The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:3
When I started my first class on computers, one of the very basic things I ran into was something that I knew but didn’t like. Yes, I sort of knew it was true, but that didn’t mean that I enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, there were times in my life that I absolutely didn’t want it to be true. So, what could this truth be?
It’s really very simple. In computers, things are either true or false. That’s it. No other options. Nothing else to choose from. It’s on or off. Open or shut. For all the talk of how great technology is, and it is great by the way, it all comes down to things being true or false. Zeros and ones.
You could jump up and down while screaming your head off, but that wouldn’t change the truth that with computers, things are on or off. Period. That’s true down to the smallest part of their chips, memory, and circuits. That’s just the way things are.
And in this opening chapter of Hebrews, the writer also puts God’s son in that same kind of thinking. He either is or he isn’t. He’s presently existing like this or not. It’s straightforward. That’s it. Those are your choices.
And the Son is described as being these three things.
Radiance of God’s glory. He’s the light that let’s us know that God’s there. That he exists. Without light we can’t see or know that someone’s there. The Son shows us that God’s there. But the Son is more than just a glowing light, he’s flashing like lightning. Like a strobe light. And as we all know, you just can’t ignore a flashing light. That’s why warning signals along the road are flashing – to get our attention[1].
Exact representation of his being. The Son is also not just someone like God. Or has some of the characteristics of God, but not all of them. Oh no. The Son has each and every little detail that God has. Nothing’s missing. It’s like God put his hand on the Son and you can see his fingerprints. The Son has all this because God personally gave them to the Son. When you see the Son, you see God[2].
Sustaining all things by his powerful word. The Son didn’t make the world like a car manufacturer and then send it on its way. The Son stays with the universe after making everything. He keeps it going. It’s deeply and intimately involved in how it functions each and every day. He keeps it going. He’s the one behind how everything works and works together. He’s the glue that holds the universe together[3].
And if that was it, well then, the Son would certainly be worthy of all our worship and praise. He’d be the one and only Son who created us for himself. But this Son isn’t just any son. Oh no. This Son is special because he didn’t just make us and the universe and then let us fall away from him. He loves us so much that he did what we couldn’t do for ourselves.
This Son did the unspeakable. He personally provided purification for sins. As I write these precious words, I have to tell you that I stopped just to let that sink in. The Son, the one and only creator and sustainer gave himself as the price for our sins[4].
He was totally clean and pure. And what did this Son do? The one who had nothing to do with sin took our sin on himself and became sin for us. But why? Why would he do such a thing? For one reason: so that we could be made right with God. So that he could welcome us back to himself[5].
Imagine this for a second. The one and holy God became sin for you and me. He took all our sin on himself and went to the cross. He paid the price that we couldn’t pay. He died the death we couldn’t die. In our place.
As we think about all that we’ve done in this life. How we’ve hurt God and the people around us. How we’ve broken the hearts of God and the people who love us. Is it any wonder that we feel this deep hole in our soul. That down to the core of who we are, there’s an emptiness and a sense that everything’s not right.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see[6].
So, the Son is the one who’s like this. The Son’s the one who did this. The question is what is our response? Are we going to ignore him like someone on the street corner looking for a handout? Or are we going to fall down in thankful worship? That’s the two options available. That’s it. Which one will we choose?
Noodling Questions
Do you think about things being right or wrong? Explain.
Which one of the three things about the Son is most important to you? Why?
How has the Son changed your life?
[1] Matthew 17:2
[2] John 14:8,9
[3] Colossians 1:17
[4] 1 John 1:7-9
[5] 2 Corinthians 5:21
[6] Amazing grace,: John Newton (1779)
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