Hebrews Chapter 1 Continued

Hebrews 1:6 "And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him."

“Again”:

This adverb can be taken with “brings” as a reference to the second coming of Christ or with “says” to indicate yet another quotation from the Old Testament (“and again, when He brings the firstborn into the world.

“He saith”:

See verse 5; 2:13.

“First begotten”:

Christ was not the first to be born on the earth, but He holds the highest position of sovereignty.

As “firstborn” He is also set apart to the service of God and, being preeminent, is entitled to the inheritance (verse 2; Gen. 43:33; Exodus 13:2; 22:29; Deut. 21:17; Psalm 89:27).

“Let all the angels”:

This is quoted from the LXX translation of Deut. 32:43; Psalm 97:7).

Since the angels are commanded to worship the Messiah, the Messiah must be superior to them.

Five of the 7 Old Testament passages that are quoted in this first chapter of Hebrews are in contexts related to the Davidic Covenant, which emphasizes the concepts of sonship, kingship and kingdom.

Although (Deut. 32:43), is not in a Davidic Covenant context, it has an affinity to the teaching of (Psalm 89:6; a Psalm of the Davidic Covenant), which declares that the heavenly beings themselves must recognize the lordship of God.

Reference is made to “the firstborn” is mentioned (in Psalm 89:27).

1 Peter 3:22 "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

This Scripture in Peter and the one in Hebrews above show that Jesus is greater than the angels.

The angels are in fact, under His control.

I will quote a Scripture in Revelation that will show that Jesus is above all in heaven and is the only one worthy to even open the book.

Revelation 5:9-12 "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;" "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."

We see from all this that there is no greater in heaven or earth than Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 1:7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."

“Of the angels”:

The writer continues biblical proofs that the angels are subservient to the Son of God by citing (Psalm 104:4).

This is the only one of the 7 Old Testament quotations (in chapter 1), which has no connection at all to the Davidic Covenant.

The quote merely defines the primary nature and purpose of angels.

Many times we see the angels of the Lord appear in fire of one kind or the other.

The best example of this that I can think of was when the chariot of fire came and escorted Elijah to heaven when he went up in the whirlwind.

2 Kings 2:11 "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

Elisha was promised that if he could see this great happening, he would get a double portion of the blessings God had given Elijah, and he did.

Let us see in this next verse just what happened on another occasion pertaining to angels and fire.

2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

This was an army God had sent to help Elisha.

Elisha knew they were there, but the young man with him had not seen them until Elisha asked for him to be able to see.

We have friends that sing a song about having a band of angels camped all around you to help you if you are a Christian.

This is the same thing that is here in Kings.

Angels are ministering spirits.

The fallen angels who followed Lucifer out of heaven are now called devil spirits, and they are commonly called demons.

They minister evil and not good.

The angels who did not fall are ministering only good to the Christians.

We read the purpose of angels in this next verse.

Hebrews 1:14 'Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

Verses 8-9

“He saith”:

This is quoting from Psalm 45:6-7, the writer argues for the deity and the lordship on the Son over creation (verse 3).

The text is all the more significant since the declaration of the Son’s deity is presented as the words of the Father Himself (Isa. 9:6; Jer. 23:5-6; John 5:18; Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20).

It is clear that the writer of Hebrews had the 3 messianic offices in mind: Prophet (verse 1), Priest (verse 3), and King (verses 3, 8).

Induction into those 3 offices required anointing (verse 9).

The title Messiah (Christ), means “anointed one” (Isa. 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-21).

Hebrews 1:8 "But unto the Son [he saith], Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of thy kingdom."

We see in this Scripture above that God the Father called Jesus, God.

I have chosen 2 Scriptures from Isaiah to show the greatness of Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be

upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." "Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Jesus (the Word of God), earned the right to be all these wonderful things.

He paid for the privilege on the cross of Calvary.

Hebrews 1:9 "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, [even] thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

“Fellows”:

The term is used only in Hebrews (3:1, 14; 6:4; 12:8), and also (in Luke 5:7), where it is rendered as “partners”.

In this occurrence, it might refer to angels or to other men who were similarly anointed for their offices: The Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings.

If the “oil of Gladness” here is the same as “oil of gladness” referred to (in Isa. 61:3), the reference would clearly be to those who had mourned in Zion but who would one day be clothed with praise and called “oaks of righteousness”, references to men, not angels.

