May 21, 1882
by
C. H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892)
His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom
also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high. Hebrews 1:2 .
I have nothing to do tonight but to preach Jesus Christ. This was the old
subject of the first Christian ministers: Daily in the temple, and in every
house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. When Philip went down
to the city of Samaria, be preached Christ unto them. When he sat with the
Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot, he preached unto him Jesus. As soon as Paul
was converted, straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues. For once,
we count the venerableness of our subject well worthy of mentioning. We shall
not be ashamed to preach what the apostles preached, and what martyrs and
confessors preached. We hope to proclaim this glorious gospel of the blessed God
as long as we live; and we hope that, when this generation of preachers shall
have passed away, unless the Lord shall come, there will be ever found a
succession of men who shall determine to preach nothing save Jesus Christ and
him crucified.
For, after all, this is the subject which men most of all need. They may have
cravings after other things, but nothing can satisfy the deep real want of their
nature but Jesus Christ and salvation by his precious blood. He is the Bread of
life which came down from heaven; he is the Water of life whereof, if a man
drink, he shall never thirst again. Hence, it becomes us to be often dwelling
upon this theme, for it is most necessary to the sons of men. This is the
subject which God the Holy Ghost delights to bless. I am sure that, other things
being equal, he honors preaching in proportion to the savor of Christ that is in
it. I may preach a great deal about the Church, but the Holy Spirit does not
take of the things of Christ to glorify the Church. I may preach doctrine or
practice apart from Christ; that would be giving the husk without the kernel;
but where Jesus Christ sweetens all, and savors all, there will the Holy
Spirit delight to rest upon the ministry, and make it quick and, powerful to the
conversion of men. And I am sure, dear friends, that the preaching of Christ is
ever sweet in the ears of his own people. Thy name is as ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. And this theme is most pleasing to
God the Father, who loves to hear his Son extolled and exalted. He delights in
his Son, and those that delight in him are friends of God. When Jesus Christ is
lifted up, it is as God the Father would have it, it is as the Holy Ghost would
have it; and, where this is the case, we may expect to have seals to our
ministry, and souls for our hire.
I want, at this time, as it were, to let Jesus Christ speak for himself. I
cannot speak for him as he can speak for himself. Shall I hold my candle to the
sun, as if he needed it in order to reveal his light? No, certainly not; and,
therefore, I shall, with studied plainness, try to set the text itself before
you, and. so to speak of it that you may not so much remember what I have said
of it as that you may remember the subject itself. My theme is to be the Savior,
the only Savior, the Savior who must save you, or else you must perish, for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. I am about to speak of him, and I think that all who are aware of the
necessity of being saved will only want to hear about him, and to know how they
may get to him, and how he may be made their Savior; and if they can but be told
this, they will be only too glad to listen.
So, first, I shall speak of who the Savior is . Let me read the text to you
again: His Son, Gods Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the
express imago of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power. That is who Jesus is. Then, in the second place, I shall speak of what
Jesus did: when he had by himself purged our sins. Then, thirdly, I want to
tell you what he enjoys . After he had finished his great work of salvation, he
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
I. It is not possible that any language can fully express Who Jesus Is; yet,
by the Holy Spirits gracious teaching, I must tell you what I know of him.
First, Jesus is Gods own Son . What do I know about that wondrous truth? If I
were to try to explain it, and to talk about the eternal filiations, I should
but conduct you where I should soon be entirely out of my depth, and very likely
I should drown all that I could tell you in floods of words. 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. There have been many attempts made by the
fathers of the Church to explain the relationship between the two Divine
Persons, the Father and the Son; but the explanations had better never have been
given, for the figures used are liable to lead into mistake. Suffice it for us
to say that, in the most appropriate language of the Nicene Creed, Christ is
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God. He is co-equal with the
Father; though how that is, we know not. He stands in the nearest possible
relationship to the Father, a relationship of intense love and delight, so that
the Father says of him, This is my beloved Son. Yes, he is one with the
Father, so that there is no separating them, as he himself said, in reply to
Philips request, Shew us the Father, Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me.
Let me just pause here, and say to everyone who is seeking salvation, What a
comfort it should be to you that he, who is come to save men, is Divine!
