Christ is Superior to the Angels - Part 1

Well, if you would take your Bible and turn back to Hebrews chapter 1, I did say earlier that we will grab verse 4. We've already covered that verse when we were in verses 1, 2, and 3. But we'll be in verse 1, excuse me, we'll be in verse 4 all the way down to verse 6. Now the week before last, we finished up covering verses 1 to 4. And in our study of those verses, we saw that the writer of this letter was ultimately writing to explain and to exalt the Supremacy of Christ. Verses 1 to 4 are all about the fact that Christ the Son of God was and is greater than the Old Testament patriarchs and the prophets and even greater than the angels.

He was and is in fact the promised Messiah of God who came to provide purification for sin. And he was in fact God. But I want to step back from those verses for just a minute. I want to step back from those verses and the messages that we had in those verses. And I want us to remember what the author of the book was doing here. He was writing to this Jewish congregation, but we need to see that he was writing to form an argument. He was writing to make a case. Now what was his argument? What was the case that he was trying to make and the case that he was making? He was making the case for the deity of the Son and the humanity of the Son.

He was making the case that Jesus was in fact God or deity and the fact that Jesus came to earth as the promised Messiah of God, the God-Man. And we see that he presents Jesus as both God and the God-Man in these verses. One to four. But we need to see the importance of verse four. Verse four is the climax of that argument. In verse four he presented Christ as having become as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. So as the author of this book was writing to these Jews, he was making the argument that Jesus was in fact greater than the Old Testament patriarchs and even the prophets.

And he was even greater than the angels. Now why is that? Because he was truly God who came as the God-Man to make purification for sin. Therefore he was exalted above all even the angels. Now I don't know about you, but sometimes I picture things and I use illustration. Maybe not necessarily always in my sermons but in my mind. But I picture this argument as a pyramid. And the pinnacle of the pyramid in his argument is this. Christ was in his superior to all even the angels. And then starting here in verse five, he begins to build his case step by step. He begins to make his argument step by step by using the Old Testament scriptures.

Simply he gives seven specific Old Testament scriptures for the purpose of proving that Jesus was in his superior and preeminent. He was in his the superior and preeminent one and he was in his even superior to the angels. Now that brings me to the title of the message. It's rather simple. Christ is superior to the angels. Christ is superior to the angels. And this will be a part one because we will not cover all of these verses this morning. But a question. Why did the writer here, why did the author here make such a big deal about angels? Think about that. You may not have considered that, but we need to.

Why did the writer here make such a big deal about angels? Well we answered that question by looking at the original audience and what was going on with them. The original audience were Jews and in their day they had some very strong beliefs about angels and their beliefs about angels were formed in two ways or from two sources. First from the Old Testament scriptures and then second from popular Jewish teachers and their writings and those Jewish rabbis and their teachings grossly exaggerated what the Old Testament scriptures said about angels.

Simply they had developed quite a lot of inflated and erroneous beliefs about angels and scholars tell us that these faulty beliefs were growing in their day. So the writer of this letter was doing two things. First he was making his argument up against what the Old Testament scripture said and then second he was making his argument up against the very popular ever growing Jewish beliefs about angels. Now there is a lesson here that we all need to see. Sometimes the church and especially pastors must teach up against certain common and accepted spiritual misconceptions and errors of the day.

These errors, these misconceptions can be partially biblical. Now at this point we really could get started in the verses starting in verse five and following but we would be doing this situation an injustice. We really need to see and understand how these Jews viewed angels and understanding these things will make this teaching a lot more real, much more real. Scholars tell us that at the time of this letter was written most Jews believed that angels were a very important part of the old covenant. They saw angels as the highest of beings right next to God himself.

They believed that God was surrounded by angels and that angels bridged the gap between God and man. They believed that God spoke to man through angels and that angels took man's prayers to God. They even believed that angels were used of God to bring about his will in the universe. Some Jews even believed that certain angels were a kind of counsel or a kind of a synod for God and that God did not act without consulting his angelic counsel. Now scholars tell us that these Jewish teachers came up with this kind of thinking from passages like Genesis 1.26.

