Hebrews: God’s Word Through His Son
Hebrews 1:1-2; Romans 1:18-23; John 1:1-5 - God came to us through His Word and through His Son.
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB1995
Hebrews starts with an incredibly dramatic statement; as one commentator said, it’s like a rocket shot to the moon. The writer assumes that we all know that God IS and exists and we have determined this through His creation and the words of His prophets and how He spoke to us in the Old Testament. And now He speaks to us in His Son! Here is what Enduring Word says about verse 1:
God: This is how the book begins. There is no attempt to prove God’s existence; Scripture assumes we learn of God’s existence and some of His attributes from nature (Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20). The writer of the Hebrews knew that God existed and that He spoke to man.
“Deity is not to be explained, but to be adored; and the Sonship of Christ is to be accepted as a truth of revelation, to be apprehended by faith, though it cannot be comprehended by the understanding.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Pastor Steven Cole, quoted in Precept Austin, has this to say:
Somebody may say, “But I’m an agnostic; I’m not sure whether or not God exists.” Or, “I’m an atheist; I don’t believe in God.” To all such persons, the Bible says, “Your doubts or your beliefs do not affect the fact that God is.” The Bible thrusts God in your face as a prime reality. You ignore Him to your own peril and final destruction. Unbelief is not a matter of rationalism. It is a matter of sin. He is not silent! He has chosen to reveal Himself to the human race. In Romans 1:18–23+, Paul shows how God reveals Himself generally through His creation. People should be able to look at the amazing complexity and design of creation and conclude that there is an awesome Creator. But because people love their sin, they suppress the truth that God reveals through His creation. (Hebrews 1:1-2a God Has Spoken).
Science will look at the universe and tell you the many ways that all complex things and beings happened to appear randomly so they don’t have to resort to the idea of God designing and creating what we can see and sense. Or they fall into the trap of ideas like “infinite universes” to explain away why this one works on mathematical principles and design and has life in abundance (at least on this planet). When I was wandering in my secular humanist years, I clung to science as the answer to all of life’s questions. But science cannot tell you why there is love or what life is at its most basic level or what is sacrifice or courage or why a sunset is beautiful or a child’s smile is a delight. God is the reason for being! My stubborn logical mind shunned this for many years but, just like C.S. Lewis, I was brought back at first as a reluctant convert. Here’s a quote about his experience from “Surprised by Joy”:
He, in His mysterious powers, can make the universe as unimaginably huge as it is, but yet He knows what is in your heart! He wrote the 3-billion-line code in your DNA but also grants you His mercy and grace!
Let’s look at those verses from Romans that are referenced in the Steven Cole quote:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Romans 1:18-23 NASB1995
Many hearts are certainly dark in our modern age and futility reigns in the speculations about everyone and everything and that is the bread and butter of social media; but there is cause for hope! We have an urgent task to tell others about God and His wrath that is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. I have read many hopeful stories recently about scores of people repenting and seeking the Lord, coming to churches and being baptized since the tragedy of the murder of Charlie Kirk last month, perhaps even a revival is underway. By the way, regardless of how you may have felt about Charlie Kirk and the way he engaged many young minds and the ideas he embraced, no one deserves to die for having a different opinion and trying to debate ideas. He believed in the Lord.
In verse 2 of Hebrews 1, God has, in these last days, spoken to us through His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. This, of course, echoes back to the beginning of the Gospel of John on the Deity of Christ (I LOVE these beautiful words of Scripture):
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:1-5 NASB1995
I also like what Enduring Word says about this:
These last days: This term refers to the age of Messiah. It may be a long period, but it is the last period.
Spoken to us: This is the first general mention of the readers, but they are not specifically identified. Yet the context of the work clearly identifies it as a letter – or perhaps even a sermon or an essay – written to Jewish Christians in the first century.
The structure of the Book of Hebrews is different from other New Testament books. It begins like an essay, continues as a sermon and ends like a letter.
Hebrews was obviously written to Christians with a Jewish background, but it was also written to a Greek frame of mind with its analysis of Jesus as the ultimate reality. This approach to the nature of Jesus explains the Savior to the mindset of the Greek philosophers.
Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He did for us.
Spoken to us by His Son: It isn’t so much that Jesus brought a message from the Father; He is a message from the Father. The idea is that Jesus is far more than the latest or best prophet. He has revealed something no other prophet could.
The revelation from Jesus Himself was unique, because not only was it purely God’s message (as was the case with every other inspired writer) but it was also God’s personality through which the message came. The personality of Paul, Peter, John, and other Biblical writers is clear in their writings. Yet in the revelation from Jesus we see the personality of God.
The Book of Hebrews (for the most part) does not present Jesus speaking of Himself. There is a sense in which the Son does not speak in Hebrews; the Father speaks concerning the Son. The book of Hebrews is God the Father telling us what God the Son is all about. “If men cannot learn about God from the Son, no amount of prophetic voices or actions would convince them.” (Donald Guthrie)
Jesus revealed to us the nature of God, the personality of God. Hebrews is, in a sense, God explaining what the Son is all about, for those who are discouraged in their faith. The Bible can also be called a “progressive revelation” through time. If I explored this whole idea of a progressive revelation, that would make this devotional twice the length it is already, because of the many scholars who explore the depths of that idea. I’ll leave it with this marvelous daily devotion, from the late John MacArthur found in Precept Austin:
Man can’t discover God on his own;
God must reveal Himself to man.Since the beginning of time, man has deceived himself by thinking he can discover God through various religions. But in reality, man lives in a box enclosed within the walls of time and space. God is outside the box, and man senses He’s there but can’t get to Him. Each new religion is but another futile attempt to penetrate the walls of the box and catch a glimpse of God.
Man’s only hope is for God to enter the box, which Hebrews 1:1–2 declares He did—first by letter (the Old Testament), then in person (in Jesus Christ). Regarding God’s Word David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2). Jeremiah added, “The Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth’” (Jer. 1:9). Of Christ, the Apostle John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. … No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18).
The irony of people thinking they can discover God on their own is that apart from the Holy Spirit’s leading, no one really wants to find Him. They merely want to add a cosmic good luck charm to their lives or to satiate their guilty consciences. Paul said, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God” (Rom. 3:10–11, emphasis added).
God could have left us in our sin and ignorance, but He penetrated the box and revealed everything we need to know in order to have redemption and fellowship with Him. What a privilege we have to study His Word and live by its principles! Be diligent to do so each day.
What kind of love is this? Only the love of God! Live by His Word and Precepts every day! I had tears in my eyes reading this from such a great man of God (MacArthur).
My next devotional examines Hebrews 1:3-4 - The Attributes of the Son.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I can see that Hebrews will be a challenge! I’m just two verses into this Epistle and am seeing a universe full of wonder and amazement. Please help me to continue seeing these verses with my eye problems and I pray for healing either through Your grace and mercy or through the instrument of doctors that You inspire. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 09/30/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 1:1-2
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made to improve readability.
This was all beautifully written
Thank you, Barb and I am continually praying for healing 🙏