek word for “nature” here is hypostaseōs. This is the source of the theological term “hypostatic union,” a fancy way of saying that Jesus IS BOTH GOD AND MAN.
Combined, these words mean that JESUS‘ NATURE IS IDENTICAL TO THAT OF GOD. Christ is divine, exactly as God is divine, He is GOD THE SON. The hypostatic union is the term used to describe how God the Son, JESUS CHRIST, took on a human nature, yet remained fully God at the same time. Jesus always had been God (John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.”), but at the incarnation Jesus became a human being (John 1:14 “And THE WORD became flesh and dwelt among us…”). The addition of the human nature to the divine nature is Jesus, the God-man. This is the hypostatic union, Jesus Christ, one Person, FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN.
WHAT IS SO WONDERFUL IS THAT GOD THE SON SPEAKES TO US, “Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.” (Isaiah 28:23) SEE, (John 10:3, John 10:4, John 10:16, Hebrews 3:15) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…” (Romans 8:16-17) COMMUNICATION IS WHAT MAKES FAMILIES FUNCTION PROPERLY!
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham