COVENANTS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
35
The final attribute given to the Son, before His mediatorial work is introduced, is that He upholds all things by
the word of His power, and this wondrous theme we now consider.
The Word of His Power
God has spoken to us `in Son'. We reiterate this unique expression, that the marvellous truth contained therein
may enable us to realize the glory of the One we call Saviour and Lord. He is the appointed Heir of all things; by
Him the ages were made. He is the Effulgence of the glory of God; He, the Express Image of His substance.
The glories of the Son are not yet exhausted, for the passage proceeds, `and upholding all things by the word of
His power'. While the Greek word phero occurs over sixty times in the New Testament, it is only translated
`uphold' once. It is rendered `bring' over thirty times, but the primary meaning of the word (`to bear') seems to be
the one intended in the passage before us. Outside the epistle to the Hebrews the word occurs but twice in Paul's
epistles:
`Endured with much long-suffering' (Rom. 9:22).
`The cloak that I left at Troas ... bring with thee' (2 Tim. 4:13).
The word is used five times in Hebrews:
`Upholding all things' (Heb. 1:3).
`Let us go on unto perfection' (6:1).
`There must ... be (brought in, marg.) the death of the testator
(or covenant victim)' (9:16).
`They could not endure that which was commanded' (12:20).
`Bearing His reproach' (13:13).
It will be seen that the word is one which has many usages. The primary idea of bearing as a burden, supporting
and sustaining, seems to be the meaning in Hebrews 1. Moses, when speaking of the responsibility he felt, in
Numbers 11:11,12 says, `Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me', and that God had said, `carry them in
thy bosom'. In Hebrews we see `all things' (not merely the burden of one people) upheld by the word of Christ.
When considering the words, `the express image of His substance' we noted a parallel in Colossians 1:15-17.
We must turn to that passage again:
`Who is the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities,
or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist'.
We note that there are several parallels here with Hebrews 1. The Image of the invisible God, and the Express
Image of His substance; the creation of all things, and the making of the ages; the statement that by Him all things
consist, and that by His word all things are upheld; in both passages He is spoken of as the prototokos, the Firstborn.
In Colossians the titles are introductory to revealing Christ as the Head of the Body, the church, and the Firstborn
from the dead. In Hebrews the titles are introductory to His office as Mediator of the New Covenant, and the
Firstborn in the habitable world whereof the apostle speaks in this epistle. The creation in its universal sense is
intended in Colossians 1; the ages and their burden occupy the thought in Hebrews 1. The former is held together
by the hand that created them, the latter is upheld and carried by the word of His power. Something must be
accomplished during the course of the ages, and the word of His power is pledged to bring it to pass. Concerning
the Son it is written in Hebrews that He is the upholder of all things, appointed heir of all things, that all things are
to be placed in subjection under His feet. It is a comforting as well as a majestic thought to realize that the burden of
`all things' pertaining to the purpose of God is resting upon the Son of God. With matchless wisdom, with infinite
grace, with mighty power, and with Divine foreknowledge, the whole of God's marvellous plan is brought to its goal
by that One Who died, rose again, ascended and is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high.