Greater than the Angels (2)

Hebrews 1:4-14

NOVEMBER 5, 2000

   

American Christianity suffers with a low view of Jesus Christ. Rather than the lofty, exalted Lord who condescended to man as Redeemer, Jesus Christ has become "one of the boys." His character and ways are subjected to the whims of our time. The name of Jesus Christ is used to prop up every imaginable organization and activity and lifestyle that falls under the broad tent of Christianity. 

 

I'm sure that many of you read the headlines in our local paper this week about the Baptist General Convention of Texas cutting some of their ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. The biggest issue at hand is over some of their leaders' view of Scripture and the newly revised Baptist Faith & Message statement. The sticking point is the change in the old statement that read, "The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." Over the years many have taken that statement as their basis for coming up with unusual interpretations of the Word of God. They would say that Jesus would not have said this or that. If it related to the matter of women pastors or family structure or even sexual orientation, some (by no means all!) have ignored the clear interpretations of the Word by claiming that Jesus Christ would look at this differently. These individuals have allowed their own experiences to be imposed upon the Scripture for interpretation. In this manner, the name of Jesus Christ is used to prop up misinterpretations of the Word of God. So the new statement seeks to correct this by writing: "All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation." Indeed, all of Scripture testifies of Christ. But it is Scripture that interprets Scripture, not our imagination or experience of Jesus Christ. We look to Holy Scripture, not our experience or imagination, to understand the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

The writer of Hebrews has no such weakened view of Christ. He uses the vocabulary of the Old Testament to express why Jesus Christ alone is worthy of honor and sufficient to be the Redeemer of sinful men. He exhorts those who waver in the faith to look to Christ as he is, not as the world about them perceived him.

 

So we too must give heed to the ancient text that clarifies Jesus Christ. He did not come to prop up our pet projects or to make us feel better about ourselves or to give credibility to our views. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He came to radically transform us, to remove the enmity between God and us, and to conform us to his own life. The only way that we know this for certain is to turn to the Word of God. Look to divine revelation not human speculation for anchoring your faith in Jesus Christ. Our view of Jesus Christ must be grounded in divine revelation rather than mere speculation. 

 

Is your eternal hope anchored upon the rock of biblical revelation concerning Jesus Christ? Consider how our text sets forth Jesus Christ as greater than angels. 

 

1. As Creator He is greater

 

The writer's audience was struggling with the status of Jesus Christ in relationship to the angels. Some thought that Jesus was an angel. Others were awed by the reports of angelic activity so that they thought of Jesus Christ as having less power than angels. So the author sets the record straight: Jesus Christ, as Creator, is greater than the angels.

 

"You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands." Psalm 102, from which this quote was taken, is the cry of a desperate man under the hand of affliction, when he reflects upon the Lord as Creator. Though his enemies might afflict him, in the end, the Lord triumphs for he is the one who "laid the foundation of the earth," so surely he is faithful in caring for his desperate child. "The heavens are the works of your hands," he cries, as a reminder that the one who set forth the intricacies of the heavens surely works in the details of life for those he has redeemed.

 

One of the primary ideas espoused in modern evolutionary theory is that everything that exists has happened randomly. This means that all things came about over a period of billions of years through random mutation of cells. And, after a few billion years, voila! You have the earth, animals, plants, and everything in it! Yet the least scrutiny demonstrates that there is nothing random about the functioning of the human body or the change in the seasons or the orbiting of the heavenly bodies. Everything has order. From the tiniest cell to most delicate eco-system, order fills our universe. The fact of order demands a creator. "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth." Jesus Christ ordered the universe! Jesus Christ set forth the details that fill our world with great precision. How could we look to someone other than our Creator for understanding our purpose and existence? How could we dare put our trust in anything of the created order rather than the Creator?

 

The emphasis on "in the beginning" reminds us of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. He is not another created being as some of the cult groups would have us to believe. For he is the one who "in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth." John affirms, "all things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1:3). Lest someone get the idea, as the 4th century heretic Arius, that Jesus Christ was himself a created being, John asserts, "Apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being." Nothing! Not-anything! For Jesus Christ is the eternal God. And everything that he has created exists for his glory and even displays his glory. "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Psa. 19:1). Every time we open our eyes and gaze into the sky or look upon the nighttime heavens, we are seeing creation speaking forth the glory of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. 

 

Why does our author stress the fact of Jesus Christ as Creator? Again the Psalmist helps us: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host," then he adds, "let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him" (Psa. 33:6, 8). It is when we come to grips with the fact that we are no random accident of existence, but exist by the creative word of Jesus Christ, that we begin to take notice that we are responsible to our Creator. It is not angels to whom we are responsible. They too are part of creation. But it is to him who "in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth" that we must give an accounting of our lives. It is only as we know the Creator as our Redeemer that we have the confidence to stand before him who created us for his own glory.

 

2. As Eternal He is greater

 

An intentional contrast is set before us in verse 11. After acknowledging Jesus Christ as the one who laid the foundation of the world and established the heavens, he bluntly states, "They will perish." The world about us is certainly grand; the billions of galaxies with its billions of stars all tell the glory of our God, but "they will perish."  He wants us to see the transitory nature of creation. The things that we put our stock in, the things that matter most to us, the things that we delight in, "will perish." 

