A SAVIOR THAT IS GREATER

THAN THE ANGELS

Angels were most important in the Jewish religion, primarily because thousands of angels assisted in giving the Law at Mount Sinai. This fact is stated in Deuteronomy 33:2 (where "saints" in kv means "holy ones" or "angels"), Psalm 68:17, Acts 7:53, and Galatians 3:19. Since the theme of Hebrews is the superiority of Christ and His salvation to the Law of Moses, the writer would have to deal with the critical subject of angels.

This long section on angels is divided into three sections. First, there is an affirmation (Heb. 1:4-14) of the superiority of Christ to the angels. The proof presented consists of seven quotations from the Old Testament. Second, there is en exhortation (2:1-4) that the readers (including us) pay earnest heed to the Word God has given through His Son. Finally, there is an explanation (2:5-IS) as to how Christ, with a human body, could still be superior to angels who are spirits.

1. THE EXCELLENCE OF OUR LORD

Affirmation: Christ is superior to the angels (1:4-14)

This section comprises seven quotations from the Old Testament, all of which prove the superiority of Christ to the angels. Scholars tell us that the writer quoted from the Greek Version of the Hebrew Old Testament, known as the Septuagint. (The word “Septuagint” is a Greek word that means "TO." Tradition claims that 70 men translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. The abbreviation for Septuagint is LXX, Roman numerals for 70.) However, the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures has the right to quote and restate the truth as He sees fit.

Let us note the affirmations about our Lord Jesus Christ and the quotations cited to support them.

A. HE IS the Son (1:4-5).

The "more excellent name" that Jesus possesses is "Son." While the angels collectively may be termed "the sons of God" Job 1:6), no angel would be given this title individually. It belongs uniquely to our Lord Jesus Christ. The first quotation is from Psalm 2:7: "Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee." Paul pinpointed the time of this "begetting": the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 13:33). From eternity, Jesus Christ was God the Son. He humbled Himself and became man (see Phil.

2:5-6). In His resurrection, however, He glorified that humanity received from the Father and received back the eternal glory He had laid aside John 17:1, 5). The resurrection declares: "Jesus is God's Son!" (Rom. 1:4)

The second quotation is from 2 Samuel 7:14. The immediate application in David's experience was to his son, Solomon, whom God would love and discipline as a son (see Ps. 89:27). But the ultimate application is to Jesus Christ, the "greater than Solomon" (Matt 12:42).

B. HIS AUTHORITY - HE IS THE FIRSTBORN WHO RECEIVES WORSHIP

Hebrews 1:6 KJV 1900

6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

The term "firstborn" in the Bible does not always mean "born first." God made Solomon the firstborn (Ps. 89:27) even though Solomon is listed Greater tenth in the official genealogy (1 Chron. 3:1-5). The title is rank and honor, for the firstborn receives the inheritance and the special blessing. Christ is the "Firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15, Nash) because He created all things, and He is the highest of all who came back from the dead (Col. 1:18). When He came into the world, the angels worshiped Him (quoted from Deut. 32:43 in the LXX: "Heavens, rejoice with Him, let the sons of God pay Him homage”). God commanded them to do so, which proves that Jesus Christ is God; for none of God's angels would worship a mere creature.

C. HIS ANGELS - HE CREATED ANGELS AND IS SERVED BY THE ANGELS

Hebrews 1:7 KJV 1900

7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

This is a quotation from Psalm 104:4

Psalm 104:4 KJV 1900

4 Who maketh his angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire:

The Hebrew and Greek words for "spirit" are also translated "wind." Angels are created spirits; they have no bodies but can assume human forms when ministering on earth.

Angels sometimes served our Lord when He was on earth (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43), and they serve Him and us now.

D. HIS THRONE - GOD ENTHRONED AND ANOINTED (HeB. 1:8-9).

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 . . ." Angels minister before the throne; they do not sit upon the throne. 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 and 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).

