Good morning. I'm Dan Bielman. I'm an assistant pastor here at Church of the Advent.
Also, you saw on the chancel this morning the Reverend Jeffrey Simpson,
who was just ordained to the priesthood last week, right?
Jeff will be celebrating communion for the first time today. Really looking forward to that.
Neither of us claim to be Tommy Henson or want to pretend like we are.
That would be for my 14-year-old who was dressing as Tommy Henson for Halloween this year.
So look out for Instagram and see how that goes.
We're on week three of a sermon series called Read, Mark, Learn.
We're exploring the doctrine of Scripture, asking questions such as, what is the Bible?
What makes it the Word of God? Can I understand it?
Is it reliable?
Does it tell us everything we need to know about God, the world, and ourselves?
What should my relationship to it be?
What makes it different than any other written book?
So three weeks ago, Tommy took us through Psalm 119,
and he gave us an overview about the nature of Scripture.
God's Word, rightly apprehended, inspires our love and delight,
because it gives us the truth, goodness, and beauty of God Himself.
Two weeks ago, Tommy talked to us about Scripture's clarity,
or as theologians would put it, Scripture's perspicuity.
Though some things in the Bible are hard to understand,
it's clear enough that we who read it can understand what it is saying
about the most important things it has to say about God, about us, and about the world,
and our relationship to God, and God's purposes in the world.
Last week, we took a week to celebrate the ordination of Jeff Simpson to the priesthood,
and now we're back to the sermon series on Scripture.
And we're going to look today at Hebrews 1.
It was the first passage read this morning.
We're going to see what this very important passage has to say about the Bible,
and how it all relates to Jesus.
We're going to first see what it has to say about the history of God speaking to His people.
Second, how He has spoken through Jesus.
And third, what that all means for Scripture's sufficiency and completeness.
So the first, the history of God speaking to His people.
Second, God speaking through the person of Jesus.
And third, Scripture's sufficiency.
But before we do that, let's pray.
Not on riches, we will fix our eyes.
Lord Jesus, it would be our prayer that Your Word would be our delight this morning.
As we sang earlier, and as we heard preached three weeks ago,
that when we hear Your Word, when we read it,
we could experience joy.
Lord, that we who would be thirsty when we come to Scripture would be filled.
Lord, that we who come to Scripture hungry could be satisfied.
Even more so, Lord, that it would fill us with delight.
Lord, could You even surprise us this morning through hearing Your Word preached.
Lord, forgive the sins of the preacher,
and may Your words, Lord Jesus,
be made clear through the working of Your Holy Spirit right now.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Okay, so the writer of Hebrews begins
with a fairly compact summary
of how God has spoken to His people.
Long ago, at many times,
and in many ways,
God spoke.
Long ago,
at many times,
and in many ways,
God spoke.
That God has spoken at all
is because He is quite simply
a person.
equally,
His having spoken
is in part evidence of His personhood.
This is important
and crucial to our faith
and beliefs.
Much of philosophy would tell us
that the attempt
of finite minds
like ours
to comprehend
the mind and nature
of an infinite supreme being
would either be futile
or idolatrous.
Futile
because the incompatibility
between a supreme being
and ourselves.
idolatrous
because any claim
to understand
that supreme being
would actually be
a recreation
of ourselves
and we would just be giving it
human characteristics
and not understanding
and comprehending
that being
as He is.
Well, Christians resolve
this question
of incompatibility
by means
of personhood.
Human beings
are created
in the image
and likeness
of God.
created in the image
and likeness
of God
and what that means
exactly would require
its own sermon series
but this morning
we can say
at least this
that we are the only
material creatures
made in this manner
and that image
and likeness
make communication
possible.
We have personhood
because He does
and that common ground
established a link
between God
and humanity
which allowed
for communication
from the very beginning.
God spoke
with Adam
and Eve
in the Garden
of Eden
and why did He speak?
Why did He speak
at all?
Because God
created human beings
to be in relationship
to them.
Relationships
don't exist
without communication
between the persons.
So how did God speak
according to the writer
of Hebrews?
He spoke at many times
and in many ways.
He spoke with Adam
and Eve
in the Garden.
He would later speak
to Noah
and then Abraham.
Now it's unclear
if and when
such communication
was oral.
It is certain
that at times
He would communicate
through visions
and dreams.
Now when we move
from the book of Genesis
to the book of Exodus
we see God
for the first time
employing writing
in order to communicate
with His people
and that happened
on Mount Sinai
with the Ten Commandments
when He gave them
to Moses
to give to the people
of Israel.
