Jesus--Greater Than the Angels

I have your Bibles with you today. I'll ask you to turn with me, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 1, and we're starting in verse 4, going through verse 9. Again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says that all God's angels worship Him. Of the angels, He says, He makes His angels winds and His ministers a flame of fire.

But of the sun, He says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Bow with me as we go to our Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we lift up our sick and infirm to you today. I pray for Faye Carter, who has suffered greatly this week and yet was able to be here this morning. I praise you and thank you for that. I pray for Carol Laufer, who was in the hospital this week and is here with us today.

We praise you for that. I pray for Jan Beecham's recuperation. I pray for Jeremy Carriker and Jim Belk and Renda Torrance. I pray for upcoming surgery for John Key and Nicole Lowes.

I pray for Don Bobinczyk, who's suffering the fracture in his back. I pray that you would have mercy on these and, Lord, that you would bring healing. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the book of Hebrews this morning. Every book in the Bible points us to Jesus, but the book of Hebrews glorifies Jesus as perhaps no other.

The theme of this book is the supremacy of Christ. And this passage shows us Jesus' supremacy over the angels. Lord, as we study angelic beings and their ministry, we are wowed with their greatness. Their wisdom is phenomenal, their service is unending, their power is amazing, and yet there is no comparison to the angels with the Son of God. Help us to appreciate angels but to worship Jesus. It's in your precious and holy name that I pray. Amen.

You may be seated. The passage that we are studying today emphatically teaches us that Jesus is superior to the angels. If you go to the Scripture, you'll find that there's a lot of stuff in the Scripture about angels. In fact, in the Old Testament, there are 108 direct references to angels. In the New Testament, there are 165 direct references to the angels. The purpose of God creating angels was to create them for worship and service to God and for God.

Over the last several decades, angels in America have gotten a lot of press. You go into a Christian bookstore and there will be a plethora of books about angels. You go into a jewelry store and they'll have angel necklaces and angel bracelets and there'll be little angel pins, you know, where you see a little smiling, chubby cherubim.

It's got little wings on his back and he's there that you might give that to your girlfriend so she'll get to warm fuzzies. And you might remember, if you're old enough, back in the 1990s, there was a program, a TV show called Touch by an Angel. And the angels in that show were like heavenly psychologists who came and proclaimed a soothing message of love from an all-embracing God who never judges. And you never would feel fear of those angels. And you never see those angels just bringing us to the point where we would fear God.

Well, when I read the Scriptures, that's not what I see about angels. Remember the passage in Daniel chapter 10 where the angel comes and is given Daniel future prophecies? And what kind of effect did that have on Daniel? Let me share some Scripture with you from Daniel chapter 10 verses 10 through 15. And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright for now have been sent to you. When he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, fear not, Daniel, from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words had been heard. Now I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. For I was left there with the kings of Persia. He came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.

When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute. This angel was so intimidating to Daniel that he was absolutely shaken with fear. I think of John the apostle as he was inspired to write the book of Revelation. He came to the last part of the book and God gave him a vision of this angel, a mighty angel. And he saw his power and he saw his holiness.

And he fell down on his face before this angel and the angel rebuked him. Listen to what he said in Revelation 22 verses 8 through 9. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.

But he said to me, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book, worship God. So folks, the TV show Touched by an Angel might have been entertaining but it certainly was not biblical. So I want to give the true picture today of angels and I'm not going to cover all the scripture because there's way too much information. But I want us to take a look at what angels are and what angels do. I'm not going to give you any particular order here, just sharing with you some biblical truths about angels. First of all, angels are spirit beings. They have bodies but not flesh and bone like we have.

Some of them at least have the ability to have a human form. We see this in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2 where the writer of Hebrews tells us that we are to be careful when we entertain strangers because some have entertained strangers and they were angels and they did not even realize it. It was an angel who appeared to Mary there at the garden when at the tomb where Jesus had been laid and the angel begins to speak to Mary Magdalene and tells Mary Magdalene he is not here. He has risen from the dead and when Mary saw that angel it appeared to be a human being.

