Christ Superiority Over Angels (Part C)

You would have to hate him to get away from his grace. And I know the sinner who struggles does not hate him, the Christian sinner, the Christian who sins. And so be made strong by these things because Satan will lie to you and say, you, you, it doesn't apply to you. You forfeited it. You gave it up. The answer to that is the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sins. And so I will go back to being passionate about communicating this.

I want you to go after today's message to hear more about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Christ's Superiority Over Angels is the title of Pastor Rick's message, and he'll be teaching in Hebrews chapter 1 today. Angels assisted in the giving of the law to Moses. The Bible makes that clear. It doesn't give us the details.

It doesn't have to. That is in Acts chapter 7 verse 53 and again in Galatians 3 19. It's elsewhere, but that's two is enough and the strength of two witnesses. There you are. They also assisted in the proclamation of the resurrection.

We know that from the gospel story. Angel perched upon the stone. Who are you looking for? Almost comical. He's not here. He's risen. He's not dead.

He's alive. We see the angels delivering Peter from jail, for example, Peter thinking it a dream till he finally wakes up outside the prison. In the Book of Revelation, they are extremely active.

And so you well, where you going with this? Well, our verse says, who makes his angel spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. His angels are servants. There they are fervent in their service. That's why they are ministers of fire. So the point is, again, the angels are made, but the son is eternal. The angels are made.

He makes them. But the son has it all in himself. As the next verse declares, verse eight. But to the son is that disjunctive that separates and joins again. He says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. The son is addressed as God by the father. Now, again, in the Old Testament, this is Yahweh being assigned to Jesus Christ. It is saying Yahweh is Jesus Christ. That's how the Jew would have received this when this is read in the church. So, again, these quotations are taken out of their Old Testament context and applied to Jesus Christ and none other.

It is startling. Psalm 45, verse six and seven. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

That is the connection. In fact, that whole psalm has a progression from man to God in the humanity of Christ and his deity coming into visibility. And so here he says, again, Your throne, O God, is forever. So God calls Jesus God.

According to this verse, there's no way around it, unless you just want to flat out lie and be in denial. Thomas called Jesus God. Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God.

It's not an exclamation alone. He did not say, O Lord. He called him.

He was declaring it. He's addressing Jesus Christ. You are my Lord.

You are my God. Paul called. Well, John, we'll take John first. John called Jesus God first. John Chapter one, not first John, but John's Gospel, Chapter one, verses one and fourteen. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Verse fourteen. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Before you run off and feel sorry for people who reject us from the scripture, understand it is their choice. When they stand before a holy God, he's going, Why didn't you get it?

How could you have missed it? Others got it. What's your problem? Well, I listen to the watchtower or I listen to this one. You should have listened to the son. Should have listened to the word. You should have listened to my people who pointed it out. But when you were confronted with the truth, instead of submitting to it, you went back to the laboratory in your mind to try to figure out ways to make it not so because you didn't like it.

Did not conform to your idea wherever you may have gotten it from. We see the news media does this all the time. They don't like a truth. They spin it instead of saying, you know, huh, that's right.

Maybe I maybe I should rethink this. They don't do that. They go back and they're going to come up with this line to chase it, chase it away, to make the truth not look like the truth.

They teach kids how to debate this way. You can pick any side. Doesn't matter. It's no absolute.

You just have to be more clever than the other one. Paul called Jesus God. Titus, Chapter two, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ.

That's that is not a separation. It's not great God. Oh, in addition, Jesus Christ is our God, who is our savior, Jesus Christ.

That is how it reads in English ended Greek. Titus three, verse four, when the kindness and love of God, our savior toward men appeared. Who is God, our savior? When did it appear? Well, Jesus, he is God, our savior. When did he appear? In Bethlehem.

And the innocent children died because of it. It is that God counted it that important. Romans, Chapter nine, verse five, of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all the eternally blessed God forever. And so when you have people that say, Oh, yeah, well, what about this verse?

Where is it? What about this verse? You have to understand, is it speaking about him in his role as Messiah?

Is it making that distinction for you? Because it speaks of him in both ways under the authority of the father as Messiah and total deity in his eternal role that he had before he came to Earth. And so I don't know how one can be a Christian and deny the deity of Christ to do so clearly indicates that they don't know him. They might know of him. They may know things that has been said in scripture or by others. But if they don't get that, they don't know the leaders of this group of the Unitarians, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons, the Oneness Pentecostals, Islam.

Islam acknowledges Jesus Christ's existence, but they do not accept him as who he says he is. Well, where do they get anything else? It comes from the script.

Where could they possibly have gotten it? And so they opt to downsize him. That comes with an eternal price. All these insist that the Bible does not say what it says. This denial is, as I mentioned, soul-damning.

And here we go. John's Gospel, chapter 8, verse 24. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. What do you mean I believe that I am he? Not just a messenger. You won't go to hell for saying to someone, well, I don't think you're a messenger from the king unless it is in the fulfillment of scripture and the one that you are denying his claims, which he claimed to be God.

Then, all of a sudden, it is very serious. 1 John, chapter 2, verse 23. Whoever denies a son does not have the father.

