Hebrews 1:4
Better than the Angels
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-3\\ Meet the New Speaker
II. \\#1:4-8:6\\ The New Is Better
A. \\#1:4-14\\ Than the Angels
The readers of this Book have now been formally introduced to the new
Speaker, Jesus, God’s Son. Having introduced Him, now it is time to
follow the theme of this Book, i.e. "The New Is Better than the
angels." Angels are good. The Son is better!
Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they.
I. \\#4\\ The Son Is MADE BETTER.
A. Those two words startle, confuse, and even turn some because
they suppose two things.
1. They suppose that if Jesus was eternal He could NOT HAVE
BEEN MADE AT ALL.
2. They also suppose that if He was perfect, then nothing
would have been needed to be changed to make Him BETTER.
a. I get it.
b. To some extent, they are even logical.
B. But those suppositions fail to take into account that even the
perfect, eternal Jesus could WANT SOMETHING ELSE.
1. The eternal Jesus has always been, has always been
perfect, and has never NEEDED anything else.
2. But, by my count, the perfect, eternal Jesus wanted four
things.
a. The perfect, eternal Jesus God WANTED to die.
(1) He did not want to die just for the sake of
dying.
(2) He wanted to die to redeem mankind.
b. To accomplish that, the perfect, eternal Jesus wanted
to BE human.
c. And while the perfect, eternal Jesus was human, He
WANTED to suffer.
(1) As for understanding that, all I can do is
speculate—as I have often done.
(2) I believe He wanted to suffer not just to suffer,
but to take some of the suffering off of us.
d. And to accomplish that, the perfect, eternal Jesus
wanted to BE weak.
3. For the Jesus to BE these things, He had to be MADE into
something He was not.
a. That is what the word MADE is referring to in \\#4\\.
b. And that into which the perfect, eternal Jesus was
made was BETTER than the angels.
c. And that is what the writer of Hebrews was saying.
4. The perfect, eternal Jesus was MADE into a perfect Man:
(a) a Man that was weak
(b) a Man that could suffer.
(c) a Man that could die.
5. You say, "Preacher, what Bible verses do you have for
this?"
a. There are some:
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled (speaking of
His death); and what shall I say? Father, save me
from this hour: but for this cause came I unto
this hour.
Lu 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost.
Php 2:6 Who (Jesus), being in the form of God
(That was His first and His eternal state),
thought it not robbery (something to be greedily
held on to) to be equal with God:
7 But MADE (same Greek word) himself of no
reputation, and TOOK upon him the form of a
servant, and was MADE in the likeness of men:
b. But in this case, I don't think we need Bible verses.
(1) God CAME into this world as a Man to die.
(2) God CAME into this world weak to suffer.
(c) The only way the omnipotent God would DO these things
is if the omnipotent God WANTED to do these things.
(1) Nobody MAKES God do anything.
(2) Therefore God must have WANTED to do these things.
C. But it is not just that Jesus was MADE. It is that when He
was MADE less, He was still MORE than the angels.
1. For the perfect, eternal Jesus to do the things He wanted
to do (die, be human, suffer, and be weak), He would
have to be MADE into something that He was not.
a. Jesus was and is God, immortal, omnipotent, eternal.
b. But for a time, He laid aside His divine attributes
(omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and His
eternality), and He was made into a mortal Man
(still divine, still perfect, still God).
2. The perfect, eternal Jesus was made into something less
than He was so that when the plan of God was finished,
He would be something even more.
3. He would be the God-Man, 100% God and 100% Man.
a. He was far more than a mortal man.
b. He was far more than an angel.
(1) Maybe Jesus in His incarnate body had less
strength; but He was still God; and He had the
Father and the Holy Ghost giving Him His power.
(2) Friend, no angel—not even the devil himself—could
lay a finger on Him!
(3) The devil could not cause Jesus to sin, to quit,
or even to die until God the Father, God the
Holy Ghost, and God the Son agreed that it was
time!
c. In one way of thinking, Jesus was even More than the
eternal God.
(1) That is hard to say, but people sometimes ask if
God can do EVERYthing. The answer is NO.
(a) God cannot die.
(b) God cannot be weak.
(c) God cannot be hungry.
(d) God cannot have tread.
(e) God cannot be tempted.
(2) God could know these things through His
omniscience, but He could not know what it is
like to experience or feel them because He is
God.
(3) Until Jesus became LESS.
(a) Now, you and I will never go through a
temptation, feel a pain, or have an emotion
that God does not KNOW.
(b) The writer of this book tells us that Jesus
was tempted in ALL points like as we are
yet without sin.
(c) Granted, God no longer feels these things,
but HE DID.
(4) Having become LESS, God is not MORE.
d. Jesus became the God-Man, 100% God and 100% Man.
e. So the Son was MADE into something BETTER
\\#Heb 1:4\\, far better than the angels!
5. And that is just what the writer of Hebrews wrote.
a. The writer NEVER said the eternal Jesus was created.
b. NEITHER did the write say that Jesus’ original form
was NOT BETTER than the angels. Jesus is God and He
always was! \\#Php 2:6\\.
c. But Jesus gave up the form of God and was MADE into a
form that was STILL BETTER THAN THE ANGELS.
D. Accept that Jesus is the eternal God or not-that is up to you,
but don’t tell me that Jesus being "made better than the
angels" is a reason for me to doubt it!
