A little lower than the Angels
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A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS” (PSALM 8:5)
A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS” (PSALM 8:5)
By these means God has exalted redeemed humanity to such a sublime rank that it is impossible for Him to elevate them any further without bringing them into the Godhead itself. In the Beloved we have been accepted into the very bosom of the Father (John 1:18), and by virtue of our union with Christ we are accepted upon the same terms as He (Ephesians 1:6 and John 17:23). As bona fide sons, birthed by the very life of God himself, as full blood-brothers of the Eternal Son, as members of His Body of which He is the Head, and, as spirit of His Spirit, how can we ever be brought nearer? This mystery has been happily expressed by Rees Howells:
By these means God has exalted redeemed humanity to such a sublime rank that it is impossible for Him to elevate them any further without bringing them into the Godhead itself. In the Beloved we have been accepted into the very bosom of the Father (John 1:18), and by virtue of our union with Christ we are accepted upon the same terms as He (Ephesians 1:6 and John 17:23). As bona fide sons, birthed by the very life of God himself, as full blood-brothers of the Eternal Son, as members of His Body of which He is the Head, and, as spirit of His Spirit, how can we ever be brought nearer? This mystery has been happily expressed by Rees Howells:
So nigh, so very nigh to God, I cannot nearer be; for in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He.
So nigh, so very nigh to God, I cannot nearer be; for in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He.
This agrees with the sublime accolade of Psalm 8:4–5: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him [in the incarnation]? For thou has made him a little lower than the angels.”
This agrees with the sublime accolade of Psalm 8:4–5: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him [in the incarnation]? For thou has made him a little lower than the angels.”
NOT MEGALOMANIA
NOT MEGALOMANIA
This brings us to such dizzying heights as to merit the charge not only of megalomania (illusions of grandeur), not only of hyperbole, but of blasphemy itself, if these conclusions are invalid. God has exhausted human language to open our eyes to the immensity of His plan for the redeemed. Unless the words of inspiration are meaningless, the preceding is no exaggeration. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Hallelujah!
This brings us to such dizzying heights as to merit the charge not only of megalomania (illusions of grandeur), not only of hyperbole, but of blasphemy itself, if these conclusions are invalid. God has exhausted human language to open our eyes to the immensity of His plan for the redeemed. Unless the words of inspiration are meaningless, the preceding is no exaggeration. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Hallelujah!
So unspeakably astonishing is the magnitude of God’s plan that Paul is constrained to most earnest intercession on our behalf: “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future he has called you to share” (Ephesians 1:18, TLB). Paul realized that only the illumination of the Holy Spirit can impart even a vague conception of the supreme rank of the redeemed as the “next of kin” to God. Only a divinely inspired faith can faintly comprehend the psalmist’s phrase, “but little less than God.”
So unspeakably astonishing is the magnitude of God’s plan that Paul is constrained to most earnest intercession on our behalf: “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future he has called you to share” (Ephesians 1:18, TLB). Paul realized that only the illumination of the Holy Spirit can impart even a vague conception of the supreme rank of the redeemed as the “next of kin” to God. Only a divinely inspired faith can faintly comprehend the psalmist’s phrase, “but little less than God.”
Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne: How Spiritual Warfare Prepares the Bride of Christ for Her Eternal Destiny (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1996), 34–35.
Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne: How Spiritual Warfare Prepares the Bride of Christ for Her Eternal Destiny (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1996), 34–35.
