A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews.: With a Verse by Verse Exegesis of the Greek Text for a Better Understanding of Theological Issues Confronting Today’S Christians. for Personal Bible Study or Pulpit Use.

By Graham Diggins

A statement of the books aims:
To return Christians to biblical norms. To get them thinking about the old paths and what was considered the whole truth.
To encourage Christians to pursue Bible study by giving them helps such as an understanding of some basic NT Greek.
To set forth the wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed to us as our High Priest and Saviour.

Its special merits:
Verse-by-verse and, often, word-by-word comments on a book of the Bible that usually receives little, if any, church, Bible study, and preaching attention. It looks closely at the Greek words used (of the eclectic [WH] variety and the TR).
It examines in detail many of the fundamentals of the Christian faith and challenges doctrines and actions held by some professing Christians today.
It reproduces many non-Hebrews scriptures that are quoted so that readers do not have to look them up (this is a time-saver).
It has many additional questions at the end of a section to aid, stimulate, and guide the minds of Christians in their pursuit of the truth.
It includes the names and dates of many historical figures from theology, hymnology, philosophy, and science.
It has a set of appendices at the back on various topics. They are mainly from the Hebrews commentary so one does not have to search through the book for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jun 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514495933

Graham Diggins

The author was born in Parramatta Hospital in 1949. He was raised at Merrylands, Dundas, and Ermington, New South Wales. He went to high school at Marsden High, Ermington (1962–1967). He won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1968 and graduated with a BSc from a Sydney university (1968–70). He is a surface coatings chemist with Sydney firms (1971–1987). He got married in 1973. He is a father of four children—1975, 1976, 1977, and 1980. He attended Moore College from 1975–1977. He received a BTh (Hons) from the Australian College of Theology (ACT) in 1978 and a BD (second-class honours) in 1979 from a London university. He visited Japan for business in 1987. He received a DipEd from Sydney Teachers College in 1988. He has been a high school science teacher in New South Wales from 1989 to present.

Book preview

A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews

With a Verse by Verse Exegesis of the Greek Text for a Better Understanding of Theological Issues Confronting Today’s Christians. For Personal Bible Study or Pulpit Use.

Graham Diggins

Copyright

© 2016 by Graham Diggins.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016907691

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5144-9587-2

      Softcover      978-1-5144-9586-5

      eBook         978-1-5144-9593-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Rev. date: 06/30/2016

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Contents

INTRODUCTION to the HEBREWS COMMENTARY

ABBREVIATIONS and MEANINGS

HEBREWS 1:1-3

GOD’S FINAL REVELATION GIVEN by HIS SON

QUESTIONS for STUDY or REFLECTION

HEBREWS 1:4-14

THE SON SUPERIOR to the ANGELS

QUESTIONS for FURTHER STUDY

HEBREWS 2:1-4

THE FIRST WARNING is the PERIL of NEGLECTING the SON’S SALVATION

QUESTIONS for GROUP STUDY

HEBREWS 2:5-8

THE SUPERIORITY of the SON: ALL THINGS SUBJECTED to HIM

VERSES 7, 8 SPEAK of the DIGNITY of MAN in GOD’S WORLD

QUESTIONS to PONDER

HEBREWS 2:9-18

THE NEED for the INCARNATION

Vv14-18 the THEME of REDEMPTION VIA INCARNATION

HEBREWS 3:1-6

JESUS and MOSES CONTRASTED: JESUS’ SUPERIORITY to MOSES

QUESTIONS for DISCUSSION

HEBREWS 3:7-14

OBEDIENCE to GOD an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON

HEBREWS 3:15-19

UNBELIEF BRINGS EXCLUSION from GOD’S REST

HEBREWS 4:1-2

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

HEBREWS 4:3-11

LET US NOT FAIL to ENTER GOD’S REST

FOOD for THOUGHT

HEBREWS 4:12, 13

NO ONE ESCAPES from the WORD of GOD

HEBREWS 4:14-16

JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

QUESTIONS for FURTHER STUDY

HEBREWS 5:1-6

WHY JESUS CAN BE a HIGH PRIEST?

