2:14-15. Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Unlike angels, which are pure spirit and therefore cannot die, God created man with both a spiritual and a physical nature. Our bodies are not, as some people teach, merely a house in which our spirit lives (“man is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body”), but rather an integral part of who we are. Each of us is one person who is spirit, soul and body, just as God is one God who is Father, Son and Spirit. That our bodies are an essential part of our nature is evidenced by the fact that at the end of time God will raise and transform them, and reunite them with our spirit/souls.

It is because our bodies are essential to our humanity that the Son of God had to come in a body. Had we been only spirits living in bodies, it would not have been necessary for Christ to take on a human body in order to identify with us. As an illustration, consider this: all people live in houses of one kind or another. Yet it was not necessary that Christ live in a house. He could have spent His life in the desert, sleeping under the stars, and still have been fully our Saviour. Although people live in houses, they are not essential to our nature, so Christ did not have to live in a house in order to identify with us. Our bodies, however, are essential to us, and He could not identify with us without taking on a human body.

It is our three-part nature that makes death possible. To understand this, we need to understand what death is. It is not non-existence. On the property where I live, there is a large dead tree. It is not non-existent. It is there – I can see it and touch it. On sunny days it casts a shadow, on rainy days it gets wet, and on windy days it sways back and forth. Over time, more and more branches are breaking off from it. One day, the whole tree will topple over, and eventually it will decay and disappear into the ground. When that happens, it will no longer be a dead tree – it will be part of the soil. As long as it is a dead tree, it still exists – but it cannot carry out any of the functions it had while it was a living tree.

So we see that death means to be existing but non-functional. When we are physically dead, the person still exists but his body cannot carry out the functions of a living body. We can also be “spiritually dead”, meaning our spirit cannot carry out its function of communication with God; or “emotionally dead”, as in a breakdown, when our emotions are incapable of carrying out their function of responding to our surroundings. All of this is possible because we are three-part beings – spirit, soul and body – so that we as a total being continue to exist even when part of us is not functioning.

For pure spirit beings, such as angels, there can be no death. If an angel could cease to function as an angel, it would cease to exist. (The devil and his minions are still angels, but their angelic functions are turned to the service of self rather than the service of God.) Therefore, no angel could have taken on the role of Saviour, because no angel could have died for our sin. For the same reason, Jesus did not come as an angel, but as a man, with the same death-capable physical body as every other human being.

that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil

In the garden, God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. By deceiving them into eating from that tree, the devil brought death upon them. They immediately died spiritually – their spirits were no longer capable of communication with God, as evidenced by the fact that they hid from Him, rather than looking for what had been, up until then, sweet communion. They also immediately began to die physically. The life-force which, if they had remained obedient, would have kept their bodies in perfect health and wholeness, was cut off from its source in God.

More than that, the devil’s deception – and Adam and Eve’s sinful acceptance of it – brought death on all mankind. They no longer had spiritual life, therefore they could not pass on spiritual life to their children; and they now had limited physical life, so could pass on limited physical life. Every child born from then on came into the world spiritually dead and physically dying.

Even beyond that, the position which the devil gained as the result of Adam and Eve handing their dominion of the world over to him gave him the power to bring death in a multitude of lesser ways. Through sin he had the power to bring death to relationships, death to dreams, emotional death, financial death. Every area in which man does not enjoy the fullness that God originally intended for us is an area of minor death, and results from either our own sin, the sin of others or the corporate sin of mankind.

Christ destroyed the devil not by annihilating him, but by stripping him of his power. Colossians 2:15 tells us that He disarmed principalities and powers, making open show of them through the Cross. By reversing the choices made by our first parents, Christ took back the dominion of the earth. By paying the death penalty for every person, He made it possible for life to be restored – spiritual life first, and ultimately physical life. He also made it possible for all the minor deaths in our experience to be replaced with His life. The devil’s power to bring death has once and for all been broken.

and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Christ’s victory would be meaningless if it could not be applied to the human heart. The innate knowledge of our own mortality, and the concern – even if unconscious – of what may follow death, lies behind every religious and legalistic bondage known to man. That fear has prompted man, even if unwilling to worship the true God, to create gods for himself. It has driven him to superstition and all kinds of occultic practices. Even in the worship of the true God, it has caused him to embrace a legalism that seemed to offer some degree of certainty.

By removing the sentence of death, Christ has removed the fear. By replacing death with His life, He has given us the ability to live in freedom.

2:11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

In talking about the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified, the writer is referring back to the previous verse, “in bringing many sons to glory.” This embraces both the original meaning of the term “sanctify”, to set apart for God, and the derivative meaning, to purify or make holy. It is awesome to think that God can take the fallen, sinful, corrupt and broken race of man, and both set apart for Himself and cleanse and purify both individuals and a corporate body, the Church. Yet for Him to do that, he had to become one with man. He had to descend to the level of man in order to raise man back to his standing in the image of God. That could only be accomplished by Christ, who took on humanity in its fullness.

