Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 1:4-7

"having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son? And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame a fire:" — Hebrews 1:4-7 (ASV)

As mentioned, the Apostle devotes this entire first chapter to exalting Christ over the angels because of His excellence. Therefore, he lists four things concerning Christ’s excellence:

1. His origin, because He is the Son;
2. His dominion, because He is the heir;
3. His power, because He made the world;
4. His honor, because He sits at the right hand of majesty.

The Apostle now shows that Christ exceeds the angels in these four points: first, in His sonship; second, in His dominion (verse 6); third, in the work of creation (verse 10); and fourth, in the Father’s declaration (verse 13). Concerning the first point, he does two things: first, he states his proposition, and second, he proves it (verse 5).

He says, therefore, that Christ has become as much superior to the angels as He is holier and nearer to God. In these words, he suggests Christ’s excellence compared with the angels: Setting him on his right hand in the heavenly places above all principality and power (Ephesians 1:20–21). But here a question arises: How does the Apostle mean this? Is it according to Christ’s divine nature or His human nature? According to the divine nature, it does not seem to be true, for in that nature He was begotten, not made. Yet according to the human nature, He is not better than the angels: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9).

The answer is that in this life, Christ had two aspects to His human nature. First was the infirmity of the flesh, and in this way, He was lower than the angels. But He also had the fullness of grace, so that even in His human nature He was greater than the angels in grace and glory: We have seen his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). However, this is not how the Apostle understood it. He does not mean that Christ was made better in regard to grace, but because of the union of His human nature with the divine. He is said to be “made” superior, insofar as by this union He became better than the angels and is rightly called, and truly is, the Son of God.

For this reason, he continues, as he has obtained a more excellent name than they. Concerning this name, he reveals three differences:

1. The first is the meaning of the name. The proper name for angels is “angels,” which is the name of a messenger, for an angel is a messenger. But the proper name of Christ is that He is called the Son of God. This name is vastly different from “angel,” because no matter how great a difference you might imagine, a still greater difference would remain, for they are infinitely apart. What is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest? (Proverbs 30:4). For the name of the Son, like that of the Father, is incomprehensible: He gave him a name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9).
2. The second difference is the mode of sonship. One might say that even angels are called sons of God: On a certain day when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord (Job 1:6). I answer that if they are called sons of God, they are not so essentially and by nature, but by participation. Christ, however, is essentially the Son of God and therefore has a more excellent name. As the psalmist asks, Who among the sons of God shall be like to God? (Psalms 89:6). It is as if to say: No one is like Him by nature.
3. The third difference is that He inherited that name, for inheritance follows from origin. Christ is the Son by origin and by nature, but the angels are sons by a gift of grace: Here is the heir (Matthew 21:38). Therefore, He inherited that name, but the angels did not.

Then, in verse 5, he proves what he has said. First, he discusses the name insofar as it belongs to Christ according to His divinity; second, insofar as it belongs to Him according to His human nature (verse 5b).

Regarding the first, he cites the authority of Psalm 2:7: The Lord said to me: You are my son; this day have I begotten you. He poses this in contrast to the question: To what angel has God ever said, You are my son? It is as if to say: He never said these words to any of the angels, but to Christ alone. Here, three things are to be noted: first, the manner of His origin, in the word, “said”; second, the uniqueness of His sonship, in the words, You are my son; third, its eternity, when he says, This day have I begotten you.

The manner of His origin is not fleshly, but spiritual and intellectual. For God is spirit (John 4:24); therefore, He does not beget in a fleshly way, but in a spiritual and intellectual way. The intellect, when it speaks, begets a word, which is its concept. It is significant, then, that he says the Lord “said” to me, meaning that the Father spoke to the Son. For the Father’s intellect to speak is to conceive the Word in His heart: My heart has uttered a good word (Psalms 45:1); God speaks once, and repeats not the selfsame thing the second time (Job 33:14); I came out of the mouth of the Most High .

Although many others are called sons, it is Christ’s unique property to be the natural Son of God. Others are called sons of God because they partake of the word of God: He called them gods to whom the word of God came (John 10:35). Regarding the third point, this generation is not temporal but eternal, because he says, this day I have begotten you. Time differs from eternity because time varies with the motions it measures and is thus defined by the succession of past and future. Eternity, however, is the measure of that which is unchangeable. Consequently, in eternity, there is no variation due to the succession of past and future; there is only the present. It is therefore signified by an adverb of the present tense: this day, that is, in eternity.

That which is coming to be is incomplete because it does not yet fully exist, whereas that which has come to be is complete and therefore perfect. For this reason, He does not say, “I begot you,” but I have begotten, because He is perfect. Yet, lest it be supposed that His entire begetting took place only in the past, he adds, today, joining the past to the present. This teaches us that this begetting is always happening and is always complete. In the word today, permanence is designated; in I have begotten, perfection is designated. It is as if to say: You are a perfect Son, and yet your generation is eternal and you are always being begotten by me, just as light is perfect in the air and yet is always proceeding from the sun. His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2); From the womb before the day star I have begotten you (Psalms 110:3). This could, however, also be explained as His temporal generation, as if to say: today, that is, in time, I have begotten you.

Then (verse 5b), he clarifies that this name also belongs to Christ according to His human nature, and he does this with another authority: I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son. According to one gloss, this is from Isaiah, yet nothing like this is found there, except the statement: A son has been given to us (Isaiah 9:6). But in 2 Samuel 7:14 and 1 Chronicles 28:6, we find these very words spoken by the Lord to David regarding Solomon, by whom Christ was prefigured.

It should be noted that in the Old Testament, some things are said of figures not in their own right, but insofar as they are figures, and in that case, they apply to Christ only as He is prefigured. For example, in Psalm 72, certain things are said of David or Solomon only as they prefigured Christ, while other things are said of them as men. Such things can be considered as applying to them as well as to Christ. Thus, the phrase and he will rule from sea to sea can never be fully true of Solomon. So, in the present instance, although certain things are said of Solomon, they can also be said of Christ, who was prefigured by him.

Therefore, he says, I will be, which is in the future tense, to denote that the Incarnation of the Son was to occur at some future time: But when the fullness of time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman (Galatians 4:4). Above, when speaking of the eternal generation, He said, You are, implying no movement. But here, when speaking of the temporal generation, He says, unto me a Son, which denotes the end point of some motion, for the assumption of human nature implies a movement toward sonship. Because every movement occurs through the action of something heading toward a definite effect, he first mentions the action of the maker: I will be to him a Father. This is because the assumption was made not by human power but by divine power, which assumed him into a union with the person of the Son. Then he mentions the resulting effect: He shall be to me a Son. Luke speaks of the first part: The power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35). Of the second, it says in Romans 1:3: Who was made to him of the seed of David.

Alternatively, I will be to him means I will glorify him for his honor and benefit: Glorify me, Father (John 17:5). And he will be to me means he will be to my honor by revealing my name to humanity: I have manifested your name to the men (John 17:6).

Then (verse 6), he speaks of Christ’s dominion, by which He is heir of all things. Here he does three things: first, he describes His dominion, particularly over the angels; second, the nature of that dominion from the side of the angels (verse 7); and third, from the side of Christ (verse 8).

Regarding the first, he cites the authority of a psalm, saying, And let all God’s angels worship him. This is from Psalm 97:7, which begins, The Lord has reigned, let the earth rejoice. For worship is paid only to the Lord; therefore, if the angels worship Him, He is their Lord. When the Apostle cites this authority, he first touches on the Psalmist’s intention with the words, and again, when he brings the first-born into the world. Thus, the Psalmist is speaking of Christ’s coming into the world. It is as if to say: We have already said that Christ is a Son above the angels; therefore, He is principally begotten by the Father. For this reason, He deserves to be called the first-born: That he might be the first-born among many brethren (Romans 8:29). But this first-born would have to be introduced into the world.

Note how precisely the Apostle speaks. First, he says that Christ is from the Father: I will be to him a Father. Second, that He was assumed into a unity of person: and he will be to me a Son. Now, he brings Him to the notice of humanity, calling the Incarnation His introduction to the world. On the other hand, Christ calls it a departure: I have come out of the Father, and am come into the world (John 16:28). The answer is that His going out is also an introduction. If a person seeks to be reconciled to a prince, a mediator first goes out to him and later introduces him. A similar situation is found in 1 Samuel 20:42 between David and Jonathan. Thus, Christ, the mediator of God and humanity, first went to humanity and then brought them back reconciled: For it became him who had brought many children into glory (Hebrews 2:10). Alternatively, He introduces Him to human hearts, because Scripture, speaking of Christ’s coming, says that He must be received into human hearts. This acceptance takes place by faith: That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Ephesians 3:17); Declare his glory among the Gentiles (Psalms 96:3).

The use of the word again is explained in several ways.

1. Chrysostom says that Scripture speaks of the Incarnation of the Word, which is an introduction, not just once but again and again.
2. Another way: He was first in the world invisibly by the power of His divinity, but He is introduced into the world again according to the visible presence of His humanity.
3. Another way: He had said above, to him a Father, meaning, “I will assume Him to my personal unity.” And when He introduced Him again, namely, the first-born, He is introduced to the unity of person. It is not enough to say that He is introduced, unless mention is made of how He is introduced. He is not introduced as belonging to the world or as the angels are, but as above all: The host of heaven adored you (Nehemiah 9:6); All the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients fell down before the throne and adored God (Revelation 7:11).

Then (verse 7), the reason is given from the side of the angels why they adore Him. It is as if to say: It is just that they adore, because they are ministers. Therefore, he says, He makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire. God sometimes acts by enlightening the intellect—He enlightens every man coming into the world (John 1:9)—and sometimes He moves a person to His work: You have worked all our works in us (Isaiah 26:12). God does the first of these by means of His angels: You enlighten wonderfully from the everlasting hills (Psalms 76:4). He also does the second in us through His angels, as Dionysius said.

Insofar as God enlightens through them, they are called messengers, for it is the office of a messenger to declare what is in his master’s heart. But insofar as they are mediators of divine works, they are both messengers and ministers. Their nature is described by physical things best suited for this. One is air, whose properties are well suited to a messenger, while the property of fire best suits a minister. Air is receptive of light and impressions; it gives a true picture of what it receives, and it moves rapidly. These are the characteristics a good messenger should have: that he receives the news well, reports it accurately, and does so swiftly. These are found in angels, for they receive divine illuminations well, since they are clean mirrors, according to Dionysius: Their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10). Furthermore, they best transmit what they receive: God signified the things which must shortly come to pass, sending by his angel to his servant, John (Revelation 1:1). And they are swift: Go, you swift angels, to a nation rent and torn to pieces (Isaiah 18:2).

They are called spirits because every invisible substance is called a spirit; for this reason, even the air is called a spirit. Furthermore, they are fire, insofar as they are ministers. Of all the elements, fire is the most active and most effective for acting; hence, Psalms 104:4 says of angels: You make your ministers a burning fire. Fire also causes heat, by which love is signified: The lamps thereof are fire and flames (Song of Solomon 8:6). Again, fire always moves upward; so, too, the angels and good ministers always refer what they do to God’s glory, as is clear from the angel in Tobit: Bless the God of heaven . He does not say, “Bless me,” but “bless the God of heaven.”

This is not so for the evil angel, who says, All these will I give you, if falling down you will adore me (Matthew 4:9). But the good angel, as a good minister, says, See you do it not, and continues, Adore God (Revelation 22:9).