It is not talking about historically. There were people there that were saying, yeah, no, we know Christ existed. But the Gnostics, whom 1 John is also written against, that's the first heresy that really came at the church, to refute that they're denying that he is God the Son. And so he says about them, whoever denies a son does not have the father either. He who acknowledges the son has the father also.

And then Luke, chapter 12. But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. That means after this life.

Very serious. To have, again, spiritual fellowship with those who deny what the Bible says about Christ is to put you in a bad spot. John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 36. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life. And he who does not believe the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on him. Now, when he says they shall not see life, those people are still alive. So he's not talking about this life. He's talking about the next life. The wrath of God, looming over their head.

They have something to say about that. They can escape the wrath if they will submit. That's our role as Christians. When we bring the Gospel, we bring who Jesus is. He is Savior, but before he is Savior, and even if he is not Savior, he is Lord. He is Lord God Almighty. He doesn't need to be my Savior to do that. But I sure love that he is my Savior.

And if he weren't Lord, he couldn't save me. So, he continues, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. This is Christ as ruler, uncorrupted sovereign ruler. Again, when he came as Messiah, he had no scepter. He allowed them to crucify him. That was according to the humanity, to be crucified no more.

He will not again put his sovereignty on hold. Jeremiah writes about him in 500 years before his birth. In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called the Lord Our Righteousness, Yahweh Tzidkenu. That's because Christ will be reigning from Jerusalem.

Now, thank God our president has just put the American embassy in Jerusalem and declared before the world that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. But God did it long ago. God is always, he's not a step ahead, he's an eternity ahead of us all. Verse 9.

Again, I hope I'm not boring you with this, if at least maybe a refresher course. But every Christian must be clear on this. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

He's still quoting scripture. He's pointing out the difference between sacred love and profane love. People who are not mindful of God, they can love things. They can love bicycles or whatever it is they love, but they cannot love the Lord Jesus. That comes from the Holy Spirit. That comes from confession, admission, and submission to Christ. Now, he, our Lord, he has been hated for hating lawlessness. We even have an entertainment figure that has taken upon a stage name of degenerate to boast, to mock righteousness.

Let all men be a liar. God is not mocked. You will stand accountable to that. Every idle word spoken will be dealt with, lest the blood of Christ be on you. And so we have universities and governments and entertainers and the industry of entertainment.

We have many scientists. They hate the righteousness of Christ and want to find another way of doing things apart from him, even hostile towards him. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you. This, again, does not demote him. It distinguishes him in his humanity with the oil of gladness more than your companions. I know I'm repeating some of this because it needs to be repeated because this is not regular information. This is spiritual information, and you cannot grasp it casually. It comes through prayer and consideration and exploring the Scriptures and cross-referencing and getting the point and asking the Lord, what does it really say? And so, with the oil of gladness more than your companions, clearly Christ is plainly addressed as a man. That is his incarnate arrival, beginning in Bethlehem. Antichrist will be, in contrast, he will not be the one with the righteous scepter who loves lawfulness. He will be the unrighteous one with a scepter that loves unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2, verses 8 and 9. Then the lawless one will be revealed. Now, we're not going to be here to see who is revealed, according to Thessalonians, because the Holy Spirit, who restrains the permissions to allow such a monster to come into power, he will withdraw, and when he withdraws, he will take the church with him. We call that the rapture. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders. Don't believe just because you see a miracle that it comes from God.

Satan is able to do lying wonders when God gives him permission to do it, and according to Deuteronomy 13, God from time to time gives him this permission to test the faith of the righteous, to see if they will default to the word and its meanings, or if they will gobble up any piece of junk that is put in the mousetrap. I don't want to sound harsh, but I don't want to yield an inch. As Paul said, we did not yield for one hour.

We weren't given into that for not a moment. But in the zeal to communicate these superlatives, you can come off as being angry. I'm excited. I love the word of God. I remember who I was before God opened it up to me, and I never want to be that person again. And I don't want people who are in sin to go to hell. And I don't know any other way to present these things except passionately and truthfully and clearly as I can. And if you are a Christian and you say, But I struggle and I fall and you sound as though you're isolating me, as though I've lost the benefit.

Absolutely not. That's why I took a moment to emphasize the grace of this magnificent God, that you almost can't get outside of it. You would have to hate him to get away from his grace. And I know the sinner who struggles does not hate him, the Christian sinner, the Christian who sins. And so be made strong by these things because Satan will lie to you and say, You!

You! It doesn't apply to you. You forfeited it. You gave it up. The answer to that is the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sins.

And so I will go back to being passionate about communicating this. I claim that close to going to hell. I remember times as an unbeliever almost being killed. I don't mean somebody was chasing me with a machete or something like that.

But I was in situations in the military and other places where, Man, if that had just gone an inch to the right or left, that would have been it. And so when I think about what God saved me from, Should I be? Should we be anything less than excited? Who can be casual about sharing the gospel?

I can be monotone for you if you'd like. Verse 10, we'll take verses 10 through 12 since you've got places to go. And you, Yahweh, because he's quoting Old Testament, In the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain, and they will grow old like a garment, like a cloak.

