Lesson 2

The Epistle to the Hebrews

World English Bible translation

Today's Scripture

1:5 For to which of the angels did he say at any time,

"You are my Son,
Today have I become your father?"

and again,

"I will be to him a Father,
And he will be to me a Son?"

1:6 Again, when he brings in the firstborn into the world he says, "Let all the angels of God worship him." 1:7 Of the angels he says,

"Who makes his angels winds,
And his servants a flame of fire."

1:8 but of the Son he says,

"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

1:9 You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows."

Today's Lesson

The writer of this epistle immediately begins with the premise that God once spoke to the Jewish fathers through the prophets but in these days He speaks to us through the Son. The Son is the image of God and the radiance of His glory. Through the Son all things were made and all things hold together. After the Son had made purification for our sins, God raised Him up to a place of glory and gave Him the name that is above all names.

God raised Him even higher than the angels. At this point that most modern readers become a bit perplexed. What is this fascination with angels that comes into this letter? To modern sensibilities the concept of angels is difficult to take seriously. But, to the ancient world, it was a given that the physical world was surrounded by the spiritual world. All around and in all things, spiritual beings lived and affected the physical realm. And these spiritual beings held the power of life and death.

To our way of thinking, such beliefs are unsophisticated. We live with the constant illusion that we are in control of our own lives. Nothing exists but what we can measure and replicate. While the ancient man believed that his control of reality was extremely limited, modern people believe that our control is practically unlimited.

Somewhere between the practicality of the modern man and the superstition of the ancient is the world as God has made it. God ultimately has complete control over our world but we are His children. He allows us to exercise a limited control over our own lives and holds us responsible for our decisions. There is also a spiritual reality that exists beyond our physical world. The spiritual world has a limited control over us and within that world are beings that are more powerful than we are.

But the good news of Christ is that the Son is the most powerful force in the world. When we become part of Christ, there is nothing in the physical or the spiritual realm that we need fear. Christ is above all created beings. Our goal should be to cling to Christ and to follow Him.

Who is in control of your world and your reality? Is there anyone who holds more power in your world than the Son of God?

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