(Chapter 1:1-3)
Christ, the Apostle of Our Confession
This great thesis begins with the writer magnifying Christ. As mentioned in the Introduction, in chapters 1-2, He is presented as the “Apostle” of our profession. He is seen as having come from God to accomplish the will of God for the glory of God. In these chapters, He is compared to the two greatest kinds of messengers that the legal system had—the prophets and angels. In every way He is shown to be infinitely superior.
The Glories of Christ as the Son of God and the Son of Man
In these opening chapters, the glories of Christ are viewed in two ways:
As the Son of God—emphasizing His deity (chaps. 1:1–2:4).
As the Son of Man—emphasizing His perfect humanity (chap. 2:5-18).
There is a type of these two sides of Christ’s Person in “the ark” of the tabernacle system (Ex. 25:10-16). It was made of two materials: “pure gold,” which typifies His divinity, and “shittim wood” (“incorruptible wood” – the Septuagint version), which typifies His perfect humanity. In Hebrews 1 we have the pure gold, and in Hebrews 2 we have the shittim wood.
The Purpose of Magnifying the Greatness of Christ
Perhaps the strongest and most convincing argument that the Jews would put before a person who wanted to leave Judaism is the fact that God Himself had ordained it. He delivered it to the nation of Israel by the hand of Moses and by “the disposition of angels” (Acts 7:53). Their argument is that since the greatest Authority in the universe appointed this system of worship, no person on earth should think of altering it. The unbelieving Jews would press this point upon those who were contemplating leaving Judaism, and would tell them that they were being persuaded to “apostatize from Moses” (Acts 21:21) by Christian preachers who had no authority to teach such things. Such a step, they would say, was an act of disobedience and rebellion, and essentially, was turning away from God Himself!
This, of course, would be terribly upsetting to the Jewish believers whose consciences had been formed by the demands of that legal system. However, if they understood that the God who gave Israel the religion of Judaism was the very same Person who was now calling them out of it, they would respond more confidently to the call. Hence, chapters 1-2 are devoted to establishing the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is God in the Person of the Son, and that it is He who is speaking to them about leaving Judaism for something better in Christianity. He is the divine Speaker throughout the epistle.
The Word Spoken by Christ is Greater Than That of the Prophets
Vs. 1—The first word in the epistle is “God.” It is the only book in the Bible that begins in this way. It immediately brings us face to face with the Person who is speaking in this epistle. It is not a prophet, nor an angel, nor an apostle of Christ, but God Himself in the Person of the Son. Since there could be no greater Person in the universe, the reader is to take what is about to be stated with much gravity.
The writer informs us that while God has communicated to His people Israel through some mighty messengers in times past, He has now spoken in a far greater way. He says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by [in the Person of] His Son.” “Prophets” (vs. 1) and “angels” (vs. 4) were the two great messengers in the Jewish economy who God used to communicate to His people. The Jews proudly pointed to these messengers as a mark of the nation having God’s favour, and it is true. No other people on earth have had such a distinguished means of communication from God (Deut. 4:7). However, the point that the writer is making here is that with the coming of Christ (His first advent), God has spoken to His people “in Son.” This is an infinitely greater means of communication than that through prophets and angels. It is not merely that God has sent a greater Messenger in Christ, but that God Himself has come to the nation to speak to them in the Person of the Son! If the Jews felt privileged to have such exalted messengers as prophets and angels come to them from God, they ought to have felt doubly privileged to have had a “visitation” from God Himself! (Luke 1:78; 19:44)
In “time past” God had spoken to His people “in divers manners” (in different ways) “by the prophets”—through dreams, through visions, through an audible voice, etc.—but now “in the end of those days” of prophetic communication, He has spoken “in Son.” This was in two ways: firstly, when the Lord was here on earth (chap. 2:3), and secondly, at the time of the writing of this epistle He was speaking from heaven (chap. 12:25).
A Digression
To properly grasp what is conveyed in this passage, we need to note the digression that occurs from chapter 1:2 (after the word “Son”) to the end of the chapter, wherein the Holy Spirit leads the writer to unfold the glory and greatness of Christ’s Person, before going on with a warning from Him in chapter 2:1-4. This is done to give emphasis as to WHO it is that is speaking, and thus, to bring what is said home to their hearts and consciences with greater force. If we follow the thread of the argument by skipping over the digression, it will read: “God” has “spoken to us in the Person of the Son...for this reason we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have heard.” The point here is that since the importance of anything that is said depends upon the greatness of the person who has said it, they, therefore, ought to listen more earnestly to what is being said in this epistle because it is God Himself who is speaking!
