The nature of God, Part 8: Hebrews 1

The Jesus Institute Forum

The nature of God – Part 8
Hebrews 1-2

God and the Christ in the epistle to the Hebrews;
worship in the Hebrew Scriptures
and the New Testament

Lee F Greer III
Loma Linda, California
© 2006
Prepared for the CHC Rose Room Sabbath school class
of Larry Christoffel & the members of JIF

Abstract. To gentile Christians, the NT epistles tend to emphasize (personified) wisdom and Adamic christologies. The epistle to the Hebrews, Jewish Christians, references both the wisdom and adamic christologies in the opening poem and emphasizes a Davidic christology. The letter to the Hebrews envisages in Jesus, the Son of God, serving in a new Davidic, Melchizedeq, royal high priesthood, officiating in a heavenly sanctuary, and heavenly Yom Kippur, replacing the old typological Aaronic high priesthood and yearly Yom Kippurim. He is the eschatological Son (agent) of the one God of heaven (Principal).

Introduction & method – listening to the text in its own context

(1) Determination of the text(s). Differences among Greek texts for these chapters are fairly minimal (Aland et al., 1998; eds. The Greek New Testament). Any significant difference will be noted and discussed (see on v3d).

Hebrews 1-2

Context
Allustions to precedent Biblical / historical-oral sources
and to the Jesus tradition

^1:1In many means and various ways of olden times
God spoke to our fathers in the prophets;
in these, the last days ['ep eschatou ton 'imeron touton]
He has spoken to us in a Son [en 'uio],
²whom He appointed [ethiken] an heir [klironomon] of all things,
through whom also He made the ages [epoiisen tous aionas];
³who is the radiance ['apaugasma] of His glory [doxis]
and the stamp-impress [charaktir] of His person ['ypostasis],
bearing all things [pheron te ta panta] through the word [rimati] of His [i.e., God's] power,
having made cleansing of the sins
[katharismon ton amartion poiesamenos],
having been seated at the right hand [en dexia] of the Great Majesty in high places [en 'ypsilois].
⁴Having become [genomenous] so far superior to the angels [by] inheriting [keklironomiken] a more surpassing name.

⁵For to what angel did God ever say, "You are My Son,
today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to Me a son"?
⁶But when He brought the firstborn [protokon] into the inhabited world [tin oikoumenin], He says, "Let all the angels of God worship [proskyneo] him."
⁷About the angels He says, "Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."
⁸But to the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom;
⁹you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you [echrisen se] with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades."

¹⁰[kai] Even "You, from the beginning, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your fingers.
¹¹They will perish, but You will remain,
and all things like a garment will grow aged,
¹²and like a cloak You will role them up,
even altered / changed as a garment.
But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.

¹³But to which of the angels did He ever say, "Sit at My right hand until your enemies are placed a footstool for your feet."
¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent into service because of those about to inherit salvation?

An added note. V10-12 is cited as a doxology [from Ps. 102 (101 LXX):25-26, 27] addressed to and extolling God the Almighty, and is linked both before and after by subject pronouns referring to the one God of Christ who anointed Christ above his comrades (v9) and invited Christ to sit at His own right hand (v13). This doxology (Ps. 102) is addressed to YHWH, who is the 'Elohim of the Davidic king (also called 'elohim) in v9 (cf. Ps. 45), even YHWH who has exalted the king above all others, and guarantees the Davidic promises to the king's offspring Christ, whom He invites to be seated at His right hand (v13). The One who is the God of Christ, the Father of the Davidic king seated at His own right hand, is the very LORD who in the beginning founded the earth and created the heavens – YHWH!

Andrew Norton (1877) argues, 'Now the God last mentioned was Christ’s God, who had anointed him; and the author [of the book of Hebrews], addressing himself to this God, breaks out into the celebration of his power, and especially his unchangeable duration; which he dwells upon in order to prove the stability of the Son’s kingdom…i.e., thou [God] who hast promised him such a throne, art he who laid the foundation of the earth. So it seems to be a declaration of God’s immutability made here, to ascertain the durableness of Christ’s kingdom, before mentioned; and the rather so, because this passage had been used originally for the same purpose in the 102nd Psalm, viz. [Author uses KJV] To infer thence this conclusion, “The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed be established before Thee. In like manner, it here proves the Son’s throne should be established forever and ever, by the same argument, viz., by God’s immutability”' (cited in Graesar et al. 2003, who point out Hyndeman, 1824; Morgridge, 1837 as agreeing with Norton, 1877).
James DG Dunn (1989) links the christological allusions to divine wisdom and logos in the opening poem with a possible address of Christ in v10-12: "This sense of Christ as embodying the very power of God that created the world would probably explain 'the astonishing application to Christ in Heb. 1.10-12 of a Psalm (102) which seems manifestly to be addressed to God almighty as Creator, and which (one would think) could therefore have no cogency whatever as a scriptural proof about the status of Christ' (quoting C. F. D. Moule...1962, p. 77)" (Dunn, p. 289, note 216). Dunn wonders if the author of Hebrews "did not think of the relation between God and the (pre-existent) Son as a personal relationship, but rather of the Son as a manifestation of God's radiance, as the expression of his creative power and purpose (1.2f.), and so of Jesus as the embodiment of that same purpose in revelation and redemption (1.2; 3.6)? Such a thesis would certainly help explain the curiously impersonal tone of the 'son' references in these two verses" (Ibid., pp. 54-55).

