while, for the purpose of His grace, one manifestation may be spoken of as greater than

another, this in no wise touches the question of essential Deity.

When Scripture itself urges us to consider the fact that the Word when made flesh

came down, laid aside His glory, humbled Himself, was made subject even to earthly

parents, we are led to expect that the Father would be greater than He.  The Son

continually speaks of Himself as "the sent One" (see John's Gospel), and that the words

He spake, the works He wrought were not His but the Father's Who had sent Him; and

this, and so much more, is brought to notice by the omission of the articles in Heb. 1: 2.

If we could but appreciate the un-English expression, "God spake in Son", understanding

it as we should, "God spake in flesh", or "was manifest in flesh", as "in English" or "in

Greek".  The Hebrew beth, translated mostly "in", must be studied before the full

meaning of "in Son" can be realized. Take for example Exod. 6: 3, "I appeared unto

Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, B'EL SHADDAI", literally in God Almighty;

again, in Exod. 18: 4, the words "the God of my father was mine help", are literally

"was in my help".

Psa. 39: 6 gives an example where the translators have sought to retain the "in" by

changing the words that follow, "in a vain shew"; this is literally "in image". Another

confessed instance of this beth essential is found in A.V. of Prov. 3: 26, "for the LORD

shall be thy confidence", literally, "in thy confidence".

In the Person of the Son, God has not merely added another name to the long list of

prophets, He has provided a Theophany, He has spoken "in Son", and "in flesh".

When we consider the glorious titles that are given the Son in the very next verses, we

shall have the Scripture's own comment upon the meaning of the passage before us. May

the grace of God herein manifested to us be thankfully acknowledged, and may the fact

that He has sent His Son be to us the greatest thing in the world. The apostle has

evidently led up to this extraordinary statement that characterized the last of the days, and

apparently intended to develop at once the superiority of "Him that speaketh" over all the

prophets and priests, but the wonder of this Person held his ravished attention. He could

not go on until he had established Him as the altogether lovely One in the eyes of his

readers. It is the very focus and centre of Hebrews that all else may perish and will

perish, law, priest, sacrifice, yea creation itself, but the apostle exultantly teaches that so

long as He "remaineth", all is well. Consequently we gladly bide, while this lover of

Christ brings some of the glories of the Son before the eyes of the Hebrews to whom he

writes. We must devote ourselves later on to the Person of the Son, but before doing so,

let us follow the apostle as he begins to enlarge upon the glories and the wonders of the

The first of His glories is that God hath appointed Him HEIR OF ALL THINGS.