Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
All Commentaries on Hebrews 1:3 Go To Hebrews 1
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
24. – Having shown Christ’s greatness in regard to His unique origin, the majesty of His dominion and the power of His activity, the Apostle now shows His greatness in regard to the sublimity of His glory and dignity. This is divided into two parts: in the first he shows that Christ is worthy of His dignity; in the second he discloses this dignity (v. 2c). But he shows Him worthy of this dignity for two reasons: one is the ease with which He acts; the other is His diligence and strenuousness in acting: first, therefore, he describes this ease: secondly, His strenuousness (v. 2b).
25. – In regard to the first it should be noted that three things are required for a high dignity to be administered with ease: the first is wisdom, to avoid mistakes in governing: ‘There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were be an error proceeding from the face of the prince: a fool set in high dignity’ (Ec. 10:15); ‘Through me kings reign’ (Pr. 8:15). Secondly, a person must be of noble stock, lest his commands be scorned: ‘Her husband is honorable in the gates, when he sits among the senators of the land’ (Pr. 31:33). The third requirement is power in acting: ‘Seek not to be made a judge, unless you have strength enough to extirpate iniquities’ (Sir. 7:6). These are the three marks the Apostle uses to show that Christ is worthy of His dignity: first, because He is not only wise but is Wisdom itself; hence, he says, he reflects the glory of God; secondly, because He is not only noble but is nobility itself, because he bears the very stamp [figure] of his substance; thirdly, because He is not only powerful but is power itself: upholding all things by his word of power. But these are the three things which make a person worthy to possess great dignity.
26. – The first is clarity of wisdom: ‘The wise shall possess glory’ (Pr. 3:35). Hence, he shows Christ’s wisdom when he says, he reflects the glory of God. Here it should be noted that according to Ambrose: ‘Glory is fame accompanied by praise’, i.e., public knowledge of someone’s goodness. But as it says in Lk. (18:19): ‘No one is good but God alone.’ Hence, He is good par excellence and essentially, but other things are good by participation, so that God alone is good par excellence: ‘My glory I give to no other’ (Is. 42:8); ‘To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever’ (1 Tim. 1:17). Therefore, knowledge of God’s goodness is called glory in a most excellent sense, i.e., clear knowledge of the divine goodness accompanied by praise. Such knowledge is possessed by men up to a certain point: ‘I know now in part’ (1 Cor. 13:12), but perfectly by God alone: ‘No one has ever seen God’ (Jn. 1:18). It is true that not even the angels, but God alone comprehends it. Therefore, only God’s knowledge of Himself is glory in the full sense, because He has perfect and clearest knowledge of Himself. But because splendor is that which is first emitted by a bright object, and His wisdom is something bright: ‘The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance’ (Ec. 8:1), it follows that the first conception of wisdom is, as it were, a splendor. Therefore, the Word of the Father, which is a certain concept of His intellect, is the splendor and wisdom by which He knows Himself. That is why the Apostle calls the Son the splendor of glory, i.e., of the clear divine knowledge. Thus, he identifies Him not only as wise but as begotten wisdom: ‘I will not rest till her just one comes forth as brightness, and her savior be lighted as a lamp’ (Is. 62:1).
27. – The second mark which makes a man worthy of great dignity is noble birth, which he shows is in Christ, because he is the very stamp of his substance. For it is proper that along with wisdom there be nobility in a prince: ‘And I took out of your tribes men over fifties and over tens, who might teach you all things’ (Dt. 1:15). The word stamp [figure] here is used to denote a mark or an image. As if to say: the image of His substance. Yet it should be noted that although an image implies a likeness, not every likeness is an image: for the whiteness on a canvas is not my whiteness; but an image is a likeness in species. Therefore, that is properly called an image of someone, which bears a likeness to his species, or is an expressed sign of the species. But among the accidents none is such an expressed sign of a species as a thing’s figure. Hence, one who draws the figure of an animal draws its image. Therefore, the Son ‘Who is the image of the invisible God’ (Col. 1:15) is properly called the figure.
