The Mighty One Who Is More

1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.

2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.

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

You are my Son;

today I have become your Father,

or again,

I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son?

6 Again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

And let all God’s angels worship him.

7 And about the angels he says:

He makes his angels winds,

and his servants a fiery flame,

8 but to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever,

and the scepter of your kingdom

is a scepter of justice.

9 You have loved righteousness

and hated lawlessness;

this is why God, your God,

has anointed you

with the oil of joy

beyond your companions.

10 And:

In the beginning, Lord,

you established the earth,

and the heavens are the works of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain.

They will all wear out like clothing;

12 you will roll them up like a cloak,

and they will be changed like clothing.

But you are the same,

and your years will never end.

13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:

Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

Questions on the Bible ::

What Does It Say?

What Does It Mean?

How Does It Apply?

Will I Trust What God Is Saying?

More than any other book in the New Testament, Hebrews ties Old Testament history and practices to the life and ministry of Jesus. Just as Jesus Christ taught that the OT was fulfilled in Himself (; ), so the author of Hebrews taught that the old covenant was brought to completion in the new covenant (Hb 7:20—8:13). Hebrews also shows that because the old covenant was fulfilled in the new covenant, the new is actually “better” (Hb 7:22). The new covenant was made superior by the ministry of Jesus Christ.

The text of Hebrews does not identify its author. We know the author was a 2nd-generation Christian because he said he received the confirmed message of Christ from “those who heard” Jesus Himself (). Scholars have proposed Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Timothy, Philip, Peter, Silas, Jude, and Aristion as possible authors.

The book of Hebrews was written before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. The destruction of the temple would have been mentioned if it had already occurred, because it would have strengthened the letter’s argument about Christ’s sacrifice bringing an end to the temple sacrificial system. Hebrews was most likely written during the persecution under Nero (AD 64—68), perhaps just before the destruction of the temple.

The author of Hebrews wanted to exalt Jesus Christ, a desire indicated in the consistent and repetitive usage of the Greek word kreitton, which means “more excellent.” This word is the common thread that binds together the complex and subtle theological arguments of the book. Specifically, the author described the superiority of the new covenant to the old covenant in order to teach or remind the readers that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the law and of God’s promises in the Old Testament.

The Aim of Today’s Sermon ::

Jesus is the mighty God who is always right & righteous in all He is and does.

The Book of Hebrews is ::

· A book for evaluation

· A book with exhortation

o Beware of drifting from the Word (2:1—4)

o Beware of doubting the Word (3:7—4:13)

o Beware of dullness toward the Word (5:11—6:20)

o Beware of despising the Word (10:26—39)

o Beware of defying the Word (12:14—29)

· A book of examination

o Revelation

o Creation

o The Trinity

o The Relationship of the Old & New Testament

o Christology

o Atonement

· A book of expectation

· A book in exaltation

o The original glory of God belongs to Jesus

o The coming empire belongs to Jesus

o The creative agency belongs to Jesus

o The sustaining power belongs to Jesus

o The redemptive work belongs to Jesus

o The exalting worth & excellent grace of Jesus

Jesus is the mighty God who is always right & righteous in all He is and does.

As the One who is always right and always righteous, He is far more excellent, more superior, more perfect…He is the Mighty One who is better.

The goal of the author is Hebrews is to show that when we are talking about Jesus we are not discussing:

· A lesser version of God

· A better version of man

· An in-between version of something else

To present the reader with this case that shows that when we are looking at Jesus we are not looking at one of these types of categories. We are looking at the Almighty…the second person of the Trinitarian God-head.

To be clear on this subject we must learn/re-learn:

· Who this Jesus is

· What this Jesus has done (word/deed)

· Why this Jesus has significance for all.

The person of Christ & the work of Christ:

· The glory of Christ

· The grace of Christ

· The gospel of Christ

This helps us to keep the right things right by keeping the first things first.

It is right for us to worship Jesus because He is the Mighty One.

I. The Mighty Name of Jesus (1:4)

The first three verses of Hebrews speak of the grand narrative of Scripture.

· Creation

· Fall

· Redemption

· Restoration

They also speak of the grand narrator of Scripture.

· Creator

· Judge

· Redeemer

· King

Q :: What’s Up With The Angels Discussion?

· The discussion isn’t random.

· The discussion is relevant.

o Literature of the history demonstrates an intense focus on the angelic.

§ Gnosticism

§ Eschatology

· The discussion is on the relationship of the supernatural.

· The discussion is about recalibration.

Q :: How does the discussion of Jesus fit in with the focus on angels?

Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. --

So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs. --

But we do see Jesus ​— ​made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone ​— ​crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. --

- Jesus Name Is Greater Than Any Created Being

- Jesus Title Is Greater Than Any Creature’s Status

II. The Mighty Worth of Jesus (1:5—6)

The writer does something that is very healthy for us to emulate and replicate as disciples.

We see the balance of reading Scripture in the light of the rest of Scripture.

And if we are going to hold up Jesus to these other intriguing supernatural beings…we must look at the difference as it is sourced/founded in Scripture.

The passages come from the major divisions of the Old Testament Scriptures.

