II.
The Excellence of the Christ (1:5–3:6)
In the introduction, the divine author has drawn attention to the excellence of the Christ; now he dwells on the point by emphasizing that Christ has a greater dignity than any other being — so great indeed that He must be classed with God rather than with human beings. Without weakening the doctrine of the Incarnation, this letter has as high a Christology as is conceivable. Nobody insists on the limitations of Jesus' human frame as does the writer of Hebrews. But he unites with this the thought that Jesus is exalted far above all creation.
A.
Superior to Angels ()
The discussion of the excellence of the Son begins with a series of seven quotations from the Old Testament, five being from the Psalms, all of which stress the superiority of Christ to the angels.
1.
() The opening question, "For to which of the angels did [God] ever say," along with verses 2 and 3 implies that Christ is to be seen in all the Scriptures.. () In the Old Testament, angels are sometimes called ""sons of God""; and the term was applied to Israel (; ) and Solomon (; ). But none of the angels nor anyone else was ever singled out and given the kind of status this passage gives to Christ.. The first quotation comes from . Among the rabbis, the "Son" is variously identified as Aaron, David, or the Messiah Himself. Only the last identification is true to God’s Word. Our writer is clearly taking the psalm as messianic and sees it as conferring great dignity upon Jesus.
a.
The second quotation comes from (already used) (). Though the words were originally used of Solomon, the writer of Hebrews applies them to the Messiah. There was a widespread expectation that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. The quotation points to the father-son relationship as the fundamental relationship between God and Christ. No angel can claim such a relationship. This and are the only passages in Hebrews in which the term "Father" is applied to God.
2.
() This verse is the only place in the New Testament where "firstborn" is used absolutely of Christ. Elsewhere it is linked with Jesus' birth ( [in the Greek testament); ], among many brethren (), of all creation (), or the church (; ), where it represents Christ in His relationship to others and gives the word a social significance. Here, however, it signifies that He has the status with God that a human firstborn son has with his father (cf. reference to "heir" in vs. 2). Christ is exalted and enthroned as sovereign over the inhabited world, including the angels. The quotation is from the LXX of [optional reading] ; it is absent from our Hebrew text. The LXX reads "sons of God" where this quotation in has "Angels of God," but "angels" occurs later in the verse and again in a similar context in . "All" shows that this is no small, hole-in-the-corner affair but one in which the worship of all heaven is offered to the Son. The one the angels’ worship is clearly superior by far to them.
3.
() The Hebrew of can mean either that God makes the winds His messengers and the flames His servants or that He makes his messengers (angels) into winds and his servants into flames. The LXX, which the divine author quotes, takes the latter view, though this does not suggest any downgrading of the angels. But if the angels are immeasurably superior to human beings, the Son is immeasurably superior to the angels. Whereas He has sonship, they are reducible to nothing more than the elemental forces of wind and fire. This passage also seems to imply that the angels are temporary in contrast to the Son, who is eternal.
4.
() The quotation here is from , which refers to the Son, who is then addressed as "God." His royal state is brought out by the references to the "throne," "scepter," and "kingdom" and by His moral concern for the "righteousness" that is supreme where He reigns. This concern continues with His loving righteousness and hating "lawlessness", which lead to the divine anointing. We should perhaps take the first occurrence of the word "God" in as another vocative case (in which the addressee is named [“You [O God {vs. }] have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness”]): "Therefore, O [Son of] God, Your God [the Father] has anointed You." ([Optional reading] ; ; ) Anointing was usually a rite of consecration to some sacred function. This is in view here as the Son is set above His companions, who are probably the "brethren" of .
5.
() The divine author next quotes from to bring out the Son's eternality and supremacy over creation. In the Old Testament, these words are applied to God. Here, however, they apply to Christ without qualification or any need for justification. Christ was God's agent in creation, the one who laid the earth's foundations and constructed heaven. All these will in due course perish, but not their Maker. The metaphor of clothing has a twofold reference: the created things will wear out (the process is slow but certain); and the Son deals with them as with clothing, rolling them up and changing them. He began the universe, and He will finish it. But through it all, the Son remains unchanged.. Our years come to an end, but His never does.
6.
() The quotation from is introduced with a formula that stresses its inapplicability to angels. This psalm is accepted by the New Testament writers as messianic. () It is repeatedly applied to Christ; and apparently even Jesus' opponents accepted it as messianic, though, of course, they would not apply it to Jesus. ([Optional reading] ; ; ) Since the angels stand before God, it is a mark of superior dignity that the Son sits. And the statement that God discharges the task of a servant in preparing a footstool for the Son is a striking piece of imagery. The angels are God's servants. How great then is He whom God the Father deigns to serve! To make the enemies a footstool means to subject them utterly. Consequently, God will render all Christ's enemies utterly powerless.