HEBREWS 5:7-10

OUR HIGH PRIEST IS also OUR SAVIOUR

QUESTIONS to REFLECT on

HEBREWS 5:11-6:8

THE BELIEVER MUST PROGRESS towards MATURITY

HEBREWS 6:1-3

HEBREWS 6:4-8

SOLEMN WORDS of WARNING - THEY MUST PERSEVERE

QUESTIONS to REFLECT on

HEBREWS 6:9-20

A WORD of ENCOURAGEMENT

QUESTIONS

HEBREWS 7:1-10

MELCHISEDEC GREATER THAN LEVI; JESUS OUR HIGH PRIEST

HEBREWS 7:11-28

THE NECESSITY and SUPERIORITY of JESUS’ PRIESTHOOD

QUESTIONS to MUSE about

HEBREWS 8:1-13

JESUS, OUR HIGH PRIEST, the MEDIATOR of a BETTER COVENANT

QUESTIONS to CONSIDER

HEBREWS 9:1-28

THE NEW COVENANT SUPERIOR BECAUSE of the BLOOD of CHRIST

QUESTIONS

HEBREWS 10:1-18

QUESTIONS to REFLECT on

HEBREWS 10:19-31

CHRIST SHOULD MOTIVATE US to REMAIN STEADFAST to the END

SOME QUESTIONS

HEBREWS 10:32-39

THE JUST SHALL LIVE by FAITH; PERSEVERE to the END

QUESTIONS

HEBREWS 11:1-40

FAITH the MAINSPRING of the OT SAINTS

SOME FURTHER NOTES ON HEBREWS 11:7-38

QUESTIONS to FINISH on

HEBREWS 12:1-17

RUN the ROAD to HEAVEN, LOOKING ALWAYS to PLEASE GOD

QUESTIONS to THINK ABOUT

HEBREWS 12:18-29

THE NEW BETTER THAN the OLD; APOSTASY WORSE THAN UNBELIEF

A FEW QUESTIONS

HEBREWS 13:1-25

EXHORTATION, ENCOURAGEMENT, WARNING and BENEDICTION

APPENDIX ONE

ARMINIANISM EXAMINED

APPENDIX TWO

BAPTISM and ITS ADMINISTRATION in OUR DAY and in NT TIMES

APPENDIX THREE

BIBLES TODAY and YESTERYEAR

APPENDIX FOUR

A BIBLE PASSAGE EXAMINED: 1 JOHN 5:7-8

APPENDIX FIVE

DISPENSATIONALISM: RIGHT or WRONG?

APPENDIX SIX

THE LOVE of GOD - INDISCRIMINATE or PARTICULAR?

APPENDIX SEVEN

ROMAN CATHOLICISM, TRUE or COUNTERFEIT?

APPENDIX EIGHT

SUNDAY WORSHIP, GOOD FRIDAY, EASTER SUNDAY and CHRISTMAS

APPENDIX NINE

ONE VERSE SHOULD NOT DECIDE EVERYTHING

A QUICK OVERVIEW OF ROMANS

APPENDIX TEN

HEBREWS: by PAUL?

Hebrews 2:3

Hebrews 6:2

APPENDIX ELEVEN

SCIENCE from the BOOK of HEBREWS

INTRODUCTION to the HEBREWS COMMENTARY

This book has been a long time coming. It started as a series of Friday night Bible studies for a now defunct church that operated in the 1970s and the 1980s in the Meadowbank region of NSW. It was initially penned in 1978/9 on Thursday nights after late night shopping during the hours 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The study was taken to the Friday night meeting and passed on to Mrs T Cox. She typed it and ran off multiple copies for distribution on the following Friday night. It was based on the NASB as I had been fooled into accepting this as the best translation in 1973 by a General Baptist preacher from Padstow who incidentally also fired up my love of NT Greek. At the end of the Friday studies my completed copies were filed away and forgotten.

In 2015, after listening to many points of view Sunday by Sunday, year by year, I looked around for something I could do to stop the flow of erroneous thinking around many doctrines and church practices and put the truth back on the top shelf. I had found that many Christians did not believe the foundational doctrines of what is called the reformed faith. They were allowed to accept some and reject others. The main stumbling block was and still is limited atonement. This doctrine I embraced wholeheartedly after being convinced by God from Acts 13:48 of unconditional election: And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

I worked with many in the 1970s and assumed they believed as I because they either said they were reformed or they attended a type of reformed church. This still happens today. We attend a church and assume the Christians there and visiting ones are all on the same page. However, then and now, after discussing the faith one on one, you realise that it is not an odd doctrine that divides but how many, if any, do we have in common? Why is limited or definite atonement a huge stumbling block? Why is it hated and pooh-poohed and never preached on? Simply because it destroys in one fell swoop the evangelism mode practised by most groups in the Christian world. They cannot use John 3:16 and decisions to gauge success and the sinner’s prayer. I decided to write a book on Hebrews as I had pulled out the old work from the files and believed it was best to start with a structure rather than from scratch. With encouragement from some and much trepidation, mixed with prayer, I commenced. I had decided to use no commentaries so I would not have to seek permission to quote them. William Kay is used thrice but I am sure it is now out of reach of any copyright laws as 1881 is a long time ago.

