Hebrews Chapter 1 Part 2
The Supremacy of God's Son
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Heb 1:8
Thy throne, O... The 4th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 1:8-9; Psm. 45:6-7, unfulfilled). Next, Heb. 1:10.
a sceptre of... A rod or staff and a symbol of power and government (Psm. 2:9; Rev. 2:27).
But in contrast with Vs. 7 with this mutability, the Son’s throne is eternal and immutable (Heb. 1:8).
The quotation found in Heb. 1:8-9 is derived from Psm. 45:6-7 which describes the final triumph of God’s messianic King at the end of the tribulation. The writer extended this citation further than the previous ones, no doubt because the statements of the psalmist served well to highlight truths on which the author of Hebrews desired to elaborate.
We
see in this Scripture above that God the Father called Jesus, God. I
have chosen 2 Scriptures from Isaiah to show the greatness of Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” “Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Jesus (the Word of God), earned the right to be all these wonderful things. He paid for the privilege on the cross of Calvary.
Thou
hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows. Heb 1:9
Thou hast loved... This is characteristic of a just ruler.
God, even thy... This is spoken of the Son by the prophet. How could the Son have a God who would anoint Him if He Himself were the only God? This clearly proves two separate Persons, both called God (Heb. 1:8-9).
above thy fellows... Threefold Office of Christ
No man was ever anointed as prophet, priest, and king before Christ. Some were anointed kings, some prophets, and some priests, but in Christ all these offices are combined. He is Prophet to all mankind (Heb. 1:1-2), High Priest to the whole race (Heb. 3:1; 4:14-16; 5:6; 6:20; 7:11-17), and King of all nations (Dan. 7:13-14; Isa. 9:6-7; Zec. 14:9; Luke 1:32-33; Mat. 25:31-46; Rev. 11:15; 22:4-5).
fellows... The term is used only in Hebrews (3:1, 14; 6:4; 12:8), and (in Luke 5:7), where it is rendered as “partners”. In this occurrence, it might refer to angels or to other men who were similarly anointed for their offices: The Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings.
If the “oil of Gladness” here is the same as “oil of gladness” referred to (in Isa. 61:3), the reference would clearly be to those who had mourned in Zion but who would one day be clothed with praise and called “oaks of righteousness”, references to men, not angels. No matter how noble such men were, Christ is superior.
God cannot look upon sin, He will burn it up. Even in the Tabernacle in the wilderness, there was a cup of silver under the legs that held the Ark of the Covenant, when they set it up. Silver is symbolic of redemption. This caused redemption to be between Almighty God and the sinful world even in the wilderness.
We Christians do not have any righteousness in our own right. The only righteousness that we have is the righteousness of Christ. He paid for our sin, so that we might partake of His righteousness. Jesus brought righteousness to whosoever will accept Him as Savior.
And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the works of thine hands: Heb 1:10
Thou, Lord, in... The 5th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 1:10-12; Psm. 102:25-27, unfulfilled). Next, Heb. 1:13. This will be fulfilled at the end of the Millennium when the heavens and earth will be renovated and made renewed (Heb. 1:10-12; 12:25-28; Rom. 8:21-25; 2Pet. 3:10-13).
foundation of the... See, Mat. 13:35.
works of thine... With His hands God actually formed the earth (Psm. 8:3, 8:6; 90:2; 95:5); the heavens (Psm 8:3; 19:1; 102:25); the planets (Psm. 8:3; Isa. 40:26; 45:12; 48:13; Heb. 1:10); the living creatures (Gen. 1:10-27; 2:7-25; Job 26:13; Rom. 9:20; 1Tim. 2:13); and all things (Prov. 26:10).
The immutability of the King-Son is further stressed by the statements now quoted from Psm. 102:25-27. A simple “and” (kai, disguised a bit by NIV’s He also says) links the quotation in these verses with that in Heb. 1:8-9. That the author construed the words of Psm. 102:1-28 as likewise addressed to the Son cannot be reasonably doubted. The Son, then, is Lord and has created both earth and the heavens (cf. Heb. 1:2).
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The same was in the beginning with God.” “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Jesus was Creator God. The Scriptures above leave no doubt. I have said this before, but Jesus seems to be the doer part of the Godhead. The 2 powers in this world are the spoken Word and the written Word, and Jesus is both.
They
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth
a garment; Heb 1:11
They
shall perish;...
Greek: apollumi,
mar or ruin, never annihilation (see, Mat. 10:28). The earth is
eternal (Ecc. 1:4; Psm. 104:5), so perish here means to "wax
old" as a garment (Heb. 8:13; Luke 12:33).