28. – But the figure of what? Of his nature [substance]. For there are many images of things: sometimes it is a sign representing the species but yet not agreeing with it in any way; as the image of a man on canvas, which in no sense possesses the true species of man. Sometimes it is similar to it in species not only in representing, but even in being, as the Son is the true image of His Father: ‘Adam begot a son in his own image’ (Gen. 5:3), i.e., in the nature of his species. Therefore, the Apostle adds, of his substance, because according to Augustine a son is called the image of the father, because he is of the same nature as he. He says, therefore, that he is the figure of his nature [substance].
29. – But why does he not say that He is the figure of His nature? Because it is possible for the nature of a species to be multiplied according to the multitude of individuals composed of matter and form. Hence, the son of Socrates does not have the same numerical nature has his father. But the substance is never multiplied; for the substance of the father is not distinct from the substance of the son: for substance is not divided according to diverse individuals. Therefore, because there is one and the same numerical nature in the Father and in the Son of God, he does not say ‘the figure of His nature’, but of his substance, which is indivisible: ‘I and the Father are one’ (Jn. 10:30); ‘I in the Father and the Father in me’ (Jn. 14:10).
30. – The third factor which makes a man worthy is strength; hence, it is stated in Sir. (7:6): ‘Seek not to be made a judge, unless you have strength enough to extirpate iniquities.’ Therefore, he shows this strength when he says, upholding all things by his word of power. For it is proper to princes and potentates to uphold: ‘Under whom they stoop that bear up the world’ (Jb. 9:13). Therefore, he upholds.
31. – But what does He uphold, and by what agency? In regard to the first it should be noted that anything which cannot stand by itself or walk needs to be upheld. But no creature of itself can subsist or act. The first statement is clear, because once the cause is removed, the effect is removed. But God is the cause of all subsistence, because He is no less the cause of a things’ continuance in existence and of its coming into existence than a builder is the cause of a house’s coming into existence. Hence, just as the house ceases coming into existence when the builder ceases to act, and just as the air ceases to be illuminated when the sun no longer shines; so, when the divine power is removed, the being, the coming-to-be and the substance of every creature is removed. Therefore, He upholds all things in their existence and in their activity: because when the divine influence is removed, all the activities of secondary causes are removed, because He is the first cause; and the first cause does more than the second: ‘Upon what are its bases grounded?’ (Jb. 38:6)
32. – But through what agency does he support them? By his word of power. For since the Apostle, when speaking of the creation of things, said that God made all things through the Son: By whom also He made the world, and since that through which a thing acts does not seem to act by its own power but by the power of the one through whom it acts, as the bailiff through whom the king acts by His own power. Hence, the Apostle says, he upholds all things by his word of power. For since the cause of existence and of conservation are the same, when he says that the Son is the cause of conservation, he is showing that He is also the cause of existence
33. – But is it not also by the Father’s power? It is also by His power, because the power of both is identical. He works, therefore, both by His own power and by the Father’s power, because His power comes from the Father. Yet the Apostle does not say, ‘by His power’, but by his word of power, in order to show that just as the Father produced all things by the Word: ‘He spoke and they were made: He commanded and they were created’ (Ps. 32:8), so the Son by the same Word that He is, made all things. By these words, therefore, the Apostle shows the strength of His power, because He has the same power as the Father: for the power by which the Father acts is the same as the power by which the Son acts.
34. – But a question arises here, because the Father, when He speaks, produces a Word; when the Word speaks, He should produce a word; and so the Word of the Father should be the word of the Son. The Greeks answer this by saying that just as the Son is the image of the Father, so the Holy Spirit is the image of the Son. This is the way Basil explains the phrase, supporting all things by his word of power, i.e., by the Holy Spirit. For just as the Son is the Word of the Father; so the Holy Spirit, they say, is the Word of the Son; consequently, the Son acts through Him just as the Father acts through the Son. Yet, properly speaking, an utterance is not called a word, unless it proceeds as something conceived by the intellect in such a way that, as consequence, it proceeds in a likeness of species. But the Holy Spirit, even though He is like, is not like by reason of the way He proceeds, because He does not proceed as a concept issuing from an intellect, but as Love issuing from the will.
