Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1:1

It is noteworthy that the writer of Hebrews doesn’t feel the least bit reserved about starting with the assumption that everyone knows of God. No effort is needed to convince anyone in this regard, only to make sure they understand who He is, the person and work of which came to us in Christ. God is real, He's alive, and He's doing His thing.

In the past, God spoke to the fathers. These were the Jewish forefathers. God spoke to men through the prophets at various times and in various ways. The prophets didn't control when God spoke to them or how they were to convey a message, despite what you see on Christian TV. God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, and Moses declared God's truth to the people. To Elijah, God spoke through a still, small voice, and Elijah brought the prophetic word to the people. For Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to him, and he was shown things, and the message was given that he was to proclaim.

God spoke to some of the prophets, who acted out scenarios as they brought God's message to the people. Their lives proclaimed God's message, which got people's attention so they could deliver the word. To send His message, Ezekiel was made mute; another prophet had to cook with dung; another married a prostitute, and so on.

The prophets weren't just speaking messages. They were living and walking them out. That's how God did it in the past, the writer said.

Hebrews 1:2

It's worth mentioning that the writer believed he was living in the last days. He lived in anticipation of Jesus' return. We live in those same last days. We should have an even greater anticipation of the return. In these last days, God spoke to us by His Son. “The word became flesh and dwelt among us,” the Book of John says. Jesus did not just bring us a message from the Father; Jesus was the message from the Father. In John 14, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

The Father appointed Jesus as heir of all things. Everything that exists will come under His authority. As the firstborn, Jesus will inherit the entire universe.

God is the creator of all things. He made the worlds through Jesus (Col 1:16, 1 Cor 8:6, John 1:3). This word for worlds might be better understood as ages. It's space and energy, matter and time. It's all that ever was and ever will be in the heavens: all things physical and all things spiritual. It was all made through Jesus, making Jesus Himself eternal. He is God the Son. He always was. He created time. He created space. He created angels and even dirt. There's a poem that says,

He died upon a cross of wood,
yet made the hill on which it stood.

Hebrews 1:3

Jesus is the express image of God the Father. He is the brightness of God's glory. The brightness of God's glory shone on Moses when he was on the mountain. The people saw that Moses had been in the presence of God when he came down. His face reflected the countenance of God. The Shekinah glory, the brightness of God's glory, was a pillar of fire between the Egyptians and the Israelites. It was a perfect consuming fire that could purify and protect. It was frightening, but it brought comfort and safety to many. This is a picture of Jesus.

The brightness of God's glory blinded Paul on the road to Damascus. No man has seen God. However, some men have seen the radiance of his glory. Jesus is that radiance of God's glory. We can't see the sun, but we can see the light from the sun. We can't see God, but we can see the Son that came from the Father. Jesus is the radiance of God's glory.

In Matthew 17, we see the brightness of God's glory in the transfiguration. It says, His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the express image of the Father. The express image is what you get when you press something into a mold. You get an exact likeness. Jesus is an exact likeness of God. Jesus said in the book of John, He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

The writer makes it clear that Jesus is God. This seems very basic, but it is so important. If you don't understand who Jesus is correctly, you can't correctly understand scripture. A wrong understanding of who Jesus is and what He did will result in a flawed faith. If you believe in the wrong Jesus, then your hope is no hope at all. We each need to make sure we have the right Jesus.

Jesus maintains all things. Everything from the beginning of time has been kept in order and maintained perfectly at God's will. At no time has God let it slip from His control. At no time has Jesus ever been surprised. When Jesus wept in the garden, He knew what was coming. He was perfect and sinless, yet the burden of sin in the world would be placed on Him. He was made sin, which was the plan from the beginning. He shed His blood and died to pay for sin, and then, in power and authority, he was raised again. And He sat down at the right hand of God.

Not just anyone could sit at his right hand. How much higher and loftier does one have to be to sit on the right hand of God? Who else, or what else, would qualify? No one, no thing. That's the point. The writer wants every reader of this to understand the high and holy place of Jesus. His superiority over all can not be questioned. Yet, that's what was happening at the time. At the writing of this letter, people were placing angels above Jesus. Some were saying Jesus was merely an angel. That brings us to verse 4

Hebrews 1:4

Jesus is superior to angels. No mere angel has sat at the right hand of God the Father. Angels are ministering spirits, servants of God. Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Through suffering, redemption was made perfect through Jesus. No angel has done this. In 1 Peter 1:12, Peter said the angels marvel at the salvation process and message. (See also Colossians 2:18 and Revelation 19:1-10)

In four short verses, the writer has established these facts about Jesus.

He is appointed heir of all things.
He is the creator of the universe.
He is the radiance of God’s glory.
He is the exact representation of God.
He sustains things by his word.
He provides purification for sins.
He sits at the right hand of God.

