God’s Superior Messenger (Part 2)

 

Lesson Two

God’s Superior Messenger

Heb. 1:6-14

 

Theme: Christ is Superior to the Angels as God’s Spokesman and Revealer (1:4). 

Therefore, we must seriously listen to Him, carefully obey His counsel, and diligently nurture the great salvation we have in Him.

a.      Jesus is Superior as Deity (1:6–9). A third way in which Christ is greater than the angels is that He is to be the object of their worship, whereas they are His messengers and servants.  None of the angels are called God, and no angel is worshiped by his fellows. Yet Jesus is given the name of God, and the angelic hosts worship Him.

                                                    i.     He is worshipped by the angels (v. 6).

1.      When He came into the world, the angels worshiped Him. God commanded them to do so, which proves that Jesus Christ is God; for none of God’s angels would worship a mere creature.

2.      This passage could also look forward to the time of the Second Advent of Christ (Matt. 13:39–42; 25:31, 32; 2Thess. 1:7, 8) when the kingly prerogatives of the Son will be recognized with the public worship of angels (Ps. 97:7).  Jesus Christ must be God, because the Father commanded these angels to worship Christ. To worship any creature is idolatry, and God resents idolatry more than any other evil. Yet God here commands that the Lord Jesus Christ should be worshiped by the angels. This can only mean that He is God.

3.      In any case, angels are not to be worshiped (see Col 2:18; Rev 19:1-10). It is idolatry to worship any but the true God. We should not regard any spiritual beings, spiritual guides, intermediaries, or authorities as greater than Christ. Jesus is God. He alone deserves our worship. He alone should be our ultimate leader. The angels of God are wonderful, but they are inferior to the Son. They are His angels, they are His ministers, and they are His worshipers. They worship Him. He does not worship them.

                                                  ii.     He is served by the angels (v. 7).

1.      This is a quotation from Psalm 104:4. The Hebrew and Greek words for “spirit” are also translated “wind.”

a.      Angels are created spirits, note the word “maketh.” They have no bodies, though they can assume human forms when ministering on earth (Gen. 18-19; Judg. 6:11-23; 13:3-23). The emphasis is upon the variableness of the angelic nature. They are what they are at any time according to the purpose of God, fit for any special service by this characteristic.

b.      The point is that the angels are not merely servants, but of such a nature that God makes them according to the needs of His service—they are changeable, in marked contrast to the Son who is their ruler, and unchangeable.

2.      Angels at times served our Lord when He was on earth (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43), and they serve Him and us now (Heb. 1:14).

                                                 iii.     He is God enthroned and anointed (vv. 8–9).

1.      He is the eternal Sovereign; His throne lasts forever and ever. His kingdom shall indeed “stretch from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.”

a.      “Thy throne, O God.” This is God the Father calling God the Son God! Do you want to deny that Christ is God manifest in the flesh? If you do, then may I say that you are contradicting God Himself. God called the Lord Jesus God. What are you going to call Him? I don’t know about you, but I am also going to call Him God. He is God manifest in the flesh. He is superior to angels because He is going to rule over the universe. He is the Messiah. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is going to rule over the earth some day. –McGee, J. Vernon

                                                                                                                i.     In some false cults this quotation from Psalm 45:6–7 is translated, “Thy divine throne,” because cultists dislike this strong affirmation that Jesus Christ is God. But the translation must stand: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

                                                                                                              ii.     Angels minister before the throne; they do not sit on the throne.

b.      One of the main teachings of Psalm 110 is that Jesus Christ, God’s Anointed (Messiah, Christ), is now enthroned in glory. Jesus Himself referred to this important psalm (Mark 12:35–37; 14:62), and Peter used it on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:34–36). Our Lord has not yet entered into His earthly kingdom, but He has been enthroned in glory (Eph. 1:20). Our Lord’s throne is forever, which means He is eternal God.

2.      He is the righteous King (v. 8-9).

a.      The psalmist speaks of Him as wielding a scepter of righteousness, which is a poetic way of saying that this King rules in absolute honesty and integrity.

b.      His personal uprightness is evident from the fact that He has consistently loved righteousness and hated iniquity. This doubtless refers primarily to His thirty-three years of life on earth, during which the eye of God could find no flaw in His character and no failure in His conduct. He proved His fitness to reign. –MacDonald, William

c.      “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity” is a tremendous statement. Imagine this old earth being ruled by One who loves righteousness and hates iniquity!

3.      He is anointed with the most excellent joy.  When Christ ascended and entered the heavenly glory, He was anointed for His heavenly ministry with “the oil of gladness” (Heb. 1:9).

a.      This probably refers to Psalm 16:11, which Peter referred to at Pentecost: “Thou shalt make Me full of joy with Thy countenance” (Acts 2:28). What a joyful scene that must have been!

b.      Psalm 45 is a wedding psalm, and our Lord today is the heavenly Bridegroom who experiences “the joy that was set before Him” (Heb. 12:2). Angels praise Him, but they cannot share that position or that joy.

b.      Jesus is Superior as Creator (1:10–12).

