The Epistle [of Paul] to the
HEBREWS
The supremacy of the Son
1
1 God, having spoken to the fathers through the prophets in many parts and in various ways, in the past, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by Son,* I take it that ‘Son’ is being used like a proper name (there is no definite article with it). The Son is the ultimate revelation to us of who God is and what He is like. whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ages;† That is what the Text says, although most versions render ‘worlds’, which seems to make better sense, at least at first glance. But let us stop and think a minute—since God is eternal, the concept of ‘time’ may be part and parcel of this Creation, limited to it and perhaps be a defining characteristic, along with space. But ‘ages’ is plural, and how does one distinguish one age from another? Presumably by the events of history—in other words, the Son controls the history of this planet. 3 who being the projection of His glory and the very image of His essence, and sustaining all things by the expression of His[S]‡ Here the pronoun refers to the Son; the previous occurrences refer to the Father. Below, whenever the referent changes I will indicate this by [F] or [S], which will be good until the next change. own power,§ Why do not molecules, with their opposing electrical charges, burst apart? The Creator holds them together—the Son was not only the primary agent in the Creation, He is also the maintainer and redeemer. when He had by Himself* Perhaps 6% of the Greek manuscripts omit “by Himself” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). provided purification for our† Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “our” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). sins‡ Just as the Son paid the price for our salvation “by Himself”, for those who reject or make light of that terrible price He will Himself tread ‘the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God’ (Revelation 19:15). It is not wise to presume upon God's grace. He sat down on the highest Majesty's right,§ “He sat down”—evidently He had the right to do this, and no one challenged Him. 4 having become so much superior to the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they have.
He is superior to the angels
5 For to which of the angels did He[F] ever say,
“You are my Son,
today I begot you,”* See Psalm 2:7.
and again,
“I will be ‘Father’ to Him,
and He will be ‘Son’ to me?”† See 2 Samuel 7:14.
6 Again, when He introduces the Firstborn‡ In Hebrew culture the firstborn son usually inherited the lion's share of the father's estate (so as not to splinter the estate) and was thus the boss, so the expression ‘firstborn’ took on the extended meaning of ‘preeminent’, which I take to be the intended meaning here. But as the God-man Christ was both only-begotten and firstborn. into the inhabited earth§ I assume that this must have happened at the incarnation of the Son. He says,
“Let all God's angels worship Him[S].”* See Psalm 97:7.
7 Further, about the angels He[F] says,
“Who makes His angels winds,† The Greek word here also means ‘spirits’, but ‘winds’ fits the Hebrew parallelism better.
His servants flames of fire”;‡ See Psalm 104:4.
8 while to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;§ The author is saying that the Father declares this to the Son. If the Father declares something, that is the way it is.
‘Scepter of Uprightness’* I take ‘Scepter of Uprightness’ to be a proper name (like the sword ‘Excalibur’). 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 exultation beyond Your companions.Ӡ See Psalm 45:6-7.
10 Also:
“You, Lord,‡ The quote is from Psalm 102:25-27, and in that context it is Jehovah who is being addressed, Jehovah the Son. This is one of several passages in the New Testament that contradict the heresy of the ‘Jehovah's Witnesses’ and Mormons that denies that Jesus Christ is Jehovah. From this passage, and a few others, we may understand that the Son was the primary agent in the creation of our planet. in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are works of Your hands;
11 they will perish but You continue on
—they will all grow old like a garment;
12 You will roll them up like a cloak and they will be changed,
while You stay the same and Your years will never end.”
13 On the other hand, to which of the angels did He ever say,
“Sit on my right until I place your enemies
as a stool under your feet”?§ See Psalm 110:1. In Matthew 22:44 Jesus Himself makes use of this verse.
14 Are they not all ministering spirits being sent* This participle being in the present tense, I take it that this is an ongoing activity. So who will ‘inherit salvation’? True believers, and if we are among them, then we have angels serving us. I submit that we probably have a lot to learn about how to best take advantage of that service. to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

*1:2 I take it that ‘Son’ is being used like a proper name (there is no definite article with it). The Son is the ultimate revelation to us of who God is and what He is like.

†1:2 That is what the Text says, although most versions render ‘worlds’, which seems to make better sense, at least at first glance. But let us stop and think a minute—since God is eternal, the concept of ‘time’ may be part and parcel of this Creation, limited to it and perhaps be a defining characteristic, along with space. But ‘ages’ is plural, and how does one distinguish one age from another? Presumably by the events of history—in other words, the Son controls the history of this planet.

‡1:3 Here the pronoun refers to the Son; the previous occurrences refer to the Father. Below, whenever the referent changes I will indicate this by [F] or [S], which will be good until the next change.

§1:3 Why do not molecules, with their opposing electrical charges, burst apart? The Creator holds them together—the Son was not only the primary agent in the Creation, He is also the maintainer and redeemer.

*1:3 Perhaps 6% of the Greek manuscripts omit “by Himself” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).

†1:3 Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “our” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).

‡1:3 Just as the Son paid the price for our salvation “by Himself”, for those who reject or make light of that terrible price He will Himself tread ‘the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God’ (Revelation 19:15). It is not wise to presume upon God's grace.

§1:3 “He sat down”—evidently He had the right to do this, and no one challenged Him.

*1:5 See Psalm 2:7.

†1:5 See 2 Samuel 7:14.

‡1:6 In Hebrew culture the firstborn son usually inherited the lion's share of the father's estate (so as not to splinter the estate) and was thus the boss, so the expression ‘firstborn’ took on the extended meaning of ‘preeminent’, which I take to be the intended meaning here. But as the God-man Christ was both only-begotten and firstborn.

§1:6 I assume that this must have happened at the incarnation of the Son.

*1:6 See Psalm 97:7.

†1:7 The Greek word here also means ‘spirits’, but ‘winds’ fits the Hebrew parallelism better.

‡1:7 See Psalm 104:4.

§1:8 The author is saying that the Father declares this to the Son. If the Father declares something, that is the way it is.

*1:8 I take ‘Scepter of Uprightness’ to be a proper name (like the sword ‘Excalibur’).

†1:9 See Psalm 45:6-7.

‡1:10 The quote is from Psalm 102:25-27, and in that context it is Jehovah who is being addressed, Jehovah the Son. This is one of several passages in the New Testament that contradict the heresy of the ‘Jehovah's Witnesses’ and Mormons that denies that Jesus Christ is Jehovah. From this passage, and a few others, we may understand that the Son was the primary agent in the creation of our planet.

§1:13 See Psalm 110:1. In Matthew 22:44 Jesus Himself makes use of this verse.

*1:14 This participle being in the present tense, I take it that this is an ongoing activity. So who will ‘inherit salvation’? True believers, and if we are among them, then we have angels serving us. I submit that we probably have a lot to learn about how to best take advantage of that service.

© 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD