A Bursting Heart

by Mark Waters

Hebrews 1:1-3

he writer of the letter to the Hebrews starts out with a great intensity, focus, and thrust. He took no time getting to what was on his heart. He knew his readers were surrounded by sifting trials, temptations, pressures, persecutions, and reproaches. He saw the tendency of God's people to succumb to the circumstances they were in and give up on pursuing the mighty purpose of God for their lives. He must have asked himself; "With what they were facing, how would they endure to the end and obtain the promise?"

Wanting to help them get through to the fullness of Christ, the writer took no time to show what God was working in His heart. Heaven's answer would be to bring God's Son into view in a very special way. With a bursting heart, the author took up his pen with the conviction that if the glory of the Son was to be seen by the Lord's people again, they will be enabled to make it to the end.

The Calling
In these first few verses is a revelation of the Glory of the Son of God. The writer presents us with a seven-fold vision of the Son. He focuses on:

1. Vs. 2. His Wealth. He is the appointed heir of the Father. This book focuses on the inheritance of the Son. This inheritance has to do with the dominion of the age to come.
2. Vs. 2 His creative power. By Him the ages are made.
3. Vs. 3. Who He is. He is the outshining of the Father's glory. In Him and through Him the undiminished fullness of God is revealed.
4. Vs. 3. What He is like. He is the expression of God's character. In Him God's nature and heart are brought to full view.
5. Vs. 3. The greatness of His power. He upholds all things.
6. Vs. 3. His mighty work of redemption. By himself He purged our sins. There is a FULL redemption in Christ.
7. Vs. 3. His exaltation. He has taken the exalted place of authority and dominion as King/Priest. There is something very important about this place He is seated on the throne at the Father's right hand. As we shall see, the whole letter is taken up getting the Lord's people to see the Son as seated on the throne at the Right hand of the majesty on high.

"The inheritance of the Son is shared with partners; those who would participate with Him in His calling."

This letter to the Hebrews will hide its true meaning until we see that its main goal is to present the glory of the Son of God. Intertwined in this seven-fold presentation of the glory of the Son is the revelation of the CALLING of the Son. What a great calling is on Him! The Father has an inheritance He wants to give His Son. He is the builder and maker of the His Father's house. He is called to the throne and to exercise that dominion over all God's enemies. As the epistle goes on, this Son is seen with companions. He is NOT alone in His calling. The inheritance of the Son is shared with partners; those who would participate with Him in His calling. This is what the phrase "So great a Salvation" is all about. Salvation is more than making it to heaven. It has to do with participating with the Lord in the obtaining of His inheritance. It is this companionship with the Son in His calling to which we are called. The "so great a salvation" in the context of the apostle's writing is not the justification of sinners, but the bringing of many sons to glory. This letter does not deal with the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, but instead, the bringing of the redeemed from Egypt INTO the Promised Land. It is this that Hebrews shows we could miss.

Like those to whom this writer is speaking to, we as God's people today are living at a very unique time. The day of the outbreak of the Son's glory is drawing near. The enemy of the Son seeks to keep Him AND His companions from obtaining the promise. There is a need to hold-fast to the end. Yet the atmosphere in which we live seeks to wear us out and disillusion us concerning God's purpose for our day. It is with this in view that the glory of the Son is presented. In His unveiling to the heart comes all that is needed to get us through to end.

Holding Fast to the End
Hebrews is filled with many exhortations and warnings. Out of these there are two that seem to dominate over the others. It is as if he boils all the exhortations in this book down to two main points. As he begins the letter, the writer brings these two exhortations up, and before the epistle ends, he mentions them again as if he were saying; above all else, don't miss these two points. This is the essence of all the other exhortations put together.

Click for printable chart

The two main exhortations are to "Consider Him" and to "Hear Him". As the above chart shows, he opens his letter with them in Hebrews 2:1, and Hebrews 3:1. These same exhortations are at the end of his letter in Hebrews 12:1,2; and 12:15.

To "consider" is an important word. It has to do with refusing every thing that turns our view away from Him. It means to put the mind down on something, to fix the mind. It has to do with being pre-occupied exclusively with Him.

We are moving towards the fast approaching day of the glory of the Son of God, and the way we will make it is by a heart vision of Christ. We need to see Him and Him alone. When we see Him, grace floods our lives. Peter says; "to gird up the loins of our mind and hope to the end for the grace that is BROUGHT TO YOU at the unveiling of Jesus Christ." (I Peter1:13). There is no greater "power" that could move our hearts than the power of God revealing His Son in us. The great enemy of our day is the temptation to get preoccupied with something else; even good things. The temptation is to lose sight of Christ on the throne in light of the pressures and disappointments growing upon us today. To get our eyes on what we are going through and what we are facing. Only seeing Him and Hearing His voice will get us through all the dangers and trials we face today. This is our ONE great need.

The apostle's heart is bursting forth with the vision of the glory of the Son. He is seeking to intercept his readers by releasing upon them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ. May God release this same spirit into our hearts today. May He flood our hearts with a fresh vision of Christ on the throne. Then, like this writer, may we turn to the church of our day with bursting hearts and release a ministry full of the glory of the Son.