In Thursday's study we talked about the problem with placing too much value on angels. The author of Hebrews was dealing with a culture that had a growing interest in all things spiritual, which was leading some of them to regard angels with an attitude of worship. The author explained that Christ is superior to angels in every way and that the angels worship Him. Today he picks up there by reminding us that Christ has been given the highest honors by God the Father and that He has the preeminence over all that has been created.
"But about the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.'" (Hebrews 1:8-9) The writer is quoting from Psalm 45, in which God the Father calls the Son "God", making Him equal in authority and power. God is giving the Son a throne that lasts forever, a throne from which He will rule the nations, the throne that God promised to King David would belong to one of his descendants. (2 Samuel 7:16) This is the kingdom that Jacob prophetically foresaw when blessing his sons, saying of the line of his son Judah, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until He to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be His.." (Genesis 49:10) The Lord Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, of the royal line of Judah, is that King whose kingdom will never end.
"He also says, 'In the beginning, Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.'" (Hebrews 1:10-12) This quote is from Psalm 102, a psalm which extols the sovereign power of the Lord who created all things. The author of Hebrews has already pointed out earlier in this first chapter that it was through the Son that God created everything that exists. The Son existed before the world was made, the Son came to the earth in the flesh to give His life for us, then He rose from the dead never to die again. He lives forever, and His kingdom endures forever, and though times and seasons may change He never does. As the author will later say in the book of Hebrews, the Lord Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)
The angels, unlike the Son, are not seated at the right hand of the Father. They are not kings and have received no kingdom. Their job is to serve God and to minister to those who belong to Him, so they are never to be worshiped but are to be considered the servants of God. "To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet'? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:13-14) King David wrote Psalm 110, the Psalm the author is quoting here. In it David says, "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1) In his day David probably didn't fully understand the concept of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Christ had not yet come, and David didn't have a clear picture of how the Lord could speak to the Lord in this manner, but in the psalm he wrote we find God the Father speaking to God the Son. It is only to the Son that the right hand of honor is promised, so worshiping anything or anyone else (like angels) is to commit idolatry. The worship of God the Son is the worship of God Himself, for the Son is God, and God the Father clearly makes this statement in David's psalm. The Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings, and our allegiance belongs to Him.
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