· – The Writings

· – The Prophets

· – The Law

Q :: Who Are / What Are Angels?

· They are spirit beings that are capable of appearing in human form

Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. --

· They appeared mesmerizing at the resurrection of Jesus

There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. --

· They are highly intelligent & have emotions

I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents. --

· Angels are created beings

For everything was created by him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities —

all things have been created through him and for him. --

· Angels do not marry and are unable to procreate

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. --

· Three Angels are named (5 Texts naming Michael; 4 Texts naming Gabriel, and 1 naming Lucifer meaning “fallen day star.”)

Angels serve God to do His bidding. They are both spectators and participants in God’s mighty works, both in redemptive and judgmental.

According to Scripture ::

· they served Jesus in the midst of His suffering

· they are placed by God in watching over His church,

· they were used of God at times in answering the prayers of His people

· they were called in delivering from dangers

· they were presented to give encouragement

· they are also revealed to announce judgment & to inflict it

The author uses a rhetorical argument to make the point that God never makes any claim of son-ship for any of His angels.

An angel may be called to do God’s bidding as a messenger or a servant but they are never called as God’s Son.

· Jesus has always been the eternal Son

· Jesus became the Messianic Son

And it is the angels that make much of Jesus… Even the fallen ones tremble at Jesus.

when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

And let all God’s angels worship him. --

I will also make him my firstborn,

greatest of the kings of the earth. --

It has been alleged that firstborn means that Jesus was the first creation of God. Does this mean that Jesus Christ was a created being?

The Word can have different meanings ::

The Greek word prototokos, which is translated as firstborn, can refer to different things. It could refer either to something or someone that is first in order of time, such as a firstborn child, or it could refer to someone who is preeminent in rank. Or it could refer to someone who was both firstborn and preeminent in rank. It all depends upon the context.

David, The Youngest Son, Was Called The Firstborn…

In this example the term firstborn obviously speaks of preeminence in rank. David was preeminent among the kings of Israel. However he was not the oldest, or firstborn, in his family. David was in fact the youngest. Therefore in this context, the idea of firstborn among the kings has the idea of preeminence and does not have the idea of time.

This is the description of Preeminence that is found also here in Hebrews and Colossians.

In the passage in Colossians the idea of Jesus as firstborn means that He is preeminent over creation not that He is a created being. This can be seen from the verses that follow.

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For everything was created by him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities —

all things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things,

and by him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;

he is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

so that he might come to have

first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have

all his fullness dwell in him,

and through him to reconcile

everything to himself,

whether things on earth or things in heaven,

by making peace

through his blood, shed on the cross. --

Jesus is the Creator of all things. Thus, He could not have been the first thing created.

Jesus Has Preeminence Over The Dead ::

Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. --

Jesus was the first person in time to come back from the dead never to die again. In addition, He is preeminent over the dead and death itself. Jesus said that He has the keys, or the authority, to death and Hades.

Jesus Is The Firstborn Over All Creation ::

This translation emphasizes that Jesus is preeminent "over" His creation. This is to be preferred to the translation of "the firstborn of all creation" which gives the impression that Jesus is a created being.

Jesus is called the firstborn of all creation. This does not mean that He is a created being. The idea is that Jesus has preeminence over all creation.

The word translated, "firstborn" can refer to preeminence in rank or preeminence in time. The context will determine. In the Psalms David is called the "firstborn" among the kings even though he was the youngest son of his father. In this context, firstborn can only refer to rank.

Jesus is called the firstborn in the sense that He is over all of creation. This is made clear by the following verses in which it says that He is the Creator. Therefore a better translation would be that Jesus is the firstborn, "over all of creation."

Consequently there is no idea here of Jesus being someone who was created.

They worship the Christ King! Everything they do is at His bidding and for His glory!

And He is worthy of such adoration!

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. They said with a loud voice,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered

to receive power and riches

and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and blessing!

I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say,

Blessing and honor and glory and power

be to the one seated on the throne,

and to the Lamb, forever and ever! --

III. The Mighty Throne of Jesus (1:7—12)

· His Ultimate Sovereignty (v. 8)

to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever, --

· His Identified Divinity (v. 8)

to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever, --

· His Eternal Existency (v. 8)

to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever, --

· His Complete Authority (v. 8—9)

to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever,

and the scepter of Your kingdom --

· His Amazing Vibrancy (v. 8—9)

but to the Son:

Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever,

and the scepter of your kingdom

is a scepter of justice.

You have loved righteousness

and hated lawlessness;

this is why God, your God,

has anointed you

with the oil of joy

beyond your companions. --

· His Excellent Creativity (v. 10)

And:

In the beginning, Lord,

you established the earth,

and the heavens are the works of your hands; --

· His Directed Victory (v. 11—12)

they will perish, but you remain.

They will all wear out like clothing;

you will roll them up like a cloak,

and they will be changed like clothing. --

· His Indescribable Immutability (v. 12)

But you are the same,

and your years will never end. --

IV. The Mighty Reign of Jesus (1:13—14)

Now to which of the angels has he ever said:

Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool?

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation? --

· Christ’s Sovereignty

· Christ’s Subjects

· Christ’s Sentence

· Christ’s Service