And from the time
of Moses onward
God's revelation
to His people
through the prophets
and others
was recorded
in written form
for posterity.
The first five books
of the Bible
are called
the five books
of Moses
or in Hebrew
the Torah.
Moses lived
in the 15th century B.C.
and it seems
God doesn't speak
through a prophet
for another 400 years
after that
until the time
of the prophet Samuel.
And then for 700 years
He would speak
through prophets
such as Elijah
and Elisha
Isaiah
and Jeremiah
up until around
the year 400 B.C.
And the messages
delivered through
the prophets
were sometimes intended
for specific
individuals
often kings
sometimes to an
entire nation.
Sometimes a prophet
would be asked
excuse me
be told
to go to foreign lands
to deliver a message.
At first prophecies
would be delivered
orally
but at around
700 B.C.
prophecies were
written down
and preserved
as distinct collections
like Amos
Micah
Joel
Nahum.
Now in addition
to the prophecies
in the Old Testament
there's other writings
found.
There's histories
there's poetry
there's wisdom
literature.
Now next week
Jeff is going to
talk to us
about the reliability
of all of these
texts
from antiquity.
But this morning
we're just going to
note three things
about the Old Testament.
The first
is that Christians
have viewed
all of these texts
of the Old Testament
to be equally inspired.
Paul writes
that all scripture
is God breathed.
The apostle Peter
wrote
no prophecy
was ever produced
by the will of man
but men spoke
from God
as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit.
So that was first
Christians have viewed
all texts
to be equally inspired.
Second
even though they're
all equally inspired
we weren't meant
to read
and interpret them
all in the same way.
I'm so glad
we have
in our Bibles
the writer
of the Hebrews
saying this very
simple thing
that he spoke
in many ways.
It's like a key
to interpreting
scripture.
We don't read
direct commandments
like do not murder
in the same way
we read poetry
celebrating
intimacy between
husband and wife
as we do
in Song of Songs
nor do we read
it the same way
as we read
vivid,
mysterious,
apocalyptic visions
recorded
in the book
of Daniel.
Okay?
So
equally inspired
we don't read
them all equally
the same way
we interpret them
based on their
genre.
Third
everything in the
Bible
I would suggest
is a love letter
from our creator.
First John
chapter 4
tells us that
God is
God is what?
Love.
Thank you.
God is love.
If God is love
then from the
very beginning
starting in the
Garden of Eden
we would expect
him to speak
to listen
to react
and to speak
again.
Imagine a God
who didn't
communicate
anything
at all
ever.
What would that
be like?
Imagine the fear
and anxiety
and despair
that we would
have if God
were never
to have spoken
if he had
never revealed
his mind
and purposes.
Imagining this
when you think
about it
isn't so hard
because we can
just look at
our own
relationships.
Some of you
may have seen
a video
perhaps on
YouTube
called the
silent face
excuse me
the still face
experiment.
it shows
a mother
with her
baby
face to
face
and the
baby is
communicating
with his
mother
and the
mother is
constantly
giving
feedback
both
verbal
and expressive.
The baby
points
and the
mother
looks
and looks
back at
the baby
smiles
speaks
and the
cycle
continues
until at
one point
the mother
turns away
for about
five seconds
and then
when she
turns back
she gives
the baby
a completely
still face
and it
doesn't change
and it's
super interesting
what happens
next.
The baby
tries to
communicate
and gets
nothing in
response.
The baby
flaps its
arms
makes that
really high
pitched
shrill voice
you might be
familiar with
then exhibits
like all
kinds of
negative
feelings
turns away
loses
control
of his
posture
and then
completely
melts
down.
The baby's
nervous system
just goes
haywire
because human
beings
can't handle
complete
unresponsiveness.
We weren't
made that
way.
Humans
of all
ages
we need
loving
contact
like we
need
oxygen.
We really
don't have
many ways
to deal
with
disconnection
at any
age.
I think
it would
be fair
to say
that what
is true
for
individual
humans
and human
relationships
is probably
true
the entire
human race.
Humanity
needs
loving
contact
like we
need
oxygen.
God
spoke.
You see
God's
speaking
is an
act
of
love.
Whether
it's a
command
or a
poem
or an
apocalyptic
vision that
you're
reading in
the Old
Testament
when you
read through
the Bible
you are
getting
God's
love for
you poured
out onto
the page.
And his
verbal
outpouring
of love
reaches its
fullest
expression
when Jesus
is born
of Mary.
So let's
continue that
statement from
the Hebrews.
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.