When Christ ascended and entered the heavenly glory, He was anointed for His heavenly ministry with "the oil of gladness" (Heb. 1:9). 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!

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 cannot share that position or that joy. Our Lord's throne is forever, which means He is eternal God.

E. HIS CREATIVE POWER - HE IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR (1:10-12). This long quotation comes from Psalm 102:25-27. 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.

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

F. HIS HONOR - CHRIST IS THE SOVEREIGN; ANGELS ARE THE SERVANTS (1:13-14).

Again, the writer quotes Psalm 110:1.

The fact that Jesus Christ is now at the Father's right hand (the place of honor) is mentioned many times in the New Testament (see Matt. 22:43-44 and 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). Angels are the ministering spirits who serve the Lord seated on the throne. But they also minister to us, who are the "heirs of salvation" through faith in Christ. The angels today are serving us!

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.

2. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF OUR LORD

Admonition: heed the Word and don't drift (Heb. 2:1-4)

This is the first of the five admonitions found in Hebrews. Their purpose is to encourage all readers to pay attention to God's Word and obey it. We noted in Chapter 1 that these admonitions become more robust as we progress through the book, from drifting from God's Word to defying God's Word (12:14-29). We also noted that God does not sit idly by and permit His children to rebel against Him. He will continue to speak and when necessary, He chastens His own.

The admonition is written to believers, for the writer includes himself when he writes "we." The danger here is that of neglecting our salvation. Please note that the author did not write "rejecting" but "neglecting." He is not encouraging sinners to become Christians; rather, he is encouraging Christians to pay attention to the great salvation they have received from the Lord.

"Lest. .. we should let them slip" (2:1) might better be translated "lest we drift away from them." Later (6:19), the writer uses the illustration of an anchor to show how confident we can be in the promises of God.

More spiritual problems are caused by neglect than by any other failure on our part. We neglect God's Word, prayer, worship with God's people (see 10:25), and other opportunities for spiritual growth, and as a result, we start to drift. The anchor does not move; we do.

During the Old Testament days, people who did not heed the Word were sometimes punished. That Word was given through angels, so how much greater responsibility do we have today who have received the Word from the Son of God! In verse 2, "transgression" refers to sins of commission, while "disobedience suggests sins of omission.

I have often told the story about the pastor who preached a series of sermons on "the sins of the saints." He was severely reprimanded by one of the members ofthe church. "After all," said the member, "sin in the life of a Christian is different from sin in the lives of other people."

"Yes," replied the pastor, "it's worse!"

We have the idea that believers today "under grace" can escape the chastening hand of God that was so evident "under Law." But to whom much is given, much shall be required. Not only have we received the Word from the Son of God, but that Word has been confirmed by apostolic miracles (24). The phrase "signs and wonders" is found 11 times in the New Testament. Here it refers to the miracles that wit. Need to the Word and confirmed that it was true. The apostles performed these miracles (see Mark 16:17-20; Acts 2:43). Today we have the completed Word of God; so there is no need for these apostolic miracles. God now bears witness through His Spirit using the Word (Rom. 8:16; 1 John 5:1-13). The Spirit also gives spiritual gifts to God's people so that they may minister in the church (Eph. 4:11ff; 1 Cor. 12).

Too many Christians today take the Word of God for granted and neglect it. In my pastoral ministry, I have discovered that neglect of the Word of God and prayer, publicly and privately, is the cause of most spiritual drifting." I need not multiply examples because every believer knows that this is true. He has either experienced this "drifting or has seen it in the lives of others.

The next time you sing "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," recall that the composer, Robert Robinson, was converted under the mighty preaching of George Whitefield, but that later he drifted from the Greater than Lord. He had been greatly used as a pastor, but neglect of spiritual things led him astray. In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who was very spiritually minded.

"What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?” she asked Robinson, handing him the book. It was his own hymn! He tried to avoid her question but it was hopeless, for the Lord was speaking to him.

Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the Lord.

"But these 'streams of mercy are still flowing," the woman assured him; and Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord through her encouragement.

