“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Hebrews 1:9).
Hebrews 1:9 raises a challenging question regarding the nature of Christ. Just one verse earlier, we read, “…of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” Yet here in the very next verse, we read, “Therefore God, Your God…” In light of these passages, it is not unreasonable to ask the following question: “How could God be the God of God?”
In considering these verses, it’s important to reiterate that Jesus is 100% God and 100% human. But Jesus is not only 100% human; He is the perfect human. You see, one characteristic of human existence is that human beings are limited in such things as knowledge, ability, and experience. As a perfect human being, Jesus subjected Himself to such limitations while continuing to do everything that a perfect human should do. That included things like praying, accepting the limitations of human knowledge, trusting God in the midst of a difficult trial, and acknowledging that God is supreme.
This helps explain the apparent dichotomy we find here in Hebrews 1:9. Jesus did not cease to be God at any time in accepting these human limitations (see Philippians 2:5-8). But in doing so, Jesus secured the ability to fully identify with the human condition in all its forms. We’ll examine this concept in greater detail when we reach Hebrews chapter two.
We can also address this question in another way. While the interrelationship between God the Father and God the Son is one of complete equality, these co-equal members of the Trinity each bear different responsibilities with respect to one another. For instance, the Father holds a place of authority, rule, and leadership. The Son is willingly subordinate to the Father and freely submits to His will. In fact, Jesus even went so far as to say that His very nourishment came from doing God’s will and completing His work (see John 4:31-34).
So, while God the Son is subject to God the Father, the Son is not inferior to the Father. Therefore, “God, your God, has set you above your companions” as we read in the Scripture quoted above. While this passage initially referred to human royalty when it first appeared in the Biblical book of Psalms, it now finds its complete expression here in Hebrews 1:9 in reference to Christ.