In the first century AD a lot of emphasis was being placed on the ministry of angels. Their status in people's minds had become elevated to the point of near-worship. Though angels are superior to human beings (Psalm 8:5), they are not superior to Christ. Though Christ came to earth in the form of a man, He is superior to man because He is God incarnate, and He is superior to the angels because the angels are created beings and He is not. He is God and has always existed as the second person of the Holy Trinity. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Since, as the author of Hebrews told us yesterday, nothing was created without Christ, He is the creator also of angels. So angels are not to be worshiped; the Creator is to be worshiped. The author is going to speak today on Christ's superiority to angels in order to correct a false mindset that was prevalent in his day.
We concluded yesterday with the image in our minds of Christ being seated at the right hand of God. The right hand is the place of highest honor, and no angel has ever sat there, nor will one. That place is for Christ, the Son of God, who fulfilled God's plan of salvation through His own flesh on the cross, and who has earned for Himself the greatest honor of all. When Isaiah foresaw the crucifixion, he heard the voice of God who said that in reward for Christ's work on the cross, "I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong." (Isaiah 53:12a) Because Christ was willing and obedient to perform His essential role in God's plan of salvation, the Apostle Paul says that in return God, "Exalted Him to the the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11) The angels themselves bow their knees to Christ. Instead of bowing our knees to angels, we must follow their example and give all glory and honor to Christ.
We pick up today with the exalted image of Christ seated at the right hand of God, with the writer saying, "So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are My Son, today I have become Your Father'? Or again, 'I will be His Father, and He will be My Son'? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all God's angels worship Him.'" (Hebrews 1:5-6) The author quotes Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14, 1 Chronicles 17:13, and Deuteronomy 32:43. He is speaking to Jewish Christians and is using Old Testament verses to back up the fact that Christ, as God's Son, has the preeminence over all things and is worthy of all worship. In our own times there are many who consider themselves "spiritual" and who spend a lot of time thinking about supernatural things, but any worship that is not directed toward the only One worthy of worship is not only unspiritual but extremely dangerous to a person's eternal soul. Making angels equal with Christ and maintaining a worshipful attitude toward angels is idolatry.
God didn't speak lofty words about the angels in the way He spoke lofty words about His Son. "In speaking of the angels He says, 'He makes His angels spirits, and His servants flames of fire." (Hebrews 1:7) This quote is from Psalm 104:4. God created the angels to serve Him and, by extension, to serve the humans who serve Him. We are not to make angels the focus of our worship. We are not to spend much time thinking about them. They are going about the business the Lord has assigned to them, Important work has been assigned to us too, so we are to be about the business the Lord has given us, which is to serve Him and to share the gospel of Christ with our fellow man.
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