The apostle no sooner speaks of the Son, than the original theme (the importance of

His message) is for the time being held over, while the transcendent glories of His Person

are brought before the mind.

The holding over of the theme, however, is in order to consider the Son as the highest

example of those who are here to go on unto perfection, and to enter into the inheritance.

Had we no knowledge of the theme of the epistle it is highly improbable that we should

have correctly foreseen what the first title of the Son would be.

HEIR OF ALL THINGS.--Three times we read in Hebrews the word heir.

(1) Christ, heir of all things (1: 2);  (2) the overcoming Hebrews who were going on

unto perfection, who like Abraham endured temptation and perfected the faith (6: 17);

and  (3) Noah, who exhibited that faith which is the substance of things hoped for,

having been warned of things not seen, endured to the end and became "heir of the

righteousness according to faith" (11: 7). For the exposition of this expression and its

bearing upon the theme of the epistle we must wait until the verses are under review, but

sufficient is on the surface for us to see the oneness of the theme covered by these three

references. The same may be said of the one occurrence of the word "co-heirs", or as the

A.V. puts it, "heirs together", in 11: 9. The pilgrim character is prominent, pilgrims

because strangers, looking forward to their home and rest in the City whose builder and

maker is God.

Passing from the heirs to the inheritance, we find it called an aionian inheritance

(9: 15), and in 11: 8 it is the land promised to Abraham that is spoken of. The verb, "to

inherit", is found written concerning the Son in 1: 4, where we read, "having become by

so much better than the angels, as He hath inherited a more excellent name than they".

The superiority of this inheritance above the angels is sustained in the next occurrence

(1: 14), where, speaking of the angels, Scripture says, "Are they not all ministering spirits

sent out for service on account of those who are about to inherit salvation". We shall find

that this salvation which is to be inherited is something very different from the salvation

from sin and death which is the theme of the gospel; we can only touch the subject here

in passing. The verb occurs again in 6: 11, 12, where the believers are urged to show

the same diligence in the full assurance of the hope to the end, in order that they become

not slothful, but followers of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the

promises. The last reference is in 12: 17, where Esau is spoken of as a type of those

who mind earthly things, who lose both inheritance and birthright through failure to

estimate the true value of spiritual things, and who sell their birthright for a mess of