Kress Biblical Resources :: Part One—Jesus, the Son of God, is the Better Message, Messenger, and Minister of God’s Salvation (Heb 1:1-4:13)

Detailed Outline of Hebrews—Part One—Jesus, the Son of God, is the Better Message, Messenger, and Minister of God’s Salvation (Heb 1:1-4:13)

Jesus, the Son of God, is the final and full expression of God’s redemptive program—therefore hold fast your confession and draw near to God through Him, rather than returning to the Old Covenant expressions of God’s redemptive plan.¹

1. He is superior to the prophets, the angels, and the OT Law they delivered from God—therefore we must hold dear the revelation and salvation that is in Christ (Heb 1:1-2:18)
   1. Jesus is greater than the prophets and their message—He is the final and full revelation of God (Heb 1:1-4)
      1. The revelation of God in the Old Testament is glorious and gracious—but necessarily incomplete (Heb 1:1)
         1. The incalculable grace of God’s Word in the prophets (Heb 1:1a)
         2. The incomplete nature of God’s Word in the prophets (Heb 1:1b)
      2. The revelation of God in the Son is full and final—even more glorious and gracious, because the Son is by nature God (Heb 1:2-4)
         1. The Son is the Word of God to us in these last days (Heb 1:2a)
         2. The Son is the Possessor of all things (Heb 1:2b)
         3. The Son is the Creator and Controller of history (Heb 1:2c)
         4. The Son is the Revealer [visible manifestation] of God Himself (Heb 1:3a)
         5. The Son is the Sustainer of all things (Heb 1:3b)
         6. The Son is the Redeemer from sins (Heb 1:3c)
         7. The Son is the exalted Ruler whose work of redemption is finished Heb (Heb 1:3d)
         8. The Son is the greater messenger—since He possesses a name that is more excellent than the angels (Heb 1:4)
   2. Jesus is greater than the angels and the Law they escorted— He is God come in the flesh (Heb 1:5-2:18)
      1. The exegetical proof that the Son is greater than the angels because of His deity and position as Messiah (Heb 1:5-14)
         1. He is the promised messianic Son—no angel ever received such a designation (Heb 1:5; cf. Psa 2:7; 2Sa 7:14; 1Ch 17:13)
            1. Psalm 2:7—The pledge to Messiah
            2. 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13—The promise to David
         2. He is to be worshipped by the angels of God (Heb 1:6; cf. Psa 97:7; Deu 32:43 Septuagint)
            1. The context of His coming (Heb 1:6a)
            2. Psalm 97:7; Deuteronomy 32:43 Septuagint—The command to the angels (Heb 1:6b)
         3. He is honored by God as God—angels are servants (Heb 1:7-9; cf. Psa 45:6-7; Psa 104:4)
            1. Psalm 104:4—God’s description of the ministry of angels (Heb 1:7)
            2. Psalm 45:6-7—God’s declaration of the majesty of the Son (Heb 1:8-9)
         4. He is the eternal Creator—the unchanging, everlasting Lord over history (Heb 1:10-12; cf. Psa 102:25-27)
            1. Psalm 102:25—The Son is the omnipotent Creator (Heb 1:10)
            2. Psalm 102:26-27—The Son is the unchanging, everlasting Lord (Heb 1:11-12)
         5. He is the exalted Ruler awaiting His kingdom—angels are servants (Heb 1:13-14; cf. Psa 110:1)
            1. Psalm 110:1—The Son is the exalted Sovereign awaiting His kingdom (Heb 1:13)
            2. The angels are ministering spirits, sent out for the service of believers (Heb 1:14)
      2. The expository application to pay close attention to the gospel of salvation in the Son, and be careful not to drift from it [WARNING #1] (Heb 2:1-4)
         1. The charge—pay much closer attention to God’s Word in His Son (Heb 2:1)
         2. The caution—consider the consequences of a lack of concern (Heb 2:2-4)
            1. Consider the just consequences of disobeying the Old Testament Law (Heb 2:2)
            2. Consider the greater consequences of disregarding New Testament salvation in the Son (Heb 2:3a)
            3. Consider the Person and divine power that confirmed the message of salvation in the New Testament (Heb 2:3b-4)
               1. The Lord Himself was the Messenger (and the Message) of salvation (Heb 2:3b)
               2. The Apostles/eyewitnesses confirmed the message of salvation in Him (Heb 2:3c)
               3. God confirmed their testimony through miraculous signs and gifts of the Holy Spirit (Heb 2:4)
      3. The exegetical proof that the Son is greater than the angels because of His humanity and position as High Priest (Heb 2:5-18)
         1. God’s plan for creation is that it be subject to man, not angels—Jesus’ incarnation, redemption and exaltation inaugurate this (Heb 2:5-9; cf. Psalm 8:4-6)
            1. God’s plan did not subject the world to come to angels (Heb 2:5)
            2. God’s plan is for man to rule all things (Heb 2:6-8ab; cf. Psa 8:4-6)
               1. The citation introduced—a testimony of God’s exalted plan for man (Heb 2:6a)
               2. The citation quoted— Psalm 8:4-6 (Heb 2:6b-8a)
               3. The commentary made (Heb 2:8b)
            3. God’s plan is not yet fully manifest (Heb 2:8c)
            4. God’s plan is inaugurated in Jesus (Heb 2:9)
