Sunday, October 16, 2016

Hebrews 1:1–14

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”? 6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” 10 And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Preamble: The Book of Hebrews from it's outset has but one objective to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, above all. For all that God did and brought forth before Him were just mere types and shadows and forerunners sent to reveal and prepare the way for the Manifestation of God's Son Jesus Christ's Glorious Person and Everlasting Ministry. And so with that thought in mind let us look into this wondrous book whose purpose is to fix our faith on Jesus Christ alone. 


Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 

From the outset then the Word of God makes it clear that it is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Preeminence that is being exalted here, for God who spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets (vs. 1), has in these last days spoken to us all by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds (vs. 2). 

And so it is the Lord Jesus Christ whose Person, Power, Authority, Majesty and His Ministry to us all through His Word that far and away excels and exceeds all that came before Him, for it is He alone to whom all the prophets came to bear witness too, and thus it is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone to whom we all owe our submission and obedience too (Deut. 18:15-22), because as the Scripture says God has appointed His Son Jesus Christ heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds. Thus before anything ever came into existence there was the Everlasting Father, Son, Spirit God who created all things through His own Son, and for His own Son. The Preeminence and Supremacy of God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ then is clear, for it is He and He alone we are all to not only look too for our salvation (John 3:16), but it is the Lord Jesus Christ alone that God commands that we all bow the knee, and thus live in subjection too Him (Isaiah 45:23; Rom 1:1-7 vs. 5; Rom 14:11; 16:25-27; Phil 2:8-11 etc.). And so not the prophets, not Moses, not Elijah, not king David, nor anyone or anything else has ever been spoken of in such a light, only God's Son through whom God also made the worlds. For it is Jesus Christ alone whom God has appointed heir of all things. The significance then of such a statement should not be lost on any of us, since it is God the Father who has Exalted His own Son the Lord Jesus Christ above all things, both in heaven and on earth.

Vs. 3 "who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high"

The Lord Jesus Christ is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of God's Person, and is upholding all things by the Word of His Power, is no less God then God Himself (see Matt. 17:1-8). The Lord Jesus Christ then is upholding all things by the Word of His power, for Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, Creator and Sustainer, by whom all things are being Sustained by the Word of His Power. For it is Jesus Christ alone when He first by Himself purged our sins by His own shed blood and Crucifixion death; and thus having made atonement for us all who believe in Him; Jesus then "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," waiting till all His enemies are made His footstool. Therefore Jesus Christ being the brightness of God's glory and the expressed image of His Person brings to us all, all that can be seen and perceived and received and understood of God by us as finite beings. Thus all of God's Glorious Spiritual and Moral and Eternal Characteristics and Qualities are manifested to us all through God's Son. If you want to know God, then know His Son!

Vs. 4 "having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."

Now the angels have power and they bear a glory, and through them God often ministered His Word to His people (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). Yet none of them has God the Father ever appointed to be heir of all things. Indeed they ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation (Heb 1:14). And so none of the angels have never been, nor will they ever be exalted to being on par with God's Son. Indeed they are just the Lord's spiritual ministers obeying His Word and doing His will (Psalm 103:20). And so Jesus Christ by inheritance, that is by being God the Father's only begotten Son, has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then they. That is both by His eternal position with God the Father as His Son and now by His obedient Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension Jesus Christ by inheritance has obtained a more excellent Name then they. Therefore we are never commanded to look too or worship angels (Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; 22:9). "For there is no other Name given under heaven amongst men by which we must be saved" Acts 4:12 

Vs. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”? 

Now God the Father in Psalm 2:7 says only to Jesus His Son, "You are My Son today I have begotten You." There is then no reference to any angels in regards to this Word. Now Jesus Christ the Son has always been with God the Father, and so begotten here is referring to when Jesus Christ the Son of God took on a human flesh and became the Son of Man. Thus the prophetic Word of God is here directed exclusively too the Lord Jesus Christ, (and His fulfilling it), not angels. Again there is the prophetic quotation from 2 Samuel 7:14 which as the Holy Spirit reveals here was given of Jesus Christ alone who would come through the genealogical heritage of King David and thus God fulfill His Position as the Son of Man, and so God the Father would be Jesus Christ the Son's Father here on earth as well, to whom God has promised Jesus Christ and Him alone, that He shall rule over the Nations (Psalm 89:27; 110:1-3).  Again no angels have ever been spoken of in this light

Vs. 6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

And so the prophetic Word of God directs not only us, but also all the angels of God to worship the Son of God when He comes into the world as the Son of Man. Now this is clearly seen in the Gospel with the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the angelic hosts praising and worshiping God when He does (see Luke 2:13-14). Now Jesus Christ is not only firstborn of God, in that in doing so He became the Son of Man; and thus heir of all the nations and all of creation; but Jesus Christ is also the firstborn of God amongst us all who believe in Him. For He is the first to attain to the Resurrection of dead, and thus with His glorification Jesus Christ became the firstborn amongst many brethren who by Him will all brought to new and everlasting life by faith In Him and through Him (consider Rom 8:29; Col 1:15, 18; Rev. 3:14). And so it is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone who is to always have the Preeminence amongst us all, not angels which we who believe in Him will one day judge (1 Cor 6:3). 

