Heb 1:5–14 — The Son Superior to Angels

The Word of God is powerful. The Word of God is able to discern the thoughts of our hearts. The Word of God is accomplishing that for which it has been sent. And this portion of God’s Word that we have just read is a powerful passage exalting Christ, the superiority of Christ over the angels. That is the main point of this text, the Son superior to angels.

Last week we looked at the opening paragraph, which in Greek is one sentence called a period. And we saw the wonderful statement there at the beginning of this letter to the Hebrews, that God spoke in many ways in different types and shadows and prophetic oracles in the Old Testament days. But in these last days, he has spoken to us his final word, his ultimate word in the person of his son. At the end of that paragraph, it says that he made purification for sins.

He sat down at the right hand of God. Having become, verse four, as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. He is referring here to the exaltation of Christ after his death and resurrection. He ascended into heaven and he sat down at the right hand of God. At that moment, he became as much superior to the angels as the name that he inherited is more excellent.

The name is the name of Son. That is the title that is being described here in this whole passage, not just in the previous verse there, in verse 2, he has spoken with in his son, but also in the subsequent context. For example, in verse 5 in our text today, for to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son? So the name that he has inherited is the name of son. But it is not as though he became the son at his exaltation.

Because according to our passage here, there are several places in the first chapter of Hebrews, which indicate that his sonship is eternal and goes back even before creation. For example, in verse two, it says that God has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. And so that takes the sonship of Christ all the way back to not just the beginning, but even before the beginning, if that could even be conceived of. In eternity past, He was always the eternal Son of God.

That idea that He is the Creator, that the Son was the Son even before the world was created, is also repeated again. In verse 10 of our text, quoting from Psalm 102, it says, you, Lord, referring to Christ, the second person of the Trinity, you laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. So in verse two and in verse 10, we are told that the Son is the creator.

So what does it mean then when it says in verse four that he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs? If the name is the name of son, and he became more superior to the angels at that moment of his exaltation, what is that referring to? It is clearly referring to the fact that it was at his exaltation that his identity as the son, which was always the case, from eternity past is now publicly manifested and revealed and confirmed for everyone to see, even for the angels to see. The angels in heaven bow down to worship the exalted incarnate Son. Our text today is focusing upon the comparison between this glorious divine son who is present at creation and the angels.

That is the main point of the passage. It is picking up, this passage here, verses 5 through 14, is picking up on that last statement there in verse 4, that he is superior to the angels, and fleshing it out and proving it from scripture. According to the author of Hebrews, the son is superior to the angels in a number of ways. There is actually five ways in which he is superior to the angels. But before we reflect on those five points that the author of Hebrews brings out in our text, it is helpful for us to recall just how impressive and powerful angels are. They are godlike in their power.

Remember in the Old Testament there is the destroying angel that comes at various times to punish the enemies of God’s people or even to punish those among the community, the covenant community, who are rebelling against God. There is also the angel of the Lord who is this fearsome warrior angel who comes to lead God’s people into the land. Often when angels appeared to men, even if they were coming with a positive message, the men would be terrified and they thought that they were going to die. The angels are even called by the word in Hebrew, it is Elohim, translated often as gods with a lowercase g.

Sometimes that reference in the Psalms. Let all the gods worship him and so on. They are even called Elohim, they are even called gods in some way. Now they are not God, they are created, they are creatures, but they are so divine in their power and majesty that they can even be called Elohim.

The Begotten Son

And yet, according to our text, according to the author of Hebrews, The son is even greater. The son is even greater in five ways. First, in verse five, he is superior to the angels in being the father’s begotten son. Verse five, for to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son. Today, I have begotten you. Or again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. As powerful, as God-like as angels may be, there was never an angel to whom God said, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Now this word begotten is important to flesh out a little bit. What is the meaning of this verb to beget or to be begotten?

One helpful way to think about it is that we can distinguish between the role of the father and the role of the mother in the human process of procreation. Mothers conceive and give birth, but only fathers beget. This word, to beget, focuses upon the male role of fathering a son. We are talking about in the human realm. We are not yet applying it to the divine realm, to the Trinity. But in the human realm, a father begets or fathers a son. Or a daughter, but the focus primarily is on a son who is made in his own image.

