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.

Jesus, as we look to Your word today and consider the Scriptures, I pray that You would speak to us by Your Spirit. Give us insight and wisdom, and continue the work of transforming us more and more into Your likeness, the image in which You created us originally. Father, You want us to shine Your likeness in this world, and so I pray, God, that You would make that more of a reality in my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters here today.

When we are out in the community, from Monday through Sunday, I pray that people would see Your grace, humility, self-control, and patience evidenced in our lives. So, God, make that a reality as we consider Your word today. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

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 are the beginning, the opening of what is considered by many to be one of the most important speeches in American history. They were delivered in the afternoon on Thursday, the 19th of November in the year 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by then President Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, when Abraham Lincoln said, "Our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation," he was speaking of the founding fathers of our nation, who, eighty-seven years—four score and seven years—before were signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. That's who he is speaking of when he says, "Our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation."

But when we come to Hebrews chapter one...

We read here that God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, prompts us to ask the question: Who are the fathers, and who are the prophets? Who are these individuals that the unnamed author of Hebrews is speaking about?

As we prepare to step into the book of Hebrews over the next several months here at Cross Connection, we will be studying through Hebrews chapter one to the end in chapter 13. However, before we dive into that, it is important for us to get some context. We need to step back from the book of Hebrews and consider the biblical context in which it sits, as well as the context in which it was written and to whom it was addressed.

It is believed by many Bible commentators and teachers that this letter was written to Christians of Hebrew heritage. Thus, it is referred to as the letter to the Hebrews, or the Epistle to the Hebrews, as it states in big block letters at the top of Hebrews chapter one in my Bible. The term "epistle" is just a formal word for "letter."

Most Bible teachers and commentators agree that this letter was written to Christians who came from a Hebrew or Jewish background. It was written for a very specific purpose, which we will see as we go through this book together. The general consensus is that this letter was intended to establish in the hearts and minds of Jewish Christians the supremacy of Jesus. The message is that Jesus is better than all the other things they could potentially put their trust in.

Even though most of us seated here this morning are probably not of Jewish heritage, we will find many important truths in this chapter and throughout this book that relate to this significant reality: Jesus is better than all the other things in which we could place our trust. Every single day of our lives, we are drawn to put our trust, hope, and faith in various things in this world.

We are told to put our hope in politicians, which can be dangerous. We may place our hope in our investments, but as we have seen in the last decade, that is not always a reliable foundation. Some people put their trust in their good looks, which is unwise, as those can fade much quicker than investments. Others may want to put their hope and trust in their health, but of course, that can deteriorate very quickly as well.

People are always being tempted to put their hope and trust in various things of this world, whether it be their intellect, training, job, or something else. However, when you place your hope and trust in these worldly things, you will find that they are built on shifting sand. The author of the Book of Hebrews, whoever he was, drives home the point of the supremacy of Jesus. He is writing primarily to a group of Jewish Christians, followers of Jesus who came out of the Hebrew tradition.

In this context, he states, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets." Last week, if you were here with us, we looked at the first ten words of that phrase: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke." We zeroed in on those words and the truths that emerge from them. There are two main points or propositions that we focused on last week. First, God is, was, and created all things. Second, the Creator God spoke to His creation by revelation.

In those opening words, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke," we find these two essential truths. It is crucial to hold these truths firmly in our minds and hearts. If you cannot believe them and hold on to them, you will have a difficult time with the rest of the Bible. The belief that God is, was, and created everything, and that the Creator God speaks to us by revelation, is foundational. Without these beliefs, understanding the 66 books of the Bible will be challenging.

The author of Hebrews begins with God, specifically the God who creates and speaks. He then states that God has spoken to us, or to our fathers, by the prophets. The obvious question arises: Who are the fathers, and who are the prophets? Simply put, the prophets are those through whom God's special revelation came.

Going back to our study last time, there are three ways that the Creator God speaks to this world. First, He speaks through general revelation, which includes creation and the conscience He has given us. Second, He speaks through special revelation, meaning God communicates in a language that can be understood by us through individuals we call prophets. Third, there is personal revelation, where God speaks to us through Himself, specifically through His Son, Jesus.

Those are the three forms of revelation that we considered together last week. The prophets that the author of the book of Hebrews is speaking about in the opening words are those who received that special revelation from God. God spoke to them in a language that they could understand, in various ways and at various times.