This
verse
reveals to
us
the purpose
of scripture
actually
which is
to reveal
God.
His
speech
is
a person.
The person
of Jesus
is
himself
the
speech
of
God.
John
chapter
1
verse
1
which
we
read
earlier
in the
beginning
was
the
word
and the
word
was
with
God
and the
word
was
God.
Jesus
is
himself
the
word
of
God.
Jesus
is
the
speech
of
God.
That
can be
true
if the
purpose
of
scripture
all along
was
God's
self
revelation
to
humanity.
The
purpose
of
scripture
was
for
God
to
reveal
himself
to
humanity.
But
too
often
readers
of
the
Bible
think
the
Bible
is
primarily
this
list
of
instructions
for
how
to
get
through
life
or
it's
a
collection
of
stories
about
spiritual
heroes
that we're
supposed
to
emulate.
It's
neither
of
those
things.
The
Bible
is
meant
to
disclose
to
humanity
who
God
is,
his
character,
his
attributes,
his
will,
and
the
means
by
which
we
have
relationship
with
him.
And
then,
in the
fullness
of
time,
God
speaks
the
most
clearly
by
just
showing
up.
God
comes
in the
person
of
his
son,
Jesus
Christ.
To
make it
extra
clear
to
the
readers
of
the
Hebrews
that
Jesus
is
God
himself,
the
writer
says
the
following
things
about
Jesus,
starting
with
verse
two
on the
next
slide,
that
Jesus
is
appointed
the
heir
of
all
things.
That
means
Jesus
is
king
and
lord
of
all
things.
Who
else
but
God
has
the
right
to
rule
everything
that
was
made?
We
read
that
Jesus
was
an
agent
in
the
creation
of
the
world,
but
who
else
but
God
creates?
Of
course.
We
read
that
Jesus
is
the
radiance
of
the
glory
of
God.
So
the
readers
to
remember
were
given.
The
writer
is
saying
that
Jesus
is
the
exact
imprint
of
his
nature.
The
author
is
evoking
the
engraving
on a
coin,
the
stamp,
the
character.
Jesus
provides
a
true
and
trustworthy
picture
of
who
God
is.
Next
slide
says
Jesus
upholds
the
universe
by
the
word
of
his
power.
Again,
who
else
but
God
can
sustain
the
cosmos.
Finally,
Jesus
is
God's
salvation
for
us.
He
made
purification
for
sins
and
sat
down
at
the
right
hand
of
the
majesty
on
high.
So
to
summarize
everything
so
far,
since
the
creation
of
the
world,
God
spoke.
He
spoke
in
order
to
reveal
who
he
is.
His
revelation
comes
to us
in
written
form
until
God's
revelation
of
himself
culminates
in
the
sending
of
his
son,
Jesus
Christ.
There's
writings
about
Jesus,
both
eyewitness
accounts
of his
life
and
his
teaching,
and
letters
to the
church
written
by those
who
witnessed
his
resurrection.
And
those
writings
we call
the
New
Testament.
All
of
these
writings,
the
Old
Testament
and the
New
Testament,
we call
the
Bible.
Bible
being a
word that
means simply
a collection
of books.
We call
these writings
also the
Word of
God
because we
believe that
God,
through the
Holy Spirit,
intervened and
influenced the
words,
message,
and collation
of the
Bible.
And we
also call it
Scripture,
a word that
describes the
writtenness of
God's Word.
word.
So what can
we say about
Scripture based
on what we've
discussed so
far?
Two things.
Scripture is
complete and
Scripture is
sufficient.
It's complete and
sufficient.
So what do
those mean?
Well, if the
purpose of
Scripture is for
God to reveal
himself and he
has fully revealed
himself in the
person of Jesus,
then Scripture is
complete and there
is nothing more
that needs to be
revealed.
This is a huge
comfort.
It's a huge
comfort when you
think about it.
You may know
someone who
married a person
and after getting
married learned
something big
about their
spouse that had
remained hidden
before the wedding
day.
That can cause a
lot of destruction
and trauma and I
know it's happened
to a few of our
folks here at
Advent.
But there's no
danger of that
happening with
God.
Everything we need
to know about
our Maker has been
revealed in the
Bible.
There will be no
new information
that completely
changes his
posture towards
you.
Nor will there be
anything new
revealed to
Christians in
later generations
that has so far
been withheld
from you.
Does the Holy
Spirit then,
as an aside,
does the Holy
Spirit then speak
or not speak to
Christians?
Well, he certainly
does.
He's still a person
and you're still
a person.
He leads and he
prompts and he
can give special
insights into
certain situations.