Genesis 1.26 says, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness." So they simply decided that the "us" here in verse 26 referred to some kind of an angelic counsel or angelic synod. Now there is a very, very big lesson right here we need to see. When you add things into the spaces between the words and the verses of the Bible you will always end up in error. When you give meaning to words and verses in the Bible that the Bible does not give meaning to you will always end up in error. And that's just what the Jews did right here because they did not have the full revelation of God's Word. They were not told who this "us" was.

So some very respected, well studied Jewish teachers decided that the "us" here in Genesis 1.26 was referring to angels. And those that came up with that interpretation led the Jews into this entire system of belief that God had some kind of a counsel of angels that he consulted with. Of course in our language we would say that's a bunch of nonsense. But worse, worse it was full blown error. And it was and it is. And look folks that happens today. This happens today. There are very respected authors and teachers and conference speakers who do the very, very same thing today.

Quite a few years back I had a lady come to my house to try to set me straight on some things. Her husband was there but he really just sat there. But she tried to tell me that Deuteronomy 6 verses 1-9 meant that we were commanded of God to homeschool our children and that I was in sin. Now I told her that I was for homeschooling but that is not how God had led us. But more importantly I explained to her that that's not what those verses teach. I tried to explain to her that she was assigning meaning to those verses that were not there. But she would not listen.

She would not listen at all because she was worked up into this frenzy because she had been reading Vody Baucom's terrible book called Family Driven Faith which is full of bad hermeneutics which is a fancy term for bad biblical interpretation and is full of his personal opinions. So I zero in on the mistake that Jews made here to show us that the same things go on today. So beware, make sure that you do not add things into the spaces between the words and the verses of the Bible. Beware not to give meaning to words and verses in the Bible that the Bible does not give.

And make sure you avoid those who do these things because this is very dangerous. But back to the Jews and their erroneous views of angels. I'll just name a few more. I really could go on and on. There's quite a lot of information here. I've already explained that many Jews believe that there were some kind of angels that were some kind of a senator counsel for God and they got this from Genesis 1.26. They inserted it into the verse. But many Jews believe that often the angels would come before God with complaints and objections against God's purposes. And they would lay those complaints before him.

One complaint, some Jews believe that a group of angels objected to the creation of mankind so they were immediately destroyed by God. Another complaint, some believe that a group of angels objected to the giving of the law of Moses and they attacked Moses when he was on his way up to Mount Sinai. And they believe the angels did these things because they were jealous and did not want to share their place with any other creature. Some Jews believe that 200 angels controlled the movements of the heavens and that one particular angel controlled the days, the months, and the years. And this angel was seen as the calendar angel.

They believed in a very strong angel that was in control of the oceans and that other angels governed things like the dew and the rain, the frost and the snow, hail, lightning, and thunder. They believed in angels who were in charge of hell and they were tormentors of those damn souls there in hell. They believed in an angel of death and they believed in a guardian angel for every child and even the nations. They believed in so many angels that one rabbi said that every blade of grass had its own angel. Now I could give more of their erroneous beliefs but I think we get the point.

Simply the Jews of the day of this letter had embraced this inflated and erroneous view of angels which they developed by pulling out certain Old Testament scripture and embellishing those scriptures and destroying the actual meaning of the scripture. So this led them to a place where they saw angels as the highest of beings right next to God but in an unhealthy way. And they saw angels as much more than man in a very unhealthy way. Now what's the result? What was the result for them? For these Jews to be told that the promised Messiah of God was God the Son who became a man that automatically made the promised Messiah inferior to the angels.

