Hebrews 1:4-14
4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, 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 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.” 13 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”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
In the Bible, Michael the Archangel is beyond cool! He is depicted as a powerful, strong angel who wars against the devil and his forces of evil. He appears twice in the New Testament, for instance:
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)
And again in the book of Jude:
But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 9)
I love it! Truly awesome! Michael is a powerful being, to be sure, and one not to be trifled with. Were Michael the Archangel to suddenly manifest here among us I daresay we would be awed and terrified! Michael is to be revered…and yet it is possible to say too much about Michael. Consider the following from the December 15, 1984, edition of the Jehovah’s Witness publication The Watchtower:
Michael, the great prince, is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.
No. No he is not. This is too much. This is wrong. And yet the many adherents to the Jehovah’s Witness religion proclaim this, that Jesus is the angel Michael. This is not the first time that people have been confused about angels. For instance, some in the church of Colossae seemed confused on this point, otherwise Paul would not have written this in Colossians 2:18:
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind.
Apparently even in the early church some were tempted to over-exalt angels as objects of worship. And there appears to be another biblical example of this, as evidenced by what the author of Hebrews does in the remainder of Hebrews 1. Here, he differentiates Jesus from the angels and exalts Jesus above the angels. He does this is a most-powerful way.
Three statements made to the Son that were never made to the angels.
The first way in which the writer of Hebrews differentiates Jesus from and exalts Jesus above the angels is by showing three statements that are made to the Son in scripture but not to angels.
5a-c For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? (quoting Psalm 2:7)
5d-e Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? (quoting 2 Samuel 7:14/1 Chronicles 17:13)
13 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”? (Psalm 110:1)
The first two Old Testament quotations point out the significant fact that Jesus is called the “Son” and angels are not. Angels are called “sons of God” but never “the Son of God” in the scriptures. In fact, all who receive Christ are called sons and daughters of God as John 1 tells us:
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
But here, too, being called a “son” or “daughter” of God is distinct from the title of “Son” given to Jesus. Jesus’s sonship is unique, and exalted, and eternal. When, in Matthew 14, Jesus walks on the water and gets in the boat, we read:
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Only “the Son” is worthy of worship. Only “the Son” has all power. In Matthew 16 Peter finally answers rightly the question from Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
It is God alone who can reveal the unique sonship of Jesus!
Angels are sons and you and I are sons, properly understood, but we are not “the Son.”
Two statements made to the angels but not to the Son.
If there are things that the Lord says of the Son that He does not say of angels, there are also things He says of angels that He does not say of the Son. The writer of Hebrews gives us two examples in verses 6 and 7.
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (quoting Deuteronomy 32:43/Psalm 97:7)
This first verse is significant in that it shows that the angels are instructed to worship the Son. This establishes (a) their inferiority to the Son and (b) the Son’s exalted state over them. Jesus cannot be an angel, in other words, because the angels are actually instructed to worship Jesus! Then another statement made about angels:
7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” (quoting Psalm 104:4)
This quotation from Psalm 104 highlights two realities. First, it highlights the created and non-eternal nature of the angels. They are God’s “winds” and “fires.” This is a profoundly different image than that of the Son who is before all things and who is not created. Secondly, the image of “wind” and “fire” stands alongside the idea of angels as God’s “ministers” or “messengers.” Meaning, they are servants of God who have specific, temporal tasks to perform. Some, like Thomas Schreiner, even suggest that this might be a way of saying that the angels are those heavenly beings who literally direct the courses of wind and fire in the created world. Regardless, the imagery is one of subordinate servitude regarding specific tasks that God assigns the angels to execute in the world order. And while Jesus takes on the form of a servant (as Philippians 2:5-11), His is a ministry substantively distinct from the temporal and ad hoc qualities of “wind” and “fire.” His ministry is greater. What is more, He, Jesus, takes on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), but He was not created, much less created a servant. Rather, He is God! The angels never had to “empty themselves” because this is what they were made to do.
Two statements that proclaim the shocking reality of the greatness of Jesus.
And then the writer of Hebrews gives us two more statements about Jesus that positively spill the banks of grandeur. Here, he extols the deity of Jesus the Christ. We begin with his quotation of Psalm 45.
8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” (quoting Psalm 45:6-7)
This is an astonishing text to apply to Jesus! Thomas Long writes that Hebrews 1:8 “appears in Hebrews as one of the few places in the New Testament where Jesus is explicitly addressed as God: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever.’”[1] There are many passages that speak of the deity of Jesus, in fact, but, Long is correct, they are not often so bluntly stated as this. The writer of Hebrews intentionally applies Psalm 45 to Jesus: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…”
We stop to praise the Lord for His greatness! The Son is none other than God in flesh, God with us. How astonishing! Then he quotes another psalm:
10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, 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 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.” (quoting Psalm 102:25-27)
Here the Son is described as the creating Lord of Heaven and earth. Here, too, His deity is exalted and heralded!
When one understands rightly what the author of Hebrews is saying, one develops a profound allergy to any and all diminishments of Christ. Consider the late and very liberal Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong’s assessment of the divinity of Jesus, as relayed by the late Richard John Neuhaus:
“Do you believe Jesus is God?” “No,” says Bishop John Spong (Episcopalian) of Newark, but “I do believe something of him was perfectly transparent to God.” (He did not specify which part of Jesus might be transparent.) The statement prompted a reader of the Christian Challenge, which styles itself “The Only Worldwide Voice of Traditional Anglicanism,” to come up with some revised titles for favorite hymns: “Clearer My God Through Thee,” “Glass of Ages, Cleaned for Me,” and “Joyful Joyful, We See Through Thee.” Oh, those Anglicans.[2]
No, no: this nonsense simply will not do. Spend time in Hebrews and the rest of the scripture’s exalted view of Jesus and you will begin to say with John Stott:
Away then with our petty, puny, pygmy Jesuses! Away with our Jesus clowns and pop stars! Away too with our political Messiahs and revolutionaries! For these are caricatures.[3]
Yes! Away with them! We say with the Greeks in John 12:21, “We would see Jesus!” Yes! Yes we would! We do not want any truncated, diminished, reduced, altered, whittled-down Jesus! We want to see Jesus, greater than the greatest of angels!
Michael the Archangel, in all his fearsome power and combat, trembles in the presence of Jesus and falls on his knees in praise!
The very rocks wish to cry out in praise to Jesus!
Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess the Lordship of King Jesus!
In 1869 Fanny Crosby took up her pen and wrote:
1 Praise him, praise him! Jesus, our blessed redeemer!
Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!
Hail him, hail him! Highest archangels in glory!
Strength and honor give to his holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children.
In his arms he carries them all day long.
Refrain:
Praise him! Praise him! tell of his excellent greatness.
Praise him! Praise him! ever in joyful song.
2 Praise him, praise him! Jesus, our blessed redeemer!
For our sins, he suffered, and bled, and died.
He our rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
hail him, hail him! Jesus, the crucified.
Sound his praises, Jesus who bore our sorrows,
love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong. [Refrain]
3 Praise him, praise him! Jesus, our blessed redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever!
Crown him, crown him! prophet, and priest, and king!
Christ is coming, over the world victorious.
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong. [Refrain]
Let the church say, “Amen!”
[1] Long, Thomas G.. Hebrews (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching) (p. 18). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[2] Richard John Neuhaus. “While We’re At It.” First Things. December 1994.
[3] John Stott, The Radical Disciple (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010), p.44.