Hebrews 1:4-14

Son–Superior to Angels: According to Scripture

Big Idea: Since the Son is superior to angels, you must worship Him alone.

Intro

It’s hard to imagine allowing something to eclipse Christ for the Christian.

How could anything ever take his place.

But in truth when we choose to walk in the path of sin, we choose to eclipse Christ.

But sometimes good things can eclipse Christ.

Things like your family, your country, your hobbies, football, etc.

Or worse still, the church, your ideals for the church, and its doctrine and teaching.

I’m not saying any of those things aren’t important, they certainly are, but only when they are ordered properly, only when Christ is superior to them all.

The audience the AH is preaching to loves their bible, the Old Testament scriptures.

And because of fear and persecution they are being tempted to return to those old ways the covenant of grace was administered (WCF 7.3).

The Son is superior to the prophets, as the AH so ably defended in vv. 1-4.

And the message of the prophets was mediated and safe-guarded by angels.

So the AH moves to show that The Son is superior to angels…

His argument goes from v. 4-2:18, and can be broken in to four parts that follow the pattern of exposition, exhortation, exposition, exhortation.

Tonight he begins with an exposition in a catena of OT texts that prove the supremacy of the Son over angels.

Hebrews 1:4-14

Because he is the Son

One of the best ways to understand the Old Testament is to pay attention to how the Apostles interpret it.

There is no better book for that than Hebrews.

Here he cites 7 OT texts, giving heavy priority to the psalter (5), one from the former prophets and one from the law.

His first argument is that Jesus is far superior to Angels because of “the name he has inherited is greater”–he is The Son.

“The only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His father before all worlds”

To show this, the AH goes back to Psalm 2:7

I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” (Ps 2:7).

Psalm 2 thought to be written by David (Acts 4:25) as a coronation Hymn, with clear connections to the next quote the AH uses of the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:14 (“I shall be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…”).

How should we interpret today?

The AH has already established the eternality of the Son who as creator and sustainer of the world (1:3)

But notice even within psalm 2 it presupposes the preexistence of the Son (the LORD said to me, “you are my son; today I have begotten you).

The today then refers to his ascension/exaltation as king (1:3).

Angels are never called son (corporately they are called sons of God but never individually).

This is an argument from silence, which can be legitimate but usually not on its own.

The second text comes from 2 Sam 7:14.

[recount context and David’s desire to build the LORD a house]

Superficially that covenant was speaking of Solomon, but because of “the grand promises of an eternal throne and kingdom and the double use of ‘house’, the text clearly refers to a greater Son that is to come.” (Cara, 66)

Here again we learn how to read our bibles, when we read Psalm 2 and 2 Sam 7 we see that while they have referents that apply typologically to David and Solomon, ultimately they anticipate Jesus, the Christ and Son of God.

So What

The Son is superior because of His close relation with the Father, because he is the Son.

Because His position is Superior

As the argument builds, we see next that the Son is superior because he occupies a superior position.

Since angels worship Him and are His ministers.

Angels worship Him

He introduces the citation from Deut. 32:43 with again, referring to his installment has king at His ascension.

Prototokos (firstborn) is another word for Son, echoing “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” (Ps 89:27). which sings of the Davidic Cov. (2 Sam 7)

As the firstborn Son Christ is unique. He is both prior to creation and supreme over it since he is its Lord; all creation is his heritage. Since he is ‘the firstborn from the dead’ (Col. 1:18), he is the founder of a new humanity. The resurrection age has burst forth, and as the first who has risen from among those who had fallen asleep he is the firstfruits who guarantees the future resurrection of others (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). Using slightly different language, Hebrews shows that Christ’s supremacy has been confirmed in his exaltation. (O’Brien, 70)

The quote is from Deuteronomy 32:43 in the LXX, “Delight, O heavens, with him and worship him, you sons of God. Delight, O nations, with his people and prevail with him, all you angels of God. For he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will avenge and he will repay the enemies with vengeance, and he will repay those who hate, and the Lord will cleanse out the land of his people.’ ”” (Dt 32:43).

That closes out the Song of Moses, in some translation of the LXX it translates sons of God as Angels.

The AH interprets it Christological as referring to the Sons exaltation in the new age in his enthronement and inauguration.

We see this pictured in Rev. 5 with the lamb, who alone is worthy to open the scroll. At that everyone in heaven worships.

“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!”” (Re 5:11–12).

The inferior worship him who was worthy of worship.

Angels routinely commanded men not to worship them for they were like them, that is creatures.

But the Son is not a creature, but the firstborn Son. God of God, very God of very God, and worthy of worship.

Angels are ministers

Further the position of the angels is inferior to the Son because their task is inferior.

On the one hand, angels are…but on the other hand the Son is…

Quote is from Psalm 10:4

That psalm emphasizes Yahweh as creator.

The angels He has appointed as instruments for accomplishing his providential control His creation

But the Son is a king

On the other hand the Son sits as king.

Cites psalm 45:6-7

It is a royal wedding psalm presenting an idealized king, which the AH interprets as the Son, and the queen/bride is the church in the OT/NT.

Kings are far superior to ministers who carry out their will. Kings are bosses, ministers are just employees.

Because He is Eternal and Unchanging

The third set of two citations emphasizes the eternal and unchangeable character of the Son.

Attributes which never apply to creatures, only to God.

He is the Eternal and unchangable

cites Psalm 102:25-27

Presents “an astoundingly high view of Lord Jesus Christ…If one just considers the quote…the Son is given a divine name (Lord) and is considered the creator (founded the earth), eternal (you remain, your years will not fail), involved in the consummation (you will roll them up), and immutable (you are the same).” (Cara, 76)

If you went back to Psalm 102 and read it in its entirety, you would see that the AH identifies the LORD of Psalm 102 with the Son.

The AH has a high Christology which readily identifies the Son with Yahweh, the covenant LORD.

The point of comparison is the Son’s preeminence over creation, that he existed before all things, and by Him all things come into being.

And he will be there long after everything is changed.

‘Whether at the beginning or the end of the visible creation, from protology to eschatology, the Son who is Creator is present, active and unchanging’ (O’Brien, 76)

The AH may interpret “heavens” in v. 10 as the creation of the angels, who inhabit that realm and thus as inferior to the Son since they are His handiwork.

v. 13 he cites Psalm 110:1

Argument from silence

No angel is ever referred to this way (The LORD said to my Lord)

right-hand place of authority and power and ruling.

Until can mean it continues even after all enemies are under His feet.

But Angels are sent out for service, unlike the Son who sits and rules.

They serve believers.

So what…

The main exhortation of the AH expository preaching in this text will come next week.

But it is enough to say that He is making an argument for how much more.

If you received the OT scriptures as mediated by angels, and Christ is greater than angels, then in these last days you should receive with even higher esteem the revelation God gives through His Son.

The doxological import of this catena of OT texts: we must praise the Son for He is far superior to even the angels.

Further many of us will have our assumptions challenged over how the AH reads the OT scriptures.

He sees Christ, where we often miss Him.

We need to be careful that our conception of who Christ is conforms to scripture.

The Son is God, eternal and unchangable, creator, sustainer, ruler, God and Lord.

Who is to be worshipped as such, for he is superior to anything in all of creation, including angels.

Amen.