You see? So the writer of this letter was declaring that Jesus was superior even to the angels and he was building his case, forming his argument step by step, step by step from the Old Testament scripture to prove his point and to solidify his argument. And understanding this context helps us see that verse 4 is the climax of the pinnacle of verses 1 to 4. He was saying that Jesus was and is superior to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. He was even superior to the angels in that he has inherited a name that is more excellent than theirs. And verse 4 is really an introduction to verses 5 to 14.

He became superior to the angels in that he has inherited a name that is more excellent than theirs. And in verses 5 to 14 the writer goes on into the Old Testament to prove that Christ Jesus was indeed superior to the angels. Now I think we can get into the verses, verses 5 to 14. So here we see that the author in verses 5 to 14 gives seven Old Testament passages again to form an argument and make a case that Christ was and is superior to the angels for several reasons. And in doing so he says six things about the Son, all of which prove that he was and is superior to the angels. And we'll simply take these six one at a time.

So number one, because he has a greater name. Christ is superior to the angels because he has a greater name. We see this in verse 4. Now we covered verse 4 when we were in verses 1 to 4. And that is because verse 4 is the climax of what is said in those opening verses. In to how verse 4 is the climax of these verses. The author is explaining that Jesus was and is greater than all of the Old Testament patriarchs, than all of the Old Testament prophets. And he was and is greater than the angels because, because he was God who came as the God-man to make purification for sin, he was exalted above all even higher than the angels.

And he has inherited a name that is more excellent than theirs. Who's theirs? The angels. So we see that the Son has inherited a name that is superior to that of the angels. And we learn that this name had meaning. In their day a person's name represented the entire person. Their name was even, their name even summed up all of who they were. So what the writer was and is saying here is this. This name that the Son inherited represents the Son's person. That name speaks of the Son of who the Son is. And that name is more excellent and surpassingly greater than any of the names of the angels.

And what we see here in verse 4 introduces us to the argument. But for us, what should we learn here? We touched on this the week before last. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is great. His name is the most glorious, the most wonderful, the most high and holy. And we should treat the name of our Lord as high, as holy, as great, as wonderful. And my question for you is this. Do we use our Lord's name in a casual way? Do we use our Lord's name when we get mad? Do we just throw our Lord's name around? Or do we view our Lord's name as holy, as a name to be revered because that is what it is?

So Jesus is superior to the angels because he has a greater name. And then number two, because he is the Son. Christ is superior to the angels because he is the Son. Here we see two things right away. The first may not be easy to see, but the second is. First, the author begins to build his argument. In verse 4, he simply declares that Jesus was and is superior to all, even the angels. And starting in verse 5, he begins to make his argument from the Old Testament. And he does so all the way through to verse 14. Now notice how he makes and forms his argument. He states his position that the Son is superior to all in verse 4.

And then he begins to make his argument by asking questions and making statements all from the Old Testament. Look back at the verses. We see the pinnacle, the climax in verse 4. But notice what he does. For to which of the angels did God ever say? A question. Or again he's restating. And again verse 6. And then he continues to make these statements and these questions while building his argument. But the second, the obvious. These are Old Testament quotations. He quotes Psalm 2 verse 7 and 2 Samuel 7 and 14, which is probably easy for you to see in your English translation. But the author starts off with the point of his argument.

He says, for to which of the angels did God ever say? You are my Son. And his point is this. God never addressed any of his angels as his Son. But God definitely addressed Jesus as his Son. But let's look at these Old Testament verses, the author references. And we will see three things. First their immediate meaning. Second their ultimate meaning. Then third, how these verses apply to the angels. So let's read verse 5. Look at verse 5 with me. For to which of the angels did God ever say? Here's Psalm 2 7. You are my Son. Today I have begotten you. Or again, and here's the other quotation, 2 Samuel 7 14.

I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. Now Psalm 2 verse 7 is a part of what is called a Messianic Psalm or a Psalm which speaks of the promised Messiah of God. But first, the immediate meaning of the verse. The immediate meaning of the verse is a prophecy concerning the Davidic king who will inherit the nations and rule the entire world. We see that in Psalm 2 verse 7 verse 8 and verse 9. And this was and is a fulfillment of the promise that was made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And that was that the entire world will be blessed through one of their offspring. Then second, the ultimate meaning of the verse.

The ultimate meaning of the verse is this. Here we see God making a statement. He is saying of Jesus, you are my son and today I have begotten you. And this immediately stirs up a question for Psalm and it should. Is God saying that his son was born? If God's son was born, then how can he be eternal? And here is where we need to see that some can make a critical mistake. Some use this passage and others to make a case that Jesus became the son at his incarnation, which is an error because Jesus was and always has existed as the son. So to me, the best way to understand this is by understanding this phrase, I have begotten you in three ways.

First, there is a sense in which Jesus was, is and always will be the eternal begotten son of God. Second, there is a sense in which Jesus was begotten at his incarnation. Notice that we see these two statements in Philippians 2, 6 to 7, which says that the son humbled himself and became a man, the God-man. Listen to verse 6 and 7 of Philippians 2, who though he was in the form of God, did not equate equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men.

And what verse 6 tells us is this, Jesus existed in the unchanging form of God, but he emptied himself and he took on the changing form of a servant, changing meaning he took on human flesh which changes. And then third, there is a sense in which Jesus became the begotten in the resurrection, the first born from the dead. Colossians 1, 18 says, "And he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." But a question, what do we do with the mystery of all of these things? How can we explain all these things? How can we add all these things up?

Luke Church, we cannot make these things add up. There are great and unexplainable mysteries concerning Christ Jesus and his sonship, and we simply explain these things up to a point and then we stop. If we try to explain these things too far, then what we do is we assign meaning to the white spaces between the words and the verses and the doctrines. But then third, how this applies to the angels. Here the author was asking a question and making his case. He asked, "Which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my son'?

Well, the answer is not one." And we need to see that the author, what he's doing here, he was correcting misconceptions and misunderstandings that the Jews had here. Angels were at times called sons of God in the Old Testament. We see this in Job 1.6 and in Job 2.1. Also at times in the Old Testament, Israel was called God's son. We see this in Exodus 4.22 and Hosea 11.1, and we see similar language in Jeremiah 31.9. Also, in 2 Samuel 7.14, our next verse, we see that God promised that Solomon would be his son. But what the author is saying here is this.

None of these other Old Testament passages and instances are like what we see here in Psalm 2.7. None of the angels nor anyone else were ever singled out in giving this distinction like Jesus. Only Jesus was, is, and always will be God's son, and he was, is, and always will be superior to the angels because God never designated any angel as his son. God only designated Jesus as his son. Now let's look back at verse 5 again. For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son, today I have begotten." The answer is none of them.

Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son." Now here we have 1 Samuel 7.14, and this is Messianic as well, which may surprise some because this is not taken from the Psalms. But let's look at what we have here. Verse, the immediate meaning, the immediate meaning of this verse applies to King David and his son Solomon. There David says about his relationship to Solomon, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me my son." When he commits iniquity, "I will discipline him with a rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men." But then the ultimate meaning of the verse.

Second the ultimate meaning of the verse is this. Out of this verse, the writer of Hebrews focuses on a fuller meaning, a Messianic meaning. He is focusing on the relationship of the father to the son, and the son to the father. He is plainly saying that God says, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son." But then how this applies to the angels. Third, this applies to the angels in this way. Where the author is asking a question and making a case, he asks, "Which of the angels did God ever say? I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son." And the answer is none of the angels.

And what the author is saying here is this. Not one of the angels ever had a relationship with God like Jesus. Only Jesus was, is, and always will be the son, and God is his father. And the son is superior to the angels because God never had a relationship with angels like he did and does with his son. So the writer of this letter was taking his first step in establishing his argument and building his case. He was calling these Jews to think. He was calling them to evaluate their Old Testament understanding and what they thought the Old Testament taught about angels.

