Hebrews (written)

Wednesday, 8 August 2018

But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. Hebrews 1:8

The contrast between the angels of 1:7 and the Son in 1:8 is now made. This is evidenced in the words “But to the Son He says.” God was speaking of (or to – the preposition in both verses can mean either) the angels in verse 7, describing their purposes as directed by Him. However now, in a citation from Psalm 45:6, 7 and concerning His Son, He says, “Your throne, O God.”

The author connects the contents of the psalm to that of the coming Messiah. If this were not the standard interpretation of this, he could not have reasonably cited it to a Hebrew audience without his words being completely rejected. But in using them, it is understood that Jewish audiences anticipated that they were to be fulfilled in Messiah. The throne of God, under the rule of Messiah, is what is spoken of here. As the Son is the Messiah, He has inherited the right to the throne of God itself. Thus God is proclaiming that Messiah is God, and the throne of Messiah “is forever and ever.”

The Greek of these words is “unto the ages of ages.” The Greek aión signifies “an age,” or a “cycle of time.” The superlative form used here signifies “for all ages of time,” and thus unto eternity. The rule of Messiah, who is God, shall be eternal. Unlike the angels who are simply messengers which are directed to effect God’s purposes at any given time and for set reasons, the rule of Messiah is from the heavenly throne, and it is for all time and for all governance. That is seen in the next words where the author speaks of, “A scepter of righteousness.”

The scepter is the ruling instrument of a throne. It is what signifies the authority, and when pointed at a messenger, he is directed to conduct the affairs given to him. The Son bears the scepter, and He wields it in righteousness. However, the words in Greek read “THE scepter,” not “A scepter.” As Charles Ellicott says, “Righteousness itself (so to speak, the very ideal of righteous government) bears sway in Thy kingdom.” It is “The scepter of righteousness” which the author then describes as, “The scepter of Your kingdom.”

The kingdom of Messiah is the kingdom of God; He is the Lord (Yehovah). Of Him, and of His authority, Isaiah says –

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
³ His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
⁴ But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

Messiah’s righteousness being “the belt of His loins” means that He is girded with it. He is wrapped and enveloped in righteousness. It is in this state that He exercises His rule. The angels, though great and powerful, have nothing on Messiah. The contrast is made, it is clear, and it is undeniable. Though this is so, the author of Hebrews will continue with words of His splendor in the verses ahead.

Life application: People in today’s world use Jesus as an example of whatever pitiful cause they are pursuing. If it is to argue against the death penalty, they have a verse – pulled out of context – to justify their unrighteous stand. If it is to promote socialism, the same is the case. These people will find out (because they failed to accept the Bible as written during their lives) how mistaken they were about the righteousness of Christ Jesus. He will not allow any such unrighteous behavior, nor does He condone it now. Pay heed to the word, and be advised that it describes the unchanging Christ.

Heavenly Father, we need to know when people misuse Scripture for their own perverse purposes. It has become as common as seeing birds fly in the sky, and it shows a total disregard for Your glory and Your righteousness. Give us wisdom in how to refute such abuses, and to set the record straight about the intent of Your word. This we pray that You will always be properly exalted as shown in the Bible. Amen.

Tuesday, 7 August 2018

And of the angels He says:
“Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7

Our author here once again paints a contrast between angels and the Son. In this, he begins with, “And of the angels He says.” The words are to be contrasted with what will be said in the next verse, “But to the Son He says.” This second set of contrasts is given to show that not just an isolated thought about the superiority of the Son was pulled out of Scripture, but that it is a consistent theme which can be found and relied upon. Further, the contrast is that of the many (angels) to that of One (the Son). And again, the term “angels” signifies messengers who go at another’s bidding. The term “Son” signifies one who is of the inheritance and who thus has authority to send. Understanding this, he now turns to Psalm 104:4 –

Who makes His angels spirits,
His ministers a flame of fire.