                                                    i.     He is Eternal Lord (v. 10). Eternal and “for ever and ever” (v. 8) seems to point to unlimited duration.

1.      Like the angels (who are immortal, not knowing birth or death as we do) Jesus will outlast the universe; He is eternal (Rev.  1:4–8; 11:17; 22:13).

2.      Unlike angels, however, He was there “in the beginning” when He laid the foundations of Creation. Angels change and grow in knowledge as the centuries unfold God’s plan, but Jesus remains the same; as God He knows all (Ps. 119:152).  But all of this suggests Christ’s past eternality.

3.      Note also the Father is addressing the Son as in verse 10 as “Lord.” 

a.      … God here in verse 10 addresses His Son as Lord, that is Jehovah. The conclusion is inescapable: the Jesus of the NT is the Jehovah of the Old. –MacDonald, William

b.      The context of Ps. 102, from which these verses are taken, clearly indicates that the LORD is the One who would appear in the future to Israel and the nations (see Ps. 102:12–16). Thus the psalm can only refer to Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, the only One who would become incarnate. Jesus is God become man. –Nelson Study Bible

c.      Acts 4:33; 16:31; Luke 2:11; Acts 9:17; Matt. 22:43–45. It is true that this term is used of men, e. g., Acts 16:30—“Sirs [Lords], what must I do to be saved?” John 12:21—“Sir [Lord], we would see Jesus.” It is not used, however, in this unique sense, as the connection will clearly show. In our Lord’s day, the title “Lord” as used of Christ was applicable only to the Deity, to God. … So when the New Testament writers speak of Jesus as Lord, there can be no question as to what they mean.”—Wood. –Evans, William

d.      The Son, then, is Lord and has created both earth and the heavens (Heb. 1:2).  The unchangeable and eternal power and majesty of the Son, spoken of in verses 11, 12, find their basis in the fact that He is the One who laid the foundation of the earth and fashioned the heavens.

                                                  ii.     He is the Changeless Creator (vv. 10–12). This long quotation comes from Messianic Psalm 102:25–27; it presents the Lord Jesus in his Creative work and in his final triumph.

1.      The angels did not found the earth, for they too are a part of creation. Jesus Christ is the Creator, and one day He will do away with the old creation and bring in a new creation. Jesus stands alone as the unchangeable One among changing things in a changing world.

2.      Everything around us changes, but He will never change. He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Creation is like an old garment which will one day be discarded in favor of a new one.

c.      Jesus is Superior in Destiny (1:13-14).

                                                    i.     Christ is Destine to Rule as the Sovereign (v. 13).

1.      Here the writer sums up the function of the angels as compared to that of the Son. He is the highest dignity, a co-ruler with God. They are His servants, appointed to minister to the heirs of redemption. –Wuest, Kenneth S.

2.      Again, Psalm 110:1 is quoted. The fact that Jesus Christ is now at the Father’s right hand is mentioned many times in the New Testament (see Matt. 22:43–44; 26:64; Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33–34; Rom. 8:34; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22). This signifies a position of highest honor and limitless power. This reality will be manifested in the earth in the Millennial Age.

3.      No angel was ever invited to share the rule of the universe as God’s equal. But for God to picture Jesus “on My right hand” indicates that Jesus shares God’s rule even now.

a.      In every way Jesus is superior—and thus it must be that the revelation He brings, and the salvation He offers is superior to the fragments offered in the Old Testament. There is no need to look elsewhere.

b.      In Jesus we have the whole truth—and in Jesus the best possibility of being made whole.

4.      To have all one’s enemies as a footstool signifies universal conquering and comprehensive dominion. Psalm 110 is used to highlight the final victory of the Son over all His enemies. If the Son is to have an eternal throne (Heb. 1:8), such a victory obviously must transpire. But the victory is His and not the angels. Their role, by contrast, is to serve those who will inherit salvation.

                                                  ii.     Angels are Destine to Minister as the Servants (v. 14).

1.      Angels are the ministering spirits who serve the Lord seated on the throne. The mission of the angels is not to rule but to serve. They are spirit beings whom God has created to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation.

a.      To be “heirs of salvation” (1:14) includes reigning in the throne with Christ for faithful believers; it is the potential share in the Son’s triumphant dominion, in which He has “fellows” (Heb. 1:9) or companions (Rom. 8:17, 18; Gal. 3:7,9,29; Js. 2:5).

b.      The Lord Jesus Himself, while on earth, spoke much of His future kingdom and the participation of His faithful followers in that reign (Luke 12:31-32; 22:29-30).

2.      It would be impossible to do away with the evidence presented in these quotations. Jesus Christ is greater than the angels, and this means He is also greater than the Law which they helped deliver to the people of Israel.

 

To be continued in the next post....