That is the key idea, that when a father begets a son, we see the father’s image reflected in the son, and we see that the son has the same nature as the father. This ties into something earlier in our text, back in that opening period, remember verses 1 through 4. Remember it says there that the sun is the radiance of the glory of God, and then it adds, and he is the exact imprint of his nature. That is exactly what the concept of begetting is trying to communicate. Taking this analogy of fathers begetting sons in their own image, who have the same nature as the father, who are just like the father, and then applying it now to the relationship between the divine father and the divine son. The son is begotten of the father from all time before all time. And he is the exact imprint of his father’s nature. He is the image of God. Now there is one question that may arise in your mind. What does it mean when it says, you are my son, today I have begotten you? Why does it say today?

Now in the original setting, this is a quotation from Psalm 2, in the original setting it probably refers to the coronation day of the human king. Remember, David had a son named Solomon, and Solomon had sons. There was a process throughout the Old Testament times where the people of God would celebrate the coronation day of the Davidic king. And so probably that language of today in the original setting of these royal Psalms, of which Psalm 2 is the most profound example in the Old Testament, probably refers to the coronation day of the human king.

That is supported by the context just before. In Psalm 2, verse 7, that is the quote that we have here in our text, but the verse just before that, in Psalm 2, verse 6, says this. This is the father saying, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. So that language of setting the king upon Zion, the holy hill, implies this idea of the coronation day of the king.

That psalm, Psalm 2, was probably used many times in Old Testament times at the coronation day of the human king, but it was not fulfilled. The meaning of that psalm was not exhausted in those earthly events of the coronations of those earthly kings. Ultimately, it was fulfilled only in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. The true king whom God has set on not the earthly hill of Zion, but on the heavenly hill of heaven itself at the right hand of God.

But even then, we should not take the resurrection and exaltation of Christ as being the moment when he was begotten. We must not tie it too closely to that because he is the eternal son. And so the resurrection and exaltation of Christ is the fulfillment in history of an eternal reality. And the Apostle Paul explains this in Romans 1, verse 4, where he puts it this way. He says that Christ was declared, that is the key verb, he was declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead. The resurrection from the dead did not make him the Son. It is not as though that is the moment when he became the Son, but that is the moment when his identity as the Son was powerfully declared for the whole world to see.

Worshiped by Angels

So the first way in which Christ is superior to the angels is that he is the Father’s begotten son. Secondly, the second way in which he is distinct from and superior to the angels is given to us in verse six. Verse six says, and again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God’s angels worship him. The second way in which the Son is superior to angels is that He is the focus of the worship of heaven. The worship of heaven, which of course brings to mind all of the angelic hosts who are constantly and ceaselessly worshiping God, they are worshiping the Son now in His exalted state. There has been a little bit of confusion here in verse 6a, before the quotation, where it says, when he brings the firstborn into the world, that phrase, into the world, could be taken different ways.

Some have thought that means bring him into the world at his incarnation, at the virgin birth of Christ. The problem with that is that there is really not any clear statement in the Gospels that the angels worshipped him at that moment. We do have that one passage in the Gospel of Luke where the angels are worshipping God when they are announcing the virgin birth or announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds, but that is sort of a little bit, they are not quite there with Jesus himself worshipping him there in the manger in Bethlehem, they are out with the shepherds. So it is a little bit different. This is referring to the exaltation of Christ again. The whole context of Hebrews 1 is focusing upon the exaltation of Christ, when he sat down at the right hand of God.

So when it says, when he, the father, brings the firstborn, that is the firstborn son, into the world, he means the heavenly world. When he brought him up from the dead and brought him into heaven, the father commanded all the angelic hosts to worship him. And the fact that the angels are commanded to worship the exalted son demonstrates that he is superior to them. In fact, it is another proof for his deity, is it not? For only God is to be worshiped. If he were merely a human being, if he were merely a man whom God had exalted to a high position, or if he were some other creature, let us say one of God’s special angels, but still a creature, it would be idolatry for the angels to bow down and worship. A creature. And so the fact that God commands the angels to worship him proves that he is divine.

So the first way in which the Son is superior to the angels is that he is the only one who is eternally begotten of the Father and therefore shares the Father’s divine nature. Secondly, he is distinct from the angels in being the focus of the worship of heaven. Thirdly, in verses eight and nine, we are going to skip verse seven, we will come back to it later. In verses eight and nine, the third way in which the son is superior to the angels is that he is addressed as God, as the ideal king. Verse eight, but of the son he says, your throne, oh God, is forever and ever.

