WONDERFUL THING IN THIS PASSAGE – Hebrews 1 deserves to just be read in full as today’s Wonderful Thing. However, I believe the Lord wants us to focus on what it teaches about Christ’s relationship to and exaltation above the created universe. It starts with this about the eternal Son of God:
“God…made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:2-3).
It goes on to apply Psalm 102:25-27 to the Son:
“In the beginning, Lord, you established the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands; they will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like clothing; you will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like clothing. But you are the same, and your years will never end” (Heb. 1:10-12).
The Lord Jesus Christ does not exist in this universe. The universe exists in Him. It is something He conceived, designed, and created to begin world history. And to this very day, it remains a complex structure that He is consciously “sustaining…by His powerful word.” We exist in His universe, and we can correctly say of everything we see: It is all “the work of Your hands.”
To help us picture the Lord’s relationship to His creation, Hebrews invites us to think in terms of our relationship to our wardrobe. We buy clothes suitable to our present needs of climate, size, and style. We know from the start that we will use them for only a limited time. They will wear out and our needs will change. Eventually we will lay them aside and buy new clothes appropriate to our next season of life.
It’s similar with the Lord. He created the current heavens and earth, and, for the present, He still finds them useful. However, they are becoming threadbare. There will come a day when He will find this universe unsuitable for His future plans. He will fold it up and lay it aside for the last time as we do obsolete clothing. Then, He will replace it with “a new heaven and a new earth” designed to serve Him and his people in the next age. That summarizes world history.
Jesus often said, “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Peter gave a few more details: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar…and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10 NASV). While that putting away of the old will be dreadful, the Scriptures emphasize the glory of the new: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:1-2).
WONDERFUL THING IN OUR LIVES – The Lord Jesus created one universe for us to begin life in. He’ll one day be done with that one and create another for us to enjoy for eternity. The more clearly we see the exalted Christ in this light, the less we’ll be impressed by and worried about the little ups and downs of this present, short-lived world. May the Lord fill our hearts with that vision!
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