⁷ “… You have crowned Him with glory and honor, and have appointed Him over the works of Your hands; ⁸ You have put all things in subjection under His feet.” For in subjecting 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.

A “little while lower” gave way to an “eternal while exalted.” This is the hope offered to the readers of this letter, those being persecuted and pressured to go back to living under the law. Paul’s readers (see Galatians 3:1-4) ran into the struggle; so did Peter’s (see 1 Peter 1:1). We still have not yet come across the name of Jesus Christ in this letter, but the crescendo is building, and in fact is at the penultimate step.

This “Son” who was made a little lower than the angels, is now, in our passage, crowned. We begin to see the image emerging like a butterfly from the cocoon. Though once lower than angels, He now rules over them, and in fact over everything in creation. There is nothing that is not now subject to Him. So now this authority comes from two sources, by virtue of His creation of all things – “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3), and that He has been crowned with authority by His father. There is nothing outside the scope of His authority. Did He not say to His disciples just prior to His ascension, “All authority is given to me in heaven and earth” (Matt 28:18)?

But He also is exalted to glory. The word glory conveys the sense of “weightiness of character or person.” While He emptied Himself for a time of His outward glory, that is, He veiled His deity (even Satan questioned His divine prerogatives), now His true nature has been made known. And we Christians are constantly being brought from one level of experiencing His glory to another (2 Cor 3:18).

We view this idea of subjecting all things “under his feet” by faith (Heb 1:13, 10:13, as well as 1 Cor 15:27). Indeed, we shall some day reign with Him, but now for a little while we embrace that by faith, and we begin to live as though it were true now. In reality and in truth we do reign with Him, for we are raised with Him (Romans 6:5-6). But we, like the first century readers, are also confined to the “little while lower,” yet at the same time, by faith we walk for “an eternal while higher.” We no longer have to wallow in our difficulties without any hope. We do not have to languish until we meet Him in the resurrection. By faith, we refuse to let our circumstances master us. We live by faith in the reigning Christ!