Day 25 - All By Himself
- Pastor b.Side
- Mar 25
- 3 min read
…Who being the brightness of [His] glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high - Hebrews 1:3
We live in a world where change affects function and ability. Usually, improved ability and function come with positive changes. On the other hand, ability and function can decline due to negative changes. The most common type of “change” we all experience is aging. Normally, the developmental phase of our lives involves positive changes, where we enhance our function and ability. However, we eventually reach a point where that development starts to decline and deteriorate. This stage of life leads to decreasing ability and function. This is normal for all of us.
“Who being the brightness of [His] glory and the express image of His person…”
This is not true for God. He is eternal; He doesn’t grow old. God is unchanging; He doesn’t alter. That’s why His greatness stays constant. He never gets better in ability or function because He is already perfect, and He never lessens in ability or function either. The same is true for the Word and Jesus. Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is God. We know this is true based on His credentials listed in Hebrews 1:3. Jesus is called the brightness of God’s glory. God is glorious, and the physical display of that glory is Jesus. If the Father is a lightbulb, Jesus is the actual light we see shining through the Word. When God said, “Let there be light,” on Day 1, His glory was shown in some way through Jesus. That’s why Jesus declared that He is “the light of the world.” Witnesses confirmed this when they saw Jesus transfigured, supernaturally shining light from His body! The change in Jesus’ appearance from Day 1 to His incarnation didn’t change His nature or ability.
“Upholding all things by the word of His power…”
Jesus sustains all things by the word of His power. He proved this when He purged sins and was later publicly seen seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. When sin entered the world, God began revealing His predetermined plan to resolve that issue. When Jesus gave Himself as the Lamb of God, He removed sin from the world, just as the Father had declared. Notice how the text emphasizes that Jesus accomplished everything on His own. He didn’t require help, no matter how long His work took. Thousands of years passed between the writings of Genesis and the Gospel accounts, yet God fulfilled everything He promised perfectly. Jesus’ appearance didn’t change His nature either. The violence inflicted upon Him—both physically and spiritually—did not diminish His greatness in any way. He was raised in glory and seated in the same position as “the Majesty on high,” referring to the Father. Clearly, Jesus’ eternal nature sets Him apart from the factors that influence our ability and function. He is God, always has been, and nothing will ever change that!
Prayer for today
Our heavenly Father, we thank You for the abundant evidence of Your eternally unchanging greatness, especially through Jesus. Forgive us when we see You like we see others, as if You have weaknesses or flaws. Help us remember that You have revealed who You are through Your Word's written testimony and have publicly proven Your Word to be true. Give us the confidence to trust You and to speak the truth boldly for Your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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