Christ Supreme
John Funk, CA., is a business consultant at St .Catherines, Ontario. He is Secretary to the Board of Food for the Flock Inc. We are sure that our readers enjoy his short pithy articles; this present one will be no exception.
“His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.”
—Hebrews 1:2, 3.
The Epistle to the Hebrews gives us the present location of our Lord Jesus Christ and tells us what He is doing at this time. It sets forth the incomparable Christ! There is none in Heaven or earth like Him. He is the centre and circumference of Scripture. He is the heart of the Bible, the soul of the Scriptures.
Thirteen times Christ is said to be better than — the Old Testament prophets, the angels, the priests, the tabernacle, in fact anything in the old economy. He is absolutely unique! He is the last and final Word of God to mankind.
More glorious Scriptures concerning Christ you will find nowhere in the Bible. In seven strokes or statements the Holy Spirit sets forth the wonders of the incomparable Christ.
“Whom He Hath Appointed Heir of All Things”
God has left everything to Christ. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. If a husband and wife have a joint bank account it is not fifty-fifty, but each one has access to the whole. We have everything jointly with Christ. It is all ours; but conversely everything we have is Christ’s. A godly businessman, looking at his business going up in flames, said, “Lord, your business has just burnt down.” All Christ has is ours, but everything we have is also His.
“By Whom also He Made the Worlds”
The universe is hand-made —custom-built by the Son of God. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). “The world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:10). We cannot make too much of Him. Indeed we can say, How great Thou art!
“Who Being the Brightness of His Glory”
Christ is the scintillating brilliance of the glory of God; not only brightness (which could be reflected glory) but effulgence (the outshining of glory). If we want to see the glory of God, we must look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“The Express Image of His Person”
Christ was not godlike — not god-dish — but God in flesh. Our apprehension of this makes the difference between Heaven and Hell. Christ is the image of the invisible God. The Father and the Holy Spirit are invisible. All we will ever see of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to see God, look at the Lord Jesus. For thirty-three years God Almighty was here upon earth, manifest in the flesh.
“Upholding All Things by the Word of His Power”
He maintains everything He makes. He keeps everything together. He sees that everything is functional. He controls the world-wide thermostat. If the sun were a few degrees hotter, we would all be scorched to death; if a few degrees colder, we would freeze to death. When we think of the immensity of space and the countless heavenly bodies moving so fast and yet missing each other, we can only marvel at His greatness. Surely, with such a God, we do not have to worry about the needs of our little lives.
“When He Had by Himself Purged Our Sins”
This is more personal than the others. This touches us. We were not around when the world was created — but it was our sins He purged. He did the work Himself — personally — without assistance — He did it alone — by Himself. He purged our sins — you cannot improve on that. In the Old Testament we are separated from our sins as far as the east is from the west, they are behind God’s back, they are blotted out and cast into the depths of the sea — but never purged. Not only is the blot erased, the page is gone, the whole ledger of sin is taken away. God not only forgives, but He forgets — praise His name! Our sins have been obliterated!
“Sat Down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High”
The work is all finished — He is now at the right hand of power. We are saved by His death on the cross but now much more we shall be saved by His life (at the right hand of God). Christ looks after our affairs up there — the Holy Spirit looks after our affairs here— how can we lose? He is our great High Priest and our advocate with the Father. The accuser of the brethren accuses us day and night (and we send him lots of ammunition). Most of his accusations are true. Thank God for the unfinished work of Christ at God’s right hand!