TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Hebrews 10:7–18. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
Here the apostle raises up and exalts the Lord Jesus Christ, as high as he had laid the Levitical priesthood low. He recommends Christ to them as the true high priest, the true atoning sacrifice, the antitype of all the rest: and this he illustrates,
I.From the purpose and promise of God concerning Christ, which are frequently recorded in the volume of the book of God, Heb 10:7.
God had not only decreed, but declared by Moses and the prophets, that Christ should come and be the great high priest of the church, and should offer up a perfect and a perfecting sacrifice. It was written of Christ, in the beginning of the book of God, that the seed of the woman should break the serpent's head; and the Old Testament abounds with prophecies concerning Christ. Now since he is the person so often promised, so much spoken of, so long expected by the people of God, he ought to be received with great honour and gratitude.
II.From what God had done in preparing a body for Christ (that is, a human nature), that he might be qualified to be our Redeemer and Advocate; uniting the two natures in his own person, he was a fit Mediator to go between God and man; a days-man to lay his hand upon both, a peace-maker, to reconcile them, and an everlasting band of union between God and the creature - "My ears hast thou opened; thou has fully instructed me, furnished and fitted me for the work, and engaged me in it," Psa 40:6. Now a Saviour thus provided, and prepared by God himself in so extraordinary a manner, ought to be received with great affection and gladness.
III.From the readiness and willingness that Christ discovered to engage in this work, when no other sacrifice would be accepted, Heb 10:7-9.
When no less sacrifice would be a proper satisfaction to the justice of God than that of Christ himself, then Christ voluntarily came into it: "Lo, I come! I delight to do thy will, O God! Let thy curse fall upon me, but let these go their way. Father, I delight to fulfil thy counsels, and my covenant with thee for them; I delight to perform all thy promises, to fulfil all the prophecies." This should endear Christ and our Bibles to us, that in Christ we have the fulfilling of the scriptures.
IV.From the errand and design upon which Christ came; and this was to do the will of God, not only as a prophet to reveal the will of God, not only as a king to give forth divine laws, but as a priest to satisfy the demands of justice, and to fulfil all righteousness. Christ came to do the will of God in two instances.
1.In taking away the first priesthood, which God had no pleasure in; not only taking away the curse of the covenant of works, and canceling the sentence denounced against us as sinners, but taking away the insufficient typical priesthood, and blotting out the hand-writing of ceremonial ordinances and nailing it to his cross.
2.In establishing the second, that is, his own priesthood and the everlasting gospel, the most pure and perfect dispensation of the covenant of grace; this is the great design upon which the heart of God was set from all eternity. The will of God centers and terminates in it; and it is not more agreeable to the will of God than it is advantageous to the souls of men; for it is by this will that we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, Heb 10:10. Observe,
(1.)What is the fountain of all that Christ has done for his people - the sovereign will and grace of God.
(2.)How we come to partake of what Christ has done for us - by being sanctified, converted, effectually called, wherein we are united to Christ, and so partake of the benefits of his redemption; and this sanctification is owing to the oblation he made of himself to God.
V.From the perfect efficacy of the priesthood of Christ (Heb 10:14):
By one offering he hath for ever perfected those that are sanctified; he has delivered and will perfectly deliver those that are brought over to him, from all the guilt, power, and punishment of sin, and will put them into the sure possession of perfect holiness and felicity. This is what the Levitical priesthood could never do; and, if we indeed are aiming at a perfect state, we must receive the Lord Jesus as the only high priest that can bring us to that state.
VI.From the place to which our Lord Jesus is now exalted, the honour he has there, and the further honour he shall have:
This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the right hand of God, henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, Heb 10:12, Heb 10:13. Here observe,
1.To what honour Christ, as man and Mediator, is exalted - to the right hand of God, the seat of power, interest, and activity: the giving hand; all the favours that God bestows on his people are handed to them by Christ: the receiving hand; all the duties that God accepts from men are presented by Christ: the working hand; all that pertains to the kingdoms of providence and grace is administered by Christ; and therefore this is the highest post of honour.
2.How Christ came to this honour - not merely by the purpose or donation of the Father, but by his own merit and purchase, as a reward due to his sufferings; and, as he can never be deprived of an honour so much his due, so he will never quit it, nor cease to employ it for his people's good.
3.How he enjoys this honour - with the greatest satisfaction and rest; he is for ever sitting down there. The Father acquiesces and is satisfied in him; he is satisfied in his Father's will and presence; this is his rest for ever; here he will dwell, for he has both desired and deserved it.