A Sevenfold View of Christ’s Glory
Vss. 2-3—As mentioned, the purpose of the digression is to magnify the glory and greatness of Christ. The writer, therefore, turns to ascribe many wonderful attributes of deity to Him, and thus distinguish Him from all others as the Son of God. Seven things in particular are stated that prove His superiority to all the prophets who ever lived and spoke for God:
The Heir of All Things
Firstly, Being the Son, He has been “appointed Heir of all things” (vs. 2). The inheritance is comprised of every created thing. This simple statement tells us that it all belongs to Him! No prophet, regardless of how distinguished he might have been, ever had such a thing given to him. This immediately sets the Son apart from all prophets. When Christ rises up to redeem His inheritance in a coming day (Eph. 1:14), He will share it with us because we are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” and thus, we will reign over it together (Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 3:21-22). But that is not the point the writer is making here—His emphasis is on Christ’s worthiness to have the inheritance on account of who He is.
The Creator of the Universe
Secondly, “He made the worlds” (vs. 2). (The “worlds” is a Jewish expression for the universe – J. N. Darby Trans. footnote.) Again, a prophet might reference the creatorial works of God in his communications to the people, but he would not dare to claim to be the creator of it. The fact that Christ created the universe (John 1:3; Col. 1:15-16) attests to His deity, for Scripture clearly states that God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1, etc.).
The Effulgence of God’s Glory
Thirdly, Christ is “the effulgence” or shining forth of God’s glory (vs. 3). Thus, He is the great Revealer of God (John 1:18). This is something more than a testimony being borne by a prophet concerning God; it is the actual outshining of God Himself, which is something that could only be done by a divine Person. Thus, all the moral and spiritual qualities of God shine forth in Him. It is not a mere reflection of God, as Moses reflected the glory of God on his face, but the very attributes of God coming out in display. H. Smith said, “The Son has drawn near to us in a way that makes it possible for us to see God displayed in all His attributes” (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 8).
The Expression of God’s Substance
Fourthly, Christ, the Son of God, is not just the Revealer of God—He is God! (vs. 3) All the essential attributes of deity are in Him personally. He is the very “expression” of God’s “substance.” It would be blasphemy for any prophet to claim such attributes, and none have dared to do so.
The Upholder of the Universe
Fifthly, Christ, the Son of God, is also the Sustainer of the universe (vs. 3). That is, He keeps the whole creation going from day to day. Thus, He is not only the Heir of “all things” and the Creator of “all things,” but He is also the Upholder of “all things.” Scripture states, “By Him all things subsist” (Col. 1:17). He does this, we are told, “by the Word of His power” (Psa. 147:15-18; 148:8).
The Purifier of Sins
Sixthly, Christ “made by Himself the purification of sins” (vs. 3). That is, He has settled the whole question of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. As a result, sin has been “put away” before God judicially (chap. 9:26), and one day it will be “taken away” out of the creation entirely (John 1:29). Needless to say, this is something that no prophet or priest in the Mosaic system ever did, or ever could do. Those Old Testament sacrifices on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) signified the carrying over of the sins of the people year by year (Ex. 30:10; Lev. 16:34; Heb. 9:7, 25; 10:3). They could not put away sin, nor could they purge a believer’s conscience, as does the perfect sacrifice of Christ (chaps. 9:14; 10:1-2). The KJV says, He “purged our sins,” which is not a correct translation. It restricts the scope of His work of purification to believers’ sins, whereas the work here is general, touching every aspect of sin’s presence in the creation (chap. 2:9).
We are told that Christ did this “by Himself.” J. N. Darby said, “The Greek verb here has a peculiar form, which gives it a reflective sense, causing the thing done to return into the doer, throwing back the glory of the thing done upon the One who did it” (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, on Hebrews 1:3 – footnote). Thus, Christ’s finished work on the cross was done by Himself and for Himself, but the emphasis in the verse is not so much on what He did—great as that is—but WHO did it. Noting this, Mr. Darby said, “The purging of our sins is spoken of by the way, and then we hear of His glory on high” (Collected Writings, vol. 27, p. 388).
