THE FATHER'S VIEW OF THE SON #7

THOU REMAINEST! "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but Thou remainest"

-- Hebrews 1:10-11 --

The eternality of the Son is joyfully proclaimed. The Spirit points us to the magnificent creation. In "the beginning," the One that has saved us created all of these things. The Holy Spirit does not summon men to testify of this truth, although several prophets could be brought forth with glowing testimony. Instead, He continues relating the words of the Father to the Son.

This is the manner in which the Father views the Son--His "only begotten Son." We must not allow the apparent simplicity of the declaration to obscure its greatness to us. "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands" (1:10, NKJV). THE MARVEL OF CREATION IS NOT ITS COMPLEXITY, BUT ITS CREATOR!

As glorious as the created "worlds" are, "they will perish" (1:11). They are not to be the objects of our affection, or the focus of our attention. However complex and intriguing creation may be, it is still temporal. As such, it is improper to allow it to dominate our thinking. Like a garment, it is growing old, destined to "pass away." But what of the Son? The Father says, "You remain!" To some, it may seem pointless for the Father to so address the Son. That is only because they have a flawed view of both the Father and the Son.

Remember, everything created was made by the Son and for the Son. He upholds everything by the Word of His power. Now the Spirit affirms the Son will induct the cessation of all things. Again, the Father says to the Son, "You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end" (1:12, NIV). The point here is not that the years of the Son will never end, while those of angels will. Rather, it is the things that are made will not dissipate until the Son folds them up like a garment. He, and He alone, shall put off the tattered rags of mortality, that death in its entirety may be swallowed up of life (2 Cor 5:4). Temporal things will not simply pass away by a schedule! The Son of God, responsible their creation, is also responsible for their termination.

Creation cannot fail without the word of Jesus. The sun cannot fail to shine without a word from our King! Stars cannot fall from their heavenly places unless the Son of God speaks the word! Heaven and earth shall, indeed, pass away. But it will only occur when our Savior says it is time! No angel has ever been afforded such honor as this.

His Enemies

The Spirit continues the comparison of our blessed Lord with the angels. "But to which of the angels has He ever said: 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool'?" (1:13, NKJV). Again, this is the Father speaking to the Son. The Father has never spoken to any angel like this! The Father is ordering the universe for the Son! Every enemy--every personality at variance with the Son--will be brought into subjection to Him.

The gravity of this statement is arresting. Wherever a word has been spoken that is incongruousness with the words of the Son of God, a day of reckoning is coming. There is no way to avoid the confrontation. The Father will place all such personalities under the feet of His Son. Thus, God will be fully vindicated through the Son. As it is written, "Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: 'So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge'" (Rom 3:4, NIV). In view of this, men should take care that their words are harmonious with those of the Son. Men whose objectives are at variance with those of the Son will bow before Him, acknowledging they were wrong. In this world, surface thinkers overlook goals that conflict with the revealed intentions of God. But this circumstance is not overlooked by the Lord. All who have objectives that are at variance with those of the Son will be placed under His feet. Men do well to examine their intentions, bringing them into harmony with those of the Son, through Whom, and for Whom, all things have been made!

Putting enemies under the feet is a phrase denoting absolute subjugation. It speaks of the overthrow of the subjugated one--the utter frustration of conflicting purposes, words, and works. We have a picture of this in the book of Joshua. Joshua defeated the Amorites, calling out in faith, "O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon" (Josh 10:12, NASB). The sun and moon remained stationary "until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies" (v 13).

Five kings fled from that awful defeat, hiding themselves in the "cave of Makkedah" (v 16). Their hiding did not go unnoticed. Joshua commanded, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them" (v 18). With the alien kings contained in the cave, the army pursued and overthrew all of their enemies. Following the triumph, called a "very great laughter," the Captain turned his attention to the contained kings. "Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave" (v 22). It was then that "Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, 'Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.' So they came near and put their feet on their necks" (v. 24).

What a marvelous picture of the subjugation of Christ's enemies! after the forces of evil have been frustrated, and brought down before an assembled universe, the leaders of the insurrection, Satan and his hosts, will be publically disgraced under the feet of Christ. The saints of God will be involved in this matter, much like all the chiefs of Israel were to Joshua. Scripture states it this way. "And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Rom 16:20, NASB). What angel has ever been afforded such honor? The Son, and the Son alone, if the One to Whom enemies shall be subjugated. Our own involvement in the event is only due to our affiliation with the Son of God. He is "all in all."

-- MORE ON THIS TOMORROW --