1. I say "Hog wash!"
2. My faith is still intact.
E. If you can understand that the "making" the Bible speaks of
relates to Jesus’ earthly incarnation and His post-
resurrection exaltation, you will have no problem dealing with
the exaltation of Jesus in the remainder of this book.
1. Jesus was MADE into a Man, the God-Man.
2. He gave up His power to be made into the God-Man.
3. In this new form—which it appears He will forever have—
the Son needed to be exalted from the place of a human
servant to the place which He gave up to save us, the
glorious eternal God.
4. And the writer of this book, Hebrews, it about to tell us
some of the things the Father did to exalt the Son.
II. How is/was the Son MADE better than the angels?
A. \\#4\\ The Son has a better name.
1. You could not have a better name than the name of God the
Son, but that was His pre-incarnate name.
2. By the time Jesus was crucified, He could not have had a
lower name.
a. Betrayed by Judas.
b. Denied by Peter.
c. Forsaken by every disciple.
d. Rejected by every man in Israel.
(1) Rejected by the religious scholar.
(2) Rejected by the nation to which He was born.
(3) Rejected by the people He fed, taught, healed,
and helped.
e. He was beaten and scourged like a criminal.
f. He was laughed at and mocked like a lunatic.
g. He was buried like a beggar, having no place of His
own.
3. But since the resurrection, the Father has exalted His
name so that:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth;
4. The Father has MADE the name of Jesus better than that of
any and all the angels!
B. \\#5\\ The Son has a better relationship.
Heb 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at
any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
1. Even made into the form of a man, Jesus was/is the Son of
God.
2. No angel, not even Lucifer, can lay claim to that
relationship—no matter what the Mormons say!
a. The Mormons say that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers,
born alike and equal.
b. No. They never were and Jesus never was.
3. Notice the word "begotten."
a. This verse is not saying the Father MADE Jesus into
His Son.
b. It is saying that the Father begot Him, and the
Father did beget the Son—when He was born in flesh.
(1) John 3:16
(2) Jesus is the Father’s "only begotten Son!
c. And it is saying that AFTER the Father begot Him, He
announced the Son. Is that NOT what the Bible
clearly tell us He did?
Mt 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
Mt 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out
of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
4. There are no contradictions here.
a. Not with the nature of Jesus.
b. Not by using the word "made."
c. Not in the Father exalting the Son.
5. All of it makes perfect sense IF you start by believing
the Bible.
C. \\#6\\ The Son has worship, even OF the angels.
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let
all the angels of God worship him.
1. And when the "firstbegotten" was brought into this world,
though unseen by human eyes, the angels of God were
gathered in that stable, bowing, worshipping, and adoring
Him!
2. Indeed, perhaps still unseen to the human eye, the angels
of God walked and bowed before Jesus night and day as
Jesus walked through the land of Israel for Jesus never
ceased to be God and never ceased to be worthy!
3. But NO angel has ever been worshipped at the command of
God and NO angel ever will.
(a) Give it up, Lucifer!
(b) Foolish and deceived man might worship you, but never
at the command of God!
D. \\#7-8\\ The Son has a scepter and a throne, while angels are
servants.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh
his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of
fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God,
is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
1. The Father made the angels to serve.
a. That is their purpose.
b. They and we are God’s servants.
(1) If being a servant bothers you, get over it.
(2) We were the devil’s servants since the day we
were conceived.
(3) At least now, we have a good Master!
2. By the way, that's our purpose too!
a. The human race has always been in slavery.
b. Christians just have a better Master!
3. Jesus, even in the form of the God-Man, has been made to
sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high!
E. \\#9\\ The Son has been anointed with gladness above all.
Heb 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows.
1. Why did God need to anoint the Son of God with gladness,
gladness above all others?
2. Because God had first anointed Him with sorrow and
suffering!
a. Isaiah prophesied a name for the God-Man.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; A
MAN OF SORROWS, and acquainted with grief: and
we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
b. Even when Jesus prayed that the cup of suffering and
sorrow be passed from Him, the Father bid Him drink
it!
3. After pouring such sorrow upon the Son, it was right that
the Father pour joy and gladness upon Him—and He has!
F. \\#10-14\\ The Son has a better position, on the Father's
right hand.
1. And when all of creation is folded up and stored away, the
Son will be sitting the right hand of the Father!
Hebrew 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and
they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and
they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and
thy years shall not fail.
13 But to which of the angels said he at any
time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine
enemies thy footstool?
2. The Son was there with the Father when the foundations of
creation were laid.
3. He will be there when they are folded away.
4. But the angels will still be serving.
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be
heirs of salvation?
G. A seventh one is in \\#Heb 2:5\\, but we will save it until
later.
III. What does it all mean?
A. It means the Son is better than the angels!
B. He is, always has been, and always will.
1. The writer of this book will reveal that the weakest angel
is made higher than the strongest man, but the strongest
angel is less than nothing before the Son!
2. The Son is God.
a. He was not MADE God.
b. He was MADE a Man.
c. But after He accomplished the plan of the Father, the
Father exalted Him in every way so that He is no
longer a mere man, but truly the God-Man.
d. The God-Man has NONE of man’s weaknesses.
e. He is MADE better than the angels—just like the
writer of this book said!
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