When attempting to understand specific passages about Jesus, it is essential to determine which aspect of His life and existence is being discussed. Failing to consider this can account for some confusion about who He is and the rise of various false doctrines about Him. Sometimes Biblical writers speak of Jesus before His earthly existence in which He lived in a form similar to the Father and the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:6). Other times, the writers speak of Jesus’ time on earth before His resurrection. Then there is his post-resurrection pre-ascension period. And finally, there is Jesus’ current existence in Heaven. Honestly, just mentioning these periods of Jesus’ life and existence and the implications can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, we must consider these eras when studying various passages about Jesus.
When it comes to passages like Hebrews chapter 1:1-3, apart from a brief mention of Jesus’ work in creating everything, the writer mostly speaks about Jesus’ period on earth and His current situation.
So, why do I mention all of the above? Because when it comes to Hebrews chapter 1, there is a false understanding that is often held to by various religious groups. Namely, Jesus isn’t God. Instead, He is a created representation of Him, made sometime before the creation of the universe. But the assumption made by proponents of this view is that Hebrews 1:1-3 includes Jesus’ state before His human existence. But it doesn’t. Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the world of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
When you read this passage, it is clear that the writer primarily speaks of Jesus as a human and His time going forth. Notice the passage says that “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son”. The time period is the last days when Jesus became a human and God’s messenger.
Yet even though He became human, that doesn’t mean He gave up His deity. The character, nature and being of Jesus still reflected God in everyway. Suppose you consider a lake of water that has a runoff and turns into a river. That river doesn’t change substance even though it is shaped differently. The water in the river is still the same substance and provides an image and an accurate reflection of the same water from the lake. When Jesus became human, He continued to reflect divine qualities perfectly even though He was in human form. That is why Jesus could say, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him”.
Hebrews 1:1-3 also flies in the face of another false idea that states that when Jesus became human, he gave up His deity. He didn’t. He continued to reflect precisely the nature and being of God. That allowed Him to be a living message from God and to reveal God to us in human form (John 1:18).
Final Thought:
Accordingly, Hebrews 1:1-3 confirms one of the basic understandings of the Trinity, that Jesus, one of the members of the Godhead, came to Earth as fully human but also continued in His divinity and reflected God perfectly to all.