He comforts,
he consoles,
but he won't
say anything that
reveals something
new about God
or something
different as to
how we can have
relationship with
him.
This is because
Scripture is both
complete and it's
sufficient.
So what do I mean
by sufficient?
I prefer this
definition from an
old professor of
mine, the theologian
John Frame.
he wrote that
Scripture contains
all the divine
words needed for
any aspect of
life.
Right?
Very concise.
Love it.
Scripture is
sufficient in that
it contains all
the divine words
needed for any
aspect of life.
So Scripture
doesn't give us
the precise details
about how to be
an architect
or a plumber
or a scientist,
but it does
give us all the
divine words
needed to follow
God and obey
him as an
architect, as a
plumber, or as a
scientist.
Additionally and
more importantly
it contains all the
divine words we
need to know
about how to have
a relationship
with God.
So let's go back
to Hebrews chapter
one.
Jesus, through
whom God has
spoken, has made
purification for
sins.
He's made
purification for
sins.
The revelation in
the Old Testament
was continuous.
God revealed
himself continuously,
but the revelation
in the Son is
complete once for
all because nothing
can be added to
Christ's redemptive
work.
Nothing can be added
to the revelation
of that redemptive
work.
All right.
So the message of
redemption is found
from the very
beginning in the
opening pages of
Scripture.
God spoke the
universe into
existence.
God spoke and
man was created in
his own image,
male and female.
God spoke and
gave Adam and
Eve clear instructions
about how to live
in obedience and
submission to him.
Adam and Eve
rebelled and then
what happened?
Did God go silent?
I mean that would
be like perhaps my
reaction if I was
God.
Like well hey, if it's
not good enough for
you then I'll just
back away.
But God was not
passive aggressive.
He was communicative.
As a matter of
fact, not long after
they rebelled, he
said one word and it
was a question.
The word is
translated.
Anybody remember?
What does God say to
Adam and Eve for the
very first time after
the fall?
He says, where are
you?
Where are you?
With that one
question.
God communicates that
he seeks out the
lost sinner.
That God welcomes
him to confess.
That God desires his
restoration.
And that God works
his redemption.
That redemption was
finally worked by Jesus
on the cross.
taking on himself all
the sins of the
world and all of its
consequences and
restoring to the
father all that would
come to him.
So I'll leave us with
those words.
Where are you?
Now some of us are
new to church or new
to Christianity and
perhaps are partly
skeptical or partly
curious or both.
Christianity claims God
has spoken through the
person of Jesus.
So it seems to me you
can't really settle your
skepticism or your
curiosity until you've
investigated that claim.
The claim that God has
spoken through the person
of Jesus.
And then in order to
investigate it, you have
to read the Bible.
Bible, you don't need to
read the whole thing.
Not at once.
Not at first.
All right?
But you do have to read
the first four books of
the New Testament or
maybe just one of them.
Those are Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John.
You can start with any of
them.
But start with what's
called a gospel, which
is an eyewitness account
of the words and deeds of
Jesus Christ.
If you would like to get
started reading the Bible,
we have Bibles we can give
to you if you'd like to
start that.
Now some of you have been
skeptical or curious and
perhaps now you're
convinced of the claims of
Jesus.
The claims he made about
himself.
And you're ready to respond
to him.
And you can speak to me or
with Jeff or with Lisa.
And we'd be happy to help
you as you start your
relationship with him.
My last word is for those
of us who have been
believers for some time
now.
Some of us here are very
sensitive to the Holy
Spirit.
Like we get all those
things that I mentioned
earlier about being
sensitive to his
prompting, his
consolation, his
comfort, his direction,
his confirming the words
of Scripture.
Some of us aren't as
sensitive or as
attentive.
And it causes a lot of
discouragement.
And I'd like, I would
hope that this message,
the idea that Scripture
is complete and
sufficient, I hope that
would be an encouragement
to you.
That you wouldn't confuse
not sensing the Spirit's
leading or its direction
with not hearing from God
at all.
For those of you that
lament not being able to
hear from God or sense his
reality or his nearness,
know that God has spoken.
He has spoken and he has
said everything he needs to
say.
He has said everything you
need to hear.
It's all right there in the
Bible.
There's nothing missing.
Nothing missing.
Do you want to hear from
God?
Open your Bible.
Immerse yourself in it.
Immerse yourself in it with
other Christians.
Talk about it.
Discuss it.
Because not only is God's
word complete, it's also
sufficient.
Christian, you have all the
divine words you need for
any aspect of your life.
In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit.
Amen.