 

Then the writer adds, "And they all will become old like a garment." When I was a small boy I remember the enchantment I had in walking through the old home place of my dad and his family. It was a raw wooden clapboard house with a dogtrot through the middle. At the back of the house was the washroom. I can still see the pile of old clothes that had been sitting there for years, as I cautiously made my way to it. I hoped that I might find some treasure among them but as I picked them up they fell apart in my hands. They were old garments that had no long-term existence. When we begin to compare the eternal existence of our Lord to the vastness of creation, just like those garments, the created order will fade away to make room for the unveiling of eternity. "They will perish," just like an old garment, "but You remain." 

 

In some ways we are hamstrung by a fixation upon the world about us. We live with the sights and sounds of this life, giving little if any thought to any other existence. But before the world was created, and after the world fades away, the Lord Creator and Redeemer remains. Peter tells us, "the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (II Pet. 3:10). But our author says of the Lord Jesus Christ, "but You remain." 

 

Jesus stands in eternal contrast to the created order. Creation passes away but he remains. So, where are you placing your eternal trust and confidence? Like some in the audience that first received this epistle, are you casting your hope upon angels? Are you looking to some institution that will perish along with the earth to give you standing before the Creator as He exercises his office as Judge?

 

This world has been around for a long time. Your existence and mine are brief in comparison to the world. When we consider the thousands of years of recorded history, our lives are just a blip on the screen. The brevity of our lives stands in sharp contrast to the longevity of the world. We live as though we will not die. We pursue our ambitions and dreams without thought of eternity. We act as though the entire world exists for our pleasure. But we are reminded that if the world about us "will become old like a garment," then our earthly existence is even shorter. Are you facing this reality by resting in the Eternal Redeemer, Jesus Christ for your eternity?

 

3. As Sovereign He is greater

 

But this audience thought of the exploits of angels and their mighty display of power. They halted armies, guided the people of God, and ascended in the smoke of sacrifices. Perhaps they thought of the death angel passing over Egypt or angels who blinded the inhabitants of Sodom before their destruction. What great power they displayed! Could they not trust in angels? Could they not find angels adequate to mediate their way to God? Even in our own day many pursue the fantasy that angels will carry them into the presence of the Lord. They are trusting in what they view as their personal angels to cover for their sin and mediate for them before God.

 

Yet Jesus Christ stands in contrast to the angels. The only power an angel possesses is that which has been given to them by the Lord. No angel created the world. No angel existed from eternity. No angel qualifies to mediate before God, being neither God nor man. No angel makes decisions temporal or eternal. 

 

It is Jesus Christ the Lord who is greater than the angels for he alone is sovereign. The biblical writer sizes up the earth, then looks at the Lord and declares, "And like a mantle You will roll them up; like a garment they will also be changed." The mantle was the outer garment, a type of robe, worn by the ancients. It was no pain or difficulty to roll up the mantle. For him who is sovereign, it is no effort to roll up creation like a mantle. The sovereignty of Jesus Christ expresses his omnipotence, "that God is able to do all his holy will" [Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, 98]. There are no limits to the exercise of his authority and power over all creation. 

 

In what was evidently a theophany or appearance of the Lord, the Lord told Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. Secretly, Sarah laughed to herself, thinking of her age and the impossibility of having a child. The Lord then asked, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:13-14, italics added). In Jeremiah 18, where the Lord unfolds for the prophet the promise of the new covenant to be enacted through Christ, in spite of the grim circumstances Jeremiah confesses, "Nothing is too difficult for You." The Lord continues and explains what will take place with Israel, being carried into bondage by the Babylonians, but one day will return to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. As an assurance, the Lord rhetorically asks Jeremiah, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" In light of who he is, can there be anything too difficult for him? (Jer. 18:17, 27). As Sovereign Lord he is able to subdue kingdoms, to plant nations, and more importantly for us today, to conquer a sinful heart.

 

Some of you may be struggling with the weight of your sin or the painful remembrance of actions you have taken that have scarred your life. You look at the habits that control you and the passions that enslave you. You believe that Christ created the world, but you do not believe that he can subdue your own heart. He who takes the earth and "like a mantle...will roll them up," is the one exercising his sovereign might to deliver you from sin and establish you in faithfulness before him. Look to Christ! Stop looking for angels or experiences or signs or any other thing; look to the sovereign Lord, who conquered sin at the cross, who silenced the power of the grave in his resurrection, and who reigns as the exalted King of the universe.

 

4. As Immutable He is greater

 

"But," you say, "Things were different in those early days. Sure the Lord did great things with Abraham and with the first century believers. But he is different now." To this the writer asserts, "And like a mantle 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." None of us over the age of thirty would argue that the world has gone through a lot of changes. We've witnessed things we never dreamed could happen. Technology has swept the globe so that we can watch history in the making in our own homes. We can communicate by phone anywhere in the world. We can collect vast amounts of research in seconds via computers. We've witnessed iron curtains falling and peaceful countries racked by chaos. Everything about us seems to be changing. "But You are the same." The one, solitary unchangeable Being in the universe is the Lord.

