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;
The word is applied to the sun and stars; to the light which Paul saw on the way to Damascus; to the shining of Moses’ face; to the celestial light which surrounds the angels; and glorified saints; and to the dazzling splendor or majesty in which God is enthroned. Here there is a comparison of God with the sun; he is encompassed with splendor and majesty; he is a being of light and of infinite perfection. It refers to “all in God” that is bright, splendid, glorious; and the idea is, that the Son of God is the “brightness” of it all. (Barnes’ Notes)
2 Cor 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
“and the express image of his person” — From these words it is evident:
1. That the apostle states Jesus Christ to be of the same essence with the Father, as the proceeding splendour, must be the same with the inherent splendour
2. That although Christ is thus of the same essence with the Father, yet he is a distinct person from the Father; as the splendour of the sun, though of the same essence, is distinct from the sun itself, though each is essential to the other; as the inherent splendour, cannot subsist without its proceeding splendour, nor the proceeding splendour subsist without the inherent splendour from which it proceeds.
3. That Christ is eternal with the Father, as the proceeding splendour must necessarily be co-existent with the inherent splendour. If the one, therefore, be uncreated, the other is uncreated; if the one be eternal, the other is eternal.
(Adam Clarke’s Commentary)
Christ not only made all things and will someday inherit all things, but He holds them all together in the meanwhile. The Greek word for upholds means “to support, to maintain,” and it is used here in the present tense, implying continuous action. Everything in the universe is sustained right now by Jesus Christ.
Consider, for example, what instant destruction would happen if the earth’s rotation slowed down just a little. The sun has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If it were any closer to us we would burn up; if it were any farther away we would freeze. Our globe is tilted on an exact angle of 23 degrees, providing us with four seasons. If it were not so tilted, vapors from the oceans would move north and south and develop into monstrous continents of ice. If the moon did not retain its exact distance from the earth the ocean tides would inundate the land completely, twice a day. (John MacArthur)
He spake, and all things were created; He speaks, and all things are sustained. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary)
“By himself” – not by the blood of bulls and lambs, but by his own blood. This is designed to bring in the grand feature of the Christian scheme, that the purification made for sin was by his blood, instead of the blood which was shed in the temple-service. The word rendered here “purged” means “purified” or “expiated;” “having made purification for our sins.” The purification or cleansing which he effected was by his blood; “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.” (Barnes’ Notes)
Jesus Christ is seated – a sign that it is all completed. He is at the right hand of the Father…and all His majesty on high! The ‘right hand’ denotes His authority. His sitting does not indicate that He is relaxing or not in authority anymore; but rather shows He is in His rightful position, firmly seated, for eternity, as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Just how much better is Jesus Christ than the angels? An infinitude! The JW’s and the Mormons place Jesus as equal with the angels; but these verses utterly refute that. What are the angels’ inheritance? Are they seated on the right hand of the Father? Are they going to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Nay! At whose name will everyone kneel and confess that He is Lord?… at the name of ‘Jesus’. ‘Wonderful name of Jesus…’
In the OT, the angels collectively are termed “sons of God,” but the title ‘My Son’ was never bestowed upon any of them.
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?
Ps 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Although Psalm 2 is a ”Messianic Psalm” in that it refers directly to Jesus Christ, the tense in Verse 7 is present rather than future. It cannot be argued that the tense is present only in a prophetic sense, because Hebrews 1:6 states that God brought His first begotten Son into the world; i.e. Jesus was already the begotten Son before His incarnation.
Ps 2:7 refers to Christ’s resurrection, not His birth at Bethlehem (see Acts 13:33). Christ was “begotten” from the virgin tomb (not womb) when He was raised from the dead. Col 1:18 calls Him “the first-born from the dead.” (Warren Wiersbe)
Jesus Christ was eternally the Father’s Son, but He was specifically and uniquely ‘begotten’ upon His resurrection from the dead. Albeit He had died and then was alive again… ‘the first begotten of the dead’ (Rv 1:5).
Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Jesus Christ was ‘declared’ to be the Son of God due to His resurrection from the dead. He had always been the Son of God, though.
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Did the Father bring His firstbegotten (and only) into the world via Mary at His birth, or was it at His glorious resurrection. The words ‘and again’ seem to bring continuity to the previous line of thinking… ‘at His resurrection’. The angels assuredly worshipped Him at His birth, but how much the more when He resurrected, victorious over death, having completely purchased mankind’s salvation, and then was seated at the right hand of the Father!
To worship any creature is idolatry, and God resents idolatry more than any other evil. Jesus Christ can be no creature, else the angels who worship him must be guilty of idolatry, and God the author of that idolatry, who commanded those angels to worship Christ. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary)
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Angels are spirit beings that were created to serve God. They are ‘His’ ministers. They are pictured with fire, as was the angel with Manoah ascending into the flame of fire. Fire symbolizes power; the non-physical; the hard to understand and explain.
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.
The Father says to the Son, ‘Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever’. God the Father acknowledges God the Son.
I believe this verse gives the clearest, most powerful, emphatic, and irrefutable proof of the deity of Christ in the Bible
—from the Father Himself. (John MacArthur)
God the Father calls His Son, God.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
If you love righteousness you will hate iniquity.
Jesus Christ cried in the garden ‘My God, My God…’. The ‘humanity’ of Jesus was crying this out. His ‘fellows’ were probably not angels, but rather His fellow ‘brethren’, the Jews.
The Father called Jesus God so why could not Jesus call the Father God?
This probably means the perfumed oil that was poured on the head, attended with many expressions of joy and rejoicing. The inauguration of the Messiah as king would be an occasion of rejoicing and triumph. Thousands would exult at it as in the coronation of a king; and thousands would be made glad by such a consecration to the office of Messiah.
(Barnes’ Notes)
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Zech 12:1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 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.
2 Pt 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
This involves symbolism: wax old ‘as a’ garment, and ‘as a’ vesture …fold them up…and they shall be changed. We are to get a picture of these actions in our minds and then try and apply it to creation being destroyed (perish). Will God fold up the universe and change for a new one? Yes, in essence. There will be a new heavens (atmosphere and space) and a new earth. They will be created most likely exactly the way He orginally created them…for it was ‘very good’.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
From Ps 110:1. See notes above on verse 3.
The phrase “to make an enemy a footstool,” is borrowed from the custom of ancient warriors who stood on the necks of vanquished kings on the occasion of celebrating a triumph over them as a token of their complete prostration and subjection. The enemies here referred to are the foes of God and of his religion, and the meaning is, that the Messiah is to be exalted until all those foes are subdued. Then he will give up the kingdom to the Father;
(Barnes’ Notes)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Verse 14 summarizes the place of the angels: they are ministering spirits, not enthroned sons; and their work is to minister to us who are heirs with Christ in His wonderful salvation. (Warren Wiersbe)
How do angels minister to the heirs of salvation, we Christians? They fight away evil; they protect us from dangerous mishaps; they can strengthen our bodies; they can…. surely there is much more, but it would only be speculation by me at this point…a thorough examination of the actions in the Old Testament might help us render how they minister to us today.