After many years of study, I had stumbled onto the King James Bible (KJV or AV). Why become a fossil with something so old? The reason is simple. It translates from the Greek exactly the personal pronoun forms for you (thou, thee, thy, thine) rather than just using the generic you. This affects many Scripture passages and is the only version that enables those not schooled in Greek to be able to determine who is being spoken to. Even the New KJV removes the difference between you plural and you singular so that the reader will not have a clue as to who is being addressed as only you is used instead of you or ye.

A classic case occurs when Jesus is speaking to the apostles in Luke 22:31, 32: ³¹ ‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ This is from the NIV (New International Version). To the majority of people, and I have heard it often, there is no distinction between Peter and the apostles. Satan has desired all of the apostles and I, Jesus, have prayed for all of you. This is nice but not what was actually said and all Greek texts read exactly as the KJV translates it (including the RV NT of 1881): ³¹And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: ³²But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. The KJV and the RV, but no others, tell us that Satan has desired all of the apostles but Jesus only prays for Peter. Peter is the key.

I have examined every verse and word of the Greek text of both the eclectic and majority texts. The majority text is what the Textus Receptus or TR is based on and underpins the King James Version or KJV of 1611. If one is preaching or teaching on a particular verse, then that person can rest assured that every effort has been made to ensure that the correct meaning from the sacred language has been offered to the person using this English commentary. It is sad when one hears new versions changing the actual words used. One example that sticks in my mind is the use of the plural ‘descendants’ in Genesis 32:12 instead of the actual word which is seed singular, even in the Septuagint or LXX (to sperma). It says: And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. This is part of the promise to Abraham which involves the Saviour of God’s people, even Jesus Christ. Those behind this basic error will undoubtedly say they were making it clearer for the readers. What is the curse God places upon those who corrupt his word? Revelation 22:18, 19 says what will happen to the corrupters of Revelation. How much more those who corrupt the gospel by their translations or more accurately their interpretations? But you will contend that these ‘translators’ are only stating a truth. Abraham’s descendants will be many. Yes, but it is not I who argues for seed singular. No, it is Paul in Galatians 3:16 where he says: Now to Abraham and seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

In only two places have I made what one might call comments that appear to have no corroboration. The comments have come because of the actual Greek words used. One states what the text is saying and uses that as a judgment call to expound the text at that point. The two places are:

• From Hebrews 7:9… payed tithes in Abraham: Literally it says Levi paid tithes and continued to pay tithes (perfect tense used) according to the rate that Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec. The new information is that the paying of tithes in Gen 14 by Abraham was not a one off event. He and Melchisedec had an ongoing relationship but only one incident has been recorded in Scripture.

• From Hebrews 11:27: The Greek verb to see ‘horao’ has many different forms and the eye, ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmos), comes from the future form. So, the Greek suggests very strongly that Moses saw with his eyes the invisible God. This would be a miracle. Perhaps it means that Moses physically saw the exploits of the invisible God such as a burning bush, river water turned into blood, a rod becoming a snake, the plagues on Egypt, the Red Sea opening then providentially closing, the manna on the ground every morning except the seventh day and many more besides.

As I wrote this much fuller work on Hebrews, going over it word by word, I noticed that I was commenting on many things to do with church life or sermons I had sat under. I did not intentionally start out to do this and can only claim that the Spirit led me to write as I have.

I have included a list of abbreviations. I am sure that many will not need them but they are there for the benefit of all.

