Now
let’s deal with the phrase “the
express image of his person”. This phrase has led many to think that Jesus is
part of a triune God or at the very least a literal offspring of God in the
semi arian sense. I will show here that this phrase has nothing to do with
either of the above preexistent views. Again we must remember the context of
Hebrews chapter 1, which is about the exaltation of the risen Christ. This is a
post resurrection statement about Jesus and is not about some divine nature
that He had with the Father from eternity. It’s actually very easy to
understand this verse, let’s go back to the book of Genesis chapter 1:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
We as men and women
are made in the image of God yet we ourselves are not God nor literal
offspring’s of God. God directly created Adam without the normal human birth
process but he made Adam from the ground not from His own divine substance. God
is Spirit and we as human beings are physical so us being made in His image
obviously has to do with moral characteristics. We are also said to be
conformed to the image of the Son of God. Let’s look at scripture:
Romans 8:29
“For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren.”
To be conformed to the image of the Son of
God obviously has to with character not physical likeness. Earlier in Romans 8
we see this truth of what it means to be a son of God
Romans 8:12-14
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye
shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are the sons of God.
It is being led by
the Spirit and not after the flesh that makes one a son of God, a few verses
later is the verse quoted above where Paul says we were predestinated to be
conformed to the image of the Son of God. When we live after the Spirit we are
called sons of God and conformed to the image of the firstborn Son Jehoshua. By
being led by the Spirit we will be the many brethren of Jehoshua. If this is
the manner in which we become conformed to the image of Messiah then it also
stands that this is how the Messiah is the express image of God in that He
lived after the Spirit and not the flesh. Just as we are being conformed to the
image of the Son of God daily the Messiah was being conformed daily to the
image of God the Father. We see in the book of Hebrews the daily fight that
Messiah warred against the flesh.
Hebrews 2:10
“ For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
Jehoshua is the captain of our salvation,
what made Him perfect (God’s express image)? Sufferings conformed Him to
perfection. This is the same process that purifies us.
Hebrews 2:18
“For in that He Himself hath suffered,
being tempted, He is able to succor those who are tempted.”
Jehoshua was tempted, which caused
suffering in that that He had to deny Himself and submit His will to the
Father. This is the same thing we must do i.e. pick up our cross.
Hebrews 4:15
“For we do not have a High
Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Jehoshua was tempted in all points just
like us, proving He was not God who cannot be tempted. These temptations caused
suffering in that He had to deny Himself. However, Jehoshua resisted all
temptations during His ministry and was without sin. This is how He became the
express image of God, because He lived according to the Spirit and not the
flesh. The end result of Him resisting temptation was sinless perfection and
God is without sin, hence Jehoshua is the express image of God.
Did you know that Jehoshua also tells us to
be perfect like the Father in heaven?
Matthew 5:48
“Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.”
In context this is about loving our enemies
and overall about Jehoshua’s commandments in the Sermon on the Mount. Jehoshua
says that if we do these commandments of His we will be perfect like our
heavenly Father which comes us to His image. If doing the commandments of the
Son of God makes us perfect like the Father i.e. in His image, then it stands
to reason that Jehoshua keeping the commandments of the Father made Him perfect
like the Father and hence in the Father’s express image.
So being in the image of God has nothing to
do with physical characteristics nor visible appearance but rather moral
characteristics. Now visibly the Son of God does appear with the glory of God
clothing Him but this is because He is now resurrected and on the Father’s
right hand as noted previously in part 1 of this study. But guess what, we also
will be as the Son of God currently is once we resurrect to glory:
1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know
that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him even as he is.”
John is saying that one day we will see the resurrected
Messiah in His glory (“even as He is”) and we shall even be as He is because we
will then be resurrected to immortality just as He had been. At that time we will
truly be conformed to the express image of the Son of God, not only in
character but in some sense appearance (resurrected glory). The same is true
with Messiah as the express image statement is primarily one of character but
He also has visible glory that the Father has, yet the Father is that very
glory whereas the Son is filled with the Father’s glory. The Son gets His glory
from the Father and we will get our resurrection glory from the Son but the
Father is the source of both.
