Sunday Night Bible Study Hebrews 1:4-14 January 9, 1994 Hebrews 1:4-14 Hebrews 1:4-14 Better than the angels HEB 1:4-5 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, #"\Thou art My Son\, \Today I have begotten Thee\"?# And again, #"\I will be a Father to Him\ \And He shall be a Son to Me\"?# :4 a more excellent name than they The whole point of this passage is going to be to show us how much superior Jesus is to the angels. :5 "Thou art My Son" The writer of Hebrews is quoting two Old Testament passages here. PSA 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the \Lord\: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee. 2SA 7:14 "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, Why is Jesus better than the angels? Reason #1: Jesus is God's Son, angels are not. At times, we are called sons of God, the angels are called sons of God, but there is only One who is truly The Son of God in that He is of the very same stuff, equal in fact to God Himself, Jesus. Angels in fact are created beings. COL 1:16 For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. See also Psa 148:1-5; Rom.8:38-39 Jesus always existed and created all things (angels included) JOH 1:3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. HEB 1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, #"\ And let all the angels of God worship Him.\"# :6 all the angels of God worship Him The writer again quotes the Old Testament PSA 97:7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods. Why is Jesus better than the angels? Reason #2: All the angels worship Jesus Man has a tendency to worship things greater than himself. It was not uncommon for a person who came face to face with an angel to fall down on his face. REV 22:8-9 And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 And he *said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God." Yet these great creatures themselves worship one greater than them, they worship Jesus. HEB 1:7 And of the angels He says, #"\Who makes His angels winds\, \And His ministers a flame of fire.\"# :7 His angels winds ... flame of fire We have another Old Testament quote: PSA 104:4 He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. Just what are these angels? Angels seem to be a popular subject now. People study angel appearances, write books, go on talk shows, wear little angel pins. 1. They are created beings. COL 1:16 For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. 2. They are incredibly powerful. Don't be mistaken. Just because Jesus is greater than the angels, it doesn't mean that the angels are a bunch of lightweights. One angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in a single night. 2KI 19:35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the \Lord\ went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. Another angel killed 70,000 Israelites in three days. 2SA 24:15-16 So the \Lord\ sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time; and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the \Lord\ relented from the calamity, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the \Lord\ was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Satan is a fallen angel. We don't have any problem understanding how powerful he is. 3. They can appear in awesome, flaming form. 2KI 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O \Lord,\ I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the \Lord\ opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 4. They can appear in human form GEN 18:2 And when he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw {them,} he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, GEN 18:16 Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. GEN 19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw {them,} he rose to meet them and bowed down {with his} face to the ground. 5. They aren't always recognized Heb 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 6. They are curious about us 1PE 1:10-12 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that {would come} to you made careful search and inquiry, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-- things into which angels long to look. They probably wonder how Almighty God could be so in love with such turkeys as us. They are probably sitting all around this place, looking at us and wondering why. 7. They are spirit-beings Here in our verse: "Who makes His angels winds (KJV - spirits)" Though they may take a physical form, in essence these created beings are composed of spirit, hence they are invisible to our eyes. 8. They are servants of God. Here in our verse: angels - aggelos: 1) a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God ministers - leitourgos 1) a public minister, a servant of the state 2) a minister, servant; so of military labourers; of the temple: i.e. one busied with holy things, of a priest; of the servants of a king They are also called the hosts of heaven This doesn't mean that they throw nice parties. It means that they are God's armies. HEB 1:8-13 But of the Son {He says}, #"\Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever\, \And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom\. 9 "\Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness\; \Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee\ \With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.\" # 10 And, #"\Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay\ \the foundation of the earth\, \And the heavens are the works of Thy hands\; 11 \They will perish, but Thou remainest\; \And they all will become old as a garment\, 12 \And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up\; \As a garment they will also be changed\. \But Thou art the same\, \And Thy years will not come to an end.\ " # 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, #"\Sit at My right hand\, \Until I make Thine enemies\ \A footstool for Thy feet\"?# There are several Old Testament quotes being used here: vs.8-9: PSA 45:6-7 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. 7 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee With the oil of joy above Thy fellows. Note: (KJV) the oil of gladness <20> above thy fellows. 0020 agalliasis: 1) exultation, extreme joy, gladness Jesus is not a sourpuss. If Jesus is in your life, there should be a characteristic of JOY in your life, not sadness and sorrow. vs.10-12: PSA 102:25-27 "Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. 26 "Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. 27 "But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end. vs.13: PSA 110:1 (A Psalm of David.) The \Lord\ says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet." This last verse is an interesting one. Jesus used it Himself to put a silence to the Pharisees, and hint that He Himself was greater even than David. MAT 22:41-46 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They *said to Him, "{The son} of David." 43 He *said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 44 #'\The Lord said to my Lord\, "\Sit at My right hand\, \Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet\"'?# 45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?" 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. :8 Thy throne Why is Jesus better than the angels? Reason #3: Angels are servants, Jesus is The Almighty King The angels (sent ones, messengers) are just God's servants. But Jesus is the Eternal King who rules over everything and made the heavens and earth. :8 Thy throne, O God, is forever The Deity of Christ Several persons testify that Jesus is God Paul the apostle ROM 9:5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. John the apostle 1JO 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Jesus Himself JOH 8:58-59 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple. JOH 10:30-33 "I and the Father are one." 31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" 33 The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out {to be} God." God the Father Here in our passage. Who is saying, "Thy throne, O God, is forever..."? It is God the Father! It's heavy enough to look at the other people who are calling Jesus God, but when you think that God the Father Himself calls Jesus God, that settles it for me! Why is it important that I believe that Jesus is God? If Jesus was just an ordinary nice guy, and He tried to die for your sins, how many persons' sins do you think He could cover? Only one! But because He was God in the flesh, and because the life He gave to pay for my sins was an infinite one, He can pay for all my sins and those of the entire world as well. HEB 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? What do angels do? What is their purpose? 1. They worship God REV 5:11-12 And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, #"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."# 2. They are God's servants PSA 103:20-21 Bless the \Lord,\ you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21 Bless the \Lord,\ all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. 3. They are used by God to respond to our prayers DAN 10:10-14 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding {this} and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 "Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet {future.}" 4. They help us. They render to us service (our verse) Jesus warned about not causing a child to stumble ... MAT 18:10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven. They have angels (our idea of "guardian angels") who have constant access to God's throne. If you mess with them, it doesn't take long for a message to go from them to God, and then an angel is dispatched. Angel experiences (Mark shared some this morning!) When driving the old VW van to Costa Mesa. Having to stop but the car was too heavy. Somehow we stopped anyway. Little Natalie McKay. Running out into the street at night with a speeding car coming at her. The car didn't see her but swerved anyway, and the car's trunk popped open. Did an angel push it out of the way? Louie's recent car experience. The steering linkage going out just before he got on the freeway.