When you go through the Old Testament, you see that God speaks in different ways. He spoke through a burning bush, which is strange but amazing. He sometimes speaks through animals; if you ever get to the book of Numbers, you'll see that God spoke through a donkey to a man by the name of Balaam. God would speak through dreams or visions, sometimes in an audible voice and sometimes in a still small voice. In the book of First Kings, chapter 18, we have the story of the prophet Elijah, and God spoke to him through a still small voice. Sometimes God speaks through family crises, as with the story of Haggai in the Old Testament.

There are a number of different ways that God speaks, various ways at various times, but He speaks in the language that the prophets could understand. So, who are the prophets? There are names in the Old Testament like Elisha, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Haggai, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Zephaniah, and Malachi. These are some of the names of the prophets. Some of those prophets actually wrote their works down; they recorded the words that God had spoken to them, and they are in our Old Testament of the Bible in sections like the major and minor prophets. The major prophets wrote longer texts; they were more long-winded, while the minor prophets spoke less.

The Old Testament contains the words of the prophets, and we are told in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1, that they spoke to the fathers. God spoke to the fathers by these prophets. So, who are the fathers that he is speaking of? Simply put, they are the patriarchs of the nation of Israel, the patriarchs of the Jewish people, the Hebrew people. When the author of the book of Hebrews says that God, in past times, spoke in diverse ways through the prophets to the fathers, those Hebrew people would know exactly who he is talking about. Names like Abraham (not Abraham Lincoln), Isaac, and Jacob, along with many others, would come to mind for the people who would hear.

This is when he says God spoke through the prophets to our fathers. Those are the names that would come up: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and so forth. Now, if at this moment you say, "Well, I don't know these names. I don't know the name Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. I've never really heard these names. I don't know who those are," that's okay. That's not a problem. We're going to try and get into some of the concepts of who these people are and why they are important.

When we come to Hebrews chapter 1, it says God spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets. Some of you who even know these names might begin to ask the question, "So what? I'm not Jewish; they're not my fathers. What's that got to do with me?" I think that’s a valid question. Here we are, 2,000 years removed from the authoring of this book, the book of Hebrews, but even 3,000 or 3,500 years before the time of Moses and Abraham. Most of us sitting here do not have Jewish heritage, and so we rightly ask the question, "What's this got to do with me? These are not my fathers."

If you are thinking that kind of question, I hope that you are, especially now that I've planted it into your mind. You probably weren't thinking it until I said you should be thinking it. But now that you're thinking that question, we need to come back and try to answer, "What does this have to do with us?"

To answer that, would you turn from Hebrews chapter 1 to Hebrews chapter 11? I'm going to read through the entirety of Hebrews chapter 11 because there are a lot of names mentioned in here. If you were a Hebrew Christian who came out of the Hebrew tradition and Jewish faith—not just the Jewish faith, but the Jewish nationality—you would identify with these names that are going to be mentioned here. These would be names that you would understand and know, and there’s some great import to these names.

However, there’s a key point that connects every single one of these, and it’s not just a bloodline. You’re going to see it as we read through Hebrews chapter 11. If you’ve read through Hebrews chapter 11 before, you know there’s something very special about it. Even if you’ve never read it before, as I read through it, there’s going to be something that you see that connects every single one of these individuals. It’s not just that they have the same father; there’s something very important that connects them and connects you and me to them, even though we are thousands of years removed.

Removed from them, there's something important that connects us to. Let me read here and just follow along.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and 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. That's what we talked about last week together, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained a witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. Through it, he being dead still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God.

But without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that God is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear and prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an heir of righteousness, which is according to faith.

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he would receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars in the sky in multitude, innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them. They embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. Truly, if they had called to mind the country from which they had come out, they would have had an opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.

By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it is said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." He concluded that God was able to raise him up from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the things to come. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones.

By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Esteeming the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, he looked

Made strong, they became valiant in battle. They turned the flight of the armies of aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, and they were slain by the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

All of 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.

So what's the key word in Hebrews 11? Faith! You got it. It's hard to pick out, I'm sure; it's only used like 36 times in those verses. By faith, by faith, by faith, we read of these individuals. Who are these individuals? They are the fathers, the patriarchs of the nation of Israel, and they all obtained a good testimony by faith. A good testimony with God. They all became pleasing to God by faith.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for those who come to Him must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. They diligently sought Him, and they did so by faith. Why? Because He is not visible to us; He doesn't dwell in this place. So, He has to be sought by faith. They put their trust, they put their faith in Him, and they sought Him by faith.

