The text explicitly says
God made the ages through the Son, who sustains all things and is addressed as God and as the unchanging Creator-Lord.
Deep study 06
The Son who made the ages
Hebrews 1:1–14
The textual thesis
Hebrews distinguishes God from the Son while saying that the Son creates, shares God’s glory, rules forever, never changes, and is called Lord.
01
How the sentence begins
“Through whom” refers to the Son
Start with the English“In Son … through whom He also made the ages.”
The Greek is included only to show what wording the explanation comes from. Everything is explained in plain English first, so you can follow the point without reading Greek.
See the Greek wording
ἐν υἱῷ … δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας
The words ‘through whom’ (δι’ οὗ) refer directly back to ‘Son’ (υἱῷ). God is the One who made; the Son is the personal agent through whom He made the ages and the whole created order (τοὺς αἰῶνας).
The text does not say God created with a future plan that would later be called Son. It names the Son as antecedent and places creative agency through Him.
02
Identity and activity
Radiance and exact representation
Start with the English“Who being the radiance of His glory and exact imprint of His being … and sustaining all things.”
The Greek is included only to show what wording the explanation comes from. Everything is explained in plain English first, so you can follow the point without reading Greek.
See the Greek wording
ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ … φέρων τε τὰ πάντα
The word ‘being’ (ὢν) describes ongoing existence. The Son is called the ‘radiance’ (ἀπαύγασμα) of God’s glory and the ‘exact representation’ (χαρακτήρ) of God’s being (ὑπόστασις).
The phrase ‘sustaining all things’ (φέρων τὰ πάντα) describes continuing action: the same Son continuously bears and upholds everything by His powerful word. The sentence keeps the same subject as it moves from revealing God, to sustaining creation, to cleansing sins.
03
The Father’s address
But concerning the Son
Start with the English“But concerning the Son: ‘Your throne, O God’ … and, ‘You, Lord, laid earth’s foundation in the beginning.’”
The Greek is included only to show what wording the explanation comes from. Everything is explained in plain English first, so you can follow the point without reading Greek.
See the Greek wording
πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν· Ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεὸς … Καί· Σὺ κατ’ ἀρχάς, κύριε, τὴν γῆν ἐθεμελίωσας
The introductory formula explicitly identifies the Son as the addressee. Hebrews applies Psalm 45’s ‘God’ language and then Psalm 102’s address to Yahweh the Creator to that Son.
One person is speaking to another, so the distinction is real. Yet Hebrews takes words about the unchanging Creator and applies them directly to the Son.
04
Translation that can mislead
“Today I have begotten You” is not a creation statement
Start with the English“You are My Son; today I have begotten You.”
The Greek is included only to show what wording the explanation comes from. Everything is explained in plain English first, so you can follow the point without reading Greek.
See the Greek wording
υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε
If isolated from Psalm 2’s royal setting, ‘today’ can sound like the first moment of personal existence. But Psalm 2 concerns installation of Yahweh’s anointed King, and Hebrews has already located the Son at creation.
Interpreters differ over the precise event or theological relation associated with this quotation. The chapter itself does not permit ‘today’ to mean that the Son first came into existence then, because it has already named the Son as the One through whom God made the ages and later addresses Him with words about the unchanging Creator.
What the text contributes
Hebrews identifies the Son as creation’s agent, God’s radiance and exact representation, the present sustainer, and the unchanging Lord addressed with the words of Psalm 102. Read together, those claims naturally place the Son before and above the created order.
Keep the teaching precise
The text naturally implies
The Son existed before creation, shares the divine identity, and remains distinct from the One who addresses Him.
What this passage does not establish by itself
The phrase ‘today I have begotten You’ should not be forced into one disputed event; the chapter’s earlier and later statements show that the Son was not created on that day.
Read this together with
Sources and further verification
NET Bible: Hebrews 1 and translation notes ↗