The fact that Christ humbled Himself to become man, and more than that to suffer as man on behalf of man, does not in any way diminish His eternal glory. Those who looked at the man and saw someone lower than the angels (and therefore less worthy of honor) were missing the point. This whole humiliation was for a purpose, that by identifying with us He might bring us to a place of identification with Him.

He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day would cross to the other side of the road rather than be seen even in proximity to one they considered a “sinner.” To allow such a “sinner” to touch them, as did the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair at the house of Simon the Pharisee, was cause for great alarm and dismay. To have identified with them to the point of calling them brothers would have been utterly unthinkable.

Yet Christ, the only one to Whom the term “sinner” could not ultimately be applied, did not share their problems. The very reason He came was to identify with sinners. His purpose was to make them sons of His Father. So, even to those who were not currently in that relationship, He speaks, “calling the things that are not as though they are”, and calls them His brothers.

v12. saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”

The Gospels do not record Jesus as personally speaking this quotation from Psalm 22:22. The Psalm is one of those that clearly refer to the Messiah, and the writer here is taking the fact that the Psalm refers to Messiah as speaking these words to mean that Messiah actually spoke those words, even if it was in His pre-incarnate existence rather than during His earthly life. This is an interesting insight into the level of authority that the Scripture writers attributed to the Word. As far as the writer to Hebrews is concerned, it is not merely the attitudes or principles of the Psalm that are true, but the very exact words, to the extent that they can validly be used to give support to his current argument.

I will declare Your name

In the Bible, a name is far more than just an identifying tag. The name shows – and in some cases even shapes – the character of the person. Thus Abram (the exalted father) becomes Abraham (the father of many), Jacob (the supplanter) becomes Israel (who wrestled with man and God), Simon (the reed) becomes Peter (the rock.) The name also carries the full weight of the authority of the one who bears it.

So when Christ came to declare the name of the Father, He was not just identifying God as YHWH – something they had known for centuries. Rather, He came to reveal the character of YHWH. In Him they saw a side of God that they had never known nor even imagined. We have only to look at the differences between Jesus and the religious leadership of the day to realize how unlike their understanding of God, God really was.

Not only did Christ reveal aspects of God’s character that they had never imagined, He also revealed a name of God that they had never known: Father. They were incensed that Christ should refer to God as His Father, and totally baffled when He talked about men becoming sons of God. Yet it was precisely this relationship that He came to restore, and precisely within the context of this relationship that He could refer to those He redeemed as “brothers.”

Beyond this revelation of God’s character, Christ came in God’s authority. The thing that characterized His ministry, that made Him stand out from the scribes and rabbis of the day, was His authority. The people had never seen such authority and power. Even the stories of Moses and the prophets paled by comparison.

Among the congregation I will sing your praise.

At first glance this part of the quote seems to have no relevance to the writer’s argument, and it could be that it was included simply to complete the thought. Yet when we look at it more closely, we do see a further strengthening of the theme. It is in the midst of the congregation, the people of God assembled together to worship, that Messiah praises the Father. He could well have placed Himself at the front of the congregation, as their leader and priest. That is, after all, His rightful place. Yet He does not assume it, but rather stands in the midst, one of the crowd, identified totally with those around Him.

v13. Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”

This quote is taken from Isaiah 8:17b-18. It was written as Isaiah struggled unsuccessfully to turn the nation back to God. The implication appears to be that what Isaiah, and indeed all of the prophets, could not do, Christ could do by His identification with man. The emphasis changes slightly, for here the redeemed are not Christ’s “brothers” but His “children”, born from the struggle and blood of His death, carrying His spiritual DNA, bound to Him eternally. Why? Because He trusted the Father enough to lay aside all that it meant to be God, and fully enter in to what it meant to be man; trusted the Father sufficiently to enter into a place from which He could not by Himself return, unless the Father was with Him; trusted the Father to the point where He could not even produce His own results (children) but was dependent upon the Father to give them to Him.

2:10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Those who serve as officers in the armed forces, if they behave in a manner that brings discredit on the force, may find themselves facing charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer.” The understanding is that, the higher the rank, the higher the standard of conduct that is expected, and the more the person concerned is expected to be mindful of the needs and rights of others. There may be some who would argue that trial, torture and death as a common criminal were unbecoming to the One who claimed to be Messiah. After all, the Jews were looking for a political savior, one who would come in manifest victory and sweep away the hated Roman rule once and for all, and establish His earthly throne in Jerusalem.

In response to such arguments, the writer points out that God’s behavior in sending Christ was totally becoming. To demand that His stated penalty for sin be paid in full was in line with the highest standards of His justice and righteousness. To pay that penalty Himself on man’s behalf was completely consistent with the highest standards of His love and mercy. It was fitting that God do this, for He was the only one who could. That He would do so to restore the Kingdom was totally appropriate to his glory and majesty.

for whom are all things, and through whom are all things

Much as we might like to think otherwise, the universe does not exist for man. God created it for His own pleasure. Even man’s redemption is not just for man’s sake. There is a far greater purpose at stake, the purpose of the Kingdom of God. He is the King of the universe, and His retention of that position is essential to the life, the balance, the very existence of all creation. It was fitting that He do whatever was necessary to restore that position on earth, where it had been violated through sin.