Some have seen here (1:10-12) a reference to Christ as the agent of the 'new creation' because the author speaks of 'the inhabited world about to come' in 2:5 (so Racovian Catechism, Rees, 1818; Broughton & Southgate, 1995; Buzzard & Hunting, 1998; Graesar et al. 2003, who also allow the possibility of Norton's view, see above). However in his context the author references both the primordial creation, in terms of historically well-founded personified wisdom and Adamic traditions, as well as the world to come – hence, we think that the context neither requires nor countenances exclusion of the primordial creation here.
Nor does it favor the elaborate re-interpretation of Ps. 102(101 LXX):23-25 endorsed by Bruce (1964) following Bacon (1902) who speculated that the LXX from 101:23 is not a continuation of the prayer in the psalm, but rather that God "answered" back to a messianic 'someone else' addressed that 'someone else' as Creator, thus God is reduced to being "told... the shortness of my days" and begging not to be "summoned (taken away, MT) in the midst of my days"! The "summoned" and "shortness of days" is supposedly a reference to the short time till the messianic consummation (cf. Mk. 13;20; Mt. 24:22). None of this speculation is remotely suggested, not even with the two minor LXX mistranslations. [The LXX by confusing the vocalizations, mistranslated "He humbled" ('innah) as "He answered" ('anah) and "I said, 'My God...'" ('omar 'Eli) as "told me" ('emor 'elai)]. The LXX version still flows from beginning to end as a prayer by the afflicted to the eternal God of heaven, repeatedly emphasizing our shortness of life and God's permanence and mercy. Nothing in the LXX rendition gives license for Bacon's ad hoc and expansive speculations.

Context and usage make it most likely that this doxology is addressed to God as Creator, and only in a secondary sense to the Son as the eschatological agent, heir, and historical actualization of God's primordial wisdom and power. If Christ were addressed as YHWH Himself (contrary to the whole tenor of the passage), there would be no reason for the author to make as his explicit climax of the section, God's invitation to the Son to sit at His right hand (v13). Nor would there be any need to extensively develop how the Son is the radiance and (Adamic) express image of God and His primordial wisdom, how he has become superior to the angels, and how he has been exalted in divinely-ordained Davidic messiahship because of his righteous obedience.
Quite naturally, the author of Hebrews knows nothing about any plurality in God, about consubstantiality or co-equality (Nicea and Chalcedon, 4th-5th centuries CE), and never abandons his own strict unitary monotheism or that of his mid-1st century Jewish Christian audience.

v1-4 – A Jewish Christian hymnic eshatological poem in part (v1-4). Authorities usually limit it to the first 3 verses (or v3), but v4 preserves the flow directly, the aorist tense litany of God's accomplishments through him, and the linking of his being 'heir of all' (2a) and 'inherit[ing] a greater name' than angels, strongly suggest a continuation of the poem. From v5 onward we find midrash-like exposition and argumentation citing the Hebrew Scriptures. There are close parallels with Col. 1:15-17 (Dunn, 1989).

v1, 3 – Eschatological Danielic and Day of Atonement allusions (cf. Greer, 2001): 'in these, the last days' may be a quotation from Daniel 10:14 LXX 'And I have come to inform you of all that will befall your people [to lao sou, cf. 9:24, 12:1-3] in the last days ['ep eschaton ton 'imeron], for the vision [8:1-14] is yet for days (to come)' and further alludes to Dan. 8:19 LXX 'Look! I make known to you the things that shall come to pass at the end of the wrath ['ep eschaton tis orgis], for the vision [8:1-14] (is) yet for an appointed time [kairou peras]' (ref. a cultic holiday, Yom Kippur, v14). (For other LXX uses of the phrase, see refs. cited in Bruce, 1964: Gen. 49:1; Num. 24:14; Deut. 4:30; 31:29; Isa. 2:2 = Mic. 4:1; Hos. 3:5; Jer. 23:20; 30:24; 48:27; Ezek. 38:16). The 'cleansing of the sins [katharismon ton amartion]' is a cultic reference to Yom Kippur (Lev. 16) in Exod. 30:10 LXX ('to atone once a year by the blood of the cleansing for the sins by atonement once a year to be cleansed on it (the altar) [apax tou eniautou apo tou aimatos tou katharismou ton 'amartion tou exilasmou apax tou eniautou kathariei auto'), a sacrificial passage alluded to again Heb. 9. a Son appointed heir of all' combines allusions to Dan. 7:9-14 and Ps. 2 both about eschatological accession-judgment. The LXX Danielic and Yom Kippur allusions are linked along with 'the last days' and 'a Son' through reference in v3 to Daniel 8:14 LXX final cultic 'cleansing [of] the holies [katharisthisetai to 'agion]' and echoed in Christ's triumphal entry into the 'high places [en 'yspilois]' (v3e). This is further echoed in the further Danielic-sacrificial reference in Heb. 9:23 'Thus it was necessary for the copies of the (things) in the heavens to be cleansed with these (rituals) [ton en tois ouranois toutois katharizesthai], but the heavenly things [ta 'epourania] themselves with better sacrifices than these.' 'seated at the right hand of the Great Majesty' is an echo of Ps. 110 (109 LXX):1, a psalm with eschatological Melchizedeq priesthood references. For a summary of cultic imagery parallels between Lev. 16 and Dan. 7 (as well as Rev. 4-5 and Rom. 3), see Greer (2003).

