Hebrews 2:1-18
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.a
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and giftsb of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7 Thou madest him a little lowerc than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16 For verily he took notd on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
11 The destruction of the earth and the heavens is but a crisis in their change (12), for they are not to be made non-existent, but created anew. All things are in a state of flux until the consummation. Only the Son remains the same, and through Him all else attains permanence and perfection.
13 David's Son and David's Lord will, like David, subdue all His enemies (1Ch_22:18; Psa_110:1). It is the very essence of His glory that this is only "till". When the last enemy has been abolished, the Son subordinates Himself. All enmity being banished, His sovereignty ceases.
14 Nothing is said here of the great part which angels play in judgment, for judgment, in its last analysis, is but a prelude to salvation. Paul never mentions any such angelic ministry, because our nearness to God precludes the necessity of any intermediaries. The higher the revelation, the nearer we approach the consummation, the more intimate is the creatures' fellowship with God and the less need there is of any link until finally all these vanish when God becomes All in all.
1-4 Here the teaching of Hebrews is definitely linked to that of the Lord in the gospels and those who heard him, in the Acts. Paul's ministries are thus carefully excluded. The fact that these ministries had failed to eventuate in the kingdom, is the ground for this exhortation, for, doubtless many paid no further heed to the promises, now that they seem to have failed of fruition. That the kingdom is in view is shown in the next paragraph. A study of the contexts of the above quotations reveals the fact that they all deal with "the future inhabited earth whereof we speak".
5 Nowhere are messengers or angels accorded a place of rule. In the future, in the heavens, we shall judge them. On the earth the Circumcision saints will have dominion. Even now the sovereignties and authorities in the heavens are distinguished from the messengers (Rev_5:8-12).
6 Man's inferiority to angels is only temporary. In the resurrection they will no longer be greater in strength and power (2Pe_2:11).
7 Even in the heavens the saints of this economy will be above them. This is only hinted at in Hebrews. 8 The immediate "all" refers only to the earth (Ps.8).
8 The resurrection and exaltation of the suffering Saviour is the promise and pledge that He will elevate all who are His during the eons into the place of dominion over the universe. Only the One Who has been lowest can claim the place supreme.
9 The words "in the grace of God" may, originally, have been "apart from God". This reading is supported by several early fathers and versions, as well as by the context.
1 It is not easy, in English, to distinguish between the celestial calling, here referred to, and the "calling above" (Php_3:14) of Paul's latest revelation. That which is celestial as to location is often spoken of in Ephesians, as our blessing among the celestials (Heb_1:3), His seat (Heb_1:20), our seat (Heb_2:6), the sovereignties and authorities (Heb_3:16), our conflict (Heb_6:12). This is in the dative case, which gives us the place in which anything is found. It occurs once in Hebrews (Heb_12:22). The genitive denotes source or character. The shadow of the divine service of the celestials (Heb_8:5) was on earth. So the city sought by the faithful (Heb_11:16) will descend to earth
(Rev_21:10), and the celestial calling is from the ascended Christ, not to heaven, but from heaven. We are called to heaven, the Hebrews are addressed from heaven. They have no part in the calling above. Their blessings, though celestial in character, are on earth. Our calling is gracious (Rom_11:29), for God's glory (1Co_1:26), fraught with the highest expectations (Eph_1:18), not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before eonian times (2Ti_1:9), but this calling is conditional (Heb_3:6-14) as in Peter, who exhorts his readers to confirm their calling through ideal acts (2Pe_1:10). The spiritual in Israel are God's house (1Pe_2:5). Just as, at the exodus, Moses was over the nation, so now, God's Son is their Mediator. And as Moses combined the office of apostle with that of priest, so Christ is commissioned by God to the people and stands before God for the people.
7 The Pentecostal period is the antitype of the wilderness experiences. As Israel wandered forty years in the desert, so now they wander a like period in the wastes of unbelief. The kingdom does not come.