For to Who did God Say? (Hebrews 1:5-14)

We left off the last post for Hebrews with verse four and how Christ is higher than the angels for He has a more excellent name than them. We will now go through the writer of Hebrews own exposition of Christ and the angels. Verses 5-14 are a string of seven quotations, elaborating on verse 4 that due to the Son’s exaltation He is superior to the angels. These seven citations are arranged in three groups. The first group, (vv. 5-6) consists of three, the first two pertain to Jesus’ divine sonship (Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:14), the third (Deuteronomy 32:43) asserts His superiority to the angels. The second group (vv. 7-12) the writer moves from assertion to argument, one for the angels (Psalm 104:4), and two that refer to the Son (Psalm 45:6-7; 102: 25-27). The final group consists of the citation of Psalm 110:1 which initially drew the writer’s reflection of the Son back in verse 3 and the conclusion of the Son’s superiority to the angels in verse 4.

The writer begins their explanation with, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?” (v.5a). This is from Psalm 2 a common messianic Psalm from the Old Testament. This is vitally important when it comes to the connection that the Son has with the Father. This is not speaking to a creation of a son, for the Son, the second member of the Trinity had always existed, just as the Father and the Spirit. In the verse 3 we were told that the Son is, “…the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…” (v.3). Just as John in his gospel compared and differentiated the Father and the Son; or the Word, we should remember this key aspect and not let it be forgotten in the recesses of our finite minds.

The Son is anointed to reign over the nations, that He shall reign till every enemy is subdued and becomes His footstool. Psalm 2 goes into why do the nations rage and plot to cast off God. We are told that God laughs at this, which is not a great confidence boost for anyone who is rallying to forsake the creator. Yet we are also told to take refuge under the Son, for his wrath is quickly kindled. This may be the greatest folly that anyone takes up, to stand against God is nothing but foolishness. The sinful mind of humanity arrogantly believes that they can succeed against Him. Every believer was once like this, before our regeneration we are children of wrath and in bondage to sin; in other words, we are enemies of God. Once saved and given spiritual life we then become adopted children and are now aware of our sin. This is not done so that we may increase in our suffering and self-hatred. For we are no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to Christ, we are now at war with our sin.

The Father is speaking this directly to the Son and also says, “Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?” (v.5b). This is not only a differing of the Son from the created angels, but also to us. Believers in Christ cannot become divine, we do not become gods by believing in Christ. We do not even get a glorified body until the final judgement when the dead are raised. It is a common heresy taught that we can become gods, it is nothing more than a greater teaching of what the serpent said to Eve that we could become like God, knowing, good an evil. (Genesis 3). Even as believers we do not know good and evil without the guidance of God and His Word. In the end this teaching of becoming gods is nothing but paganism and the sinful desire to be autonomous; which none of us are. We cannot obtain Christ’s eternal divine Sonship, but it is through our adoption that we participate in Christ’s redemptive Sonship through us being in Christ.

Being adopted children brings us into a more intimate and sweeter relationship with our creator, He is not only our Lord and Savior, but our Father. Being in Christ is what allows us to participate in His work, death, and resurrection (Romans 6). For the Son is the founder of our salvation (Romans 8:29). “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”” (v.6). The writer is keenly making the distinction between the angels and the Son, for the angels worship God thus they worship the Son as He was brought into the world (Luke 2:13,14). Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah is the firstborn. That meaning He is of the “highest rank” not the first in order of birth. It means “chosen” or “most desired”. Jesus is a far better man than any that will ever exist, He is worth more than all of them put together. There are no words that can even give this justice, other than to fall to our knees and worship Him for the glory that it brings to the Father’s name.

It is this connection of Christ dying on the cross and suffering that brings many sons to glory, for it makes the founder of our salvation perfect through suffering; He who sanctifies and those being sanctified all have one source (Hebrews 2:10,11). “Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” (v.7). The writer is pointing out the created world’s mutability. God can make the winds be angels or vice versa. Angels are also ministering spirits as the word angel means “messenger”. They can also be a flame of fire. In the greater sense of this verse about the angels is that God can make them be whatever He desires them to be. Such as the two angels that saved Lot, they came in a physical form appearing as humans. “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” (v.8). The Son has a royal enthronement while the angels are simply servants and ministering spirits. The incarnation is more than just Christ taking on a physical form, He took on flesh. He is not appearing to be human as some heresies have taught, but is truly human. Jesus is truly man and truly God. He is not like the angels that saved Lot who appeared human but in the end were a spiritual flesh, hence the men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanting to have sexual relations with them as they sought strange flesh.

The throne that Christ sits upon is the Davidic throne where He reigns with a rod of iron, this throne and kingdom that comes along with it will never pass away. This is the throne that is mentioned in Psalm 110, where Christ is right now at the time of this writing, until the end.

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” (v.9). Christ was the perfect Son and Man, through His obedience and righteousness. These tie into the roles that Christ serves for us as our great high priest. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).

“And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” (vv.10-12). The writer is emphasizing the unchanging of Christ’s nature, which is unlike the changing creation. The Son was instrumental in the creation of the world, yet He is not the creation. The Bible is quite clear on the difference between God our creator and us the creation, this line is blurred so often by the unbelieving world and worldly religions that come from the creation, who essentially worship the creature not the creator. The God of the Bible, the I AM, Yahweh, is the God who is and was and will be; the Bible is the revelation that He has given to us and Christ is the final revelation.

“And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (vv.13-14). The Father has never said to the angels that they will sit at His right hand until all their enemies are made a footstool. That has been exclusive to only the Son. The writer makes a final remark as I did in the previous post. Angels are messengers and ministering spirits, and they are sent out by God for those who will inherit salvation. Angels serve not only the Father and the Son, but also the Spirit who can use them for our sake. As the Holy Spirit sanctifies and keeps us, we may at times be entertaining angels. Who God has sent out to providentially minister to us.