He is the radiance of His glory

In the previous post of this series we looked at the first two verses of Hebrews One. Hebrews 1:1-2 teaches us that Jesus is the heir of all things. He completely God, but a different person from God-the-Father. He rules over all and preserves life. In Hebrews 1:3 we see five important descriptions of Jesus. The first description is that Jesus is the radiance of the Father's glory.

All things are to give glory to God. In fact the old reformers concluded in the Westminster Confession that “The chief end of man is to glorify God”. Our ultimate purpose, along with everything else, is to glorify God. We are to honor and glorify God because there is not greater to honor or glorify. God is inherently glorious.

Here is what an old pastor once said about Jesus being the radiance of the Father’s glory: “Radiance is light that streams forth from a source of light. As no one can separate the sun’s light from the sun itself, so also no on can separate the nature of Christ form that of his Father. Whether the radiance is seen as reflected brightness or inherent brightness, the thought is clear: in Jesus we see the essence of God.” (Stedman, pg22-23)

So here is the idea. Even though Jesus is a different person than the Father, they are of the same divine essence. Just like no one can separate the sun’s light from the sun itself, no one can separate the essence of the Father from the essence of the Son. If the Son reflects the same nature as the Father, then the Son is also to be glorified as the Father.

When we see the Son shining, then we see the Father shining through Him.