Some of the language is highly technical and not written for the faint hearted. The Greek language of the NT has a breadth that goes way beyond what any English translation can say (I dare say any language). It was the right language to use in the fullness of time. We should thank God Almighty for this decision. Imagine the problems posed (especially in the Gospels) if the Holy Spirit had not led the New Testament writers to use the common Greek or Koine Greek of the day. If written in the Hebrew language or Aramaic (the common Jewish language of the time), how much harder it would have been to see that Judaism was replaced by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would not have the best language to describe to our puny minds the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. Using Hebrew or Aramaic would not cut it. It is a pity that many in Bible colleges do not do Greek but are weeded out in the first weeks because of academic requirements. This is of course due to their tie up with government educational standards and the funding of such courses. These have a monetary attachment which is hard to refuse for many people. There should be a concession made for those students who do not have the required skills to become masters in this language. They should be encouraged with good teachers to persevere and not see Bible colleges as degree factories. I am only taking the line of least resistance here as I do not see Bible colleges and theological establishments as having precedence over the local church in teaching their members the word of God. Please enlighten me on the truth here if I am in error. The local church should teach all about the glory of God. Only then will one know how a local church should function.

• Some pointers to help those reading this commentary re: the understanding of NT Greek. The aorist tense. It is pronounced ‘air-ist’. It is like a past tense and should be viewed as action in past time. It is action that does not continue. It has been described as action or activity as a once for all happening. Jesus’ death is described as an aorist event. It happens once and that is it. If the present tense is viewed as a continuous line, then the aorist is a dot.

• The perfect tense. It is translated as a past tense with often the addition of the helping word has or had. It is action in past time with ongoing consequences or affects. Think of it as a dot to indicate completed action and a line which continues onwards. When Jesus says it is finished and gives up the ghost on the cross he is not using an aorist tense but the Greek perfect tense to tell us that his cross work happened and there is a lot more that flows out of his death. He really says that it is finished and remains finished. Students of the Bible do not get this understanding from an English translation. It is commented on more fully in the body of the text.

I have made bold any verse or part of a verse I have used from the KJV text of Hebrews. Where I have quoted a verse or part of a verse from elsewhere in Scripture I have simply used the normal text but highlighted the verse reference by bolding it. If the reference is in brackets then I have left it alone.

Transliterating Greek letters is easy except for the letters omega and eta. Omega is pronounced as long o and is written as o to distinguish it from omicron which is pronounced as short o and is written as o. When transliterating from Greek into English I have underlined o to show it is omega. Eta is pronounced as long e and is written as e to distinguish it from epsilon which is pronounced as short e and written as e. When transliterating from Greek to English I have underlined e to show it is eta.

I have generally used the KJV as is except where spelling changes have occurred over 400 years. Some words like ‘forever’ were treated originally as two separate words. I have just joined them together. The grammar was left alone as I did not want to be accused of changing the KJV. This meant leaving a word with a lower case letter after a question mark as is though I did remove all the commas before the word ‘and’ but not when colons and semi colons are used.

A great deal of the Greek vocabulary in Hebrews is unique to this epistle. Where a word or phrase only occurs in one manuscript or letter then we refer to it as a hapax legomenon. It comes as a transliteration of the Greek ἅπαξ λεγόμενον (hapax legomenon) and means spoken of only once. As far as the NT Greek manuscripts are concerned, if a word or phrase is found only there once, then it is considered a hapax legomenon. It is not yet found nor has been discovered in any other ancient Greek document. This makes finding its meaning difficult but not impossible. It could be a compound word or it is translated into another language and the translated word’s meaning is known.

I am alone responsible for the direction and theology expressed in this book. It is my prayer and wish that Christians would divest themselves of erroneous thinking and practices and turn back to the pure word of God. And stop quoting people who give us new words like Yahweh. To use this word shows that one has been fooled by academics. There is no instance in the Hebrew Bible that the sacred word for God of four consonants, YHWH or YHVH, is pointed with ‘a’ going with the Y and an ‘e’ going with the W or V. It is the future form of the verb to be ‘hayah’ and should be written as yewah in accordance with Hebrew grammar. The ‘e’ and the ‘a’ are reversed. Please give liberal thinking a wide berth and pay it little heed as it is not from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mention should be made of help I have received, especially over the formatting. One is most grateful to Ron Hawkings for his invaluable comments and technical computer support.

ABBREVIATIONS and MEANINGS

HEBREWS 1:1-3

GOD’S FINAL REVELATION GIVEN by HIS SON

VERSE 1

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.

God: This emphasis at the start brings to the readers then and now that God is not a topic of study or one to be put under a microscope or even a word to be tossed around willy-nilly like ‘OMG’ but he is the source of all light, life and truth. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (Ps 111:10 and Prov 1:7; 9:10) as the whole duty of man is to fear God (Eccl 12:13).