At the same time, as the Creator He is the One by whom all things exist. This includes not only the material things we see around us like trees and hills and animals, but the immaterial things like love, mercy and forgiveness. Without God, these things could not be, and as their source it is only fitting that He make them available to mankind.

in bringing many children to glory

The Gospel is about far more than individuals receiving forgiveness for their sins and being able to go to heaven when they die. It is about the restoration of the glory and honor that God gave to mankind in the creation (see verse 7); restoring man to the place of rulership on earth as God’s sub-regent. To achieve this it was necessary for Christ to become so identified with man that He became representative Man, undoing the sin which had lost the Kingdom and taking a position of rulership. In doing so, He opened the way for others to enter into His victory and also be restored to the position for which God first created man.

to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

The word translated “author” means a supreme leader, and is translated in other places as “prince.” In keeping with the military role of princes in the ancient world, it also has the connotation of one who goes ahead of the army in battle. Christ is a prince, but He came as a warrior to take on the forces of darkness and conquer them. By this, He was able to lead the army of God in victory.

The means of that victory, however, was not what we might expect – and certainly not what the ancient Jews expected. He could only win by losing. Only by laying down His life in obedience, could He undo the disobedience of Adam.

“Make … perfect” does not suggest in any way that there was any moral improvement needed in Christ. There was not a moment of His existence when He was not without sin. He was, is, and always will be morally perfect. Nor could there be any increase in His perfection as God, or in the perfection of His knowledge or ability.

However, a perfect substitute for man could only be one who had walked where man had walked. In order to overcome temptation and enter into the victory of that overcoming, He had to truly experience temptation. It was only in the suffering that His identification with man was forged. Through that suffering, He became the perfect substitute – one fully able to represent man, whilst at the same time making those different choices that would undo the effects of man’s rebellion.

2:5 For he didn’t subject the world to come, of which we speak, to angels.

Having completed his detour into the consequences of neglecting the truths which he is teaching, the writer now returns to his previous argument, that in every way Christ is vastly superior to the angels. Previously he has presented Christ as the rightful King, now he turns to the other side of that truth. A king is still king, regardless of whether or not his subjects are truly in subjection to him. However, the time is coming when all will acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, and bow the knee before Him. (Philippians 2:9-11)

God has not done this for any angel. There has never been a time when God has made man subject to the rule of angels. Even though, through the fall, man effectively handed the rule of earth over to a fallen angel, satan, this was never God’s purpose.

the world to come

Many commentators see this as referring to the Church, but surely the Church is only the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s plans. He tolerates insubordination in the world at the present time, waiting for the full number of those who will willingly submit their lives to Christ to come in; but the time is coming when the choices will be final, and the rebellious will be driven out from His presence.

v. 6But one has somewhere testified, saying,

“What is man, that you think of him?

Or the son of man, that you care for him?

7 You made him a little lower than the angels.

You crowned him with glory and honor.

8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

Uncomfortable though it seems to us in the western world, trained as we have been to quote our sources carefully, the almost off-handed way in which the writer refers to the source of this quote (“someone”, “somewhere”) was quite common in the ancient world. He expected that his readers, well schooled in the Hebrew Scriptures, would have no difficulty in recognizing the quote, which is from Psalm 8:4-6.

what is man

The Hebrew is much richer at this point than the Greek, and the word used for man means “weak, wretched or miserable” man. As the Psalmist looked at himself and the world around him he recognized his own weak, sinful nature, and that of the rest of mankind, and wondered why a God big enough to create the vastness of the heavens would bother Himself with such a failing and insignificant creature.

You made him a little lower than the angels

The Psalmist then answered his own question: God had regard for man because He had made him a little lower than the angels. The word used for angels in the Hebrew is “elohim”, which may be applied to either God or the angels, and because of this some people have suggested that this verse should be read “You have made him a little lower than God.” However, the writer to the Hebrews clearly translates it as “angels”, and on the principle that we should always interpret Scripture by Scripture, this is how we must understand it.

“A little lower” may mean either lower in position, or lower for a little while. To me, it seems that the two meanings can stand together: in creating man, God gave him a kind of “probationary” status in which, for a period, he would be in a position lower than that of the heavenly beings. This was still an incredibly high position, in rank, in power, and in authority. What’s more, God who knew the end from the beginning knew that it was always His intention to ultimately seat man “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6) from which he would judge the angels. (1 Corinthians 6:3) Clearly it was not God’s intention that man would forever remain in a position lower than that of the angels. He was placed there for a time, to test his obedience and to prepare him for the rulership to come. It is also clear that the angels to whom man was “made a little lower” were the holy angels of God, not the fallen angels, satan and his hordes.

Even in that probationary state, man had been crowned with glory and honor. He was made in God’s likeness, to be just like Him. When the rest of the earthly creation looked at man, they would see something of the glory of God, and they were to honor him as God’s representative, God’s vice-regent, on the earth.

