The Supremacy of Christ, Part Two
Intro:
Hebrews 1:6-12
6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And regarding the angels He says,
“He makes His angels winds,
And His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But regarding the Son He says,
“Your throne, God, is forever and ever,
And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of [i]His kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.”
10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will wear out like a garment,
12 And like a robe You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”
Review from last week:
The author of Hebrews believes it is crucial to educate his audience on the superiority of Christ, particularly in regard to the angels.
The author is so passionate about this he spends 75% of his first chapter hammering this point home, citing no less that 30 combinations of OT Scripture quotations.
The author is most likely rejecting two false teachings circulating in the church: (anyone remember them?)
1. The idea that Jesus was an angel
2. The idea of worshiping angels
A unique characteristic of the book of Hebrews is how the author quotes the Old Testament. Unlike much of the rest of the New Testament (Matthew and Paul come to mind), the author of Hebrews presumes that his audience has a basic understanding of the Old Testament, and therefore often uses combinations and overlaps of direct quotations…generally stating an idea that is well known amongst the audience.
A modern day parallel would be as if I were to say to you. “Well, you know, the pilgrims came over on the mayflower.”
I don’t need to cite that from several historical sources to have you agree with it. We’ve all accepted that as a general fact from history. The author of Hebrews uses quotes and concepts in the same way.
Further Evidence of the superiority of Christ:
v6 The Father deems that the Angels worship Christ
There is evidence for this all over scripture. We see the Angels coming to worship Jesus at his birth, and Peter speaks to this very directly in
1 Pet. 3:22
Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
A Volume Comparison:
(ask a silent survey: who is the greatest hockey player of all time? Then as the people to raise their hands who said Wayne Gretzky)
NHL MVP’s
1989: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
1988: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
1987: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1986: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1985: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1984: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1983: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1982: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1981: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
1980: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
What’s the parallel here to our passage today?
Well, in verse 7 the author states:
7 And regarding the angels He says,
“He makes His angels winds,
And His ministers a flame of fire.”
That’s pretty stinkin’ awesome right? I’d love it if the Lord said that about me! You see the idea of wind and fire spreading the ministry, and, based on what’s been happening in Canada recently, we all know how powerful and far reaching that can be, right?
BUT…verse 8 begins a “comparison” list. And I use that term loosely, because, going back to the NHL MVP list, it’s not wrong or a slam to say, “Hey, Mario Lemieux was a heck of a player, he wont the MVP in 1988!”
It would also be very easy for someone to counter that by saying, “Yeah, Mario was great….there is no one like Gretzky though.”
Consider:
8 But regarding the Son He says,
“Your throne, God, is forever and ever,
And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of [i]His kingdom.
Jesus’s kingdom, not just Jesus, is forever. His kingdom is the definition of all understanding of righteousness in the universe.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.”
NO ONE is more just that Christ. NO ONE loves righteousness and hates lawlessness more that Christ. Therefore, Christ is eternally elevated above all others.
10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
Think of God’s answer to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?”
If God asked Jesus that, Jesus would say, “I was right there with you.”
Angels can’t claim that.
Satan can’t claim that.
Humans CERTAINLY can’t claim that.
Jesus created the universe, and therefore it is subject to him.
(Think about that the next time your prayer sounds like you giving advice to God as to what He should consider doing next in your life.”
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will wear out like a garment,
12 And like a robe You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”
I love what Matthew Henry says about this particular arc, because it speaks to the optimism we so very often forget that should so often be a cousin to our hope in Christ:
Christ will fold up this world as a garment not to be abused any longer, not to be any longer so used as it has been. Let us not then set our hearts upon that which is not what we take it to be, and will not be what it now is. Sin has made a great change in the world for the worse, and Christ will make a great change in it for the better.