He was calling them to evaluate what they had been taught from those Jewish rabbis for centuries. And he was doing all of these things by asking, "Which of the angels did God ever call a son?" His son. "And which of the angels did God ever say, 'I will be your father, and you will be my son.'" And if the Jews were honest here, they had no response other than, "You're right, and we're wrong." Now, I question an application for us in our day. Look, church, this is all about understanding who Jesus was, is, and always will be. Do you see that? This is all about us understanding who Jesus was, is, and always will be.

And the more we know of the son, the more we can know the son. Do you see? The more we know of the son, the more we can know the son. And the more we know the son, the better we can worship the son. Do you see? Now, if you're like some and you're struggling to understand these things, join the crowd. God will tell you that, see, these are some of the most difficult verses to understand. And my encouragement for you is this. Grab a hold, hang on, study, read. I love text messages and phone calls where people say, "Pastor, help me here. Help me here." And what I'm trying to show you is this. Grab a hold, study, ask God to help you. Why?

Because we need to understand who the son is, and understanding who the son is will enable us to know the son. And the more we know the son, the better we can worship the son. So Jesus is superior to the angels because he is the son. And then number three, because he is worshiped. Christ is superior to the angels because he is worshiped. We see this in verse six. We'll read the verse here in a moment. But here we see the author continuing to make his argument. So here we get into one of the most disputed verses in Hebrews. And the dispute comes from the Old Testament quotation.

Some scholars see this as a quotation from Deuteronomy 32.43, while others see this as a quotation from Psalm 97.7. But then there are some scholars that say this is a mixture or a combination of both. And if you do some reading and study on your own, you're going to see some very, very respected writers who take this position. And other respected writers who take another position. But before we move on and get into the verse, I want to offer up a friendly warning here. If we get too deep into the woods of trying to figure out if this is a quotation from Deuteronomy or Psalms or both, we can get lost in the woods and miss the point.

And the point of the teaching here is this, worship. The point of verse six in the Old Testament quotation is worship. But if we take too much of a general position, then we can miss a few details that we need to see. So this will be my approach. We will look at the first part of the verse, verse six, and then the Old Testament quotation by asking two questions. Now before we ask these questions, let's read the verse, verse six. And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him." Now our first question, what does it mean the firstborn into the world? See that in the beginning of the verse?

First off, we need to see that this term firstborn does not always mean firstborn as in the first child that is born. This term was used in other ways as we will see. I'll give you one example. And that is Psalm 89.27. Here we see where God made Solomon the firstborn. God made Solomon the firstborn, although he was listed tenth in his genealogy in 1 Chronicles 3, 1 to 5. So it is obvious that this was used to refer to something else besides the firstborn child. So we need to ask, what does this mean that Christ was the firstborn into the world? Well, actually, this is quite simple. This is a title. This is a title of rank and honor.

This does not refer to birth or the firstborn child. Warren Wiersby says, and I'm quoting, "The title is one of rank and honor, for the firstborn receives the inheritance and the special blessing." And Wiersby is right, because the writer of Hebrews has already pointed out in verses 1 to 4 that Jesus has become as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. So the writer is pointing to Jesus and his title, not as the firstborn in the home, like we see in Luke 2.7. In Luke 2.7, we see that he was the firstborn in the family.

But we do need to see when and how this title of rank and honor applies to Jesus. He is the firstborn, which is a title of rank and honor because he existed as the eternal God before creation and because he was the firstborn from the dead. Colossians 1.18 says, "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." Also, he is the firstborn, which is a title of rank and honor, because he existed as the eternal God before creation and he created all things.

Colossians 1.15 says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." But one more thing about Jesus, the firstborn. Notice that the writer says that he was brought into the world. And here is where we have more difficulties. Simply there are quite a few opinions here. Some say this phrase again when he brings the firstborn into the world is a reference to the incarnation. But others say this is a reference to the Second Coming. While others say this has no bearing on what the writer is saying here. Now for me, I happen to think Leon Morris really gets to the point here.