You will fold them up, and they will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will not fail. When he, this is a primary particle, when he says, And, he is saying, in addition to, also, I'm not finished with this point. That's what, that is a big word that is there in the Greek and in the English. He says, you know, you go back up, you read everything that we've been covering this morning. And when he says, and furthermore, he's driving it home. He's joining this Psalm 2 of Yahweh, that points out Yahweh yet again to Jesus Christ. Let's read it, Psalm 102 verses 25 and 26. Well, I'll read it and you can listen. Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you will endure. But wait a minute, what did we start off in the second verse of this letter? That nothing was created without Christ.

We can't detach the paragraphs as though they're not interlocked. He's speaking about Jesus here, this applies to Jesus Christ. And then Hebrews 10, we'll get this at some point in the future.

For it is, it was fitting for him. Jesus Christ is the antecedent in this second chapter in the verse I'm quoting here. For whom all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. That's our captain of salvation.

When Joshua was considering how am I going to take Jericho out? And then the angel of the Lord, the captain of the armies of the Lord, of the Lord of hosts, he appears. And Joshua says, you for us are against us.

He says, I'm not for you or for them, I'm for God. And then that is the same Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation. And Jericho fell and so will the judgment on you for your sins. It will fall away because of the blood of Christ.

Because he is your captain. He will lead you into victory. It may not seem like it many times in this life, this life is a probation. But it will be, the day is going to come when the captain of your salvation, because of his sufferings, will lead you into glory, will meet you in glory.

You're either going to be raptured there or you're going to fall asleep and wake up there. And so it doesn't get any more divine than being the creator of creation. And it is a sign to Christ.

He is responsible for it and that is what the writer is saying. Angels are created, Christ is the creator. Hebrews 1, the first three verses, Colossians 1, 16, Ephesians 3, 9, I mean just all over the New Testament. And so it is not in God's mind to preserve this creation forever. You know how many tunnels and underground things there are on this earth? God is going to just burn it all up and get rid of it. He's going to come back for a while, we'll hang out here for a thousand years or so. And then he's going to create a new heavens and a new earth. Humanistic man has no worthwhile, long-term plan for humanity.

And it's supposed to be humanistic, you know, secular humanist. According to them, the earth is forever. Well, of course, the polar bears are in jeopardy. We've got to care more about them than anything else. And they're not.

Global warming, I hope there's no one here that's bought into that nonsense. God is the one that upholds his universe. And scientists will either get it wrong or get it right, depending on their relationship to God and their submission to the facts. We're Revelation 21, 5. Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I will make all things new. And he said to me, Write for these words of faithful and true. So God has a plan for this universe. And it's disposable, this world.

All of your stuff eventually is going to be burned up. Verse 13, But to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool? Again, a repeated question structure from verse 5. He's never said this to any of the angels. And he promises here that, well, he makes no promises to save his enemies. He promises to make them his footstool.

That means they will be conquered. And so, verse 14, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Well, where did that salvation come from? Well, we know from our Christ. And he returns to this as from verse 7.

So just a few things to button up in closing. First, of course, when he says, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister? And he says, For those who will inherit salvation. Yeah, the angels, they are, they work on our behalf. Matthew, chapter 18, Jesus says, Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. So what do you think? Do you think that a child reaches a certain age and the angel is then dismissed?

Don't need them anymore? Not at all. Because the angels carry Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham in Scripture. We have angels with us. We're not to talk to them. We're not to pray to them. We're not to try to weasel something from them. There are not going to be any angel feathers showing up in sanctuaries. Bird feathers, maybe. They're spiritual beings.

Anyway, this was a fad sometimes. A lot of Christians, Oh, that was a good one. I like it. Yai, yai, yai. What do you say to that? Pepper spray them. That's the only way to deal with terrorists. No, I'm kidding.

Anyway, back to this. Elijah prayed and said, O Lord, I pray open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elijah. And so they're ministering.

He's making this distinction. These angels are sent. Jesus is the one that sends them. He is the one that has provided the salvation that we will inherit. And he is the heir of salvation, purchase of God. But he shares it with us. We went over this last week.

Just to review and we'll be done. Who other than God can these apply from this one chapter? He made the worlds in verse two. He is the brightness of God's glory, the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power and by himself, purged our sins.

Who else can that go to? He's more excellent than the angels. Verse four. He is the only one that has said the begotten son that comes from the father. Verse six, he says, let the angels worship him.

You can only worship deity or you are a blasphemer. Your throne is forever. It's eternal. That's both forward and backwards. That's not eternity forward. It's eternity backward and forward. Verse 10, you laid the foundations of the earth.

He had to drive piles to do that. And verse 14, sit at my right hand. This one chapter has just wiped out how many cults that exist in our day. How invigorated we should be when we talk about Jesus Christ, our savior. You've been listening to Cross Reference Radio, the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast, today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to crossreferenceradio.com. That's crossreferenceradio.com. We'd also like to encourage you to subscribe to the Cross Reference Radio podcast. Subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick. You can subscribe at crossreferenceradio.com or simply search for Cross Reference Radio in your favorite podcast app. Tune in next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews, right here on Cross Reference Radio.