The Divine King

The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. This is a quotation from Psalm 45, another royal psalm like Psalm 2, a royal psalm that focuses upon the earthly king, and it was probably used in those original settings in the time of the Davidic kings. But it also goes beyond that, for to which of these earthly kings could God have ever said that he is God? Solomon could not be addressed as, your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. And yet, this ideal king who is being described here in Psalm 45 is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. He is ideal because he loves righteousness and hates iniquity. That is the main thing that sets him apart. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

Probably referring to the companions of the king, his servants and loyal followers. Of course, applying the typology to us, that would be us. We are the companions of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are his brothers, as the author of Hebrews will explain later in chapter two.

The Eternal Creator

So the third way in which the son is distinct and superior to the angels is that he alone is the ideal king who could be addressed as God. This was never said to any angel. Fourth, the fourth way in which the sun is superior to the angels is in verses 10 through 12, in being the eternal, unchanging creator. You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

The amazing thing about this one, this is from Psalm 102. The amazing thing about this one is that in Psalm 102, the address there, you Lord, is not being addressed to the Davidic king. These other passages are from the kingly context of referring to the Davidic king. But this one here in Psalm 102 is addressed to Yahweh. You, Yahweh, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. And yet, the author of Hebrews applies this to Christ and says that this is being addressed to the Son, because he is the creator.

This could not be said of any angel. Angels are creatures. They are part of the created realm. In fact, we could even imply that we could see the angels there in verse 10, where it says that the heavens are the work of your hands. Whenever the Bible talks about the earth and the heavens, who are the inhabitants of the heavens?

They are the angels. Our thoughts should immediately go to the angels when we see the word heavens. We should not just think of some sort of expanse, some cosmic expanse out there. We should think of the angels. The angels are the host of heaven. So the angels are not the creator of the heavens, they are created. They belong to, they populate the heavenly invisible realm.

Exalted at God’s Right Hand

In contrast with them, the Son is the eternal, unchanging Creator. The creation is changeable. The text says that the creation will perish and will be changed. Only the creator is unchangeable. But you are the same and your years will have no end. This strongly places Christ on the creator side of the creator-creature distinction. He belongs on the creator side of the creator-creature distinction. And that, to me, is the highest proof of the deity of Christ. And then the fifth way in which the Son is superior to the angels is another Psalm quote, and this one is Psalm 110:1. And to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

Psalm 110, as I have mentioned before, Psalm 110 verse 1 is the one verse in the Old Testament that is quoted or alluded to the most in the New Testament. Of all the verses in the Old Testament that the New Testament quotes about the Messiah, about the promises of God, Psalm 110 verse 1 takes first place of being the one quoted the most in the Scriptures. And the author of Hebrews is one of the authors of the New Testament that makes his greatest contribution to that, because he quotes Psalm 110 a lot.

We have already seen it twice in our text, back in chapter 1, verse 3. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. That is not a quotation of Psalm 110, verse 1, but it is clearly using that phrase, that language, sitting at the right hand of God. And then our text here in verse 13, it is explicitly quoted.

And the author of Hebrews will do that again later on in his letter, making Psalm 110 a key Christological Psalm, pointing to the exaltation of Christ as King. The kingly reign of Christ is not something way off in the future, in the millennium. The kingdom of Christ has begun now with his ascension into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God and he fulfills all of those coronation psalms and those royal psalms throughout the Psalter. Not only Psalm 2, but also Psalm 110, verse 1.

Angels as Servants

No angel was ever given that privilege. No angel was ever said, sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies the footstool of your feet. Now by contrast, the angels, so far from being the sun, so far from being exalted to this high position, they are merely God’s servants. And so let us go back to that verse that we skipped over in verse seven.

Of the angels, he says, he makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire. The angels are simply God’s servants. They are the glorious attendants in the heavenly court. If we think of God thrown in heaven and the angels are surrounding God, they are simply the attendants, the courtiers, the messengers, the attendants of the king. They are simply there to populate the courtroom of heaven and to do God’s will. If you go back and read the original context of this quote, this is from Psalm 104. Psalm 104 in verses one through four, it says this. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

He lays the beams of His chambers on the waters. He makes the clouds His chariot, and He rides on the wings of the wind. And He makes His messengers, or angels, winds, and His ministers a flaming fire. The reason why I bring out that quote from the original context of Psalm 104 is because it shows us that what is being referred to here in this text, in Hebrews 1-7, is not literal wind and literal fire, but rather it is referring to the theophany of God. God’s glorious manifestation of himself, which is there in the heavenly realm. And when a prophet or someone is able to peer into that heavenly realm, they see it. They see the majesty of God, full of light and glory in his heavenly court.

