The Supremacy of Christ (Part 3)
Intro:
13 But 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 provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
I actually want us to consider these two closing verses in reverse order today, looking at the final verse (14) of chapter one first, then closing by looking at verse 14.
- “They” are the Angels
I’m not a huge fan of the the NLT, but in terms of capturing what could otherwise be a slightly confusing verse, I think the NLT captures the author’s thoughts nicely:
Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation. (NLT)
Now, this is no small thing, to be sure, don’t forget what the author reminds us of in back in verse 7, which we looked at last week. The author describes the angels in this way:
V7:
And regarding the angels He says,
“HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”
And if we look at verse 7 and verse 14 together, and combine those two teachings, we see that one of the chief ways the angels minster to those who inherit salvation (us) is to be “winds” (accelerants) to the fire (gospel) that we are carrying into the world.
(Any of you have the experience of using an accelerant on a camp fire)
(story of Ben and the donut grease at WOC)
Therefore, these verse are by no means intended to shame the angels, or to “knock them down a peg” in the minds of the original audience.
The angels are amazing, heavenly agents of the Most High. We are right to marvel at them.
The author’s intent is not to shame the angels in any way.
Rather, the author is addressing at least two false teachings…
Again, what are they?
- The worship of angels.
- That Jesus was an angel.
And the reason that this is so worthy of correction is because both of these false beliefs actually attempt to knock JESUS down a peg. How?
- The worship of angels: ONLY GOD/JESUS/HS are WORTHY of worship.
- That Jesus was an angel: No. He is FAR SUPERIOR to the angels. In fact, the angel’s mission (to fan the flames of the gospel by ministering to US. And that gospel is not possible without the work of Christ!
A Singular Definition:
In societies, one of the chief ways we measure greatness is through singularity. If someone is the only person in history to do a great thing, they are set above, “the best of the best” if you will.
We have an entire book, the Guiness Book to chart these things, and while many of those records are just weird. (Most Rubik’s Cubes solved while riding a skateboard? Londoner George Sholey. He solved 500 rubik’s cubes while riding a skateboard in 1 hour and 40 minutes.) George’s parents must SO proud.
But other records are quite amazing:
The Simpsons is the longest running TV show in American History with 716 Episodes over 32 seasons.
Second on that list? Gunsmoke with 635 episodes over 20 seasons.
But that’s not my favorite. My favorite is Jonathan Lee Richards, who has sued over 4,000 companies and individuals, and holds the world record for the largest amount of lawsuits filed, including suits against Bill Gates and Pope Benedict XVI. When he found out that he held the record, he sued Guinness.
But do you notice what all of these records have in common? They are not singular, they are just “more” than the previous record. True singularity is just that, to have been the only one to do something. Even greater singularity is to be the only one who is able to do a thing.
So when the author asks the rhetorical question:
But to which of the angels has He ever said,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies
A footstool for Your feet”?
he is making a point of singularity.
Consider:
Hebrews 1:3 quoting Psalm 110:1 of David:
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Guzik:
The angels are not permitted to relax before God. They stand before the Father, but the Son sits down — because He isn’t a subject, He is the Sovereign.
And he is the ONLY Sovereign.
Pray/QA