Sermon Notes 2/12/23 King of Angels Hebrews 1:4-14
King of Angels
"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."
Why is it that people pray to angels or even pray to saints?
The answer is often due to a lack of biblical truth
Without truly studying the bible under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can come to believe things about God that aren’t true
Why would the believers that the writer of Hebrews was writing to feel pressure to place Jesus and angels on the same level?
Because of comfort
As human beings we desire to be comfortable
There is a great struggle that takes place when our comfort level is infringed on
At the time of the writing of Hebrews the Jewish believers were being pressured to abandon faith in Christ alone
One of the ways they were being pressured is to simply claim that Jesus is an angel or no greater than the angels
If Christ is on the same level with angels or an angel Himself, it would protect them from persecution
It would make their lives easier
But if we are followers of Jesus our lives must be built on biblical truth
We saw last week that when the writer of Hebrews began His introduction he laid out why Jesus alone is worthy of worship
Jesus is God
Not merely the Son of God, but He is God Almighty
Today He will begin to show from five different Psalms that Jesus is greater than the angels
We must remember he is originally writing to Jewish Christians
Jews at this time held angels in very high esteem
We see through biblical history that angels many times impacted the history of God’s people
But when we examine Jesus we see that He is far greater than the angels and the only one who is worthy of worship
Hebrews 1:4-14
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God 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 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”[f]
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”[g]?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
1. Superior in Name
a. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God 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”?
b.The word superior means good, stronger, mightier, better
c. It is clear that the Son of God is superior to the Angels
d.He is known as The Son of God
i. Angels in scripture are referred to as sons of God
ii. Cherubim and Seraphim
iii. They are also known as host
iv. Three angels mentioned in scripture by name are Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer
1. Michael means either who is like God, or there is none like God
2. Gabriel means God is my strength
3. Lucifer means shining one or light bearer
v. Jesus is known as the Captain of The Host
e. In Jewish thought a person’s name revealed his essential nature and could also express rank and dignity
f. The first verse comes from Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 2 is seen as a Messianic Psalm
i. “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”?
ii. Here we see that God is speaking of the coming Messiah
iii. He refers to Him as Son
g. The second verse comes from 2 Samuel 7:14
i. ,“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?
ii. This was a Messianic promise given to King David
iii. That his descendant would be the coming Messiah
iv. We see from the genealogies in Matthew and Luke that Jesus was a descendent of David
h. Jesus as the Son of God has a superior name to the angels
2. Superior in Honor
a. 6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
b.Firstborn does not speak of Jesus being created
i. It speaks of a position of pre-eminence
ii. Jesus is the begotten of The Father
iii. He is The Son of God
c. This comes from Deuteronomy 32:43
i. In the original Hebrew these words are not found
ii. Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
iii. But in the Septuagint it is found
iv. It is the Greek translation of the Old Testament
v. It was often read by the New Testament church and used by the writers of the New Testament
d.It shows that the angels are called to worship the Messiah
e.For it was held by the Jews that Deuteronomy 32:43 was speaking of the Messiah
f. It speaks of one who will deal with the nations
g.Who we know to be Jesus when He returns to the earth
3. Superior in Status
a. 7 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
b.Throughout biblical history the angels of God are used by God to accomplish His will
i. They are servants and have been created by the Living God
c. But here were see in the second section from Psalm 45:7 it says therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with oil of joy
i. It once again speaks of the Messiah
ii. Jesus is known as the Christ
iii. The anointed one
iv. Jesus is the begotten Son of God
v. It doesn’t mean that Jesus was created but He is The Son of God
d.Before Christ came these words were attributed To God
i. But through the revealing of Christ especially through His resurrection from the dead it shows that these words are for Him
ii. That His throne will last forever and ever
4. Superior in Existence
a.10 He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
b.From Psalm 102:25-27
c. Jesus is the creator
i. He is God
ii. Jesus laid the foundations of the earth
iii. The heavens are the work of His hands
iv. One day there will be a new heaven and a new earth
v. He will roll them up like a scroll
vi. It speaks of His power and majesty
vii. But He is unchanging
viii. He has no beginning or end
d.The angels are created by Him
i. They have a beginning
ii. Though they have great power
iii. To put Jesus on the same level with angels is to reject the word of God
5. Superior Calling
a.13 To which of the angels did God ever say,“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
b.The first part of this is from Psalm 110:1
i. It was the very verse that Jesus used to silence the religious leaders
ii. It speaks of the descendent of David who would be the Messiah
iii. But in the whole of Psalm 110:1 it says The Lord says to my lord:[a]“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
iv. King David is writing this
v. Speaking about the coming Messiah
vi. He refers to Him as Lord and it shows the Messiah would equal with God
vii. The Messiah would have to be fully man and fully God
c. Therefore Jesus is given a calling and vocation far greater than the angels
i. He sits at the right hand of the Father
ii. He will rule the nations and they will be His inheritance
d.The angels on the other hand have the calling of ministering spirits to those who will inherit salvation
i. They come alongside us as believers to help accomplish the will of God
ii. The greatest place angelic assistance comes is through prayer
On a dark night about a hundred years ago, a Scottish missionary couple found themselves surrounded by cannibals intent on taking their lives. That terror-filled night they fell to their knees and prayed that God would protect them. Intermittent with their prayers, the missionaries heard the cries of the savages and expected them to come through the door at any moment. But as the sun began to rise, to their astonishment they found that the natives were retreating into the forest. The couple’s hearts soared to God. It was a day of rejoicing! The missionaries bravely continued their work. A year later the chieftain of that tribe was converted.
As the missionary spoke with him, he remembered the horror of that night. He asked the chieftain why he and his men had not killed them. The chief replied, “Who were all those men who were with you?” The missionary answered, “Why, there were no men withus. There were just my wife and myself.” The chieftain began to argue with him, saying, “There were hundreds of tall men in shining garments with drawn swords circling about your house, so we could not attack you.”This story, recorded in Billy Graham’s book Angels, is one of the great tales of missionary history. The missionary was the “legendary” John G. Paton of the New Hebrides[1]
Jesus is the only one who is worthy of worship
It is upon faith alone in Him that salvation is possible
To reject the truth of Christ for comfort or to escape persecution is to abandon the very thing that will save us
Luke 9:26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Regardless of the cost we must hold firmly to our faith in Christ alone
[1] R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 41.