God spake: The language is spake or past tense. This is the Greek aorist which signifies a completed, past action. It is also action at a point in time. It is not repetitive action. It does not keep happening as it does with us when we keep telling a child no.

What God said and did was in essence a promise. Its fulfilment and all that the OT said prepared God’s people for the coming of the Son: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; even in him (Eph 1:10).

in divers manners: Symbols like the rainbow, blood sacrifice, miracles, nature generally, a donkey speaking, dreams, word spoken and written.

at sundry times: Wilderness, Egypt, Canaan, Jerusalem, Babylon, Ur of the Chaldees, Mount Sinai

unto the fathers: This indicates that Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians familiar with the Old Testament. The fathers or patriarchs were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However, we could include Joseph, his brothers, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah and a host of other OT people.

by the prophets: Literally ‘in the prophets’. The prophets were a distinct body of men from Moses to Malachi. This would turn the recipients’ minds back to the writing known as the Torah, Prophets and Sacred Writings or the Old Testament Scriptures. See Luke 24:44 where Jesus said: These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses (the Torah) and in the prophets (First Prophets: Joshua to 2 Kings / Later Prophets: Isaiah to Malachi; exclude Daniel but add to the Holy Writings) and in the Psalms (the Holy Writings which start with the Psalms and conclude with 2 Chronicles), concerning me.

The expressions ‘fathers’ and ‘prophets’ bring to mind the OT. The writer is from the start appealing to the readers’ Jewish background. ‘By’ seems to sound better in English but the Greek reads ἐν (en) which is ‘in’. For it to be ‘by’, the preposition should be ὑπὸ (hupo) before the prophets and the verb should be in the passive voice. Translating it by ‘in’ takes the process out of men’s hands as the originators of Scripture. The prophets are the vehicles for God’s words and not the prime cause which is the way many religious, academic institutions pontificate concerning the Bible’s authorship. See also 2 Peter 1:21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Those interested in this small but significant change should examine 1 Corinthians 12:13 and change the ‘by one spirit’ into ‘in one spirit’. The verse then moves our thinking away from the spirit baptising or spirit baptism to the spiritual disposition of the Corinthian believers. They all experienced the same type of baptism i.e. immersion. This united them as one local body. The body drinks or receives the same spiritual liquid as it concludes with ‘all made to drink in (not into as en is used) spirit’. The verse is: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

VERSE 2

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Hath in these last days: Literally it says ‘upon the last one of these days’. God is very near and is in fact upon or over this time frame. This stresses the significance of the days of the Messiah. There is nothing more to come, e.g. another Son, prophet, etc. Thus we see the falsehood of such groups which major on a new revelation (Mormon) or a later prophet (such as Islam) or a current prophet (like some Pentecostal groups claim to have). They are saying the opposite of what God says in this verse.

unto us: What is said is important. The trouble with the recipients of the letter was that they were in danger of slipping back into Judaism and forsaking Jesus Christ. This seems to be the audience and throughout this epistle Judaism and its practices and failures to bring peace and atonement are on view and contrasted with the new age under king Jesus. We are in this end time. God is working out his promises. His plan is pressing forward to the final act. The triumphant returning of the Son to be acknowledged by all (Phil 2:9-11).

by his Son: The expression refers here to the name of the Second Person of the Godhead, the eternal Son. You could express it as one who is Son. That is, one who is obedient and always does the will of his Father. Here is set forth the perfect relationship which has always existed within the Godhead and now, via the incarnation, the relationship between God the Father and the Word changes in order to save the elect. The Word has become the Messiah/Saviour and is in subjection as a son should be to his father. The Spirit also takes on a different role and does the bidding of both the Father and the Son. God’s eternal decree relating to creation, providence and redemption includes also the Son’s appointment to heir ship. The heir of all things is the rightful owner of all things. Yet when he came, he did not come as a tyrant, but taking the form of a servant he humbled himself: I am among you as one who serves (Lk 22:27). He showed himself to be the worthy owner by adopting the role of the servant. Only he could do it as we humans are way too selfish.

by whom also He made the worlds: (see Jn 1:3 and Col.1:15). For ‘worlds’ understand ages or the universe. Made is the Greek aorist (action at one moment) so all of creation is viewed as happening at a point in time and not over a continuum as evolution would and does propose. Note the same idea in Genesis 1:1. This one is the agent of God the Father in the creative act.

