Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
We have discussed this verse before … but in light of the recent tide of verses we have received in these days approaching Easter, I cannot help but believe the message here is something the Spirit wants to draw to our attention. Yesterday, our verse focused on the mercies and forgiveness granted to us through Christ Jesus. Paul explained to us that God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) In 1 John 4:8-16, the Apostle John declares, “We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.” And here the writer of the Book of Hebrews asserts that Jesus, the Son of God, is the “exact representation of God’s being.” God is love … therefore … Jesus encompasses and embodies the love of God in all of its fullness. If anyone ever wants to know how much God deeply loves them … he or she need look no farther than Jesus … who is the image of God. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15)
John 15:9-17 (NIV) – Jesus is speaking:
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Verse 13 reveals how “great” the love of God is towards us. Jesus was willing to lay down His own life for us. And Jesus called us friends because He has made known to us the heart of the Father. As His friends, we should do what He commands. In Verse 17, Jesus said, “This is my command: Love each other.” In doing so, we bear the image of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us! In doing so, we demonstrate our gratitude and thanksgiving for His mercies upon us. In doing so, we bear fruit – fruit that will last! Oh, I pray we will somehow better grasp the radiance and power of our Lord Jesus Christ – who sustains all things by His Word. I pray we will consider how best to serve Him … how best to live worthy of Him and His calling upon our lives. (Cf. Colossians 1:10) And I believe this is a great verse to inspire us toward that goal as we revere Him in our hearts….
So Now You Know 