               1. The incarnation (Heb 2:9a)
               2. The passion (Heb 2:9b)
               3. The exaltation (Heb 2:9c)
               4. The redemption (Heb 2:9d)
         2. God’s plan for bringing many sons to glory necessitated Jesus’ incarnation, suffering, and death—so that He could be a faithful and merciful High Priest (Heb 2:10-18)
            1. Jesus, through suffering, became the Pioneer of our salvation (Heb 2:10)
            2. Jesus, through the incarnation, became our Brother (Heb 2:11-13; cf. Psa 22:22; Isa 8:17-18)
               1. The assertion (Heb 2:11)
               2. The quotations (Heb 2:12-13; cf. Psa 22:22; Isa 8:17-18)
            3. Jesus, through His death, became our Deliverer from death and the devil (Heb 2:14-15)
               1. The reason for the incarnation (Heb 2:14a)
               2. The result of His life, death, and resurrection (Heb 2:14b-15)
                  The defeat of the devil, who held the power of death
                  The emancipation of men from the fear of death
            4. Jesus, through His suffering, became our merciful and faithful High Priest (Heb 2:16-18)
               1. He came to take hold of the seed of Abraham—not angels (Heb 2:16)
               2. He came to be a merciful and faithful high priest (Heb 2:17ab)
               3. He came to make the satisfactory atonement for sins (Heb 2:17c)
               4. He came to answer the cry of those who are tempted (Heb 2:18)
2. He is superior to Moses—therefore we must hold fast our confession and find our rest in Christ (Heb 3:1-4:13)
   1. The exhortation to consider Jesus’ superiority to Moses—He is not simply a faithful servant in God’s house, He is a faithful Son over God’s house (Heb 3:1-6)
      1. The call to consider Jesus (Heb 3:1-2)
         1. Because of what He has done for us (Heb 3:1a)
         2. Because it is commanded (Heb 3:1b)
         3. Because of who He is (Heb 3:1c-2)
            1. Jesus is the One sent from God (Heb 3:1c)
            2. Jesus is the High Priest of our confession (Heb 3:1d)
            3. Jesus is faithful to God, even as Moses was (Heb 3:2)
      2. The comparison between Jesus and Moses (Heb 3:3-6a)
         1. The comparison between the Creator and the created—Jesus is God, Moses is not (Heb 3:3-4)
            1. The illustration of the builder and the house (Heb 3:3)
            2. The explanation and implication—Jesus is God (Heb 3:4)
         2. The comparison between a Son and a servant—Jesus is the Son, Moses is a servant (Heb 3:5-6a)
            1. Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house (Heb 3:5)
            2. Christ is a faithful Son over God’s house (Heb 3:6a)
      3. The concern we must have in light of Jesus’ surpassing glory (Heb 3:6b)
   2. The expository application to guard against unbelief, hold fast to our confidence in Christ, and find our rest in Him [WARNING #2] (Heb 3:7-4:13)
      1. The exposition of Psalm 95:7-11 (Heb 3:7-19)
         1. The biblical quotation—Psalm 95:7-11 (Heb 3:7-11)
            1. The context of Psalm 95:7-11 (Heb 3:7a)
            2. The call of Psalm 95:7-8 (Heb 3:7b-8)
            3. The critical issue of unbelief in Psalm 95:9 (Heb 3:9)
            4. The consequences of unbelief in Psalm 95:10-11 (Heb 3:10-11)
         2. The personal application—an exhortation to keep the faith (Heb 3:12-14)
            1. Examine your faith (Heb 3:12)
            2. Encourage one another day after day (Heb 3:13)
            3. Endure in your initial confidence in Christ (Heb 3:14)
         3. The further explanation—the Psalm depicts God’s pronouncement on an unbelieving generation (Heb 3:15-19)
            1. The repetition of Psalm 95:7b-8 as a reminder of the passage under discussion (Heb 3:15)
            2. The exposition of Psalm 95:7-11 via questions and answer (Heb 3:16-19)
               1. The first question and answer—who provoked God when they had heard? [Those who followed Moses out of Egypt] (Heb 3:16)
               2. The second question and answer—with whom was God angry with for forty years? [Those who sinned] (Heb 3:17)
               3. The third question and answer—to whom did God swear they would not enter His rest? [Those who were disobedient] (Heb 3:18)
            3. The interpretation of Psalm 95:7-11 as to the problem of that generation (Heb 3:19)
      2. The emphasis in Psalm 95 on entering the promised rest (Heb 4:1-13)
         1. The exhortation—to be sure to enter God’s rest by faith (Heb 4:1-2)
            1. We should shake with fear at the thought of falling short of God’s promised rest (Heb 4:1)
            2. We should see to it that our hearing of God’s Word is met with genuine trust (Heb 4:2)
         2. The explanation—in God’s sovereignty, the promised rest is still available for those who believe (Heb 4:3-10)
            1. We who have believed are entering God’s rest (Heb 4:3a)
            2. We must see “Today” as the day to believe and enter God’s rest (Heb 4:3b-10)
               1. God’s rest can be divinely denied, though it has been available since the foundation of the world (Heb 4:3b-5)
                  
