Christ greater than the angels.
The Jews used to boast that their Law had been given at Sinai by the instrumentality of angels; and they concluded from this that the Mosaic dispensation would continue as long as the world itself. But the apostle asserts here that the Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, is immeasurably greater than the angels; and he supports his assertion with abundant evidence from the Hebrew Scriptures. Hebrews 1:4 supplies us with the key to this whole passage. The quotations which follow illustrate from the Old Testament the two statements of that verse, while they also justify the glorious titles and prerogatives directly ascribed to the Redeemer in Hebrews 1:2 and Hebrews 1:3.
I. CHRIST HAS HAD FROM ETERNITY AN ESSENTIAL NATURE HIGHER THAN THE ANGELS. "He hath inherited a more excellent name than they." Names in modern times are generally quite inexpressive—mere labels affixed to individuals to distinguish them from others; but among the Jews it was otherwise. The names of God, especially, symbolized attributes of his character. So, Christ's "Name" expresses his nature.
1. He is God's Son. (Hebrews 1:5) In Psalms 2:1-12. we hear his own voice rehearsing from his Father's counsel the decree of his eternal sonship. That decree dates from everlasting; but it was to be "declared" again and again, and particularly by the event of his resurrection (Romans 1:4). Even Nathan the prophet had proclaimed it to David (2 Samuel 7:14) in his prophecy respecting Solomon and "a greater than Solomon."
2. He is Elohim. (Psalms 2:8, Psalms 2:9) The two highest Old Testament names of God are Elohim and Jehovah: none are more distinctive of Deity than these. So Psalms 45:6 is one of the great proof-texts for the supreme divinity of Christ. There the psalmist addresses the coming mediatorial King as God himself, by-and-by to be clothed in human nature. He was to fulfill all righteousness for man, and to be invested as the God-Man with the sceptre of supreme authority above all his brethren of mankind.
3. He is Jehovah. (Psalms 45:10-12) The idea conveyed by this Divine name is that of self-existence. Now, the apostle does not hesitate here to apply to Christ the language of Psalms 102:1-28.—a Jehovistic psalm—in celebration of the eternity and majesty of the Eternal. The Covenant-Deliverer of captive Zion is none other than Jehovah Jesus. It was he who created the universe; and he shall remain unchanged—the everlasting Stay and Strength of his children—after the heavens shall be no more. For he is the I AM. Immutability is one of his glories. Contrast now with this the name and nature of the angels. God nowhere addresses any one of them as his "Son." No angel is called Jehovah. None receives the name Elohim in the way in which this appellation is given to Christ. Instead of that, the angels are created beings (Psalms 102:7). They are servants of God, who in their qualities and uses resemble the winds and the lightning. The cherubim fly swiftly like the "winds;" the seraphim burn with holy ardor like a "flame of fire." The Son of God is not the peer of the angels: he is Jehovah Elohim; and the loftiest spirits in the heavenly hierarchy are his creatures.
II. CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED IN TIME TO A PROPORTIONATELY HIGHER OFFICIAL POSITION. "Having become by so much better than the angels." He became superior to the angels in his official capacity as the God-Man Mediator—as much superior as he had been from the beginning in his essential nature. His mediatorial pre-eminence began clearly to appear nineteen hundred years ago, in connection both with his humiliation and his exaltation.
1. When on earth, Jesus received angelic worship. (Psalms 102:6) This had been predicted in Psalms 97:1-12. And, accordingly, when Christ became incarnate, angels thronged round his manger-cradle, proclaiming his advent, and celebrating it in a burst of choral praise. Angels ministered to him after the temptation, and sustained him under his great agony. Angels attended at his resurrection, and haunted for a time his empty tomb. Angels encompassed him in his final ascension to glory.
2. Now, in heaven, he sits on God's right hand. (Verse 13) His official exaltation had been predicted in Psalms 110:1-7. God never said, "Sit thou on my right hand" to any angel, i.e. to any creature. Therefore the illustrious Priest-King of that psalm is not a creature; and, if not a creature, he must be the Creator. The session of the Mediator at the right hand of Jehovah implies that the entire universe is subject to his scepter. He employs the holy angels, and he controls and restrains the "spiritual hosts of wickedness." Contrast now with this the official position of the angels (verse 14).