Therefore, nothing can be impossible to him. Nay, I do not say merely that he is
Divine; I will go further, and say that he is the Deity itself; Christ Jesus is
God, and being God, there can be no impossibilities or even difficulties with
him. He is able to save you, whoever you may be. Though you have gone to the
very verge of eternal ruin, you cannot have gone beyond the range of
omnipotence; and omnipotence is inherent in the Godhead. O dear friends, do
rejoice in this wondrous truth, he that was a babe at Bethlehem, was God
incarnate! He that, being weary, sat on the well at Sychar, was God incarnate.
He that had not where to lay his head was God incarnate. And it is he who has
undertaken the stupendous labor of the salvation of men; and, therefore, men may
hope and trust in him. We need not wonder that, when angels heard of Christs
coming to earth, they sang, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men, for God had taken upon himself human mesh that he might
save the sons of rien. So, the first words in our text His Son are full
of good cheer.
Now notice, in the next place, that Jesus Christ is the Heir of all things .
Of which nature of Christ does the apostle speak in this sentence, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things? I do not think that Paul here separates the
two natures, so as to speak with absolute reference to either one or the other;
but he speaks of the person of Christ, and in that person there is God, and in
that same person there is most surely and most truly man. But we must take this
description of Jesus Christ as appointed Heir of all things in his person as
man, and as God and man combined; for, as God alone, Christ is necessarily
Heir of all things without any appointment; but in his complex person as God
and man conjoined, the Father has appointed him to be Heir of all things.
Now, what does this mean but that Christ possesses all things as an heir
possesses his inheritance, that Christ is Lord of all things, as an heir becomes
lord and ruler among his brethren. This appointment is to be fully carried into
effect by-and-by; for, now we see not yet all things put under him. Christ
is Lord of all the angels; not a seraph spreads his wing except at the bidding
of the Heir of all things. There are no bright spirits, unknown to us, that
are beyond the control of the God-man, Christ Jesus; arid the fallen angels,
too, are obliged to bow before his omnipotence. As for all things here below,
material substances, men regenerate or unregenerate, God has given him power
over all mesh that he should give eternal life to as many as his Father has
given him. He has put all things under his feet, and the government shall be
upon his shoulder. He is Heir, or Master, and Possessor of all things; let
me say, of all sorts of blessings, and all forms of grace, for it pleased the
Father that in him should all fullness dwell; and, as surely as time revolves,
and you mark the fleeting minutes upon the dials face, the hour is coming when
Christ shall be universally acknowledged as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Already I seem to hear the shouts go up from every part of the habitable globe,
and from all heaven and all space, Hallelujah! for the Lord God, omnipotent
reigneth. All must willingly, or else unwillingly, submit to his sway, for his
Father hath appointed him Heir of all things.
To my mind, this is another wondrous encouragement to anyone who is seeking
salvation. Christ has everything in his hand that is needed in order that he may
save you, poor sinner. Sometimes, when a physician has a sick man before him,
suppose it is on board ship, he may have to say to him, I think I could cure
your disease if I could get such-and-such a medicine; but, unfortunately, I have
not the drug within my reach. Or the doctor might have to say to the sufferer,
I believe an operation would effect a cure, but I have not the instrument that
is necessary for it. Never will the great Physician of souls have to talk like
that, for the Father hath committed all things into his hand, Oh, have we not
beheld him as the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth? You great
sinner, you black sinner, Christ is not lacking in power to save you; and if you
come, and trust yourself in his hands, he will never have to look about to find
the balm for your wounds, or the ointments or liniments with which to bind up
those putrefying sores of yours! No, he is Heir of all things. So again I
say, Hallelujah! as I preach him to you as the blessed Savior of sinners,
the Son of God, the Heir of all things.