No matter how noble such men were, Christ is superior.

God cannot look upon sin, He will burn it up.

Even in the Tabernacle in the wilderness, there was a cup of silver under the legs that held the ark of the Covenant, when they set it up.

Silver is symbolic of redemption.

This has caused redemption to be between both the Almighty God and also the sinful world even in the wilderness.

We Christians do not have any righteousness in our own right.

The only righteousness that we have is the righteousness of Christ.

He paid for our sin, so that we might partake of His righteousness.

Jesus brought righteousness to whosoever will accept Him as Savior.

Verses 10-12

This was quoted from Psalm 102:25-27.

The Son who created the universe (John 1:1-3), one day will destroy the heavens and earth that He created, but He remains unchanged.

Immutability is yet another characteristic of the divine essence.

Once again, the Old Testament testifies of the Son’s deity.

Hebrews 1:10 "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:"

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "The same was in the beginning with God." "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

Jesus was Creator God.

The Scriptures above leave no doubt.

I have said this before, but Jesus seems to be the doer part of the Godhead.

The 2 powers in this world are the spoken Word and the written Word, and Jesus is both.

Hebrews 1:11-12 "They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;" "And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail."

We know that The Word of God (Jesus), is the everlasting one.

He has no end and no beginning.

Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 1:17 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"

All of these Scriptures are stating that Jesus [the Word] is eternal.

1 Timothy 1:17 "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

You see the earth that we know will pass away.

It was created by the Word of God, so we know it had a beginning and we know that it will pass away and be replaced with a new heaven and earth.

Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."

Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

We can easily see that nothing or no one except God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit are eternal.

Verses 13-14

The writer re-emphasizes the lordship of the Son (by quoting Psalm 110:1).

While Christ’s destiny is to reign (verse 3; Matt. 22:44; Acts 2:35), the angels’ destiny is to serve the recipients of salvation.

This is the seventh and final quotation from the Old Testament to bolster the argument that as Son and Lord the Messiah is superior to the angels.

Hebrews 1:13-14 "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

We can easily find examples of angels appearing to men and women here on the earth.

Sometimes they are dispatched of God to protect us.

Sometimes they bring an important message from God. A good instance of them bringing a message of warning is when the angels warned Lot and his family to get out of Sodom and Gomorrah, before God destroyed it.

Several people were brought a message of the upcoming birth of a child.

Mary the mother of Jesus was one; the parents of John the Baptist were two more.

We read earlier of God sending an army of angels (see article about "angels"), to fight for the saints, we also know that God placed angels at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to stop Adam and Eve from re-entering.

There is only one time that is mentioned in the Bible when Jesus was standing at the right hand of the Father.

It was when Stephen was stoned to death.

I believe He stood to receive Stephen into heaven.

There are many Scriptures where Jesus is sitting at the Father's right hand, because He has finished His work to redeem us.

I will quote a few here.

Hebrews 10:12 "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;"

1 Peter 3:22 "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

Hebrews Chapter 1 Continued Questions

1.Who were the angels of God to worship?

2.In 1 Peter 3-22, who are subject to Jesus?

3.Who is the only one worthy to open the book in heaven?

4.In Revelation 5-12, the Lamb is worthy to receive what?

5.What are angels?

6.Name a time when the angels were associated with fire.

7.What would Elisha receive, if he saw Elijah rise to heaven?

8.What are the angels now who followed Lucifer out of heaven?

9.What is the purpose God has for angels?

10.What does Father God call Jesus in Hebrews 1-8?

11.Jesus is called by what names in Isaiah 9-6?

12.What is silver symbolic of?

13.Where does the Christian get his righteousness?

14.Who laid the foundation of the earth?

15.Who is the Word of God?

16.What are the 2 great powers in the world?

17.Give several names that show the eternity of Jesus?

18.Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my ____ shall not pass away.

19.What is unusual about the new heaven and earth?

20.In Hebrews 1-13, Jesus is to sit on the right hand of the Father until when?

21.What are some of the jobs God has for angels to do mentioned in the Bible?

22.Who does the author believe Gabriel and Michael are?

23.When is the only time Jesus was mentioned standing at the right hand of God?

24.Besides sitting on the right hand of God, what is Jesus?