Hebrews 1:5
For to which of the angels 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”?
God cannot lie. All that He says is true. It is right and it is irrefutable. After the writer to the Hebrews says the marvelous things that he says about Christ in verses 2-4 he goes on to prove it by asking “For to which of the angels did God ever say…?” In other words, what He quotes next is what God has said. And what he quotes are two texts out of the Old Testament. The writer is telling us that the texts he quotes are God speaking. This is a powerful affirmation of the inspiration of the Old Testament.
To deny the qualities that are attributed to Jesus in verses 2-4 is to deny the truthfulness of God or to deny that He actually said what He is quoted as saying in the Old Testament. We either believe all that these verses say about Jesus or we charge God with lying or deny that the Old Testament is the truth of God. For the believer in Jesus these are simply not options. The Old Testament is the Word of God and it is divinely inspired and we can trust it because of who is speaking – God.
Note also that the writer is maintaining that the phrase “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” is proof that Jesus is greater than angels. Many who reject the eternal uncreated divinity of the Son of God often say that “begotten” refers to some form of creation. There was a time when the Son of God was not and God “begot” Him, they say. But this verse will not allow that conclusion.
The writer is saying that God has never said “today I have begotten you” to an angel. If “begotten” means created, then He could certainly say it to angels. He could say it about everything He created. But this phrase is unique to the Son of God. Angels were created. The Son of God is begotten and it is a trait that places Him far above all the created order. The verse does not say “first begotten”. John 3:16 is clear that Jesus is the only begotten.
We serve an eternal Saviour. He is the eternally begotten, uncreated, Son of God who fits all that is said about Him in verses 2-4 and more. Such a Saviour is worthy of all our worship and service. The whole Letter to the Hebrews will prove it to be so in unmistakable ways. What a Saviour.
If you are not following Jesus Christ, you have settled for less than the best. You have out your hope in something that is guaranteed to fail. Only God can save you from sin. And only Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who indeed is God, is able to accomplish it. He is here for you. He will not turn away any who truly come to Him in repentance and faith. Why would you settle for anything else?
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