Study Guide
Hebrews Study 3 | Titles Ascribed to Christ
Taught by Dr Paul Iles
Bible Class is the teaching ministry of Salisbury Christian Church 56 Henson Rd Salisbury QLD 4107 AUSTRALIA contact@salisburychristianchurch.com.au www.bibleclass.com.au Page 1
Titles of Jesus in Hebrews • Names and titles are given in order to tell us about who somebody is and the roles that they perform. • • • • • •
Son (Chapters 1-2) Archegos (2:10; 12:2) Apostle (3:1) Great High Priest (3:1; see generally chapters 5-8) Mediator (9:15; 12:24) Great Shepherd of the Sheep (13:20)
The Son 1. Qualities of The Son in Chapter 1 • The Heir of all things "...his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things..." (1:2b) See also: "The Father has given all things into His hand" (John 3:35); "All things have been handed over to me by my Father" (Luke 10:22)
• The Creator of all things "...through whom also he created the world." (1:2c) Christ was not a late addition to the plan of redemption. He was always there. See also: "...all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16-17)
• The Glory of God
"...He is the radiance of the glory of God..." (1:3) Whenever God is depicted in the Bible, He is associated with either fire or light. See also: "...he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see." (1 Tim 6:15-16)
• The expression of God
"...and the exact imprint of his nature..." (1:3b) Therefore, being all that God is, He is automatically the revelation of God. He uniquely has perfect knowledge of God. See also: "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known." (John 1:17); and "...no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son..." (Luke 10:22b)
• The sustainer of the cosmos
"...and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." (1:3c)
• Cleanser of sin
"...After making purification for sins..." (1:3d)
• At God’s right hand
"...he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." (1:4e) Sitting at the right hand of the Father speaks of Christ’s intrinsic equality with Him.
2. What these qualities tell us • He fully knows the Father " ...no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son" (Luke 10:22)
This must be so because the God is infinite, whereas humankind is finite. We cannot fully know the infinite.
• He is fully united to the Father "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30)
Sameness in essence, being and existence.
bibleclass.com.au
Page 2
• He is in harmony of work with the Father
"My Father is working until now, and I am working." (John 5:17) " Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." (John 14:10)
• There is total identity between the Son and the Father "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
"I and my Father are one" (John 10:30)
2. The Only Begotten Son • The Hebrews view of Jesus as the Son is wholly consistent with the revelation of Him in John’s gospel as, "The only begotten Son." "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (John 1:18 KJV) He is God; God brought Him into the world; He is the revelation of God.
The Archegos 1. Definition • "Someone whose achievement makes it possible for others to experience the benefits of what they have done." • Related words: inaugurator; trailblazer; pioneer; founder; author; captain; leader 2. Usage • " For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the [Archegos] of their salvation perfect through suffering." (2:10) • "...looking to Jesus, the [Archegos] and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (12:2) 3. Application • As Archegos of our salvation, Jesus has walked a path right through this life, earning in Himself all the acheivements necessary for salvation and reconciliation with God. He is willing to share all of those merits with us in order that we might know the same unity with and reconciliation with God. -Chapter 2 expounds the failure of the first Archegos (Adam), who was to blaze a path to glory through obedience.
Christ has stood where our first Archegos failed. -Therefore we look unto Jesus, who went before us and showed us the pathway to tread to glory.
• As the Archegos of our faith, Jesus is the ultimate example of what faith is all about. The writer is not as much interested in the heroes of faith in chapter 11 as he is interested in the One who did it perfectly, brought before us in chapter 12 as the climax to his examples. In this way, He is also the originator of faith. -He is the very cause of faith, because all who lived before Him lived with faith that looked forward to His coming. All
who live after live with faith that looks back to Him. He is the reason for our faith in all ages. -He is also the end point of faith, because He will come back again and our faith will then be perfected. Faith will give way to sight, because He will be with us. -He is also the perfecter of faith because when He lived the life of faith before God, He did it perfectly.
bibleclass.com.au
Page 3
Review Questions 1. Which of the following ideas is present in the Greek word, "Archegos"? A. Inaugurator. B. Trailblazer. C. One who accomplishes for the sake of others to follow behind. D. Somebody who began the whole thing. E. All of the above. 2. When Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus is the finisher of faith, what is in view? A. Faith giving way to sight when He returns. B. He is the be all and end all of faith’s examples. C. Since He came, faith is no longer necessary. D. Faith is not about Jesus. 3. Why is Jesus as the Archegos of salvation an encouragement to the reader? A. Because He has been here and done this before us and we can look to Him to lead us through it. B. Because troubles and trials will go away when we consider Jesus. C. Because thinking of Jesus as a captain is comforting. D. Because Archegos was a popular word. 4. Which of the following ideas is NOT conveyed by Jesus’ title of "Son"? A. His having come from God. B. His absolute unity with God. C. His subordinate position with respect to God. D. His revelation of God. 5. Which title of Jesus powerfully speaks to His inheritance of all things? A. Mediator. B. Son. C. Archegos. D. Great Shepherd of the Sheep. 6. Whenever God is depicted in the scriptures, what is present? A. Light. B. Water. C. Thunder. D. Voices. 7. Why does Jesus possess full knowledge of the Father, yet we do not? A. Because we haven’t learned enough from the Bible. B. Because God is infinite. C. Because Jesus had a super-human nature. D. Because God does not wish for humanity to know Him.
Answers | 1E | 2A | 3A | 4C | 5B | 6A | 7B bibleclass.com.au
Page 4