The NKJV, cited here, appears to not capture the intent of what is being relayed. The word for “angels,” in both Hebrew and Greek, signifies a messenger. And so the author is showing that angels are messengers. And again, the word for “spirits,” in both Hebrew and Greek, has the dual meaning of “winds.” Young’s Literal Translation more closely follows the intent of the psalm –

“Making His messengers — the winds, His ministers — the flaming fire.”

This verse in Hebrews is not speaking of the creation of angels as spirit-beings, but the employment of angels as directed beings, likened to the forces of wind and fire. This is what is on his mind here. And those messengers come in the form of wind and fire. This follows through with the thought of what occurs several times in Scripture, such as with Elijah in 1 Kings 19 –

“Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11, 12

The Lord created the winds as a resistless force. It cannot be grasped with the hand, and yet it can cause a variety of effects, from cooling the skin to tearing apart the mountains. Likewise, fire is a part of creation which God directs as a consuming weapon of destruction.

Further, the winds are an invisible force, whereas fire is a visible one. And so there is a contrast to show that God is in control of both that which can be seen, and that which cannot be seen. And as another reason for considering this, lightning is known from the Old Testament to be considered the “fire of God,” such as in Job 1:16. Therefore, like the storm which issues forth both wind and fire from God, the angels are likened to the wind and fire of the storm, being directed by God. Whichever way one looks at them, they are created, they are directed by another, and they accomplish the purposes of God for Him. In contrast to this will be the next verse.

Life application: At times, it is hard to determine if a word which has two meanings – such as the Hebrew ruakh which means both “spirit” and “wind” – is speaking of one or the other. And so, these differences normally come down to looking at the rest of Scripture to find out what is on the author’s mind. If a suitable analogy can be made, then the translation which carries that analogy should be used. If not, then it is up to translator’s preference as to which meaning he assigns. In the end, the only way to evaluate these things is to know the rest of Scripture. Be sure to read your Bible daily. The more you do, the more you will be able to call to mind the many thoughts which surround individual concepts. Read your Bible.

Gracious and merciful God, Your word says that You send forth Your angels for various purposes. At times, they are sent out for destruction, and at times they are sent out as ministering spirits for Your people. We would pray that You would watch over us in mercy, send Your angels to care for us and to form a wall of protection around us from the entities of evil which are also there, working to bring us harm. Thank You, O God, for hearing our prayer and responding according to Your wisdom and care of us. Amen.

Monday, 6 August 2018

But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6

The words of this verse are incorrectly translated by some versions by saying something like, “And again, when he brings in the first-begotten into the world…” In the Greek, the word “brings” is tied to “again.” It is not a supplementary statement to the previous verse. Rather it is a new thought referring to a new point in time. In the previous verse, it spoke of Christ’s first advent (Today I have begotten You). That was when He “by Himself purged our sins” (verse 3). Now it is speaking of a second event.

“But when He again brings the firstborn into the world,” speaks of that event. The Firstborn is Christ. He is termed this several times in the New Testament, such as Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:15, 18, and Revelation 1:5. The words, “He again brings” Him “into the world,” is a grammatical tool where the “event is conceived as occurring at an indefinite time in the future, but is viewed as complete” (Vincent’s Word Studies). There is a time which is set, and which God spoke of as accomplished, though it is yet future. It is where the cited Scripture would apply directly to Christ’s second coming. It is stated by the author as, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Here he does not cite the Hebrew version of the Scriptures, but the Greek translation of it. It is cited in Deuteronomy 32:43 and again substantially in Psalm 97:7. The Greek translation of the Old Testament is what the author consistently uses for his Old Testament citations.

It is true that the angels of God had recognized Christ’s works after they were completed. 1 Timothy 3:16 says that He was “seen by angels.” However, the culmination of Christ’s great redemptive work lies yet ahead at His second coming. It is a time when the fulfillment of this Scripture will be then realized.

It should be noted that in citing Psalm 97:7, it is another of the countless references to the deity of Christ. There, it is applied to the Lord (Yehovah) of the Old Testament. In Hebrews, it is applied directly to Jesus. It is an implicit reference, then, to Christ being the Lord (Yehovah) of the Old. Such is the reason for the inclusion of this. It demonstrates, unequivocally, that Jesus is “greater than” the angels.