Point number one on your outline: The fathers are the first followers of God by faith. When the author of the book of Hebrews says, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke to the fathers by the prophets," the fathers are the first followers of God by faith. They are not just the fathers of the nation of Israel; they are those who followed God by faith. They sought Him.

Point number two: I told you we were going to kind of machine gun these. The fathers are the fathers of all who...

I believe the fathers are the fathers of all who believe. If you're a believer today and you're not Jewish, which is probably true for most of us—maybe a few of you here have some Jewish heritage—but if you have put your trust and your faith in Jesus Christ, then these fathers are your fathers. They are our fathers because they are the first followers of God by faith. If you have put your trust and your faith in Jesus Christ, then you are a child of Abraham by faith.

How do we know that? Well, you're in Hebrews. Turn to the left to the book of Romans, one of the other big books of the New Testament. You'll pass Second and First Corinthians, and then you'll come to Romans, right after the book of Acts and right before the book of First Corinthians.

Look at Romans chapter four. The author of this book is the Apostle Paul. He says, "What then shall I say that Abraham, our father, was found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God." He had faith; he was the first follower of God by faith. That's why he's called the father of those who have faith. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Now, to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on God, on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted to him as righteousness. Just as David also describes the blessedness, the happiness of the man to whom God does not impute righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."

Now note this: verse nine asks, "Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only?" What is being talked about here? Well, the symbol or the sign of the covenant that God made—the old covenant. Remember, last week we talked about the Old Testament and the New Testament. The symbol of the old covenant was the sign of circumcision. I know it sounds strange, but that's just the way it is. The people who were under the old covenant, the Jewish people of the Old Testament, had this sign.

Covenant with God, and the sign of that covenant was circumcision. Does the blessedness of salvation and forgiveness of sins come upon those people under the first covenant, circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? Paul says, "Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised."

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. Now, what in the world is going on here? I get it that if you just run over it like we are right now, you might wonder what in the world he is talking about. Here’s what he’s saying: Does the blessedness of God giving salvation and forgiveness of sins only come to Jewish people because of the covenant that God made with Abraham? Paul says no.

Why? Because God blessed him with forgiveness, righteousness, and salvation before He established the covenant. When Abraham believed God, it was given to him as righteousness. That’s Genesis chapter 15, verse 6. That came before the establishing of the covenant and circumcision.

Why does all this matter? Because he says in Romans chapter 4 that as a result, all of us become the children of Abraham by faith. Look at that in the middle of verses 11 and 12. He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, so that righteousness might be imputed to them also. He is the father of the circumcision, not only to those who are of the circumcision but also to those who walk in the steps of faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Skip down to verse 16, Romans 4, verse 16. Therefore, all of this to say, this is what "therefore" means: It is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise of salvation and forgiveness of sins might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, the old covenant, but also to those who are of faith, the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

So, point number two on your outline: What was it?

The fathers are the fathers of all who believe. They are the fathers of everyone who believes.

Point number three: the fathers followed faithfully. There is a lot of alliteration going on here, a lot of "f's." The fathers followed faithfully, anticipating God's promised blessing. Why did they seek and follow God by faith? Because they were seeking God and following Him by faith, anticipating and looking forward to a coming promise.

What coming promise? Let me read to you the very opening words of this promise that is given to Abraham, the first follower of God by faith. He is the father of all those who believe. Every one of you, if you trust in Jesus today, can say that Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, is your father by faith because you have followed the same faith in God that he followed.

How did that start? It began with the word given to us in Genesis chapter 12. Let me read it to you now: "The Lord had said to Abram"—that was his name before God changed it to Abraham—"Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I want you to come follow Me. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

God promised Abraham a blessing if Abraham would follow Him. He said, "If you will follow Me by faith and go to a land that I'm going to tell you of, you're going to leave everything that you know, everything that's common, everything that's familiar. You're going to leave your home and come follow Me by faith. I will bless you, and I'm going to make you great. Through you, every single nation on the face of this planet will be blessed."

Abraham followed God, seeking that promise and the fulfillment of that promise. Then his son followed God, seeking the fulfillment of that promise. Jacob's sons, twelve of them, followed God, seeking the fulfillment of that promise as well.

