Christ -The Only Begotten - Exalted and Entrhoned

LR Renteria Jr

Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Hebrews 1:5–14

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The Son, the King, the Judge- Our Salvation

Read Hebrews 1:1-4 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

Introduction

Jesus the Messiah has many expressions and is revealed in manifold ways through the ages. Last week we began reflecting on the Jews’ perspective of the kingdom. Beginning as a nation under God’s kingship they wanted a regime like the surrounding nations. Later in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry under Roman occupation they had a slavish mindset. This nation had gone full circle, Ruled by Egypt, delivered by God through Moses, inheriting the earthly promise of Abraham (the land of Canaan), and eventually the Davidic kingdom, in which God made covenant with, fulfilling what He intended through Israel. The line of the Messiah was scripted by God and in the fulness of time. At first glance, one would hardly believe all this is within the writings of the Old Testament.

Genesis 3:15 ESV “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

This substantiates good cause to learn more how to preach the Gospel from the Old Testament. The correlatives speak for themselves.

The writer of Hebrews possesses profound insight. Its anonymity does not hinder the greater message of the superiority of Christ over Jewish emblems within their law and tradition. He doesn’t simply say Jesus is better than the angels, the law and ceremony, Moses, Aaron the high priest, king David ad infinitum

We must also remember the citations in Hebrews are from the Septuagint which is interesting. I would further note the recipients being Jewish may have been predominantly Hellenistic Jews (Greek ethnically, Jewish by religious affiliation

Our text presents Christ (the Messiah) in this beginning preamble and exposition, 1:1-4 Jesus’ ascension into exaltation, return into the heavenlies, enthroned and as the ultimate judge and expression of righteousness. The subject matter warrants a lengthy study. My aim is to present the salient points and whet your appetite. Together this writing with our discussion I pray will tempt you to pursue Hebrews as your own devotional endeavor.

To begin with the rest of chapter 1 after the preamble verses 1- 4 the writer expounds the generalities,

1. today how God speaks to us (by way of the Son),

2. the glory Christ expresses being the representation of the Father,

3. Christ fulfilment of propitiation

4. Christ Exalted and enthroned

5 being superior to all the heavenly host

6 with an inheritance that excels all others.

This is a mouthful in itself. I recommend as we proceed to continue digestion of bigger portions so when we come together the details are elucidated in the context of your meditation. (Questions)

We will read The passage Hebrews 1:5-14 “For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.””

Hebrews 1:5-14 Passage Structure

Our text rhetorically begins after the assertion …the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs...

Like stepping stones we should follow

vv 5 and 6 Or again - and again synthetic parallelism

vv 7 and 8 Of the angels he says, But of the Son he says,

contrasting parallelism -antithetic?

vv 10 and 14 And, - And to which… synthetic parallelism

It has a chiastic structure the beginning , v. 5 to which of the angels, the end -And to which of the angels

verses 8 and 9 together form a parallel constituting the primary thought.

Chiasm

In a chiasm a list of items, ideas, or events is structured in such a manner that the first item parallels the last item, the second item parallels the next to the last item, and so forth.

J. Scott Duvall; J. Daniel Hays

Chiasm is so named after the Greek letter chi which resembles the English X. Chiasm is a thematic “crisscrossing” between adjacent lines of poetry, sometimes occurring in extended passages of prose literature.

Andreas J. Köstenberger

This morning we will embark on verses 5- 9 of our chapter looking at the characteristics of Christ

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

The connective ‘for to which’ is the other half of the thought that contrasts the superiority of Christ over the angels with His kingship. Angels have also been rendered ‘elohim’ which warrants definitive interpretation, based on usage and context. The word in the Hebrew in some cases is translated ‘gods’ as well of ‘sons of God’ and simply God meaning God. Reflective of God this is a reference to Yahweh as the ruling or strong one.

Hebrews 1:5a ESV

“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?

v. 5 Begotten in this passage is not a progenitor term in the human sense but relational. The Father begets the Son to honor and dignity, in the sense of royalty. This is the result of Christ’s conquest of sin and death with resurrection being the power of exhibiting life divine/ supernaturally Acts 13:33 “this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’” Also see

Romans 1:4 “and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

‘Or again’

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

This citation is from 2 Samuel 7:14

Herein is our covenantal statement. Jesus as a human descendant fulfills the Davidic covenant. He is the actual fulfillment of the forever statement of God to David

Let’s glance at 2 Samuel 7:14-16

2 Samuel 7:14–16 ESV

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

This portion of our text is for Christ and Christ alone. It is incited by the Davidic Covenant but God goes from David in the the earthly realm with the kingdom of Israel and reveals how through Christ this kingdom is ushered into the heavenlies. This is just a touch but makes the connection that we are not deluded. This transition is prophetic, from earthly and existential to celestial and transcendent..

