Hebrews 1:1

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed the heir of all things and through whom He also made the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

Who are "the fathers" and "the prophets"—and what could they possibly have to do with you?

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Those thirty words open what many consider one of the most important speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When Lincoln said "our fathers," he was speaking of the founding fathers who, eighty-seven years before, signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

But when we come to Hebrews 1:1 and read that God spoke "in times past to the fathers by the prophets," we have to ask: who are the fathers, and who are the prophets the unnamed author is speaking about?

The Context of Hebrews

Before stepping into our study through Hebrews 1 to 13, it's important to grasp the biblical context in which this letter sits and the audience to whom it was written. Many commentators believe this letter was written to Christians of a Hebrew heritage—thus "The Epistle to the Hebrews." An epistle is simply a letter. It was written to Jewish Christians for a very specific purpose: to establish in their hearts and minds the supremacy of Jesus—that Jesus is better than all the other things they could potentially put their trust in.

Even though most of us are not of Jewish heritage, we will find truths here that matter to us, because every day we are drawn to put our trust in various things in this world. We're told to put our hope in politicians, which is dangerous. In our investments, which the last decade has shown is not always wise. Some put their trust in their good looks, which go even quicker than your investments. Others in their health, their intellect, their training, their job. But when you put your hope in the things of this world, you find they are built on shifting sand. So the author drives home the supremacy of Jesus.

God Who Spoke

Last week we looked at the first ten words: "God who at various times and in various ways spoke." We zeroed in on two main propositions. First, God is, and was, and created all things. Second, the Creator God spoke to His creation by revelation. If you cannot hold these truths firmly, you will have a hard time with the rest of the sixty-six books of the Bible. The author begins with the God who creates and speaks.

But then he says God spoke to the fathers by the prophets. The prophets are those through whom God's special revelation came. Recall the three ways God speaks: general revelation through creation and conscience; special revelation, in which God speaks in a language we can understand through prophets; and personal revelation, in which God speaks through His Son, Jesus.

Who Are the Prophets?

The prophets received that special revelation, and God spoke to them in various ways at various times. Throughout the Old Testament, God speaks through a burning bush—strange but amazing. He spoke through a donkey to a man named Balaam in the book of Numbers. He spoke through dreams and visions, sometimes in an audible voice, sometimes in a still small voice, as with Elijah in 1 Kings 18. Sometimes He spoke through family crisis, as with Haggai. Many ways, many times, but always in language the prophets could understand.

Their names fill the Old Testament: Elisha, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Haggai, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Malachi. Some wrote down the words God spoke to them, and we have them in the major and minor prophets. The major prophets simply wrote longer—more long-winded, like Pastor Miles. The minor prophets spoke less.

Who Are the Fathers?

These prophets spoke to the fathers. Simply put, the fathers are the patriarchs of the nation of Israel—the Hebrew people. When the author says God spoke through the prophets to the fathers, those Hebrew Christians would know exactly who he meant: Abraham (not Abraham Lincoln), Isaac, Jacob, and on down the line.

If you don't know these names, that's okay—we're going to work through who they are and why they matter. But some of you may be asking, "So what? I'm not Jewish. They're not my fathers. What does this have to do with me?" That's a valid question—especially now that I've planted it in your mind. We are two thousand years removed from this letter, and three thousand or more from Abraham and Moses. So what does this have to do with us?

The Hall of Faith

Turn to Hebrews 11. There's a key point that connects every single one of these individuals—and it's not a bloodline.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God... By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain... By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death... But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah... By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called... By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth... By faith Moses... by faith the walls of Jericho fell down... what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets... All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. (Hebrews 11)

What's the key word? Faith—used some thirty-six times. These are the fathers, the patriarchs of Israel, and they all obtained a good testimony with God by faith. They became pleasing to God by faith, because without faith it is impossible to please Him. God is not visible; He must be sought by faith. And they diligently sought Him.

Point One: The Fathers Are the First Followers of God by Faith

The fathers are the first followers of God by faith. They are not merely the bloodline patriarchs of Israel; they are those who followed God by faith and sought Him.

