John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 1:6

"And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." — Hebrews 1:6 (ASV)

4. Being made so much better, etc. After having raised Christ above Moses and all others, the author of Hebrews now amplifies Christ’s glory by a comparison with angels.

   It was a common notion among the Jews that the Law was given by angels. They attentively considered the honorable things spoken of them everywhere in Scripture. And, as the world is strangely inclined to superstition, they obscured the glory of God by extolling angels too much.

   It was therefore necessary to restore angels to their proper rank, so that they might not overshadow the brightness of Christ. First, the author proves from Christ’s name that He far excelled them, for He is called the Son of God. That He was distinguished by this title, the author shows by two testimonies from Scripture, both of which we must examine; then we will sum up their full meaning.

5. Thou art my Son, etc. It cannot be denied that this was spoken of David, that is, as he represented the person of Christ. The things found in this Psalm, then, must have been foreshadowed in David but were fully accomplished in Christ.

   For when David, by subduing many enemies around him, enlarged the borders of his kingdom, it was some foreshadowing of the promise, I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. But how little was this in comparison with the amplitude of Christ’s kingdom, which extends from the east to the west?

For the same reason, David was called the son of God, having been especially chosen to perform great things. But his glory was hardly a spark, even the smallest, compared to that glory which shone forth in Christ, on whom the Father has imprinted His own image.

So the name of Son belongs by a unique privilege to Christ alone and cannot, in this sense, be applied to any other without profanation, for the Father has sealed Him and no other.

But still, the Apostle’s argument seems not to be well-grounded. For how does he maintain that Christ is superior to angels, except on the basis that He has the name of a Son? It is as though He did not have this in common with princes and those high in power, of whom it is written, Ye are gods and the sons of the most (Psalms 50:6). And it is as though Jeremiah had not spoken as honorably of all Israel when he called them the firstborn of God (Jeremiah 31:9).

Indeed, people are everywhere called children or sons. Besides, David calls angels the sons of God:

He says, Who is like to Jehovah among the sons of God? (Psalms 89:6).

The answer to all this is not at all difficult. Princes are called by this name on account of a particular circumstance. As for Israel, the common grace of election is thus denoted. Angels are called the sons of God because they have a certain resemblance to Him, being celestial spirits and possessing some portion of divinity in their blessed immortality.

But when David, as the type of Christ, calls himself the Son of God without any addition, he denotes something unique and more excellent than the honor given to angels, to princes, or even to all Israel. Otherwise, it would have been an improper and absurd expression if he, preeminently called the son of God, yet had nothing more than others; for he is thus set apart from all other beings.

When it is said so exclusively of Christ, Thou art my Son, it follows that this honor does not belong to any of the angels.

If anyone objects again, saying that David was thus raised above the angels, to this I answer that it is not strange for him to be elevated above angels while bearing the image of Christ. For, similarly, no wrong was done to angels when the high priest, who made an atonement for sins, was called a mediator.

They did not indeed obtain that title as their own by right; but as they represented the kingdom of Christ, they also derived the name from Him. Moreover, the sacraments, though in themselves lifeless, are yet honored with titles that angels cannot claim without being guilty of sacrilege.

It is therefore evident that the argument derived from the term Son is well-grounded.

Regarding His being begotten, we must briefly observe that this is to be understood relatively here. For the subtle reasoning of Augustine is frivolous when he imagines that today means perpetuity or eternity.

Christ doubtless is the eternal Son of God, for He is wisdom, born before time. But this has no connection with this passage, which concerns men, by whom Christ was acknowledged to be the Son of God after the Father had manifested Him.

Therefore, that declaration or manifestation which Paul mentions in Romans 1:4 was, so to speak, a sort of external begetting. For the hidden and internal begetting which had preceded was unknown to men; nor could it have been recognized, had not the Father given proof of it by a visible manifestation.

I will be to him a Father, etc. Regarding this second testimony, the former observation holds good.

Solomon is referred to here. And though he was inferior to the angels, yet when God promised to be his Father, he was set apart from the common rank of all others. For God was not to be a Father to him as to one of the princes, but as to one who was more eminent than all the rest.

By the same privilege he was made a Son; all others were excluded from such an honor. But that this was not said of Solomon otherwise than as a type of Christ is evident from the context. For the empire of the whole world is destined for the Son mentioned there, and perpetuity is also ascribed to His empire.

On the other hand, it appears that the kingdom of Solomon was confined within narrow bounds and was so far from being perpetual that, immediately after his death, it was divided, and sometime afterward it fell altogether.

Again, in that Psalm, the sun and moon are summoned as witnesses, and the Lord swears that as long as they shine in the heavens, that kingdom will remain safe. On the other hand, the kingdom of David, in a short time, fell into decay and eventually utterly perished.

Furthermore, we may easily gather from many passages in the Prophets that this promise was never understood otherwise than of Christ, so that no one can evade this by saying that it is a new interpretation. For from this also, the practice of calling Christ the Son of David has commonly prevailed among the Jews.

And again, when he brings or introduces, etc. The author now proves by another argument that Christ is above the angels: because the angels are bidden to worship Him (Psalms 97:7). It therefore follows that He is their head and Prince.

But it may seem unreasonable to apply to Christ that which is spoken of God only. If we were to answer that Christ is the eternal God, and therefore what belongs to God may justly be applied to Him, it would perhaps not be satisfactory to all. For it would be of little help in proving a doubtful point to argue in this case from the common attributes of God.

The subject is Christ manifested in the flesh, and the Apostle expressly says that the Spirit spoke this way when Christ was introduced into the world. But this would not have been said consistently with truth unless the manifestation of Christ is truly spoken of in the Psalm.

And this is indeed the case, for the Psalm commences with an exhortation to rejoice. And David did not address the Jews only, but the whole earth, including the islands—that is, countries beyond the sea.

The reason for this joy is given: because the Lord would reign. Furthermore, if you read the whole Psalm, you will find nothing else but the kingdom of Christ, which began when the Gospel was published. And the whole Psalm is nothing less than a solemn decree, as it were, by which Christ was sent to take possession of His kingdom.

Besides, what joy could arise from His kingdom unless it brought salvation to the whole world—to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews? The Apostle, therefore, aptly says here that Christ was introduced into the world, because what is described in that Psalm is His coming to mankind.

The Hebrew word rendered as "angels" is Elohim—gods. But there is no doubt that the Prophet speaks of angels, for the meaning is that no power, however high, is exempt from subjection to the authority of this King, whose advent was to bring joy to the whole world.