                  God’s rest was divinely denied to those who provoked His wrath (Heb 4:3b)
                  
                  God’s rest has been available from the foundation of the world (Heb 4:3c-4)
                  
                  God’s rest was divinely denied to that unbelieving generation (Heb 4:5)
               2. God’s rest is still available “Today” for the people of God (Heb 4:6-10)
                  
                  There remains an entrance into His rest (Heb 4:6a)
                  
                  There is the example of those who failed to enter it because of disobedient unbelief (Heb 4:6b)
                  
                  There is a sovereignly appointed “Today” to enter into it by faith (Heb 4:7)
                  
                  The promised rest was not fulfilled in Joshua’s day (Heb 4:8)
                  
                  There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God (Heb 4:9-10)
         3. The exhortation repeated—be diligent to enter God’s rest (Heb 4:11-13)
            1. We must make every effort to enter God’s rest—so that no one will fall like those who followed Moses in the wilderness, but were really disobedient [We must make sure we trust God’s Son] (Heb 4:11)
            2. We must make sure we do not disregard God’s Word² (Heb 4:12)
               1. It is living
               2. It is effective
               3. It is sharp
               4. It is piercing
               5. It is discerning
            3. We must make sure we do not disregard God’s day of reckoning (Heb 4:13)
               1. He sees everything
               2. He sees everything perfectly
               3. We will give an account to Him

¹ Hold fast our confession and draw near to God—repeated exhortation (Heb 4:14, 16; Heb 10:22, 23; cf. Heb 3:1, 6, 14; Heb 6:18; Heb 7:25; Heb 10:1; Heb 11:6; Heb 12:18, 22)

² The thesis statement of verse 12 is adapted from R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews Vol. 1, p. 119.