Learn in conclusion:
1. The plenary inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures. The author quotes what Nathan and David and the other psalmists said, as being the words of God himself. He is evidently fully persuaded that the Old Testament writers express with superhuman insight the very mind of God regarding his incarnate Son.
2. The reality of the angel world and of angel help. It seems to be always difficult for the Church to hold, in its scriptural purity, the doctrine of the angels. On this subject may be noticed the rationalistic error, the Gnostic error, the Romish error, and. the Protestant error. Many Protestants give no place in their living faith to the truth about the angels.
3. The necessity of living for the glory of our Divine Redeemer. An intellectual persuasion of his true Godhead is not enough; we must take home the sublime Christology of this chapter to our hearts, and allow it, by its power reigning: within us, to mould and guide our entire lives.
HOMILIES BY W.J. JONES
God's revelation of redemptive truth to man
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners," etc. God has spoken to man. A very significant fact. It suggests the Divine interest in his human creatures. It teaches that man is capable of receiving communications from the infinite Mind. tie can understand, appreciate, and appropriate to his unspeakable advantage the thoughts of God concerning him. He is under obligations to do so. Man's attitude towards the communications of God should be that of devout attention and earnest investigation. Our text teaches that God's revelation of redemptive truth to man—
I. WAS MADE THROUGH MAN. "God... spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets;" Revised Version, "in the prophets." The prophets were not simply predictors of future events; the word is applied to the sacred lawgiver, historians, poets, etc. God spake in them and through them to the fathers. "It was the very condition of the prophet's inspiration," says Robertson, "that he should be one with the people. So far from making him superhuman, it made him more man. He felt with more exquisite sensitiveness all that belongs to man, else he could not have been a prophet. His insight into things was the result of that very weakness, sensitiveness, and susceptibility so tremblingly alive. He burned with their thoughts, and expressed them. He was obliged by the very sensitiveness of his humanity to have a more entire dependence and a more perfect sympathy than other men He was me, re man, just because more Divine—more a Son of man, because more a Son of God."
II. WAS MADE GRADUALLY. "At sundry times;" Revised Version, "by divers portions." The revelation was given piecemeal, by fragments, in and by various persons, and in different ages. Very gradual was the revelation of redemptive truth to man. God's first communication (Genesis 3:15) was like the evening star, serene and solitary; the fuller communications of the patriarchal age were like the starry hosts of night; the revelations made to Moses were like the light of the fair and full-orbed moon, in which that of the stars is lost; and those made by succeeding prophets were like the dawn of the day, when the moon grows pale and dim; and the supreme revelation was like the radiance of the sun shining in noontide splendor. This gradualness of revelation may be seen in many things, e.g.:
1. The character of God. Very gradual was the unfolding of the nature and character of the Divine Being to man. The measure of the revelation was adapted to the measure of the human capacity. Jesus, the Son, revealed the essence and heart of the Father. "God is a Spirit." Parable of the prodigal son. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
2. The salvation of man and its method.
3. True human character and blessedness (of. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 with Matthew 5:1-12).
4. The immortality of man. We find in the Bible longings for immortality, inquiries after it, hints concerning it, anticipations of it, but not until the final revelation in Christ was it brought into clear and assured light (2 Timothy 1:10). This gradualness of the Divine unfoldment should be remembered by us we study the Divine communications. Let us not expect to find in the earlier portions what the later alone can contain, or put to Moses inquiries which only the Son can reply to.
III. WAS MADE VARIOUSLY. "In divers manners." This is true:
1. Of God's communications to the prophets. He communicated with them by Urim and Thummim, by dreams, visions, ecstasies, by quickening and directing their thoughts, etc. God is not limited as to his modes of access to and influence over the minds of men. He can call them into active exercise, impress them with deep convictions, etc.
