“Superiority of Christ”
SERMON SERIES: Why We Began the Race
SERMON TITLE: Superiority of Christ
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1:1-5 (ESV)
Introduction:
With the new year and a new vision for our church, we venture into the Book of Hebrews. It has been highly debated but still no one knows who the author of Hebrews is. As for the audience, this book is written to the Jewish Christians. Specifically, this letter was written with the intent to address concerns experienced by the Jewish Christians in the first century. Some of them were facing severe persecution, some of their loved ones were suffering, they were seeing friends depart the faith, and the consistent temptations of lust, greed, pleasure, comfort, etc. were still grabbing at the attention of their hearts.
We may see a similar pattern in our lives. When we chose to receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we may have thought all of our problems and temptations would magically disappear; but this is not the case. The message from the Book of Hebrews for us is to not give up for Christ is better, and we can go all of the way with Him! We are reminded in today’s passage of what or who we are racing towards and why this race is so worth running.
Overview:
We know we are running towards Jesus. But do we fully grasp the different aspects of Jesus’ identity which secures and frees us into a loving relationship with Him?
Jesus is the Son of Man upon which God speaks through (1:2a)
God reveals Himself through creation.
God reveals Himself through the chosen nation of Israel.
God reveals Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, God spoke through angels and prophets. But unlike the prophets who are merely messengers and witnesses of the message, Jesus is the real and final message of God.
Jesus is the heir of all things (1:2b)
As the heir of all things, He is the One in which all things are culminating towards.
The angels, the prophets, all that God created, all that God wills — all of it was for and pointing towards Jesus.
Jesus is the radiance and glory of God; the complete manifestation of God’s fullness (1:3)
Looking at Jesus is looking at the radiance of God’s glory.
The nature of Jesus is truly God; for Jesus is the Word of God.
Jesus differs from all who came before Him, for He completes the work that is being done. The nature of His work in purifying our sins and dying on our behalf, resolved the work which had to be done and is now done.
Application:
Christ is superior to all prophets, all angels, and any other spiritual authority.
Jesus offers a different kind of salvation.
In Christ, we do not have to feel guilty, despair, nor may we be prideful or self-righteous - for the work and the recognition belongs to Jesus alone. We can instead believe we are fully accepted before God not because of what we have done but because of God’s grace, which frees us when we couldn’t do it ourselves.
We are moved to serve and love others from a place of gratitude and humility when we grasp Jesus’ role in our lives. We can continue to run the race towards Jesus because He has done so much on our behalf and He is more than worth running towards!
Sermon reflection questions:
Which role of Jesus as supreme empowers you to not give up and go all in in running this race: as the creator and sustainer of the universe, as the radiance of God’s glory, as the exact imprint of God’s nature, as the heir of all things, or as the very Word of God?
What is the goal you are running the race towards? Is your goal only valuable within life on earth and in the absence of God (in hell), or is your goal worth your life in eternity in the presence of God (in heaven)?
How have you encountered the salvation Jesus is offering to you? Is your life reflective of this? Living not in fear, despair, pride, self-righteousness or violence, but with a heart that desires to serve and love other people knowing what Jesus has done for you and having peace with God?
