THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE

TO THE

In verse 1 we see that God, through history, has spoken at different times in different ways. He has spoken in thunder, fire, in visions, in dreams, through laws, institutions, ceremonies, kings, judges, prophets, a still small voice; in fact, we could go on and on. The great truth in all this is that God has always communicated with man! He has always reached out to mankind, bringing hope, help and redemption to those who will take it.

In verse 2 we see the phrase, "In these last days." This refers to the dispensation in which you and I are now living in. C.I. Scofield defined a dispensation as a period of time during which man is tested in respect to his obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God. There are 7 total dispensations. They are: (1) the "dispensation of innocence," which covered the time before the fall when Adam and Eve were in the Garden, in fellowship with God; (2) the "dispensation of conscience," which followed the fall and extended to the time of Noah, when men lived according to their consciences; (3) the "dispensation of human government," which came in after the flood and went from Noah's time until that of Abraham; (4) the "dispensation of promise," which began when Abraham was given various great promises of God by which men were to live, until the time when Moses brought the Law; (5) the "dispensation of law" ran on through many centuries until the coming of Jesus Christ, who introduced (6) the "dispensation of grace" in which we all live, and which is yet to be followed by (7) the "dispensation of the kingdom," which is called "the millennium," the thousand years of Christ's rule on earth which is yet to come.

In the day and time in which we live in, Christ is the One speaking to the saints. He is the One "He hath appointed heir of all things." John 16:15 says, "All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."

Christ could speak to us through "divers manners" as He did in the past, however, He has chosen to speak through His Word. God the Son and God the Spirit do not point to themselves. Christ always points to the Heavenly Father. Christ said in John 14:10, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." The Holy Spirit ALWAYS points to Christ. John 16:13 and 14 says, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." This is why I strongly disagree with the modern day charismatic movement! They preach that all should point to the Spirit, but He always guides to the truth, and glorifies Jesus Christ.

We also see here that Jesus Christ "made the worlds;" the inferior and the superior worlds (Colossians 1:16). He is the creator of the universe, and even in that we can clearly see the unity in the Godhead. In fact, all three can be seen in the creation of the universe. God the Father spoke creation into existence in Genesis 1:1. We see in John 1:3, 10; Colossians 3:16-18, and here in Hebrews 1:2, that God the Son (the Word) was working in unity with the Father. As for God the Spirit, there are four particulars of His work in creation. The four particulars of the Spirit’s work in creation are life (Job 33:4, John 6:63; II Corinthians 3:6), order (Isaiah 40:12, 13; Job 26:7-13), adornment (Job 26:13; Psalms 33:6), and preservation (Psalms 104:29, 30).

Verse 3 states "who being the brightness of his glory." The word "being," as it relates to Christ in this verse, means absolute and timeless existence. He has always existed in the eternal glory of God because He is eternal. The word "brightness" means a flood of light; great luster or brightness; splendor; as the effulgence of divine glory. It is a word of superlative signification, and applied, with peculiar propriety, to the sun and to the Supreme Being (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary). The Lord Jesus Christ is the "Out-shining One." He is the light, not a reflector of light: John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (Psalms 110:1, John 1:4; 14:9, II Corinthians 4:6)

We also see that Christ is the "express image of his person." Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of God. This literally means that Christ is the exact representation of God’s essence and nature. (II Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:15, 16) This proves that He indeed is God the Son.

It is shown in these verses why the Lord Jesus Christ is better than the prophets. First, in verse 1) He is the anointed heralder for all things; in verse 2) He is the appointed heir of all things; and in verse 3) He is the approved holder of all things. The Word of God holds all things together. Even Him taking away His Word, all things would cease to exist. He created all things by His Word, He upholds all things by His Word, and one day He shall destroy the works of the devil with His Word.

In these three verses we also find the three offices of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 1 we see Christ as our Prophet. In the third verse we see Him as our Priest: "when he had by himself purged our sins..." Christ is the one that stood between us and God to make the atonement for our sins. Also, in the third verse, we see Christ as our King: "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." When Christ ascended into the heavens (Acts 1:9), He sat down on the right hand of the Father.

The Bible tells us in verse 3 that Christ purged our sins by Himself. We need nothing else than the atonement that Christ Himself offers to us through His sinless sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. John recognized this when he stated, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29; I John 1:7; 3:5; Isaiah 3:3-12; Matthew 1:21; Romans 3:24-26)

The phrase: "Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" speaks of three things. First, it speaks of completion. When Christ sat down on the right hand of the Father, it showed that He had completed the task that He started when He first left heaven (Genesis 3:15; John 19:30; 4:34; 17:4). The second thing that it speaks of is exaltation. As stated before, Christ is our King; but Him sitting down on the right hand of the Father shows that He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords! It indicates the place of honor that He occupies. The third thing it speaks about is intercession. We only have one intercessor, or mediator, between God and man, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15; 12:24).

We see here that Christ is better than the angels. There are two things I want to point out in verse 4. First, we see the words "being made." That speaks of Christ’s incarnation (Galatians 4:4, Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, John 1:1, 14). The manifestations of angels at various times in history never brought mankind into a personal union as did the manifestation of God in the flesh (Ephesians 1:21; Philippians 2:6-8; Colossians 2:10; I Peter 3:22; Revelation 5:11, 12). We see that in Christ’s incarnation, He was made much better than the angels. He is far great than all the angels, and because He is the heir of everything, then His name, which represents all of His mighty character, is greater and more exalted than the angels (Philippians 2:9, 10).