2. Of the communications of the prophets to men. They spoke in prose and poetry, in parable and proverb, in history and prediction, in forcible reasoning and glowing eloquence. Each prophet also has his own style. God's revelations in the Bible and in nature are alike in this, that they are characterized by endless and delightful variety. In nature we have the majestic mountain and the lowly valley, the massive oak and the modest daisy, the serene stars and the storm-driven clouds, the booming ocean and the rippling rivulet. Equally great and beautiful is the variety in the sacred Scriptures.
IV. IS CHARACTERIZED BY UNITY. The revelation was given "by divers portions and in divers manners;" it came through different men and in widely distant ages; yet all the portions are in substantial agreement. The voices are many and various, but they meet and combine in one sweet and sublime harmony. In the different portions of the revelation we discover unity of character—every portion is spiritual, pure, sacred; unity of direction—every portion points to the last great revelation, the Divine Son; unity of purpose—to make man "wise unto salvation." We conclude, then, that while the speakers were many, the inspiring Mind was One only. Or, keeping more closely to the phraseology of the text, though the voices were many, the Speaker was but one. In this marvelous unity in such great diversity, we have the basis of a cogent argument for the Divine origin of the sacred Scriptures.
V. IS PERFECTED IN HIS SON. "God... hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son;" Revised Version, "hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son." The revelations made in and by the prophets were imperfect. "They were various in nature and form, fragments of the whole truth, presented in manifold forms, in shifting lines of separated color. Christ is the full revelation of God, himself the pure Light, uniting in his one Person the whole spectrum" (Alford). It is quite appropriate that the perfect revelation should be made in and through the Divine Son. The Son will be perfectly acquainted with the Father, and therefore able to declare his will. The Son wilt resemble the Father, and therefore be able to manifest him. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son," etc. No one knoweth "the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him;" "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." The Divine revelations of redemptive truth to man culminate in him. No new or further revelations will be granted unto us; but to the devout, patient, and earnest student, new and brighter light will stream forth from the revelations already given. Many of the utterances of the Son are as yet only very partially and imperfectly understood even by his most advanced pupils. His words are of inexhaustible significance; and. that significance will become increasingly manifest to the prayerful and patient inquirer.
CONCLUSION. Let us rejoice that we have this latest and brightest revelation of God, this clearest utterance of his will concerning us and our salvation. Let us heartily accept this revelation. It is truly accepted only when it is acted upon; i.e. when we have received the Son of God as our Savior and Lord.—W. J.
The transcendent glory of the Son of God.
"His Son, whom he hath appointed Heir of all things," etc. The Divine Son, the last and brightest revelation of God to man, is here set before us as supremely glorious in several respects.
I. IN THE VASTNESS OF HIS POSSESSIONS. "Whom he appointed heir of all things." Because he is the Son of God he is constituted Heir of all things. The whole universe is his. "He is Lord of all." "All things that the Father hath are mine; "All mine are thine, and thine are mine? His lordship is universal. His possessions are unlimited. His wealth is infinite. What an encouragement we have in this to trust in him! "The unsearchable riches of Christ" are available for the supply of all who follow him.
II. IN THE GREATNESS OF HIS WORKS.
1. He is the Creator of all things. "By whom also he made the worlds." The innumerable worlds in the universe of God were made by the Divine Son as the" acting Power and personal Instrument" of the Father. Alford: "The universe, as well in its great primeval conditions—the reaches of space and the ages of time, as in all material objects and all successive events, which famish out and people space and time, God made by Christ." He "laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of his hands." "All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that hath been made;" "In him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth," etc. (Colossians 1:16). All creatures in all worlds were created by him. Creation is a revelation of his mind and might. The glory of creation, rightly understood, is the glory of the Creator—the Son of God.
2. He is the Sustainer of all things. "And upholding all things by the word of his power." The universe which he created is upheld and preserved in being by the expression of his almighty power. "In him all things consist;" they are held together by him. The universe is neither self-sustaining nor is it forsaken by God. It is not a great piece of mechanism constructed by the Creator, and then left to work of itself, or to be worked by others. His almighty energy is always and everywhere present in it. "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." How stupendous the conception that the boundless universe, with its countless worlds and much more countless inhabitants, is constantly sustained in existence and. in beautiful order by the word which utters his power!
