His Royal Diadem
EXPECTED KING
“TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU” Jesus has always been deity (cf. John 1:1–18). Therefore, this cannot refer to the essence of His nature, but to His manifestation in time (the incarnation). Some commentators relate it to the resurrection (cf. Rom. 1:3–4).
This is a quote from the Septuagint of 2 Sam. 7:14, which initially referred to Solomon. The author of Hebrews applies it to Jesus. This dual reference is similar to the “virgin birth” prophecy of Isa. 7:14. Both are examples of multi-fulfillment prophecy.
David’s Greater Son
ESTEEMED KING
In Jeremiah 31:9, however, we find a reference to Ephraim being the firstborn of Joseph. Was Ephraim Joseph’s firstborn? No, Manasseh was. Why, then is Ephraim called the firstborn? Because firstborn or first begotten in Scripture does not simply speak of precedence. It can also speak of priority. In this case, even though Ephraim wasn’t born first in precedence, he had priority in blessing.
his supreme Son. The one Greek word behind this expression is prōtotokos [4416, 4758] (supreme, firstborn), a term that does not have to refer back to an actual birth or to priority in time. It may do that (as in Luke 2:7; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), but it can also call attention to dignity or status (as in Rom 8:29; Col 1:15); hence the translation “supreme.” Within families it referred to the place of honor normally given to the oldest son, but in certain cases the honor was transferred to others (from Esau to Jacob, for example).
his supreme Son. The one Greek word behind this expression is prōtotokos [4416, 4758] (supreme, firstborn), a term that does not have to refer back to an actual birth or to priority in time. It may do that (as in Luke 2:7; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), but it can also call attention to dignity or status (as in Rom 8:29; Col 1:15); hence the translation “supreme.” Within families it referred to the place of honor normally given to the oldest son, but in certain cases the honor was transferred to others (from Esau to Jacob, for example).
Heb. 1:6 refers to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus into the inhabited world (oikouménē [3563]). As angels were present at His ascension so will they be at His return and must worship Him then. Christ’s preeminence is cosmic. He is exalted over even the highest order of celestial creatures.
“when he again brings”) is to be preferred. The verb is a subjunctive with a future meaning, “when he brings,” not “when he brought.” Moreover, the words “God said” are more literally, “God says.” The apparent reference, therefore, is not to Christ’s birth in Bethlehem but to something subsequent to that, either his exaltation or (far more likely) his Second Coming.
43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods,
Having just made the point that no angel was ever given the name “Son” (1:4–5), the author is not about to confuse the issue by letting the term “sons of God” stand as a designation for angels. Deuteronomy 32:43 concludes Moses’s final “song … to the assembly of Israel” (Deut 31:30), which the Jewish philosopher Philo called “his hymn of praise in the middle of them all, with every description of harmony and symphony which men and ministering angels hear” (Philo Virtues 73; Yonge 1993:647).
That is, they appear when God has a special assignment for them to do, and when they have completed it, they disappear again—just as wind and fire come one moment and go the next. The angels have no independence; they are only servants.
Having established the superiority of Jesus Christ over angels, representing the most exalted of God’s creatures, the writer presses home his point with further references to the Old Testament
The words Who makes his angels wind, are intended to show a strong contrast between the angels and the Son. Whereas the Son is said to be begotten, they are said to be made. The distinction is not accidental. The angels, as creatures, can function only within the limits for which they were created, that is to carry out the wishes of their Creator.
Both angels (angeloi) and servants (leitourgoi) have a very different function from the Son. Their task is one of service. The Son’s task is one of rule (as verses 8 and 9 show).
It is suggestive that the description of the angels is in terms of the natural world. Winds and fire are best seen as representative of powerful natural agencies, rather than as illustrative of what is insubstantial.
Angels Worship Him
ETERNAL KING
The psalm being quoted is “a lovely poem about the king” (Ps 45:1) written to celebrate a royal wedding. The psalmist addresses the king as “God,” assuring him that “God, your God, has anointed you” (Ps 45:6–7). In Hebrews, the speaker is not the psalmist but God, the same speaker as in the three previous verses (“he said,” 1:5a; “God also said,” 1:5b; “God said,” 1:6; “he says,” 1:7). Moreover, God is not speaking to a human king but to his own Son (as in 1:5a), addressing him this time not as “Son” but as “God” (1:8–9).
He IS God
Your throne, O God. The messianic Son is rightfully also called God, in this case by God the Father. (For other verses where Jesus is called “God,” see John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1; see also note on 1 Cor. 12:4–6.)
In the OT context the PRONOUN is very ambiguous and can refer to God the Father or God the Son. However, in this text it seems that this is one of the strongest affirmations of the deity of Christ found anywhere in the Scriptures (cf. John 1:18; 20:28).
The quotation (Ps. 45:6–7) is from a psalm extolling the Davidic king. Only Jesus, as the Davidic Messiah (the anointed One), truly meets this description, since by reigning at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3, 13) he possesses an eternal kingdom (forever and ever) and reigns in true righteousness (4:15; 7:26–28).
Loves righteousness
The Old Testament frequently emphasizes the idea of righteousness, not only the righteousness of God, but also the need for righteousness on the part of the people. The theme is particularly relevant to the main subject of this epistle. The Son gives no grudging acceptance of a righteous standard. It forms the centre of his affection. It is part of his nature—Thou hast loved righteousness.
In the OT God’s character is described as “just” or “righteous.” The Mesopotamian term itself comes from a river reed which was used as a construction tool to judge the horizontal straightness of walls and fences. God chose the term to be used metaphorically of His own nature. He is the straight edge (ruler) by which all things are evaluated. This concept asserts God’s righteousness as well as His right to judge.