Notice, next, that Jesus Christ is the Creator: by whom also he made the
worlds. However many worlds there are, we know not. It may be true that all
those majestic orbs that stud the midnight sky are worlds filled with
intelligent beings; it is much more easy to believe that they are than that they
are not, for, surely, God has not built all those magnificent mansions, and left
them untenanted. It were irrational to conceive of those myriads of stupendous
world, vastly bigger than this poor little speck in Gods great universe, all
left without inhabitants. But it matters not how many worlds there are; God made
them all by Jesus Christ: All things were made by him; and without him was not
any thing made that was made. I see him standing, as it were, at the anvil of
omnipotence, hammering out the worlds that fly off, like sparks, on every side
at each stroke of his majestic arm. It was Christ who was there, the wisdom
of God and the power of God, as Paul calls him, creating all things. I love
to think that he who created all things is also our Savior, for then he can
create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me; and if I need a
complete new creation, as I certainly do, he is equal to the task. Man cannot
create the tiniest midge that ever danced in the summer evenings ray; man
cannot create even a single grain of dust; but Christ created all worlds, so he
can make us new creatures by the wondrous power of his grace. O sinners, see
what a mighty Savior has been provided for you, and never say that you cannot
trust him! I agree with good Mr. Hyatt who, when he was asked on his death-bed,
Can you trust Christ with your soul? answered, If I had a million souls, I
could trust them all with him And so may you; if you had as many souls as God
has ever created, and if you had heaped upon you all the sins that men have ever
committed, you might still trust in him who is the Son of God, whom he hath
appointed Heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
Now go a little further, and see what Christ is next called: the brightness of
His Fathers glory . Shade your eyes, for you cannot look upon this wondrous
sight without being dazzled by it. The Revised Version renders it, the
effulgence of his glory; but I do not see much more in that expression than in
the word brightness. Some commentators say and it is not an ill figure,
yet we must not push any figure too far, that, as light is to the sun, so is
Jesus to the glory of God. He is the brightness of that glory; that is to say,
there is not any glory in God but what is also in Christ: and when that glory
reaches its climax, when God the Ever-glorious is most glorious, that greatest
glory is in Christ. Oh, this wondrous Word of God, the very climax of the
Godhead, the gathering up of every blessed attribute in all its infinity of
glory! You shall find all this in the person of the God-man, Christ Jesus. There
is a whole sermon in those words, the brightness of his glory; but I cannot
preach it to-night, because then I should not get through the rest of my text.
So let us pass on to the next clause: and the express image of his person .
I said, a minute ago, Shade your eyes; but I might now say, Shut them,
as I think of the excessive brilliance described by these words: the express
image of his person. Whatever God is, Christ is; the very likeness of God, the
very Godhead of Godhead, the very Deity of Deity, is in Christ Jesus: the
express image of his person. Dr. John Owen, who loves to explain the spiritual
meaning in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the types in the Old Testament, which
is evidently what Paul himself was doing, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, explains the brightness of the Fathers glory by a reference to the
Shikinah over the mercy-seat, which was the only visible token of the presence
of God there. An extraordinary brightness is said to have shone forth from
between the cherubim. Now, Christ is God manifesting himself in his brightness.
But, on his forehead, the high priest wore a golden plate, upon which was deeply
engraven, in Hebrew letters, the inscription, Holiness to [or of] Jehovah.
Dr. Owen thinks there is a reference, in this express image of his person,
this cut-out inscription of God, as it were, to that which was on the forehead
of the high priest, and which represented the glorious wholeness or holiness of
Jehovah, which is his great glory. Well, whether the apostle referred to this or
not, it is for you and me to take off our shoes from our feet in the presence of
Christ, the brightness of his Fathers glory, and the express image of his
person. To me, these words are like the bush in which God dwelt, yet which was
not consumed, they are all on fire; what more shall I say of them?
Now, Christ being all this that Paul describes, who will dare to turn his back
on him? If this be the Shepherd who has come to seek the lost sheep, O poor
lost sheep, wilt thou not be found of him? If this be Gods Ambassador, who
comes, clothed in the crimson robe of his own blood, to redeem the sons of men,
who will refuse the peace he brings?
Note yet once again what Christ is, as I mention the sixth point in the
apostles description: upholding all things by the word of his power , Just
think of it This great world of ours is upheld by Christs word. If he did not
speak it into continued existence, it would go back into the nothingness from
whence it sprang. There exists not a being who is independent of the Mediator,
save only the ever-blessed Father and the Spirit. By him all things consist,
that is, continue to hold together. Just as these pillars uphold these
galleries, or as the foundations uphold a house, so does Jesus Christ uphold
all things by the word of his power. Only think of it; those innumerable
worlds of light that make illimitable space to look as though it were sprinkled
over with golden dust, would all die out, like so many expiring sparks, and
cease to be, if the Christ who died on Calvary did not will that they should
continue to exist. I cannot bring out of my text all the wondrous truths that it
contains, I only wish I could; but, surely, if Christ upholds all things, he can
uphold me. If the word of his power upholds earth and heaven, surely, that same
word can uphold you, poor trembling heart, if you will trust him. There need be
no fear about that matter; come and prove it for yourself. May his blessed
Spirit enable you to do so even now!