3. He is the Savior from sin. "He by himself purged our sins;" Revised Version, "He made purification of sins." This does not mean purification by the moral influence of his teaching and example. There is a reference to the purifications of the Levitical law, by which ceremonial uncleanness was typically removed. "According to the Law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." "In the atonement," says Ebrard, "in the gracious covering of the guilt of sin, consists purification in the scriptural sense. So that an Israelitish reader, a Christian Jew, would never, on reading the words καθαρισμὸν ποιεῖν, think on what we commonly call 'moral amelioration,' which, if not springing out of the living ground of a heart reconciled to God, is mere self-deceit, and only external avoidance of evident transgression; but the καθαρισμὸς which Christ brought in would, in the sense of our author and his readers, only be understood of that gracious atonement for all guilt of sin of all mankind, which Christ our Lord and Savior has completed for us by his sinless sufferings and death; and out of which flows forth to us, as from a fountain, all power to love in return, all love to him, our heavenly Pattern, and all hatred of sin which caused his death." This atonement is completed. It admits of no repetition; and nothing can be added unto it. "When he had made purification of sins." The purification is finished, and it is perfect. Thus we see that in his works, as Creator, Sustainer, and Savior, our Lord is supremely glorious,
III. IN THE DIVINITY OF HIS BEING. "Who being the Brightness of his glory, and the express Image of his person; Revised Version, "the effulgence of his glory, and the very Image of his substance." These words suggest:
1. That the Son is of one essence with the Father. Canon Liddon: "That he is one with God as having streamed forth eternally from the Father's essence, like a ray of light from the parent fire with which it is unbrokenly joined, is implied in the expression ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης." Let us not think of this glory as a material thing. It is moral and spiritual. Moses prayed," I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee," etc. (Exodus 33:15-23). Beyond this, perhaps, it becomes us not to speak of the glory of the Divine essence; it is mysterious, ineffable. Jehovah said to Moses, "While my glory passeth by, I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by," etc. (cf. 1 Timothy 6:16).
2. That the Son is the perfect revelation of the Father. He is "the very Image of his substance," or essential being. The word χαρακτὴρ signifies the impression produced by a stamp, a seal, or a die. As the impression on the wax corresponds with the engraving on the seal, so the Divine Son is the perfect likeness of the essence of the Father. Hence he said, "He that beholdeth me beholdeth him that sent me." "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." And St. Paul, "He is the Image of the invisible God."
3. That the Son is personally distinct from the Father. As the impression on the wax is quite distinct from the seal by which it was made, so the figure suggests that our Lord is "personally distinct from him of whose essence he is the adequate imprint."
IV. IN THE EXALTATION OF HIS POSITION. "Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
1. Here is a glorious position. "At the right hand of the Majesty on high." This is spoken of his exaltation as the Messiah and in his human nature, after the completion of his work upon earth and his ascension into heaven. "For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross," etc. (Hebrews 12:2). "Being in the form of God, he counted it not a prize to be of an equality with God," etc. (Philippians 2:6-11).
2. Here is the highest realm. "On high;" i.e. in heaven. "Christ entered, into heaven itself" (Hebrews 9:24). "Heaven, in Holy Scripture, signifies … usually, that sphere of the created world of space and time, where the union of God with the personal creature is not severed by sin, where no death reigns, where the glorification of the body is not a mere hope of the future" (Ebrard). Into that sphere our Lord in his crucified but now risen and glorified humanity has entered, and is enthroned "on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him" (1 Peter 3:22).
3. Here is a waiting attitude. "Sat down." "Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." He is waiting for all things to be subjected unto him, "in the majestic certainty of his triumph over all who shall oppose the advance of his kingdom."
CONCLUSION.
1. In him who "made purification of sins "let us trust as our Savior.
2. Unto him who is essentially Divine let us render the full homage of our heart and life.—W.J.
The exaltation of the Son of God above the angels of God.
