Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 1:3

"who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" — Hebrews 1:3 (ASV)

The third proposition about the Son is that he is “the radiance of God’s glory.” The word translated “radiance” (GK 575), meaning a shining forth because of brightness within, may also mean “reflection,” a shining forth because of brightness from without. Jesus is thus spoken of either as the outshining of the brightness of God’s glory, or as the reflection of that glory. In both cases we see the glory of God in Jesus, and we see it as it really is. “Glory” (GK 1518), sometimes used of literal brightness (cf. Acts 22:11), is more commonly used in the NT of the radiance associated with God and with heavenly beings in general. It sometimes indicates the presence of God (e.g., Ezekiel 1:28; 11:23), and, to the extent that human beings are able to apprehend it, the revelation of God’s majesty. “The exact representation of his being” is the fourth of the statements about the Son. “Exact representation” (GK 5917) originally denoted an instrument for engraving and then a mark stamped on that instrument. Hence it came to be used of the impress of a die and of the impression on coins. It could also be used figuratively (e.g., of God as making us in his own image). Here the writer is saying that the Son is an exact representation of God. The word “being” (GK 5712) suggests that the Son is such a revelation of the Father that when we see Jesus, we see what God’s real being is. “Sustaining” (GK 5770), the fifth characteristic of the Son, does not picture Christ as holding up the universe like the Greek god Atlas, but as carrying it along and bearing it onward toward the fulfillment of the divine plan. The concept is dynamic, not static. “All things” is the totality, the universe considered as a whole. Nothing is excluded from the scope of the Son’s sustaining activity. And he does this “by his powerful word.” “Word” (GK 4839) is thought of as active and powerful—the same word that created the universe (11:3); “powerful” (GK 1539) is often used to describe literal physical power. With the sixth statement about the Son (his having effected purification of sins), the author comes to what is for him the heart of the matter. The thing that gripped him most was that the very Son of God had come to deal with the problem of human sin. The author sees him as a priest, who offers up the sacrifice that really put sin away. The author has an unusual number of ways of referring to what Christ has done for us (e.g., see 2:17; 8:12; 9:15, 26, 28; 10:12, 17–18). From such passages it is clear that the author sees Jesus as having accomplished a many-sided salvation. Whatever had to be done about sin he has done. The word “purification” (GK 2752) is most often used in the NT of ritual cleansing (e.g., Mark 1:44), but here it refers to the removal of sin (cf. also 2 Peter 1:9) with its defiling aspect. Sin stains, but Christ has effected a complete cleansing of sin at Calvary. In this letter sin appears as the power that deceives people and leads them to destruction. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ could remove it. In him and him alone are sins really dealt with. The seventh in the series of statements about the Son is that when his work of purification was ended, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Sitting is the posture of rest, and the right-hand position is the place of honor. Sitting at God’s right hand, then, is a way of saying that Christ’s saving work is done and that he is now in the place of highest honor. “Majesty” (GK 3448) means “greatness” and thus came to signify “majesty.” Here it is obviously a title for God himself, who dwells in heaven (cf. Ephesians 4:10).