Vs. 7 And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”

Now in exalting the Son of God, God's angels still have a very important service with God, but there's is not to rule over the nations, nor His creation. Rather they are His angelic servants through whom God often brought forth His Revelation to His servants the prophets (consider Daniel 7:1-9:27; 8:16; 9:20-27; 10:1-12:13; Zechariah 1:9, 13, 14, 19; Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19 etc.), or they serve as God's emissaries which can also take on a human bodily form (Heb 12:2), warning people as with Lot before God executed His judgment as on Sodom and Gomorrah, and thus they are also His ministers through whom He has rendered judgment on both people and nations (consider Gen. 19:1-29; 1 Kings 22, vs. 20-23), but to us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ they are His ministering spirits sent forth to us who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). Angels then may serve to guide us, protect us, or even instruct us (consider Matt. 28:2-8; Acts 5:17-21; 8:26-40; 10:1-8, vs. 3; 12:5-19; 12:20-24; 27:21-26 etc.). And so angels are very powerful spirit beings which no one is to speak evil of (2 Peter 2:10-11; Jude 8-9). 

Vs. 8-9 8 But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” 

Since angels are a means by which God exercises His judgment on His enemies (vs. 7), His Son is the means by which He exercises His rule. And so to His Son God says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ isn't just our Savior and Redeemer, He is by God's Will our Lord and King and Ruler of all! Now a scepter here is being used as a metaphor to signify the Lord Jesus Christ's Right to Rule. And rule in righteousness is what Jesus always does, that is what is meant in verse eight when it states, "A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom" (see Psalm 45:6-7). This then is affirmed in verse nine, when it says again of God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ, "You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness". For that is the principal quality that qualifies Jesus Christ to serve in God's Presence as God's Holy King, for God's Son loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. Righteousness as revealed in God's Word and lawlessness that will be judged by the same. "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." The anointing of oil here is not just symbolic of the Son being chosen as God's King and Priest, rather God the Father anointing Christ the Son with the "oil of gladness", is because Jesus' delight is in doing all righteousness at all times, thus God the Father has anointed Him with the oil of gladness making Him exceedingly joyful as He perpetually does, loving righteousness and hating lawlessness; and thus ruling justly and without partiality is what the Lord Jesus Christ always does, for He always rules in the fear of the Lord (see Isaiah 11:1-5).  "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Vs. 10-12 10 And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.”

The Son of God is not just the Preeminent One in God's Kingdom, but He is Preeminent One over all of God's creation. For the earth and the stars and all things within them are all the work of the Lords hands, and these all have an end, they all will perish, but the Son of God has no end, He is the same from generation to generation (Heb 13:8) and His years will not fail because His Person and Power and Rule is forever! 

Vs. 13 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

The finial and most decisive thought in dealing a death blow to all who would want to worship angels, or spirits, or put them on par with the Son of God comes to us in the form of a question, asking us all "But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? The answer is none, because as verse fourteen states they are all just ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation, not minister too us (as those in the occult would try to have demon spirits do, become subservient to their own persons and will), but minister for us, that is God's angels are at work behind the scenes of the visible realm, fighting spiritual battles and paving spiritual paths as God directs them, so that we can all faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And so angels are never to be worshiped or exalted just as they themselves declare (see Rev 19:10; 22:9). For again is God Himself who has said to His Son and not to the angels, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Psalm 110:1  And so it is God Himself who has reserved the Highest place and seat of Everlasting Honor, Prestige, Power and Glory exclusively for His Son the Lord Jesus Christ who having fulfilled His Word through His own life, death, resurrection and ascension is now seated at God's right hand waiting till God makes all of His enemies His footstool. And so it will be God the Father Himself who will subjugate and relegate all of His Sons enemies to the place of perpetual defeat and eternal condemnation when He exalts His Son the Lord Jesus Christ in the Presence of all of His Creation. And so whether these enemies are in heights of heaven or the depths of hell, they will all be made to be Lord Jesus Christ's footstool at the time God fulfills His Word and glorifies His Son. Which is a day that not only believers long for, but all of creation now awaits. 

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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