In making man His vice-regent, God placed him over all the earthly creation. He was to subdue the world and rule over it: to make sure that every sentient creature on earth was subject to him, and indeed that even the earth itself obeyed his commands. When Jesus spoke of one with faith being able to cast a mountain into the sea, He was giving a glimpse of the kind of authority and power that was originally given to man. Everything on the planet was to be in subjection to him.

Verse 8b. For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we don’t see all things subjected to him, yet.

Having completed the quote, the writer re-states the final line for emphasis. All means all. There was nothing on the planet that God did not make subject to Adam.

What he doesn’t say, but we need to understand, is that included the serpent. Satan had already fallen and been cast down to earth, where it was God’s intention that he should come under the authority of the man whom He had created to rule in His place.

Unless we understand that, we will not fully understand the great chasm that exists between the first sentence of this verse and the second. God’s intention was that all things should be under man’s feet, but when we look at the world around us, it seems that more often than not all things are on top of man. What happened? Very simply, man failed to take the position of authority he had been given over the fallen angel who had been placed under him. Instead, he listened to satan’s lies and effectively brought the creation into subjection to him. So now, instead of the world being subject to man, it is subject to the devil and the demonic forces. God never intended for the world to be ruled even by the elect angels, yet because of man’s rebellion it came to be ruled by fallen angels!

Verse 9. But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.

But we see Jesus… what a triumphant statement! Man’s rebellion and disobedience was not the end. Satan’s unauthorized rule over the planet was not to continue. God had a plan! Where man had failed, another Man would come who would not fail.

God could not undo what man had done; only man could. Thus it was necessary for another Man to come in the same position as the original man, with the same mandate and the same authority, and to endure the same test. Therefore the One who created the angels became, for a little while, lower in position than them. This was not His natural position, nor was it His eternal position. Rather, it was a temporary, voluntary stepping down in order to lift man up. It seems there were those at the time who considered Christ to be less than the angels, firstly because He was human and secondly because He died. How could a man, whom God’s Word said He had made “a little lower than the angels” be above them? How could One who died be superior to those who could not die? The very ordinariness of Jesus in His earthly life made it difficult for many to accept Who He was.

So the writer quickly points out two things: Firstly, this was for a purpose, the suffering of death. As God, the Son could not suffer death, for God cannot die. Even had He come as an angel, He would not have been able to die. Only as man could He do the one thing most necessary to reconcile man with God. Secondly, we see Him not merely as a man dying on a cross, but crowned with glory and honor. The abasement was only temporary, a necessity to fulfill God’s purposes; the glory will continue forever.

that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.

Just as His humanity was necessary in order for Jesus to be able to identify with mankind, and thus become the sin bearer, His divinity was necessary for the scope of that sacrifice. Had He been only man, even in His sinlessness He would only have been able to die for one other person. One human life is worth one human life. Only because He was God, and therefore infinite, was He able to represent the vast number of people who have lived and will live throughout the history of the world. One infinite life is worth an infinite number of human lives.

His resurrection and glorification are the evidence that salvation has indeed been accomplished for all mankind.

2:2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty

Many people in the first century believed that the Law had been given through the intermediary of angels. However, Scripture makes it clear that it was actually given directly to Moses by YHWH. Therefore it seems unlikely that is what the writer is referring to here, since to do so would not be accurate or truthful. However, God did frequently speak to men through angels, and such communications normally received an immediate response, probably due to the awesome nature of the beings who delivered them. Look, for instance, at Joshua’s reaction (Josh 5:14) or that of Manoah and his wife (Judges 13). To the Hebrew mind, it was quite inconceivable that an angel would speak anything other than the truth, or that his words should be ignored. The message brought by angels was to be received and obeyed.

So, the writer reasons, if the message brought by those whom he has just demonstrated to be inferior to Christ was weighty and binding, then the message brought by Christ Himself should be even more so.

every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty

No-one doubted for a moment that, should they be foolish enough to ignore or disobey a message brought by angels, they would quickly find themselves on the receiving end of a suitable punishment. One had only to look at an angel, only to feel the weight of God’s presence that accompanied him, to know that these words were backed with both authority and power.

verse 3. how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard,

This is the first of the warnings in Hebrews, which become increasingly urgent as the book progresses. It might be that some, having seen Jesus in the flesh but not in the manifestation of His glory, did not consider Him to be particularly impressive, and therefore gave less weight to His words than they should. Yet, as the writer has already pointed out, they would have been quick to give obedience to a word brought by angels, and he has clearly demonstrated that Christ is far greater than any angel. How shall we escape? If judgment followed with certainty any transgression of the directions given by angels, surely a greater judgment awaits those who transgress against the teachings of Christ. Where would such a person go? Those who find it impossible to keep the Law (which is everybody) find the refuge of grace in Christ, but if we neglect grace, what is left? Is there any corner of the universe where such a person could hide?

so great a salvation

So great, because it is given freely from the hand of God to those who are totally incapable of earning or deserving it. So great, because to purchase it God the Son had to lay aside His glory and all the prerogatives of divinity, allow Himself to be confined within the limitations of a human body, live in a world putrid with sin and finally suffer injustice, mockery, beating and crucifixion at the the hands of people whom He had created. It has been said that the value of something is the price someone is prepared to pay for it. That being the case, and this being the price, the value of our salvation is inestimable. So great, because it covers every human being from Adam to the last man on earth. So great, because it deals with every sin from the most trivial peccadillo to the most horrific enormity. So great, because it brings us not only forgiveness but justification, restoration, adoption and sanctification. So great, because it brings freedom not only for man’s spirit, but for his emotions, his mind, his will, his body.