v1 – The Son may be thought of as the 'historical actualization' or 'climactic articulation' of the divine thought (Dunn, 1989) concerning the Christ to come, and of the word of revelation revealed via the prophets in olden times.

v2 – 2a: 'appointed [ethiken] an heir of all things' 'appointed' / 'designated' can mean designation in advance or even in eternity (Hering, 1954; also cited but not referenced by Dunn 1989: Epworth, 1970; cf. Michel, Hebräer), making an interesting parallel-contrast with a Son through whom 'the ages' were made and his eschatological manifestation 'in these last days' (v1). The idea of an inheritance from God is Davidic (Ps. 2), present in Paul (Hester, 1968; cited by Dunn, 1989: Rom. 4:13f; 8:17; I Cor. 6:9f; 15:50; Gal. 3:18, 29; 4:1, 7, 30; 5:21; Eph. 1:14, 18; 5:5; Col. 3:24), and similar to a phrase in Philo's commentary on Gen. 15:2-18, 'Who is the heir of divine things?' (Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres).
2b: 'through whom also He made the ages [or worlds]' is reminiscent of a similar attribution of creative role to logos in Philo (Sac. 8; Immut. 57; Migr. 6; Spec. Leg. I: 81). Heb. 11:3 states, "By faith we understand that the ages were completed by the word [rimati, cf. v3c] of God, so that what is seen did not come into being from what appears" illustrating that the Son is the 'last day' expression of God's primordial word (rimati) in creation, a clearly Hebrew category, which does not suggest any plurality in God (cf. Part 6).

v3 – Primordial wisdom and Adamic allusions. The poem cites an already-present tradition of mingling of explicit primordial wisdom and Adamic allusions in the Jewish heritage:
   Wisdom literature (Dunn, 1989) parallels with v3: 'She [wisdom] is the radiance ['apaugasma] of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image [eikon] of His goodness' (Wisd. 7:26) '...the stamp [charaktir] is the eternal word [logos]' (Philo, Plant. 18). God is described as giving birth or bearing what is not and generating all things [ta mi onta pheron kai ta panta gennon] (Philo, Heres 36; Mut. 256), and speaks of the word (logos) as God's prop in sustaining (bearing) the whole (Plant. 8f; Som. I:241)
   Adamic-humankind parallels and allusions in v3: Adam was created in the image (eikon) and likeness ('omoiosin) of God to bear rule (Gen. 1:26-7 LXX), 'made a little lower than 'elohim (the angels, LXX), crowned with glory and honor...to rule' (Ps. 8 MT, LXX), and man (Adam) is "the image [eikon] and glory [doxa] of God" (I Cor. 11:7). Humankind is made in the likeness of God ("With it [the tongue] we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude ['omoiosis] of God" [Jas. 3:9 NKJV; cf. Gen. 1:26; 5:1; 9:6]). Christ the last Adam is "the image [eikon] of the invisible God..." (Col. 1:6) "being in the form [morphé] of God" (Phil. 2:6). Philo stated (Making of the world 146; Noah's Planting 18; Spec. Leg. IV.123) that God breathed into Adam "an 'apaugasma [radiance] of His blessed, thrice-blessed nature" (Bruce, 1964). So as Dunn (1989) summarizes it, the human mind or soul is referred to by Philo as the 'apaugasma of the divine logos and nature (Opif. 146; Spec. Leg. IV.123) as well as the impression (charaktir) of a virtue or of divine power (part. Leg. All. I:61; Sac. 60; Det. 77, 83; Conf. 102; Heres 38, 181, 324), the impression of the logos (Leg. All. III: 95-7) or as in Noah's Planting 18: "...our great Moses likened the fashion of the reasonable [human] soul to no created being, but averred it to be a genuine coinage of that dread Spirit, the divine and invisible One, signed and impressed by the seal of God, the stamp (charaktir) of which is the eternal word [logos]" (cit. Dunn, 1989). Like morphé and eikon which are nearly synonyms (Martin, 1958-9), so the meaning of eikon and charaktir (impress) are quite close (Michael, Hebräer, p. 89; Bruce, 1964, p. 6).
   Parallels nicely with Adamic christology citation of Ps. 8 in ch. 2:6-9. The resurrected, eschatologically exalted man, Jesus Christ, has fulfilled the original plan for Adam (Dunn, 1989).
A number of later manuscripts modified and added "through himself" [di 'eautou] before 'having made cleansing" (katharismon) to make the reading "by himself cleansing...." (so Bruce, 1964), but the original is to be preferred (see Aland et al. 1998). Jesus did nothing by himself but always through the power of God (see gospel of John, etc.). The Son is the agent of God's glory, person, and word of power (v3). Heb. 2:9 says that it is "through the grace of God that Jesus tastes death on behalf of all."

