COVENANTS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
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instead of this being a loss or a disadvantage, we discover it to be but another opportunity for grace to triumph.
Who would cling to the God of Abraham, when the Son of God became the Head of his calling? It is for this reason
that in the ministry of Paul both before Acts 28, and in the ministry also of Peter, Jesus Christ is set forth as `The
One Mediator between God and men' and we gladly relinquish all hope of using the title `the God of Abraham'
because we can instead call upon `The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ'.
We come back therefore to Hebrews 1:9 and rejoice that here also we read `Therefore God, even Thy God',
realizing that this special anointing is entirely related to His Mediatorial office, and can have no relation to His own
intrinsic Deity. The same epistle that says `Thy God' can without contradiction or confusion equally say `Thy
throne, O God', for Christ is both God and Man.
Again, who can be God's `fellow'? Yet here, the Son of God is anointed with the oil of gladness `above His
fellows'. This phrase contains the first of five occurrences of the Greek word metochos `partakers' in Hebrews.
`Anointed ... above thy fellows' (Heb. 1:9).
`Partakers of the heavenly calling' (Heb. 3:1).
`We are made partakers ... if ...' (Heb. 3:14).
`The heavenly gift ... partakers of the Holy Ghost ... if' (Heb. 6:4,6).
`Chastisement, whereof all are partakers' (Heb. 12:8).
Who are these `fellows', these `partakers'? Some say angels, some say kings, some say believers. In Hebrews
2:14 Christ `took part' or `became a partaker' metecho of flesh and blood, and because He came down and united
Himself with our low estate, it becomes gloriously possible for sinful men, redeemed by His precious blood, to
contemplate the possibility of sharing the glory that has been given Him. Should one object and say `surely the
believer cannot be ranged along with the Lord like that', we read `He is not ashamed to call them brethren' (Heb.
2:11), and elsewhere the believer is spoken of as being a `joint-heir with Christ', so united with Him as to make it
possible for him to sit on His throne, even as He has sat down with His Father on His Throne; and to crown all, we
remember His words, `The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, EVEN AS WE ARE
ONE (John 17:22). In some of His offices, the Saviour was and must be `alone'. None can intrude into the suffering
and death that constitute the `one Offering'. The glory that was His by right and enjoyed `before the world was', is
His alone and can be shared by none; but as the One Mediator, He is not alone; He is exalted, but exalted among His
redeemed people.
Jesus Christ the Same (1:12)
When we read the words `Thy throne, O God' and then go on to read `Therefore God, even Thy God', we feel
that we are facing a mystery, and indeed we are, `the mystery of godliness', which is nothing less than God manifest
in the flesh. If Christ be God and Man, we must be sure at every step whether His Divine or Human nature is in
view. The same Person could use the extraordinary words in prayer, `Father, I WILL', yet ever acknowledge that He
came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father that sent Him. So, with nothing to mark the transition,
Hebrews 1:9,10 passes from One Who can have `fellows', to One Who shares an aspect of glory with none, the
glory of the Creator.
`... I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I
the LORD do all these things ... Thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth
and made it ... I am the LORD; and there is none else' (Isa. 45:6,7,18).
Here there can be no `fellows'. Here we listen to the unchallengeable claim of God, `There is none else'. In the
presence of Isaiah 45, we must believe that `the Lord' Who is addressed in Hebrews 1:10 as having laid the
foundation of the earth `in the beginning' must be God, even as in the presence of Isaiah 45:23, we must believe that
`the Lord' of Philippians 2:6-11 must be God, to Whom every knee shall bow.
`And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine
hands' (Heb. 1:10).