Do we stop to think of the greatness of our salvation? To consider the magnitude of its cost? To ponder the extent of its reach in our lives? Is it possible that, in neglecting to thus consider it, we are in danger of neglecting the salvation itself?

which at the first having been spoken through the Lord,

Again, the writer emphasizes Who it was that spoke. This message was not brought by prophets or angels, but by the Lord. Interestingly he does not call Him, Jesus, referring to the human man; nor Christ, referring to the Messiah, but Lord. This is the same One Who is seated at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. The emphasis is on His authority, and thus the authority of the words He spoke.

was confirmed to us by those who heard,

The apostles were not the originators of the message. They had received it from the Lord, and faithfully carried it to those to whom they ministered, but it was not their message.

verse 4. God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?

God gave ample evidence that the message brought by the apostles was indeed that which had been brought by Christ. The signs and wonders that accompanied the preaching of the Word could clearly have only come from God, and pointed to both the truth of the message and His approval of it being preached.

according to His own will

Just as the words of the apostles were not their own, there power was not from themselves. Whilst those who practice the occult may claim to have power from within themselves (although actually it comes from demonic sources), the servants of God recognized that their power and authority comes from Him, and its purpose is to vindicate His Word, not to glorify them.

2:1 Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.

Long ago when I was in Bible College, one of our lecturers was fond of saying, “If you find a “therefore”, ask what it’s there for!” By this he meant that “therefore” is a linking word, tying together a cause, which has been already stated, with the result or action that is about to be stated. Here, “therefore” refers back both to the fact that God has spoken through His Son (1:2), and that the Son is exalted above both the prophets and the angels. Because of these things, we need to pay earnest attention. It is as if chapter 1 takes the Gospel and puts it in bold capitals, highlighted and heavily underlined, to declare to us “THIS IS IMPORTANT!”

we ought to pay greater attention

There have always been those who hear the word of God preached, but are not seriously moved by what they hear. The Lord told the prophet Ezekiel that many who came to hear him were only treating his words like entertainment, as if he were a singer with a beautiful voice singing love songs (Ezek. 33:30-32) Jesus told the parable of the seed that was sown, some along the path, some in rocky places, some among weeds, and only some in good ground where it would grow. (Matt. 13:1-11). We can be sure that many who heard Jesus preach came only in the hope of seeing miracles, whilst the religious authorities dismissed Him as an unlearned troublemaker. Paul and the other apostles had likewise been dismissed by many.

Yet the writer here is not speaking to those who have not received the word at all, but to believers. Unfortunately, the reality is that believers do not always “give earnest attention” to the truths of the faith. Often it is simply a case of “familiarity breeds contempt.” We have become so used to the truth that we no longer have a sense of the impact of it. Sometimes we have allowed ourselves to become so busy with other things that we have let our attention to the word of God slip. To us, as to the Hebrew Christians of the first century, the writer says, “Wake up. Pay attention. This is important.”

to the things that were heard

Some of those to whom he was writing had actually heard Jesus speak, others had received teaching from the apostles. What was important was not how they heard, but what they heard. They had heard that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Saviour of mankind, who had given His life to pay the price of their sin. They had heard that salvation was a free gift of God’s grace. They had heard that they could not be justified by observing the Law or its rituals, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. These things were – and are – the great foundations of faith, which they were in danger of letting go if they returned to reliance on the rituals of Judaism. How easy it is for us, having come to God by faith and accepted His grace, to then attempt to go on either in the flesh or the Law. How quickly Christians try to return to self-righteousness and legalism.

lest perhaps we drift away.

The verb translated “drift away” gives a picture of water running away through a hole in a bucket. There can be many different holes in our buckets – business and busyness, laziness and tiredness, hurts and disappointments, just to name a few. Not only that, but we have an enemy who is constantly and actively trying to snatch the Word away from us. We need to be vigilant, not just some of the time, but always.

1:13 But which of the angels has he told at any time, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?”

The writer continues to pile up the arguments for Christ’s superiority over the angels, this time quoting from Psalm 110:1. Although the angels, and even satan, have had access to God’s presence (Job 1:6), none of them has ever been invited to sit down at the right hand of God. That honor is accorded to Christ alone. It indicates, firstly, His favor with the Father. The sacrifice of Calvary has been accepted. The Father, who was “well pleased” with the Son at His Baptism and again at His transfiguration, now gives clear and eternal evidence of that good pleasure.