v4 – The Son has become greater than the angels and inherited a greater name than theirs. His greatness and honors are inherited, earned through suffering (v3). As the shaliach / apostolos agent of God, his honors and exaltation are all derived from God.

v5-14 – Midrash-style exposition based on the messianic promises of David
v5 – 5a: 'You are My Son, today I have begotten you' Ps. 2:7; cf. 89:26-27; Acts 13:33; Heb 5:5). Dunn (1989) cites Büchsel (TDNT IV), "He is hte reflection of God's glory and image of his nature (1.3) only in personal fellowship with God. This is not stated in 1.3, but it can hardly be contested, since in 1.5 he is the Son of God in virtue of the Word of God addressed to him. If his divine sonship were a natural or substantial [Nicean-Chalcedonic] relation to God, it would hardly be possible to refer a saying like Ps. 2.7 to him" (p. 338 note 200).
5b: 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to Me a son" cit. from II Sam. 7:14; cf. 1 Chr. 22:10; 28:6.

v6 – Although clearly this verse refers to Christ's birth, the exact origin of this quotation is unclear: However, Deut 32:43 LXX has a phrase (not in the Hebrew MT), 'Rejoice ye heavens with him and let all the angels of God worship him. Let the nations rejoice with his people, and let all the sons of God be strong in him, for he has avenged the blood of his sons'; Ps. 97(96 LXX):7 says, 'worship him all (you) gods' (Hebrew MT) and 'let all his angels worship him' (Greek LXX). (From Barnes' NT Commentary, Power BibleCD 3.7). Wisdom is also firstborn (Prov. 8; etc.). Notice that the angels are commanded to 'worship' the Son not in eternity past, but only after his birth, after he is 'brought into the inhabited world.'
v7 – Reference to Ps. 104 (103 LXX):4 (cf. chariots and horses of fire, II Kings 2:11; 6:17)

v8-9 – citation of the Davidic royal Psalm 45 (44 LXX) in which the Davidic king is called 'elohim in the MT. The king is granted even a divine title as an agent of YHWH, and anointed and exalted because of his loving righteousness and hating iniquity.

v10-12 – Doxology from Ps. 102 (101 LXX):25-26, 27 addressed to and extolling God the Almighty, linked both before and after by subject pronouns to the one God who anointed Christ (v9) and also invited Christ to sit at His right hand (v13). (See added note in left column). This like the opening hymnic poem (v1-4) references God's activity in both Creation of heaven and earth, and also the Eschaton when the heavens will vanish, grow old, be rolled up and changed, like an old garment.

v13 – Climactic reference to the Davidic royal Psalm 110 to affirm the righteously-earned eschatological superiority of the Son (Christ) over the servants of God, the angels, who are serving spirits.

^2:1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
²For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
³how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord [Messiah / Christ], it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
⁴God also bearing witness (with) signs and (other) wonders and various deeds of power and holy Spirit distributed / apportioned according to His will [kai pneumatos 'agiou merismois kata tin autou thelesin].
⁵For not to angels did He subject ['ypertazen] the inhabited world about (to come) [tyn oikoumenyn tyn mellousan], of which we speak.
⁶But one has solemnly testified somewhere saying, "What is man that You remember him, and the son of man that You visit him?
⁷You have made him a little lower than the angels, crowned him with glory and honor,
⁸All things have been subjected under his feet, for in subjecting all things to him, nothing was left to him unsubjected – but now (we don't) see all things subjected to him yet.
⁹But we see Jesus a little lower than the angels, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that on behalf of all (he) might taste death.
¹⁰For it was necessary for Him [God], for whom are all things, and because of whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the founder / pioneer [Christ] of their salvation [archegon tis sotirias] through sufferings.
¹¹For both the sanctifier [Christ] and the sanctified (ones) are all from One [ex Enos pantes, i.e., from One (Father, God)] for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them brothers.
¹²saying, "I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will praise You."