Now, with that established, he will make the contrast. On the one hand, we have Jesus, and all we know about him is that. On the other hand, we have angels. And as fascinating, amazing, and mysterious as angels are, they are not to be compared or confused.

Hebrews 1:5

This quote is from Psalm 2, verse 7. The angels collectively are called sons of God, but no angel has ever been called “The Son.” God declared Jesus His Son. He said, “I have begotten You.” The word begotten means the Father and Son share the same being. This is the mystery of the Trinity. They are the same while being distinct persons.

This second quote comes from 2 Samuel 7:14. As Nathan prophesied to King David, he said:

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.

The passage seems to speak of Solomon as the Lord speaks through Nathan to David. Yet, the writer uses it to make his case about Jesus. This confirms that he wasn't just talking about Solomon but also The Son to come, Jesus.

Hebrews 1:6

This quote is from Psalm 97:7, but probably the Septuagint version. Other sources link it to Deuteronomy 32:43. The lesser worships the greater. Again, this shows Jesus is greater than the angels.

Hebrews 1:7

This comes from Psalm 104:4, which shows that the angels are His servants. Here's what the Psalm says:

O LORD my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes His angels spirits,
His ministers a flame of fire.

The angels are subordinate to God and, therefore, Jesus.

Hebrews 1:8-9

The writer of Hebrews says God was speaking of the Son in Psalm 45:6-7. It is from the throne of God that righteousness is established and maintained, by which all else will be judged. God the Father speaks of God the Son, Jesus. He is King by His scepter of righteousness, symbolizing His authority and leadership. God the Father, by the work of God the Holy Spirit, anointed God the Son. In the Old Testament, priests, prophets, and kings were anointed with oil. Jesus is our high priest, prophet, and king. This is an amazing visual passage. As fascinating as they are, no angel has ever been anointed and declared King.

Hebrews 1:10-12

This passage is quoted from Psalm 102:25-27. The writer here attests that this is about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the creator of the heaven and the earth. He was there in the beginning. It was His hands that formed the heavens and earth. Even though they will perish, Jesus will never perish. He is eternal, sovereign, unchanging, perfection.

Hebrews 1:13

The writer asked which angel was ever asked to sit at the Father's right hand. He then offers Psalm 110:1 as evidence that God did so with the Son. God told Jesus to sit at His right hand until the Father made His enemies a footstool for His feet. Not just anyone sits at the right hand of the majesty. No angel sits there. Angels don't sit down; they are ministering to the Lord.

This citation from Psa 110:1 echoes Heb 1:3. The imagery likely refers to hieroglyphics on the footstools of Egyptian kings that depicted foreign enemies—symbolizing their subjugation. Compare also Josh 10:24, where Israelite leaders put their feet on the necks of defeated enemy leaders. Here in Hebrews, the scene is a divine throne room where the Son reigns as victor over all principalities and powers.

Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S.,

Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M.,

Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016).

Faithlife Study Bible (Heb 1:13). Lexham Press.

Hebrews 1:14

Angels are ministering spirits. They are sent to minister to those who will inherit salvation—you and me. They currently minister to those people we are praying will come to the Lord’s salvation. Angels work for the Lord and for us when we are in His will. Angels were created but are not eternal beings.

Angels have a place and function in the Kingdom. However, they do not rule over it. They are not omnicient, nor omnipotent. They are not unchanged, as it appears some changed their minds and followed Satan in Revelation 12:4.

In the bible, we see these stories involving angels:

In Acts 7:53, we learn that Moses received the law through angels.
In Deuteronomy 33:2, The Lord came from Sinai with a myriad of holy ones.
In Psalm 68:17, the chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.
In Galatians 3:19, a mediator put the law into effect through angels.
We know two angels destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16-19:29)
One angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35)
At Passover, we see the death angel kill the firstborn (Exodus 12)
In 2 Kings 6:16-18, Elisha asks God to show his companion what is really going on, and their eyes are opened to the spiritual world, and the mountain is covered with horses and chariots of fire.
In Acts, we see angels spring the disciples from prison.

All these passages show the importance and ministry of angels in God's kingdom, but none show them as being higher than Jesus. This would have devastated the traditions and teachings of the Hebrews of that day. They placed so much priority and authority on angels. To put Jesus equal to an angel is to degrade and dethrone Him. Those who don't claim Jesus as God's eternal creator, sustainer, savior, and redeemer sitting at the right hand of God the Father have another Jesus. They actually have no Jesus at all.

This first chapter is the beginning of the essay. The writer presents his case for Christ's superiority. As we continue, he'll build his case, and it will grow in us a higher view of the One we hold so high.

Hebrews