Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1:1

I. CHRIST SUPERIOR IN HIS PERSON (1:1-4:13) A. Christ Superior to the Prophets (1:1-3) 1:1 No other NT Epistle comes to the point as quickly as this one. Without benefit of salutation or introduction, the writer plunges into his subject. It seems as if he were constrained by a holy impatience to set forth the superlative glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. First, he contrasts God’s revelation by the prophets with His revelation in His Son. The prophets were divinely inspired spokesmen for God. They were honored servants of Jehovah. The spiritual wealth of their ministry is preserved in the OT. Yet their ministry was partial and fragmentary. To each one was committed a certain measure of revelation, but in every case it was incomplete. Not only was the truth doled out to them in installments; they used various methods in communicating it to the people. It was presented as law, history, poetry, and prophecy. Sometimes it was oral, sometimes written. Sometimes it was by visions, dreams, symbols, or pantomime. But whatever the method used, the point is that God’s former revelations to the Jewish people were preliminary, progressive, and various in the manner of presentation. 1:2 The periodic, partial, and differential prophecies of the OT have now been overshadowed by God’s pre-eminent and final revelation in the person of His Son. The prophets were only channels through whom the divine word was communicated. The Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the final revelation of God to men. As John said, No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (Joh_1:18). The Lord Jesus said concerning Himself, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (Joh_14:9). Christ speaks not only for God but as God. To emphasize the infinite superiority of God’s Son to the prophets, the writer first presents Him as heir of all things. This means that the universe belongs to Him by divine appointment and He will soon reign over it. It was through Him that God made the worlds. Jesus Christ was the active Agent in creation. He brought into being the stellar heavens, the atmospheric heavens, the earth, the human race, and the divine plan of the ages. Every created thing, both spiritual and physical, was made by Him. 1:3 He is the outshining of God’s glory, that is, all the perfections that are found in God the Father are found in Him also. He is the effulgence or radiance of His glory. All the moral and spiritual glories of God are seen in Him. Further, the Lord Jesus is the exact image of God’s essential being. This cannot, of course, refer to physical likeness because God is, in essence, a Spirit. It means that in every conceivable way Christ exactly represents the Father. No closer resemblance could be possible. The Son, being God, reveals to man by His words and ways exactly what God is like. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Originally He spoke to bring the worlds into being (Heb_11:3). Still He speaks and His powerful word sustains life, holds matter together, and maintains the universe in proper order. It is by Him that all things hold together (Col_1:17). Here is a simple explanation of a profound scientific problem. Scientists grapple to discover what holds molecules together. We learn here that Jesus Christ is the great Sustainer, and He does it by His powerful word. But the next glory of our Savior is the most amazing of allwhen He had by Himself purged our sins. The Creator and the Sustainer became the Sin-bearer. In order to create the universe, He only had to speak. In order to maintain and guide the universe, He only has to speak because no moral problem is involved. But in order to put away our sin once for all, He had to die on the cross of Calvary. It is staggering to think that the sovereign Lord would stoop to become the sacrificial Lamb. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all, as Isaac Watts’ hymn says. Finally we have His exaltation as the enthroned Lord: He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He sat downthe posture of rest. This is not the rest following toil, but the rest of satisfaction in a finished work. This posture indicates that the work of redemption has been completed. The right hand of the Majesty on high is the position of honor and privilege (Heb_1:13). Because of His glorious triumph, God has highly exalted Him. The right hand is also the position of power (Mat_26:64) and delight (Psa_16:11). The nail-scarred hand of the Savior holds the scepter of universal dominion (1Pe_3:22). In following the pathway of our Lord from creation to Calvary and then to glory, it seems we have quite lost sight of the prophets. Illustrious though they were, they have receded into the shadows. They bore witness to the coming Messiah (Act_10:43). Now that He has come, they gladly retire from view.