v1 – Hebrew Christians counseled to pay heed and not drift away from 'what we have heard' i.e., the Jesus tradition passed down to them.

v2 – The Sinaitic covenant of old was spoken of as God having instituted and given through angels by a mediator, Moses (cf. Acts 7:52; Gal. 3:19), which is in contrast to 'these last times' with God speaking through the firstborn, the Son. If every transgression received just penalty under the communications through angels, then...

v3-4 – How can we neglect what was spoken through the Son, i.e., the oral-written tradition handed down from the Lord Jesus (Messiah), confirmed by those who heard? God also (distinguished from the Lord Messiah) is bearing witness through signs, wonders, miracles and His distribution of the Spirit. Note that it is the Spirit being distributed and apportioned according to God's will, not doing the distributing and apportioning as many translations erroneously indicate.

v6-9 – Psalm 8 Adamic christology: The glory and honor intended for humankind in the beginning (Ps. 8) in the divine purpose is only completed through Christ with his resurrection – before that, Christ is like Adam, a little lower than the angels (Dunn, 1989; pp. 110, 127):

^8:1O YHWH, our Lord ['Adonai], how majestic is Your name in all the earth!...
³When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established;
⁴What is humankind [enosh MT; anthropos LXX] that You remember him,
And the son of Adam [ben adam MT; 'uios anthropos LXX ] that You care for him?
⁵Yet You have made him a little lower than God ['Elohim MT; angels LXX]
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶You have made him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,...
⁹O YHWH, our Lord ['Adonai], how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

v10 – Describes the work of God in eschatologically bringing back 'many sons' to the glory originally intended for Humankind (Adam) in the beginning but lost, by perfecting the pioneer [Christ, the last Adam] of their salvation through suffering.

v11 – Both God's anointed sanctifier (Christ) and those sanctified (Christians), are 'all from One' (ex Enos pantes) in the ultimate sense of derivation, using ex ('from'). This verse is another NT affirmation of the shema Israel (Deut. 6:4-5), and identifies the one God as the Father of Jesus and of us all.

v12 – Cites Ps. 22:22, 25.

(2) Ascertaining the literary / oral form. An eschatological hymnic poem is quoted at least in part (Dunn, 1989) and is followed by midrash-style exposition, where texts are cited from the Psalms in 'argumentary' exposition (on midrash, see summary history of hermeneutics in Greer, 2002). The eschatological poem makes strong use of allusions to earlier literary traditions as indicated above.

The form of the poem includes an eschatological, hymnic series of parallel or contrasting couplets: In all the Son is the heir and agent of God's speaking, of His glory, His person, and the word of His power. Jesus Christ did nothing by his own word or power, but only in the name of God, his Father.

Couplet	1st	2nd
i – constrast	In olden times God speaks in various ways in the prophets	*In the last days God speaks in a Son (possible Danielic allusion)*
ii – congruent & contrast	*Appointed heir of all things – (God's space: Creation; Adamic allusion; cf. Ps. 8)*	*Through whom ages were made – (God's time: Wisdom allusion; aion references time but may incl. space; cf. Heb. 11:1)*
iii – congruent	*The radiance of His glory (Wisdom allusion, Adamic overtones)*	*The exact impress of His person (Adamic allusion, Wisdom overtones)*
iv – congruent	*Bearing all things by the word of His power (Wisdom allusion, cultic overtones by parallels with 2nd)*	*Having cleansed the sins (Cultic and Danielic allusion, 8:14)*
v – contrast	Having been seated at the right hand of the Great Majesty on high	*Having become so far superior to the angels [by] inheriting a more surpassing name (i.e., Son rather than servant)*

Weaving of 'personified' wisdom traditions and Adamic allusions into a tapestry – balanced unity between couplets.

(3) Recovering the contemporary historical life situation (setting). The author of the epistle to the Hebrews is unknown, but references to the ongoing sacrifices, indicate that it was written sometime before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE to Titus and the Romans (Hughes, 1993). The author is writing to Jewish Christians helping them to relate their faith in Jesus the Christ to their rich Jewish heritage.

(4) Meaning of the words and idiom for original author and audience. In describing the Son through whom God has spoken 'in these, the last days', this eschatological poem mingles, as pointed out in great detail above, the wording and imagery of the poem is explicitly and repeatedly from the mingled personified wisdom and Adamic traditions of the Jewish heritage. The idiom is emphatically and securely within the Hebrew tradition of strict unitary monotheism.

(5) Understanding the total context and historical background. The argument in Hebrews 1 is in close harmony with the description of God and Christ elsewhere in the NT. That God is one and the Father is affirmed and He is glorified, and the sonship of Jesus is characterized in familiar Hebrew categories.

