Better, So Much Better!
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: [11] They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; [12] And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Hebrews 1:10-12)
Our congregational reading today is from the book of Hebrews chapter 1. The entire book of Hebrews is an outstanding, Christ exalting study. In simplest of terms, it is the writer’s intent to show that Christ is superior over everything in the vastness of His creation. God is revealed personally to us in the person of Jesus Christ who is the ”brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (1:3).
The tone for the book is set in verse 4 with the words “Being made so much better…” We learn that He is better than angels, better than Moses, and better than the Levitical priesthood. His personal sacrifice for sins is better than the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, and the mercy seat where He sprinkled His blood is in a better place because it is in a “perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” (9:11). His covenant is a better covenant because through it He “perfected forever them that are sanctified” (10:14). One day He will receive believers into a better place, ”the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…” where we will worship God in the presence of “an innumerable company of angels” (12:22).
Remarkably, chapter one verses 10-12 teach that Jesus Christ is the one who created the heavens and the earth. The 2nd verse says, He ”made the worlds.” Verse 3 tells us He upholds all things ”by the word of his power.” He is addressed as “Lord” which is the Lord God Jehovah and unmistakably identifies Christ as the one and only Supreme God. He laid the foundations of the earth and He made the heavens, which declare His eternal pre-existence. It is also apparent that He transcends the creation for He will cause it to pass out of existence, yet the One who created ex nihilo remains the same forever and His years will not fail.
As we read through Hebrews in these next few weeks, please stop to consider the majesty of the words. Superlative upon superlative is heaped on Christ. Spend some time contemplating the reasoning of the writer in proclaiming Jesus Christ better than all others. We preach Christ, and the reception of Him as Saviour and Lord is the only hope for eternal life. All religions are not equal because there is no equal to Jesus! He is infinitely better! Heed the words of chapter 12:28-29: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”
Pastor V. Mark Smith