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I was looking for the next book to study and initially I wanted to continue my odyssey of the book of Exodus. I read chapter 3 and came across a few difficulties and decided to shift my attention to the book of Hebrews. I know it’s a hard book to read but I think it’s well worth it. I don’t know how long this journey is going to last but i’m not concerned with the length of it. My desire is to be transformed by the words of God in this book. I’m not just looking to fill my head with knowledge but I want to be transformed by what I read.
Christ’s identity has the been the subject a lot of scrutiny not only in our era but even among his contemporaries. He was killed because He claimed to be the Son of God. In John 8:58, Jesus made a bold statement ( before Abraham was I am). In verses 1 through 3 of the Chapter 1 of the book of Hebrews, the author is going to authenticate the identity of Christ and prove His superiority over the prophets of old
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hello good afternoon this is taiva
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taves.com and
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uh today we're gonna embark on the new
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journey uh
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i guess last week we finished with the
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second book of john
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and i was going to go through third john
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but i decided to shift my
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attention a little bit and now and when
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i actually finished the book of first
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john i wanted to uh
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do the book of exodus because i started
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that like
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uh several several months ago but then i
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i went to chapter three and i ran into
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some difficulties
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in interpretation so i just wanted to
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pause for a second and then
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give my attention to the book of hebrews
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i believe
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the book of hebrews is a hard book it's
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not easy but i think it's well worth it
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because
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there's so much stuff there that we need
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to know as believers and i want to turn
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my attention to that book
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so i don't know how long this journey is
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going to last but i'm not concerned with
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the length
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you know i want to actually learn so my
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desire is to be transformed
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by the words of god in this book i'm not
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just going to
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i don't want to just fill my head with
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knowledge okay i want to be transformed
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by what i read so
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this is why i want to read on the book
1:05
of hebrews i know it's probably going to
1:06
take us maybe a year
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to go through it all but you know what
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it's not about how
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quick we can go through a book is about
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how much the book has transformed us
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and that's what i want really you know
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and uh
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in uh in the book of hebrews the author
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actually
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primarily primarily writes to the jews
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okay and
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christ's identity has been the subject
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of a lot of scrutiny
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okay it's not only in our era but even
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among his own contemporaries
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they always kind of scrutinize his
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identity
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and he was killed because he claimed to
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be the son of god
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in john 8 58 jesus made a bold statement
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he said before abraham was
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i am making himself equal to god
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so today we're going to start with
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verses 1 and 3 of the book of hebrew
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and in those two three verses alone the
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author is going to authenticate the
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identity of christ and he proves
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that christ is superior to the prophet
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of old
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so we're going to dive into that today
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and that's what i want to start with so
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let's go
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to hebrews chapter one we're gonna read
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verses one
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through three now the scripture says
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long ago at many times and in many ways
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god spoke to our fathers by the prophets
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but in these last days he has
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spoken to us by his son whom
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he appointed the heir of all things
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through whom also he created the world
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he is the radiance of the glory of god
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and the exact imprint of his nature
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and he upholds the universe by the word
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of his power
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after making purification for sins he
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sat
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down at the right hand of the majesty
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on high now i'm going to stop here and
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then we're going to dissect
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on these verses you're going to learn
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what
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you are being told now verse 1 the
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scripture says
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again long ago at many times and in many
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ways god spoke to us
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and to our fathers by the prophet so the
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author
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is referring to the fathers the man the
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man of old okay
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so the prophets of old were the
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mouthpieces of god
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to the people of god so god used the
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prophet as his uh
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mouthpiece to the people they spoke on
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behalf of god
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but what they gave was an incomplete
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message
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and those prophets were of great
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importance because they all spoke of the
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coming of the anointed one the messiah
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that's what
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their main purpose was to speak to the
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people about the coming messiah
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they also gave a lot of warnings so the
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prophets of all were of great importance
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they were
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respected they were really held in their
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highest honor
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and esteem but the spirit of christ
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in them gave the people a picture of the
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plan of god that was going to be
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accomplished by jesus
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now the prophet like i said they were
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held in the highest esteem by the jews
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and rightfully so because if you go to
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first peter
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1 verse 10 to 12 you're going to read
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something important about the prophet
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let's read this
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listen to what peter says in first peter
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1
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verse 10 to 13 concerning this salvation
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the prophets who prophesied about the
