Hebrews: The Preeminent Person of Christ

 Hebrews 1:1-4

Christ is superior to the prophets, writing and speaking prophets.

Hebrews 1:5-2:18

Christ is superior to the angels.  

- Angels are servants/ministers of God.

- Angels gave the law of Moses.

Hebrews 2:1-18

Christ’s superiority is not contradicted by His humanity or by His suffering.  Christ being the God-Man does not deny His being superior to angels and prophets.  It is easy to drift away from the truth about Christ.  Some will come with their teachings that deny His superiority, His deity.

Hebrews 3:1-4:16

Christ is superior to Moses.

- both Christ and Moses were faithful to God.

- Christ is the builder of the house, Moses was a member of the house.

- Christ is the Son over the house, Moses was only a servant in the house.

- Christians need to make use of Christ who is their mediator.

Hebrews 5:1-7:28

Christ is superior to Aaron.

- Aaron was the first priest under the Old Covenant, Leviticus priesthood.

The priesthood of Aaron

The priesthood of Christ

The priesthood of Melchizedek

Hebrews 8:1-10:18

Christ’s ministry is superior to the Old Testament ministry.

- Christ performs a better priestly ministry than the prophets, the angels, Moses and Aaron.  His ministry operates form a better covenant, a superior sanctuary and with an offering whose effectiveness is without question.  

The new covenant is solely based on God, not man.  It offers better promises.  God will give believers the desire and ability to obey Him, believers will have fellowship with God, believers will know God and God will forgive their sins.  

The old covenant was weak as sacrifices had to be offered over and over again and the law could not make anyone perfect. It could not remove the guilt that keeps mankind from access to God. Man still sinned and thereby was guilty before God and still needed repeated sacrifices to God to cover their guilt and shame due to sin.  

The promise of the new covenant makes us realize that the old covenant was insufficient or unable to do what the new covenant could do.  The new covenant provided a sacrifice that was offered once for all time and forgave sins past, present and future and appeased God forever.  The old covenant found fault with people and offered no satisfying remedy to God for all time.  The law was a constant reminder of sin. 

Psalm 40:6-8

“A body You prepared for me.”

All must come to God the Father through faith in God the Son.  Sins must be forgiven.  Hearts must be radically changed for Christ. Relationship with God cannot exist outside of Jesus Christ.  So how is this accomplished since mankind cannot be found innocent on their own?  The body and blood of Christ is the desired sacrifice required of God the Father.  No other sacrifice will do.  Good works will not override the sacrifice Jesus Himself made to appease the wrath of God that comes due to sin.

The superior sanctuary is in heaven, on the throne of God. Christ serves in the true tabernacle.

The effective offer was His body and blood. See Hebrews 10:1-18

Christ came to do what the law and Old Testament sacrifices could not do.

Gospel of Jesus Christ

BAD NEWS:

We are all sinners. 

(Romans 3:23) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

We all deserve death as payment for our sins.

(Romans 6:23)"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

We are separated from God in our sins.

(Colossians 1:21) Left in our sins we are alienated from God.

We are His enemies.

(Romans 5:10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

GOOD NEWS: 

Christ died for sinners.

(Romans 5:8)"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Salvation is a gift of God:

(Romans 6:23)"but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

We must confess Jesus is Lord, we must believe with our heart:

(Romans 10:9)"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 

We must make our appeal to be saved to Jesus Christ:

(Romans 10:13) "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 

We are made righteous in Jesus Christ through faith:

(Romans 5:1) "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

In Christ we will never be condemned for our sins:

(Romans 8:1) "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

Being in Christ we have the promises of God:

(Romans 8:38-39) "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We must be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  He is our righteousness.  

(2 Corinthians 5:20-21) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be recofnciled to God. 

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

GOSPEL VERSES: 

Mark 10:45: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 

Romans 5:8: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:32: He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

1 Corinthians 15:1

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9: You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

1 Timothy 1:15: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

1 John 4:10: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Revelation 5:9: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Revelation 5:9: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”