But then sometimes that heavenly reality also enters this earth in the form of the glory cloud. And the angels are always connected with that reality. Whenever the glory cloud comes, that is bringing the court of heaven down to earth. And so the angels are there too. And if you were given a chance to go and step inside of a glory cloud, you would see the angels there.

The angel of the Lord is often connected too with the glory cloud. This is the presence of God in his majestic glory and power. This physical glory cloud, it is a physical reality called a theophany, and it is not God himself, because God is not a created being. He does not have physical, material presence in this world. He is a spiritual being who is omnipresent, but he represents his presence in these ways, through these earthly manifestations of his glory and power.

So Hebrews 1:7, in quoting Psalm 104, is reminding us of the fact that the angels are merely God’s attendants in heaven, as well as his messengers on earth.

And then he brings that out at the end of this whole chapter in verse 14, are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? The angels normally inhabit heaven, but from time to time, they are sent to earth with important messages, or to accompany that glory cloud, to represent the presence of God in a physical way, to show that God is with his people. I believe that this reference here to them being sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation is primarily referring to the Old Testament, to the times when God sent angels to Abraham, for example, or to Daniel with various messages. Their ministering spirit sent out to serve, to assist, to encourage those who are about to inherit salvation. And to remind them that God is with his people and that he is going to fulfill his promises and his covenant with them.

In my ESV version of the Bible here, it has some cross-references. So it is in verse 14 where it says, are they not all ministering spirits sent out And there is a little footnote there next to the word sent, the word sent out. And it gives all of these examples.

Genesis 19, 16, that is when the angels appeared to Abraham. There were three of them. Then there is Genesis 28, verse 12. That is when Jacob had that dream where he saw the angels of God ascending and descending upon the ladder to heaven. Genesis 32, Judges 6, Judges 13, that is when the angel of the Lord appeared to the father and mother of Samson to tell them that they were going to have a special child. And also Daniel 3, Daniel 6, and Daniel 10, where angels came to Daniel, like the angel Gabriel, to give him that prophecy of the 70 weeks to look ahead to the coming of the Messiah in the Messianic age.

And I think that the ESV footnote idea here, trying to give us some examples of what is being referred to, is helpful. Perhaps even into the New Testament age. Remember in the book of Acts when Peter was in prison and an angel came and led him out? So there are these, perhaps even in the early church, some examples of angels being sent as God’s ministering spirits to help his people and to encourage them in their walk with him.

The Doctrine of the Son

But they are just servants. They are not the son. They are not the exalted son who is called God and who reigns as the creator over all things. They are simply God’s servants and messengers. What is the doctrine of our text? The doctrine of our text is first, the ontological deity of Christ, ontological meaning as to his very nature. Christ is not simply a man who was adopted as God’s son. He is God.

He is the Son of God from all eternity. Begotten of the Father means that the one who is begotten has the same nature as the begetter. In the early fourth century, there was a heresy called Arianism. And Arianism taught that Jesus is a divine being. He is very powerful. He is the very first creature that God made. He pre-existed before he became a man, but he is still a creature.

And that heresy of Arianism was repudiated at the first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea in the year 325. But that error concerning Christ has continued to the present day as a heresy that we must confront. The modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the same thing. They have slightly different views, but they have an Arian view of who Jesus is. He is not God the creator. He is not the almighty God. He is not the one here where it says in the text, you Lord laid the foundation of the earth. He is simply a creature, a glorious divine creature, like one of the angels, but not God himself.

This passage, is decisive in refuting the heresy of Arianism. Secondly, another key point that we need to understand is the significance of the Psalms for understanding who Christ is. Notice how the author of Hebrews here is doing exegesis.

He is quoting from all of these Psalms, Psalm 2, Psalm 45, Psalm 110, Psalm 102. He is quoting from all these Psalms to demonstrate something about the person of Christ, to demonstrate the high Christology that he is the eternal son. It is amazing that we are even able to overhear in these Psalms the intra-Trinitarian dialogue between the Father and the Son. Two of the Psalms, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, are the speech of the Father to the Son. Psalm 2 verse 7, you are my son.

Today I have begotten you. Psalm 110, sit at my right hand until I make all of your enemies a footstool for your feet. Interestingly as well, there is a like a parabola, what a parabola is, remember in geometry? There is a parabola in our text from Psalm 2 to Psalm 110.

