The Father says WORSHIP
Jesus
In Hebrews chapter 1 we read of the GOLRY of The Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6,
we have God the Father as the Speaker:
“But when He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the
angels of God Worship Him”
We here have the Greek verb “προσκυνησάτωσαν”, which is in the imperative mood,
which is an Authoritative Command, given by the Father, to
WORSHIP Jesus Christ.
If, as some teach, that Jesus Christ is not Almighty God, Who alone can be truly
Worshipped, then, the reading of Hebrews 1:6, where we have the Father COMMAND
the WORSHIP of Jesus Christ, is a false witness. As it stands in the Inspired
text, it is one of the clearest Testimonies in the Bible, especially from God
the Father, to the Absolute Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ was being tested by the devil at the start of His Ministry on
earth, Jesus says to him:
“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You
shall Worship the LORD your God,
and Him only you shall
Serve” (Matthew 4:10)
Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy
6:13, “You shall Fear only the Lord
your God; and you shall Worship Him
and Swear by His Name”
The First Commandment is very clear, Who we are to worship and serve.
“I [am] the LORD your God…You shall have no other gods besides Me…you shall not
bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, [am] a jealous God”
(Exodus 20:1, 3, 5)
In Exodus 34:14, it is very clear, “for you shall
Worship no other god: for Yahweh,
whose Name is Jealous, is a jealous God”
It is clear from the entire Bible, that True Worship is for Almighty God, ONLY.
This is what God the Father says concerning Jesus Christ, that He is to be
WORSHIPPED as Almighty God.
Now, for those who reject
the Bible Truth, that Jesus Christ is YHWH, ALMIGHTY GOD, THE GREAT I AM,
Hebrews 1:6, as it reads in the greater majority of English translations,
WORSHIP, is a huge problem! As this is Testimony by the Father, Who, it is
claimed by some, to be the only God,
and alone to be WORSHIPPED. The
Father COMMANDS that ALL WORSHIP Jesus Christ. Those, like the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, and Unitarians, both who deny that Jesus Christ is GOD, they changed
WORSHIP, to “obeisance”, which simply means to “show
respect and curtsy”, to someone. Interestingly, that only when the SAME Greek
word is used for Jesus Christ, it is translated as “obeisance”, but when for the
Father, it is always, “worship”. This can be seen from the
Jehovah’s Witnesses
1950 edition of their New World
Translation (NWT), where Hebrews 1:6 reads, “And let all God's angels worship
him”. The Emphatic Diaglott New Testament, which is also published by the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, reads, “worship” (1864 and 1942, ed).
This is not being honest
with what the Bible actually says, as it is “theological”, as is their
“translation”, of John 1:1, where they read, “and the Word was a god”.
In one of their Annual Reports, we have an interesting passage:
“to prepare, support, maintain and send out to various parts
of the world Christian missionaries, teachers and instructors in the Bible and
Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ
Jesus; to arrange for and hold local and world-wide assemblies for such worship;
to use or operate radio broadcasting stations for preaching this gospel of the
Kingdom” (1945 Yearbook of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Annual Report, p. 32)
Clearly in 1945 the “missionaries” of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, were told to WORSHIP Almighty God AND Christ Jesus, as part of the
“gospel of the Kingdom”.
In Isaiah 9:6, the NWT calls Jesus Christ, “Mighty God”, as
they do in 10:21, for Jehovah. Thereby admitting that there are Two distinct
Persons Who are equally “Mighty God (êl Gibbôr)”.
Hebrews 1:6, is a quote from Psalm 97:7, and Deuteronomy 32:43, as found in the
Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX), that was translated from the Hebrew
text, about 100 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ, by Jewish scholars.
Psalm 97:7;
“Let all the Worshippers of graven images, who boast of their idols, be
confounded. worship him all ye his
angels” (LXX)
The Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT), produced between the 6th and 10th
centuries AD, reads: “Made ashamed shall be all that serve graven images, that
boast themselves of idols: unto him bow
down all the gods” (Isaac Leeser translation).
Deuteronomy 32:43;
“Rejoice, heavens, with
him, And let all the angels of God
worship him: Rejoice, nations, with his people, And let all the children of
God rely on him: For he avengeth the blood of his children, And will judge, and
execute vengeance on his enemies, To them who hate him he will render
retribution, And the Lord will purify the land of his people” (LXX)
“Speak aloud, O ye nations, the praises of his people; for he will avenge the
blood of his servants, and vengeance will he render to his adversaries, and
forgive his land, and people” (MT, Leeser).
