Hebrews 1:10-15 Jesus still better than Angels

Hebrews 1:10-14 ¹⁰And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; ¹¹they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, ¹²like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end."¹³And to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? ¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Observation/Interpretation

• Jesus created the earth and heavens. Therefore He is greater than angels b/c they don't create things. I'd also like to point out how powerful this makes Jesus. I mean imagine all the intricate details of life and the universe. He set up all the rules of physics, chemistry, biology. And He did it in a way that was intrinsically beautiful. What an amazing God we serve.
• The current physical parts of creation will eventually break down and be destroyed (2nd law of thermodynamics), but Jesus will remain.
• Jesus is immutable. He never changes in His Godhood. He doesn't come up with new crazy ideas, He doesn't forget us. Jesus never changes, therefore He is better than angels.
• Jesus is now and will live forever. His years do not end like physical beings.
• Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father where His enemies are laid bare. He is the conqueror and enjoys the fruits of His labor. What a cool word picture by the way. To so utterly crush your enemies that they are your footstool.
• Angels after all are merely sent out to serve those who are Christians. Jesus' role was much greater than mere service alone.

Application

• I must worship Jesus. He is so powerful and awe inspiring. He never changes and yet created change in the universe. Amazing.
• I can trust in Jesus' unchangeability and therefore rest, knowing that my salvation is secure.
• I can hope in Jesus' future destruction of sin and the devil and look forward to a day when I don't have to be tempted to sin any more
• I should read more scripture and use it to teach others and improve my understanding of who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are.

Hebrews 1:7-9 Jesus saves better than angels

Hebrews 1:7-9 ⁷Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." ⁸But of the Son he says,"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. ⁹You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

Observation/Interpretation:

• Jesus is better than angels because He is more permanent than they are.
• Angels are temporary compared to winds and fire, but Jesus (aka God) is forever and ever.
• Jesus is God by the way. Yup that's right God is Triune. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God and are distinct persons at the same time. Yup its also a mystery. I kind of like this mystery frankly b/c it means God is more than I can completely grasp. Which is a good quality of a real God. If I could grasp Him completely then I might as well be God.
• Jesus' kingdom is ruled in righteousness. Not like kings on earth where we know they have all used some amount of 'greasing the palms' to get into power.
• Jesus is in heaven and accepted by God b/c He hates wickedness and loved righteousness. He alone was able to completely represent man and still be deity. Thereby offering up a perfect representative sacrifice for us.
• Note too that God & Jesus hate wickedness. This means that those who do wickedness are included in that hate. Later on in Hebrews we'll see that its a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
• Jesus is more highly anointed than His companions b/c He alone is perfectly righteous.

Applications:

• I must worship Jesus and not angels
• I must trust in Jesus b/c He lasts forever unlike other things/people
• I want to be like Jesus and hate wickedness in my life, and love righteousness instead
  
• I want to share how great Jesus is with others b/c I want them to know of their danger, and know that God has a solution for them

Just as P.S. I want to point out that its people's individual sins that they have knowingly committed as an affront to God that He is angry with. Its not just the general sin of humanity. But it is everyone's individual treasonous rebellion that has earned His hatred.

Hebrews 1:4-6 Jesus is greater than the angels

Hebrews 1:4-6 "⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. ⁵For 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"? ⁶And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God’s angels worship him.""

Observation/Interpretation:

• Jesus is greater than all others. The author of Hebrews will start comparing/contrasting Jesus with Angels, and then move on to Moses and the Law.
• In this passage Jesus is better than angels because:
  1. Jesus has a better name. His name means "the Lord saves" This is a better name than Angel which is the word for messenger. If you're in deep trouble, wouldn't you rather have someone who can actually save you than someone who just tells you a message about it?
  2. Jesus is God's son. That's way better than an angel. Angels are not in the family of God, but are mere servants. Jesus is both God and the Son in the Trinity. This position is far higher than the angels
  3. Lastly Jesus is worshiped by the angels. Clearly the greater is worshiped by the lesser.

Application:

• Jesus is the greatest! I must worship Him.
• Jesus saves! I want to tell others about Him, and I want to know that I am saved. By the way what am I needing saving from? The wrath of God that I've earned by treasonously sinning against God the King (Luke 13). I can attain that salvation by repenting and believing. (Rom 10)

Hebrews 1:1-3

These are some cross posts from another blog I'm trying to get started with some friends of mine. We're trying to study Hebrews (or any scripture for that matter) in a blog format instead of email. Its not exactly taking off yet...

Hebrews 1:1-3: ¹Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.He is the radiance of the glory of God and After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Observations/Interpretations:

• The main point of the book of Hebrews is to tell us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish Old Testament prophets and law. The book starts out by saying we heard about God other ways in the past, but now we know about Him directly via Jesus.
• Jesus is the creative force that created the world. Similar to John 1:1-3.
• Jesus is God
• Jesus upholds every atom as it spins. He keeps the ratios between the strong and weak nuclear forces just right so that atoms don't fly apart and the universe collapses. He literally holds everything together.
• Jesus purified us from our sins, those who believe as we'll see later in the book, and now sits down next to the Father in heaven. This means that His work is finished once for all time.

Application:

• I must worship Jesus for His power, His Godhood, and His accomplishment of saving me
• I should take comfort in knowing that my salvation is complete and finished. That Jesus did it for me and I can rest in Him. I need to remember that every time I sin, and feel the temptation to redeem myself through petty acts of service