Psalm 2 is the pre-incarnate state before the foundation of the world, you are my son, today I have begotten you. And then implicit in the text is the incarnation and humiliation of Christ, does not focus on that, although it is hinted at back in verse three after making purification for sins. But then after he descends to this earth, accomplishes his work of atonement upon the cross, then the parabola goes back the other direction to heaven itself. And we are given Psalm 110, Psalm 2 at the beginning, before the creation and then Psalm 110 at his exaltation, sit at my right hand and now have it be fulfilled.

This fact that you are my son, that you are the divine son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, containing and having the very same nature as the Father, now that is manifested historically in his incarnation and exaltation to the right hand of God after he finishes the work. The parabola from Psalm 2:7 to Psalm 110, verse 1, is rooted in the Psalms. That is the thing that is so amazing to me.

This high Christology is not only focused upon the biblical teaching about the deity of Christ. It is not simply looking at John 1, or Hebrews 1, or all these passages that teach that Jesus is divine. This high Christology is ultimately rooted in the Psalms.

These Psalms that had a historical setting that were referring to earthly kings and being used at the coronation of a human king. But the language was so exalted that those human kings could not really live up to that. Bruce Waltke is a wonderful Old Testament scholar who recently published a book on how to read and understand the Psalms. And he has this great explanation of these particular, these royal Psalms that are applied to Christ here by the author of Hebrews. He says these royal Psalms, they did have an earthly setting in the time of David and Solomon and so on.

But they were like robes that were too big for their human shoulders to fill. And each successive king would have these robes of these glorious idealized pictures of this glorious ideal king placed upon him. And yet his shoulders were too small to be able to truly fill them up. Eventually, the line of human kings came to an end in the exile. And it seemed as though the Davidic dynasty was at an end. And all you had left was just the robe standing there empty, waiting for it to be filled.

But then when Christ comes into this world as the incarnate Son of God, he is able to fill up those robes with fullness because he is the one to whom these Psalms truly point. This high Christology is rooted in the Psalms and understanding the Psalms in that typological way. Yes, having an earthly historical fulfillment at the first level, but realizing that those earthly fulfillments were not truly able to fulfill and to fill up those robes. What a glorious way of thinking about scripture and thinking about Christology as being rooted in the Old Testament promises and in the Psalms.

I think that gives us a richer, more full understanding of the person of Christ. I remember I used that language before of a thin versus a thick description. That is a terminology from modern sociology and anthropology, but a thin description of something is just very thin and surface level. But a thick description is massive.

It has all these elements to it that just flesh it out and bring it out into great fulfillment and meaning. I think that is part of why God did this whole thing of this whole history of redemption and all the Psalms leading up to Christ. He did not simply send Christ out of the blue. He had this preparatory work of creating those robes. So that when Christ comes and we see him taking up those robes in fullness, it just fills our heart with joy as we have a robust Christ, a glorious Christ, who is the eternal son of God, who became man and is now exalted to the right hand of God. How wonderful it is.

And then the last thing too is to note that the exaltation of Christ, the exaltation of the Son is just as important. Both ends of the parabola. It is not just his ontological nature as the eternally begotten son that is important to us, but it is that he also became man, that he also accomplished our salvation upon the cross, and that he then was exalted as the king who is now worthy of the worship of heaven.

This is a key point in this letter, in the epistle to the Hebrews. One of the key points of the epistle to the Hebrews is to focus upon the exaltation of Christ, the coronation of the true king, the coronation of the ultimate king. And that, to the author of Hebrews’ way of thinking, is what makes the new covenant so much greater than the old. The old covenant did not really have that reality.

It had pictures of it, at the coronation of the earthly king, or maybe even at the moment when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. That is like an exaltation. But it had to be repeated over and over again. And that earthly priest and that earthly king were sinners and finite. They were mere men.

But according to the author of Hebrews, the thing that makes the new covenant so great, so thick, so substantial, so real, so important for us to understand, so glorious, so that we would not even consider abandoning that new covenant and going back to the old.

The thing that makes the new covenant so great is this reality that we have. A king who is exalted at the right hand of God. And this king is the son of God, the son, not an angel, not a man, but the son of God incarnate, who is exalted at the right hand of God, where he rules and reigns, not only defeating our enemies, but also having defeated our sins. Having purified us from our sins. And so he sat down at the right hand of God because his work is finished and complete and perfect. And that gives us perfect and complete access to God. This is all part of the whole author of Hebrews’ argument to the Jewish Christians who are being tempted and considering and toying with the idea of abandoning the Christian faith and going back to a Christless Judaism. How can you do that when we have such a glorious Son who is exalted at the right hand of God?