Better Than the Angels- Part 2
HEBREWS 1:4-14
NAS Hebrews 1:4-14 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”? 6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.” 10 And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands; 11 They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, 12 And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies A footstool for Thy feet “? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
THE WRITER TO THE HEBREWS USED 7 O.T. PASSAGES to convincingly establish the truth that Jesus is better than the angels, “far better…”
THE O.T. QUOTES ARE FROM THE SEPTUAGINT, and not from the O.T. Hebrew Scriptures. The Septuagint (LXX) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew O.T. The LXX was basically “the Bible” for the ancient Jews. Even Jesus Himself quoted frequently from the LXX. So, if you look up these O.T. verses in your Bibles, you will find a different wording. The writer is not using early Christian writings to win his point; he is much more effectively using the Jews’ own Scriptures. He was, thus, presenting a very strong argument. They had to listen attentively to their own Scripture.
THE FIRST 2 O.T. QUOTES ARE FOUND IN V. 5…
NAS Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?
THE FIRST QUOTE IS FROM PSALM 2:7…
NAS Psalm 2:7 I (the king) will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.
THE SECOND O.T. QUOTE IS FROM 2 SAMUEL 7:14…
NAS 2 Samuel 7:14 I (Yahweh) will be a father to him (David) and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
THE THIRD IS FOUND IN V. 6 AND IS FROM PSALM 97:7…
NAS Hebrews 1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
HERE’S PSALM 97:7 IN THE NAS…
NAS Psalm 97:7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods.
“GODS’ IS LOWER CASE “G” AND REFERS TO ANGELS…
NAS Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
THE SEPTUAGINT READS “ANGELS” NOT “GODS”… Allow me to remind you again that the O.T. quotes in Hebrews 1 are from the LXX (symbols abbreviating the Septuagint)…
I MUST ADD THAT THERE IS DISCUSSION WHETHER OR NOT Psalm 97:7 is the verse of reference. Many scholars point out that Deuteronomy 32:43, although at first glance appears to bear little connection to Hebrews 1:6, is really the verse the author of Hebrews is referencing…
NAS Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people.”
I THINK IN ORDER TO TRULY UNDERSTAND the apparent confusion here one must be familiar with the highly Jewish ways of the early church. Passages were debated and teachings intended to clarify arose and these teachings were taught alongside Scripture. The N.T. has a heavy rabbinic connection. All in all, there is no reason to discount Deuteronomy 32:43. “It would be natural for the author to see a typological relation between Israel’s entry into the promised land and Christ’s exaltation to the heavenly realm.” – Ellingworth…
THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE IN V. 6 THAT BEARS MENTION… Listen again to v. 6…
NAS Hebrews 1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
DID YOU CATCH THE WORD “AGAIN”? Over the centuries that little word has caused a lot of debate. Some (Ellingworth, Lane, Attridge) believe the author in his use of again is referring to Christ’s reentry into heaven following His Resurrection. Others (Wuest, Wallace, MacArthur) believe the again is pointing to Christ’s Second Coming. They say the verse should be read, “When He a second time (“again”) bringeth in the first-begotten into the world.” I have studied this question in some detail and cannot decide. Forced to choose, I would agree with the Second Coming. In either instance, Christ would be worshiped by the angels…
FUNDAMENTAL TO BIBLICAL TEACHING IS THE TRUTH THAT GOD ALONE IS TO BE WORSHIPED…
NAS Deuteronomy 6:13 “You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name.
NAS Exodus 34:14 — for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
THE FACT JESUS ACCEPTS WORSHIP ATTESTS TO HIS DEITY…
NAS John 5:23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
NAS John 9:38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
ONLY GOD CAN RIGHTFULLY ACCEPT WORSHIP, THEREFORE, JESUS IS GOD…
THE FOURTH O.T. QUOTE THE WRITER OF HEBREWS USES IS IN V.7…
NAS Hebrews 1:7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.”
HE IS REFERRING TO PSALM 104:4…
NAS Psalm 104:4 He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers.
THE FIFTH O.T. QUOTE IS FOUND IN VS. 8-9…
NAS Hebrews 1:8-9 But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.”
IT IS FROM PSALM 45:6 AND IS SET IN CONTRAST TO the fourth quote…
NAS Psalm 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.
THE SUPERIORITY OF JESUS CHRIST… SO MUCH BETTER than the angels…
THE SIXTH QUOTATION IN V. 10 IS FROM PSALM 102:25-27…
NAS Hebrews 1:10 And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands;
NAS Psalm 102:25-27 “Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.
ALL THE MESSIANIC REFERENCES OF THE PSALMS POINTED TO JEUS. All the prophetic references to the Messiah found throughout the O.T. pointed to Jesus: the ultimate and final revelation from God…
THE SEVENTH AND FINAL O.T. QUOTE IN IS FROM PSALM 110:1…
NAS Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies A footstool for Thy feet “? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
NAS Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”
ISN’T THIS ALL BEAUTIFUL?! What wonderful words of Scripture lifting up our dear Lord. He is entirely worthy of our exaltation because He is superior…
- He is SUPERIOR to your cancer
- He is SUPERIOR to your diabetes
- He is SUPERIOR to your grief
- He is SUPERIOR to your fear
- He is SUPERIOR to whatever the current war
- He is SUPERIOR to your politics
- He is SUPERIOR to anything and everything…
NOW, AFTER HEARING ALL THIS, after listening to this strong argument about the superiority of Jesus Christ over the angels, listen to the next verse. Remember, there were no chapter divisions in the original text. Remember, also, that at the beginning of my blog I said that as Jesus is to be exalted, so is He to be obeyed…
NAS Hebrews 2:1 For this reason (we could say “therefore” – TAR) we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
OFTEN THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS PAUSES in his argument to make a pointed exhortation, to give us a command, to warn us against ignoring the message. It’s as if after making his point, as he certainly has in chapter one, he stops and says, “Now, what do you (plural– TAR) intend to do about all this?”
GOD’S WORD DEMANDS A RESPONSE. In this study we have heard repeatedly about the superiority of Jesus Christ. He is “so much better than the angels.” What will be our response?
HOW ABOUT, DRAW CLOSER TO JESUS AND DO NOT DRIFT AWAY?
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
