Hebrews 1 - August 10th

The Book of Hebrews is a powerful book with many theological themes. Similar to the Gospel of John, Hebrews begins by presenting the deity of Christ. Hebrews 1 may be one of the clearest places in all of Scripture where we find the doctrine of the deity of Christ taught. Though the author of Hebrews is not certain, what can be sure is that he was well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures and references them throughout this letter. Within chapter one, we find Old Testament references used to speak of Christ as the eternal God, loved by the Father, and superior to the angels.

Christ is Superior to the Prophets

Throughout much of history, God used prophets to communicate with his people. Prophets represented God to the people and brought messages of judgment, peace, and what would happen in future times. These prophets and their prophecies can be found in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Micah, to name a few. However, now God has sent one greater than all the other prophets. He has sent the ultimate prophet, His very own Son, Jesus Christ. It is one thing for a King to send out a mere servant as a messenger; it is an entirely different thing for Him to send his very Son. Christ is the heir of all things and the beloved of the Father, and He is greater than all other messengers that came before Him. It is because he is so much more precious than all who came before Him that rejecting Him is an even greater thing. The prophets were sent by God and persecuted and killed; this is a great sin, however, for those who rejected and killed the Son, specifically the religious leaders who sought His death, their crime is far higher. This reality is spoken of by Jesus in the parable of the tenants in Matthew 21. The vineyard owner sends his servants (the prophets) to the tenants of the vineyard (religious leaders), and they persecute and mistreat them; finally, he sends them His son (Jesus Christ), whom they also kill (the cross). The Father sent the prophets, but in the last days, He sent his son, greater than all the prophets!

Christ is Superior to the Angels

Not only is he greater than the prophets, but He is greater than the angels. One thing that we can infer from this letter is that its recipients may have had an inappropriately magnified view of angles and the role they play. There was some misunderstanding regarding the Angelology of the recipients of this letter which the author takes time to set straight. The main thing to take away from his argument is that Christ is greater than the angels, and he uses Old Testament references to argue this. The Father calls Christ the Son and says, “today I have begotten you” he never says this regarding the angels, for they were created, not begotten. The Son sits at the Father’s right hand and is called God! The angels do not have such a title, nor are they given such a right. The angels are commanded to worship the Son, not the other way around. To make it simple, Christ is greater because He is the eternal, omnipotent, holy, immutable God! The angels are ministering spirits; the Son is the awesome God of all!

Christ is God

To read this Book and deny Christ’s deity is a baffling thing. You cannot even get past the first chapter because he is immediately presented as the “heir of all things” and the one through whom the world was created and is the one who upholds that creation “by the word of His power”! Christian, do not be mistaken, the one who died for us is the one who created us! Our God humbled himself and took on the form of a servant, in love, to bear the penalty of our sins for us. Hebrews is a Christ-exalting book, He is unequivocally presented as the spotless Lamb of God and as God Himself. Be in absolute awe of Christ as we study this book over the coming weeks.