Message Three

The Son—His Divinity

Scripture Reading: Heb. 1:1-13

1. The Son is God Himself speaking—Heb. 1:1-2a, 8:
   1. To say that God has spoken to us in the Son means that God speaks in Himself.
   2. God has spoken in the Son (v. 2a), and the Son is God; this indicates that God speaks in Himself.
   3. The Son speaks God, declares God, and defines God—John 1:1, 14, 18.
2. The Son is the center, the focus, of the book of Hebrews—1:2a, 5, 8; 3:6; 4:14; 5:5, 8; 6:6; 7:3, 28; 10:29:
   1. Christ’s being the Son of God implies the expression of God, the issue, or the coming out, of God—John 1:18:
      1. There is an important difference between Christ as the embodiment of God and as the issue of God:
         1. Christ as the embodiment of God is related to God’s existence; Christ is the complete God as His embodiment—Col. 2:9.
         2. Christ as the issue of God is related to God’s expression; Christ is the coming out, the emergence, of God as His expression.
         3. The Father as the fountain emerges in the Son as the spring—John 4:14.
      2. In Judaism God is true but hidden, whereas in God’s salvation God is expressed; this expressed God is God the Son.
   2. Regarding the Son of God there are two aspects: the aspect of the only begotten Son of God and the aspect of the firstborn Son of God:
      1. From eternity until the time of His resurrection, Christ was the Son of God only in the aspect of the only begotten Son of God—John 1:18; 3:16.
      2. Through resurrection Christ became the Son of God in the aspect of the firstborn Son of God—Heb. 1:5-6; Rom. 1:3-4; Acts 13:33:
         1. As the only begotten Son of God, Christ is the embodiment of the divine life—John 1:4; 1 John 5:11-12.
         2. Through resurrection Christ became the firstborn Son of God as the life-dispenser for the propagation of the life embodied in Him—Rom. 1:3-4; 8:10, 6, 11, 29.
      3. In His first coming Christ was the only begotten Son; in His second coming He will be the firstborn Son—Heb. 1:6-8.
3. In the Godhead the Son is the effulgence of God’s glory and the impress of His substance— Heb. 1:3a:
   1. The glory is the outward expression, and the substance is the inward essence.
   2. With respect to glory as the outward expression of God, the Son is the effulgence of God’s glory:
      1. The effulgence of God’s glory is like the shining of the light of the sun.
      2. The Son is the shining, the brightness, of the Father’s glory.
   3. With respect to substance as the inward essence of God, the Son is the impress of God’s substance:
      1. The impress of God’s substance is like the impress of a seal.
      2. The Son is the expression of the Father’s substance, the expression of what the Father is.
   4. For the Son to be the effulgence of God’s glory and the impress of God’s substance means that the Son is God coming to us:
      1. The Son is God reaching us, God coming to be one with us.
      2. In God’s New Testament economy, we have a God who reaches us, a God who comes to us to save us and to dispense Himself into us.
4. In God’s creation the Son is the Creator, the Upholder, and the Heir:
   1. In the past all things came into existence in Him, through Him, and unto Him—Heb. 1:2; John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16.
   2. In the present the Son upholds all things by the word of His power, and all things cohere in Him—Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:17.
   3. In the future the Son will be the Heir to inherit all things—Heb. 1:2.
5. In redemption the Son has accomplished the purification of sins and is now sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on high, waiting for the subduing of His enemies—Heb. 1:3, 13:
   1. The Son has taken away sin and has made purification of sins by offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sins—John 1:29; Heb. 10:12; 9:26.
   2. The Son’s sitting at the right hand of God in the heavens signifies that His work has been accomplished and that He is resting there—Heb. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2.
   3. The Son is waiting for the subduing of His enemies, that is, waiting for God to set His enemies as a footstool for His feet—Heb. 1:13; 10:13.
6. Hebrews 1 presents a marvelous revelation of the Son in His divinity from eternity past to eternity future:
   1. The Son was the Creator of the earth and the heavens—vv. 10, 2.
   2. The Son is the Upholder of all things—v. 3.
   3. The Son is the Heir of all things—v. 2.
   4. The Son, having been incarnated for redemption by crucifixion, made purification of sins—v. 3.
   5. The Son was begotten in resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God—v. 5.
   6. The Son, in His ascension, sat down on the right hand of God in the heavens—v. 3.
   7. The Son will come again as the Firstborn— vv. 6-8.
   8. The Son will be the King on the throne with the scepter in the kingdom—vv. 8-9.
   9. The Son will remain forever and ever in eternity future—v. 12.