Philippians 2:9
New Catholic Bible
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above all other names,
Hebrews 1
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 1
Prologue[a]
1 In previous times, God spoke to our ancestors
in many and various ways
through the Prophets,[b]
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us
through his Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe.
3 He is the reflection of God’s glory
and the perfect expression of his very being,[c]
sustaining all things by his powerful word.
Achieving purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
4 So he became as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son of God, Superior to the Angels[d]
Messianic Enthronement.[e] For to which of the angels did God ever say,“You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?[f]
6 And again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all the angels of God pay him homage.”
7 Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and detested wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness far above your companions.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a cloak;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are ever the same,
and your years will have no end.”
13 But to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool”?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Hebrews 1:1 From the opening words to the final “Amen” (Heb 13:21), readers are to keep their gaze fixed on Christ. In this magisterial sentence, “God . . . has spoken to us through his Son” (Heb 1:2), which is one of the most tightly packed and beautiful of the entire New Testament, the essence of the Letter is expressed.
God has spoken definitively in Christ, who is his real, living Word. Everything that can be said about the plan of God is made fully real in Christ. Using expressions taken from Alexandrian thought, the author says that the Son, born of the Father, is in every respect equal to him; the glorified Christ is far superior to the world of the angels, and he gives existence and salvation to every creature.
Thus, seven great theological themes are set forth: (1) Theism: God exists; (2) Revelation: God has revealed himself through the Prophets and through his Son; (3) Incarnation: God became man in Jesus Christ; (4) Creation: God created all things through Christ; (5) Providence: God upholds all things by his almighty word; Redemption: by his mediatorship and his suffering Christ made salvation possible; and Ascension: the Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. - Hebrews 1:1 Through the Prophets: this refers not only to the Prophets but to all the writers of the Old Testament, for they constituted the preparation for the coming of Christ.
- Hebrews 1:3 Perfect expression of his very being: that is, there is an identity of nature (see Wis 7:25-26).
- Hebrews 1:5 How can God, who is inaccessible and transcendent, communicate with human beings? Are not intermediaries needed to establish the link between the heavenly world and the terrestrial one? This was a question that preoccupied many Jewish circles after the Exile. In reply they insisted on the role and importance of beings who were neither human nor divine: angels. They even imagined that the intervention of the angels was needed to bring the Law to Moses (see Heb 2:2; Gal 3:19). However, if it is necessary to multiply intermediaries between God and humans, does not this mean that humanity remains decisively distant from the Lord? The perspective is completely reversed when one speaks of Christ.
5
No one is like him in intimacy with God, neither is anyone like him in proximity to humans. The link between heaven and earth is established in his very Person. It is the principal aim of the Letter to the Hebrews to hold to these two aspects of Christ: he is united through and through with God, and he is completely one with human beings. In this first part of the Letter, he is presented as Son of God and brother to human beings. - Hebrews 1:5 In Christ God has spoken in a definitive way (Heb 1:2), and the author sees this truth already proclaimed in the Old Testament. He cites a series of passages, almost all of which were regarded in the Jewish tradition as announcements of the Messiah. What are angels? Merely subordinates, mediators, and messengers ever being replaced. But the Son is the Firstborn. This is the title of honor reserved for Christ that includes a priority over creatures (see Col 1:15). He receives adoration, is enthroned, and partakes unceasingly in the status of God.
- Hebrews 1:5 I will be his Father,/and he will be my Son: before the coming of Christ, this text from 2 Sam 7:14 and the text of Ps 2 were acknowledged to be Messianic.
Hebrews 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
The Sabbath Rest of God’s People.[a] 1 Therefore, since the promise of entering into his rest endures, we must take care that none of you be judged to have fallen short. 2 For we too have received the good news just as they did, but the message they heard was of no benefit to them because those who listened did not combine it with faith. 3 For we who have faith enter into that rest, just as God has said:
“Therefore, I swore in my anger,
‘They will never enter into my rest.’ ”
Yet God’s work had been finished at the beginning of the world. 4 For somewhere he says in reference to the seventh day, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And in this passage it says, “They will never enter into my rest.”
6 Seeing, therefore, that some will enter into that rest, and since those who first had received the good news failed to enter because of their refusal to believe, 7 God once more set a day—“today”—when long afterward he spoke through David, as already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.”
8 Now if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken afterward of another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, 10 since those who enter into God’s rest also cease from their own labors as God did from his. 11 Let us then make every effort to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall by following that example of refusing to believe.
12 The Word of God Is Living.[b] Indeed, the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it pierces to the point where it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. 13 Nothing in creation is hidden from his sight. Everything is uncovered and exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we must all render an account.
14 A Compassionate High Priest.[c] Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every respect as we are, but without sinning. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Hebrews 4:1 The first “rest” in Scripture was the one that God took on the seventh day of creation (see Gen 2:3). The second “rest” was the one God promised to the Israelites in Canaan, but which they were not allowed to enter because of their lack of faith (see v. 2 and Ps 95:11). The third “rest” was the one Jesus took upon entering the eternal sphere after completing the work of Redemption (see Eph 1:20; 2:6; 4:8). These “rests” foreshadow the ultimate “rest” that awaits all Christians (v. 11), provided they have a living faith in the person and work of Jesus.
- Hebrews 4:12 The word of God is living and effective. It pierces into the most inner part of believers who open themselves completely to it. This dynamic word of God appears in both the Old and the New Testament (see Pss 107:20; 147:18; Isa 40:8; 55:11; Gal 3:8; Eph 5:26; Jas 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23).
- Hebrews 4:14 Trait by trait, the portrait of the high priest is developed. It is fully verified only in Christ; moreover, we are now beyond the priesthood of Aaron and the earthly liturgy. Christ has set free his own; the Risen One who now lives forever expresses that compassion for humans to which he bore witness in his Passion. This priest is more one with human beings than Aaron was. He is established by God to perform more than a passing service for them. As Son and according to the order of Melchizedek (who will be spoken about later), he is engaged with all his person in his supplication and his sacrifice. The Passion is the most solemn prayer of intercession, the greatest act of obedience at the heart of humanity.
