Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority]
I was speechless after reading this in my Bible today. The perfect words to describe our perfect, almighty, glorious God! These words are sweet to my eyes, sweet to my ears, and sweet to my spirit.
Just in case you aren't aware, the translation of this scripture is from the Amplified Bible. The Amplified translation paints a fuller, richer picture of scripture so that it's easier to comprehend.
I want to extract all the sweetness of this scripture with you - it's both beautiful and important.
Jesus is the radiance of God the Father, reflecting His Shekinah glory. The word shekinah is Hebrew and means dwelling or 'one who dwells.' So as we see in biblical context, referring to God, it means this is the majestic presence of God among people. It's a manifestation of our glorious God that can be seen. And this scripture tells us that Jesus was the ONLY expression of God's glory. INCREDIBLE!
The perfect words and teachings of Jesus uphold and maintain both the physical and spiritual universe. There is so much power in His words that they are the very foundations that keep the earth alive. The teaching of Jesus are so powerful that the universe is built on them. And if that wasn't enough, the words of Jesus are propelling the universe to it's predetermined goal. WHAT?! That's mind-blowing!!!
Here is the proof that God is in control. God allows things to happen and God allows people to exercise their free will. But that doesn't mean He's not in control. This scripture clearly tells us that Jesus is in control of both the physical and the spiritual universe. When we don't like situations or circumstances sometimes we cry out to God as if it's His fault but that is misplaced anger. It's satan's influence and his fault, not God's, so it's time to start blaming the correct party and start spreading the gospel so that the enemy loses control of people.
And all of this control came to pass because Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be crucified. He was tortured and died in the most horrific way so that you and I could be purified from sin. And not just purified from sin but also free from guilt!
A beautiful woman in my life said to me last week "it's amazing that Paul walked in such truth of Jesus that He didn't have any guilt." And honestly I had never thought of that but OH MY GOODNESS how true! Saul was relentless in slaughtering followers of Jesus by his own hand. Yet as Paul, understanding the fullness of what Jesus paid for, was joyful in the rest of his journey. He spread the gospel at all costs and didn't look back on his former self with guilt. Paul is such a GREAT example that guilt doesn't belong to anyone who follows Jesus!
And now Jesus sits at the right hand of Father God. He asserts His authority and is waiting until the time is perfect for Him to return and then to judge.
The work of Jesus is beautiful! The life of Jesus was perfect! The example of Jesus is priceless! We are living in a time that God is asking His children to standup and speak out. If we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ then we have to look like it, act like it, speak like it, and bury the guilt that doesn't belong to us.
I would love to hear your comments on this sweet aspect of Jesus.