Hebrews 1 - Introduction
(1-14) He in whom God has at last revealed Himself to man is Son of God, exalted above all angels.... [ Continue Reading ]
(1-14) He in whom God has at last revealed Himself to man is Son of God, exalted above all angels.... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD, WHO AT SUNDRY TIMES.... — The fine arrangement of the words in the Authorised version fails, it must be confessed, to convey the emphasis which is designed in the original. The writer’s object is to place the former revelation over against that which has now been given; and the remarkable words... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH IN THESE LAST DAYS... — Better, _at the end of these days spake unto us in a Son._ The thought common to the two verses is “God hath spoken to man”; in all other respects the past and the present stand contrasted. The manifold successive partial disclosures of God’s will have given place to one... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO BEING THE BRIGHTNESS... — _Who being the effulgence of His glory and the exact image of His substance._ The first figure is familiar to us in the words of the Nicene Creed (themselves derived from this verse and a commentary upon it), “God of God, _Light of Light,_ Very God of Very God.” Again s... [ Continue Reading ]
BEING MADE. — Better, _having become._ These words must be closely joined with the last clause of Hebrews 1:3; they speak, not of the glory which was ever His, but of that which _became_ His after He had “made purification of sins.” BETTER. — That is, _greater._ We may discern a twofold reason for... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR UNTO WHICH OF THE ANGELS.... “God has spoken of the Messiah as His Son, a title which no angel ever receives from Him.” That the appellation “sons of God” may be used in an inferior sense, and that thus angels may be so designated (Job 1:6; Job 38:7), does not affect this argument; for every rea... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AGAIN. — There seems little doubt that the true translation is, _And when He again leadeth_ (literally, _shall have led_)_ the Firstborn into the world He saith._ The position of “again” (in the Greek) shows that it does not indicate a new step in the argument, but must be joined with “leadeth.”... [ Continue Reading ]
SPIRITS. — Better, _winds._ It is very difficult to assign any clear meaning to the ordinary rendering, — unless, indeed, we were to adopt the very strange opinion of many of the earlier commentators, that the stress is laid on “maketh” in the sense of “createth.” The parallelism in these two lines... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO. — Rather, _of._ The connection with Hebrews 1:7 is so close (“Whereas of the angels He saith... of the Son He saith”), that we must not vary the rendering of the preposition. The passage which follows is taken from Psalms 45:6. As the words stand in the ordinary Greek text, they agree exactly... [ Continue Reading ]
The King by divine election has been exalted by divine reward. (Comp. Hebrews 2:9, and Philippians 2:9.) THEREFORE GOD. — It is possible, but not probable, that the words, both here and in the Psalm, should be rendered, _Therefore, O God, Thy God hath anointed Thee._ THY FELLOWS. — In the first ap... [ Continue Reading ]
AND. — Hebrews 1:10 are by this word linked with Hebrews 1:8, as presenting the second part of the contrast between angels and the Son. As there we read of a divine sovereignty, so here of the work of creation, the power to change all created things, the divine attribute of changeless existence. Thi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY ALL... — Both the earth and the heavens: see Isaiah 34:4, “The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll;” and Isaiah 51:6, “The earth shall wax old like a garment.”... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AS A VESTURE... — Rather (see Hebrews 1:10), _And as a mantle shalt Thou roll them up; as a garment shall they also be changed._ The course of thought is easily traced: as the garment which has grown old is rolled up and changed, so the former heavens and earth shall give place to the new heaven... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT TO WHICH OF THE ANGELS. — The final appeal is made to that Psalm which more frequently than any other is quoted in reference to Christ, and which we have already seen to be the source of all the New Testament references to the Saviour’s session at the right hand of God. It is not necessary to sa... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE THEY NOT ALL MINISTERING SPIRITS? — In this verse and the preceding is repeated the contrast of Hebrews 1:7, in reversed order. The words “ministering spirits” at once recall the “ministers” and “winds” (expressed in Greek and Hebrew by the same word as “spirits”) spoken of in Hebrews 1:7. In th... [ Continue Reading ]