Hebrews 1:3 and Hebrews 6:1 Parallel
Thursday, June 28 , 2018
7:35 AM Here’s a connection I hadn’t seen before. It’s between Heb. 1:3 and Heb. 6:1. Note the words highlighted in green.
Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκεν κληρονόμον πάντων, δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας· ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ,φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων.
Διὸ ἀφέντες τὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα φερώμεθα, μὴ πάλιν θεμέλιον καταβαλλόμενοι μετανοίας ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων καὶ πίστεως ἐπὶ θεόν, βαπτισμῶν διδαχῆς ἐπιθέσεώς τε χειρῶν, ἀναστάσεώς τε νεκρῶν καὶ κρίματος αἰωνίου. καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσομεν, ἐάνπερ ἐπιτρέπῃ ὁ θεός.
In 1:3 the Son is said to carry the universe by His powerful word. In 6:1, believers are described as being “carried along to maturity.” I had always assumed that the Carry-er in 6:1 was the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Pet. 1:21, where the same verb phero is used in the passive to describe how the writers of Scripture were “carried along by the Holy Spirit”). However, I wonder if the agent in 6:1 isn’t Christ Himself. After all, He carries “all things” (Greek: ta panta) by His powerful word.
How practical is the book of Hebrews! The purpose of this book is not only to demonstrate the finality of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It is also to strengthen and encourage the weary members of a house church to respond to their trials with the resources that God has lavished on them, including the presence of the One who sustains them (and all things) through the word of His power. This is why so many commentators have concluded that the dominant motif in Hebrews is parenetic — that is, the book was not written merely to inform but to shore up the readers’ sagging faith.
This is a word I often need. The amazing thing is that it’s often within our power to decide which way we will go. Ignore Jesus, and we can create horrors. Trust Him to work miracles, and He can heal a multitude of hurts. My friend, what do you need to entrust to Him today? What do I? Who in our lives right now needs an encouraging word? A pat on the back? A touch on the shoulder?
(From Dave Black Online. Used by permission.)