"Being made so much better than the angels," etc. The angels of God are great and exalted beings. Our Lord spake of them as "holy angels" (Matthew 25:31). David said they "excel in strength" (Psalms 103:20). St. Paul designates them "his mighty angels' (2 Thessalonians 1:7). Deeds involving stupendous power are ascribed to them (Isaiah 37:36; Acts 12:7-11). They are said to be "full of eyes," to indicate their great intelligence (Revelation 4:6, Revelation 4:8). They are represented as occupying a most exalted position and. offering the highest worship (Isaiah 6:1-3). In their ranks the highest order of created beings is to be found (Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 1:16). But our Lord is greater than the angels.
I. IS THE PRE-EMINENCE OF HIS NAME. "He hath inherited a more excellent name than they."
1. The pre-eminent name—the Son of God. This appears from Hebrews 1:5, "For unto which of the angels," etc.? The first quotation is from Psalms 2:1-12., which is generally regarded as Messianic. The second is from 2 Samuel 7:14, which is applicable primarily to Solomon, but principally to him who is both "the Root and the Offspring of David." Angels are called "sons of God" in the sacred Scriptures (Job 1:6; Job 2:1; Job 38:7); so also are true Christians (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:2). But to One only is given the title the Son of God, even to "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father," and of whom the Father speaks as "my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It is probable that in this name there is a depth of significance, a height of dignity, and a fullness of glory of which at present we have little or no conception.
2. The acquisition of this name. "He hath by inheritance obtained" it. "He hath inherited" it:
II. IN THE CORRESPONDING PRE-EMINENCE OF HIS NATURE. Names and titles in the sacred writings, generally speaking, are neither given for their euphony, nor are they merely complimentary, but they express realities in the circumstances, or character, or calling of the person to whom they are applied. This is especially the case in respect to the Son of God. "The dignity of his titles is indicative of his essential rank." He is called the Son of God because he is the Son of God in a peculiar and exclusive sense. The name is indicative of his nature, which is essentially Divine.
III. IN HIS CORRESPONDING PRE-EMINENCE AS MEDIATOR. "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath," etc; Revised Version, "Having become by so much better than the angels," etc. The "having become" refers to the exaltation of our Lord in his humanity. In like manner it seems to us that the "This day have I begotten thee" refers to his resurrection from the dead. St. Paul certainly applied the words thus (Acts 13:32, Acts 13:33). And he writes, God's "Son, who was born of the seed, of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection of the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord." And St. John speaks of "Jesus Christ, the First-begotten of the dead" (Revelation 1:5). We conclude, then, that "begotten" is used figuratively, and that by it is intended the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, by which he was declared to be the Son of God with power, and his exaltation to his mediatorial throne. And this brings us to our present point, which the fourth verse teaches us, that the exaltation of our Lord consequent upon the completion of his redemptive work upon earth is commensurate with the exaltation of his essential nature; or, that his glory as Mediator corresponds with the dignity of his name and nature. Alford: "Observe, that the κρείττων γενόμενος is not identical with the κεκληρονόμηκεν, but in proportion to it: the triumphant issue of his mediation is consonant to the glorious name which is his by inheritance; but which, in the fullness of its present inconceivable glory, has been put on and taken up by him in the historical process of his mediatorial humiliation and triumph." The redemption of humanity was an undertaking beyond all human power, and transcending even angelic wisdom, love, and might. Its accomplishment demanded the resources of Godhead. Our Lord has redeemed man in a manner worthy of himself as Son of God, and his exaltation as Redeemer corresponds with the pre-eminence of his transcendent Name. And more, this "exaltation must be conceived of as belonging, not to his humanity only, but to the entire undivided person of Christ, now resuming the fullness and glory of the Godhead (John 17:5), and in addition to this having taken into the Godhead the manhood, now glorified by his obedience, atonement, and victory (see Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:6-9; Acts 2:36; 1 Peter 3:21, 1 Peter 3:22). The Son of God before his incarnation was Head over creation; but after his work in the flesh he had become also Head of creation, inasmuch as his glorified body, in which he triumphs sitting at God's right hand, is itself created, and is the sum and the center of creation" (Alford).
CONCLUSION.
1. Let his pre-eminence as Mediator inspire us with, confidence in him as our Savior.
2. Let his essential lore-eminence inspire us with adoring reverence towards him.—W. J.