Hebrews 1:4-7 Bible Teaching

Communion: A Sacred Practice

It’s the first Sunday of the month which means we will take some time to celebrate communion together, as instituted by Jesus when He ate with his disciples before being offered up for the sins of the world. Knowing that He would ascend to sit on the right hand of glory after His resurrection, the Lord gave the disciples (and all of us a means by which to remember or commemorate or celebrate or memorialize His offering on our behalf – eating and drinking – something every healthy human being does almost every day of their lives. Sitting with the eleven in an upper room Matthew 26:26-28 says:

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

So let’s take these elements as He took them and give thanks to God for them as our Lord took time to do the same.

Thanksgiving and Remembrance

PRAYER (of thanksgiving for the blessings of life, particularly the blessings of the bread and wine before us, as we remember His Son, who, because He so loved the world, gave to us.) After instituting this communion, the Lord went to His deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., brought on by tearing his flesh and shedding his blood . . . for us. And so when and if you come forward to receive these elements, you so do in memory of Him and His sacrifice for the sins of the world . . . a sacrifice that occurred so many years ago but is eternally binding on all who receive Him.

(beat)

By coming forward and first taking these elements in hand, then taking them into your mouth, you join in with everyone else here who has chosen to do the same. In a way you are professing, admitting to all here that His flesh, and His blood, are worthy of ingesting, of being consumed by your person. Simultaneously, you are eating of the same unleavened elements, and the same wine those around you have too chosen to eat. You don’t have too – any more than you had to receive His sacrifice or that you have to continue to follow Him – but you are invited to. And if and when you do, you are witnessing to God (and perhaps even more dramatically to each other) that you Believe on Him whom God has sent, you believe His torn flesh and shed blood were torn and shed for you, and that by partaking of them, you are His.

(beat)

Invitation to the Table

We invite any and all who are Christian to come forward while the music plays and receive the elements Jesus told us to use to remember Him by. Taken them in hand, return to your seat, reflect and memorialize Him in your heart and mind, and eat them as so inclined. We will take a few minutes then to pray silently before we come back and study His word.

PLAY MUSIC

COMMUNION

PRAYER by Shawn

So we left off with a fairly in-depth analysis of verse three, which, if you recall, in and of itself lays out a mini-description of the eternality and life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before this the writer has let us know that Jesus is better than prophets like unto Moses because God has replaced them with Him – and Him alone. Now, in our text for today, he goes about to compare Jesus to angels as he did with prophets of old, he now builds a case to show Jesus was made much “better.”

At the first reading the text is a bit cumbersome – especially in the King James – because (as the writer does throughout his message to the Hebrews) he makes reference to Old Testament passages – and as we saw in Romans, the recitations can be from different places, and can be from the Septuagint or the Hebrew translations making a direct word for word translation impossible. Before we read our text let me explain this in another way to help explain why reading Hebrews (in places) is not as “engaging” and direct as reading other books of scripture. The writer is trying to reach Jesus with the fact that Jesus is superior to a thousand plus years of living under the Law – which is found in the Old Testament, a book the Jews know well.

Complexity of Biblical Translations

Testament exists in a number of different translations – one is in Greek (the Septuagint) one is in Hebrew, AND they are NOT in passage form, but are written out in prose, right to left reading. So he writes his message to the Hebrews in the church with the aim to build this case. And when he quotes from the Old Testament, he pulls not from passages but from areas of scripture from different translations to boot. And that was in his day of the original autograph. Got that?

THEN…

We have an Old Testament translation into English (that we read to find the references quoted – and these come in varied English translations) and then we have our New Testament translation (which also come in varied English translations) so in many cases a direct word for word quotation from the Old Testament is impossible… which makes understanding what is being said difficult. Got that?

Old Testament Prophecies and the Identity of Jesus

Then we have the fact that Old Testament prophecy works in a couple of ways. Sometimes when prophets spoke it related directly and only to the coming promised Messiah. But in most cases, what they said related to a current person or situation at hand and ALSO correlated to the coming Messiah. We will see this evidenced in our passages today. Got that?

Then there is the ever confusing identity of Jesus Christ – God with us – God/Man – God incarnate. As we get into our text we will see the writer of Hebrews making the case that Jesus was “made” this way, and that way, and better than. Jesus was made? Yes. God BECAME man. So we have the task to discipline our minds to remember how and when passages are describing Him as a “fashioned being” (like us) and which passages are present to prove His divinity. Finally, we will discover references in the book of Hebrews that are not absolute as to where they came from.