In summary,

In olden days God spoke through the prophets (via angels, 2:2, cf. Acts 7:52; Gal. 3:19), but it is only in the last days that He spoke in a Son, the heir of all things.
The heritage of personified wisdom literature and Adamic allusions are used to describe the Son as the embodiment of God's primordial creative and sustaining wisdom, as well as the perfect eschatological 'last Adam'.
The Son is the eschatological agent of God's glory, person, and word of His power.
By God's power the Son bears all things, has cleansed our sins, and has been exalted to God's right hand.
The Son has become greater than the angels by inheriting a more surpassing name from God, his Father.
God only commands the angels to worship the Son when he is brought into the world (birth), not at some pre-existent time in eternity.
The various Davidic covenantal promises are fulfilled in the Son, and their high divinely-instituted titles applied to him (the Davidic king and heir is even called 'elohim by the supreme 'Elohim).
God has anointed Christ above his companions because he has loved righteousness and hated iniquity, not because of any metaphysical pre-existence or even less because of any plurality in God.
The Christian oral tradition spoken by the Lord (Jesus, the Christ, Messiah) is attested not only by those who first heard him and passed on the tradition, but also distinctly by the added miraculous witness of God Himself.
The 'world to about to come' (the Kingdom) is vouchsafed not to angels but to humankind (Adam) who was crowned with glory and honor and all things subjected to him (Ps. 8) – Jesus is that eschatological last Adam to whom the coming world is subjected.
God in his plan to restore the sons of men back to glory, perfected through sufferings Jesus Christ, the pioneer of their salvation, so that by God's grace Jesus has tasted death on behalf of every person.
This risen Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers, because we all, both Christ and Christians are all from one Father, God!

There is no room in this passage for neo-Platonic speculations or multiplicity in God. All is in excellent harmony with its scriptural and Hebrew background.

The use of 'worship' in Hebrew and Greek. It is sometimes argued that the application of worship and homage to Jesus Christ means that Jesus is very God. However, both the words frequently translated 'worship' in English have much wider applications. The Hebrew word shachah means to 'bow down' and the Greek word proskyneo means 'to pay homage' are often applied both to God as well as to the agents of God, and others in authority or honor. The translators often simply failed to notify their readers that when Scripture speaks of "worshipping" God and "bowing down" to the king or other dignitary, the same words are used. When applied to God, the terms are intended to refer to the absolute homage of the heart to the God of heaven (Graesar et al. 2003) or to false gods, idols, etc. When applied to men, the terms are intended to refer to the Near Eastern courtesy and honor shown to those in authority on earth, or their agent representatives, also to the angelic representatives of God (i.e., the apostle John did not actually think the angel in Rev. 19:9-10 was very God, but simply meant to do him homage, which the angel refused. On other occasions angels have not refused). When Biblical writers forbid the worship of other gods, they were referring to the supreme homage of the heart, and not using a special technical vocabulary (Ibid.). Context determines which meaning for 'worship' 'bow down' 'do homage' is intended.

shachah (Str. 07812) – "to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God)." In simple terms, "to bow down." It is translated as "bow(5), bow ourselves down(1), bow yourselves down(1), bow down(21), bowed(16), bowed in worship(1), bowed themselves down(2), bowed down(14), bowing(1), bowing down(1), bows down(1), did homage(1), down in homage(1), homage(1), lie down(1), paid homage(3), prostrate(2), prostrated(13), prostrating(1), weighs it down(1), worship(47), worshiped(31), worshiping(3), worships(2)" (BibleWorks 6.0). Used 173 times in the Hebrew Bible.
proskyneo (Str. 4352) – "To do reverence." It is translated as "bow down(1), bow down before(1), bowed down(1), bowed down before(2), bowing before(1), bowing down(1), prostrated himself before(1), worship(32), worshiped(17), worshipers(1), worshiping(1), worships(1)" (BibleWorks 6.0). Used about 64 times in the NT.
latreuo (Str. 3000) – "from latris (a hired servant)" Often used of 'religious service'. Usage: offer(1), serve(15), served(1), service(1), serving(1), worship(1), worshiper(1), worshipers(1). Used 21 times in the NT.

The application of divine honors and adoration to Christ as the Messiah, the unique agent of God, the only begotten Son of God, the unique man, the last Adam, the Son of David, is entirely appropriate for the one upon whom God (Kyrios Theos) has bestowed the highest honors by making him both Lord and Christ (Kyrios Christos; Acts 2:36), all to the honor and glory of God, the Father.