4.He has further expectations, which shall not be disappointed; for they are grounded upon the promise of the Father, who hath said unto him, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1. One would think such a person as Christ could have no enemies except in hell; but it is certain that he has enemies on earth, very many, and very inveterate ones. Let not Christians then wonder that they have enemies, though they desire to live peaceably with all men. But Christ's enemies shall be made his footstool; some by conversion, others by confusion; and, which way soever it be, Christ will be honoured. Of this Christ is assured, this he is expecting, and his people should rejoice in the expectation of it; for, when his enemies shall be subdued, their enemies, that are so for his sake, shall be subdued also.
VII.The apostle recommends Christ from the witness the Holy Ghost has given in the scriptures concerning him; this relates chiefly to what should be the happy fruit and consequence of his humiliation and sufferings, which in general is that new and gracious covenant that is founded upon his satisfaction, and sealed by his blood (Heb 10:15): Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness. The passage is cited from Jer 31:31, in which covenant God promises,
1.That he will pour out his Spirit upon his people, so as to give them wisdom, will, and power, to obey his word; he will put his laws in their hearts, and write them in their minds, Heb 10:16. This will make their duty plain, easy, and pleasant.
2.Their sins and iniquities he will remember no more (Heb 10:17), which will alone show the riches of divine grace, and the sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction, that it needs not be repeated, Heb 10:18. For there shall be no more remembrance of sin against true believers, either to shame them now or to condemn them hereafter. This was much more than the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices could effect.
And now we have gone through the doctrinal part of the epistle, in which we have met with many things dark and difficult to be understood, which we must impute to the weakness and dulness of our own minds. The apostle now proceeds to apply this great doctrine, so as to influence their affections, and direct their practice, setting before them the dignities and duties of the gospel state.
Historical interpretation
Eight Centuries of Reception
4 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
He is seen by Stephen, at his martyrdom by stoning, still sitting at the right hand of God [Acts 7:55] where He will continue to sit, until the Father shall make His enemies His footstool. [Hebrews 10:12-13] He will come again on the clouds of heaven, just as He appeared when He ascended into heaven. [Acts 1:11]
"He sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting." Why the delay? "that His enemies be put under His feet. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." But perhaps some one might say; Wherefore did He not put them under at once? For the sake of the faithful who should afterwards be brought forth and born. Whence then does it appear that they shall be put under? By the saying "He sat down." He called to mind again that testimony which saith, "until I put the enemies under His feet." But His enemies are the Jews. Then since he had said, "Till His enemies be put under His feet," and they were vehemently urgent, therefore he introduces all his discourse concerning faith after this. But who are the enemies? All unbelievers: the daemons. And intimating the greatness of their subjection, he said not "are subjected," but "are put under His feet."
In the former case a multitude of priests, a multitude of victims, and no benefit, whereas in this case priest and victim are one and the same, he achieved abolition of sins and needs no further service; instead, he is seated with the Father who begot him, awaiting the end of the present life. At that time, in fact, all the adversaries will adore him as God and Lord. Among his foes will be, first, the devil and the mass of the demons, then those of the Jews and the Gentiles who did not accept the illumination of the faith, and along with them the bands of the heretics guilty of the blasphemies against him.
"But He, having offered one sacrifice," Christ evidently.
"for sins." For our sins, for which he suffered.
"for all time." Christ, clearly, offered one sacrifice, namely, His own body, for our sins, sufficient for us forever, so that there would be no need for a second.
"sat down at the right hand of God."He is not only a high priest, but also God. After completing the work, through which He also became a high priest and stewarded the administration, He sat down as God and awaits.
"from that time onward." And for what reason were his enemies not immediately placed under his feet? For the sake of those who are to become and give birth to believers. For not only demons are enemies, but also unbelievers.But now Paul especially calls the unbelieving Hebrews enemies, comforting the faithful from the Jews who have suffered countless terrible things at their hands.
"until His enemies be made." He did not say "they will be subjected," but signifying the greatest of subjection, he said "they be made," a footstool for his feet. For their being made as a footstool is a proof of his sitting at the right hand of the Father.
"For by one offering," which Christ offered, he perfected, having made perfect, he completely freed from sins.
"those who are being sanctified."That is, the faithful. For they are sanctified by the aforementioned offering.
"And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us." What does it bear witness to? That our sins have been forgiven.
"And their sins." He added, he says, "And their sins I will remember no more." Do you see that he testified to the forgiveness of sins? Then he forgave when he established the new covenant. And the new covenant was given through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
"Now where there is forgiveness of these things." Of sins, obviously.
