Better Than Angels

Prayer

Revelation 5:9–14 (ESV)

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Lord we come humbly yet and boldly to the throne of grace this morning - not because we have earned or deserve it, but because you, Jesus, are a better sacrifice. Your death on the cross not only forgives of sin, but also opened the way into the most holy place - into proximity and relationship with a holy God.

And we join with the myriads and myriads of angels who bow down before you saying…

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

Your name stands above them all.

But as we learned last week, you are not God who is far away, a God who is disconnected from us. But you care about our needs - our needs for healing, the things we are concerned about, and the people that we love that we so deeply desire to know and trust you.

So, I lift up our needs to you - the one who holds all things together by the word of your power - because you are the healer, you are the provider, you are the one who can calm our anxiety, and give us the courage to share the love and message of Jesus with that neighbor or family member or friend.

Father, as we go to your word today, would you help us to see marvelous things. Philippians says that Jesus has been given the name that is above every name, and we want to lift that name up - glorifying and honoring Jesus is all we do, and say, and think, and sing.

So, come, Holy Spirit. We invite you here to help us see the Scriptures as we ought to see them. Give us ears to hear what you would say to us through your Word today. Holy Spirit, help us to convert what we learn today into action - obeying you more fully and sharing your message more boldly. Give us humble hearts and discerning minds. Make is more like Jesus. Show us today and every day that Jesus is, indeed, better than life itself.

Welcome & Housekeeping

Personal Introduction

Notes in Digital Worship Guide

Memory Verse // Slide with full verse // slide with blanks.

Introduction

Last week we talked about the incredible reality that God speaks - he is a communicating God. And the most extraordinary way in which he has spoken is through God the son - Jesus Christ. What we hear and learn from the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the best communication from and revelation of God.

And in verse 4, the author links Jesus being a better word to Jesus being better than angels. My big question was - why are we starting with angels?

Of all of the things that we might want to show Jesus to be better than, why angels? Were angels a big problem?

Well, they were, but the issue is bigger than merely what we believe about angels. The larger issue is how beliefs about angels effect the belief about Jesus and the action of our lives

The Original Audience

The original audience of Hebrews were Jewish Christians who were experiencing persecution - some governmental and some localized. Judaism was a approved religion in the Roman Empire, Christianity was not. But more than that, because Jewish people often lived together in community, there was significant shunning that happened when fellow Jews converted to Christianity.

As a result, some of them were facing the temptation to just go back to Judaism so that the pressure would ease up. The author of Hebrews writes to encourage them in their faith - to show them that Jesus is better and worth it! But what does any of that have to do with angels? Where do they fit?

Well, the issue at hand was that due to non-biblical Jewish writings (like the Talmud) and some popular rabbinic teachings, some significant drift from the teaching of the Old Testament had occured in with Judaism and had, subsequently, drifted into the early Christian communities. Apparently, the level to which these teachings elevated angels were so significant that the author goes right after these beliefs in angels right from the get-go.

Part of the work of preaching is to help us all understand the text in its original context, but to then help us make application for today. I don’t think angels are as big of a problem in your life as maybe they were for first century Jews, so I’m going to look at 3 issues that Hebrews addresses with angels and how those issues manifest today.

Mistaken Relationship (vv. 4-6)

Angels are created by God, Jesus is God

One of the incorrect understandings about angels that had found its way into Judaism is a misunderstanding about their relationship to God. Some branches of Jewish mysticism thought angels to be divine or a minimum to have a preeminent place in the spiritual hierarchy. As a result among some there came to be an unhealthy reoccupation with angels that led to praying to angels and worshipping angels.

While the angels are spiritual beings created by God they are not God, have no ability to save, and are not to be worshipped. In fact, Paul - writing around the same time as Hebrews was penned—says this:

Colossians 2:18 ESV

18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

God alone is the object of our praise and because of the finished work of Jesus, we have access to come directly to him in prayer. In fact, of the many things that are in the job description of angels, worshipping God is one of the most consistent roles seen in Scripture.

The author of Hebrews addresses this problem by pointing to Jesus as the true Son - the one who is the exact imprint of God, and the one who is worthy of worship.

Hebrews 1:4–6 (ESV)

4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Now, in your Bible you’ll see that much of this chapter is set off from the paragraphs in quotes and that there are cross references to Old Testament passages. As we learned last week, Jesus is a better word than the old testament prophets, but not in a way that dismisses them, but in a way that fulfills and completes.

Hebrews 2 is a key example.

There are two old testament references here - one from Psalm 2 and another from 2 Samuel 7. In their original context, Psalm 2 speaks of God establishing David as the king and 2 Samuel 14 is a promise to David about his son’s reign.

KBut there is this phrase that can be confusing:

Hebrews 1:3–4 (ESV)

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

so, this makes me think, he WAS lower than the angels and then later on became greater than the angels. Which is it?