The Exalted One at God’s Right Hand
Seventhly, having completed the work of purgation, the Lord ascended into heaven and “set Himself down” on the “right hand of the Majesty [greatness] on high” (vs. 3). By virtue of who He is, He could enter the true sanctuary in the heavens and set Himself down on the throne of God! J. N. Darby commented: “He could sit down on the throne of God, and not soil it” (Collected Writings, vol. 27, p. 339). Satan, as “the anointed cherub,” attempted to do that very thing and was immediately expelled from heaven (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19), but when Christ ascended to the throne, all heaven rose up to crown Him with glory and honour (Heb. 2:9). Being who He was, He stepped into the presence of “the majesty on high” and wasn’t out-classed by the glory of God that shone there—it was His place by right because He is God! No prophet will ever sit in such an exalted place. Christians are said to be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6), but they, too, will never sit at God’s right hand; that place is reserved for Christ alone. He sits there because of WHO He is.
Summary
To summarize the attributes of the Son of God, He is:
The end of all history—being “Heir of all things.”
The beginning of all history—having “made the worlds.”
Beyond all history—being “the effulgence” of God’s glory and “the expression of His substance.”
Throughout all history—as “upholding all things.”
The One Sacrifice for all history—having made “purification of sins.”
Above all history—as sitting “on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Christ Seated at God’s Right Hand in Four Ways
It is significant that Christ is seen seated at God’s right hand four times in this epistle. When the heavens were “opened” for Stephen to look into, he saw Christ “standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). The Lord was standing at that time because opportunity was still being extended to the Jews to receive Him as their Messiah, even though they had rejected and crucified Him. He stood there ready to return to earth to set up the kingdom, as stated in the writings of the Old Testament prophets, if they would but repent and be converted (Acts 3:19-20). But they would not have Christ and sent Stephen to heaven with the message: “We will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). It was only after this that God judicially set the nation aside and began a new departure in His ways towards the Gentiles (Acts 15:14) to call believers out of them to be part of an entirely new thing—the Church of God. The epistle to the Hebrews, being written some years after the stoning of Stephen, gives us another glimpse into heaven, and we see Christ not standing, but seated at God’s right hand. This shows that God was no longer reaching out to the nation on covenant lines as He once did, and the opportunity to have Christ return to earth as the Messiah of Israel and set up the kingdom had now been rescinded. Those things have been suspended for an undisclosed amount of time.
From the periodical, The Remembrancer: “JESUS is still standing because until the rejection by Israel of the testimony of the Holy Ghost, He did not definitively sit down, waiting for the judgment of His enemies. Rather, He remained in the position of High Priest standing....the Jews having done the same thing with regard to the testimony of the Holy Ghost that they did to JESUS, having (so to speak) in Stephen sent a messenger after Him to say, ‘We will not have this Man to rule over us,’ Christ definitively takes His place seated in heaven, until He shall judge the enemies who would not that He should reign over them. It is in this last position that He is viewed in the epistle to the Hebrews....This, it appears to me, is the reason why He is seen standing. He had not definitively taken His place as seated for ever (or ‘in perpetuity’)—eis to dienekes (Heb. 10:12), on the heavenly throne until the testimony of the Holy Ghost to Israel of His exaltation had been definitively rejected upon earth” (The Remembrancer, vol. 18, pp. 158-160).
Christ is mentioned as being seated at God’s right hand for four different reasons:
In chapter 1:3—He sits there on account of the greatness of His Person—as the Son of God.
In chapter 8:1—He sits there on account of His present work of intercession—as our High Priest.
In chapter 10:12—He sits there as having victoriously finished the work of atonement—as the great Redeemer.
In chapter 12:2—He sits there having walked the path of faith perfectly—as the Object for faith.
We can see from what has been before us concerning the greatness of Christ in relation to the prophets of Israel, that in reality, since He is God “in the Person of the Son,” there is no real comparison at all. Christ is an infinite Person, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, whereas the prophets are but mere men! In fact, the greatest of all the prophets said, “One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose” (Luke 3:16).