Hebrews 1, Is Jesus God? Is Jesus the Creator?

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To hear the full podcast episode for these notes, click here.

In this two-part series, the One God Report podcast examines Hebrews chapter 1, a chapter which many Christians maintain presents the “deity of Christ”. In episode 1, we examine Hebrews 1:1-7. In episode 2, we examine Hebrews 1:8-14.


1.      The overall point that the author is making in Hebrews chapter 1 is not that Jesus is God, but rather that God has appointed the human being Jesus, as the representative of humanity, to be God’s vice-regent ruler, to “sit at God’s right hand.” This privilege was not granted to an angel or angels. This theme, that God has granted a human being to be at His right hand, fits the overall theme of the book of Hebrews that Messiah, Jesus, is greater than Moses, is a better high priest than Aaron, gives a better rest than Joshua, brings into effect and mediates a better covenant with a better sacrifice compared to what Israel experienced through the earlier covenant. 

If the author of Hebrews thought that Jesus was God, there would be no reason to make the point that Jesus is greater than angels, Moses, Aaron or Joshua. Further, a human being exalted to God’s right hand is an overall biblical theme.

2.       There are some translation issues in Hebrews 1 that make it sound like Jesus was some kind of co-creator of the material world in Genesis. We look at these issues in the text, and discover that the author never calls Jesus the creator of the universe.

3.       In Hebrews 1:1 we note that “God” is differentiated from the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus the Son of God is not included in the author’s understanding of who “God” is. In other words, God is not a son, but God has a son, and the Son of God is a human being. Neither is God ever a trinity to the author of Hebrews.

4.       Hebrews 1:1-2, states that while God spoke previously by the prophets “in these last times He has spoken to us by a son”. Hebrews 9:26-28 declares that Christ (Jesus, the Son of God) has appeared only once so far, but will appear a second time. The author of Hebrews did not believe in any so-called “pre-incarnate” appearances of the Christ, the Son of God.

5.       Hebrews 1:2, the son was “appointed heir of all things”. God is not appointed heir of anything, which would mean that God has a superior. Biblically, God appoints humans as His heirs to rule over the earth.

6.       Hebrews 1:2, “through whom He made the ages”. We note the translation issues with two words in this verse. For instance, the ESV has “through whom he created the world” which makes it sound like somehow Jesus was involved in the Genesis creation. However, the Greek word translated “created” is not the normal Greek word for created, but is the word for “made”.

And the word translated “world” (NIV and NLT translations have “universe”!) is a Greek plural word, aeons, meaning “ages”.

We note that it is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that God made/makes the ages, both this age and the age/s to come. In a parallel way, God brought about different ages through other individual human beings, Adam, Noah and Abraham.

Jesus is not the maker of these ages, but God makes the ages through Jesus the Son of God.

7.       Hebrew 1:3, Jesus reflects the glory (of God), which means that Jesus is not God himself, not the origin of glory. Also, Jesus, like a clay seal impression, is the exact imprint of the character of God. The clay seal is a different material substance than the seal itself.

8.       Hebrews 1:3, “bearing all by his word of power”.  We note again the biased translations which make it sound like Jesus is somehow holding together or sustaining the atoms of the universe, e.g., ESV and RSV, “upholding the universe by his word of power”. The Greek verb translated “upholding, sustaining” has a wide range of understandings, including “bear up, carry, bring, endure, produce”. And the word translated “universe” is simply the word “all”, which can have a variety of meanings, not necessarily meaning “all the universe”. We note the parallels in passages like Colossians 1:15-18, Ephesians 1:19-23, 2 Peter 3:22 which state that the once dead, now resurrected Jesus has been made the head over all authorities and powers. Jesus, granted by God, bears or carries all authority.

9.       Hebrews 1:3, after Jesus had made purification for sins, through his death, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. In at least two ways this verse says that Jesus is not God. 1) Jesus died. God does not die. 2) Jesus was promoted to the right hand of God (the Majesty on High). Again, Jesus is not included in the author’s understanding of “God”, but rather is at the right hand of God (cf. Hebrews 8:1).

10.   Hebrews 1:4, Jesus “became much superior to angels” and “inherited a name”. God is/was never lower than angels, neither does God inherit a name from someone else. The point the author is making is that the human being, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah Son of God, is greater than angels. There would be no reason to make the point that Jesus is greater than angels if Jesus is God. But the author is telling us that Jesus is greater than angels because: 1) the Torah was mediated by angels and brought serious consequences for infraction. How much more so this covenant ratified by Jesus who has been made greater than angels. 2) the one at God’s right hand is a human being, with angels subject to him. This is God’s intended place for humankind, and we see Jesus there now as representing all of humankind (Hebrews 2:5-8). God’s plan is for a human being to be at His right hand, not for a God/god at His right hand.

11.   Hebrews 1:5, “God” is again differentiated from His son. Jesus the son is not God, neither is “God” a trinity who spoke declaring “you are my son”. This passage is a quote from Psalm 2:7, a declaration made by Yahweh to a human being who is also called the king and Messiah in the same Psalm. Therefor, it is clear that Jesus the Son is not Yahweh, since God, Yahweh, makes this declaration about His son.

“today I have begotten you” means that the Son has a beginning. The Psalm originally related to the Davidic dynasty, and is here applied to Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of David.

Hebrews 1:6, “when He (God) brings the firstborn into the world”. Like Adam and Israel, Jesus the Messiah is known as the firstborn (cf. Col. 1:15, 18, Rev. 1:5, where Jesus is called the firstborn of all creation and the firstborn from the dead). The Davidic king whom God appointed to rule the world is also known as the firstborn (Psalm 89:26-27).

Hebrews 1:6, “Let all God’s angels worship (bow down to) him”. God has placed the man, Jesus the Messiah, in a position above angels. Angels, on the other hand, are made to be “spirits, servants” (Heb. 1:7, 14). Jesus represents mankind in the place originally intended by God for man (Gen. 1:26-27). It is not a second God/god or an angel at God’s right hand, but the human being, Jesus the Messiah.

Comments

Paul Peterson said…
It took me many years to notice the distinction that the so often Bible makes between "Jesus" and "God." But once I saw it, it's impossible now to NOT see.

Switching to the mundane, I'm curious what the significance is of the image at the beginning of your post. (I feel like I might be missing a reference to something.)
April 7, 2020 at 1:41 PM
Bill Schlegel said…
Paul, thanks for asking. The picture is just a simple reconstruction of the Temple Mount during the Davidic monarchy from the time of Solomon on. Solomon, the human king's house, was immediately to the "right hand" of Yahweh's house. A human being, a king descended from David, was literally told to sit/dwell at Yahweh's right hand "until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet". The location of the anointed king's dwelling/sitting place next to Yahweh's dwelling in Jerusalem was an object lesson of the ideal human Messiah's right hand location in the heavenlies.
April 8, 2020 at 1:38 PM
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