Embracing Uncertainty

As human beings we are wired to hate uncertainty so we long for the absolute and black or white. When we are confronted with facts like this (and others) we can perseverate over them or do all we can to understand them… and let what we do know fill in the gaps. For these reason many people skip over the more difficult passages in books like Hebrews, Romans, Revelation, etc. – but this is not you. Not us.

So I promise you will gain SOME understanding here – as much as I can impart relative to the information given… but it takes work on your part to ferret through the gaps and places where I will be in error and where A does not always lead to B. It goes without saying (I hope) but I will avoid feeding you a line of bull as a means to satisfy your need for certainty. NOTHING DRIVES ME MORE INSANE.

With that being said, I will forcefully try and persuade you using what we do have and know as a means to increase your faith and help you become true disciples of the King.

Scripture Reading from Hebrews

So… let’s stand (if you are willing and able) and read from Hebrews chapter one beginning at verse 4.

(WAIT on THEM)

Speaking of Jesus the Messiah, the writer says:

Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 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?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

And we’ll stop at verse ten for today, not being sure we can even get to it.

Understanding the Exaltation of Jesus Above Angels

The writer, speaking of Jesus the Man, notes:

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

I would suggest that the context of these passages tell us that the word "better" here does not refer to “moral character,” but to exaltation of rank. As our Mediator and what we will soon discuss, as “the Son of God,” his nature is exalted far above the angels. Now, in times past God spoke to the forefathers by prophets has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, right. Through prophets He gave revelations, but when Jesus came, He revealed Himself.

So it is with the comparison with angels. In times past God appeared to forefathers through heavenly angels of light. But in a far “better manner” has God now appeared unto Man – by and through His Son. Pretty neat, huh?

The Reality of Angels

Additionally, from these passages we know something really amazing (at least to me it’s amazing . . . angels are real!) Think about that for a minute? I am such a skeptic in my flesh, so cynical and unbelieving that accepting angels used to be far harder for me than to even believe in God. They were too fantasy-derived for me. Too much like they came from the imagination of man. (Oooo . . . beings of light battling beings of dark). The archetypes were just too proverbial for me. But listen – “reality” in time helped me see (in conjunction with reading the word and increasing faith) that the existence of angels is perfectly reasonable.

See, God led me to look around at the strata of visible creations and then BOOM showed me that my cynicism was founded in darkness, not light . . . where, interestingly enough the object of my skepticism dwell). From this, I was able to personally see the reasonability of angels. What I mean is the ocean is filled with creatures that thrive in an environment where humans can’t (unaided) and the varied and divergent creatures therein is almost beyond human comprehension. You want variety and levels of God-authored dominance – look under the sea – it is an amazing economy! Then look at both the cellular level of creation (which is cram packed with varied creatures too) and the macroscopic levels of space, all containing creatures of different capacities that exist in realms outside of where Man was made to thrive. So why not heavenly realms of the same?

Angels in Scripture

Scripture tells us many things about angels, with the term angel or angels being in the word some 287 times. But the term in a general sense merely means a messenger of any kind or species, so when speaking of angels on high, the more appropriate term is heavenly angels or angels from heaven. And like birds and fishes and mammals, they are created with different purposes, capacities, and levels of power and authority. If you want a better study of angels go to the hotm website and watch the 2010 archived program titled Angels.

In verse three of last week, we discussed how Jesus today, sitting on the right hand of God, orchestrates all “angels and authorities” as they are subject to Him.” We know this, but the Jews needed to be convinced – which is what the writer is doing here. And he adds that He has “by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” What does this mean? First, remember, we are talking about Jesus, the Word who became flesh or Man.

How did he “by inheritance obtain a more excellent name than the angels?” Verse five explains it for us (so I can shut my mouth – which is usually the best action for me to take, right?)