Then it began to brilliantly glow and just glow with the glory of God and yet it had the form of a man. Next, angels are highly intelligent and they show emotion. We see this in Luke chapter 15 verse 10 where the scripture says there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Next, angels do not marry and they do not procreate. Many scholars believe that the angels were all created simultaneously and we don't know that for sure but the angels were created by God long before the earth was created and they knew they had their own personal identity. Next, angels are not subject to death. As you go through the scripture there's never any mention of an angel dying or being annihilated. We do know that a third of the angels followed Lucifer in his rebellion and they followed him in that rebellion. They went through a very difficult time because some of them were cast into a section of hell called Tartarus where they would be there suffering in horrible pain until the judgment day comes where they will be cast into the burning lake of fire.

The other ones that were not sent to Tartarus are now working as demons serving Satan in this earth. Next, angels were created before men and they could have been countless ages older than men. Some scholars believe that the number of angels that God created could actually be in the trillions.

That very well may be. In Daniel chapter 7 verse 10 we see a vision where Daniel sees the ancient of days and who is that? That's the Lord Jesus Christ and there are angels. The scripture says thousands of angels, myriads and myriads of angels that are standing before the throne where Jesus is and what are they doing?

They are worshiping the Son of God. Next, angels are highly organized and they are divided into ranks which appear to be a very complex organization. So are there different kinds of angels or different classes of angels?

And the answer to that is absolutely yes. We hear about cherubim, we hear about seraphim, we hear about the archangel, we hear about the herald angel. We hear about angels that are called living creatures. You might remember Isaiah chapter 6 when Isaiah walks into the temple of the Lord. And he walks in, he sees the Lord high and lifted up on his throne.

And what's there with him? Seraphim, bright shining angels that are encircling the throne and they're crying out, Holy, holy, holy, they are worshiping God with everything that's in them. And as far as we know, that's all these angels ever do. And they are glad to do it.

They are joyful in doing it. This is what their calling was. This is what God intended them to do. Next, angels are more powerful than men while men are in this body while men are still living here in this body on this earth. Now, in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 13, the apostle Paul is teaching us about spiritual warfare that we are going to go through. And he tells us who this spiritual warfare is with. The spiritual warfare is against Satan and his minions, which are what?

They are fallen angels. What does Paul tell us? He says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and rules of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore taken to you the whole armor of God that you may withstand in that evil day and having done all to stand. Next, angels can move with great speed and the angels are given names.

They have their own identity. We see Michael, who is the archangel. We see Gabriel, who is the herald angel. The name Gabriel means the mighty one. We see Lucifer, that name means the son of the morning or the bright morning star. That was the name of Satan before he fell and was given the name Satan. Next, angels minister to God and they do his bidding. You remember when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness? Forty days he was tempted in just horrible temptations that were given to him.

He won the great victory. And then after that Satan left him and what did God the father do? He sent an angel and that angel came and ministered to Jesus.

I don't know what he had to say to him, but I would have loved to have been there to heard the encouraging words this angel had to give to the son of God. Next, angels minister to God's redeemed people. John MacArthur said the following, angels also minister to God's redeemed by watching over the church. Assisting God in answering prayer, delivering from danger, giving encouragement and protecting children. They also minister to the unsaved by announcing and inflicting judgment.

That was not exhaustive by any means, but I just wanted to give you just a little taste of who angels are and what angels do. With that said, let's get to the passage and let the writer of Hebrews answer the question that he proposes for us. And that question is, why is Jesus superior to angels? Number one, because he has a better name.

Because he has a better name. Look with me at verses four through five. Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 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. So the question that's being asked here is when did Jesus receive the title son of God? There's some who would say, well, it was at his incarnation.

