Have you ever noticed that there is a hierarchy or
“pecking order” in almost everything in life? For example, in business there is
either a board of directors or an owner or owners at the top, managers (if
there are any) in the middle and workers at the bottom. In the school system,
there is a school board at the top, followed by superintendents and directors
of various departments, then individual school principals, then teachers and
then students. In the United Church of Canada, there is the General Council with the
Moderator at the top, followed by the different Conferences such as the Maritime
Conference, then various Presbyteries such as South Shore Presbytery and then
the local congregations. In this church you have the Church Board at the top,
then the minister and various committees, and then the congregation.
There is also a hierarchy in heaven. God, Jesus and
the Holy Spirit are at the top, followed by angels and archangels. As part of
the top level, Jesus is God’s final revelation of God, because he is God’s Son,
the agent of creation, the very glory of God and one who cleanses us from sin.
God spoke to his people through prophets in Old Testament times, and he speaks
to us today through Jesus and the Bible. The Old Testament prophets could only
give us pieces of truth. When Jesus came, all of these pieces came together and
gained meaning. Unfortunately, in many cases the people reacted to the truth of
God’s message by killing the prophets and Jesus when they should have obeyed
the message ,”Don’t shoot the messenger.”
One problem in almost any organization that has more
than a few levels is communication. Sometimes messages sent by higher levels
are not conveyed clearly or in their original form. Here’s a good example:
Memo from Director General to Manager:
Today
at 11 o'clock there will be a total eclipse of the sun. This is when the
sun disappears behind the moon for two minutes. As this is something that
cannot be seen every day, time will be allowed for employees to view the
eclipse in the car park. Staff should meet in the car park at ten to
eleven, when I will deliver a short speech introducing the eclipse, and giving
some background information. Safety goggles will be made available at a
small cost.
Memo from Manager to Department Head:
Today
at ten to eleven, all staff should meet in the car park. This will be
followed by a total eclipse of the sun, which will disappear for two
minutes. For a moderate cost, this will be made safe with goggles. The
Director General will deliver a short speech beforehand to give us all some
background information. This is not something that can be seen every day.
Memo from Department Head to Floor
Manager:
The
Director General will today deliver a short speech to make the sun disappear
for two minutes in the eclipse. This is something that cannot be seen
every day, so staff will meet in the car park at ten or eleven. This will
be safe, if you pay a moderate cost.
Memo from Floor Manager to Supervisor:
Ten
or eleven staff are to go to the car park, where the Director General will
eclipse the sun for two minutes. This doesn't happen every day. It
will be safe, but it will cost you.
Memo from Supervisor to staff:
Some
staff will go to the car park today to see the Director General
disappear. It is a pity this doesn't happen every day.
Jesus
solved this communication problem for us by coming down from heaven to live
among us, experience what we as humans experience, and clearly convey the
message of God’s love by his words, deeds and love for us.
As
the Son of God, Jesus is superior to the world, even though he was not fully
revealed to man until his death, resurrection and ascension. Because he became
human, he was our representative before God. He was like a lawyer in a court
case where God is the judge. He pleaded our case before Judge God, and he still
pleads our case before Judge God today if he takes our case. Jesus became
perfect by living as a human being while at the same time living a sin-free
life and obeying God. He became the perfect sacrifice for us and the perfect
example for us as Christians to follow. He calls on us to join him in worship.
God
gave man dominion over all the earth, but that dominion was wasted because of
Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. Man was told to take care of the
earth, but we have not always shown good stewardship. We have wasted natural
resources, polluted the earth and hunted many species of birds, fish and
animals to the point of endangerment or extinction. Our stewardship of the
earth has left a lot to be desired. God sees us and what we do in life. He sees
what we are doing with the resources he has entrusted to us, even though he is
at the top of the hierarchy and we are at the bottom.
The
Letter to the Hebrews is about the person of Christ-his deity, humanity,
supremacy, priesthood, sacrifice and glory. As I mentioned earlier in this
message, God spoke to his people at various times and in various ways, and he
still speaks to us at various times and in various ways today. All Old
Testament revelations pointed to God’s final revelation in Jesus.
If
we want to get to know God, all we have to do is get to know Jesus, and we get
to know Jesus by reading and studying the Bible. God’s very nature is revealed
perfectly in Jesus because Jesus is
God. He is the one who upholds all things by the word of his power, and
therefore he controls history. Christ’s birth is the greatest proof of God’s
love and concern for humanity. God translated deity to humanity by coming to
earth in the form of Jesus, and this final revelation was absolute, infallible
and authoritative. The world in its entirety was given to Christ as the heir of
all things. As the executor of God’s divine will, Jesus will return on day to
enforce every clause.
In
speaking of the world to come, the writer of Hebrews contrasts it with the
present age. In the world to come, angels will not be in charge, but in the
present age they rule the world by ministering with God in a role above humans
and below God. In God’s original plan for the world, humans were second only to
the angels in God’s hierarchy of creation. Humans are lower than angels for
several reasons:
1.
Humans are
physical beings, but angels are spiritual beings.
2.
Humans are
subject to death, angels are not.
3.
Humans are bound
by time and space, angels are not.
4.
Humans are bound
to the earth, angels are not.
God’s
original plan was for humanity to have domination over the world, but Adam and
Eve delayed that plan. We are born to rule the world, but when we are born
again at death we will regain our place of honour and glory. Jesus rules over
creation now, but in time God will restore humanity to its intended place of
authority. In order to do this, God had to become human and taste death for
everyone. Union with God could not be restored without suffering. Christ’s
sufferings were fitting because they completed the work of bringing us to God’s
glory.
Believers
become holy the moment they are saved, but they are also sanctified by God
through the Holy Spirit as they grow in faith. They increase in holiness
through the work of God. We take part in
the process by reading, studying and obeying the Bible.
After
his resurrection, Jesus called his followers “brethren.” By using this term,
Jesus shows that he is willing to identify with people in their humanity and
suffering. We are challenged to consider that we are members of God’s family. Just
like families come together to help a member who is in trouble, God reaches his
hand out to us. God will always be a light in the darkness of our sin-filled
world. We can’t hide from that light because God will always find us and bring
us back to him. The light reflects God’s glory and one day we will share that
glory in heaven. Until then, we can reflect God’s radiance here on earth by
doing the work God has called us to do and to show God’s love to our hurting
world.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
ESV Study Bible.
Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3.
Evans, L.H. &
Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary
Series, Vol. 38: Hebrews (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASV
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5.
Rebecca
Barlow Jordan, “The Radiance of God’s Glory.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
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