Truths to boggle your mind (2)

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but 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. 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 1:1-3

Last time I pointed out that in a mere eighty-seven words at the beginning of the Letter to the Hebrews, the writer manages to cram in no less than eight different truths about Jesus the Son of God…

First, he is the living Word of God – the one through whom God “has spoken”. Second, he is the “heir of all things”, the inheritor of all that God has made. And third, he is God’s agent in creation, the one “through whom also he made the universe”. These three aspects of Jesus’ person are packed into verses 1 and 2.

But, awesome though these truths are, there is more to come in verse 3! So stay with me please…

4. He is “the radiance of God’s glory”.

Throughout the Bible God is spoken of in terms of light. John sums it up very simply in his first letter: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). His holiness and perfection – his “glory” – are so overwhelming as to cause men and women to fall to the ground.

Well, says the writer of this letter, Jesus the Son is the perfect reflection of this heavenly light, the “radiance” or “shining forth”. John, once again, picks up this theme in his Gospel: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

When exactly did John see this glory? Well, he doesn’t spell it out: quite likely he is thinking generally of the words and works which the disciples heard and saw during those three years of Jesus’ ministry.

But it’s hard not to think particularly of that strange, frightening-but-wonderful experience of Peter, James and John that Christians call the “transfiguration”: “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). (Just pause to imagine that!)

Many good people bring a little light into our dark world – thank God for them! But only of Jesus is it said the he is “the light of the world”.

Mind you, Jesus also told his disciples, “You are the light of the world”. Do we see ourselves in that way? As the moon, which has no light of its own, reflects the light of the sun, do we pray to reflect the light of Jesus?

5. He is “the exact representation of God’s being”.

That phrase “exact representation” is literally an engraving. Roman emperors routinely had their images stamped on coins, coins which are sometimes dug up today, hundreds of years later. You wanted to know what the emperor looked like? Well, take a coin out of your purse, and there you are.

In a far greater way, it’s no exaggeration to say “You want to know what God is like? Fine: just look at Jesus”.

Jesus said many remarkable things, but I can’t think of any that are more remarkable than “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). What a claim to make! If it’s not true, then it’s just plain blasphemy (or insanity). But if it is true…

True, we today don’t “see” him in the flesh, but we do see him through the pages of scripture. So no wonder that, as he draws this letter to a close (12:2), the writer tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus”.

Is that something we aim to do day by day?

6. He “sustains all things by his powerful word”.

In Greek mythology the giant Atlas is depicted as holding the world on his shoulders – Mr Muscle-Man indeed! But the writer of this letter tells us that in fact “the Son” is the one who “sustains all things”, and that he does it, not by the power of his muscles, but “by his powerful word”.

These claims just get more and more remarkable! Not only (says the writer) was the Son there before the Beginning, God’s agent in creation; not only will he be there after the End, inheriting “all things” – but now we learn that he’s also there right through the history of the universe, for he carries “all things” through to their final completion.

Paul says a similar thing in Colossians 1:17: “…in him all things hold together”. Our massive universe is, so the scientists tell us, very delicately balanced. If, say, some tiny planet veered off course for just a moment, the whole thing would collapse into chaos. But God has arranged for a divine stability to hold it all together.

He is not (as some Christians have believed) a kind of heavenly watchmaker who winds the universe up and leaves it then to run its course. No, in the person of his Son he is intimately active, moment by moment.

We should keep this in mind when we hear about global warming, or “wars and rumours of wars”: not in order to make us complacent, of course, but in order to spur us to co-operate with God in the maintenance of planet earth – and to comfort us with an assurance that he is in control.

Oh dear, I’ve run out of space again! Please join me next time for the final two “truths that boggle your mind”.

Oh God, thank you that in Jesus we see you. Please refresh our vision of your glory, majesty, power and love, and so help us to love you more and to serve you better. Amen.