He says, and I'm quoting, "It is more likely that he is thinking of the Son as sovereign over all there is without an emphasis on a particular historical event. It is his supreme place that is in mind rather than the time of its manifestation." But then second, what's the point of the verse? It's simple. "Throughout all eternity, the angels have worshiped the firstborn Jesus the Son." And when Jesus came into the world as the God-man, the angels worshiped the firstborn Jesus the Son. And when he comes again, the angels will worship the firstborn Jesus the Son. And throughout all eternity, the angels will worship the firstborn Jesus the Son.

Do you see the point? It's about worship. So the writer of this letter was making his second step, taking his second step in building his argument from the Old Testament. He told him that Jesus was the firstborn, which meant that he had been given the title of God the Son with all the honor and privileges that go along with that title. And simply the angels that those Jews so revered actually worshiped the Son. They always have and they always will. And for us, the lesson here is quite simple. We should take a lesson from the angels. We should worship our Lord 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. You see?

The angels worship their Lord nonstop from eternity past to eternity future. And we should do the same. And my question for you, my question for me, my question for us is this, how are we doing in our worship? It's one thing to come and worship on Sunday. It's one thing to come and worship when we have small group on Sunday night. It's one thing to come worship on a Wednesday night when we can get off of work and get here. It's one thing to worship when we meet, but do we worship all the time? Do we worship when it's easy? Do we worship when it's hard? Or do we worship when things are tight, when things are easy? You see? The angels did.

And we should take a lesson from the angels. So Jesus is superior to the angels because they worshiped Him. Now I want to stop right here because of time obviously. Next week we'll pick up with verses 7 to 14. I'll reserve the right to not finish those verses next week. Probably be a part two and a part three we'll see. But there in the rest of the verses we see that Christ is superior to the angels in some other ways because of His nature, because of His eternal existence, and because of His eternal destiny. We'll get into that. But I want us to see what we are doing here in these verses.

Yes, the writer of Hebrews is making his case and proving that Jesus was, is, and always will be God the Son. God the Son who is to be loved, served, and worshiped as the superior and preeminent one. And this is all about exalting and lifting up Jesus. Let me repeat that. This is all about exalting and lifting up Jesus. Through all of my study here, I've had one other verse on my mind. John 12, 32, and John 12, 32, Jesus said, "And I, when I'm lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." Of course, He's talking about the cross. I know that.

In verse 33, He says, He said, "This is to show by what kind of death He was going to die." But in wading through these verses in Hebrews, notice that we are simply exalting Christ. We are exalting Christ, and in doing so, He is drawing people to Himself. First, He's drawing the lost. Through the message this morning, I'm confident that He has been drawing the lost, and He's drawing some of you to Himself, to the cross, to salvation. And this is what I say to you, please come to Christ. If you're lost and dead and you're sin, please come to Christ. We've been exalting Christ. You've been seeing Christ. You've been hearing of Christ.

And the Spirit of God is doing what only the Spirit of God can do. He is convicting you of your sin. He is showing you that Christ went to the cross. He is showing you that Christ is God, and you are responsible to Him. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. What would hinder you from coming to Christ? But then second, the redeemed. Those of us who are Christian, through this message this morning, He has been drawing us to Himself. He's been drawing us to Himself to know Him, to see and know more about who Christ is, and this should be all about worship. Think about that original audience, folks.

Those Jews who were truly converted to Christ, when they heard and they read these things, surely they fell on their faces in worship because they knew more about who Christ actually was and is, and we should do the same thing. And my invitation for you and for me is this. We should embrace these things in worship. We should go into our private lives, into our homes. We should embrace these things in worship. This should affect our worship life, not just here during the worship service. So the thought of the message, Christ disappeared to the angels. And next week we'll just simply pick up right where we left.

So let's pray and let's commit these things to the Lord. And we'll sing a closing song of worship. Not closing and moving away from what we've learned, but closing our service and moving and taking these things with us as the Lord so desires. So let's pray.