BIG IDEA:
SERIES OF 7 OT MESSIANIC QUOTATIONS PROVE THE SUPERIORITY OF JESUS CHRIST OVER ANGELS
INTRODUCTION:
The Superiority of Jesus Christ over angels is not just a doctrinal exercise. It lies at the heart of the sufficiency of Christ to be an adequate Savior who can meet any need we might have. This passage is one of the strongest arguments for the deity of Jesus anywhere in Scripture. As believers in Jesus Christ, we benefit from all of these aspects of His demonstrated superiority.
In vv. 5-14 He is a more superior mediator than the angels; confirmed by a series of seven OT texts from the Septuagint (mostly from the Psalms): Psalm 2:7; II Sam. 7:14; Ps. 97:7; Ps. 104:4; Ps. 45:6-7; Ps. 102:25-27 and Ps. 110:1.
I. (:5a) Psalm 2:7 – SUPERIOR BY VIRTUE OF GOD’S PUBLIC DECLARATION OF HIS UNIQUE SONSHIP –
LINKED TO THE RESURRECTION
“For to which of the angels did He ever say,
‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee’?”
Thomas Constable: The phrase “to which of the angels” opens and closes this section of the text (cf. Hebrews 1:13). This literary device (an inclusio) marks off a literary unit by using the same word or phrase at the beginning and at the end of a discussion (cf. Hebrews 2:5-16; Hebrews 3:1 to Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 5:1-10; Hebrews 5:11 to Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 7:1-10; Hebrews 12:14 to Hebrews 13:20). . .
the title “Son” refers to Jesus in three separate respects. He was always the pre-existent Son (Hebrews 1:3 a-b; cf. Hebrews 5:8), He became the incarnate Son at His birth (Hebrews 1:2 a), and He became the exalted Son when He returned to heaven.
Kent: Elsewhere in the New Testament Paul uses the same quotation and applies it to the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:33). Thus we must abandon any notions of origination or birth in the term “begotten.” Rather, the expression has to do with public declaration, acknowledgement, or inauguration. In conjunction with Romans 1:4, the idea seems clear that the one who was always the divine Son was openly declared or demonstrated to be such by the culminating events of resurrection and subsequent exaltation. Of course, Christ was previously acknowledged as Son by the Father at the baptism (Matt. 3:17) and transfiguration (Matt. 17:5), but the crowning event was the resurrection and its aftermath. The psalmist clearly depicts God as directly addressing the Anointed One (i.e., Messiah, or Christ) and calling Him my Son.
Steven Cole: While the angels were sometimes referred to in the plural as “sons of God” (Job 1:6), and while believers are called “sons of God” (John 1:12), no single angel or believer was ever referred to as “the Son of God.” That title uniquely belongs to Jesus and signifies His deity, as the Jews themselves knew (John 5:18).
F. F. Bruce: on importance of “Today” — He who was the Son of God from everlasting entered into the full exercise of all the prerogatives implied by His Sonship when, after His suffering had proved the completeness of His obedience, He was raised to the Father’s right hand.
These first two points are parallel:
II. (:5b) 2 Sam. 7:14 — SUPERIOR BY VIRTUE OF GOD’S PUBLIC DECLARATION OF HIS UNIQUE SONSHIP –
LINKED TO DYNASTIC REIGN
“And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me’?”
Deffinbaugh: This “father-son” relationship is not about one’s birth; it is about being installed on the throne.
Phillips: The point here seems to be Jesus’ special status over all the created realm. It does not mean that Jesus is first among creatures, but rather that he is exalted above the creatures. The idea is again that of inheritance and unique dignity. F. F. Bruce explains, “He is called firstborn because he exists before all creation and because all creation is his heritage.”
III. (:6) Psalm 97:7 – SUPERIOR BECAUSE HE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP BY ANGELS
“And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says,
‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’”
Look at how the apostle Paul forbid people to worship him
IV. (:7) Psalm 104:4 – SUPERIOR BECAUSE HE COMMANDS THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
“And of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels winds,
And His ministers a flame of fire.’”