Life application: As the angels were created by God, and as the angels will worship Jesus, it is rather obvious that Jesus is God. The particular wording of this verse, and many others, further solidifies this point. If you have called out to Jesus, but not as Lord (meaning God), you have called out to a false Jesus. Jesus is God. This is the message which is seen time and again as we wind our way through Scripture.

Lord God Almighty! Great and glorious are You. You have set the earth in its place as the center of Your attention. And You have placed the earth here as a dwelling for man. Everything is set with this in mind. And then, after the focus of Your attention – we humans – rebelled, You were still willing to send Christ Jesus to redeem us. What is the value of man? If You sent Jesus to bring us back to You, we must have great value. Help us to recognize this, and live lives worthy of that state. To Your glory we pray. Amen.

Sunday, 5 August 2018

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”? Hebrews 1:5

The author now goes from his statement that Christ is “so much better than the angels” to a demonstration of this by asking rhetorical questions. He begins with “For to which of the angels did He ever say.” This is speaking of God making a statement about angels. Did God ever say to one of the angels, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You?” The answer is obvious, “None.” Angels are a part of creation. If they were not, then they would be God. As there is only one God, they are created beings.

The quote is from Psalm 2:7. The words, “You are my Son,” place “Son” in the emphatic position. It is true that angels are termed the “sons of God” in Job 1:6, but this is a collective term. Likewise, Israel is called God’s son as a collective in Exodus 4:22. However, at no time is an angel called, “The Son of God.” A distinction is being made in the use of the singular. But Christ is termed a Son, not merely by calling, but because He is begotten of the Father. It was on a particular day, “Today,” that Christ was acknowledged as such. As noted in the previous verse, it was “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” With His earthly mission complete, the truth of the Sonship was validated. Israel had rejected their king; God had confirmed His Son.

With this unique relationship established, and which excludes anyone else (including angels), the author again turns to Scripture to confirm the analysis by asking his second question. It is based on the same main question as the first, “For to which of the angels did He ever say.” And the question’s proposal is –

“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son.”

The answer is again, “None.” The quote is derived from 2 Samuel 7:14 (and repeated in 1 Chronicles 17:13 & 22:10), as it is contained in the Greek translation (the Septuagint). Initially, these words were applied to Solomon, but the nature of them led the Jewish nation to understand that they were, like the words of the 2^nd Psalm, to be taken in a messianic tone. The words speak of a father in relation to a natural son who issues from him. Solomon was born of David, a king. Likewise, Christ is born from this same line of promise. Each king that issued from David might have been the Messiah, however, only one would be able to claim that role through an eternal, indestructible life. Only Christ meets that qualification. And yet further, Christ is born of the King of the universe. Thus the idea is extended not only to Christ’s messiahship over the Davidic throne, but to the kingship of Christ over all of Creation, including the angels.

It should be noted that both verses used for this line of argumentation have literal, human, fulfillments of them. And so it is easy for some to dismiss these arguments in favor of them speaking of Christ as unreasonably applied to Him. However, the expectation of these passages was, and even today is, that of a messianic fulfillment of them among the Jewish people. This was, like countless other passages of Scripture, the intended use of them all along. There are literal fulfillments of passages in people found in the Old Testament, and then there are the intended reasons for including those passages in Scripture, which is a greater fulfillment in Messiah. This is what is the case with these.

Life application: If you are reading Scripture and come across a passage which seems difficult to understand why God would even bother placing it in the Bible, it is a good clue to you that He is trying to get you to see a pattern, parallel, or picture of Christ in it. In the end, all Scripture given to Israel was for the purpose of them seeing their coming Messiah (John 5:39).

Lord God, it’s hard to understand how people can read the pages of the Old Testament and not see Christ Jesus on every page, and indeed in every word. You have carefully, meticulously, and methodically placed passages in Your word to show Him to us in a thousand varied ways. Studying the Bible from this perspective reveals Him again, and again, and again. Thank You for the sure faith we possess. It is grounded in thousands of years of carefully laid out types and pictures! Hallelujah for this! Amen.