Righteousness is a characteristic of God, freely given to sinful mankind through Christ. It is
1. a decree of God
2. a gift of God
3. an act of Christ
But it is also a process of becoming righteous that must be vigorously and steadfastly pursued, which will one day be consummated at the Second Coming.
ENDURING KING
ENDURING KING
This is a wonderful Messianic Psalm. It combines the royal (vv. 1–3) and priestly (vv. 4–7) aspects of the Messiah
The writer understands God to be the speaker here. In his mind it was legitimate to transfer to the Son what applied to God, since he has already drawn attention to the eternal character of his throne.
He Is LORD
The unique title of Christ is thus connected with God as He is the God of the Covenant (Jehovah, the LORD), the God of Revelation,
Rather the conception of the God of Israel was enlarged; and the revelation of God as Jehovah, the God of the Covenant, the God Who enters into fellowship with man, was found to receive its consummation in the mission of the Son.
This is a wonderful Messianic Psalm. It combines the royal (vv. 1–3) and priestly (vv. 4–7) aspects of the Messiah
He made Everything
Now, though, he addresses his Son with “Lord,” implies the Son’s eternal preexistence by locating him “at the beginning,” and attributes to him the founding of the earth and the creation of the heavens (compare 1:2; John 1:1–3; and Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”).
He Will Outlast Everything
In applying the passage, the writer draws attention to a profound idea about the Son, i.e. his changelessness. The earth and heavens seem substantial enough, yet they will perish. There was a widespread belief in the Graeco-Roman world that the world and indeed the universe was indestructible. The Christian view expressed here would be in stark contrast. This transitoriness of the apparently changeless material creation serves to heighten the contrast with the divine stability.
This statement focuses attention on unshakeable stability, which is further enhanced by the striking picture of God rolling up the heavens and earth, now tattered like a worn-out garment, as if they are of no further use.
Not even the creation is eternal, but the Son is, and He was involved in creation. As Creator, He existed before the creation and will outlast it (v 10). In contrast to the eternal Son (whose “years will not fail”), the present creation is likened to an old outer “garment” to be “changed.” Yet His kingdom will not be shaken (cf. 12:27). He is the Creator of all, whereas the angels were created.
EXALTED KING
This is a wonderful Messianic Psalm. It combines the royal (vv. 1–3) and priestly (vv. 4–7) aspects of the Messiah
Notice the two forms of “lord”; the first is YHWH, the second is Adon (Lord). David’s Lord (the Messiah) sits on YHWH’s (LORD) throne, in the place of authority and power. This never, never, never happens to angels!
It has already been noted that Psalm 110:1, which is next quoted, has been in the writer’s mind at the opening of his epistle when he speaks of the Son sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (verse 3). The idea of enthronement is now repeated to bring out the most obvious contrast between Jesus Christ and the highest order of created beings.
Rules Over All
Cited from Ps. 110:1. This psalm of David is quite significant in Hebrews (see Heb. 5:6; 7:17, 21) and elsewhere (e.g., Matt. 22:44; Acts 2:34; cf. 1 Cor. 15:25). It applies to “great David’s greater son,” the Messiah.
In the Gospels (see Matt. 22:44 par.) Jesus applied this verse to himself, arguing that when David says, “The LORD said to my Lord,” David must be prophetically ascribing deity both to God himself and to David’s messianic “Lord.”
as we have seen, there is also a sense in which the Son’s enthronement is a direct result of the completion of his priestly work: “When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven” (1:3, my italics). In connection with the first of the seven quotations, we saw that “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father” is something eternally true and yet something that comes to expression historically at certain decisive moments in time, such as Jesus’ birth, his baptism, and his resurrection. The same has to be said of “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand.” To the author of Hebrews, there was never a time when the Son was not seated at God’s right hand, yet the Son’s enthronement came to expression historically only when the Son’s priestly work of “cleans[ing] us from our sins” (1:3) was accomplished.
but also his absolute power over his enemies. That this idea is prominent in the writer’s mind is clear from his repeating the statement in chapter 10:12, 13. In both chapters 1 and 10 the enthronement and victory are linked with Jesus Christ’s atonement for sins.
Angels are His/ Our Servants
Their particular role is to serve those who are to inherit salvation, that is, Christian believers (on inheritance see 6:12, 17; 9:15).
The angels’ important role still pales in comparison to Jesus’ authority as Son of God exalted at the “right hand of the Majesty” (1:3, 13).
The chapter ends not with a summary of the seven quotations nor with an explicit conclusion drawn from them but simply with a final statement about angels (1:14) based largely on the fourth quotation (1:7, from Ps 104:4). It adds little to what that quotation asserted, telling us only whose servants the angels are. Their mission, we learn, is “to care for people who will inherit salvation.”
Angels are everywhere these days. There have been best-selling books about angels. There are entire stores devoted to angels. And yet angels are nothing more than servants. Whose servants? Ours, for we are the heirs of salvation.…
• In Psalm 91:11 we read of their protective work.
• In Luke 15, we see them rejoicing over saved sinners.
• In Luke 16, we see them carrying people to their eternal state.
• In Acts 5 and 12, we see them delivering Peter and other apostles from prison.
Angels do, indeed, have a ministry, but the ministry is to us. They’re not to be exalted or worshiped by us. That is why in Colossians 2, there is a warning concerning the worship of angels. Our focus is to be on Jesus—and on Him singularly.