"there is no longer an offering for sin." For who, he says, has need of many offerings, when the one that Christ presented is sufficient to take away sins?
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Summary
Hebrews 10:13 presents a profound declaration of Christ's post-resurrection status and future triumph, serving as a theological capstone to the book's arguments concerning His superior priesthood and once-for-all sacrifice. Having completed His redemptive work and taken His seat at the right hand of God, Christ now confidently awaits the full and final subjugation of all His adversaries, a divine decree that assures His ultimate and undeniable dominion over every opposing force.
Context
Literary Context
This verse immediately follows Hebrews 10:12, which states that Christ, "after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." The act of sitting signifies the absolute completion and perfection of His atoning work, standing in stark contrast to the Levitical priests who continuously stood ministering and offering repeated, ineffective sacrifices (Hebrews 10:11). Verse 13 then clarifies the purpose and implication of this seated posture: Christ is in a state of confident expectation, anticipating the full manifestation of His victory. This passage directly alludes to the foundational messianic prophecy found in Psalm 110:1, a verse frequently cited throughout the New Testament to affirm Christ's divine authority, eternal priesthood, and ultimate dominion.
Historical & Cultural Context
The imagery of placing enemies under one's feet as a "footstool" was a powerful and widely understood symbol of total conquest and absolute subjugation in the ancient Near East. Victorious kings would often literally place their foot on the neck or back of a defeated foe, or depict such an act in monuments, to signify complete dominance, humiliation, and the irreversible defeat of their adversaries. This idiom, deeply embedded in the cultural understanding of power and triumph, is drawn directly from Psalm 110:1, a royal psalm that was universally interpreted as messianic by Jewish tradition. The author of Hebrews, writing to Jewish Christians, leverages this familiar and potent imagery to assure them of Christ's certain and ultimate victory, providing comfort and steadfastness amidst persecution and the temptation to revert to Judaism.
Key Themes
The verse significantly contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Hebrews. Foremost is the Superiority of Christ's Priesthood and Sacrifice, emphasizing that His single, perfect offering has rendered all previous sacrifices obsolete and His work complete (Hebrews 10:10-14). This leads to the theme of Christ's Exaltation and Authority, as His sitting at God's right hand signifies His supreme reign as both King and High Priest, having accomplished salvation and entered His rest (Hebrews 1:3). The phrase "till his enemies be made his footstool" underscores the Divine Sovereignty and Ultimate Triumph of God's plan, assuring believers that Christ's victory is not merely a hope but a guaranteed outcome. Finally, it highlights the Confident Expectation of Christ Himself, who, having secured the victory through His death and resurrection, now awaits the full and final manifestation of His dominion over all opposing forces, including spiritual foes, human opposition, and ultimately death itself (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This word signifies an active, confident waiting or anticipation, rather than a passive idleness. It implies a certainty of outcome, a looking forward to something that is sure to happen. In the context of Christ, it speaks of His divine assurance in the Father's plan for the complete subjugation of all opposition.
Derived from a root meaning "to hate," this term refers to those who are hateful or hostile, adversaries. In this context, it encompasses all forces that oppose God's will and Christ's kingdom, including spiritual powers, human rebellion, and even death itself, as identified in other New Testament passages.
The word hypopódion (footstool) is a compound of hypó (under) and poús (foot). It refers to something placed under the feet. As a metaphor, especially drawn from the ancient Near East, it powerfully symbolizes complete conquest, utter subjugation, and the absolute humiliation of defeated adversaries. For enemies to be made a footstool means their power is utterly broken, and they are brought into complete submission to the victor.
Verse Breakdown
"From henceforth expecting"
This phrase emphasizes the present state of Christ following His completed work and ascension. "From henceforth" (G3063, loipón) points to the period after His single, perfect sacrifice and subsequent seating at God's right hand. Christ is not merely waiting idly but is in a posture of active, confident anticipation (G1551, ekdéchomai), assured of the Father's sovereign plan unfolding. This highlights the "already" aspect of His victory—He has already triumphed—and His confident gaze towards the "not yet" of its full manifestation.
"till his enemies be made his footstool"
This clause reveals the specific object of Christ's expectation: the complete and final subjugation of all His adversaries. The phrase "be made his footstool" (G5087, títhēmi combined with G5286, hypopódion) employs a powerful ancient idiom for total conquest and absolute dominion. It signifies not just defeat, but a humiliating and irreversible subjugation where all opposition is utterly crushed and brought under His authority. This includes all spiritual and earthly powers that stand against God's kingdom, culminating in the final defeat of death itself.