Where there is so much sea-room, I might well tarry, but I must hasten on to the
next point.
II. Follow me with all your ears and hearts while I now speak to you about
what Jesus did.
He who is all that I have tried to describe, did what? First, he effectually
purged our sins: when he had by himself purged our sins. Listen to those
wondrous words. There was never such a task as that since time began. The old
fable speaks of the Augean stable, foul enough to have poisoned a nation, which
Hercules cleansed; but our sins were fouler than that. Dunghills are sweet
compared with these abominations; what a degrading task it seems for Christ to
undertake, the purging of our sins! The sweepers of the streets, the scullions
of the kitchen, the cleansers of the sewers, have honorable work compared with
this of purging sin. Yet the holy Christ, incapable of sin, stooped to purge our
sins I want you to meditate upon that wondrous work; and to remember that he did
it before he went back to heaven. Is it not a wonderful thing that Christ purged
our sins even before we had committed them? There they stood, before the sight
of God, as already existent in all their hideousness; but Christ came, and
purged them, This, surely, ought to make us sing the song of songs. Before I
sinned, he purged my sins away; singular and strange as it is, yet it is so.
Then, further, the apostle says that Christ purged our sins by himself; that is,
by offering himself as our Substitute. There was no purging away of sin, except
by Christ bearing the burden of it, and he did beat it. He bore all that was due
to guilty man on account of his violation of the law of God, and God accepted
his sacrifice as a full equivalent, and so he purged our sins. He did not come
to do something by which our sins might be purged, but he purged them
effectually, actually, really, completely. How did he do it? By his preaching?
By his doctrine? By his Spirit? No By himself. Oh, that is a blessed word!
The Revised Version has left it out, but the doctrine is taught in the Bible
over and over again. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the
tree. By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats. and
the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of
the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? He gave himself for us; not only his blood, but
all that constituted himself, his Godhead, and his manhood. All that he had, and
all that he was, he gave as the ransom price for us; can any of you estimate the
value of that price? The acts of one, Divine as he is, are Divine actions; and
there is a weight and force about them that there could not be about the deeds
of the best of men or even of all the holy angels: he by himself purged our
sins.
Now, let every believer, if he wants to see his sins, stand on tiptoe, and look
up; will he see them there? No. If he looks down, will he see them there? No. If
he looks round, will he see them there? No. If he looks within, will ho see them
there? No. Where shall he look, then? Where he likes, for he will never see them
again, according to tlirt ancient promise, In those days, and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be
none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them
whom I reserve. Shall I tell you where your sins are? Christ purged them, and
God said, I will cast all their sins behind my back. Where is that? All
things are before God. I do not know where behind Gods back can be. It is
nowhere, for God is everywhere present, seeing everything. So that is where my
sins have gone; I speak with the utmost reverence when I say that they have gone
where Jehovah himself can never see them. Christ has so purged them that they
have ceased to be. The Messiah came to knish transgression, and try make an end
of sin, and he has done it.|
O believer, if he has made an end of it, then there is an end to it, and what
more can there be of it? Here is a blessed text for you; I love to meditate on
it often when I am alone: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us. This he did on Calvarys cross; there
effectually, finally, totally, completely, eternally, he purged all his people
from their sin by talking it upon himself, bearing all its dreadful
consequences, canceling and blotting it out, casting it into the depths of the
sea, and putting it away for ever: and all this he did by himself It was
indeed amazing love that male him stoop to this purgation, this expiation, this
atonement for sin; but, because he was who and what he was, he did it
thoroughly, perfectly. He said, It is finished, and I believe him. I do not
I cannot for a moment admit that there is anything to be done by us to
complete that work, or anything required of us to make the annihilation of our
sins complete. Those for whom Christ died are cleansed from all their guilt, and
they may go their way in peace. He was made a curse for us, and there is nothing
but blessing left for us to enjoy.
