Christ Is Superior To Angels
CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO ANGELS
HEBREWS 1:5-14
How highly do you honor Jesus?
The whole of the opening phase of the argument is directed toward showing the surpassing excellence of the Christ from whom the readers were tempted to fall away. First, the author shows that he is far greater than the angels. The writer’s method is to assemble a collection of passages from the Old Testament which combine to prove his point. He quotes Psalm 2:7 to show that God does not speak to any angel in the way he speaks to his Son. It is this Father-Son relationship which is seen also in 2 Samuel 7:14, originally spoken with reference to Solomon, but here interpreted of the Messiah, the very Son of God.
Next we turn to the function of the angels, which is to worship God’s Son and so definitely to take the lower place (the quotation might be from the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 32:43 or Psalm 97:7). Psalm 104:4 follows with its definite placing of the angels in the category of “winds” (or “spirits”) and among the “servants.”
In strong contrast, Psalm 45:6f. addresses the Son in terms of eternal sovereignty. This puts him outside the class of the angels. But it is significant that the quotation is continued in terms of moral uprightness. We miss the Son’s true greatness if we concentrate only on power and glory. His scepter is a righteous one (1:8). His love is for righteousness (1:9). It is this which the psalmist sees as the reason for the Son’s superior exaltation (1:9).
The writer links Psalm 102:25-27 with this, combining an expression from Isaiah 34:4. Again he uses the Septuagint, because the Hebrew does not contain the word “Lord.” But the revealing thing is that he has taken words which in the original apply to Jehovah and has used them of Christ. This shows as nothing else could the very high place he assigns him. The quotation sees the Son as having a part in creation and as remaining unchanged while the creation grows old. His eternity is not to be overlooked.
The final quotation is from Psalm 110:1, a passage which is often cited of Christ. The words speak of God as giving him a place at his right hand (the place of highest honor), and as overcoming all his enemies. Over against all this the angels appear as no more than “ministering spirits,” and indeed spirits whose task is to serve for the sake of the saved (1:14). Clearly Christ is preeminent over them all.
Consider “Salvation” (1:14), like “eternal life,” is both present and future.