It is easy to drift with the current but challenging to return against the stream. Our salvation is a "great salvation" purchased at a great price. It brings with it great promises and blessings, leading to a great inheritance in glory. How can we neglect it!

3. THE EXPLANATION OF OUR LORD

Explanation: why Jesus Christ is not inferior because of His humanity (Heb. 2:5-18)

The fact that angels are "ministering spirits" without human bodies would give them an advantage over Jesus Christ, who had a human body while He ministered on earth. (Today He has a glorified body that knows no limitations.) The writer gave four reasons why our Lord's humanity was neither a handicap nor a mark of inferiority.

A. HIS HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO REGAIN MAN’S LOST DOMINION (2:5-9).

The quotation here is from Psalm 8:4-6, and you will want to read that entire psalm carefully. When God created the first man and woman, He gave them dominion over His Creation (Gen. 1:26-31). David marveled that God would share His power and glory with feeble man! Man was created "a little lower than the angels" (and therefore inferior to them), but man was given privileges far higher than the angels. God never promised the angels that they would reign in "the world to come" (Heb. 2:5).

But we have a severe problem here, for it is obvious that man today is not exercising dominion over creation. Certainly, man cannot control the fish, fowl, or animals. In fact, man has a hard time controlling himself! "But now we see not yet all things put under him" (2:8).

"'But we see Jesus!” (2.9) He is God's answer to man's dilemma. Jesus Christ became man that He might suffer and die for man's sin and restore the dominion that was lost because of sin. When our Lord was here on earth, He exercised that lost dominion.

He had dominion over the fish (see Luke 5:1-11; Matt. 17:24-27; John 21:1-11),

over the fowl (Luke 22:34, 60),

and over the wild beasts (Mark 1:12-13),

and the domesticated beasts (Mark 11:1-7).

As the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), Jesus Christ regained man's lost dominion. Today, everything is under His feet (Eph. 1:20-23).

Man was "crowned. .. with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:7, NASB),

but he lost his crown and became the slave of sin. Jesus Christ has regained that "glory and honor" (2:9) believers today share His kingly dominion (Rev. 1:5-6).

One day, when He establishes His kingdom, we shall reign with Him in glory and honor. Jesus Christ did all of this for us for lost sinners_ -because of"the grace of God" (Heb. 2:9).

If He had not become man, He could not have died and "tasted] death experienced death] for every man" (2:9). Indeed, angels cannot die; but it is also true that angels cannot save lost sinners and restore man's lost dominion.

B. HIS HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO BRING MANY SONS TO GLORY (2:10-13).

Christ is not only the Last, opens the way for others to follow." Christ gave up His glory to become man. He regained His glory when He arose and ascended to heaven. Now He shares that glory with all who trust Him for salvation John 17:22-24). He is bringing many sons and daughters to glory!

Christ is united to us, and we are united to Him: we are spiritually one. We are His "brethren" (Heb. 2:12). The writer quotes Psalm 22:22 a messianic psalm in which Christ refers to His church as His brethren. This means we and the Son of God share the same nature and belong to the same family! What a marvel of God's grace!

The writer of Hebrews also quoted Isaiah 8:17-18 from the LXX. The immediate reference, of course, is to the Prophet Isaiah and his unique sons who were given significant names (see Isa. 7:3; 8:1-4). But the ultimate reference is to Jesus Christ. Not only are believers His brethren, but we are also His children:

"Behold I and the children which God hath given Me" (Heb. 2:13). If Jesus Christ had not come to earth and become man, He could not take us from earth to share in His glory.

The incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection must go together.

They all lead to glory.

One phrase in 2:10 should be discussed before we move on: “Make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." This statement does not suggest that Jesus Christ was imperfect when He was here. The word translated.” "perfect" means "complete, effective, adequate." Jesus could not have become an adequate Saviour and High Priest had He not become man and suffered and died.