I’m going to dip into next week for JUST a second to prove my point. Look ahead to Hebrews 2:9

Hebrews 2:9 (ESV)

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

He was made lower than the angels for a little while and then, he was higher than the angels again. So, here is the argument for the deity of Jesus in Hebrews chapter 1:

Jesus is the means by which the triune God created the world (v. 2)

He is eternally God - the EXACT imprint of God. (v. 3)

In God’s extraordinary love for us, Jesus - God the Son - humbled himself, leaving the comfort of heaven, and became human. He is STILL the exact imprint of God - the radiance of his glory.

And at the same time, because he takes on humanity—a state of mortality and physical limitation— this puts him (for a little while) lower than the angels because they are immortal, spiritual beings.

Jesus humbles himself to the point of death on a cross - “making purification for sins” - and this action gives him even higher exaltation - the name that is above every name.

Philippians 2:8–11 ESV

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Both Hebrews and Philippians make it clear that Jesus is to be the object of our worship and the recipient of our prayers, not angels. Angels are created beings who worship Jesus around the throne and who will be subordinate to him and worshippers of him forever and ever.

Application: Praying to Saints & Angels

I think one of the areas where we see this issue of mistaken relationship is in the practice of praying to angels and saints that we find in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy - both of which have significant roots in our communities. Perhaps you even grew up praying to Michael the archangel for protection, to St. Luke before going in for surgery, or even to Mary the mother of Jesus for various reasons.

The practice of praying to saints and angels in the Catholic Church developed over time, beginning in the early centuries when Christians revered martyrs and asked for their intercession, believing they could pray for those still on earth. This practice grew as the veneration of saints expanded, and by the Middle Ages, saints were seen as patrons for various causes. Catholics believe that saints, being close to God in heaven, can intercede on their behalf, much like asking a friend to pray for you. However, during the Protestant Reformation, this practice was rejected, emphasizing that Jesus is the only mediator between God and humanity.

Nowhere in Scripture are Christians encouraged to pray to anyone but God. Praying to saints or to angels necessarily elevates them to an inappropriate position and - and the same time - demeans the position of Jesus and the capacity of Jesus - as if he’s too overwhelmed and busy to listen to our prayers, so we need to go to a saint who might be able to somehow get him otherwise scattered attention.

Mistaken Relationship (vv. 4-6)

Angels are created by God, Jesus is God

Mistaken Role (vv. 7-12)

Angels are servants, Jesus is King

Hebrews 1:7–12 (ESV)

7 Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,

12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

In several ancient Jewish texts, there were complex angelic heirarchies that detailed roles and responsibilities of angels that we never see in Scripture. In fact, there were some ideas floating around that God did nothing without needing to first consult the angels.

Still other common beliefs of the day were that a group of angels controlled the movement of the stars, that there was an angel who took care of the sea and others who were in charge of the weather.

On the surface we may not see a big problem with these, but the author of Hebrews does. This is precisely why he addresses these problems so early in the sermon - because these beliefs actually undercut the divinity of Jesus and the character of God.

Look at verse 7-9 - again references from the OT comparing what God says of the angels and what God says of Jesus.

The author does not mean that angels ARE wind or ARE fire, but he is highlighting the servanthood of the angels. That they are God’s agents - God’s servants in sending wind, and fire, and any other natural phenomena. They do not act alone AS God, but under the authority OF God.

And then the author contrasts this with what God says of the son - look at it - SUPER important.

But of the son he says - YOUR THRONE O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER!!

Here we have God calling Jesus God - further solidifying the deity of Jesus, the rule and reign of Jesus - the Kingship of Jesus over against the servant nature of the angels.

God doesn’t need to consult anyone or anything to make a perfectly wise decision. God is the standard for wisdom and perfection. Whatever he says and whatever he does is right, and just, and good and perfect. Jesus, God the Son, needs ZERO assistance with holding all things together by the word of his power. He’s not exhausted by his responsibilities like an overwhelmed rookie accountant during tax season.

Look at verses 10-12

Hebrews 1:10–12 (ESV)

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment,

12 like a robe you will roll them up,

like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

and your years will have no end.”

The author takes Jesus role as the one who rules and reigns even further noting that he not only made everything, but that he will oversee and outlast even the things which he has created.

The book of Revelation tells us that the current cosmos as we know it will be no more and that there will be a moment in time when Jesus will return, defeat satan once and for all, and that there be a new creation in which all those who trust Jesus to be the leader and forgiver of their lives will live forever in his presence.

Application:

Just as the early Jews misunderstood the roles of angels, I see a concerning trend in how modern Christianity sometimes misunderstands the role of the Holy Spirit. Some Christian circles have placed an undue emphasis on the miraculous and supernatural works of the Holy Spirit, often seeking Him for dramatic experiences rather than focusing on His true role as the one who points us to Jesus and transforms us in everyday obedience.