Service is a good thing — not something to be denigrated; but it is vastly different from deserved dominion
Steven Cole: The main point of verse 7 is that the angels belong to Jesus (“His angels”) and that they obey His commands. Thus they are His servants, and not vice versa. Also, the terms “winds” and “fire” point to the transitory, changing nature of their service, as contrasted with the eternal sovereignty and glory of Christ, as portrayed in verse 8. The point is that Jesus is superior to the angels because they worship and serve Him.
Leon Morris: Whereas he has Sonship, they are reducible to nothing more than the elemental forces of wind and fire. Also, the implication is probably that the angels are temporary in contrast to the Son, who is eternal.
Spurgeon: Angels are servants and not kings, they fly upon the divine errands like flames of fire, but they do not sway a sceptre, neither have they a throne existing for ever and ever. Jesus is the anointed king, and though we share in the anointing yet is He far above us. Christ is infinitely greater than Christians. We are right glad to have it so. Angels are pure spirits, though they are permitted to assume a visible form when God desires us to see them. God is a spirit, and He is waited upon by spirits in His royal courts. Angels are like winds for mystery, force, and invisibility, and no doubt the winds themselves are often the angels or messengers of God. God who makes His angels to be as winds, can also make winds to be His angels, and they are constantly so in the economy of nature. God’s ministers or servants He makes to be as swift, potent, and terrible as fire, and on the other hand He makes fire, that devouring element, to be His minister flaming forth upon His errands.
V. (:8-9) Psalm 45:7-8 – SUPERIOR BECAUSE HE IS THE ETERNAL RIGHTEOUS RULER
“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.’”
Phillips: All this being true, to whom else will we turn for the righteousness we so desperately lack, but need if we are to stand in God’s judgment? Who else will reign over this earth to establish righteousness? To what power, to what authority, will we run seeking safety and refuge, except the One whom God has enthroned forever, who bears the title, “You, O God,” whose scepter is that of righteousness, and who, at the end of days, will establish righteousness upon the earth?
Bruce Hurt: Lawlessness (anomia) signifies everything that is contrary to the will and law of God.
– Lawlessness is living as though your own ideas are superior to God’s.
– Lawlessness says, “God may demand it but I don’t prefer it.”
– Lawlessness says, “God may promise it but I don’t want it.”
– Lawlessness replaces God’s law with my contrary desires. I become a law to myself.
– Lawlessness is rebellion against the right of God to make laws and govern His creatures. All these things the Son hated in the days of His flesh (and still hates).
Jesus not only acted in righteousness (His conduct) but He also loved righteousness (His character). Because Christ loved (loves) righteousness, He hated (hates) lawlessness. Is this basic spiritual dynamic true in your life? Is it not true that where there is true love for God, there is abhorrence of sin? Yes, believers still sin, but we hate it as it is a direct affront to the grace and mercy of our loving Master and King. When we love God’s right standards (all of His standards are right!), we will hate lawlessness in every shape, form or fashion. We will be like the men described in Ezekiel who “sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed.” (Ezekiel 9:4)
VI. (:10-12) Psalm 102:25-27 – SUPERIOR BECAUSE HE IS THE ETERNALLY EXISTENT, CHANGELESS CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
“And, ‘Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands; They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, 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.’”
Steven Cole: To this Jewish church, these words were not just a theological statement about Jesus’ superiority to the angels. They were also meant to be a source of great comfort in the midst of trials. The same eternal Creator who sustained the psalmist in the midst of his calamity would sustain them in the midst of their troubles. And that eternal Creator is none other than their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (13:8). Even if you are taken away in the midst of your days, you have a lasting refuge in the eternal, unchanging Lord Jesus Christ!
Phillips: It is traditional, when speaking of the attributes of God, to distinguish between his communicable and incommunicable attributes. Some of his attributes God can and does communicate to us, such as goodness, mercy, and holiness, to name a few. But other attributes are part and parcel of God’s deity, and cannot be communicated to mortal creatures. In these verses, it is divine incommunicable attributes that are ascribed to the Son – attributes like eternity, omnipotence, and immutability. Indeed, we are deliberately reminded of Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Here that work of creation is ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ, with all the implications of divinity that accompany it.
VII. (:13-14) Psalm 110:1 – SUPERIOR BECAUSE HE IS THE EXALTED CONQUERING KING
“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?”