Dr. Dan Hayden •
There is an old saying, “A suit does not make a man.” A good man in a bad suit is still a good man, and a bad man in a good suit is still a bad man. You are who you are, regardless of what you wear!
Basic nature—that’s our concern. Who are you? When you take away all the frills—what’s left? That’s the idea behind Hebrews 1:3, when it says that Jesus Christ is “the exact representation of God’s nature.”
“Nature” in the Greek text is a compound word that literally means, “to stand under.” It is the idea of something that is foundational—the basic essence of something. Boil it all down and this is what you get. Strip away the excess and this is the core element.
Therefore, the point in this verse is that Jesus Christ is not just like God. He is God. He has the very nature of God.
I have a friend who is a jeweler. I can’t tell the difference between costume jewelry and real gems—but he can. He can tell the difference between cut glass that looks like a diamond and a genuine diamond. Because a true diamond has the real essence—the substance—the nature of what makes a diamond a diamond. In like fashion, Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God’s nature. He’s the real thing.
Say, that’s the reason Jesus Christ can be your Savior—because He is God.