C. HIS HUMANITY ENABLED HIM TO DEFEAT SATAN AND DELIVER US FROM DEATH (2:14-16).

Angels cannot die. Jesus did not come to save angels (note v. 16); He came to save humans. He had to take on His flesh and blood and become a man. Only then could He die and, through His death, defeat Satan.

The word "destroy" does not mean "annihilate," for it is evident that Satan is still alive and busy. The word means "render inoperative, make of none effect." Satan is not destroyed, but he is disarmed.

In what sense did Satan have the power of death?

The final authority of death is in the hands of our God (Deut. 32:39; Matt. 10:28; Rev. 1:18).

Satan can do only that which is permitted by God Job 1:12; 2:6).

But because Satan is the author of sin John 8:44), and sin brings death (Rom. 6:23), Satan exercises power in the realm of death. Jesus called him a murderer John 8:44). Satan uses the fear of death as a terrible weapon to gain control over people’s lives. His kingdom is one of darkness and death (Col. 1:13).

We who trust in Jesus Christ have once and for all been delivered from Satan's authority and from the terrible fear of death. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ have given us victory! (1 Cor. 15:55-58)

Jesus Christ did not take on Himself the nature of angels to save the fallen angels (Rev. 12:7-9; 2 Peter 2:4).

Instead, He stooped lower than the angels to become man! And not just "man" in general, but He became a Jew, a part of the "seed of Abraham"

Hebrews 2:16 KJV 1900

16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

The Jews were a despised and hated race, and yet our Lord became a Jew.

D. HIS HUMANITY ENABLES HIM TO BE A SYMPATHETIC HIGH PRIEST TO HIS PEOPLE (2:17-18).

Being pure spirits who have never suffered, the angels cannot identify our weaknesses and needs with us. But Jesus can While He was here on earth, Jesus was "made like unto His brethren" in that He experienced the sinless infirmities of human nature. He knew what it was like to be a growing child and an adolescent maturing.

He knew the experiences of weariness, hunger, and thirst John 4:6-8). He knew what it was to be despised and rejected, to be lied about and falsely accused. He experienced physical suffering and death.

All of this was a part of His "training" for His heavenly ministry as High Priest.

If you want an example of a man who was not a merciful and faithful high priest, then read the account about Eli (1 Sam. 2:27-36). Here was a high priest who did not even lead his own sons into a faithful walk with God. Eli even accused brokenhearted Hannah of being drunk! (1 Sam. 1:9-18)

Jesus Christ is both merciful and faithful: He is merciful toward people and faithful toward God. He can never fail in His priestly ministries. He sacrificed for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God. He did not need to sacrifice for Himself because He is sinless.

But what happens when we who have been saved are tempted to sin? He stands ready to help us! He was tempted when He was on earth, but no temptation ever conquered Him. Because He has defeated every enemy, He can give us the grace to overcome temptation. The word “succor” (Heb. 2:18) means "to run to the cry of a child." It means "to bring help when it is needed." Angels can serve us (1:14) but cannot succor us in our times of temptation. Only Jesus Christ can do that, and He can do it because He became a man and suffered and died.

It might be good at this point to explain the difference between our Lord's ministry as High Priest and His ministry as Advocate (1 John 2:1). As our High Priest, our Lord is able to give us grace to keep us from sinning when we are tempted. If we do sin, then He as our advocate, represents us before the throne of God. He forgives us when we sincerely confess our sins to him. (1 John 1:5-2:2). Both of these ministries are involved in His present work of intercession, and it is this intercessory ministry that is the guarantee of our eternal salvation (note that in Heb. 7:25 it is "to the uttermost"-ie., eternally--and not "from the utter-most").

As you review this section, you cannot help but be amazed at the grace and wisdom of God. From a human point of view, it would seem foolish for God to become man; yet this very act of grace made possible our salvation and all that goes with it. When Jesus Christ became man, He did not become inferior to the angels, for in His human body, He accomplished something that angels could never accomplish. At the same time, He made it possible for us to share in His glory!

He is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters.

Are we ashamed to call Him "Lord"?