God Speaks Through Christ

September 9th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 1:1-2a God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son…

The unknown author of Hebrews begins his epistle by reflecting upon the past and how God had communicated His words to His people “long ago” (Gr. palai), or formerly. In referencing “the fathers,” the writer is clearly thinking of OT men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets who spoke to the Israelites from 1450 BC down to John the Baptist in the first century just prior to Christ. It therefore seems likely that the author is an Israelite, a Messianic, Christian Jew writing to his fellow Jews who had converted to Christ.

The Greek text opens with a bit of a word play, saying “in many portions (Gr. polumerōs) and in many ways (Gr. polutropōs), God spoke…” Or, “On many occasions and in various ways, God spoke.” To Noah, God appears to have spoken directly (Gen. 6:13). To Abraham, God “appeared” (Gen. 18:1ff.) in a form that looked like a man and communicated with Abraham. To Moses, God spoke as the angel of the Lord in a burning bush that was never actually consumed (Exod. 3:2ff.). Later, God spoke to Moses “face to face” (Exod. 33:11), although God’s form was altered in order to keep Moses from dying at the actual sight of God (Exod. 33:20). To David, God spoke through Samuel the prophet-priest (1 Sam. 16:12-13) and through Nathan (2 Sam. 7:2; 12:1) and Gad (1 Sam. 22:5; 24:5) who were prophets in the king’s presence. To Daniel, God spoke through dreams and visions (Dan. 2, 7-8) and through the angel Gabriel (Dan. 9-10) who gave him visions of the future up to the second coming of Christ.

In the NT era, God spoke to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, sending the same Gabriel (Luke 1:19) who spoke to Daniel to inform him about the future birth of his son John. Around 30 years after to John’s birth, God spoke with a voice from heaven, informing John that Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, was indeed the Son of God (Matt. 3; Luke 3). These cases are the “many portions,” or many times, that God spoke in the past. As to the “many ways” in which God formerly spoke, David and his son Solomon recorded much of what God revealed to them through poetry (e.g., Psalms and Proverbs). But God also inspired other writings containing His revelation in prose, or narrative form (e.g., birth of John, birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke). Some of what God revealed is even apocalyptic—like portions of the Book of Daniel and the Revelation that the aged Apostle John recorded when Jesus appeared later to him on the island of Patmos (Rev. 1). Whatever way God spoke, and to whomever He spoke, all that He spoke to the prophets of old was unfolding progressively, climaxing in His Son Jesus Christ.

In v. 2, the author says that all of God’s revelation in the ages past had its full climax in His Son Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of all that was spoken in former days. Now, however, the writer claims that these are the “last days,” specifying such an era as the time when God “has spoken to us in His Son.” This indeed points to the arrival of the end-time—the dispensation of eschatological fulfilment (cf. Isa. 2:2; Dan. 10:14; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 4:1) when the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah would appear and deliver them. The writer refers to his day as the “last days,” not because he necessarily believed that the end of time was just around the corner but because the Messiah had indeed appeared and had spoken to and instructed God’s people.

Food For Thought
The Bible claims to be God’s word, and in His word God speaks (Ps. 19:7-11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). In fact, Jesus Himself is “the word of God… who became flesh” (John 1:1-2, 14). Jesus was God clothed in flesh, and when He came to earth He spoke as God (cf. John 8:58). His disciples wrote down His words, so we can read them and know His will. Christ speaks through Scripture.