There are things that are never separated from salvation. Jesus christ is someone to whom we should pay close attention. Hebrews the superiority of jesus christ introduction. Hebrews 1 1 notes on hebrews the theme of the book of hebrews is the supremacy of christ over all things. A commentary on the epistle to the hebrews christ in you. We begin a whole year of better things with a study from the book in the new testament that specializes in better.
Hebrews directly addresses the central issue of true, old testament judaism in the fulfillment of gods word and ways through the messiah, and that he has specifically come in the person of christ. It was most likely written to jewish believers who had put their faith in christ but held an imperfect understanding of the relationship of christ to the ot. For seeing the spirit of god is the author thereof, it diminisheth nothing the authority, although we. To begin with, the superiority of christ to the prophets of old is indicated. We are called to see jesus above all else, and we are warned about the folly of rejecting him. The first three verses of hebrews precipitate us, so to speak, without the formality of an introduction into one of the most profound and concise christological passages to be found in the new testament.
A study of hebrews gene taylor2an introduction to the book of hebrews i. Foreword to highlights in hebrews hebrews is at once both simple and profound. An heir is one who will inherit something from another. The writer begins in verse 1 begins as if he is drawing back a curtain and inviting the reader to look back across their history, and of course that is what it is the. In hebrews, it is jesus christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
No other book of the bible so thoroughly explores jesus new covenant and current priestly ministry like hebrews. By faith noah, being warned of god of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Seven theological themes in hebrews gordon college. The author shows the superiority of christ and his new covenant over angels, moses, the ot priesthood, and the ot sacrificial system. Come to chapter 7 and verses 11 through 19 will be our consideration tonight. The point here is that even in hebrews, the focus of which is upon the exalted, heavenly ministry of christ, there is no loss of the historical jesus, nothing but the closest continuity between the preexistent, historic, and the exalted christ.
Jesus, however, is explicitly referred to often in scripture as the. He does so by carefully teaching the ot in light of gods revelation in jesus christ. Apart from romans, hebrews is the most doctrineheavy book of the new testament 1. Better a study of the book of hebrews miamitown church of. In our introductory lesson, we saw how the epistle to the hebrews is unique in its beginning. The content of hebrews does not contradict what paul has written. Copeland sermons from hebrews 6 gods perfect spokesman hebrews 1. The epistle to the hebrews has suffered from anonymity. The authorship of the book of hebrews is, at best, uncertain. It is clear that the author consciously coordinates the two. In the book of hebrews faith is not a forensic position justification by faith, but a faithful life to the end chapters 1112.
The uniqueness and authority of jesus christ hebrews 1. Macleod dean of the graduate program emmaus bible college, dubuque, iowa the question of emphasis or the doctrinal center of hebrews, is a vital one. The results of his work compel one to conclude that at a minimum he the author studied philos work and probably even that he knew him personally and was taught by him. The excellence of christ s priesthood above that of aaron is shown. White on the divinity of christ the right and cost of free moral agency chapter 3 of the book of hebrews christ and moses chapter 4 of the book of hebrews. Hebrews 11 is known in theological circles as the faith chapter. These verses were designed to produce one final argument to convince them of the superiority of christ over moses wacaster, p. Seven theological themes in hebrews merland ray miller by examining the relationship of literary form to theological argument in the book of hebrews, seven theological themes occurring throughout hebrews are elucidated, each of which is especially preva lent in 11. The writer of hebrews summarized noahs faith in hebrews 11. Hebrews 1 the person of christ introduction hebrews directly addresses the central issue of true, old testament judaism in the fulfillment of gods word and ways through the messiah, and that he has specifically come in the person of christ. The priesthood of christ in the epistle to the hebrews.
They had recently heard that jesus christ is the savior who had been promised in the old. The six great doctrines of hebrews 6 ambassador college. Hebrews 1 serves to adjust our perspective by lifting our eyes from earthly struggles to heavenly truths. Christ in hebrews he sssaaaves to the uttermost hebrews 7. He was a gentile while the author was most definitely a hebrew. This smaller section emerges as a theological micro. The writer addressed a variety of questions reinforcing christs superiority in the lives of his followers. Hebrews 7 christ is a priest after the order of melchizedek hebrews 8 christ, a minister of a superior covenant hebrews 9 10 jesus is our sacrifice for sins hebrews 9 christ offered himself in the perfect templetabernacle heaven hebrews 10 christ was the antitype of the entire old covenant. The jews accepted the old testament, but most of them. For our study tonight, we are continuing in our series in the book of hebrews. This shows that jesus went to heaven after his work on earth was finished.
The general subject of the epistle is that the messiah of the old testament scriptures must suffer as man i. In fact, hebrews and pauls writings hold many concepts and teachings in common. Christ appointed heir angels chapter 2 of the book of hebrews the humanity of jesus additional notes suffering and death of christ the bible doctrine of the trinity mrs. This book compellingly preaches and repreaches christ to those who know him even today. I am afraid that many of the questions i struggle with in hebrews would have never been asked by its author nor peter, nor james. There is anonymity of both author and recipients because these details are not included in the text of the letter.
What are the consequences of rejecting jesus christ. God now guides men to salvation through his son, jesus christ. Tell a story one saturday afternoon i watched the telecast of the worlds lightweight boxing. In the book of hebrews, jesus is the centerpiece of christianity the son of god, our high priest, the source and perfecter of our faithand the list could go on. Brian fisher grace bible church imitators of christ philippians 2. Hebrews bible commentaries free online downloadable pdf. Its central message is not at all difficult to understand. The study bookmark for hebrews view samples 1 per page pdf 4 per page pdf introduction.
The excellence of christs priesthood above that of aaron is. The book of hebrews toggles between passages that exalt the name of christ and passages that warn us. Intro to hebrews biblica the international bible society. This summary of the book of hebrews provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of hebrews. Around these two focal points all the major ideas in hebrews concerning christ s person and work can be located. The doctrinal center of the book of hebrews david j. The first four verses of hebrews are full of meaning. Jesus is greater, so hold fast to him overviewbible. Types of christ in the epistle to the hebrews a central theme of the epistle to the hebrews is the superiority of christ to all that had gone before in the economy of god. Hebrews is a book of better things and here we find that christ has entered into a better priesthood. Hebrews warns us against making too much of angels in these verses, as he delineates all the ways that jesus is better than the angels. Such anonymity makes the document suspect in the minds of some for it provides no specificity of its intended meaning within a given context. Hebrews is an occasional document, like all the nt books. Jesus and the book of hebrews june 28 at the right side of god, the supreme ruler hebrews 1.
And the things that accompany salvation, are better things than ever any dissembler or apostate enjoyed. The writer of this letter does not identify himself, but he was obviously well known to the original recipients. If christ is to be valued above all else, then be bold when it is time to make decisions concerning your job, home, finances, leisure time, and all areas of your life. Hebrews out of the bible, what would this do to our understanding of the truth of god or of the gospel. Larry overstreet1 introduction oundational to baptist christology is the superiority of christ over all created beings, and foundational to baptist ecclesiology is the headship of christ over the church. Now, as we enter chapter 5, the matter of the high priest is dealt with.
As you explore the book of hebrews, make careful note. These are so inferior to christ that it is futile to return to themor to go anywhere else. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. For as much as divers, both of the greek writers and latins witness, that the writer of this epistle for just causes would not have his name known, it were curiosity of our part to labor much therein.