 

Immutability or the unchangeableness of our Lord is what is termed an incommunicable attribute of God. Love, mercy, and faithfulness are communicable attributes, that is, they are qualities that can be present in our existence though not to the infinite measure of our Lord. But immutability refers to an attribute that belongs only to God. It means that he is "unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises" [Grudem 73]. When the Jews began to think that the Lord was not going to judge them for their sin as he had done in the past, and that they were getting away with sin, the prophet Malachi spoke, "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed" (Mal. 3:6). The Lord's hatred for sin has not abated with the passing of years and generations of the sons of Adam. Those who do not know the Lord and his forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, Paul declares, "These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His presence" (II Thes. 1:9).

 

The world about us changes, people change, everything changes; "But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end." How should this truth affect us? Without the Lord remaining the same, then we could not trust him. We would not know if he would be merciful or angry toward us. For instance, Muslims live in constant fear and condemnation, not knowing whether Allah will be benevolent toward them or angry with them. His moods swing from day to day. They never know how they will find him. But not the eternal Lord! Our author later declares, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:7). Just as the early believers trusted in the sufficiency and faithfulness of Christ, so can we, for he is the same. 

 

Take comfort in this as you read the Word of God. The same power, same authority, same character, and same compassion that we see throughout the Word is the same we find in Jesus Christ right now. The same Christ who welcomed "all who are weary and heavy-laden," calls to you who feel the weight of your sin, "Come to Me...and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Because he is the same and his years will not come to an end, our Lord is ever ready to receive all who come to him in repentance and faith. You might think that you must first change your life, but he bids you to come to him with all the weariness and weight of your sin. Find Jesus Christ to be sufficient as the one who has borne your sin at the cross and conquered the bondage of Satan over your life. Because "You are the same," we can have confidence in our Lord's readiness and ability to save all who come to him; and as believers we can have the assurance that he gladly welcomes us into the security of his bosom.

 

5. As Conqueror He is greater

 

If we follow the progress of this chapter, we find that the writer challenges those who are putting their trust in angels as mediators before God. He asks the question in verse 5, "For to which of the angels did He every say, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU?" He shows the contrast in verse 6 by declaring that angels are to worship Christ. Then he continues his declarations of Christ in verse 8, "But of the Son He says, 'YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER'." Now in verse 13 he returns to the same question found in verse 5, using it to introduce his declaration of Jesus Christ as the Son of God: "But to which of the angels has he ever said, 'SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET?'" Angels are "sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation." Here the writer takes us to the grand culmination of human history. This is one of the most quoted of Old Testament verses in the New Testament. It is found in the Messianic Psalm 110, where King David confesses his own faith and love for the Messiah who was yet to come into the world a thousand years later.  

 

Angels are great creatures indeed, but "to which of the angels has he ever said, 'SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET?'" No angel ever heard such a command uttered by the Majesty on high. As the seraphim of Isaiah six that live in the presence of the Lord, as pure beings as angels are, they cover their faces in the presence of Him who sits on the throne. But to the Son, he instructs to sit in the seat of authority-the right hand--awaiting that day when "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess...that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). It was a common practice in ancient times for a conquering general to place his foot on the necks of his conquered enemies. To do so was an exclamation point of the conqueror's authority and the decisiveness of his victory. May we gaze into this scene in heaven? Can we begin to fathom the day depicted in this picture when every foe of Jesus Christ, every adversary that has risen in defiance of the Lamb of God, lies conquered by the Christ of Calvary? All of the ruthless dictators, who sought to rid their nations of Christians and the Scriptures, will be prostrated before the Conquering King, confessing him as Lord of all. So too will all those who have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will be "a footstool for [his] feet." The opportunity for salvation will have long-passed. They will live eternally with the foolishness of their rebellion against him who conquered sin at the cross.

 

Here is the certainty given in our text. There is no one that will by-pass confessing Jesus as Lord. Some will do so as conquered enemies, while those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ will joyfully sing forth the praises of the conquering king. Those who have rejected Christ will confess him as Lord to the glory of the Father, but to their own eternal damnation. Those who have known Christ savingly will confess him as Lord with the overwhelming consciousness of the grace that has been shown to them to the glory of God the Father.

 

The unfolding of human history will culminate in the grand adulation of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ the Lord. Redeemed sons of Adam from "every tongue, tribe, people, and nation" will revel in the wonder that God sent his Son into the world to save sinners. Are you one who has known the joy of the conquering work of Christ in your own life?

 

Conclusion

 

Why would anyone trust in angels as their mediator before God? For that matter, in light of the description of Jesus Christ's greatness as Creator, Eternal, Sovereign, Immutable, and Conqueror, how can anyone turn away from him? Are you one who has yet to bow the knee and bend the heart in repentant faith in Christ? He who is "the same yesterday and today and forever" calls you to turn from your sin and cast yourself upon him in faith.

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