Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
God Has Spoken to Us
1 God, having spoken in former times in fragmentary and varied fashion to our forefathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe. 3 He is the reflection[a] of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty 4 and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.
God’s Son is Superior to the Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God[b] ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father”?[c] Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?[d] 6 And again, when he brings[e] his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”[f] 7 Now about the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”[g]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a righteous scepter.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you rather than your companions
with the oil of gladness.”[h]
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord,[i]
you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will come to an end,
but you will remain forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will roll them up like a robe,
and they will be changed like clothes.
But you remain the same,
and your life[j] will never end.”[k]
13 But to which of the angels did he ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?[l]
14 All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?
We Must Not Neglect Our Salvation
2 For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away, 2 because if the message spoken by angels was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him, 4 while God added his testimony through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus is the Source of Our Salvation
5 For he did not put the coming world we are talking about under the control of angels. 6 Instead, someone has declared somewhere,
“What is man that you should remember him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels,
yet you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet.”[m]
Now when God[n] put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. 9 But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of[o] God he might experience[p] death for everyone.
10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering as part of his plan to glorify many children, 11 because both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have the same Father.[q] That is why Jesus[r] is not ashamed to call them brothers 12 when he says, “I will announce your name to my brothers. I will praise you within the congregation.”[s] 13 And again, “I will trust him.”[t] And again, “I am here with the children God has given me.”[u]
14 Therefore, since the children have flesh and blood, he himself also shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death (that is, the Devil) 15 and might free those who were slaves all their lives because they were terrified by death. 16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to help Abraham’s descendants, 17 thereby becoming like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people’s sins. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
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