Let me be clear: The Holy Spirit is fully God, the third person of the Trinity, and His power is real and VITAL in the life of the believer. He works in many ways, including empowering the miraculous in our lives. But where I think some go astray is in expecting or demanding the miraculous at every turn—seeking supernatural fixes to life's problems while missing the deeper work that the Holy Spirit is doing to shape our hearts, align us with Christ, and help us endure suffering.

It’s easy to look for quick fixes—instant healings, dramatic deliverance, or immediate relief from trials. But Scripture makes it clear that while the Holy Spirit can and does perform miracles, His primary role is to make us more like Jesus, even in suffering. He leads us into obedience, produces the fruit of the Spirit in us, and empowers us to endure hardship with faithfulness.

Look at what Jesus Himself said about the Holy Spirit’s role in John 16:13-14: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

The Holy Spirit's mission is to glorify Jesus, not to create a spectacle that distracts from faithful, sacrificial obedience to Jesus. He helps us grow in holiness, convicts us of sin, and strengthens us for the long, sometimes difficult road of following Christ.

Mistaken Relationship (vv. 4-6)

Angels are created by God, Jesus is God

To God alone belong out worship and our prayers.

Mistaken Role (vv. 7-12)

Angels are servants, Jesus is King

Mistaken Revelation (vv. 13-14)

Angels work continues, Jesus work is complete.

Hebrews 1:13–14 (ESV)

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

The author of Hebrews is making an important distinction here: while angels continue to serve and minister, Jesus’ work is finished. Verse 13 refers to Jesus sitting down at the right hand of the Father—a position of honor, authority, and rest. This is significant because sitting down indicates that His work is complete. The purification for sins has been accomplished, and nothing more is needed to secure the salvation of those who trust in Him.

In contrast, verse 14 shows that angels still have an ongoing role: they are ministering spirits who serve believers. They are active, but their work is not to add to or complete salvation—it is to assist and support those who have already been saved by Jesus' finished work.

When Jesus cried out on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30), He wasn’t just declaring the end of His earthly life—He was proclaiming that His work of redemption was complete. He had made the perfect sacrifice once for all (Hebrews 10:12), fulfilling everything necessary for our salvation. There is no more need for sacrifices, no more need for additional revelation, no more need for another mediator. Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, signifies that everything required for our salvation has been fully accomplished.

The angels continue to serve, but not to add to or replace Christ’s work. They minister to believers, but their role is not to bring new revelation or new means of salvation. They point back to the completed work of Christ, not forward to any new, ongoing message.

Application: Beware of False Revelation

This distinction is crucial because, throughout history, there have been groups and religions that claim new revelation from angels—revelation that undercuts the finished work of Jesus Christ. Think of groups like Mormonism and Islam, which both claim that angels brought new, additional messages from God. In Mormonism, it’s believed that the angel Moroni gave Joseph Smith new revelations, leading to the Book of Mormon, a text that adds to the gospel and distorts the person and work of Jesus. In Islam, the prophet Muhammad claimed that the angel Gabriel gave him the Qur’an, a revelation that denies Jesus' divinity and the sufficiency of His sacrifice.

These claims of new revelation undermine the truth that Jesus' work is finished and that He alone is the final and complete revelation of God. Hebrews 1 makes it clear that God’s final word came through His Son. There is no need for additional revelation from angels or any other source. Jesus is better, and His work is sufficient.

And this is why the warning in 2:1 is so important.

Hebrews 2:1 (ESV): “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

Therefore - because of ALLL of this - pay close attention to the truth we’ve heard about Jesus—the truth of His final and better revelation. Jesus’ work is complete, His word is final, and there is nothing that needs to be added. But the danger, as Hebrews 2:1 warns, is that we can easily drift away if we are not anchored in this truth.

In today’s world, just as in the first century, we are surrounded by voices that want to pull us away from the sufficiency of Jesus’ work and the sufficiency of Scripture. Whether it’s false teachings that claim new revelations or movements that elevate supernatural experiences over the truth of the gospel, the temptation to drift is real.

That’s why we are commanded to pay much closer attention. If we don’t, we risk drifting into dangerous waters where the sufficiency of Christ is questioned or compromised. We must be diligent to guard the truth that Jesus is better—better than the prophets, better than angels, and better than any false revelation that tries to pull us away from Him.

Hebrews 2:1 is a call to vigilance. It’s a reminder that the gospel is not just something we hear once and move on from; it’s something we must cling to daily, knowing that Jesus has done all that is necessary for our salvation. His work is complete, His word is final, and our task is to pay close attention to this truth, lest we drift.

So, as we close, let’s take to heart this exhortation from Hebrews: pay close attention to Jesus. Hold fast to His final revelation, knowing that in Him, God has spoken fully and finally. Let us not be swayed by claims of new revelation or quick fixes but remain anchored in the completed work of Christ, knowing that nothing can be added to what He has already accomplished. Jesus is better—His work is finished, and His word is all we need.