Angel Gabriel came to Mary, told Mary that the Holy Spirit was going to overshadow her, that she was going to give birth as a virgin. And then the angel said this to her, he, the baby in her womb, he will be called great and he will be great and be called the son of God. So some have said that it was at his incarnation that Jesus became the son of God. Others said, no, no, it was at his, as he began his earthly ministry, when John baptized him, as John was pouring the water over his head, the father spoke from heaven and said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Others said, no, no, that's not the time either. The time that he became the son of God was the time of the transfiguration. When Peter, James and John went with Jesus up to the mountain and Jesus turned dazzling gloriously white before them and as Jesus is turning dazzling gloriously white, the father speaks from heaven and says, this is my beloved son. Listen to him.

I'm well pleased in him. So which one of these is it? Was it his birth? Was it his baptism or was it the transfiguration where Jesus became the son of God?

The answer to that is none of the above. Now let me share with you what J.I. Packer said because Packer got it right. The relationship of the God-man to the father while he was on earth was not a new relationship occasioned by the incarnation, but the continuation in time of the eternal relationship between the son and the father in heaven. As in heaven, so on earth. And Paul says in Romans 1 through 4 that according to Jesus' human nature, he is called son of David. But according to his divine nature, he is a son of God. Likewise, John 1 14 tells us that in the incarnation the word became flesh and dwelt among us and as a result we saw the glory as of the only begotten of the father. So Jesus was never not the son of God. Jesus was the eternal son of God. There was never a time when Jesus was not the son of God. There was never a time that Jesus ceased to be the son of God. Jesus is like God the father. He's like God the son. He is eternal. He has been here forever and will be here forever and he has always been and will always be son of God. God was not saying, so let me ask you this.

What is the psalmist saying in Psalm 2 verse 7? Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee. God was not saying that today is your start as my son.

God was saying these things prove it. The virgin birth of Christ. The baptism when God the father spoke from heaven saying this is my beloved son. The transfiguration where God spoke from heaven and said this is my beloved son. The crucifixion where Jesus died on the cross for his people. The resurrection where Jesus rose from the dead. Those things did not make Jesus the son. They proved that Jesus was the son of God.

So with that title, Son of God burning in our hearts, let's look at the question the writer of Hebrews asked. Which angel can make that claim? Which angel could be called the son of God? Angels are powerful. Angels are holy. Angels can be loved and they honor God. But folks, no angel was ever called the son of God.

No angel. We know that Jesus is superior to the angels because of the divine name or the divine title that was given to him, Son of God. Michael was the archangel. Gabriel was the herald angel. They were powerful.

They were holy. But they were never called the son of God. So Jesus' title proves what? It proves that he is superior to the angels.

Alright, point two. Jesus is superior because he is worshipped. Look at verse six. And again when he brings the firstborn into the world, he said, let all God's angels worship him. So where do we read that in the Old Testament? We go back to Psalm 97 verse 7. The Scripture says it this way. Worship him all you gods.

Wow. And the word gods is written with a little g. If you read that in the Hebrew, the word gods there is a special Hebrew word, elohim. And it is often translated in the Scripture in the Old Testament as angels. Now when the writer of Hebrews quotes it, he translates from Hebrew into Greek. And the word that he translated, elohim, into the Greek was angelos. The word angelos means angel. And it can mean messenger, but it doesn't mean gods.

This is interesting. A few weeks ago I was preaching Father's Day, I mean the Mother's Day message. And I went back to Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 and we saw the prophecy that was given by Isaiah or to Isaiah. And the prophecy said this, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. Now we looked at the word virgin in the Hebrew and the word virgin was alma.

That particular word can mean virgin and it can mean young maiden. So was Jesus really born of a virgin? Is that what the Scripture is trying to teach us? And then we went over into the Gospel of Matthew. We saw where Matthew had taken that verse, translated it from the Hebrew into the Greek. And when he translates it into the Greek, he uses the word parthenos to define or translate that word into Greek.

And the word parthenos can mean virgin and only virgin. So folks, this Hebrews chapter 1 verse 6 is very, very, very important. It's a passage where we need to let the New Testament Greek be a commentary on the Old Testament Hebrew. And in the New Testament Greek it says let all of God's angels, angelos, let all of them worship the Son of God. Jesus is also called the firstborn in this passage because we saw last week the idea of firstborn as not meaning birth order or chronological age.