VERSE 3

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Who being the brightness of his glory: The Son has his shekinah glory too (see Ex 24:16, 40:34-38). He not only shares in the divine glory and majesty but also showers it forth for all who have eyes to see. John tells us in John 1:14 that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father). Matthew reminds us in Matthew 17:2 that Jesus was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Isaiah speaks of God’s glory in Isaiah 42:8 as follows: and my glory will I not give to another. Neither my praise to graven images. If Jesus shares God’s glory, then either both Isaiah and John are liars or it is true that Jesus Christ is truly God. The same ideas are repeated in Isaiah 48:11, 12: ¹¹ . . . for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another. ¹²Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Note especially v12 which is reminiscent of Revelation 1: 8, 11 and 17 where Jesus tells John that he is the first and the last, the alpha and omega. But God declares in Isaiah 48 that he is the first and last. This cannot be true unless Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Alpha (α) is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and omega (ω) is the last letter. They start and finish the Greek alphabet. Thus Jesus Christ starts and finishes everything.

and the express image of his person: The express image or exact representation. The image before us is that of a die, which, when pressed onto a soft substance leaves an impression exactly like that which the die bears. The whole phrase indicates that the Son is of exactly the same essence as God. The Son is what God is. He that has seen me has seen the Father (Jn 14:9). Theologically we say the Father is God, the Son is God and the Spirit is God. Not three Gods, but one God. Critics say our Maths is wrong because 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. Let them remember that 1 x 1 x 1 = 1.

and upholding all things by the word of his power: The Greek says he continually bears along all things. There is nothing whatever that can fall into some bottomless void. The Son is in complete charge, sustaining everything, every day, till the end of the ages (Col 1:17). He operates by his powerful word. Note that creation was by the word of the LORD (Ps 33:6). We have no giant muscular Atlas, burdened down with the weight of the earth, presented for our admiration, but the princely, aristocratic Son of God who does it all with a word.

when he had by himself purged our sins: Had purged or cleansed is literally made purification of. This displays our sins as being truly horrible and ourselves in need of divine help. The tense of the verb is aorist and it highlights the definitive, once for all aspect of the cross work of Christ, whereby the sins of the elect were purged away. They were dealt with so that all Jesus Christ represented on that day as their substitute would be truly pardoned by God. This is why we believe in the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ. The work is complete and final because he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. What the Aaronic high priest could not do, the Son did. He offered an acceptable sacrifice, himself. His sitting at the right hand signifies that the Son is equal with God, yet of course, distinct.

QUESTIONS for STUDY or REFLECTION

• This opening section is similar to John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-17. Why do you think it is placed here and what is its relationship to the rest of the epistle?

• What contrasts and similarities can you see between vv1 and 2?

• God spoke long ago. Is he still relevant?

• Why did God need to speak a second time by one who is a Son?

• God has spoken. Does this need to signify the utterance of words?

• What seven things do we learn about the Son from these verses?

HEBREWS 1:4-14

THE SON SUPERIOR to the ANGELS

VERSE 4

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Among the recipients of this letter, there must have been an unhealthy reverence for angels and a corresponding failure to acknowledge the status of the Son. The worshipping of angels was also a problem for the Colossian church as noted by Paul: Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind (Col 2:18).

A series of OT quotations are used to seek to correct these false attitudes. His superiority (better in most versions) becomes obvious when we realise that he has inherited and remains in possession for all time of a name that sets forth his excellence over the entire angelic host.

VERSE 5

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father and he shall be to me a Son? No angel was ever marked out and invested with the name Son. Implied here is that Son is the Son of God. This name, however, was given to the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ at His birth (Lk 1:32, 35); at his baptism (Lk 3:22) and by virtue of his resurrection (Rom 1:4; Acts 13:33). He is progressively set forth in the biblical drama as the unique Son of God. From the incarnation he was the true Son because of his obedience in laying aside his divine privileges and taking the form of a servant. He, by virtue of his work of obedience, is the one to whom can be affixed the name Son in relation to the Father. ⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:5-8).

The quote from Psalm 2:7, a Messianic Psalm, sets forth the son ship of Jesus Christ. Note that we become sons of God only through our union with him and to claim we are true sons as the hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’ states is grossly wrong and inaccurate.

this day have I begotten thee?