Let’s touch on a passage that says the Father’s majesty
(Godhead) dwells fully in the Son because that passage is used to support the
trinity understanding of Hebrews 1:3.
Strong's G2320 – theotēs
Colossians 2:9
“Take heed lest there shall be any one that
maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the [f]rudiments
of the world, and not after Christ: 9 for in him dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily”
The strongs definition of “Godhead” Theotes
in the Greek means “divinity”. Paul says that the fulnes of divinity dwells in
the body of Messiah. What’s does this mean? Notice that it doesn’t say that
Jehoshua is God but that the divinity dwells in Him. We must remember that this
is a post resurrection statement. Our Messiah was glorified at His resurrection
into an immortal human being. He currently sits at the Father’s right hand on
the throne of David dwelling in the unapproachable light of the Father. Also,
even during His earthly life, Jehoshua said that the Father dwelt in Him. If
the Father dwelt in Him during His earthly life, how much more so in His post
resurrected state? The “Godhead” (divinity) is the Father’s divine nature and
it dwells fully in the resurrected and glorified Messiah. To say that the verse
above supports the trinity doctrine is a wild leap.
John 14:10
“Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not
of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”
Jehoshua said that the Father dwelt in Him.
Divinity dwelled in the Son of God during His earthly ministry. The great thing is that we are not excluded
from this as Peter says that we are partakers of the divine nature:
2 Peter 1:4
“Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.”
We as begotten sons and daughters of God
are partakers whereas Jehoshua is fully indwelled by the divine (Godhead)
nature. Jehoshua obtained this fullness of the divine nature by way of
resurrection not by being the second member of the trinity.
Colossians 1:18-19
18 And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstbegotten from the dead; that in all
things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him
should all fulness dwell;
Notice the connection
Paul makes with Jehoshua being the firstbegotten from the dead with the Father
being pleased that all fullness should dwell in Him. This fullness is the same
fullness talked about just a few verses later in chapter 2 which is the
fullness of divinity (Godhead). The resurrection is the precise reason that
Jehoshua now has the fullness of divinity in Him and not because of some
preexistent divine nature whether in the Trinitarian or Semi-Arian sense.
Back to John 14, just
before Jehoshua said that the Father dwelt in Him in verse 10, He told Thomas in
verse that if you have seen me you have seen the Father:
“Jehoshua saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen
me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
If Jehoshua was not the Father how could He
have told Thomas this? Because He was doing the works of the Father which were
possible due to the Father dwelling in Him and hence He was the express image
of God. Being the express image of God
was not really due to outwardly looking like God for God is Spirit and Jehoshua
is a human being but rather it is because Jehoshua perfectly displayed the
Father’s character. Jehoshua was keeping the Father’s commandments and doing
the good works of the Father and loving like the Father, so in Jehoshua people
saw the express image of Jehovah God.
Hebrews 1:4
“having become by so much better than the
angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.”
Verse 4 in context is talking about the
resurrection of the Messiah as verse 3 states. Verse 3 is what this study is
about. The son of God becoming so much better than the angels is in context
referring to His resurrection. Becoming
better than the angels is not about the Messiah’s birth because chapter 2 says
that Jehoshua was made lower than the angels when He was born.
Hebrews 1:9
“But we behold him who
hath been made [f]a little
lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death
crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death
for every man.”
If Jehoshua was made lower than the angles
at His birth then Him being made better than the angels was at His resurrection
as the context of Hebrews 1 dictates.
Verse 4 that states Jehoshua was made
better than the angels by way of resurrection per the context comes right after
Him being described as being the express image of the Father. Again, it is
crystal clear that these are both said to be in regards to the resurrection and
exaltation of the Messiah to the right hand of God thereby these phrases have
nothing to do with preexistence or the trinity.
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