We See Jesus #2390

8 “You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:8–9, NKJV).

Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23). Although “we do not yet see (horao, discern clearly, JRP) all things put under” the authority of Jesus, we see (blepo, behold, sight) many things about Him. The writer of Hebrews draws our attention to the humanity of Jesus in chapter two, having already defined and described His deity in chapter one. When we pause to look at Jesus, we see the magnificence of the Savior. (1) We see His humility to be made lower than the angels for a little while. Leaving the glory of heaven, He submitted to becoming human to be an offering for sin (Phil. 2:7-8; Heb. 10:5, 10). In Him alone was “all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). (2) We see Jesus becoming human to suffer and die. The painful humiliation and injustice of the cross was an act of willful obedience on His part (Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8). (3) We see God’s grace in His death for everyone. We see the paradox of the cruel cross as God’s blessed favor is revealed in the sacrifice of His Son for us. “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). (4) We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor. Resurrected and exalted in the heavens as God’s right hand, Jesus is king on His throne and High Priest over God’s house (Heb. 1:13, 8-9; 2:17; 8:1-2). Praise God that the Son became flesh and dwelt among us, to die for us, and to blaze the trail to glory for us (Heb. 2:10).

The Son Reveals the Father #2383

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 1:3, NKJV).

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the exact manifestation of God to the world. He and the Father are one; He is “equal with God” (John 10:30-36; 5:17-18). He is deity. Therefore, to see Him is to see the Father (John 14:9). The Son reveals the Father’s character, His nature, and traits. Today’s verse describes two things about God possessed by the Son. (1) The Son shows us the brightness of God’s glory. Jesus is the radiance or brilliance of the Father’s dignity and majesty. As the sun’s rays radiate the grandeur of the sun itself, so the Son is the vivid display of God’s splendor. From God’s glorious love and grace to the dignity of His authority and judgments, the Son reveals the magnificence of God to humanity. (2) The Son is the exact image of God. “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). The Son is the image (impress) of God’s “person” (“substance,” ASV; “nature,” NASB95; God’s real being). The Son, by whom God speaks to us, is the exact representation and revelation of God (Heb. 1:2). The Son’s deity establishes Him as the One we must hear and heed. He has inherited all things, having also participated in creating everything (Heb. 1:2; Col. 1:15-16). He continues to maintain all things by His powerful word now that He has purged our sins and sits at the right hand of God (Col. 1:14, 17; Eph. 1:20-23). May we hear the Son and give Him our complete allegiance in faithful service, for in Him “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

Deity Identified #1953

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17, NKJV)

This dramatic event at the baptism of Jesus capsulizes the identity and the nature of the Godhead. Seen by Jesus and John, the Spirit of God descended and rested upon Jesus as a heavenly attestation of approval. The presence of the Spirit of God was miraculous confirmation to John that Jesus is the “Son of God” (Jno. 1:32-34). At this seminal event, God the Father declared by word and by the presence of His Spirit the identity of Jesus and His pleasure toward Him (Isa. 42:1; Acts 10:38). Jesus is the Son of God, an expression denoting sameness or equality of nature (Jno. 5:17-18; 10:30-36). In other words, Jesus is Deity, God with us (Jno. 1:1-3, 14; Matt. 1:23). Three distinct individuals (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) comprising One God. The Godhead is a united One – complete and undivided in nature, purpose, and will (Deut. 6:4; Jno. 10:30). Doctrines of God that deviate from this profound truth concerning the Godhead (and, there are many) advance false gods. (For more on the Godhead, go to http://www.bibleanswer.com/godhead.htm.)

Invisible Attributes Clearly Seen #1872

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20, NKJV)

Evidence for the presence and power of God has existed since the creation of the world. Just as the invisible trait of intelligence is seen in the product made by the automobile designer and maker, the inorganic and organic systems of the universe reveal the (invisible) intelligence of our Creator. Again, the (invisible) power of electricity is used to create a car. Without sufficient power, the auto parts (much less the assembly line used to put them together) would yield no assembled automobile. The power unleashed to create the universe (much less sustain it) cannot be successfully denied – or explained – by the materialist. Speculations, hypotheses, and “maybes” are all they can propose. The truth is that nothing comes from nothing. It is precisely our Creator’s deity that gives context and capability to the power necessary to create and sustain the cosmos. We are without excuse for being under wrath when we refuse to honor God and be thankful of His creative blessings (Rom. 1:20-21, 18). It is truly futile and foolish to reject the “clearly seen” evidence of God’s power and Godhood, for “the heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Rom. 1:21-22; Psa. 19:1).

God is Spirit #1010

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. (Acts 17:29, NKJV)

God created male and female in His own image, and gave human beings charge over all the creatures He had made (Gen. 1:26-28). Above all these – the fish, the birds, the reptiles, amphibians and mammals – God is mindful of us (see Psalm 8:3-8). Yet, as people refused to honor God and be thankful to Him for their very existence, they made idols by their own artful deliberations. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (Rom. 1:22-23). Deity is not defined by human beings. Hollywood makes God in its own image (consider the cinematic misrepresentations of God, from the George Burns caricature of God back in 1977, to the current, blasphemous rendition of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in “The Shack”). God will not be found inside ourselves, and in what we want Him to be. He will be found through His Son Jesus Christ, whose word teaches us of God and His will for our lives. Come to Jesus and learn from Him in order to know the true God (Matt. 11:28-30; Jno. 6:44-45). “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jno. 4:24).

Equal with God #770

17  But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 18  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:17–18, NKJV)

Jesus had just healed a lame man on the Sabbath. The Jewish rulers, due to their wrong interpretation and traditions concerning God’s law, viewed Jesus and the man He healed as Sabbath-breakers (Exo. 20:8-11; Jno. 5:8-11; 16). But, God’s law never prevented mercy. Jesus did not violate the Sabbath. Jesus forthrightly associated His work with God the Father. By doing so, they understood Him to be making Himself equal with God, and they were right. The Son is due the same honor as the Father (Jno. 5:23). Jesus would later say, “I and my Father are one” (Jno. 5:23; 10:30). Jesus Christ is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). All who refuse to believe in Jesus as being “the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” join with those who tried and eventually did, kill Jesus (Col. 2:9). What will you believe?