How lovely God is Pt 22: God’s final Word

Hebrews 1:1-3                       1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  3The 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.

Jesus is the fullest expression of God’s Word

There are moments when words reshape history.  A verdict is pronounced.  A vow is spoken.  A promise is kept.  Hebrews opens with the claim that God has spoken, and that His final, decisive word is not merely a message but a Person.  We don’t know who wrote the Book of Hebrews, but he begins with revelation.  God, who once spoke in fragments and shadows, has now spoken fully, clearly, and finally in His Son.

These verses answer one central question: How does God speak to His people now?  The answer is as simple as it is profound: God speaks through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews begins by honoring the past without clinging to it.  God did speak through the prophets—through visions, dreams, laws, poetry, and promises.  The Tanakh (Old Testament) is affirmed as genuine revelation.  Yet it is also described as partial and progressive.  God spoke “at many times and in various ways,” suggesting both diversity and incompleteness.

What changes “in these last days” is not God’s willingness to speak, but the mode and fullness of His speech.  God now speaks by His Son.  The Greek construction emphasizes not merely that Jesus delivers a message, but that He Himself is the message.   Jesus does not say, “Thus says the Lord.”  He speaks with divine authority: “You have heard it said… but I say to you” (Matt 5:21–22).  This is why the Gospel writers repeatedly present Jesus as the Word.  John famously declares, “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14).  Jesus is not simply God’s spokesperson; He is God’s self-expression.  To encounter Jesus is to encounter God’s voice embodied in human life.

This truth reshapes how believers read Scripture.  The Bible is not a collection of disconnected religious texts; it is a unified witness that leads to Christ (Luke 24:27).  Every law, prophecy, and promise finds its fulfillment in Him.  God’s final word is not an additional revelation—it is the culmination of all revelation.

He created all things

Having established Jesus as God’s ultimate Word, Hebrews immediately grounds that claim in creation.  Jesus is not merely part of God’s redemptive plan; He is central to God’s creative work.  The Son is both heir and agent of creation.

This echoes the opening of Genesis—“In the beginning”—and connects it to the opening of John’s Gospel: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).  Paul reinforces the same truth: “All things have been created through him and for him” (Col 1:16).  Creation is not independent of Christ; it is Christ-centered.  This language establishes Jesus’ preexistence.  He did not come into being at Bethlehem; He entered history as the eternal Son.  It affirms His authority.  The one who redeems the world is the same one who designed it.  Redemption is not a divine afterthought; it is the restoration of what Christ created.  This matters because it means Jesus understands the world not only as a participant in human suffering, but as its architect.  He knows the grain of creation because He shaped it.  The brokenness we experience is not the result of flawed design, but of fractured relationship—one He came to heal.  Life often feels fragile.  Circumstances change, bodies weaken, relationships strain, and the world itself feels unstable.  Hebrews speaks directly into that anxiety by reminding us that the One who saves us is also the One who created all things and sustains them by His powerful word (Heb 1:3).

This invites believers to entrust not only their souls, but their daily lives to Christ.  Prayer becomes less about controlling outcomes and more about resting in His authority.  When the future feels uncertain, faith does not deny the uncertainty—it places it in the hands of the Creator who already holds the universe together.

He is the exact representation of the Father

Few verses in Scripture offer such a concentrated Christological claim.  The Son is described as both the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.  The language is precise and intentional.

“Radiance” suggests light streaming from a source.  Jesus does not merely reflect God’s glory like a mirror; He emanates it.   To see Jesus is to stand in the light of God Himself (John 8:12).  The second phrase—“exact representation”—comes from a term used for the imprint made by a seal.  The Son bears the very imprint of God’s essence.

This directly challenges any attempt to separate the character of Jesus from the character of God.  We do not need to wonder what God is like behind Jesus.  Jesus Himself says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  There is no hidden God lurking behind Christ’s compassion, patience, or mercy.

For believers, this is deeply comforting.  God is not distant, unpredictable, or unknowable. He has made Himself known in a face we can recognize, a voice we can hear, and a life we can follow.  Jesus is not a diluted version of God; He is God made visible.  Many Christians quietly carry distorted images of God—harsh, distant, disappointed, or perpetually angry.  Hebrews gently but firmly corrects this by declaring that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being.  There is no contradiction between the Father’s heart and the Son’s compassion.

This truth is profoundly pastoral.  When believers struggle with shame, fear, or doubt, they are not called to imagine a God different from Jesus.  They are called to remember Him.  The way Jesus treats sinners, the way He welcomes the weary, and the way He entrusts Himself to the Father shows us exactly who God is and how He relates to us now.

He now sits at God’s right hand

This passage moves from revelation, to creation, to incarnation, to atonement, and finally to exaltation.  Jesus not only reveals God; He reconciles humanity to God.  The phrase “provided purification for sins” summarizes the heart of the gospel.  Through His death and resurrection, Jesus accomplished what no priest or sacrifice could fully achieve.  The verb sit implies completion.  Unlike the Levitical priests who stood daily in service, Jesus sat down, signaling that His work was complete (Heb 10:11–12).

To sit at God’s right hand is to occupy the position of authority and honor (Ps 110:1).  Jesus reigns not as a distant monarch, but as the crucified and risen Lord.  His enthronement assures believers that sin has been dealt with, death has been defeated, and history is moving toward His reign.

This final image offers both assurance and hope.  Assurance, because our salvation rests on a finished work.  Hope, because the One who reigns is the same One who suffered for us.  God’s final word is not condemnation, but enthroned grace.  Jesus’ exaltation to God’s right hand assures believers that history is not random and suffering is not final.  The risen Christ reigns now, even when His rule is not yet fully visible.  This gives believers courage to endure hardship, resist sin, and persevere in hope.

This means we live faithfully even when obedience feels costly.  We speak truth, practice love, and pursue holiness not because the world rewards it, but because Christ reigns.  Our lives become testimonies that God’s final word is not chaos, despair, or silence—but Jesus Christ, reigning in glory.

What about me?

If God has spoken finally and fully in His Son, then the question is not merely “What do we believe about Jesus?” but, “How do we live in response to Him?”

Many believers struggle with uncertainty because they are searching for fresh words when God has already spoken clearly.  Hebrews reminds us that God’s definitive self-disclosure is not hidden in secret knowledge or private revelation, but openly displayed in Jesus Christ.  When we want to know what God is like, how He responds to sinners, or what He desires from His people, we look to Jesus.  This calls believers to anchor their spiritual lives in the Gospels.  Discernment begins not with speculation about God’s will, but with careful attention to Christ’s words and actions.  Spiritual maturity grows as we learn to say, “If this is how Jesus loved, forgave, confronted, and trusted the Father, then this is how I am called to live.”

Hebrews does not merely inform its readers; it calls them to listen.  If God has spoken finally and fully in His Son, then neutrality is not an option.  The rest of the letter will repeatedly warn against drifting, hardening the heart, or turning away (Heb 2:1; 3:12).  God’s final word is not a text to master, but a Lord to trust. Jesus is the fullest expression of God’s Word, the creator of all things, the exact image of the Father, and the reigning King at God’s right hand.  To hear Him is to hear God.  To follow Him is to walk in life.

In a world filled with competing voices, Hebrews calls believers back to the one voice that matters most—the voice of God’s final Word, Jesus Christ.