III. Now, lastly, I have to speak of What Christ Now Enjoys : When he had
by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. Here again I shall have to say that I am quite out of my depth; I have
waters to swim in, but I am not a good swimmer in such blessed deeps as these.
There is an allusion here, no doubt, to the high priest who, on the great day of
atonement, when the sacrifice had been offered, presents himself before God. Now
Christ, our great High Priest, having, once for all, offered himself as the
sacrifice for sin, has now gone into the most holy place, and there he sits on
the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Notice, first, that this implies rest . When the high priest went within the
veil, he did not sit down. He stood, with holy trembling, bearing the
sacrificial blood, before the blazing mercy-seat; but our Savior now sits at his
Fathers right hand. The high priest of old had not finished his work; the next
year, another atoning sacrifice would be needed; but our Lord has completed his
atonement, and now, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, for there
remaineth no more sin to be purged. Rut this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified. There he sits, and I am sure he
would not be sitting if he had not finished the salvation of his people. Isaiah
long before had been inspired to record what the Messiah would say, For Zions
sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalems sake I will not rest, until
the righteousness thereof go faith as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a
lamp that burneth. But Christ is resting now; my eye, by faith, can see him
sitting there, so I know that
Loves redeeming work is done;
Fought the fight, the battle won.
Notice, next, that Christ sits in the place of honor: on the right hand of the Majesty on high Of course, we are talking figuratively now, and you must not interpret this literally. Jesus site on the right hand of his Father, he dwells in the highest conceivable honor and dignity. All the angels worship him, and all the blood-washed host adore him day without night. The Father delights to honor him.
The highest place that heaven affords
Is his, is his by right,
The King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And heavens eternal light.
Not only does Jesus sit in the place of honor, but he occupies
the place of safety . None can hurt him now; none can stay his purposes, or
defeat his will. He is at the powerful right hand of God. In heaven above, and
on the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth, and on every star, he
is supreme Lord and Master; and they that will not yield to him shall be broken
with a rod of iron, he shall dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. So his
cause is safe; his kingdom is secure, for he is at the right hand of power.
And, last of all, Christ at the right hand of God signifies the eternal
certainty of his reward . It is not possible that he should be robbed of the
purchase of his blood. I tremble when I hear some people talk about the
disappointed Christ, or about his having died at a peradventure, to accomplish
he knew not what, dying for something which the will of man might give him if
it would, but it might possibly be denied him. I buy nothing on such terms as
that, I expect to have what I purchase; and Christ will have what he bought with
his own blood; especially as he lives a.gain to claim his purchase. He shall
never be a defeated and disappointed Savior. He loved the church, and gave
himself for it; he hath redeemed his loved ones from among men; and he shall
have all those whom he has purchased. He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied; therefore, let us again say, Hallelujah! and fall
down and worship him.
It does seem to me that there is no proof of mens natural blindness that is so
conclusive as this, that men will not go and trust in Jesus. O sinners, if sin
had left you sane in heart, you would come at once, and fall down at his feet!
There is all power laid. up in Jesus, and there is all the Fathers love
concentrated in Jesus; so come and trust him. If you will but trust him, you
will prove that he has given himself for you. That simple trust is the secret
mark that distinguishes his people from all others. My sheep bear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. To those who rejected him when he was
upon the earth, our Lord said, Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep,
as I said unto you. O poor souls, do you mean for ever to wear the damning
mark of unbelief? If you die with that brand upon your soul, you will be lost
for ever. Oh, may you have, instead, that blessed mark of faith which is the
token of the Lords people! May you even now hang out the scarlet line as Rahab
hung it out of her window, the scarlet line of confidence in the crimson blood
of Jesus! And while Jericho falls, while all the earth shall crumble in one
common ruin, your house, though built upon the wall, shall stand securely, and
not one who is within its shelter shall be touched by the devouring sword, for
all who are in Christ are in everlasting safety. How can they be otherwise,
since he has purged their sins? God give to every one of you to have a part and
lot among this blessed company, for his dear names sake! Amen.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Spurgeon Collection" by:
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Bible Bulletin Board
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