Hebrews 1:4

B. Christ Superior to the Angels (1:4-2:18) 1:4 The next step in the argument of the Epistle demonstrates that Christ is superior to the angels. This was necessary because the Jewish people had a very high regard for the ministry of angels. After all, the law had been given through angels (Act_7:53; Gal_3:19), and angelic beings had appeared frequently throughout the history of God’s ancient people. Perhaps it was argued that in leaving Judaism for Christ, a person would be cutting himself off from this important feature of his national and religious heritage. The truth is that, in gaining Christ, he gained One who is superior to angels in a twofold sensefirst as Son of God (1:4-14) and then as Son of Man (Heb_2:5-18). Christ has become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. This speaks first of an acquired superiority, then of an inherent superiority. The acquired superiority results from His resurrection, ascension, and exaltation as Lord and Christ. In incarnation He was made for a little while lower than the angels for the suffering of death (Heb_2:9). But God has exalted Him and enthroned Him in highest glory. His inherent superiority has to do with His eternal relationship as Son of God. The more excellent name is the name of Son. 1:5 Two verses are now quoted from the OT identifying the Messiah as God’s Son. First, in Psa_2:7, God addresses Him as Son: You are My Son, today I have begotten You. In one sense Christ is the eternally begotten Son. In another sense, He was begotten in incarnation. In a third sense, He was begotten in resurrectionthe first-born from the dead (Col_1:18). Paul used this verse in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia and applied it to Christ’s First Advent (Act_13:33). But the main point is that God never addressed an angel as His Son. Angels collectively are spoken of as sons of God (Job_1:6; Psa_89:6 [ASV margin]), but in that case it means nothing more than creatures. When the Lord Jesus is described as the Son of God, it signifies equality with God. The second verse is from 2Sa_7:14 : I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son. Although the words might seem to have reference to Solomon, the Holy Spirit here identifies them as referring to David’s greater Son. Here again the argument is that God never spoke of an angel in this way. 1:6 A third way in which Christ is greater than the angels is that He is to be the object of their worship, whereas they are His messengers and servants. To prove his point, the author quotes Deu_32:43 (LXX and DSS) and Psa_97:7 (see NKJV margin). The verse in Deuteronomy looks forward to the time when He again brings the firstborn into the world. In other words, it refers to the Second Advent of Christ. At that time He will be publicly worshiped by the angels. This can only mean that He is God. It is idolatry to worship any but the true God. Yet God here commands that the Lord Jesus Christ should be worshiped by the angels.Firstborn may mean first in point of time (Luk_2:7) or first in rank or honor (Psa_89:27). It has the latter meaning here and in Rom_8:29 and Col_1:15, Col_1:18. 1:7 By way of contrast with His pre-eminent Son, God makes His angels spirits [or winds] and His ministers a flame of fire. He is the Creator and Director of angels. They obey His will with the speed of wind and with the fervency of fire. 1:8 Now follows a galaxy of glories in which the Son is seen to be incomparable. First He is addressed by God as God. In Psa_45:6 God the Father hails the Messiah with the words, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. Here again the deity of Christ is unmistakable, and the argument comes from the traditional Hebrew text. (There is at least one quotation from the OT in every chapter of Hebrews.) He is also the eternal Sovereign; His throne lasts forever and ever. His kingdom shall indeed stretch from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.He is the righteous King. The psalmist speaks of Him as wielding a scepter of righteousness, which is a poetic way of saying that this King rules in absolute honesty and integrity. 1:9 His personal uprightness is evident from the fact that He has consistently loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. This doubtless refers primarily to His thirty-three years of life on earth, during which the eye of God could find no flaw in His character and no failure in His conduct. He proved His fitness to reign. Because of this personal excellence, God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness more than His companions. This means that He has given Christ the place of supremacy above all other beings. The oil here may typify the Holy Spirit; Christ was endued with the Spirit above all others (Joh_3:34). His companions include all those with whom He associated Himself, but the expression does not mean that they were His equals. Possibly it includes the angels, but more probably it refers to His Jewish brethren. 1:10 The Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of heaven and earth. This is demonstrated from Psa_102:25-27. In that psalm, the Messiah prays, O my God … do not take me away (v. 24). This prayer at Gethsemane and Calvary is answered by God the Father, Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.It should be noticed that God here in verse 10 addresses His Son as Lord, that is Jehovah. The conclusion is inescapable: the Jesus of the NT is the Jehovah of the Old. 1:11, 12 In verses 11 and 12 the creation’s transience is contrasted with the Creator’s perpetuity. His works will perish but He Himself will remain. Though the sun, moon, stars, mountains, oceans, and rivers appear to be enduring, the truth is that they have built-in obsolescence. The psalmist likens them to a garment: first, it becomes worn out; then it is folded up as unusable; then it is changed for something better. Look out upon a range of snow-capped mountains, upon a glorious sunset, upon a star-studded sky. Then hear the majestic cadence of these words: Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail. 1:13 A further quotation (Psa_110:1) proves the Son’s superiority. In that psalm God invites the Messiah, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool. The question is asked, To what angel did God ever say anything like that? The answer is, of course, to none. To be seated at the right hand of God signifies a position of highest honor and limitless power. To have all one’s enemies as a footstool signifies universal subjugation and universal dominion. 1:14 The mission of the angels is not to rule but to serve. They are spirit beings whom God has created to minister for those who will inherit salvation. This may be understood in two ways: first, angels minister to those who are not yet converted; or, second, they serve those who are saved from the penalty and power of sin but not yet saved from the presence of sin, that is, those believers who are still on earth. This means there are guardian angels. Why should we be surprised at such a truth? It is certain there are evil spirits who wage unceasing conflict against God’s elect (Eph_6:12). Is it to be wondered at that there are holy angels who watch over those who are called to salvation? But we must go back to the main point of the passagenot the existence of guardian angels, but the fact that angels are inferior to the Son of God just as servants are inferior to the Universal Sovereign.