Secondly, it is yet further evidence of the equality of the Son with the Father. Although not clearly stated here, this was not merely a lesser throne set at the right of the Father’s throne. Revelation 3:21 declares plainly that Christ was in fact invited to sit with the Father on His Throne. Surely there can be no greater evidence of the Son’s equality than this.

Thirdly, it speaks of the authority of the Son. He who has been presented to the whole of creation as its rightful king and ruler, now takes up the seat of that rulership. All authority in heaven and on earth is His. (Matt 28:18) He is now positioned to use that authority effectively, and to rule.

Finally, it underscores the fact that the work is finished. Everything that was needed both for the salvation of mankind and for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, was accomplished at Calvary. Just as the Triune God had rested after the work of creation, now the Son rests after the work of redemption.

until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?

The picture is taken partly from the ancient practice of warfare. If a victorious king took his enemies alive, he would cause them to lie down at his feet, and would put his foot on their necks as a sign of their total subjection. The metaphor, however, goes beyond this, for a footstool is permanently in that position, as opposed to a conquered enemy who may yet again stand up, and given the right opportunity may even again rise up against his conqueror. A footstool is forever a footstool; forever under the feet not only of its owner but also of anyone whom He may invite to sit with Him.

It is interesting that the Father says that it is He who will make Christ’s enemies His footstool. Even though Christ has already won the victory, there is an element of bringing things into their rightful place of submission that is still to be accomplished, and that is the work of the Father, not the Son.

1:14 Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Again, the contrast is between the Son, who is the Master, and the angels who are “ministers” – the word means servants. Their function is to serve those who “shall be the heirs of salvation.” Here the writer subtly makes a point: in Christ, even humanity – previously “a little lower than the angels” – has now been made above them, for they are appointed as the servants of mankind on behalf of God, and a servant is always lower than the one he serves.

We must be careful, however, that we do not interpret this as meaning that the angels are there to do our bidding. They answer to God’s commands, not ours, even though their service may be toward us. To use a modern analogy, a school teacher is there to serve the pupils, but he does not take his orders or instructions from the pupils, but from the Principal, the School Board and the governmental department of Education. Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, said “Don’t you know that I could ask My Father and He would give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53). Notice He did not say “I could command twelve legions of angels and they would come”. As man, He did not command angels but humbly asked His Father. We overstep the bounds of our authority when we begin to order the angels around. They are here to serve us, but they respond to the Father’s command, not ours.

1:10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.

This and the next two verses are a quotation from Psalm 102:25-27. This whole Psalm is a prayer to YHWH, as clearly indicated by verse 1, “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to You.” Verse 24, which leads into the beginning of this verse, says, “So I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: your years are throughout all generations.” It is impossible to avoid the fact that the verses quoted here in Hebrews are, in their original, referring to YHWH. This is the strongest possible statement that Christ is God: not merely like God, not merely some form of lesser divinity, but YHWH Himself, the same One that the Hebrews have worshiped for thousands of years. (Next time you get a chance to talk with a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, try these verses on them!)

In the beginning This is the same phrase used in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created … ” and in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word … ” When everything began, Christ already existed. He had no beginning. Again, this underscores His eternal existence, and therefore His divinity.

You … laid the foundation of the earth The writer has already pointed to Christ in verse 2 as the One “by whom He (the Father) made the worlds.” Here He brings the action even closer, with the picture of a master builder laying the foundation of a house. This was not some kind of distant, proxy involvement in the creation. It was “hands on” all the way. What’s more, it was not merely a reworking of what already existed, but a building “from scratch.” In every sense He is the Creator, as truly and as fully as is the Father.

The heavens are the works of Your hands Not only the earth itself, but the whole of the created universe was the result of the creative effort of the Son. This is yet another plank in the author’s presentation of Christ as greater than the angels. The very place of their habitation owes its existence to His work.

Verses 11-12 They will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does.

You will roll them up like a mantle, and they will be changed; but you are the same. Your years won’t fail.”

The emphasis here is on the eternity of the Son, as compared with the limited existence of created things. Both the earth and the heavens have an appearance of being lasting, but the time will come when all those things which seem so solid now will cease to be. Those who see the universe as eternal are wrong: it is temporary, a mere parenthesis in the eternity of God.

but You continue The Son will never cease to be. Not only does He remain, when all else falls apart, but He remains in the present tense: forever the I AM, never the I WAS or the I WILL BE. The contrast again is between that which was created – which had a beginning and therefore will have an end – and the uncreated, and therefore eternal, Son.

they will grow old like a garment … We all understand that after a while our clothing wears thin, and the time comes to throw it out and get something new. When we look around at our world, most will recognize that it is wearing thin. Denuded forests, ravished ore deposits, species passing into extinction, dying reefs, receding ice caps – all around us is the evidence that our world is almost ready to be rolled up and put aside.