It's something different here. Jesus did not get his start as a baby born in Bethlehem. Jesus is eternal. He, like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, has been here forever and will be here forever.

The emphasis on firstborn here is not birth order or chronological age. It's to tell us that Jesus is the heir of all things. If he is the heir of all things, what does that mean?

It means he owns everything. How about the angels who appeared? What is this teaching us? I think this is important for us to look at how the angels were worshiping Jesus. When did it take place? Do we ever see them actually worshiping Christ?

Well, let's go back to his birth. You remember on that first night Jesus is being born in Bethlehem and the angels came to minister to the shepherds in the field. I want you to listen to what is said. In the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.

They were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those whom he is pleased. Brothers and sisters, is that not worship? Angels were worshiping Jesus here. Then there were angels there at the tomb to share with Mary that Jesus was not in that tomb. He is risen from the dead.

Let me tell you, what they were sharing here was joyful praise and worship. And then I think of Jesus' ascension. Jesus ascended up to heaven. The disciples were there. They were watching him descend into this cloud which I believe is the Shekinah glory of God, the glory cloud.

And as Jesus is going up into that cloud, these two angels appear. And they speak to these disciples. And they say, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here gazing into heaven?

This same Jesus who has just left you is going to come again in like manner. Brothers and sisters, that was excited, joyful worship. And let me share with you a passage of scripture that has always rung my veil. This is in 1 Peter 1, 10 through 12. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, and listen to this, things into which angels long to look.

Now, think about it. The angels were created, and they were created probably ages before the earth was created. And they were created just ages before Adam and Eve were created by God.

Why, it's probably the way it took place that they were all created simultaneously, and they immediately were introduced to Jesus, the Son of God. The angels saw God create, or Jesus create this earth. He saw Adam and Eve created. They also saw Adam and Eve's sin.

When they saw Adam and Eve's sin, they knew that this was a hopeless situation. They knew that they had sinned, and now them and their descendants would spend eternity in a horrible hell, suffering forever and ever and ever. Then they watched as Jesus Christ came to this earth, born of a virgin, was born as a little baby, grew up all the way through his childhood, all the way through his adulthood, and lived completely and totally without sin.

And then for three years, he ministered here on this earth, and he fed the hungry, and he healed the sick, and he cast out demons, and he raised the dead. And then wicked, evil people took the Lord Jesus Christ, and they nailed him to a cross, and the angels were watching that. Jesus said this, he said, while he was getting ready to be crucified, he said, do you not realize that I could right now call on 12 legions of angels, for they're there waiting.

12 legions of angels is 144,000 angels. And he said they would come, and they would take me right back to glory, and I would never have to go through this, but Jesus would not do it. Jesus held the angels off, and Jesus went to the cross, and he died there, and he suffered. And the angels looked at his bloody, broken, beaten body on the cross.

He watched as they took the body of Jesus out, and they took it and placed it in the grave. And then they watched as three days later, Jesus was raised from the dead. The scripture says they long to understand this, because they just don't get it. Why don't they get it? Why don't they understand? Because they can't understand how Jesus could love these wicked sinners like us, like he loves us. They don't get it.

They don't understand that. They look at what happened to the third of the angels that followed Satan in his rebellion, and they didn't get a second chance. They were either sent immediately to Taurus, or one day they knew that they were all going to be judged at that final judgment, but Jesus did what? Jesus died for wicked, sinful people like Doug Agnew and like you.

He died for us that we might not have to spend forever in hell, but we could spend forever in glory with him forever and ever and ever. You think the angels aren't worshiping Jesus? My goodness, they worshiped him in eternity past. They worshiped him when he was here on this earth, and they will worship him forever and ever.