7.
() The angels are now contrasted with the Son of God. He sits in royal state; "all" of them, however, are no more than servants of saved people. "Spirits" preserves their place of dignity, but their function is "to render service". The word used here is the usual New Testament term for the service Christians render to God and other people, but nowhere else is it used of the service angels render. "Inherit" is often used in the New Testament in senses other than the strict one of obtaining something by a will. [Optional readings] It is used of inheriting (possessing) the earth (), the kingdom of God (), eternal life (), the promises (), the imperishable (), God’s blessing (), and a more excellent name (see vs. )
a.
"Salvation" (Greek sotéria) is a general word, but among first-century Christians it was used of salvation in Christ, either in its present or, as here, future aspect. This word is used seven times in Hebrews, the most of any New Testament book, so the concept clearly matters to the divine author. His use of it here without qualification shows that it was already accepted by the readers as well as the divine author as a technical term for the salvation Christ brought through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary.
B.
Author of “Such a Great Salvation” ()
The second step in the argument for Jesus' superiority shows Him to be infinitely great because of the nature of the salvation He won. He who brought about a salvation that involved tasting death "for everyone" (vs. ) cannot be other than greater by far than any angel. The divine author precedes the development of this thought with a brief section in which he typically exhorts his readers to attend to what has been said (cf. also [optional reading] ; ).
1.
() "For this reason" most likely refers to the whole argument of . Since the Son is so far superior to the angels and His message is superior to theirs, we should "pay much careful attention" to it. This verb means not only to turn the mind to a thing but also to act upon what one perceives. Inaction in spiritual things is fatal. The divine author does not explain what he means by "what we have heard," but we need not doubt that the whole Christian Gospel is in mind. By the word "we," the divine author puts himself in the same class as his readers, i.e., dependent on others for the message. He was not one of the original disciples. In this section of Hebrews, the danger is that we might "drift away". This verb is used of such things as a ring slipping off a finger; it is a vivid figure for the person who lets himself or herself drift away from the haven of the Gospel. One need not be violently opposed to the message to suffer loss; one need only drift away from it. This drift shows a professing Christian is not genuine.
2.
() "Word" (Greek logos) means in the first place a word spoken (as opposed to a deed) and then a series of words or a statement. What the statement is varies with the context. It can mean a message from God, a revelation, and so the Christian Gospel. The final revelation is, of course, Christ. He Himself is "the Word" (). In Hebrews, the "word" is usually God's Word (e.g., ; ), though it can also be, in the LXX (not the Greek), the writer's own word () or the word the Israelites did not wish to hear (). Here in verse , it is the divinely given word about Christ spoken by angels to the shepherds. The atonement effected by Christ is payment of the “just penalty” of sins.
3.
() The just penalties meted out under the law show that where God is concerned, strict standards apply. This makes it imperative that those to whom a great salvation is offered do something about His offer (if they are among the elect of God, God will enable them to receive the offer). The disaster that threatens the non-elect is brought on by nothing more than mere neglect of God’s offer. It is not necessary to disobey any specific injunction. This is the first of a number of warnings to the readers not to surrender their Christian profession and show thereby that they are fake Christians.
a.
The writer is determined to guard against the possibility of feeling one has lost salvation (one cannot lose one’s true salvation; thus, this is Satan’s way to trip up a true Christian with a lie that it can occur). This salvation is distinguished from the many other kinds of salvation offered in the ancient world by calling it "such a great salvation" and then by telling us three things about it (see ). In the first place, it was "spoken through the Lord." The salvation originates with the Father. The divine author's use of "spoken" makes a point of contact with the gospel of Luke, for there only does Jesus announce salvation (; cf. also ; ).
b.
The second point about salvation is that it "was confirmed to us by those who heard [Him]." The divine author is here again appealing to the first hearers as those to whom the authentic Gospel was entrusted (cf. ). Any later preaching must agree with theirs. If it does not, then it will stand convicted of being an innovation instead of the genuine thing. For this writer, as for his readers, the message was "confirmed" by the original disciples. This verb is used as a legal technical term to designate properly guaranteed security; the certainty of the message is guaranteed to us, and there cannot be the slightest doubt about the genuineness of the offer of salvation.
4.
() The third and clinching point about our "great … salvation" is that God Himself has also "testified" to it. Preachers are not left to bear their witness alone. No less a one than God Himself has shared in this. () In John's Gospel, we have the bold thought that God has borne witness to Christ. Since anyone who bears witness commits himself by that very act, God has gone on record, so to speak, that He too is a witness to the great salvation of His Son.
a.
Here, however, we have an even bolder thought: God has been pleased to commit Himself through the original disciples. He gave the "signs" or miracles that attested their preaching. The Gospel is not a human creation, and the early hearers were not left in doubt as to its origin.