Point Two: The Fathers Are Fathers of All Who Believe

If you are a believer today—and you're not Jewish, which is probably every one of us—then these fathers are your fathers, because they are the first followers of God by faith. If you have put your trust in Jesus Christ, then you are a child of Abraham by faith. How do we know? Turn to Romans 4.

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God... Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness... But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. (Romans 4:1–5)

Note verse 9: Does this blessedness come upon the circumcised only? The sign of the old covenant was circumcision. So does forgiveness of sins come only to those under that first covenant? Paul says no—because Abraham was credited with righteousness before he was circumcised (Genesis 15:6), before the covenant was established.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe... (Romans 4:11–12)

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16)

The fathers are the fathers of everyone who believes.

Point Three: The Fathers Followed Faithfully, Anticipating God's Promised Blessing

Why did they seek and follow God by faith? Because they were anticipating a coming promise. Hear the opening words of that promise to Abraham:

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing... And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1–3)

God said: leave everything familiar, follow Me by faith to a land I will show you, and through you every nation on earth will be blessed. Abraham followed, seeking that promise. His son followed. Jacob's twelve sons followed. And on down the line.

But here's the amazing thing: none of them received the promise here on earth.

But all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. (Hebrews 11:39)

They looked forward in faith to the coming fulfillment. And all the prophets—Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Zechariah, Malachi, Micah, Haggai, Hosea—spoke of that same coming fulfillment: the One born in Bethlehem, born to a virgin, of the tribe of Judah, a son of David. The fathers and the prophets and the promise are all fulfilled in Jesus. Many of them were tortured, sawn in half, beaten, stoned, beheaded, run through with swords. Many died in faith having not received the promise, because they were looking forward to its fulfillment in Christ.

Point Four: The Fathers Are Those Through Whom the Blessed Promise Came

The blessed promise of God is Jesus. He is the focus of the promise of blessing in Genesis 12:3: "In you... all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

There is a common teaching in certain segments of the church today that the modern national entity occupying the state of Israel—the contested, disputed land—is the blessing to the world. I am here to tell you that is a wrong reading of Genesis 12:3. God still has a prophetic plan for the nation and people descended from Abraham, but they are not the blessing to the world. What descended through Abraham—that is, Jesus—is the blessing.

So when we read Hebrews 1:1–2, God who spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son—

...whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:2–3)

Jesus is the One who brings the promised blessing of salvation to all who would believe.

The Final Question

So here is the simple, final question: Are you today a child of Abraham by faith? Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation? If you haven't yet, do it now and receive the blessedness of the promise of salvation in Christ.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Moses—all those in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith—lived faithfully, looking forward to this blessed promise. Many lived their whole lives in poverty as sojourners and pilgrims, never putting down roots. Some were tortured; some died in terrible ways. Why? Because they were all seeking the promise that now is offered to you freely in Jesus Christ. If you haven't put your trust in Jesus and become a child of Abraham by faith, do it today.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for these individuals we even call fathers—not because we descended in a bloodline from them, but because we, like them, have faith and trust in You. I thank You that they followed You faithfully and had a good testimony, an encouragement and a challenge to us, because they followed in severe and difficult times by faith, trusting in You, even though they didn't receive in this life the fulfillment of the promise they sought. They still looked forward to a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is You.

Jesus, I thank You for their testimony, and I pray that we would have a similar testimony as we run this race with endurance, surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses, looking unto You just as they did. And I pray for any here who are not yet children of Abraham by faith—who have not yet put their trust in You. Draw them by Your Spirit, just as You promised. If that's you, and you'd like to receive the forgiveness and salvation of God by putting your trust in Jesus today, lift up your hand. Praise the Lord—we are all family, children of Abraham by faith.

God, pour out Your Spirit upon Your church and help us to be bright shining lights to a world in chaos and darkness because of the fallenness of sin. Use us to share the goodness of salvation and forgiveness this week; give us opportunities and help us take advantage of them when they come. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, Amen.