Hebrews
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Superiority of the Person of Christ
The Superiority of the Person of Christ
Heb.1:1-4:16.
The Superiority of Christ over the Angels
The Superiority of Christ over the Angels
Heb. 1:4-14.
Before we attempt to expound on this verse, I think it would do us good to answer a few questions,
Why does the Holy Spirit here introduce the “angels?”
In the next section (chapter 3) He shows the superiority of Christ over Moses.
to have commenced with Moses, would not have gone back far enough,
for Moses the mediator, received the law by “the disposition of angels” (Acts 7:53).
What was His particular purpose in showing Christ’s superiority over them?
Paul had to establish Christ’s superiority over all created beings, by showing that He was much better than they ever could be.
The angels are described in God’s Word as “excelling in strength,” which implies being above man,
To prove that God the Son was superior to angels would have been superficial, but
to show that the Son of man has been exalted high above them was essential if the Hebrews were to ascribe to Him the glory which is due to Him.
Paul had to deal with the fact that The old order or economy was given by “the disposition of angels”
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Exactly what this means perhaps we cannot be quite sure, though there are several scriptures which throw some light on this, in
Deuteronomy 33:2.
Psalm 68:17.
Galatians 3:19.
And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, And rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And he came with ten thousands of saints: From his right hand went a fiery law for them.
we read in
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
Finally, Galatians 3:19 says,
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
A.W Pink said this about Paul’s challenge in convincing them
“Thus, the glory of Jehovah at Sinai (the beginning of the Mosaic economy) was an angelic one, and the employment of angels in the giving of the law stamped a dignity and importance upon it.” - A.W Pink
But the legal dispensation has been set aside by a new and higher glory revealed in “the Son,”
Hebrews 1 shows us the angels subservient to Him, and not only so, closes with the statement that they are now the servants to the present “heirs of salvation!”
Jews regarded them as the most exalted of all God’s creatures.
And rightly so.
It was as “the Angel of the covenant” (Mal. 3:1), the “Angel of the Lord” (Ex. 3:2), that Jehovah had appeared most frequently unto them.
From earliest times angelic ministration had been a chief instrument of Divine power and medium of communication.
It was “the Angel of the Lord” who delivered Hagar (Gen. 16:7), and who appeared to Abraham.
Angels delivered Lot (Genesis 19:1).
It was the Lord’s “angel” who protected Israel on the pass-over-night (Num. 20:16).
Because of this the Jews esteemed angels more highly than man.
To be told that the Messiah Himself, God the Son incarnate, had become man, made Him, in their eyes, inferior to the angels.
So it was necessary to show them from their own Scriptures, that the Mediator, God manifest in flesh, possessed a dignity and glory far excelling that of the angels.
A.W Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews, (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1954), 37-38
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Christ is Superior to the Angels
So how is He superior?
He is Superior because of His Name
He is Superior because of His Name
To truly understand why Paul really had to make sure he hit on the angels, we have to understand how important they really were to the Hebrews.
Consider the excellency of the “angels.”
Angels are the highest of all God’s creatures: heaven is their native home (Matt. 24:36).
They “excel in strength” (Ps. 103:20).
They are God’s “ministers” (Psalm 104:4).
they are said to “minister unto the Ancient of days” (Daniel 7:10).
They are “holy” (Matthew 25:31).
Their countenances are like “lightning,” and their raiment is as white as snow (Matt. 28:3).
They surround God’s throne (Rev. 5:11).
But glorious as the angels are, elevated as is their station, great as is their work, they are, nevertheless, in subjection to the Lord Jesus as Man; for in His human nature God has enthroned Him high above all.
Arthur Walkington Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews, (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1954), 39.
More Excellent because of His Authority
More Excellent because of His Authority
“Being made so much better than the angels.”
This draws our attention back to v.3
“Purged our sins”
Through Isaiah God had promised that the “Man of sorrows” who was to be “cut off out of the land of the living” for the transgression of His people, should be richly rewarded for His travail:
(Isa. 53:12
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
In Psalm 68:18
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; Yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
In Philippians 2:9-11
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“As He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (v. 4).
We think a name is of little importance:
but God always taught His people to attach great importance to names.
Just look throughout His Word and do a name study and you will find that most if not all names mean something of importance.
The first petition in the Lord’s prayer is, ‘Hallowed be Thy name;’
And God told Isreal that if they would honor His name then he would bestow all the blessings and privileges which he has to offer.
A name is the outward expression and the pledge and seal of all that a person really and substantially is;
My last name says a lot about me
It is my heritage
It is my inheritance
It is my legacy
So when it says that the Son of God has received a higher name than angels,
not only in dignity, but in kind, He is high above every created being.
Christ’s right to having a name better than the angels is two fold:
First, Because of the union between His humanity and His deity
Second, as a reward for His mediatorial sufferings and unparalleled obedience to His Father.
More Excellent because of His Affirmation
More Excellent because of His Affirmation
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
The Father called only Christ by this name.
God Himself Affirms this fact.
I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee.
Ps.2, was a famous Messianic psalm, many understood it to be fulfillment in a future day by a decedent of David who would be crowned king.
The first public declaration of Jesus being called this was in Mk. 1:11
And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The fulfilment of this was at His Resurrection: Eph. 1:20
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
No angel was ever called the “Son” of God
So we see that He is superior to the angels because of His name
By Authority
By Affirmation
His name is “Son,” while all that can be said of angels is that they are messengers. How dare anyone ever think of demoting him to the position of an archangel, much less to a perfect man!
R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, Preaching the Word, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 1:37.
He is Superior Because of His Honor
He is Superior Because of His Status