Hebrews chapter one

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Heb 1:4  Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Heb 1:5  For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?

Heb 1:6  And again, when He bringeth in the Firstbegotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.

Heb 1:7  And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.

Heb 1:8  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.

Heb 1:9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands:

Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.

Heb 1:13  But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?

Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

 

This book, the epistle to the Hebrews, is very unique compared to the other epistles of the New Testament. Its introduction is the first oddity—“God, …” No “from—to” format like the other letters.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, … to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…”

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth…”

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia…”

“Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia…”

 

No blessing of Heaven’s grace and peace:

“To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 1:7).

“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Cor. 1:3).

“Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Cor. 1:2).

“Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal. 1:3).

Who is this writer of Hebrews (WoH)? If it were Paul, wouldn’t he have written the following? “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the churches of God in Judea, Jerusalem, and wherever the Jewish Christians live…. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Another apparent conflict is the WoH's theology. Paul made it clear that the Old Testament was inspired by Christ in His pre-incarnate person (see 1Cor. 10:4). John repeats that theology, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.… That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (Jn. 1:1-4,9).

 But, the WoH says it was God the Father who spoke throughout the Old Testament, “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 his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds…” (Heb. 1:1,2). 

But, maybe this isn’t such a conflict. Jesus never took upon Himself any authority or power or action apart from His Father. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself.” (Jn. 5:19). “For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also.” (Jn. 5:26,27). “For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” (Jn. 3:34). “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18).

“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.… That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one.” (Jn. 17:5,21-23).

And Paul clearly shows the union of Father and Son who work for our salvation. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” (Rom. 8:9). “That in the ages to come he [God] might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7). “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward…” (2Cor. 3:4). “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1Tim. 2:5).

So, since the Spirit of God does not contradict itself, we can assume that the WoH was saying, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets through His pre-incarnate Son, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son in the flesh.”  And possibly, it might have been more acceptable to the Jewish Christians to hear the WoH write what was familiar to them, that God the Father had been the one communicating directly to the prophets and not confuse them with other details beside what he was already giving them concerning the Messiah.

WoH then goes on to prove that Jesus was not only greater than the prophets, but greater than other heavenly supernatural beings with which they were familiar from scripture, i.e. angels.