And you follow their line down to the fulfillment of that promise. What is the fulfillment of that promise? It is Jesus.

But here's the amazing thing: these individuals—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all of his twelve sons, and all of their descendants—followed God by faith, seeking the promise. None of them, here in the realm of time on earth, received the promise. We just read that in Hebrews chapter 11. Look again, if you're still in Hebrews chapter 11, at verse 39. It says there, "But these did not receive the promise." They followed God by faith, but they did not receive the promise. In faith, they looked forward to the coming of the fulfillment of that promise, the advent of that promise.

All the prophets, when you read through Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Zechariah, Malachi, Micah, Haggai, and Hosea, what did they look forward to? What did they speak of? They spoke of the coming of the fulfillment of that promise—the one who would be born in Bethlehem, the one who would be born to a virgin, the one who would be of the tribe of Judah, the one who would be a son of David. They were all looking forward to that promise. The fathers and the prophets anticipated that the promise would be fulfilled in Jesus.

By faith, these individuals left everything to seek God for the fulfillment of that promise. Some of them were tortured, sawn in half, beaten to death, stoned with rocks, hung, beheaded, or run through with swords. Many of them died in faith, having not received the promise. Why? Because they were looking forward to the coming fulfillment of this promise that would come in Jesus Christ.

So, the fathers followed faithfully, anticipating the promised blessing of God.

Point number four on your outline: the fathers are those through whom the blessed promise of God came. The blessed promise of God is Jesus. He is the focus of the promise of blessing in Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, it says, "In you, Abraham, and through all of your..."

Descendants, this blessing is going to come. There is a common teaching in certain segments of the church today that the nation of Israel, the national entity that occupies the state of Israel today, and what some people refer to as the land of Palestine, is the blessing to the world. I'm here to tell you that this is a wrong reading of Genesis chapter 12, verse 3.

Now, that nation and the people that descended from Abraham, called the Jewish people, are still part of God's prophetic plan. However, they are not the blessing to the world. What descended through Abraham, which is Jesus, is the blessing. The fathers of the faith are those through whom the blessed promise would come, and Jesus came 2,000 years ago.

This is why, when we look at Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, it says, "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 heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." Jesus, who is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of God's person, holds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, and He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Jesus is the one who brings this promised blessing of salvation to those who would believe, to those who would put their trust in God. So, here's 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 put your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, I want to say, do it now to receive the blessedness of the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. These individuals—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David—are part of this incredible lineage of faith.

Moses and all these individuals that you read about in Hebrews chapter 11, which is called the Hall of Faith, lived faithfully, following God and looking forward to the coming of this blessed promise that comes in Jesus Christ. Many of them lived their entire lives in poverty as sojourners and pilgrims, never having a place to put down roots. Some of them were tortured, and some of them died in terrible ways. Why? Because they were all seeking this promise that is now offered to you and me freely in Jesus Christ.

If you haven't put your trust in Jesus for salvation and become a child of Abraham by faith, do it today. I want to give you a chance to do that right now. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father, I thank You for these individuals that we even call fathers, not because we descended in a bloodline from them, but because we, like them, have faith and trust in You. Lord, I thank You that they followed You faithfully and had a good testimony—a testimony that is an encouragement to us. It’s a challenge to us because they followed in severe and difficult times, under hard circumstances and difficult conditions, by faith, trusting in You. Even though they didn't receive in this life the fulfillment of the promise they were seeking, 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, God, that we would have a similar testimony as we run this race with endurance, surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. Lord, I pray that You would help us to run with endurance this race that is set before us, looking unto You just as they looked unto You.

I also pray for anyone who might be here in this room at this moment who is not yet a child of Abraham by faith and has not yet put their trust in You. I pray that You would draw them by Your Spirit, just as You promised You would do. If that’s you, if you have not received the promised salvation of God, the forgiveness of God, by putting your trust in Jesus, and you would like to do that today, I want to give you that opportunity.

You have a chance if you just lift up your hand. Anyone here this morning? Praise the Lord! We are all family, children of Abraham by faith.

God, would You pour out Your Spirit upon Your church and help us to be bright, shining lights to a world that is in total chaos and darkness because of the fallenness of sin? God, use us to share the goodness of salvation and forgiveness this week. Give us opportunities and help us to take advantage of those opportunities when they come.

I ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen."