Hebrews Chapter One Part 7

1:8-9 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Quoted from Psalm 45, we have a snippet of conversation between the Father and the Son. Here, in unflinching and unabashed words, do we have a bold declaration of Christ’s native deity. “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” One thing cannot be mistaken: the Biblical writers (and Jesus Himself) all believed Christ to be God. What is this throne the Father speaks of? Hearken back to Psalm 2, when the Father promises the Son the kingdoms of the world, to reign over them. This vision of the Messiah or the Christ reigning over a world-wide kingdom is explored in Daniel.

“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one that shall not be destroyed,” Daniel 7:13-14.

This vision and those words must have carried special significance for Daniel. In his youth he interpreted a dream for the Babylonian king that revealed a progression of world kingdoms, terminating with God’s kingdom. “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever,” Daniel 2:44.

This eternal kingdom is governed by a king who loves righteousness and hates iniquity. Righteousness is God’s natural state of being. God is righteous by His very nature. Iniquity is another name for sin, and sin is the result of deviating from God’s perfect and righteous will in pursuit of gratifying our own will. In essence we reject God’s rightful authority over us as Creator and supplant it with our own. When we turn from God’s will in disobedience sin is the instant and natural result. As a fallen being with a sin nature, mankind sins quite naturally. We learn to lie without being taught; we steal, cheat and profane others with no prompting. We are sinners. Christ hates iniquity, but He does not hate sinners.

The very heart of the gospels was Jesus’ love for sinners, and His hatred for what sin has done to His creation. When Jesus reigns at last He shall rule with a scepter that does not tolerate iniquity, Isaiah 65:20. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s uncompromising stand on doing His Father’s will with a whole heart, the Father elevated Him above His brethren; namely us. We are fellow heirs with Christ in His kingdom, and it is said that we shall rule with Him, but God the Father honors the Son more than His brethren, or above His companions. “Fellows” in this verse essentially means “partners.” These verses do seem to imply the forthcoming reign of Christ, when we shall reign with Him. But the Son, in everything, shall have the preeminence.