The Divine Son (Part 1)

Introduction

Who can bring God to us and us to God?

The author of Hebrews has opened his letter with 4 verses that gave us 7 reasons why the Son of God is the perfect person to bring God’s Word to us. He showed us how Jesus, as a human being descended from David, inherited God’s promises to David’s dynasty and so became a Son of God through that means. Last week, we saw that Jesus is the Son of God in two ways which we may call Jesus Divine Sonship and his Messianic Sonship.

Divine Sonship refers to Christ’s eternal identity as the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son (John 1:14).

The Messianic Son refers to Jesus role as the Son of David, being adopted and made heir as a fulfillment of God’s promises to his people.

We have to understand that when the Jews thought about the Christ as the Son of God, they were thinking of him as the Messianic Son. The Son that God calls David and David’s dynasty in passages that the author is about to quote from Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7. As modern Christians, we tend to think primarily about Jesus as the Divine Son, but here the author of Hebrews is doing something amazing. He is taking the Jewish idea of a messianic Son and showing that Son to also be God himself. What the OT says about the human Son of God leads us to acknowledge him as being fully God. This is the foundation of our doctrine of the divine and human natures of Christ.

But it is important that we think of Jesus as the Messianic Son of God because it is only this this way that we, through union with him, become children of God ourselves.

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

This is why we may speak of Jesus being the only Son of God, and yet we may be sons of God.

I’m repeating this again today because the author of Hebrews goes on referring to the Son in both senses as he backs up a claim he made at the end of verse 4: that his name is more highly exalted than God’s heavenly messengers, the angels.

To Which of the Angels?

And this is the point that the author of Hebrews is going to be making in our text today. The rest of the chapter is surrounded by a single question: to which of the angels? In the first four verses, the Author began by comparing Jesus to the prophets of the Old Testament and ended by comparing Jesus to the angels, God’s heavenly messengers. In the OT, God delivered his speech through heavenly messengers to human messengers to bring to the people. Now, God’s complete Word has been delivered through this Son that is better than the prophets and now, as we are beginning to see, better than the Angels.

This is perhaps where the readers might wonder. It’s not a big leap to believe that the future Son of David who would establish God’s Kingdom forever would be better than the prophets, but better than angels? This Messiah must be human because he has to be the Son of David, and Psalm 8 says that God made men lower than the angels. Angels are spiritual beings who come directly from God Himself. They are glorious and the very sight of them can send such fear into a human being so as to put them into a catetonic state. How is it that this human king, Christ though he be, can be greater than the angels? The Author of Hebrews has gone quite far in his high view of Christ, but how can he back it up? How can we know that Christ is greater than the Angels?

That is the question that the author takes the rest of this chapter to answer, and what we are left with is obvious. If the Son is the creator and sustainer of the universe, if he has the very nature and glory of God, if he sits in majesty above the angels, than there is only really one conclusion: this Son, this Jesus, is God himself.

To prove this, the Author quotes to us 7 OT passages that, through a masterful use of Scripture, make it clear from the OT that the Son of God, the Messiah, had to be above the angels and indeed, had to be God.

Today I Have Begotten You

In these quotations, the Author of Hebrews asks us, would God ever say anything like this to an angel? with the implied answer being NO.

The first of these passages is from Psalm 2:7. This Psalm is likely a coronation song for the Kings in David’s Dynasty. It is based on the next passage that the Author quotes in 2 Samuel 7. Psalm 2 is a victorious Psalm, contrasting the rebellion earthly kings against the Anointed One to whom God promises to give all the nations of the earth.

Today I have begotten you reflects this Messianic Sonship. Again, we know that there was never a time when the Son wasn’t the Son. But we also know that Jesus stripped himself of divine glory to take on human form. Phil 2:7

Philippians 2:7 ESV

but (Jesus) emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Notice that Paul tells us that Jesus took the form of a servant, not a Son. The Son of God took on the form of a servant to fill the role of the Son of God as a man for humanity’s sake.