“...it is clear that neither Solomon nor any other king in the Davidic line completely fulfilled this Psalm. When it became apparent that none of the kings of the Davidic line was capable of fulfilling this prophecy due to their increasing moral and spiritual failure,...postexilic and Second Temple Judaism transferred their fulfillment to the future Messiah who would arise from David’s line. It is thus apparent that our author’s application of Psalm 2 to Jesus as the Messiah is prefigured in the Jewish exegetical tradition.”

Allen, D. L. (2010). Hebrews (p. 171). B & H Publishing Group.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:6a)

“...when he brings the firstborn into the world,”

Firstborn is a concept that has implications streaming from the Old Testament into the New Testament. Like most of what we are dealing with in this epistle Jesus brings it to fulfillment. We will study this further in later references. For now here is a general New Testament usage of the term firstborn.

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (II. New Testament)

“Jesus is frequently described as firstborn: exalted and glorified, enjoying a special relationship with God.”

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:6b)

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

How does this reflect Christ? There are unique implications in this assertion.

A. Angels are not objects of worship nor veneration. We can commend them for kindness, protection, and messengers.

B. Jesus is our true Lord and it is incumbent on all creation to worship Him, most importantly the angels.

C. This is a command from the original text

English Standard Version (Psalm 97:7b)

worship him, all you gods!

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Elohim

ELOHIM (אֱלֹהִים, elohim). A masculine plural form of El (אֵל, el). Lexically, this word has several meanings; in Scripture, it typically means “God” or “gods” and also refers to Yahweh (יהוה, yhwh), the God of Israel.

Elohim (gods) can also mean rulers, judges, sons of god, Divine council, and so forth. This is inexhaustible and it is more fruitful to understand first how this is a unique name of God signifying the tri-unity of God throughout the Genesis narrative of creation in chapters 1 and 2.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:7 a)

“...He makes his angels winds,

and his ministers a flame of fire.”

What do these represent?

I believe living - celestial instruments of God’s righteousness.

Hebrews is an iconic treasury of the image of the exalted Christ. We are scraping the surface of His kernel role. However, we have yet to see function and practicality in other aspects. These are reflective of the angels.

Is hierarchy present in this illustration of God’s heavenly Host.? Psalm 33:6

Psalm 33:6 ESV

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Verses 8 and 9 should be taken as a composition- Let’s follow the slides and recite together.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:8-9)

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.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”Also see Psalm 45 in which this text is a direct quote.

We see God enthrones the Son authenticating His royalty. This goes back to our 2 Samuel 7:14 citation.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:9b)

the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

The scepter is a figurative equivalent of a rod. However, this is an instrument of royalty in which the King exercises rule by edict, decree and judgement. It denotes empowerment. In my perception this is a contrast to the rod of the shepherd in Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:4b (ESV)

“...your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.”

The shepherds rod and staff are guiding and instructive hence a comfort. The scepter here in Hebrews is declarative and corrective hence judgement with consequence. This is just a personal note but based on the blessing of Jacob upon Judah on his deathbed

English Standard Version (Genesis 49:10)

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Verse 9 of Hebrews 1 brings into the very essence of all the dignity and capacity of the ruling Son.

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:9a)

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

This is the very character of God as expressed through the Son. The heart of God is clear here the verse in Micah in which is impressed upon the elect and all humanity will likewise be judged.

English Standard Version Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Hebrews 1:9b… God, your God.

This expression validates the exalted Christ is the same earthly Jesus the Christ. Jesus who prayed to the Father particularly Matthew 11:25

Matthew 11:25 ESV

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

and Luke 22:42

Luke 22:42 ESV

saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

English Standard Version (Chapter 1:9b )

“has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Also see Isaiah 61:1-3

The oil of gladness is simply the eternal joy of the Son which can also be rendered ‘the oil which is gladness.’

On this final note we can indulge the righteousness of God having its expression in judgement which is joyous. This is one reason I believe we have difficulty with end time scenarios. We neglect this heavenly perspective of Jesus which intends ultimate joy and bliss. This likewise another sentiment that transcends our human rationale.