3. The honour and glory of all that ever were employed, or ever shall so be, in the work and service of the house of God, jointly and severally considered, is inferior, subordinate, and subservient to the glory and honour of Jesus Christ, the chief builder of the house. He is worthy of more honour than they all. He is the Son, they are servants. He is over the house, they are in it, and parts of it. They are shepherds, but the sheep and the lambs are his, He is the d&pxrouqy, the chief or prince of shepherds; all their honour is from him, and if it be not returned unto him, it is utterly lost.
Ver. 4,—“ For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”
In this verse the apostle confirms and illustrates what he had before asserted and proved. Hereunto two things were necessary ; for, first, whereas his whole discourse had reference unto the analogy that is between a house and its builder on the one hand, and Christ with his church on the other,—seeing it lies in this, that as the builder is worthy of more honour than the house built by him, so is Christ worthy of more than the whole church or house of God which was built by him,—it was therefore necessary to show that his argument had a real foundation in the things from which the parity of reason in- sisted on by him did arise. This he doth in the first words, “ Every house is builded by some.” Every house whatever hath its builder, — between whom and the house there is that respect that he is more honourable than it. This, therefore, holds equally in an artificial house and inan analogical. The respect mentioned is alike in both.
VER. 3-6. | EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 555
Secondly, If that building of the house which alone would make good the apostle’s inference and intention (namely, that Christ was more honourable than Moses, because he built the house, Moses was only a part of it), were such as we have described, the building of the church in all ages, who could perform it? to whom must this work belong? Why, saith he, “ He who built all things is God.”
Two things are here to be inquired into;—first, What is intended by the “all things” here mentioned; secondly, Who is intended by * God,’ who is said to build them all.
For the first, r& révra, “all things,” is put for ratra révra, “all these things,”—all the things treated about; which kind of expres- sion is frequent in the Scripture. And therefore Beza well renders the words “ hee omnia,” “all these things,’—the whole house, and all the persons that belong unto it, or the parts of it in all ages. And thus is r& wdévr« constantly restrained to the subject-matter treated of. Besides, the word xaraoxeudous, here used by the apostle, whereby he expressed before the building of the house, plainly de- elares that it is the same kind of building that he yet treats of, and not the absolute creation of all things, which is nowhere expressed by that word. And this is sufficient to evince what we plead for. This word is nowhere used in the Scripture to express the creation of all things, neither doth it signify to create, but to “prepare” and to “build.” And it is often used in this business of preparing the church or the ways of.the worship of God. See Matt. xi. 10; Luke i. 17, vii. 27; Heb. ix. 2, 6. So that there can be no pretence of apply- ing it to the creation of the world in this place. Again, the making of all things, or the first creation, doth not belong unto his purpose ; but the mention of it would disturb the series of his discourse, and render it equivocal. There is neither reason for it in his design, nor place for it in his discourse, nor any thing in it to his purpose.
Secondly, Who is here intended by the name “ God.” The words may be so understood as to signify either that God made or built all these things, or, that he who made and built all these things is God; the first sense making God the subject, the latter the predicate of the proposition. But as to our purpose they amount unto the same; for if he who made them is God, his making of them declares him so to’ be. And it is the Lord Christ who is intended in this expression; for,—
First, If God absolutely, or God the Father, be intended, then by “the building of all things” the creation of the world is designed; so they all grant who are of that opinion: but that this is not so we have already demonstrated from the words themselves.
Secondly, The introduction of God absolutely, and his building of all things, in this place, is no way subservient unto the purpose of the apostle; for what light or evidence doth this contribute unto his
556 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. III.
principal assertion, namely, that the Lord Christ was more honour- able than Moses, and that upon the account of his building the house of God, the confirmation whereof he doth in these words expressly design.