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grace that was to be yours
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searched and inquired carefully
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inquiring what person or time the spirit
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of christ
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in them was indicating when he predicted
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the sufferings of christ
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and the subsequent glories it was
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revealed
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to them that they were serving not
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themselves
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but you in the things of that have now
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been announced
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to you through those who preached the
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good news to you
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by the holy spirit sent from heaven
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things into which
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angels long to look so the prophets
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they were mainly used by god to give a
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warning to the people and to also talk
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about the coming of the
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anointed one the messiah this is why if
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you if you look at the prophets of old
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they always had this thing they always
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said
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thus says the lord and then they will
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give the word so they were
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god mouth they were used by god they
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were his mouth peace to the people
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so god used the prophet to give a
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message to the people
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and that main message was the coming of
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the messiah so they prophesied about it
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isaiah prophesied in isaiah 53 about the
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sufferings
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of christ all these prophets every
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single one of them was a prototype of
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jesus christ
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they gave an incomplete message it was
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fragmented
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it was fragmented it wasn't complete so
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they gave just a picture
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they gave bits and pieces so they were
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used by god for that very purpose
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now what do we read in verse two let's
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listen to what this
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the author says in verse two but in
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these last days
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god has spoken to us by his son whom
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he appointed the heir of all things
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through whom also
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he created the world now there's a
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difference there and the
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the author is making that known listen
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he's made he's creating a pattern
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he's trying to show a transition in the
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role
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and the importance of the prophet
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against jesus himself
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see the prophet they were god's
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messengers in the old testament
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but when jesus appeared in history
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excuse me when jesus appeared in history
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when the word became flesh
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and made his dwelling among the people
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god
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revealed himself fully he gave us
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himself
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through jesus christ his son now god
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in this last days spoke through his son
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so there's a difference there again
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first he was the prophet he used the
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prophet his mosque
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as his mouth of peace but now in this
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last days the days that we are living in
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from the days jesus left
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to these days now god spoke through his
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son when jesus appeared in history
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when he was when the word became flesh
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god now spoke through his son this term
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son in this phrase the term son means
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that jesus
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unlike the prophet isn't just a mere
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messenger a mere man
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no jesus wasn't just moved by the spirit
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of god
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son means that jesus is of the same
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essence
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the same substance as god the father
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okay the prophets were not of the same
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substance
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as god the father but jesus the son he
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is
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so god revealed himself by the coming of
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his son into the world
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so so when jesus spoke the very words of
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god
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he wasn't just gonna say thus says the
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lord because when jesus spoke
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he spoke as god himself because he is
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god
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in essence he is god in substance he's
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the same
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as the father so while the prophets were
7:45
important
7:45
while their ministry was very important
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they were moved by the spirit but god
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through jesus spoke okay jesus
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wasn't just a mere man he was the son of
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god because he was
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of the same essence as the father so
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when jesus spoke he spoke as a man
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uh given the authority
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by god in the sense that his authority
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wasn't just
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like the prophet's authority i want to
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make sure that that point is so clear
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because when jesus spoke
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he spoke as god himself so it wasn't
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like thus
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says the lord now when jesus spoke is
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this is these are my words
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okay you'll often hear him say when he
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compares
8:25
when he talked about you've heard he was
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said do this but i say to you
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i say to you because jesus is the
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originator
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of all things so he spoke the words his
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very words because those words were
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actually his
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to speak because he is god incarnate
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okay
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unlike the the prophets okay jesus
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didn't have to say thus says the lord
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because he is god
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now jesus according to this scripture
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again he's the heir of all things
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the firstborn over all creation he has
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preeminence
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over all things because all things were
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made through him
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and without him was not anything made
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that was made okay
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if you go to colossians 1 verse 15 to 19
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we read
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on the following let's go to colossians
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1.