The simile of a garment is interesting. We use garments to cover ourselves, but also as a means of expressing our personalities. In the same way, the creation both hides and reveals God. It hides Him by placing something – the material universe – between Him and us, so that we do not see His essence, but His works. Yet, as Paul points out in Romans 1:20, it also reveals Him, demonstrating to man enough of His power and wisdom that those who chose to ignore such revelation are “without excuse.”

There will be a time, however, when the veiled revelation afforded by the material universe will not be enough. A time when God will be seen in His true glory, unshadowed by temporal things. That which half-revealed Him will no longer be relevant, and will be laid aside. In their place will be a new garment, one vastly beyond our imaginings – the new heaven and new earth – through which the full glory of God will shine unhindered.

but you are the same. Your years won’t fail. In Malachi 3:6, God declares, “I am the LORD, I change not.” He is the only thing in the universe that doesn’t. He is not impacted by weather, or erosion, or war, or the fickleness and unfaithfulness of humankind. He is not swayed by honor or derision. He cannot be bowed by pressure or bent by cunning. Alone in a changing, deteriorating universe, He remains constant.

He is not subject to that passage of years that brings degeneration. He is the “ancient of days”, yet always as new as tomorrow.

All this stands in stark contrast to the angels, and clearly shows the absolute superiority of the Son.

1:7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire.”

Having established that Christ is the exact representation of the Father, that He is the co-creator and co-sustainer of the universe, and that He has been established as the rightful monarch and heir of all things, the writer now turns his attention briefly to the angels by quoting this verse from Psalm 104:4.

As we have already seen, the exaltation of angels was a problem both among the Jews and among the Gentiles. Therefore, in establishing the superiority of Christ in every area, the author must show a clear comparison between Him and the angels, and he does that in this verse. He has already made it clear that, even though in the past angels may have been referred to generically as “sons of God”, no angel has ever personally received the specific title, Son. Now he gives the angels another designation: minister, or servant.

The difference between a servant and a son is vast. The son has absolute rights over the entire estate; the servant has only the right to perform the duties assigned to him by the master. The son owns everything; the servant has only what the master gives him. The son rules; the servant obeys. The son has a permanent place in the household, the servant remains only as long as the master has use of him. The son has authority; the servant, even when acting on behalf of the master, has only the authority delegated to him.

More than that, the angels are created, whereas the Son is uncreated. Verse 6 spoke of God bringing His firstbegotten into the world. The Son came forth from the very essence of the Father. The angels, however, He makes to be spirits and flames of fire. Unlike the eternal Son, they had a beginning; they are part of His creation, but the Son is co-creator.

The terms “spirits” (or “winds”) and “flames of fire” speak of two things. Firstly, they show the temporal nature of angels. When thinking about angels, it is easy for man to see them as semi-divine beings, sharing eternity with God. The writer here clearly insists that they are not. Rather, they are transient, as temporary as wind or fire.

Secondly, these words show the control of God over the angels. Just as He controls the wind and the fire, the angels are subject to Him, and can act only according to His directions. Since the Son is in every way equal to the Father, this also means that they can only act according to the directions of the Son.

Thirdly, these words show the swiftness with which the angels move to carryout the wishes of the Godhead. They are not only servants, but willing servants, every ready to respond to a word from the Master.

Without needing to labor the point, these distinctions make the superiority of Christ over the angels abundantly clear.

v.8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. v.9 You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”

These verses from Psalm 45:6-7 were understood by most rabbis to be Messianic. The first thing to note is that they very clearly refer to the Son as God. Whilst some who want to deny the reality of the Trinity have tried to get around it by translating it as “God is Your throne”, most scholars agree that this is not a good translation, either of the original Hebrew of the Psalm, or of the Greek of the Book of Hebrews. The inescapable truth is, the Son is God, equal to the Father in every respect, and therefore in every respect superior to every created being.

Again, the throne speaks of rulership. It is the throne to which Christ as the Son is the rightful heir. And it is not a temporary thing. Every earthly king that ever was reigned for a time, then died, and his throne passed to someone else. The Son, however, will never die again. His throne will never pass into the hands of another. His kingship extends to the end of time and beyond.

The scepter also speaks of authority and rule, but promises that, unlike so many of the natural kings who ruled as despots seeking only their own benefit no matter what corruption was necessary to obtain it, the Son will rule in righteousness. Psalm 125:3 carries the promise that “the scepter of the wicked shall not remain over the land allotted to the righteous.” As we look around at our world today, it may seem that wickedness rules in so many areas: the prevalence of false religions, the upsurge in the occult, the predominance of injustice, the scourge of unnecessary poverty. The promise is that the Son will overthrow that rule of wickedness, and establish the rule of righteousness.

We might think that this was automatic. After all, as God the Son He had always held that position of authority; He had always been ruler of the universe. Yet as man, Christ had earned His position. As one who was fully human, as well as fully divine, He had a free will. If He had not been capable of unrighteousness, His righteousness would have meant nothing. If He had not been capable of sin, the devil would not have wasted his time trying to tempt Him in the wilderness. The world was brought into captivity to sin by one man’s act of willful disobedience. It could only be brought out of that bondage by one man’s willful act of obedience, His genuine choice of righteousness over unrighteousness.