Literary Devices
Hebrews 10:13 powerfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound theological truth. The most prominent is the Metaphor of the "footstool," which vividly illustrates the absolute and humiliating subjugation of Christ's enemies. This is not merely a figure of speech but a direct Allusion to Psalm 110:1, a foundational messianic prophecy. By drawing on this well-known Old Testament text, the author grounds Christ's present reign and future triumph in the prophetic word, reinforcing His identity as the promised Messiah. The Imagery evoked by a king placing his foot on a conquered foe is one of total, undeniable victory and supreme authority, assuring the readers of Christ's ultimate dominion. Furthermore, the concept of "expecting" conveys a sense of divine Purposeful Waiting, highlighting that Christ's current seated position is not passive but an active, confident anticipation of a divinely guaranteed outcome, underscoring God's sovereign control over history and the ultimate triumph of His Son.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Hebrews 10:13 encapsulates the profound theological truth of Christ's completed redemptive work and His ongoing, yet not fully realized, reign. Having offered the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice, Christ has ascended to the right hand of God, signifying His supreme authority and rest from His atoning labor. His "expecting" until His enemies are made His footstool speaks to the "already but not yet" dynamic of God's kingdom: the decisive victory over sin and death has been secured through the cross and resurrection, yet the full manifestation and enforcement of that victory over all opposing powers are still unfolding in history, culminating in His glorious return. This verse assures believers that despite present struggles and the visible persistence of evil, Christ is sovereignly enthroned, confidently overseeing the inevitable subjugation of all His foes, guaranteeing the ultimate triumph of God's righteous purposes.
Reflection and Application
Hebrews 10:13 offers immense comfort and a steadfast foundation for faith in the life of a believer. It reminds us that our Savior is not merely a historical figure or a distant deity, but a reigning King who has already secured the decisive victory over sin, death, and all spiritual adversaries. His current posture of confident expectation assures us that no enemy, visible or invisible, can ultimately thwart God's sovereign plan or His Son's ultimate triumph. This truth empowers us to face present trials, spiritual warfare, and the apparent prosperity of evil with unwavering hope, knowing that Christ is on the throne, orchestrating all things towards the full manifestation of His dominion. It calls us to live with the same confident expectation, trusting that God will bring all things into submission under Christ's feet, and to participate in His mission, knowing that we are on the winning side. Our perseverance is rooted in His finished work and guaranteed future.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean for Christ's "enemies to be made his footstool"?
This phrase, drawn from Psalm 110:1, is an ancient Near Eastern idiom symbolizing complete and utter subjugation. For enemies to be made a "footstool" means they are totally conquered, their power is broken, and they are brought into absolute submission and humiliation under the victor's authority. In the context of Christ, it signifies His ultimate and undeniable triumph over all forces that oppose God's will and His kingdom, including sin, death, spiritual powers, and human rebellion. It assures believers that His victory is comprehensive and final.
If Christ is "expecting" this outcome, does it mean His victory is not yet complete?
Christ's victory is complete in terms of His atoning work on the cross and His resurrection, which decisively defeated sin and death (Colossians 2:15). His "expecting" (Greek, ekdéchomai) is not a passive waiting for an uncertain outcome, but a confident anticipation of the full manifestation and enforcement of a victory already secured. He has already ascended and taken His seat at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12), signifying His completed work and supreme authority. The "not yet" refers to the historical unfolding and final consummation of His reign, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess His Lordship (Philippians 2:10-11), and the last enemy, death, will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26).
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Hebrews 10:13 finds its profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus, who is the ultimate King and High Priest. Having offered Himself as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 9:26), Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father, a position of supreme authority and honor (Hebrews 1:3). His current state of "expecting till his enemies be made his footstool" directly fulfills the messianic prophecy of Psalm 110:1, which is repeatedly cited in the New Testament to affirm Jesus' divine Lordship and ultimate triumph (Acts 2:34-35). This verse assures us that while Christ's decisive victory over sin and death was secured at the cross and resurrection (Colossians 2:15), His reign is ongoing, and He is presently exercising His authority to bring all things into submission. The final consummation of this subjugation will occur at His glorious return, when He will put all enemies under His feet, even death itself (1 Corinthians 15:25-26), demonstrating that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). Thus, Hebrews 10:13 points to the present reality of Christ's enthronement and the certain future of His complete and universal dominion.