Hebrews 1:8

[Proclaimer]

Hebrews 1:8 appears to state that God called Jesus, God. 

But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.”

Let’s go back a bit from this verse to get some context:

“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,”

So we can establish that God is speaking. He then speaks about angels:

“In speaking of the angels he says,”

He then talks about the Son:

“But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’;”

So it does seem that God calls the Son, God. But is this really the case?

The truth of the matter is this. The Greek grammar here allows for differing translations. Even Trinitarian scholars like Dr. A. T. Robertson, B. F. Westcott, and Dr. William Barclay admit that ‘God is your throne’ or ‘Your throne is God’ is also grammatically correct. Other scholars that have this view include Dr. James Moffatt, Edgar Goodspeed, and Dr. C. F. D. Moule. We also see for this reason, the RSV translating Psalm 45:6 as “Your divine throne endures forever and ever.” The NRSV footnote for Psalm 45:6 reads, “Your throne is a throne of God” and the Hebrews 1:8 footnote reads, “God is your throne.” Other translations include this wording too.

Viewing Hebrews 1:8 as God calling the Son as God opens up another serious problem too when we read the following verse:

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”

First thing to note is that according to this, the Son has a God:

‘therefore God, Your God’

Wouldn’t it be problematic if God has a God? Just to be clear. If Jesus has a God and Jesus is God, then God has a God. So does this scripture really teach that Jesus is God and by extension, God has a God?

The answer is no if we interpret Hebrews 1:8 as ‘God is your throne’ or ‘Your throne is God’. It then it concurs with the rest of scripture too, such as these verses:

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

1 Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

← Go back to ‘Supporting the Trinity Doctrine‘.

[Lightenup]

@Proclaimer and all,

If YHVH is God of gods and Lord of lords, and there is one God and one Lord and they happen to be two persons, then the YHVH who is God, is one person WITH the YHVH who is Lord, another person. And then, if one of those two persons happens to be the Father of the other person, there would be a distinction in authority within this one YHVH relationship between this one God and this one Lord. This is not hard. Since both are YHVH, then both are God yet one is under the authority of the other.  Hebrews 1:9 says O God, thy God… for instance. Would that mean that there are two distinct YHVH’s? No, not if YHVH is God of gods AND Lord of lords together, not separately. For instance, YHVH is not just God of gods. YHVH is God of gods AND Lord of lords…one YHVH God in the fullest sense, two persons.

What about the Spirit, is the Spirit another person? Well, if the Spirit is another person, I would love to understand the Spirit that way. As of now, I don’t. I understand the Spirit as the potential omnipresence of the Father and the Son that dwells in believers of Jesus and unites the believers with the Father and the Son so that we may be one in Spirit with them.

So, with this understanding, Hebrews 1 seems to agree. Hebrews 1 shows the Father identifying the Son as God whom He is the God of. Hebrews 1 also shows the Father identifying the Son as YHVH who laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of the Son’s hands.

I hope this helps someone, LU

[Berean]

Hi To all

In the highest sense of the word, the word god is attributed to the Father, who is in fact the only TRUE GOD (do we understand each other?)
But this word is also attributed to other beings (1 Cor. 8: 5) of Moses for example …. why not to the Son of God …?
Now we know that God the Father created all things BY his Son (Heb.1 2)
So since the Son is the creative agent of the Father, it is because he possesses omnipotence, and therefore that God calls him “God” in Hebrews 1: 8 is not exaggerated, but rather RIGHT.
THE SON IS GOD IN NATURE, ESSENCE BY HERITAGE FROM GOD THE FATHER (Hebrews 1: 5)

God bless

[Proclaimer]

LU. God made Jesus both lord and Christ.

Nobody made God as God.

Being made lord is not to disimilar to the pharoah who made Joseph as lord over Egypt. While he was given the highest authority, it did not include authority over the pharoah himself.

Likewise, Jesus as Lord means he reigns over all, except for God.

And because both Jesus and Joseph were made Lord over their juristictions, that doesn’t rule out that the pharoah was not Lord or for that matter, God as Lord.

It is obvious that God is higher than Lord because he can designate others as Lord or lords.

[Proclaimer]

@dannyd

[Proclaimer]

If YHVH is God of gods and Lord of lords, and there is one God and one Lord and they happen to be two persons, then the YHVH who is God, is one person WITH the YHVH who is Lord, another person.

Your trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist in scripture. Therefore, your theory is just as wrong because it proposes to be the fix.

[Author]

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