Jesus "became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
For this reason [dio kai], God Himself super-exalted ['yper'ypsosen] him,
and bestowed on him the name over all names,
that in the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory [doxa] of God, the Father.
(Phil. 2:9-11)

To honor the Son of God as the one sent (agent) is to honor the Sender (Principal), God, the Father. Even in Revelation where the risen and exalted Christ, the Son of man, is described in most glorious terms and even afforded titles such as "alpha and omega, the first [protos] and the last [eschatos]," etc. (1:11, 17; 21:16; 22:13) which were first applied to God Almighty (1:4, 8; cit. a number of places in Isaiah), God and the Lamb are clearly distinguished at least 10 times (Rev. 5:1-6; 7:10, 17; 14:4, 10; 15:3; 21:22, 23; 22:1, 3; cf. 12:5; etc.), as well as other times where different terms are used for the Son. "And she gave birth to a male child who is about to rule all nations with an iron rod, and her child was caught up to God and to His throne" (Rev. 12:5, citing the Davidic Psalm 2). Whereas the Lord God Almighty is "the (One) Being ['o On], the One who was, and the One to come" (1:4), the Son of Man is "the (one) living, who became dead, look! I am alive unto the ages of the ages" (1:11). The (One) seated ['o Kathimenos] on the throne.... the Lord God Almighty [Kyrios Theos Pantokrator] the One Seated ['o Kathimenos], the One who was ['o In], the One Being ['o On], the One to come ['o Erxomenos]" (Rev. 4:3, 8; which incidently is an allusion to Exod. 3, "I am who I am" "I will be whom I will be") is alone praised and worshipped for who He is as the self-existent Creator:"...for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created" (4:11). In Rev. 5, the Lamb who is "the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David" is "found worthy" before the One Enthroned (God Almighty) to receive the authority (scroll) because of what he accomplished, "because [he] purchased to God (people) out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation..." (emphasis added). Praise is given to the Lamb by all on earth, in the sea, and under the earth and to God, the One Enthroned (cf. Phil. 2:11)! (See Greer, 2003). The only pre-existence referenced in Revelation concerning the Lamb and those saved through his sacrifice is proleptic, in the foreordination of God: "All who dwell on the earth will worship it [the beast] every one whose name has not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world" (13:8). Whether the grammar calls for the 'writing' (most likely) or the 'slaying' (possibly) or both as being "before the foundation of the world," it is evident that it is in God's foreknowledge and purpose that the slain Lamb and the redeemed are pre-existent. The apostle Peter is likewise explicit:

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, in holiness of spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, preserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed [apocalypsthenai] in the last time.

.... If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless. For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for your sake" (I Pet. 1:1-20 in part; emphasis added).

Divine sonship. That Jesus was called 'the Son of God' not because of a pre-human metaphysical relationship with God but because of a "virginal conception by divine power" is evident in the parallelism and causative connective of Luke 1:34-35: "But Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be since I do not know a man.' And the angel said to her, 'Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you, for this reason [dio kai, causative] the holy offspring [to gennomenon 'agion] will be called Son of God ['uios Theou].'" He is called Son of God because he was uniquely conceived by God's power. Here, "it is sufficiently clear that it is a begetting, a becoming which is in view, the coming into existence of one who will be called, and will in fact be the Son of God, not the transition from a pre-existent being to become the soul of a human baby or the metamorphasis of a divine being into a human foetus" (Dunn, 1989; p. 51). The verb describing 'the power of the Highest overshadowing' Mary is 'episkiasei, which "may well contain an allusion to the divine presence which overshadowed the tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 50.35)" (Ibid., p. 51).

Further witness to the monotheist faith of early Christians. Epiphanius of Salamis (315-403 CE) in his 'orthodox' refutation of 80 heresies, gives hostile but valuable historical witness to the "fourth century Nazarene Christians whom he credits with being heirs of first-century Jewish Christianity" (Massey, 2005; the same Epiphanius cited by Bacchiocchi (1977), as providing evidence of continued Sabbath-keeping among Jewish Christians in Palestine in the early centuries):

"The Nazarenes are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do. They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion—except for their belief in Christ. They acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things. They declare that God is one, and that his Son is Jesus Christ. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. They are different from Jews, and different from Christians. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Christ; but since they are still fettered by the Law—circumcision, Sabbath, and the rest—they are not in accord with Christians. Today, Nazarenes are found in Beroea, near Coele-Syria, in the Decapolis near Pella, and in Bashanitis at the place called Khokhabe in Hebrew. For that was their place of origin, since the disciples had settled in Pella after... Christ told them to abandon Jerusalem and withdraw from it because of its coming siege. People like these are refutable at once ... they are nothing but Jews. Yet they are very much the Jews’ enemies. The Jewish people have a hatred of them. Three times a day they say, “God curse the Nazarenes,” for despite their Jewishness, they preach that Jesus is the Christ" (emphasis added; translation from Williams, 1997; p. 117ff; quoted in Massey, 2005).

Epiphanius proceeds to compare the Nazarene Christians with an insect pest that “though small yet still causes pain with its poison” but he confidently asserts that he has “squashed [them] with the truth” of his refutation (Massey, 2005). The authoritarian, persecuting spirit of the new, emerging orthodoxy (with its fateful anti-Judaic, anti-semitic overtones) was already well evident.

