The radiance of His Glory
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Hebrews 1:3, (ANIV) says: "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." This scripture reflects the same sentiments as Colossians 1:17, which says: "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." The context of both these scriptures helps to shed light on what Paul is referring to.
In Hebrews, 3:1-6, (ANIV) Paul states: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 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. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father "? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
In verse 1 and 2, Paul says at first Jehovah communicated with humans through his prophets, then his SON Jesus. And through Jesus, Jehovah made the universe. In verse 3, Jesus reflects Jehovah's glory to such a degree he can be likened to an exact representation of Jehovah, and now Jesus sits at Jehovah's right hand. As Jehovah used Jesus to create the universe, it can be said Jesus sustained or brought about the universe through his powerful word. The Greek word for sustain is "phero" and means to bear, carry, bring forth. (NASB Greek-Hebrew Dictionary) So literally Jesus created all things by his powerful word with his fathers help. This is in complete Harmony with Colossians 1:15-18, (ANIV) which says: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." In verse 15 and 16, Paul says Jesus is the first born of all creation, everything was created for him. The in verse 17, As he was the first created being by Jehovah who intern created all other things through Jesus as a co creator, then all these were given to Jesus to rule over when he was resurrected by Jehovah and returned to heaven so now he has the rulership or supremacy over all things.
I have no idea........But i believe He does it.....I have met Him. That is why I am here..
Blessings.
Hi, David777:
That is an interesting question. The New American Standards Bible (1995 Update) renders this verse in two ways, Titus 2:13, 14, says: "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our [Or the great God and our Savior] great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed." The Greek grammatical structure of this verse can be translated ether way. So the only way to understand what Paul is referring to is to consider other parts of this letter.
In Titus 1:4, although the Scriptures also refer to Jehovah God as being a Savior, this text clearly differentiates between Jehovah God and Jesus Christ our Saviour. "To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." (NASB) A clear distinction is made!
The insertion of [Or the great God and our Savior] is done to make it in harmony with the rest of Paul's letter to Titus. Interestingly, you can look up quite a number of different bibles and you will see Titus 1:4, is rendered in a similar grammatical structure as the NASB. Yet the opposite is done in Titus 2:13, which tends to make the translation of poor quality and less coherent.
