Hebrews 2:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Although this is said of mankind in general, it can more chiefly be referred to Christ according to the flesh. In particular, the words “He put all things under his feet” belong more to Him than to us. The Son of God visited us, beings of no account. Having assumed what is ours and united it to Himself, He became higher than all. “For when,” the Apostle continues, “He subjected all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to Him.” The meaning of his words is this. Since he had said, “Until I make Thy enemies the footstool of Thy feet” (Heb. 1:13), the hearers could still have given themselves over to sorrow. Therefore, after inserting a few words, he brings forward this testimony, by which the former point is confirmed.

He does not name the one who spoke, because he is speaking to people versed in the Scriptures. All this is said of humanity in general, yet it can especially refer to Christ according to the flesh. For He, the Son of God, visited our lowly human nature, assumed it, united it to Himself, and became higher than all.

Blessed Paul, referring to Christ what is said in the eighth psalm, says: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels. Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet.” Then he adds: “For in that He subjected all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him.” Shall we not confess as King and Lord, and as clothed in God-befitting glory, Him to whom all things have been subjected? How then is He not God? How is He merely among all things, who is above all (Eph. 4:5)? He is so far above the nature of created things that they are subjected and held by the bonds of servitude.

He is Mediator not because He is the Word. For the immortal and blessed Word is infinitely remote from wretched mortals. He is Mediator because He is man. By this He showed that, to attain the good which is not only blessed but also makes blessed, we must seek no other mediators who could ease our path to it. For the blessed God, who bestows blessedness, became a partaker of our human race. He showed us the shortest path for participation in His Godhead. Freeing us from mortality and misery, He leads us not to immortal and blessed Angels, that through communion with them we also might be blessed and immortal. Rather, He leads us to the Trinity Himself, through communion with whom the Angels themselves are blessed. Thus, consenting to take the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), made lower than the Angels (Ps. 8:6; Heb. 2:7), He remained above the Angels in the form of God. He became the way of life in the lower regions, while being life for the heavens.

According to the prophetic word, men, through the sin of birth itself, have departed [...] from the womb of their mother they go astray, in which they were formed, and instead of truth they speak falsehood (Ps. 57:4). Therefore the Lord, having assumed the firstfruits of the nature common to us in soul and body, made it holy. He preserved it in Himself pure and inaccessible to every evil. Thus, through incorruption, He might raise it to the Father of incorruption. Through it He would draw together all that is akin and naturally related to it. He would receive the rejected into adoption and the enemies of God into communion with His Godhead. Thus we shall be for the Only-begotten God a crown of precious stones, having become His honor and glory through our life.

Observe that he subjected the world in question to the flesh, not to the Son, when he said, "You have subjected all things to him," as David said (cf. Ps 8:5-7).

“For in that He subjected all things to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him.” Since it was likely that some would say, “We see that the greater part of mankind resists and does not wish to worship Him. ” the Apostle necessarily added: “But now we do not yet see all things subjected to Him.” The Apostle had already said this above: “For He did not subject to Angels the world to come, of which we speak.” That is, in that life He will possess all things, and then even those who now resist will be subjected. Since he had called Him the Creator and Master of Angels, this seemed somewhat incredible to those who know the immortal nature of Angels and also know of the suffering of the Master Christ. Therefore the Apostle necessarily sets forth teaching about this as well.

Verses 6-8. “But one has testified somewhere, saying: What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels. Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet” (Ps. 8:5-7). The word “testified” is used in the sense of “uttered beforehand” or “foretold.” By the word “one,” though indefinite and without a name, he means David. He was speaking to those who knew David’s words and always kept them on their lips and in their memory. Although everything said here concerns the nature of all men, as was explained in the exposition of the Psalms, it is more fittingly applied to Christ according to the flesh.

"You made him a little lower." For by death He was made lower than the angels. This applies to all humanity, but especially to Christ in the flesh.

“What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” In the person of the Messiah the Apostle sees that ideal man who must be lord upon the earth, and who in His perfections is not much lower than the Angels. Or it may also be understood that He remained in a state of humiliation only for a little time. If the psalmist there understood man in general, the Apostle’s application of his words to the Messiah as man is in no way contrary to his thought. At the same time, in Heb. 2:8, the expression “Thou hast put all things under his feet,” understood as all earthly creatures, is taken by the Apostle in the broadest sense. He finds that everything on earth and in heaven must be subjected to the authority of Jesus Christ, the Man.

Although the psalmist speaks most immediately about the beauty and majesty of creation, and about the natural advantages of man, who was placed over the earthly creatures subject to him, the Apostle, with his God-inspired mind, sees something more in these words. He sees the psalmist’s inspired and prophetic indication of the wondrous works of redemption, and of the supernatural prerogatives of the God-man Christ Jesus. Therefore, to unfold his thought about these prerogatives, and about the fact that the world to come was not subjected to Angels, he cites the words from Psalm 8 stated above. There it is said that all things have been subjected under the feet of man. That this psalm is prophetic in general was indicated by the Savior Himself.

Confirming the thought that those who despise the Gospel will not remain unpunished, the Apostle points to the exalted rank of the Son of God, who proclaimed this Gospel. According to the Apostle, God subjected to His Son not only this world, the universe now existing, but also the world to come, την οἰκουμένην την μέλλουσαν. That is the world of the age to come, which the Lord will call into being with the renewal of heaven and earth. Thus the Son of God is the complete Master of the world in every phase of its development. In the present case, however, the Apostle does not speak directly of the Son of God. He uses Psalm 8, which speaks of the subjection of the world to man, or to the son of man.