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Day 1 - Romans 1

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Day 1 - Romans 1

Day 111 - Hebrews 1:1-2 Devotional

God’s Final Word

Ligonier Ministries Devotional

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
— Hebrews 1:1-2

Hebrews was written to convince its original audience of the superiority of Jesus to everything that came before Him, and the author gets right to the point in the opening verses of his epistle. In Hebrews 1:1–4, we have a theologically rich expression of the greatness of our Savior, focused particularly on Jesus as our Prophet, Priest, and King.

Verses 1–2 emphasize Jesus as the final and perfect Prophet, drawing a contrast between the way God has spoken to His people in “these last days” with the way He spoke before. Before the advent of the Son of God in the flesh, our Creator revealed Himself “at many times and in many ways” (v. 1). Of course, the author is referring to how our Lord spoke under the old covenant. He communicated “at many times”—during the era of the patriarchs, in the day of Joshua and the judges, under the administration of the monarchy, and while the people were in exile and immediately after their return. And God spoke “in many ways”—through direct speech, through dreams and visions, through the prophets’ oracles, through angelic messengers, and even at one point through a donkey (for example, Gen. 12:1–3; 37:1–11; 46:1–4; Num. 22:22–30; Josh. 1:1–9; 2 Kings 19:1–7; Ezra 5:1–2; Dan. 7).

Those ways of speaking were sufficient for their day, but they were not the highest, most glorious, or final way that God has spoken. “In these last days”—our present era of salvation history inaugurated by Christ—God “has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:2). With the coming of Jesus, our Creator spoke in a new and better way. This way is better not in that Jesus’ teaching is somehow more inspired or more authoritative than the words of the old covenant prophets. After all, every word of Scripture is equally inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Instead, God’s speaking in Jesus is better because Christ is the final word from our Creator regarding salvation, the One in whom God’s love for His people is most clearly demonstrated, the One who has shown us exactly what it takes to reconcile us to God. Earlier prophets pointed out the way to God; Christ alone is the Prophet who is the way to God (John 14:6).

Jesus is better revelation from our Creator because He is also the One through whom God created the world (Heb. 1:2; see John 1:3). Moreover, He is the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2). He has inherited all of creation and shares it with believers, His coheirs (Rom. 8:17).

Since Jesus is God’s final and best Word to us, we should not expect any new revelation from the Lord until we see Him face-to-face. The only place we can find His will for our lives is in His inscripturated Word of the Old and New Testaments. The Lord inspired the Scriptures and continues to speak through them to us even today. This is why it is vital that we continue to study them our entire lives.

Day 106 - Staff Devotional

The Inspired Word

Pastor Jake

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
— 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The expression “breathed out by God” is actually one Word, θεόπνευστος (theopneustos). This word in Scripture is utterly unique, occurring only here, and many scholars believe Paul may have even coined the term.

Friberg’s Analytical Greek Lexicon defines the term as such:

“Scriptures as communication that has been ordained by God's authority and produced by the enabling of his Spirit; strictly, it is translated God-breathed; hence divinely inspired…”

This is the Word I want us to cling to: inspired. What does it mean for something to be inspired? The truth is, the English term “inspire” is directly connected to Paul’s word for “Breathed out by God.” Inspire combines the word In (which literally means “into, or toward”), and spirare, the Latin term for “breathe.”

When we say God’s word is inspired, we say that God is the one who breathed into these Words. God not only gives these words to the authors of Scripture, but makes authoritative His Word as the incomparable, sufficient source of truth for his church. Whenever God breathes, life is the result, and this is true for the words on the pages of your Bible.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, there is a scene near the end of the story where Aslan breathes on the petrified victims of the White Which. Throughout the story, she is armed with a special wand that turns whomever it touches into stone, and then preserves them in her sanctum. But when Aslan arrives, what does he do to make them alive again? He breathes on them. If you remember the story, this is a major plot development because Aslan reanimates an army that turns the tide of the war at the First Battle of Beruna which ended the White Witch’s reign.

In the same way, when you open the Word of God, what you read aren’t just the stale words of some historical era recorded by ancient authors. Without the breath of God, yes, these would just be words. But these words are alive, having been given a kind of life that can only imbued by God himself – words of life that have transformed you and me, bringing us “…out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). The same breath that gave life to humanity at creation has given life, authority, validity, and power to the Word of God. That same breath has melted our hearts of stone, freeing us to follow Christ. Rank and file, behind the lion, we march onward knowing that the battle has already been won.