Second, we see that an inheritance is mentioned three times in the first chapter alone (1:2, 4, 14). Christ, by inheritance, obtained an much better name than the angels so that we could, through Him, inherit all that the Father has to offer. In order for an inheritance to take place, there must be a death of the person that owns what is being given out. Then, the property goes to the administrator of the estate. Then the administrator distributes the property to the heirs. After Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He became the administrator of all things, and by inheritance we have the right to all that the Father has to offer.

The question is being asked, to which angel, at any time in eternity past, has God ever called "Son." Angels are messengers of God, but He has never addressed them as Son! God the Father has never declared any angel to be in a relationship with Him as He shares with Christ. Again, this shows that Jesus is greater than the angels, whom He created. In fact, it was the angels that ministered to Christ when He was in the wilderness, when Satan came to tempt Him (Mark 1:13). The angels served Christ.

It is also shown that all angels, even the fallen, are subject to Christ. When Jesus met the two possessed with devils, they cried out and asked if He was there to torment them. In Mark 3:11 and Luke 4:41, the devils acknowledged that He was "Christ, the Son of God." We must also remember that Satan, the first fallen angel, will one day be cast into the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:10)!

In verse 6 we see that God was at the manager scene when Christ entered into this world. In fact, it says that God actually brought Christ into this world. The words "first begotten" here refers to Christ being first, preeminent, superior, and being above the angels. Rather than Jesus being subject to the angels, they worshipped, and are still worshiping Him (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). God the Father tells all the angels to worship Jesus Christ, showing that Christ indeed is God (I John 5:20)! The Bible tells us that we are only to worship God, and if Christ was not God, then He would never allow Christ to be worshipped (Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 5:7; II Kings 17:36; Psalms 45:11; Matthew 4:10; Revelation 19:9, 10; 22:8, 9).

Verse 7 is a quote of Psalm 104:4, as stated earlier, referring to the fact that the angels are created beings, and thus are subject to Christ, as He is their creator. The angels of Heaven are called messengers, who are above man, as spirit beings, and servants. Some say that Christ was "a good man." If Christ were not God, then the Father would not have had the angels to worship Him.

In verses 8 and 9 we see another verse that proves the deity of the Godhead. This is a quote of Psalms 45:6 and 7, which establishes that God’s throne is forever. We see here God the Father, addressing His Son, Jesus Christ; and addressing Him as God. Both God speaking, and God being addressed, are the same Greek word "Theos." Therefore, it is obvious that Jesus Christ shares the same nature, being and character as God the Father.

Not only is God’s throne eternal, it is righteous. We can know that the One sitting upon the throne is a King and a Judge that is truly just! "A sceptre of righteousness" is literally translated "a rod of rectitude." We have a King that never shall be dethroned, and a judge that will never be unfair, nor can He be bought out!

God’s first and foremost attribute is that He is a Holy God (Leviticus 11:44, 45). When God made man, He made man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). This means that God made man with moral and intellectual likeness, and not physical resemblance. (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Therefore, man was created without sin, yet with the ability to sin. However, man disobeyed, and sinned. Romans 6:23 tells us there is a price for sin, death.

The Following Information Is Taken From Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

God hates sin, but loves mankind, whom He created to have fellowship with. He knew something must be done to give man a way out. Verse 9 states that God "hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Not just any sacrifice could meet the demands of a holy God. Jesus Christ, and His precious blood, was the only sacrifice that would appease His demands to redeem mankind. Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows; beyond all others. As a joyful and triumphant completion of His work, He was anointed by the Father. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).

Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." What a statement declaring that the Godhead created all. Psalms 8:3, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained." These verses are a quote from Psalms 102:25-27. Here God the Father addressed Jesus Christ with another of His divine names. This name in the Greek is Kurious, which means Supreme in Authority; controller; by implication, Master. (Isaiah 42:5; 48:12, 13).

God created the entire universe in six literal days (Genesis 1:31-2:3). When He created everything, He saw that it was "very good" (Genesis 1:31). Even though God put man in charge of taking care of the earth, I believe it was a simple task. Imagine planting a garden, and having no weeds to choke out what’s been planted. Imagine not having to worry about sticking yourself with a thorn. The curse God placed on man is not only evident in man, but in the universe as well. Cultivation is now painstaking (Genesis 3:17-19). One day, praise God, everything shall be melted with a fervent heat, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 34:4; 65:17; II Peter 3:10-14; Revelation 6:14, 21:1).

In verses 11 and 12, we see two things about Christ. First, in verse 11 we see the eternality of Christ. The word "eternal" is used in two senses in the Bible: figuratively, as in an existence which may have a beginning, but will have no end (angels or the human soul); and then literally, as in an existence which has neither beginning nor end (like that of God). The way used in this verse shows that God has no beginning nor end. He is from everlasting (Habakkuk 1:12), and He shall reign forever and ever (Exodus 15:18).

Secondly, we see the immutability of Christ. By the immutability of Christ is meant that His nature is absolutely unchangeable (Hebrews 13:8). Whatever God does, it will be forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). The One who created all, in the midst of a changing world, changes not!

Verse 13 goes back to verses 3 and 4, where Jesus was exalted to God’s right hand, and the work of Jesus Christ was completed. Then, like in verse 5, a question is being asked. Basically, to which angel has the Father given the authority to sit on His right side. The answer, NONE. There is only One who could redeem mankind and have the authority to sit on the throne of God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. The phrase "Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool" has the idea of the custom of conquerors putting the feet on the necks of the conquered (Joshua 10:24, 25).

Throughout the whole first chapter angels are mentioned several times. We see, by reading this chapter that Christ was made far above the angels (1:4). Also, in verse 6 they were to worship Him, and lastly, in verses 13 and 14, the angels are to be servants of the Lord.

Angels were created by God, just like mankind was created by Him. However, there is one thing the mankind can say that the angels can not, and that is we are made heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).