Did God ever give such a role to angels? At first, the answer may seem like a yes. Angels and other heavenly beings are called the sons of God multiple times in the OT. However, never was another heavenly being picked out as the Son of God. The sonship of the Messiah is unique as he becomes the heir of all things and is seated at the right hand of the Father. When did God ever promise an angel to ask him for the world as his inheritance? When did God make an angel the heir of all things? When did God pick out one heavenly being and say specifically, this one will have a unique relationship with me as a son has with his father.

The point is clear: the Son holds a unique position that no angel was ever given. The Son is greater than the angels and more than a mere human.

The Relationship Between the Son and Angels

In verse 6, the third of seven OT passages the Author quotes here, the tone really changes. The first two passages focus on the Son’s unique relationship with God, now the focus is on the Son’s relationship with the angels. This steps up his proof that the Son is greater than the angels by quoting Deut 32:43, and its a pretty solid piece of evidence. After all, if the angels (or gods as they are called in Hebrew) are commanded to worship him, he must be of a much greater standing then they. In fact, it must mean that he is the only true God.

These words come from the end of the the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. It was a song that was meant to remind Israel of their covenant with YHWH.

Brings his firstborn into the world - the word world here is misleading as we tend to think of it meaning this world. ‘World’ here means ‘a place of habitation’ and in this context, with the angels called to worship him, and that the heavens themselves are called to worship him in Deuteronomy, the world here refers to the heavenly world. So, even though this is a quotation from Deuteronomy 32, the author of Hebrews implies the context of Daniel 7 when the Son of Man is victoriously exalted by God in heaven.

There is a connection here between God victoriously leading his people into the promised land in Deuteronomy and the Son of Man victoriously seated at the right hand of the Father. It is clear that the victory of the Son of Man and the deliverance of the God’s people by the Messiah is greater than God’s deliverance of Israel into Canaan. If God is to be praised for his great deliverance of Israel, so the Son is to be praised for his great victory and deliverance as well. And so, the author of Hebrews interprets this passage from Deuteronomy as referring to Christ in his heavenly exaltation.

Conclusion

In these three OT passages, the author of Hebrews convincingly makes his point: the Son of God must be greater than the angels and all other heavenly beings! You don’t even need to NT to know this, the point is proved using OT passages alone.

Ok, so Jesus is better than angels, but why is this so important?

It once again reinforces the point that there is no communication from God, no revelation or speech more compelling than the one revealed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Take every claim that any religion makes at face value and you will not find a more convincing argument that God has spoken than the one that Hebrews makes. Jesus is the Son of God, and that alone makes the Gospel authoritative. It is necessary that we take it seriously.

This doesn’t just mean that we be careful to not leave the core teachings of Christianity, but also that we take the call of the Gospel intensely and exceptionally serious. How can we be casual about our faith when God has revealed himself like this? God has spoken to us by his Son, and listening to him should be all our life is about.

It informs our relationship with Christ Jesus as one of worship. When doubting Thomas was confronted with the risen Christ, he rightly bowed down in worship, calling Jesus “My Lord and my God”. If Angels and heavenly beings the Hebrew OT calls gods are commanded to worship the Son, so must we. Jesus deserves your daily and heartfelt worship, and in giving him your devotion you will find life. In Deuteronomy, Israel was given the choice of life or death, life for covenant obedience and death for ignoring their God. The same choice is given to you, though with much higher stakes. Devote your worship to the Son of God and follow him and find life, or ignore him and find death. He is the Author of life, and you will find life in no other way.

The Hope of the Gospel is crystal clear as we continue to explore who Jesus Christ is. Through Him we know God. Through him with have been united to God. Through union with him by faith we can be called children of God.

Are you a disciple of the Son of God? Do you believe him, follow him, obey him, worship him, and love him? Allow this passage and these OT passages to lead you to Jesus, whether for the first time or for the ten-thousanth time. As we will see in chapter 4, his throne is one of compassion and mercy for sinners. Come to it and know God in the closest way possible.