In Psalm 110:1 we have a prophecy regarding the resurrected Christ seated at the right hand of Jehovah: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Here the title “The Lord” is Jehovah in Hebrew. This verse is quoted frequently in the New Testament—more than ten times as a direct quotation and another ten times indirectly. Altogether, there are more than ten instances in the New Testament where the resurrected Christ is referred to as sitting at the right hand of God. Of course, it was from the time of His ascension that God made Him to sit at His right hand. This is proved by Hebrews 1:3: “Having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
As the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1, Acts 2:33-35 says, “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He poured out this which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Here the first “Lord” refers to God, and the second, to Christ, whom David called “my Lord” (Matt. 22:44-45).
Acts 2:34 speaks of the Lord Jesus sitting at God’s right hand. Here “right hand” denotes the position of glory, honor, and power (Exo. 15:6; 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 14:62).
Christ is the Man, inferior to the angels, crowned with glory and honor, and set over the works of God’s hands. This is prophesied in Psalm 8:4-6 and fulfilled in Hebrews 2:6-9. The first man Adam, created by God in Genesis 1, failed God in His purpose with man. Then Psalm 8 alludes in the way of prophecy to another man who will replace the first man to fulfill God’s purpose. Hebrews 2 reveals that this other Man, the second Man, who is Jesus, has come and accomplished so much for the fulfilling of God’s desire in man as revealed in Genesis 1:26 and 28 and alluded to in Psalm 8:4-6. Hence, in whatever Adam as the first man failed, Christ as the second Man succeeded by replacing the first man.
Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.” Glory is the splendor related to Jesus’ person; honor is the preciousness related to Jesus’ worth, value (1 Pet. 2:7, “preciousness” in Greek is the same word as “honor” here), and dignity which is related to His position (2 Pet. 1:17; cf. 1 Pet. 2:17; Rom. 13:7).
After Christ was crowned with glory and honor in His ascension, God gave Him the dominion over all things in His exaltation: “You have made Him a little inferior to the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, and have set Him over the works of Your hands” (Heb. 2:7). This is similar to what God did with Adam. Adam lost the dominion that God gave to him, but according to the prophecy of Psalm 8, Christ has recovered what Adam lost. Now the same dominion has been given to Him as the second Man. Christ, the second Man, has been glorified, crowned with glory and honor, and entrusted with the divine dominion that was lost by the first man. As a man in the flesh, He was inferior to the angels, yet He was crowned with glory and honor in His ascension. Furthermore, God has set Him over the entire universe.
Christ is also the One under whose feet God has put all things (Psa. 8:6-7; Eph. 1:22). Psalm 8:6b says, “Thou hast put all things under his feet.” Here the word “feet” implies the Body, since the feet are parts of the body. God has subjected all things under Christ’s feet. On the one hand, the ascended Christ is far above all; on the other hand, all things have been subjected under His feet. The former is Christ’s transcendency; the latter is the subjection of all things to Him. This is a matter of subduing power, the power to subdue all things.