35. – But a question still remains about that Word. What is it? For a human command is either externally expressed by a sound, and this has no place in the godhead, because nothing is external to the divine nature, so as to proceed from the Son by Whom all things are upheld; or that command is inwardly conceived in the heart. But even that cannot stand, because nothing is conceived in God’s mind but the eternal Word. Consequently, there would be two eternal Words, which it is blasphemous to say. Therefore, the answer to this argument as Augustine says in explaining Jn. (12:48): ‘The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’, is that I myself, Who am the Word of the Father, shall judge him. Similarly, in the phrase, by the word of his power, i.e., by himself Who is the powerful Word.
36. – Consequently, by those three characteristics he shows three things of Christ: for by the fact that he is the brightness, he shows his co-eternity with the Father; for in creatures splendor is coeval, and the Word is co-eternal. This is against Arius. But when he says, the image of his substance, he shows the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father. For since splendor is not of the same nature as the resplendent thing, then lest anyone suppose that it is not similar in nature, he says that it is the image or figure of His substance. But because the Son, even though He is of the same nature with the Father, would be lacking power, if He were weak, he adds, supporting all things by the word of his power. Therefore, the Apostle commends Christ on three points, namely, co-eternity, consubstantiality and equality of power.
37. – Then (v. 3b) he shows the second trait, which makes one worthy of great dignity, namely, strenuousness and industry in acting. For it was a display of great industry to merit by His suffering sin the assumed nature that which he already possessed by His own divine nature. Hence it is stated in Phil (2:8): ‘he became obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross: for which cause God also exalted him.’ Therefore, to purify from sin, even tough it belongs to Him in virtue of His divine nature, belongs to Him also by the merit of His Passion; hence Sir. (47:13) says: ‘The Lord took away his sins and exalted his horn forever’; ‘he will save his people from their sins’ (Mt. 1:21).
38. – It belongs to Christ to cleanse by reason of His divine nature and by reason of His special sonship. By reason of His divine nature, because guilt or sin is uniquely an evil of the rational creature, and God alone can repair such an evil. For sin lies in the will, which God alone can move: ‘The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable; who can know it? I am the Lord who searches the heart and proves the reins’ (Jer. 17:9). The reason for this is that something close to the end is brought to its end only by the first cause. But the will is concerned with the ultimate end, because it is made for enjoying God; therefore, it is moved by God alone. Therefore, since Christ is true God, it is obvious that He can cause purification from sins: ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ (Lk. 5:21)
39. – But by appropriation it belongs also to Christ. To understand this it should be noted that in sin is involved, first of all, a transgression of the eternal law and of God’s rights, since all sin is an iniquity which transgresses the law: ‘They have transgressed the law, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant’ (Is. 24:5). Therefore, since the eternal law and divine right stem from the eternal Word, it is clear that cleansing from sins is Christ’s prerogative, inasmuch as He is the Word: ‘he sent his Word and healed them’ (Ps. 106:20). Secondly, sin involves a loss of the light of reason and, consequently, of God’s wisdom in man, since such a light is a participation of divine wisdom: ‘And because they had not wisdom, they perished in their folly’ (Bar. 3:28); ‘They err that work evil’ (Pr. 14:22). Furthermore, according to the Philosopher, all evil is ignorance. Therefore, to set aright according to divine wisdom belongs to the One who is divine wisdom. But this is Christ: ‘We preach Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Cor. 1:24); ‘For by wisdom they were healed’ (Wis. 9:19). Thirdly, in sin is a deformity of the likeness of God in man: ‘The heart of fools shall be unlike’ (Pr. 15:13). Therefore, it belongs to the Son to correct this deformity, because He is the image of he Father: ‘Therefore, as we have born the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly’ (1 Cor. 15:49). Fourthly, there is a loss of the eternal inheritance, the sign of which was man’s expulsion from Paradise: ‘God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons’ (Gal. 4:4). Therefore, it is obvious that it belongs to Christ to purge sins both by reason of His human nature and by reason of the divine.
