His Son… by Himself purged our sins (Hebrews 1:2-3).
The Epistle to the Hebrews is great and profound and marvelously methodical. The first chapters are about the Person of the Lord Jesus and who He is—a Messenger of a more exalted dignity and a Minister of a more abundant grace than any before. Chapter 1 presents Him as the Divine Son of God; chapter 2 as the perfect Son of man, made like unto His brethren. These two chapters are the foundations upon which all Christian truth rests. Upon this foundation is built the whole structure of redemption.
Who the Lord Is
The opening verses tell us that God has “in these last days spoken unto us by His Son”—His unique Son—His eternal Son. There is an eternal Sonship in the Godhead. That Divine Sonship is a Sonship which belongs to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Immediately following this statement about God’s unique Son, there is a sevenfold exposition of His Person and His absolute and certified deity. Here are seven elements:
(1) “Heir of all things,” which includes everything in the whole universe. No created being could be such an heir of this vast and illimitable universe. Only the Son of God could be that!
(2) “By whom also He made the worlds”—the “worlds” meaning the ages. The Son of God framed and designed all the ages of time and eternity. This language could not possibly be applied to any created creature!
(3) “Who being the brightness of His glory”—the clear shining of all that God is. He embodies, as in one constellation, every divine perfection. He shines with the midday splendor of Jehovah’s attributes. It would be blasphemous to use such language of a mere creature!
(4) “The express image of His person”—the exact impress of God’s essential nature. He was as pure on earth as God in Heaven. The Lord Jesus passed through a world of sin, as an undefilable sunbeam through the vilest hovel. He never knew sin’s stain. He was as holy as God is holy because He is God!
(5) “Upholding all things by the word of His power”— keeping the whole universe in its orbit. Scientists now measure the distance of stars by sound waves rather than light years. They tell us that light from some stars takes millions of years to reach earth. They have also discovered one star bigger than our whole solar system put together. What vastness! What billions of stars there are!—and the Lord Jesus upholds them all!
What the Lord Did
(6) “By Himself purged our sins”—taking them quite away. Only because of who He is could there be a boundless substitution which could release the souls of men. Only God could bear such a load of sin, absorb all the punishment for all sins, and shed blood so meritorious and divine that it could utterly purge all sin.
We are not to forget who He is if we would rightly assess what He has done. Stand beside the cross. The sufferer on that middle cross seems a lonely man. Scorn and ridicule have been flung at Him. Affliction has marred His visage “more than any man.” Verily He is man. If it were otherwise, He could possess no human blood. But is He only man? No, oh, no!
In that frail body on the cross, Deity is encased. He is the Mighty God. He is the grand Creator, sovereign Ruler over all worlds, whether of angels, men, or demons—Lord of all creation. Jehovah’s plenitude of power is in His hands. Jehovah’s every glory is His right. Jehovah’s everlasting being is His age. Godhead is His property. Deity is linked to all His sufferings in the flesh, to all His doings in our room and stead. That blood, then, is no ordinary blood. The life is in the blood—and His life is God’s life. It is the blood of God (Acts 20:28).
The shedding of this blood is boundless in its efficacy. Our sins sentence us most justly to an eternal hell since they have an infinity of claims upon us. If myriads of angels in man’s form could die, all would fall far short of what sinful man deserves. But the Lord Jesus is God. He brings blood which is essentially divine. That is more than sufficient to take away all sin—more than enough to take away all the sins of all mankind. There is no boundary to its efficacy.
Where the Lord Is
(7) “He…sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”—resting from work accomplished. This signals a complete work. Here is dignity as well as grace. Here is acceptance of Him by the Father to the very throne of Heaven— and that as the Son of man, for He ascended in our manhood. Here is authority—the authority of supreme regalism. Here is the omnipotence of power, for He sits on the Father’s right hand. Behold Him! See who He is, what He did, where He is!
He is God without to save us, God within to cheer us, God above to bless us, God who came in flesh and blood to die, God who reigns on the throne of Heaven to help us. He loves as God. He aids as God. He saves as God. The fullness of the Godhead is in Him.
Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee;
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
Crown Him the Lord of years,
The Potentate of time;
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime:
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For Thou hast died for me:
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity.
Matthew Bridges and
Godfrey Thring