“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (Hebrew 1:3)

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we trust that He is God in the flesh who died and rose again from the dead to provide for us salvation and a new, eternal life. As we grow in this relationship, we become amazed with a sense of wonder for who He is. We become more enthralled with Him as God and humbled because He became one of us. The writer of Hebrews would provide for us an introduction to the wonder of Jesus, the Son of God.

He begins with His being “the radiance of God’s glory.” (Hebrews 1:1) This takes us back to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. Moses had returned to speak to God after the people’s sin with the Golden Calf. He asked God to show him His glory. God then hid him in the rock because he, as a man, could not see God’s face. Then God passed by where Moses could see His back. When Moses returned to the people, his face was radiant. “When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” (Exodus 34:30) When Jesus was transfigured before some of the Disciples, we also read of His glory revealed. “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17: 2)

The Son is also “the exact representation of God” to us. Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:11) John, who was present when Jesus said this, would begin his Gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. . .. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-2, 14) Jesus would also remind the Disciples, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

It is also through the Son of God that everything has its beginning and existence. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17) He is the one who sustains all things.

The Son of God who became man is the only one who could provide for us cleansing and purification for our sin. This is because He is the only one who lived and did not sin. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) And now, He is the one who resides on the throne in heaven. This is important for us as followers of Christ because we have access to the Son of God who did everything for love of His Father and love for us.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The amazing reality for us who have put our faith in Jesus, the Son of God, is that we not only can come to Him, but that He lives in us. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18) When we walk with the Living Word of God, Jesus, we not only have His presence with us all the time, we have all of who He is with us all the time.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block