Hebrews 1:6-10

 

Heb 1:6 (KJB)

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

 

Firstbegotten - First Born - First in Superiority or in Rank

 

In this passage we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be “supreme in rank” above all angels in the heavens and above all earthly kings and kingdoms. (Psa 89:27 KJV) Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. Even Christ being in the Flesh in this world, the angels will have to worship Him. (Mark 1:23-24 KJV) And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, {24} Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. It is interesting that the devils which possessed the man in the Synagogue had identified the Lord Jesus Christ while He was in the flesh. This is because they knew Him while He was In heaven before they followed Satan in his rebellion. Then when Jesus returns to earth the second time for Judgment day, every knee will bow to Him, and that includes unbelievers and the devils in the kingdom of Satan. The angels are to worship Christ which means the angels are subservient to Christ and are never to be placed on an even footing with Him. The fascination with angels today is almost reaching cult status. Everywhere you look you see angels. Christian bookstores are loaded with the figurines and yet no one has ever seen an angel to know what they really look like.

 

Heb 1:7 (KJB)

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

 

Ministers - Servants

 

(Psa 104:4 KJV) Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: The quote in this verse comes from Psalm 104:4. Here we are told that the angels are servants who have the ability to execute a swift judgment, just as fire ravishes a building quickly, the angels are able to execute a judgment just as swiftly. The angels are created as spirits but they do have the ability to manifest themselves in fleshly form as they did to Abraham or Manoah.

 

Heb 1:8 (KJB)

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

 

(Psa 45:6 KJV) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. The writer of Hebrews quotes the 45^th Psalm in reference to the high position held by the Lord Jesus Christ above the angels. A sceptre was basically a rod or a staff but it symbolized the authority one had. (Est 5:2 KJV) And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. In the book of Esther, when one wanted to see the king, they needed to have an approved appointment. If one went into the king’s chamber without a royal summons, and the king did not hold out the sceptre, that person could be put to death. When Queen Esther went in to the king, he held out the sceptre and she was accepted and did not face any penalty.

 

In Hebrews 1:8 God is specifically teaching us that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and His throne, or divine authority, is forever and ever. While the Lord does not have a physical sceptre, the official sceptre of His kingdom is righteousness, that is, a sceptre of Justice. Here we also see that it also represents the righteous administration of the office of King. Christ having a sceptre denotes that He is a King, not just a mere prophet or teacher. He holds out the sceptre of salvation to His Elect while withholding the sceptre from those who are not Elect.

 

Heb 1:9 (KJB)

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

 

Hated - Detest or abhor

Iniquity - Lawlessness or without law

Anointed - Appointed (The Greek word is “chrio” and it is used 5 times in the New Testament and all 5 times it is God doing the action.

Of gladness - Great joy or exultation

Fellows - Sharing, participating, or partner

 

(Psa 45:7 KJV) Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. In describing the Lord Jesus Christ we read that He hates iniquity. It must be observed that He not only hates iniquity, but He hates the workers of iniquity, that is, all unbelievers. (Psa 5:5 KJV) The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. He loves the righteous because He imputes His own perfect righteousness to the Christian and therefore cleanses them from their iniquity. Sin and iniquity are totally opposite of the nature of the Kingdom of righteousness which Christ rules over. He will chastise His own who partake of it in any form and for those who remain unsaved, they will be commanded to depart from Him on the last day into everlasting punishment.

 

To understand the second part of this verse we must jump ahead to Hebrews 12:2. (Heb 12:2 KJV) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Even though the Lord Jesus Christ underwent the worst torture and humiliation a human could go through, nevertheless, He endured it for the joy set before Him. The oil of gladness means great joy. (1 Sam 10:1 KJV) Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? When Samuel anointed Saul king of Israel, he poured a vial of oil over his head as a sign of him being king. The oil of gladness is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ being crowned as King. It states, “above thy fellows.” This could be an allusion to the angels but probably more toward earthly kings. As earthly kings have their glory and temporal powers, the anointing of Christ places Him above them because He has eternal glory and eternal power as there is no end to His kingdom. (Isa 9:7 KJV) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. All of this is done by the anointing power of God. (Mat 28:18 KJV) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

 

Heb 1:10 (KJB)

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

 

(Psa 102:25 KJV) Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. The writer to the Hebrews had an excellent understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures and as a result, he saw the fact that Jesus was God and freely used many Scriptures from the Old Testament which speak about Jehovah as a reference to Christ. Here we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ was the one who created the earth and the Heavens. This means that the Lord Jesus Christ was already in existence eternally before He came to earth in the manger. If you notice the word “heavens” is plural because the Bible speaks of three different Heavens. The first heaven is the one that surrounds the earth with blue sky and clouds. The second heaven is the heaven where the stars, sun, and moon reside. The third Heaven is the abode of God otherwise known as Paradise. (Rev 2:7 KJV) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. This verse basically teaches us the eternal nature of Christ and the fact the He is the Creator.

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