The Heir And Agent Of Creation

What this episode covers

You’ve likely heard about the Marshmallow Test. Young children were given a giant marshmallow to eat, but if they were willing to wait for an unspecified amount of time, they would receive an additional marshmallow. Most of the children could not do it, but the few who did were creative at distracting themselves from looking at the prize. This example is often used to illustrate the value of delayed gratification. Most of us are willing to forfeit the best things in life in order to have instant gratification—even if it is a much smaller reward. The original readers were tempted to relieve the pressure of mounting persecution by retreating to Temple worship. They knew that if they were willing to turn back, or drift away from the gospel (Heb 2:1), they would find instant relief. This is why the author repeatedly encourages them to hold fast to their confession of faith (Heb 4:14). When he is not explicitly challenging them to persevere, he is explaining the magnitude of what they have gained. He does this by emphasizing the blessings they have in union with Christ. This opening prologue establishes the outline for the whole message. Time and again the author will show how the Old Testament points forward to Jesus. Jesus is better than the prophets, angels, and sacrificial system. The full and final installment of his progressive special revelation is given to us by his Son. In him, all the promises of the Law found their fulfillment (2 Cor. 1:20). The second half of v.2 transitions to describing the Son. We’re just going to focus on the first two descriptions this morning. 1. The Son as Heir of All Things 2. The Son as Agent of Creation From the opening sentence, the author is making it clear to his readers that they have nothing to gain and everything to lose if they return to the practices of the Judaic church. Jesus was not merely the last in a long line of prophets, he is the fulfillment that brings their work to its glorious conclusion. We minimize the value of our future reward when we compromise our faith for immediate relief. Read Heb 1:1-4. The Heir of All Things God has appointed the Son as the heir of all things. There is a direct correlation between the Son’s inheritance and his reign at the right hand of the Father. Here we explicitly see what his inheritance includes—all things. But we can also acknowledge that it implies something about his supremacy. If the Son inherits everything, then there are no other worthy recipients. There is an allusion to Ps 2:7-8 regarding Christ’s exaltation (his resurrection and ascension) to the right hand of the Father as well as his comprehensive eschatological reign. In v.5 the author quotes Ps 2:7, so we may assume he has the broader context of Psalm 2 in view. This would include a call to submit to the Son lest we incur his wrath (Ps 2:12). Genuine judgement is at stake (Ps 2:9). But so is the prospect of blessing for those who take refuge in the Son (Ps 2:12). While Christ becomes the heir of all things upon his exaltation, it is ultimately after all things have come into being and he is finally capable of receiving them for his possession. But this verse speaks to his appointment as heir. In other words, Christ has already assumed the title and begun to reign—even though his rule is not yet total and complete. Donald Hagner summarizes it well: “As the heir, all things already belong to the Son in principle, just as they will actually and finally be his at the end.” This will be clear in the next chapter where the author quotes from Ps 8:4-6 to suggest that all things are placed under subjection of Christ (Heb 2:8a). He goes on to qualify this statement: “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him” (Heb 2:8b). That is because his inheritance includes “the world to come” (Heb 2:5). Later on we will see the “already” aspects of our participation in the blessings of that inheritance (Heb 11:10, 16; 12:22, 28). Compa

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