Commentary - Hebrews 1:1-4

Bird's-eye view

The book of Hebrews opens with one of the most magnificent, tightly-packed, Christ-saturated sentences in all of Scripture. In the original Greek, these first four verses are one continuous, rolling declaration of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. The author, writing to a community of Jewish Christians tempted to revert to the shadows of the old covenant, doesn't begin with gentle encouragements. He begins with a thunderclap. He establishes from the outset the absolute finality and superiority of God's revelation in His Son over every form of revelation that came before. This is not an incremental upgrade; this is the arrival of the reality to which all previous shadows pointed. The argument is simple and devastating: God used to speak in bits and pieces through prophets, but now He has spoken His ultimate and final word in the person of His Son. And this Son is no mere messenger; He is the Creator, Sustainer, Inheritor, Purifier, and reigning King of the cosmos, infinitely superior to the highest created beings, the angels.

These four verses serve as the overture to the entire symphony of Hebrews. They introduce all the major themes that will be developed throughout the book: the Son's superiority to prophets, His superiority to angels, His role as Creator, His divine nature, His priestly work of purification for sins, and His kingly session at God's right hand. This is the foundation upon which the entire argument for persevering in the Christian faith is built. To go back to the old ways is not just to prefer a black-and-white photograph to a living person; it is to turn your back on the Creator and King of the universe who has accomplished your salvation.

Outline

Context In Hebrews

Hebrews is a sermon-epistle, written to beleaguered Christians who were feeling the immense social and religious pressure to abandon their faith in Jesus and return to the more established and culturally acceptable forms of Second Temple Judaism. The author's central argument, which he begins immediately in this prologue, is that to do so would be an act of catastrophic folly. Why? Because Jesus is better. He is better than the prophets (1:1-3), better than the angels (1:4-2:18), better than Moses (3:1-6), better than Joshua (4:1-13), and His priestly ministry under the New Covenant is better than the entire Levitical system of the Old Covenant (4:14-10:18). This opening salvo in 1:1-4 is the thesis statement for the entire book. It establishes the unassailable supremacy of Christ, which is the basis for all the subsequent exhortations to hold fast to Him and not drift away.

Key Issues

The Unveiling of the Son

The opening of Hebrews is like the dramatic unveiling of a masterpiece. For centuries, God had been painting a masterpiece of redemption, but He had done so behind a veil. He revealed it in "many portions and in many ways", a brushstroke here in the life of Abraham, a splash of color there in the prophecies of Isaiah, a shadow in the tabernacle sacrifices. The Old Testament saints saw glimpses, outlines, and fragments. They knew something glorious was coming, but the full picture was not yet clear. Then, "in these last days," God pulled the veil away entirely. And what stood revealed was not a new set of rules or a more detailed prophecy, but a Person: His Son. The entire Old Testament was the prelude; Jesus is the performance. He is not just another character in the story; He is the author, the central character, and the grand finale all in one. To understand this is to understand why there is no going back.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

The author begins where his audience would begin: with the unshakeable conviction that God speaks. The God of the Bible is not a silent, deistic force; He is a communicating God. He has a long history of revealing Himself. He spoke to "the fathers," their esteemed ancestors, and He did so "in the prophets." The prophets were God's mouthpieces. But this revelation, glorious as it was, had two defining characteristics. First, it was partial, coming in many portions. Think of it like a serial novel. You get one chapter at a time, Genesis, then Exodus, then Isaiah. No single prophet received the whole story. Second, it was varied, coming in many ways. God spoke through historical narratives, legal codes, poetry, visions, dreams, audible voices, and symbolic acts. It was a rich and multifaceted revelation, but it was, by its very nature, incomplete and preparatory.

2 in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds,

Here comes the great contrast. The long era of fragmented revelation is over. We are now in these last days. This is a technical term. It doesn't mean the world is about to end in a chronological sense, but rather that the final era of redemptive history has dawned with the coming of the Messiah. The age of shadows is over; the age of fulfillment is here. And in this final age, God's method of speaking has changed. He no longer speaks merely through prophets; He has spoken in His Son. The revelation is no longer a message; it is a person. Jesus does not just bring the final word from God; He is the final Word of God. To see Him is to see the Father. After this, there is nothing more to be said. The author then immediately begins to unpack the identity of this Son with a cascade of glorious truths. First, He is the heir of all things. As the Son, the entire created order is His rightful inheritance. This establishes His ultimate authority and lordship. Second, He is the agent of creation: through whom also He made the worlds. He is not a created being; He is the uncreated Creator. Before anything was, He was, and everything that is was made through Him. This is a direct statement of His deity.

3 who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The description of the Son's glory continues. He is the radiance of His glory. He is not just a reflection of God's glory, like Moses' face shone after being with God. He is the very outshining, the effulgence of that glory. As the sun cannot be separated from its light, so the Father cannot be separated from the Son. He is also the exact representation of His nature. The Greek word is charakter, which refers to the impression made by a seal. The Son is the perfect, flawless imprint of the Father's very being. He is God in substance and nature. Then, His cosmic power is described: He upholds all things by the word of His power. The universe doesn't just run on its own. Every atom, every star, every breath is held in existence moment by moment by the sustaining power of Christ's command. Having established His divine nature and cosmic role, the author pivots to His redemptive work. This divine Creator is also our Priest. He accomplished cleansing for sins. This is a summary of His atoning death on the cross. It is a past, completed act. The work is finished. And the proof of its completion is His subsequent action: He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. A priest in the old covenant never sat down; his work was never finished. Christ sat down because His one sacrifice was sufficient for all time. His sitting at the right hand signifies that His priestly work is complete and His kingly reign has begun.

4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

This verse serves as a bridge, concluding the opening statement and introducing the next major section of the argument. The Son's exaltation to the right hand of God demonstrates that He has become so much better than the angels. The angels were the highest of created beings, held in great esteem in Judaism, and were mediators of the Old Covenant law (Heb. 2:2). But the Son is in a completely different category. The proof of this is that He has inherited a more excellent name. What is that name? The author will immediately explain in the following verses that the name is "Son." God never said to any angel, "You are my Son" (Heb. 1:5). This title of Sonship denotes a unique relationship, a unique status, and a unique authority that places Jesus Christ in a class all by Himself, infinitely superior to all created beings, heavenly or otherwise.

Application

The opening of Hebrews is a potent tonic for a spiritually drowsy church. We live in an age of religious pluralism and theological fuzziness, where Jesus is often presented as one of many great moral teachers, a good example, or a spiritual guide. This passage blows all of that out of the water. Jesus is not one option among many; He is the final, definitive, and complete revelation of the living God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe who became our Priest to cleanse us from our sins and now reigns as our King.

This means, first, that we must listen to Him. If God has spoken His final word in His Son, then we must give our utmost attention to what the Son has said, as recorded for us in Scripture. We are not waiting for a new revelation, a new prophet, or a new religious experience to supplement what God has already given us in Christ. The whole counsel of God is found in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, we must worship Him. This is not a mere man we are talking about. This is the radiance of God's glory, the one who holds the cosmos together. To treat Him with casual indifference is cosmic treason. He is worthy of all our praise, all our allegiance, and all our lives.

Finally, we must trust Him completely. The one who made the worlds and upholds them by His power is the same one who accomplished cleansing for our sins. Our salvation is not in flimsy hands. The work is done. He has sat down. Therefore, we can rest in His finished work, confident that the King of the universe is our great High Priest, and nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Him.