Hebrews 1:3, Part III
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;
The “express image of his person” — the image of the invisible God.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:15
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:18
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. John 3:13
And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. John 12:45
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? John 14:9
The image of the invisible God walking among men, Deity in His fullness revealed to men — what condescension. He being very God humbled Himself. Oh, if only man could do the same in the presence of the God-man, Christ Jesus. But man rebels, nations deny Him, and sinful men hate Him — strong language, but true. The mind and heart of man is revealed in Isaiah 53, where God declares of Christ, “he hath no form nor comeliness, but when we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” — a sad comment about the heart of man, yet true. This is why the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is always denied by unrepentant sinners. Their sin condemns them, therefore to justify their sin they in their minds and hearts simply change Deity to mere man — after all, if there is no God, then there is no sin. What fools — all their stupid reason will never change the true God of heaven and earth. And all the hate of man cannot take the love and light of Christ out of my heart and soul.
Psalm 24:1 ¶The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psalm 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Man vs. God. The wisdom of man is foolishness to God. The Lord Jesus would not commit Himself to man for He knew what was in man — Sin.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
John 2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
John 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
When the Lord Jesus spoke of His Deity, men picked up stones to stone Him, yet He passed through their midst. “I and my Father are one,” ” he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father,” ” my Father worketh hereto, and I worketh,” “before Abraham was, I am.” These declarations by the Lord Jesus Christ brought forth the true heart of man, whether Pharisee, Sadducee, or disciples, all were blinded to the express image of His person — GOD! So too today, not only the world, but also those who claim to be His disciples are blind to His Person. The glorious God of heaven and earth is before them, and yet they cannot even give Him respect in His glorious name. Would one address the President of the United States by his given name — no — it is Mr. President, or would one address a king by his name — no — it is your royal majesty. Why then, when one addresses Deity they disrespect Him so, by presuming that He is a mere man called Jesus — His true title is The Lord Jesus Christ. He is not here now in His humiliation, but He is seated at the right hand of God on His throne of glory. He is the LORD of LORD and KING of KINGS! The days of His personal suffering are over, and He reigns over the church in righteousness, but man has decided that they and they alone will rule over the church. “That in all things he might have the preeminence.” Col. 1:18 This verse is just a myth in the minds of religious man. As men cast the Son of God out of the vineyard in the days of Judaism — so too, in the day of grace they have cast the Lord of Glory out of the visible church. But thanks be to God that the Lord of Life stands at the door and knocks so that I or any of His children can open the door of His love and sup with Him. Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
I want you to stop and think with a spiritual mind and a heart full of grace about all that is before us today. All the names, all the traditions of men, all the busyness, all the meetings, how do these things give Christ His rightful place? — a place of Sovereignty in the church. If we deny His Sovereignty, we deny His Deity. Man must realize that all his decisions concerning the body of Christ must come from above with guidance from the Holy Spirit of God. If we turn from the voice of the Holy Spirit as those who stood in the temple facing the east in the days of Ezekiel then we turn our backs on God’s Christ. Not only is He the Creator of all things, but He is the Creator and Head over His church.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
My heart is moving me back in time to a place where Israel as a nation met with Samuel. 1Samuel 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1Samuel 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
1Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
1Samuel 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
They desired a king like the other nations. Samuel was so saddened that God had to tell him “they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me.” The first love of Jehovah was gone, they were out of Egypt but Egypt was not out of them. They desired a king, a mere man in place of a Sovereign God. The following verses are found in 1 Samuel 8:8-22
According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
Has not the visible church done the same? Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Nicolaitans have barred the doors to Christ. They cry, “give us a man who can lead us, but not this carpenter; give us smooth words that we can feel good about ourselves, we do not want this man, Christ Jesus to rule over us. We want a king like the other nations.” And so as it was with Israel, so it is with the church. The seven letters to the churches in the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is a history of man’s unfaithfulness to God’s Christ. But in every letter there is an overcomer, one who stands with Christ and Christ alone. You cannot share your heart — it must belong to Christ and Him alone. The first commandment still stands in the day of grace. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Now in the age in which we live, where we have the full cannon of Scripture, why is there such a lack of the knowledge of the God of glory? Ask yourself, do I know my Bible? Can I feel the presence of God in His very Word? You need to pray over these two questions. Enlightenment comes from the Word of God and the Word of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. One must pray that God would open the pages of His Word by His Spirit to the heart, for it is with the heart that man believes unto righteousness. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
This image of the invisible God should dwell in our hearts and be seen in our souls. Think of Adam, the first time that he opened his eyes, the first image he saw was his Creator, the first voice he heard was the voice of God — what an image — the glorious God of heaven and earth his Creator. What was in Adam’s heart at that very moment? In the day of Christ, what is in our hearts?
Consider Simeon in Luke 2:25-30 when he took the Creator of all things into his arms and blessed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A mere babe and yet upholding the whole creation.
Luke 2:25 ¶ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Luke 2:26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luke 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Luke 2:28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Luke 2:29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
Luke 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luke 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luke 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
What an image comes into the heart and mind, how many times has His image been known to man? The following are just a few: as the God of glory He appeared to Abraham — as a blinding light, He appeared to Saul of Tarsus — as the Captain of the Lord’s host, He appeared to Joshua — as the Ancient of Days, He appeared to John on Patmos — as the angel of God, He appeared to Manoah and his wife, and Manoah could say “we have seen God,” — as the calmer of the sea and the storm, He showed His power to His disciples — as the thrice Holy God, He appeared to Isaiah — as the stranger at Jacob’s well He could tell the woman all that He knew about her — as the fourth person in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, He appeared as the Son of God — as the one who was known to them in the breaking of bread on the road to Emmaus, He expounded all things concerning Himself, in the law, in the prophets, and in the book of Psalms.
And what could we say more about His image? The image of His Person is infinite, there is no limit to the image of our great God and Saviour. And as He said to His disciples, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the earth.” And may I say, to the new heavens and the new earth, where His full glorious image will be forever known by those who love Him, Jesus Christ the image of the invisible God.
© Copyright 2014 Michael C. Haigh
Article may used, but not for gain. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
Soon to follow The Book of Hebrews 1:3, Part IV
All Scripture references from the Authorized King James Bible (KJV).