40. – But how did He effect this purgation? It is clear from this. For in sin is a perversity of will by which man withdraws from the unchangeable good. To correct this, Christ bestowed sanctifying grace: ‘Justified freely by his grace’ (Rom. 3:24). Secondly, there is in the soul a stain left by the perversity of the will. To remove this stain He gave His blood: ‘He loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood’ (Rev. 1:5). Thirdly, there is a debt of punishment, which a man must pay. To satisfy this debt He offered Himself as a victim on the altar of the cross: ‘Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it in order to sanctify it’ (Eph. 5:25). Fourthly, there is slavery under the devil, to whom man subjected himself by sin, because ‘whoever commits sin is the servant of sin’ (Jn. 8:34). To save us from this slavery He redeemed us: ‘You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth’ (Ps. 30:6).
41. – Then (v. 3c) he describes His dignity. As if to say: It does not seem improper for Him to sit on the right hand of majesty, because He is the splendor and the figure and the upholder of all things. But in the word sit three things are usually implied: One is the authority of the one seated: ‘When I sat as a king with the army standing about him’ (Jb. 29:25). In the divine court there are many who serve, because Dan. (7:10) says: ‘Thousands of thousands ministered to him and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him.’ But no one is described as sitting there, because all present are servants and ministers: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them’ (Heb. 1:14); but He alone has royal dignity: ‘And he came even to the ancient of days: and he gave him power and glory and a kingdom’ (Dan. 7:13); ‘When the Son of man shall come in his majesty and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty’ (Mt. 25:3). Then he continues: ‘Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: ‘Come, you blessed of my father’ (Mt. 25:34). The second implication is the stability of the one sitting: ‘Stay you in he city till you be endued with power from oh high’ (Lk. 24:49; ‘His power is an everlasting power’ (Dan. 7:14); ‘Jesus Christ, yesterday and today and the same for ever’ (Heb. 13:8). Furthermore, sitting sometimes implies humility, because the person seated is below those who stand: ‘Thou hast known my sitting down’ (Ps. 138:2). But that is not the sense in which it is taken here, but in the first two.
42. – But on the other hand, it says in Ac. (7:55): ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.’ The answer is that sitting and standing and all such postures are said of God metaphorically. Consequently, there are various reasons why He is said to be standing and sitting. He is seated because of His immortality, but standing because that posture is best for resisting firmly. Hence, He stood as though prepared to help Stephen in his agony.
43. – But the Apostle continues, that he sits at the right hand. If this is referred to the divine nature, the sense is this: at the right hand, i.e., on a par with the Father; but if it is referred to the human nature, the sense is at the right hand, i.e., in the more excellent goods of the Father: ‘He sits on the right hand of God’ (Mk 16:19); ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand’ (Ps. 109:1). But among those who have assistants some are simply greater, as the king and emperor; others are not absolutely greater, but only in some sense, as overseers and bailiffs. But Christ is not seated on the right of any of His inferior judges, as though He were a bailiff, but on the right of one absolutely great, because He sits on the right hand majesty’ (Pr. 25:27). But Christ, even though He is seated on the right hand of majesty, has a majesty of His own, because He has the same majesty as the Father: ‘When the Son of man comes in his majesty’ (Mt. 25:31): ‘Of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he comes in his majesty and that of the Father’ (Lk. 9:26).
44. – But he does not say of his majesty alone, but on high, i.e., above every creature: ‘I dwell in the highest places’ (Sir. 24:7); therefore, He sits on high, because He is raised above all creatures: ‘For your magnificence is elevated above the heavens’ (Ps. 8:2). According to Chrysostom, the Apostle is speaking here after the manner of one who is teaching a child, who cannot bear to have everything proposed to him, but must be led gradually, now saying difficult things, now proposing easy things. So here, he says divine things, when he says, by a Son, and human things when he says, whom he has appointed heir of all things (v.2).