Concluding thoughts for the series

In this introductory series, as we have examined in outline the Scriptural and historical evidences relating to the Arian, Trinitarian, and Unitarian views of God and of Christology, we have tried to be faithful to the text through an informed historical-critical exegesis. Our task is far from over, and there is so much that could be added. However as each participant in our discussion tries to apply an exegetical methodology, as described in the introduction, to the Arian, Trinitarian, and Unitarian views, we ask this question. In fashioning our theology and our christology, are we willing to let the text in context inform us, or do we insist that our own traditions must 'inform' the text? James Dunn has put it well:

"My concern has been all the time, so far as it is possible, to let the NT writers speak for themselves, to understand their words as they would have intended, to hear them as their first readers would have heard them, and thus to let their own understanding(s) of Christ emerge, and in particular their own concept(s) of 'incarnation' take its (their) own shape. If we are serious in our quest for the origins of the doctrine of the incarnation, we must let the NT evidence speak in its own terms and dictate its own patterns" (1989, Introduction to the 2nd edition of Christology in the making, p. 9).

Discussion – How do you read?

"Historical criticism has the necessary function of bringing into focus the issues that only faith can decide. . . . We must distinguish between clarity as to what the promise is and certainty that God will fulfill it. The former may be aided by the work of the historian; the latter can rest solely on faith"
(Howard Clark Kee speaking in the debt of Wolfhart Pannenberg; cited in Kee, 1970).

A) Questions from history:

How is Christ compared with angels, and with Adam and other human beings?
How does the author's extended application of personified wisdom imagery, Adamic imagery, and Davidic messianic imagery to Christ indicate his changing status in God's unfolding salvation plan?

B) Questions of personal commitment:

Are your Christian faith, christology, and practical ethics congruent with the data from Hebrews 1-2 and the rest of Scripture?

How do you read?

References

Aland B, Aland K, Karavidopoulos J, Martini CM, Metzger BM. 1998: The Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.). Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgessallschaft, United Bible Societies.

Bacchiocchi S. 1977. From Sabbath to Sunday: A historical investigation of the rise of Sunday observance in early Christianity. Vatican City, Rome: The Pontifical Gregorian University Press.

Bacon BW. "Heb. 1:10-12 and the Septuagint rendering of Ps. 102:23." ZNW 3: 280-285.

Broughton JH, Southgate PJ. 1995. The Trinity, True or False? Nottingham, UK: The Dawn Book Supply.

Bruce FF. 1964. The epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmanns.

Buzzard AF, Hunting CF. 1998. The doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's self-inflicted wound. Lanham, MD; Oxford, UK: International Scholars Publications.

Dunn JDG. 1989. Christology in the making: A New Testament inquiry into the origin of the doctrine of the incarnation. (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Company.

Graesar MH, Lynn JA, Schoenheit JW. 2003. One God & one Lord: Reconsidering the cornerstone of the Christian faith. (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Christian Educational Services; http://www.CESonline.org; http://www.BiblicalUnitarian.com.

Greer LF. 2001. "Toward a Levitic-Covenantal Apocalyptic – Part III: Covenant foundations: Hebrews and the Jubilee Day of Atonement." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/LAPart3.html.

____. 2002. "Atonement and the Revelation: Levitic Covenant underpinnings, with an introduction on hermeneutics and exegesis." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/LevCovRev.html.

____. 2003. "The Revelation: The Covenant and the Christ Chapters 4-5: The (Paschal) Jubilee Day of Atonement Enthronement – Accession-Judgment of the Lamb, Part I." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/Rev4-5HCE.html.

Hester JD. 1968. "Paul's concept of inheritance." Scottish Journal of Theology Occasional Papers 14.

Hering J. 1954. Hebrews. Commentaire du Nouveau Testament. Neuchatel et Paris.

Hughes PE. 1993. "The letter to the Hebrews." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Hyndeman JS. 1824. Lectures on the Principles of Unitarianism. Alnwick. Reprinted 1994. Indianapolis, IN: Christian Educational Services; http://www.CESonline.org; http://www.BiblicalUnitarian.com.

Kee HC. 1970. Jesus in history: An approach to the study of the gospels. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Massey J. 2005. "Omit 'Son of God'?" Peace College. Unpublished paper.

Morgridge C. 1837. The True Believer's Defence, Against Charges Preferred By Trinitarians, for Not Believing in The Divinity of Chirst, The Deity of Christ, The Trinity, &c. Boston, MA: Benjamin H. Greene.

Moule CFD. 1962. The birth of the New Testament. A & C Black.

Norton A. 1877. A Statement of Reasons for Not Believing the Doctrines of Trinitarians. (10th ed.). Boston, MA: American Unitarian Association.

Rees T. 1818. The Racovian Catechism of 1605.... London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. Reprinted 1994. Indianapolis, IN: Christian Educational Services; http://www.CESonline.org; http://www.BiblicalUnitarian.com.

Williams F. (trans.). 1997. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, vol. 1. Brill Academic Publishers.

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