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he is the image of the invisible god the
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firstborn of all creation
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because for by him all things were
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created in heaven and on earth
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visible and invisible whether thrones or
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dominions
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or rulers or authorities all things were
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created through him and for him
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and he is before all things and in him
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all things hold
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together and he is the head of the body
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the church he is the beginning
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the first one from the dead that in
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everything he may he might be preeminent
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for in him all the fullness of god was
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dwelled
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to please was pleased to dwell and if
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you go to john 1 verse 1 to 3
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we read the following in the beginning
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was the word
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and the word was with god and the word
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was god
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he was in the beginning with god all
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things were made
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through him and without him was not
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anything made
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that was made now you can see
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jesus unlike the prophets isn't just
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a mere man okay see the prophets
10:13
they were used as man and and god
10:17
moved them through his spirit jesus is
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god incarnate
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god in the flesh so when the word became
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flesh god came and dwelled
10:26
with us so at jesus baptism what do we
10:29
learn
10:30
god confirmed the status of jesus okay
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he what did he say this is my beloved
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son
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in whom i'm well pleased and in the holy
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spirit descends on jesus like a dove
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to confirm his identity and the voice of
10:43
god is heard i just told you about it
10:45
so john ball witnessed that so jesus as
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a result of
10:49
his sonship as a result of who he is has
10:51
been appointed the error for all things
10:53
before because he's before all things
10:55
as we read in colossians 1 verse 15 to
10:58
19
10:58
he created all things so therefore he
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has pre-eminence he has
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he he is the first one overall creation
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in the sense that
11:05
all things exist because of him so
11:07
therefore he has pre-eminence
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he has the reward of the firstborn
11:10
because he is the author
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of all things god made all things
11:15
through the word
11:16
the word of god he is the word of god
11:17
the word became flesh
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let's go to matthew 3 verse 13 to 17
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let's read about
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how jesus what what the scriptures tells
11:25
us about jesus
11:26
matthew 3 let's read that
11:32
we're going to read here 13-17
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listen to the scripture then jesus came
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from galilee to the jordan to john to be
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baptized by him
11:43
john would have prevented him saying i
11:45
need to be baptized by you
11:46
and do you come to me but jesus answered
11:49
him let it be so now for thus it is
11:51
fitting for us to fulfill
11:52
all righteousness then he consented and
11:56
when jesus was baptized
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immediately he went up from the water
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and behold the heavens were opened to
12:02
him
12:02
and he saw the spirit of god descending
12:05
like a dove
12:06
and coming to rest on him and behold a
12:10
voice from heaven said
12:11
this is my beloved son with whom i
12:14
am well pleased you see okay
12:17
it's showing us again the identity of
12:19
jesus and we are going to also look at
12:21
john 1
12:22
verse 29 to 34 we're going to see what
12:24
john says about jesus
12:29
29 to 34. listen to the scripture the
12:31
next day he saw
12:33
jesus coming toward him this is john and
12:35
said behold
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the lamb of god who takes away the sin
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of the world this is he of whom i said
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after me
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comes a man who ranks before me because
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he's
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he was before me i myself did not know
12:49
him
12:50
but for this for this purpose i came
12:52
baptizing with water
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that he might be revealed to israel and
12:56
john bore
12:57
witness i saw the spirit descend from
13:00
heaven like a dove