5 For (or, as proof that by inheritance Jesus obtained a more excellent name than angels he asks) 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?” In other words, has God ever called an angel His Son. Nope. Because no angel is the Son of God and the Son of God is not a heavenly angel. In the dynasty of a King there are servants and there are Sons and daughters. Servants of the King have a special place within the dynasty, as they are privileges to closer access to the throne and the inner workings of what goes on within the walls of the castle, but just

The Supremacy of Jesus Over Angels

There is a marked difference between a servant of the King and the Son of the King, and so is there an enormous difference between an angel, created to serve in the heavens in and around God’s throne, and His Son – His ONLY begotten Son, in fact. The writer uses the rest of this chapter to illustrate this point. In essence, the argument which the apostle insists on is this: the title "THE Son of God" is given to him and Him alone. So while angels and even believers (male and female) are sometimes referred to by the general title of "sons of God," yet the title "THE Son of God" has been given to him only. When he says Jesus (as opposed to the angels) has received a “more excellent name” he speaks to the name Son with a capital S. It is a more honorable and exalted name than has ever been bestowed on any angel as it includes more exalted privileges, and entitles Him higher respect and honor.

Jesus, the Man

Now, remember, at this point we might be tempted to think, “Well, wait a minute! Jesus has all honor and respect on Him prior to becoming incarnate and therefore a Son. So what is all this about Him being given (or bestowed with) a name of honor. Remember, we are talking about Jesus the Man, Jesus born in a manger, Jesus in flesh with blood coursing through His veins. Upon Him and Him alone was the title of Son of God bestowed by God. There are eleven passages in the Old and New Testament that use the term sons of God speaking of angels or men. But one, the term is always plural – never singular. And whenever it IS singular, it is capitalized, referring to the ONLY Son of God, even Jesus Christ. Therefore, as THE (capital S Son) He is unquestionably superior to angels.

Jewish Audience and the Scripture

Now, as I mentioned, since the writer is trying to appeal to those who had been trained in the Jewish religion (and who admitted the authority of the Old Testament) he (at this point) begins to make his case by appeal to the scripture they trusted. In a straight across, word for word, line by line application, the verses he uses to bolster his position there is difficulty in assigning them to the promised Messiah. But take note: I think we can easily assume that while WE might have trouble seeing how in their original sense they spoke of the Messiah, the writer had no problem using them to do this very thing and because of this, I would suggest that to the Jewish audience, at the time of this writing, the passages spoke of the Messiah too. If this was not the case there would have been ample written resistance to the writer of Hebrews using these passages to support his claims – and these things we do not find. Also, whomever wrote Hebrews was obviously educated in the doctrines of the Jews and with this scholarly skill used passages that were not questionable but were part of the prevalent beliefs of the day.

So back to verse five. As proof that by INHERITANCE (meaning Jesus came from God) Jesus obtained a more excellent name than the angels, the writer asks when did God ever say (verse 5): “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 writer pulls the line, “Thou art my Son,” from Psalm 2:7. Now this part is gonna be a little sticky and I would love to avoid the pain of trying to explain it – but we have an agreement together, right – so hang with me.

5. “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” When I read that I think that the writer is speaking of the day Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit, or maybe the day He was born on earth, right? Maybe some of you understand it this way too. But the passage is NOT speaking, from what I can tell, about the day Jesus was formed in flesh, but about His resurrection. I have to say this because this is how Paul uses the same reference in Acts 13:33. There, Paul stands in a synagogue and this is how Luke reports what he said, speaking of Jesus:

Acts 13:29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

30. But God raised…

The Significance of Jesus as 'First Begotten'

him from the dead: 31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”

These passages prove that the phrase "this day" does not refer to the doctrine of eternal generation, but to the resurrection of the Redeemer–"the FIRST-BEGOTTEN of the dead." See, Jesus is referred to as the Only Begotten Son and the First Begotten Son in scripture.

The Concept of 'Begotten' in Scripture

The word begotten in verse five (if you are taking notes) refers to Him being the First Begotten from the grave – something that would NEVER be said of angels because angels will never be in a place nor need of resurrection (anymore than a fish will ever need to become land-dwellers that play soccer in the afterlife). In other words, the term this day in verse five relates to time not eternities, to when Jesus THE MAN became the first begotton of Sons – when He resurrected, having overcome sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. and death on our behalf. So, I would suggest that His being the first begotten here, referring to His resurrection, suggests that this resurrection was a kind of a “begetting to life” or a “beginning of life.”

