Day 19 – The Radiance of His Glory

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

~ Hebrews 1:1-4

There may not be a more theologically rich clusters of verses in the book of Hebrews than what is contained in the first four verses of the book. What we see here is a text that connects into a massive amount of Scripture throughout all of the Bible.

In order for us to have a full picture of what the author of Hebrews is talking about, we are going to chase the related passages to what we see in these four verses. In doing this, my prayer is we have a fuller picture of the character of Christ. In doing so, we see the nature and glory of God in the Advent of His Son.

Christ as heir of all things

“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.” ~ Psalm 2:8

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” ~ Romans 8:17

Christ as Creator of all things

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” ~ John 1:3

“For by^[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” ~ Colossians 1:16

Christ as the radiance of the glory of God

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:4

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~ John 1:14

Christ as the picture of who God is

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” ~ John 14:9

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” ~ Colossians 1:15

Christ as the One who sustains all things

“In him we live and move and have our being” ~ Acts 17:28a

“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” ~ Colossians 1:17

Christ as the One who purifies sinful man

“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” ~ Hebrews 9:14

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” ~ 1 John 1:7

Christ seated in victory

“But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ~ Luke 22:69

“that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” ~ Ephesians 1:20-21

May we, in this Advent season, see Christ for all He is! Praise God that His King has come.

Prayer

Take a few minutes to offer the simple prayer that you may see a fuller picture of who Jesus is.