Saturday, 4 August 2018

…having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:4

The author now introduces the first of many “greater thans” that will be seen, either explicitly or implicitly, in the book. This one is Christ in comparison to the angels. The word translated as “better than” is kreittón, and it signifies that which is stronger or more excellent. It is in the comparative form and so it expresses “what is better because more fully developed, i.e. in reaching the needed dominion (mastery, dominance); ‘better’ after exerting the power needed to ‘plant down God’s flag of victory” (HELPS Word Studies).

This is now applied to Christ as He has “become so much better than the angels.” What seems peculiar is the abrupt nature of suddenly introducing angels here. The author was speaking of Christ, and all of a sudden He notes Christ’s superiority to angels. It is possible that the letter is written in response to a request concerning Christ’s nature, and he is simply and clearly answering each question. Or it could be that a note of introduction was given with the letter which was not included as a part of the epistle. Either way, the obvious connection to a Jewish audience is seen right here with the comparison.

Angels are noted throughout the Old Testament in many prominent ways. They were considered to have great power and authority, but – without any delay – the author shows the supremacy of Christ over these greatest of heavenly beings after God Himself. Understanding this, the words, “having become so much better,” are not speaking of a development in Christ that was actually lacking. Rather, the words are tied to the thought of having “sat down” after the purification of sins mentioned in the previous verse. The exaltation of Christ was conditioned upon his having fulfilled the human aspects of His ministry. It is what is referred to in the 8^th Psalm –

“For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:5

The lower state of Christ’s humanity is then contrasted with His exaltation. It is not that Christ was essentially lower than the angels in His being at any point, but that His work had to be accomplished in His human state before He was known to truly be the Son of God. This is what the author is now emphasizing. In the accomplishment of this work in and among humanity, He was shown to be “better than the angels,” meaning superior. In this proof, “He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

An inheritance is something which is bestowed upon an heir. Christ claimed to be the Son of God, a title which granted Him all the rights and inheritance of the Father. In the successful completion of His task of redeeming man through the purification of sin, He showed forth His right to that inheritance, being truly the Son of God. If He were merely a man, He would have inherited sin through His father. Upon His attempt to purify sin (meaning a substitutionary atoning death), He would have died and remained dead. The wages of sin is death; having inherited sin would mean He too would remain dead. Only the sinless Son of God could go on forever without the permanent effect of death. This explains the dumbfounded question of the Jews when speaking to Jesus –

“We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” John 12:34

The anticipated Messiah (Christ) was expected to live forever. But Jesus, who claimed to be this Messiah, said that He would die. It made no sense to them. But they had missed the connection between His humanity and His deity. As a Son of Mary, He is fully human. As the Son of God, He is deity. In both states He was, and remains, sinless. When He died, it was not for His own sin, but for the sin of others. Thus, in His resurrection to eternal life, He “has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” No angel could ever claim to be the Son of God in the way that Christ is THE SON OF GOD. The full inheritance of the Father belongs to Him, and it is His name which is thus more excellent than theirs. This is what Paul spoke of in Philippians 2 –

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

Paul explained Jesus’ work, and then he cited Isaiah 45:23 where the Lord (Yehovah) stated that to Him every knee would bow. Paul directly equated Christ Jesus, upon the completion of His work, to Yehovah the Lord. Everything tied up in the name I AM THAT I AM belongs to Jesus. To understand that glorious and exalted name, this sermon is a must; click here.

Life application: Jesus Christ is the Lord (Yehovah) incarnate. No other being is superior to Him as He sits at His place within the Godhead. What Jesus have you called on? There is the true Christ, and there are antichrists. The true Christ is the One described in the Bible. He is very God of very God. To deny this is to deny Christ. To deny Christ is to be condemned. Call on Christ Jesus the Lord and be saved. All beings, even all of the heavenly host, shall bow before Him.

Heavenly Father, the one inescapable truth of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Any other view is a false Jesus and a false gospel. As the Son of God, He has obtained the full inheritance granted to Him, and so we honor You by honoring Him. Praises to You, O God, for what You have done in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.