The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), which is older than the MT, reads:
“Rejoice, O heavens, together with Him; and
bow down to Him all you gods, for He
will avenge the blood of His sons, and will render vengeance to His enemies, and
will recompense those who hate Him, and will atone for the land of His people.”
(DSS, 4QDeutq)
Clearly the MT text has been corrupted by the Jews, as both the DSS and LXX, are
older, and read different. The early Christian theologian, Justin Martyr
(Dialogue with Trypho the Jew; chapter CXXIX. 100-165 AD), quotes this verse in
Deuteronomy, “Rejoice, O ye heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God
worship Him”, which he would have found in the LXX, in the 2nd
century.
Some passages in the New Testament, that clearly Teach that Jesus Christ was and
is to be Worshiped.
Matthew 8:1-4; “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes
followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You
are willing, You can make me clean.”
Matthew 9:18-19; “While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and
worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on
her and she will live.” So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His
disciples”.
Matthew 14:33; “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying,
“Truly You are the Son of God”
Matthew 28:16-17, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the
mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped
Him; but some doubted”
Mark 5:6, “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him”
Luke 24:51-53; “Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted
from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to
Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and
blessing God. Amen”
John 9:38, “Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him”
The best definition of what True Worship of God is, is in the Book of
Revelation. In Chapter 4 we read:
“And when the living creatures give Glory and Honor and Thanks to Him who sits
on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will
fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives
forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy
are You, our Lord and our God, to receive the Glory and the Honor and the Power;
for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were
created."” (verses 9-11)
This can either refer to God the Father, or the Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom, the
Father says in Hebrews 1:10-12, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail”. Jesus is The Actual Creator of the
entire universe.
In Revelation chapter 5, we have this said about Jesus Christ:
“saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the
Power and Riches and Wisdom and Might and Honor and Glory and Blessing” (verse
12)
This language is impossible for someone who is not Almighty God.
In the next two verses, we read of BOTH God the Father AND Jesus Christ:
“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth
and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, To Him who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb, be the Blessing and the Honor and the Glory and the
Might, forever and ever. And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And
the elders fell down and worshiped”
Note the important words here, “καὶ τῷ ἀρνίῳ”, “ALSO to The Lamb”, Who is The
Lord Jesus Christ. Here we have the Greek conjunction, “καὶ”, used for
“expressing emphatic assertion or assent”. ALL that is here ascribed to God the
Father, “the Blessing and the Honor and the Glory and the Might”, is done so
EQUALLY to Jesus Christ. Further, they are BOTH WORSHIPPED TOGETHER. No
“subordination” of Jesus Christ to the Father. The Father is not “greater” than
Jesus Christ. The Father is not “only God”, and Jesus Christ, simply “God”, in a
lower sense. This Testimony in Revelation, is for ABSOLUTE EQUALITY.
In Revelation chapter 22, verse 1, 3: “And he showed me a river of water of
life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb...No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of
the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will Serve Him”.
Here we have, “του θρονου του θεου και του αρνιου (the throne of God and of the
Lamb)”, clearly Two distinct Persons, “του θεου, του αρνιου”, but, “του θρονου”
(the throne), is in the singular number. Again in verse 3 we have the same in
the Greek, “του θρονου του θεου και του αρνιου”, and the singular “του θρονου”.
“His (αυτου, masc, sing) servants, shall Worship Him (αυτω, masc, sing). Not
only the Father and Jesus Christ are JOINT in their Rule, but they are Served,
and Worshipped TOGETHER, as in
5:13-14
And, Revelation 11:15
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven,
saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Note the end, “He shall Reign”, which in the Greek is, “βασιλευσει”, which is in
the singular number. It can refer either, to “His Christ (τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ)”,
or, to “our Lord and of His Christ (τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ)”. It
is clear from the Book of Revelation that the latter is the correct way to
understand this verse. This is clear that BOTH The Father AND Jesus Christ will
Reign Eternally Forever.
There can be no doubt, that the Infallible Word of Almighty God, Teaches that
The Lord Jesus Christ, is, within the Eternal Godhead, Completely and
Absolutely, COEQUAL with God the Father.