“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time 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, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Hebrews 1:1–4

The book of Hebrews begins with this amazingly long sentence. But these verses are remarkable not only because of the length of the sentence, but also because they reveal seven glories of the Lord Jesus as the Eternal Son of God. The first four speak of the glory of His greatness, while the next three reveal the glory of His grace.

As the Eternal Son of God, He is first presented as the Heir of all things. Scripture refers to Him as the Son of Abraham, having come from Abraham’s lineage in His humanity. As such, He is heir to the land. We also read of Him as the Son of David. In this way, He is heir to the throne. As the Son of Man, our Lord is heir to this world, but as the Son of God, He is the Heir of all things.

The second glory mentioned here is that of Creator. We look forward and see that He is the Heir of all things, but we also look back and learn that He created all things (John 1:3; Col. 1:15–17).

Our blessed Lord is also the brightness of the glory of God. This reaches back into the vastness of eternity, yet as Man, the Lord Jesus perfectly displayed the glory of God. The word being in our verse means that He continually was what He had always been.

He is also the express image of His person, meaning that He is the exact representation of God. He revealed God to us (John 1:18)—not merely His attributes, but God Himself.

He is not only the Creator of the world, but also its Sustainer, upholding all things by the word of His power.

This glorious One, who is all of these things, is also our Redeemer, for “when He had by Himself purged our sins,” He accomplished what no one else could ever do.

As we review these six glories, it is no wonder that the seventh is His exaltation: He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Anchor For Today:
This is God’s message to mankind. What will be our response to this wonderful message concerning the glorious Son of God?