Because He chose rightly, because He chose (loved) righteousness and rejected (hated) iniquity, He received the reward of the Kingdom. Again, the writer gives us the wonderful picture of God the Father anointing God the Son to His royal position. This anointing is a source of great joy to the Son. In chapter 12 verse 2 we are told that it was “for the joy that was set before Him” that Christ endured the cross. That joy includes not only the salvation of all men who will receive Him, but the full restoration of the Kingdom. Both His joy and His anointing are greater than those of any other man, for He alone has walked where no other ,man has walked, He alone has been totally faithful to the very end, He alone has clung to righteousness in spite of every temptation – and every opportunity – to turn to wickedness. Truly the throne is rightfully His, not just because of His eternal position but because of His completed work.

1:6 When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.”

Jesus is referred to as the “first begotten” of God. This is distinct from John 3:16, where He is referred to as the “only begotten Son.” There is a sense in which Jesus is unique, and His relationship with the Father is unique. He alone is the God-Man, with a pre-incarnate existence rooted in eternity. He alone, as God the Son, always was, is, and forever will be totally equal with the Father and the Spirit.

As we saw in verse 5, this unique aspect of Christ’s character and His eternal relationship with the Father is not the focus of the term “begotten” in Hebrews. Rather, it refers to His appointment as the legitimate heir, the One in whose hands the rulership of the Kingdom rightfully belongs.

Here He is the first begotten, suggesting that there are others. This is not necessarily a reference to a time frame, ruling out all who had been born before Jesus, but rather to pre-eminence.

In the culture of the ancient Middle East, the firstborn held a special place in the household. It was he who carried on the family name; he who took the family forward in their common destiny. In the inheritance, the firstborn received the double portion. That is, if there were five brothers, the inheritance would be divided into six portions. Each brother would receive one, and the firstborn would also receive the extra one. This, however, was not for his personal enrichment, but to be administered on behalf of the family. As the firstborn replaced the father as the head of the family, he also took on the responsibility of the family. If a family member was in need, it was the role of the firstborn to help.

Thus, in speaking of Christ as the first begotten, the writer further emphasizes His inheritance as the rightful ruler. He is not just the ruler over the world, but over the family of God. Moreover, there is the understanding that others will also be brought into the relationship of sons of God, since one cannot be “first” if he is the only one. The implications for us who are “in Christ” are awesome, since it means that we are brought into the same relationship with the Father, the same inheritance, and the same place of responsibility.

There is some debate about what is being referred to by “when He brings … into the world.” Was it the time of Jesus’ birth, when we are told that the angels appeared to the shepherds, praising God and proclaiming the birth of Messiah? (Luke 2:9-14) It is possible, but not likely. In this case, the angels were praising God, but not actually worshiping the Christ child.

Some people suggest that “brings” should be linked with “again”, thus making the verse a reference to the second coming of Christ. However, this is also unlikely. The book is primarily about the completed work of Christ, with only the briefest of references to His future return. It would be very strange for the author to introduce it here, at the point where he is laying the foundations. It would also leave room for a suggestion the Christ is not presently worshiped by angels, although He may be at some time in the future – an argument that would undermine the case for the divinity of Christ, at the very point where the author is seeking to strengthen it.

It seems far more likely that the writer is continuing his theme of Christ’s establishment as the legal and legitimate heir. We can almost see the pageant: God the Father has stood before the universe and declared the Son to be the rightful heir and ruler of the Kingdom. He has taken the crown and placed it on the Son’s head. He then takes His hand and leads Him forward, presenting Him to the world as its Sovereign, and at the same time sending forth the proclamation that all present must bow and worship Him.

The quote may be taken from Deuteronomy 32:43 in the Septuagint (an early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures.) The Hebrew Bible, however, renders this verse very differently, and since that is the version most likely to have been used by those to whom this letter is addressed, it seems a rather unlikely use as a proof text.

The other possible source for this quote is Psalm 97:7. This Psalm fits very well with Hebrew’s emphasis on Christ’s enthronement. Beginning, “The Lord reigns!” it goes on to speak of His greatness. The rabbis of the time considered this, and all the Psalms from 93 to 101, to be Messianic. If this is the source for the quote, the word rendered “angels” is particularly interesting. “Elohim” was a generic name for God. It could also be used to refer to angels, rulers and magistrates. In the KJV in this verse, it is translated “gods”. It is the same word used in Psalm 82:6, and used by Jesus when He deflected the Pharisees by saying, “Is it not written in your law, ‘ I said, you are gods’?” (John 10:34).

The use of it here, then, would be very pointed. Those whom man has upheld as being almost equal to God, are commanded to bow before the one who is truly God. The leaders and rulers appointed by man must bow before the one whom God has appointed. Christ is supreme. He is infinitely higher than the angels; His relationship with the Father and His resulting inheritance is better than theirs. He alone is worthy of their worship; and if theirs then also that of all mankind.