Hebrews is a sermon saying, “Don’t give up. Stay the
course. A bad day with Jesus is better than the best day with the world. Jesus
is the best. Period.
The sermon bursts out of the gate at full gallop,
passing along seven descriptions of Christ’s divinity and supremacy.
Jesus is:
1.
The Word became flesh
2.
Heir of all
3.
Creator of all
4.
Exact radiance of God
5.
All powerful
6.
Perfect Sacrifice for sin
7.
King of kings, Lord of lords
All of that before even getting to verse four.
Then, after establishing the divinity and supremacy of
Christ, the Holy Spirit loops angels into the picture.
Hebrews 1:4, having become so much better
than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they.
Why mention angels?
Well, He opened by addressing how prophets
relayed His messages (Heb. 1:1).
Now He addresses another vessel that relays His
message.
Angels, the word means, messenger.
The Jews of that time esteemed angels as the highest
beings second only to God.
There’s even evidence that a certain sect around
Qumran claimed the archangel Michael’s authority was equal to or surpassing
that of the Messiah.
So, without delay, He sets the record
straight. Jesus is so much better than the angels.
The times and names and places have changed, but the
deceiving demons remain to this day.
Today two deceived religions say Jesus is equal to
angels. Mormons (Latter Day Saints) and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1 Timothy 4:1, Now the
Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
Galatians 1:8, But even if we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you,
let him be accursed.
Next, by quoting several O.T. Scriptures that they
were already familiar with, the preacher of Hebrews drives home the point that
Jesus is superior to angels.
Hebrews 1: 5
For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?
And again:
“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?
Son of God:
Jesus is
the Son, Psalm 2:7, 2 Sam. 7:14
God said to the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of David, “You
are My Son.” He never said that to any angel.
The Old Testament is clear; God has a Son. The New
Testament is clearer; His name is Jesus.
Jesus was baptized and as He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22.
At the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was glowing,
talking to Elijah and Moses. Peter, bless his heart, interrupted them, “Awesome
let’s set up camp!” God interrupted Pete and said, “This is My beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him.” In other words, for Pete’s sake
Pete, shut up and listen to My Son.
Today, Judaism and Islam have trouble acknowledging
Jesus as God’s Son.
Islam says their god, allah, has no children. It’s sad
because everyone longs to fill the void that only a loving heavenly Father can
fill. So, those who follow Islam to the letter fight like an orphan trying to
impress an absentee father. If they stay the course, instead of turning to the
Father of Light, they turn to the father of lies, and act out his character, of
killing, stealing, destroying. Gaza. LA riots. Antisemitism around the
world.
Wait, I have friends that are muslim, and they’re
super nice. And some of the rudest people I’ve ever met are Christians.
Some nice people are muslim in name only. Some rude
people are Christian in name only.
The spirit behind Islam goes out conquering
and to conquer, with a goal of world domination. Rev. 6:2. Antichrist.
Christianity is led by the Spirit of adoption whereby
we cry “Abba Father” with a goal of making sons and daughters of God. In other
words: a great big, worldwide, noisy, messy, happy, loving, family of God,
heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:14-17.
As for the Jews, they should know God has a Son, their
Scripture; the Old Testament is clear.
Historically they knew. Writings found amongst the
Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that in the first century, they believed that the
Messiah was the Son of God.
Alas, for the most part, the Jews have never accepted
Jesus as the Messiah.
Okay, now let’s look at the phrase: “Today, I have
begotten You.” (Quoted from Psalm. 2:7).
Jesus didn’t become the Son of God that
day. In His eternal position with the Father, He always has been the
Son. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Heb. 13:8, Jesus Christ the same,
yesterday, today, and forever.
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. So,
where else does the Bible discuss this verse?
Acts 13:32-33, And we declare to you glad
tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for
us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it
is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You.’
This text in Acts ties the resurrection
with “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.”
The Bible interprets itself, and Romans 8:29 sheds
more light. Right after the famous verse, Romans 8:28, God works all things
together for good, we’re told that Jesus will be the firstborn
among many brethren.
So, putting all that together we can say:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, so that today (and every day since Resurrection Day), Jesus
is not only the only begotten, but the firstborn among a
great big noisy messy happy, loving, joy filled, family of God.
6 But when He again brings the Firstborn into the
world...
Speaking of the Firstborn—it’s like the
Lord just chimed in and said, “amen!”
Thank You, Jesus.
Jesus is the Firstborn, Psalm 89:27. “Also
I will make Him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”
6...He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says:
“Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.”
Jesus is worthy of Worship,
Psalm 97:7, Psalm104:4.
No angels, as mighty as they may be, are worthy of
worship.
John tried it but was stopped on the spot. The angel
said: “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your
brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship
God!” Rev. 19:10, 22:9.
Angels aren't to be worshipped, but are to
be, worshippers of God. So are we.
Speaking of angels worshipping
the Firstborn...Merry CHRISTmas.
Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to
you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12
And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling
cloths, lying in a manger.”
13
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God and saying:
14
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward
men!”
On that note.
If you were there back then, hearing this message for
the first time, at this point the preacher’s voice would’ve raised to a
climactic level. When he referred to Psalm 104, it would’ve triggered a
celebration in the listeners’ memory, like when you just heard, “Glory to
God in the highest!”
Listen to the first four verses celebrating the
awesomeness of the Almighty:
Psalm
104:1-4
Bless
the Lord, O my soul!