13:01
and he remained on him i myself did not
13:05
know him but he was sent me to baptize
13:07
with water said to me
13:08
he on whom you see the spirit descend
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and remain this is he
13:12
who baptizes with the holy spirit and i
13:14
have seen
13:15
and are born witness that this is the
13:18
son of god
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again when the jews people say the son
13:22
of god
13:22
they are basically saying he is co-equal
13:24
with the father he is of the same
13:26
substance of the with the father
13:30
he is consubstantial he is of the same
13:32
essence of the same
13:34
stuff so jesus is god god
13:37
very god a very god okay so that's what
13:39
the scripture says when the scripture
13:40
says he's the son of god
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that's basically making jesus equal with
13:44
the father
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this is what we learn in verse two and
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then verse 3
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we learn the following he is the
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radiance of the glory of god and the
13:52
exact imprint of his nature
13:54
and he upholds the universe by the word
13:57
of his power
13:58
after making purification for sins he
14:00
sat down at the right hand of the
14:02
majesty
14:02
on high so let's understand what's going
14:05
on here
14:06
again scripture says that the heavens
14:09
declare the glory of the lord okay and
14:12
creation indeed
14:13
declares the majesty and the eternal
14:15
power and divine nature of god
14:17
but that's all creation can do okay
14:20
that's all creation can do
14:21
jesus on the other hand is the radiance
14:24
of the glory of god
14:26
the brightness of his glory jesus
14:29
doesn't just declare the glory of god he
14:31
is the glory of god concealed in the
14:33
human flesh in the human body
14:36
see god he tabernacled among men in
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jesus
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that's what god did he tabernacled he
14:41
came and dwelt with man
14:42
in jesus through jesus so in the old
14:45
testament
14:46
when the cloud stood above the
14:49
tabernacle
14:50
the glory of the the lord filled the
14:51
place okay they should guard shekinah
14:53
the shekinah glory
14:54
filled the place and moses could not
14:56
even enter because of the brightness
14:57
because of the glory
14:59
okay but in jesus the fullness of god
15:02
dwelt in a bodily form
15:04
concealed so that man could approach
15:07
jesus man could approach god okay
15:10
now number two jesus is the expressed
15:13
image
15:13
of god in a bodily form the exact
15:16
imprint of his nature
15:17
so we read that in john 12 45 let's
15:20
let's go to john 12 45
15:21
and read the following and whoever sees
15:23
me
15:25
sees him who sent me this is what jesus
15:27
says about himself
15:28
and in john 14 9 he says the same thing
15:31
and jesus said to him
15:32
have i been with you so long and you
15:34
still do not know me philip
15:36
whoever has seen me
15:39
has seen the father how can you say
15:43
show us the father he's the exact
15:46
imprint of his nature
15:47
jesus himself says it and agrees to it
15:50
okay he never denies it
15:52
so none of the prophets could ever make
15:54
such a bold statement because they were
15:56
all flawed
15:57
okay all the prophets had their own
15:58
flaws so they could never say
16:00
whoever has seen me has seen the father
16:02
but jesus can't say that because he is
16:04
the son of god
16:05
meaning he is of the same substance as
16:06
god he is co-equal with god
16:09
because no other human face on the face
16:12
of the earth can say that
16:13
only except jesus because he is god
16:15
incarnate so this is what set him apart
16:18
from the prophet
16:18
okay he's so so much different because
16:21
jesus is holy he's set apart from
16:23
anybody else that existed in in history
16:26
okay and in him all things exist
16:29
because he upholds he upholds and
16:32
sustains
16:33
all things by his powerful word he is
16:35
the word of god
16:37
he can make something from nothing jesus
16:40
is the word of god that's his name the
16:41
word of god so he can make something
16:43
from nothing okay no prophets of old
16:46
had any of these qualifiers they don't
16:48
have they didn't have none of them
16:50
had any of these qualifiers because
16:52
jesus birth
16:53
and three years ministry proved all of
16:55
this he was born of a virgin
16:57
okay and no other human in history was
16:59
born of a virgin
17:00
his supernatural work he walked on water
17:03
he defied
17:04
the laws of nature his healing ministry
17:06
he healed the sick he raised the dead
17:08
his word breathed life into people okay
17:11
and after his suffering and resurrection
17:13
which was proved by the way he sat down
17:15
at the highest place of honor at the
17:17
right hand of god
17:18
the father the place only reserved for a
17:20
person co-equal with god himself
17:23
so he became the propitiation and
17:25
expiation for our sins and no prophet
17:27
ever did that
17:29
they died after their ministry was ended
17:31
and that was it
17:32
but jesus blood has so much worth that
17:34
it was sufficient to atone
17:36
for the sins of the entire world you see
17:39
like when you see jesus jesus
17:42
superiority to the prophet is just
17:44
it's not even comparable and the author
17:47
of hebrews is giving us a picture of
17:48
that in just these three verses
17:50
okay we learn from this that number one
17:53
god spoke
17:54
in the uh in the old days to the prophet
17:56
where in this last days he has spoken to
17:58
us by his son
17:59
meaning the person through whom he
18:01
created all things
18:02
okay and this man jesus upholds the
18:05
universe
18:06
by his powerful word because jesus is
18:08
the only one that can make something
18:09
from nothing he spoke things into
18:11
existence
18:12
and he defies it he defied the laws of
18:14
nature okay he is god
18:16
incarnate and this is what we learn from
18:18
just these three verses it's just
18:19
incredible
18:20
okay and i don't know what else to say
18:22
about these three verses maybe i've
18:24
missed
18:24
some things but you get the point in
18:26
these last days
18:28
god has spoken to us by his son whom he
18:30
appointed the heir of all things and we
18:32
know why jesus has preeminence because