All right, point three. Jesus is superior because of his divine sovereignty, verses eight through nine. Of the angels, he said, he makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire. But of the sun, he says, your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, your God, has anointed you with oil of gladness beyond your companions. Angels were created to serve God, to worship God, and even to serve us as God's people.

They are like wind and fire, which means they're fast and they're extremely strong. We're to appreciate them. We are to respect them.

We are to thank God for them, but we are never to worship them. Kent Hughes shared a true story about angels that I wanted to share with you, kind of helps in understanding the reality of angels and how they minister to us today. Hughes said the following, Jim, my scholar, recounts the following story told to him by his uncle Clyde, Clyde Taylor, founder of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Dr. Clyde Taylor, who married my grandfather's sister, and my uncle Charlie Marstella were missionaries in the early 1920s to a headhunting tribe in South America. They were beside a river in the forest living in a thatched hut. One day, late in the afternoon, they noticed a dugout being paddled down the river with only one man in it. Their immediate thought was that the warriors were coming to kill them that night. The dugout could hold over 40 men, and they realized that the men were probably going to try to kill them that night.

Uncle Clyde and Charlie had a.22 rifle in their hut, and they took it and some ammo out into the tall grass off to the side of their dwelling. There they stayed all night in their own private prayer meeting, expecting that if attacked, they would fire the gun in the air to frighten the headhunters. Nothing happened that night.

They had no trouble with the tribe for the rest of their term in South America. They both returned home after their term was over, and it wasn't until nine years later that Clyde was able to visit the field. One day, he encountered one of the men from the tribe who had since become a Christian, so he asked the native about what happened that night. The former headhunter said, I remember that night. There were 44 of us. We were coming to set fire to your hut.

When we got there and surrounded the hut, we realized that we could not attack because there were hundreds of men dressed in white with swords and shields standing all around your hut and even on the roof. That is why I'm a Christian now. Uncle Clyde realized that God had protected them with his angels and used this account to be an encouragement to many others throughout the rest of his life. Then my son, Mitch, was six months old. His bedroom was on the far side of our house, and we put him to bed one night in his crib. I had to get up 4.30 the next morning. I worked at Associated Grocers, and I had to get up and go to work early, so I went to sleep. Man, I was sleeping soundly. One o'clock in the morning, I felt a tug on my leg.

I thought, what in the world? My wife was asleep over by my side. I looked down. There was nobody there, and I thought, well, this must have been a dream, and so I started to close my eyes again, and this time I felt not a tug, but it was like something was jerking me right off the bed. I mean, it was like I felt hands around me and just jerked me right off the bed. I got up, and I started running through the house.

Who in the world did that? I went running into Mitch's bedroom, and Mitch somehow had gotten the blanket wrapped around his throat, and he was turning as blue as you can imagine. I grabbed that blanket. I ripped it around from his throat, and he gasped for breath and started breathing again. It took him several minutes to get his breathing back where it should be. All the blueness left his face.

His face became pink again, and I sat down in the rocking chair holding him, and I held him to my chest, and I just cried, and then I began to pray and thank God, thank God for sending an angel to wake me up in order that my child's life might be saved. You might say, Doug, that's crazy. You're just making that story up. Let me tell you something. You can say what you want.

You can feel like you want. I will believe to the day that I die that that was an angel, and that angel was used of God to help me that my son might be living, and he's still living today and doing well. Angels are servants to both God and men, but the angels know this truth. Jesus is God.

They're not. They allow no one to worship them, but they worship Jesus with no reservation. So what does this prove? It proves that Jesus is superior to angels. The godly angels have worshiped Jesus from the moment that they were created, and they will worship him forever and forever, and all God's people see it. Amen.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we have been studying the angels this morning. We've been a little wowed by their power and their personal holiness, but what really wowed us was the superiority of Jesus over the angels. The angels have power, but Jesus has all power. The angels are holy, but Jesus is thrice holy. The angels are servants, but Jesus is God. Praise your name, Jesus. May we honor you as the angels do, for it's in the precious and holy name of Jesus that I pray. Amen.