O
Lord my God, You are very great:
You
are clothed with honor and majesty,
2
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who
stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who
makes the clouds His chariot,
Who
walks on the wings of the wind,
4
Who makes His angels spirits,
His
ministers a flame of fire.
Hebrews quotes verse four, telling us that angels may
be swift as the wind and fast as lightning, but only the Lord is
worthy to be praised.
8 But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Christ is Sovereign, Divine, Holy and
anointed with joy. Ps. 45:6-7.
This is one of the clearest descriptions of Christ’s
Sovereignty, Divinity and Holiness.
Throne, scepter and kingdom, speak
to His Sovereignty as King of kings and Lord of lords.
O God, forever and ever, speaks
to Christ’s Eternal Divinity.
Loving righteousness and hating
lawlessness, reflect His Holiness.
Now for the cherry on top.
Not only is He, Sovereign, Divine and Holy,
but His very character is anointed with joy, gladness.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus officially started His ministry
by reading from Isaiah 61:1-3
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has
anointed Me
To preach good
tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal
the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty
to the captives,
And the opening of
the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance
of our God;
To comfort all who
mourn,
3 To console those
who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty
for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called
trees of righteousness,
The planting of
the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Kings and Priests and prophets were anointed with oil.
Jesus, The King, The Priest, The Prophet, is anointed
with the oil of joy. (Isaiah 61:3).
It's glad tidings of great joy, that our God is not a
grumpy God.
Psalm 16:11; You will show me the path of
life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right
hand are pleasures forevermore.
Romans 14:17; For the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the
Holy Ghost.
John 15:11; “These things I have spoken to
you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
He took off Divinity, for humanity.
He set aside Sovereignty to walk obediently.
He was tempted in every way, yet He remained Holy.
He endured the cross, for the joy set before Him, so
He could be the Firstborn among a big, noisy, messy, happy, joy filled,
loving, family.
So that One Sweet Day... He could look across His wedding banquet
table and see... you.
That reminds me. Originally, the Psalm quoted here was
a wedding song for the king of Israel. Psalm 45.
However, right now, it’s just for you, if you are His Ekklésia,
the Bride of Christ, the Church.
10 And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”
Jesus Remains the Same, Psalm 102:25-27.
Gen. 1:1; In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth, but everything you see, is growing old. All will
perish, BUT NOT JESUS He remains the same, yesterday, today, and
forever. Heb. 13:8.
By the end of HIStory, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth will pass away (Rev. 21:1). He who sits on the throne will say, “Behold I make all things new.” Rev. 21:5.
In this ever shifting, unstable world, Jesus is the
ONLY secure, steady, stable, unmovable, unshakable, unwavering, unchanging,
forever faithful, loving, kind and true, ANCHOR for our soul.
Jesus says to His disciples, “I will not leave you
orphans, I will come to you.” He comes, by way of His Holy Spirit.
According to Jesus His Holy Spirit is our...
Helper, Teacher, Guide, and Spirit of Truth; He abides in us, reminds us, testifies through us, and tells us of things to come. John 14:15-16, 15:26, 16:13.
And that, is just a small introduction.
He has a whole basket full of fruit, just
waiting for you to taste and see that the Lord is Good. Being filled with His
Holy Spirit produces His fruit which is:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23.
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit can be seen in countenance and behavior.
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
King of kings, Lord of lords, Psalm 110:1.
As mentioned in our prior study in Heb. 1:3, Jesus, finished
His work and sat down at the right hand of the Father (that’s the place of
honor, authority and power), as King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Only one angel ever thought those words could apply to
himself. Then, lucifer and a third of the angels quickly found out how wrong
they were and how inferior they are to:
Jesus the Son, the Firstborn, the One
worthy of worship, the Sovereign, Divine, Holy One anointed with joy, the never
changing, ever Faithful and True, King of kings and Lord of lords.
The devil and his demons have a place reserved for
them in the lake of fire. Perhaps it’s called Footstool Lake. 😊
He has a place reserved for you, I pray it’s not
Footstool Lake.
Have You answered His nonstop knocking?
Have you obeyed His command to follow?
Your reservation can be sealed in a place prepared for you, in His Father’s house, if you RSVP His invitation. (Repent, Receive Salvation Very
Promptly, Purposefully, Personally).
Just image your place, within walking distance of His
place, at the right hand of the Father.
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to
minister for those who will inherit salvation?
One last word about angels.
They are inferior to Christ. But they have a holy and
honored ministry to those who will inherit salvation.
Just think, if you are Christ’s, you have angels
watching over you.
ANGELS:
Hebrews 13:2, Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
It's awesome to imagine angels among us, but nothing compared to knowing, Jesus in us.
Angels are spirits, invisible to human eyes, but can
incarnate, take on flesh. They are made of cells, small enough to
invisibly flow through walls like water through a screen. However, when they
need to be seen, they simply enlarge their cells and voila there they are,
angels among us. (At least that's what I wrote in the fiction novel, The
Voice.)
Someday we’ll see the angels, and know how they do
that, and be able to do it too.
But that’ll be a small matter compared to seeing our
Savior face to face and worshipping Him with all the angels of heaven, forever
and ever. Hallelujah, amen.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, what a day that’ll be when You
our Savior we shall see. You see us now, we long to see You too. Open our souls
to commune with You intimately, continually, to truly know You, so Your Love
and Light and Fruit, flow through us to all those You’ve given us, so none are
lost.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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1:5-14
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Hebrews 1:5-14
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