Jesus' Unique Status

Revelation 1:5 says, in support of this idea: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” The point in no angel would ever be associated with such titles or events, but perhaps for our added joy, we discover something new about our King. Certainly, He came from God, was God, and created all things. But as the Only Begotten of God, had to, as Man, as us, earn the right to be called “the first begotten,” meaning to overcome sin and death by and through perfect obedience and death to His fleshly will. What a King. What a Savior. Because leading the way and becoming the first begotten, we too will follow in right behind.

Then the writer asks, and again “And again,” to what angel has God ever said, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” This passage is evidently quoted from 2nd Samuel 7:14 with a similar sentiment expressed in Psalm 89:20-27. Now, when these words were originally spoken in the Psalms, they referred to Solomon and they refer to a promise David received that said he would always have an heir to sit on his throne (or that his throne would be perpetual). David was given the promise as a means to comfort him because though he wanted to build God a temple God said no because he was “a man of blood,” (and boy was he – we are talking a walking slaughterhouse).

So as a means to console him God promises him a far greater honor than building the temple. And He promises David that the house would be built (by one of his own family), and that his family and kingdom would be established for ever. In this series of promises we learn that included in his descendents would be the promised Messiah. Contextually speaking, the reference doesn’t only apply to the Messiah but it speaks of Solomon AND the fact that David would be the Father of a Son who would sit on the throne forever and ever.

Then in verse six, the writer brings in yet ANOTHER comparative to Jesus and angels, saying 6 And again, (meaning, and here is another example) when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, “And let all the angels of God worship him.” “And again, when he introduced the first begotten.” Now, his use of the title, first-begotten is in reference to his use of the title in the previous verse which is why he didn’t use “only begotten” here, but this passage is specifically referring to when Jesus was born. And among many things what happened at that event relative to angels? They came and worshipped Him – a baby. In verse six we have the writer using a quote: “And when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, “And let all the angels of God worship him.”

The problem with this is we

The Worship of Angels and the Messiah

Many suggest the disparity lies in the translation used to quote and some suggest that Psalm 97:7 (which says) “Worship him, all ye gods,” which taken from the Septuagint translate thus: proskunhsate autw, pantev aggeloi autou. “Worship him, all ye his angels.” So as a means to provide an Old Testament support that the Messiah would be worshipped by angels we have this explanation.

As an aside, where the authorized version of the Bible (meaning the King James translation which was “authorized” by the King to be translated) has Psalms 97:7 say, “worship Him all ye gods,” those of you who were or are LDS, don’t get all lathered up over this. Remember, the term god or gods (lower case g) is just a title for anyone who is in a place of power or prestige, which is why judges of the land are called gods – and which is why we could, without blaspheming, refer to men and women was lower case g’s – it’s a title NOT a proper noun. Our only true and living God’s name is YHWH – not elo or elohim.

Okay.

Aside from the difficulty of knowing where this quote originates, I find the fact that the writer uses it AND the fact that the Gospel narratives describe angels worshipping Jesus at His birth comforting. In other words, why WOULD the writer include a reference that was suspect to support his argument if it wasn’t viable AND if it didn’t occur? But the angels did in fact worship the Christ child, setting Him far apart from them.

The Role of Angels

Then in verse 7, it seems the writer shows that, in comparison to the Son of God, the First and Only Begotten whom they worshipped when he was born, God created them (the angels) in a different manner, and he says

7 And (meaning, in yet another support) of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. This quote is taken from Psalm 104:4 and it is radical, folks. This is what it says: “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.” The Septuagint translates this passage this way: "Who, maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

Commenting on this Bible scholar Dodderigde writes: “that is, "who makes his angels like the winds, or as swift as the winds, and his ministers as rapid, as terrible, and as resistless as the lightning." That is, as my daughters say, “cray, cray.”

We talked about creations and creatures of different realms being equipped with varied abilities and features. How eagles soar on the wind, or dolphins ride the waves, or electrons and protons interact, and here we have some insight on a few of the characteristics of angels – Move like winds, fast and destructive as lightning. And here’s the radical part relative to our topic and point at hand –

The Supremacy of Jesus

Jesus is better. So much better that as a baby, the lightning and wind worshipped Him. I so love and adore this King in whom we trust. There is debate as to whether the association to wind and fire is literal or figurative (meaning that the angels respond like lightning or move like the wind) is unknown. What we do know is they are inferior to Him that created them – and saved us.

(beat)

Let’s wrap it up here until next week.