Even
when the present creation wears out like an old garment and is
exchanged for a new one, the Son will remain unchanged. The reference
here of course is to the transformation of the heavens and earth
which will occur after the Millennium and will introduce the eternal
state (2Pet. 3:10-13). Yet even after those cataclysmic events the
Son’s years will never end. This certainly points to His personal
eternality, but it is also likely that the word “years” stands
for all that they contain for the Son, including an eternal throne
and scepter as well as unending joy with His companions. The writer
definitely taught that Messiah’s kingdom would survive the final
“shaking” of the creation (cf. Heb. 12:26-28).
You
see the earth that we know will pass away. It was created by the Word
of God, so we know it had a beginning and we know that it will pass
away and be replaced with a new heaven and earth.
Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”
Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
We can easily see that nothing or no one except God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit are eternal.
And
as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but
thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Heb 1:12
shall
be changed...
Greek: allasso,
to make other than it is; to alter; change, as we studied above.
Yet
even after those cataclysmic events the Son’s years will never end.
This certainly points to His personal eternality, but it is also
likely that the word “years” stands for all that they contain for
the Son, including an eternal throne and scepter as well as unending
joy with His companions. The writer definitely taught that Messiah’s
kingdom would survive the final “shaking” of the creation (cf.
Heb.
12:26-28).
We
know that The Word of God (Jesus), is the everlasting one. He has no
end and no beginning.
Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:17 “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:”
All of these Scriptures are stating that Jesus [the Word] is eternal.
1 Timothy 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
But
to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Heb 1:13
But
to which... Questions
3-4. Next, Heb. 2:3.
Sit on my... The 6th Old Testament prophecy in Hebrews (Heb. 1:13; Psm. 110:1, fulfilled). Next, Heb. 2:6.
The writer drew this section to a climax with a final Old Testament quotation, one which is crucial to the entire thought of the epistle. It is taken from Psm. 110:1-7 which the author later employed in his elaboration of the Melchizedek priesthood of the Lord Jesus. Here he cited Psm. 110:1 of the psalm to highlight the final victory of the Son over His enemies. If the Son is to have an eternal throne (Heb. 1:8), such a victory obviously awaits Him. But the victory is His and not the angels’. Their role, by contrast, is to serve those who will inherit salvation.
There is only one time mentioned in the Bible when Jesus was standing at the right hand of the Father. It was when Stephen was stoned to death. I believe He stood to receive Stephen into heaven. There are many Scriptures where Jesus is sitting at the Father’s right hand, because He has finished His work to redeem us. I will quote a few here.
Hebrews 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”
1 Peter 3:22 “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
Are
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who
shall be heirs of salvation? Heb 1:14
sent
forth to... Angelic
Apostles
Greek: apostello, to send forth as a messenger with a commission, the sender remaining behind. An apostle is one thus sent. Here angels are sent like apostles to minister to the heirs of salvation. It is used of the apostles in Mat. 10:5, 10:16; Mar. 3:14; 6:7. The word is used 133 times and generally of special missions, not of a permanent work or calling. This may help us to understand why the disciples failed in Mat. 17:1-27, after being sent on the special mission with power to heal and represent Christ in the cities He was to visit on a special tour. They evidently received power for this one mission, Christ knowing that their full reception of power would come later at Pentecost (Acts 1:8).
shall be heirs... Greek: kleronomeo, heirs (Heb. 1:14; Gal. 4:30); obtain by inheritance (Heb. 1:4); and to inherit (Mat. 5:5; 19:29; 25:34; Mar. 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18; 1Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Heb. 6:12; 12:17; 1Pet. 3:9; Rev. 21:7). Salvation, like eternal life, is not an unforfeitable possession until we inherit it fully in the next life (Rom. 13:11; 1Th. 5:9; Heb. 9:28; 1Pet. 1:5, 1:9, 1:13).
It should not be automatically assumed that “salvation” here refers to a believer’s past experience of regeneration. On the contrary it is something future as both the context and the words “will inherit” suggest. As always, the writer of Hebrews must be understood to reflect the ethos of Old Testament thought, especially so here where a chain of references to it form the core of his argument. And it is particularly in the Psalms, from which he chiefly quoted in this chapter, that the term “salvation” has a well-defined sense. In the Psalms this term occurs repeatedly to describe the deliverance of God’s people from the oppression of their enemies and their consequent enjoyment of God’s blessings. In the Septuagint, the Greek Bible so familiar to the writer, the word “salvation” (sōtēria) was used in this sense in Psm. 3:2, 3:8; 18:2, 18:35, 18:46, 18:50; 35:3; 37:39; 71:15; 118:14-15, 118:21; 132:16; and elsewhere. This meaning is uniquely suitable here where the Son’s own triumph over enemies has just been mentioned.
That the readers were under external pressure there is little reason to doubt. They had endured persecution in the past and were exhorted not to give up now (Heb. 10:32-36). Here the writer reminded them that the final victory over all enemies belongs to God’s King and that the angels presently serve those who are destined to share in that victory, that is, to “inherit salvation.”