18:34
all things were made by him so therefore
18:37
because all things were made by him he
18:38
asked preeminence over everything
18:40
and he's the radiance of the glory of
18:42
god i read the commentary and the
18:44
commentary says
18:45
that jesus is to the father what the
18:47
rays
18:49
of the sun are to the sun and you cannot
18:51
separate that because
18:52
the rays of the sun out are of the same
18:54
essence as the sun
18:55
in the same way jesus is of the same
18:57
essence as god the father so you can
18:58
separate them you can make the
19:00
distinction but you cannot separate them
19:02
so i don't know if this is a great
19:04
analogy but this is what i read in the
19:06
commentary
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which i think is important because jesus
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is the radiance
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of the glory of god okay the radiance
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light sent by the light of the world
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and jesus in jesus the the fullness of
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god was pleased to dwell so he's not
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just like any other man
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okay he stands uh he stands holy
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among all other men we were all born
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with that sinful nature
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we were all flawed jesus is perfect the
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perfect
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human being okay god he is god incarnate
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he has a dual nature we say that he
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is god incarnate so he has the the
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divine nature and also the human nature
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he was truly man but also truly god
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because of all the summation of the
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attribute of god
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were present in jesus okay the glory of
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god
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the summation of all the attributes of
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god were present in jesus and when he
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walked on earth he displayed every
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single one of them
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with the things that he did with the
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words that he spoke and with how he
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lived his life
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and when he rose from the dead he again
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proved to be the son of god by his
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resurrection from the dead
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this is just incredible so jesus
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compared to the prophet
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jesus is way high up here and the
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prophets are way down here
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so the author is making sure that we
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understand that jesus has supremacy
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over the prophet and then next thing
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he's going to also talk about the angels
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because prophets the prophets were were
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very respected by
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by the jewish people okay moses was
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highly esteemed
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and abraham was highly esteemed isaiah
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the prophet was a highly esteemed
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jeremiah the prophet elijah
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all these prophets were highly esteemed
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but as highly esteemed as they were
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they don't compare to jesus because they
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served
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jesus because he is god okay they spoke
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on behalf of jesus
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in the old days but in these last days
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god spoke to us
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directly by jesus this is why his name
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is emmanuel
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god with us if you go to isaiah 7 14
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the scripture talks about that so jesus
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speaks as
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god he doesn't speak as a man sent by
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god yes he was sent by god but he is god
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himself
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all right so that's what we learned from
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just these three verses and then next
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week we're gonna continue with the
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rest of this uh chapter one of hebrews
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it's a great book like i said and we're
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going to learn a lot here
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all right thank you and have a wonderful
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day