Jesus: The Praiseworthy King Who Created

Hebrews 1:4-14

Main Idea: God the Father has given Jesus Christ the Son a name greater than all names and the throne to a kingdom that has no end. All things have been created by the Son and through the Son—including angels—for the worship and service of the Son.

1. The Superior Name of the Son (1:4)
2. The Superior Worship of the Son (1:5-6)
3. The Superior Throne of the Son (1:7-12)
   1. Seeing the Son as Yahweh
   2. Enjoying the eternal kingdom of the Son
4. The Superior Reign of the Son (1:13-14)
   1. Worshiping the Son as King
   2. Knowing the angels as his servants

From its very first words, the book of Hebrews focuses squarely on Jesus Christ. Theologically speaking, the book is Christocentric. The reason is obvious. The gospel ultimately boils down to three questions:

• Who is Jesus Christ?
• What has he done?
• What is the significance for us?

Similar to the way Paul begins his epistle to the Colossians(Col 1:15-20), the author of Hebrews begins by introducing his readers to the person of Christ before teaching them about the work of Christ. These two categories—person and work—help us theologically navigate the richness of the Bible’s Christology. While it is impossible to divorce Christ’s identity from his actions, dividing Christ’s person and work into individual theological categories helps us better articulate a comprehensive picture of what Scripture teaches us about Jesus.

One of the problems Christians have when we talk about Christ is that we often jump straight to the work of Christ before talking about the person of Christ. This is particularly true with evangelistic conversations. We typically start by talking about what Christ has done for us without first giving a clear testimony of who Christ is. Hebrews, however, reminds us to keep first things first. “Who is this Christ?” is the first question we must address when we talk about Jesus.

Hebrews also reminds us that we know Christ in the context of a narrative. His identity is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures as part of the biblical storyline. He is the climax of the drama that moves from Old Testament promise to New Testament fulfillment. This means we cannot fully understand Christ’s identity without first seeing him in the context of the story of Israel and the story of the old covenant—an old covenant rendered obsolete by Christ’s inauguration and mediation of the new covenant.

The Superior Name of the Son

Hebrews 1:4

As we have already seen, Hebrews 1:1-3 is a narrative within a narrative. The larger grand narrative of these verses is summarized in the major plot developments of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. Yet within this larger narrative storyline is the story of Christ himself—the Creator, Redeemer, and ascended King. It is difficult to imagine a better distillation of the entire gospel story than these first three verses.

Hebrews 1:4 transitions readers into an extended section arguing for the superiority of Christ in relation to the angelic host. For many readers this may seem strange: Why would the author of Hebrews spend such a significant amount of time demonstrating that Christ is superior to angels? Isn’t this obvious? Yet, when we look at the historical background of Hebrews, we find that this section is absolutely necessary for the author’s overall argument. Why? Literature from the intertestamental period—the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, often called Second Temple Judaism—demonstrates an intense focus on angels. Some of this theological reflection was good, but it was also mixed with error. Many people in Israel considered angels to be both God’s messengers and Israel’s protectors. Many Jews looked at angels as those who would come as the army of God to rescue and vindicate the nation. Second Temple literature also attests to the rise of the notion of “personal angels,” or what we might call “guardian angels.” Due to this fascination with angels, the author of Hebrews, writing to a Jewish audience who was familiar with Second Temple literature, needed to recalibrate the theological understanding of his audience—particularly concerning Christ’s relationship to angels.

The author of Hebrews thus answers a number of important questions for a potentially theologically confused first-century audience: How does Christ “fit” with the angels? Is he an angel? Is he the servant of angels? Of course, one of the benefits of this section of Hebrews is that we not only learn a great deal about angels, but, even more importantly, we learn a great deal about the glory of Christ. Hebrews 1:4 explicitly indicates that Christ is superior to angels. The writer indicates that one of the reasons why is because “the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.” What name has Christ inherited? One option is to follow the logic of Philippians 2, where Paul tells us that Christ has now been given the title of “Lord”—a title belonging to God himself. This does not mean that there was a time when Jesus was not divine; he has been fully God from eternity. In fact, Hebrews has already indicated that he was the agent of creation (Heb 1:2; cf. John 1:1), and as Hebrews will later indicate, Christ could only accomplish our salvation as the agent of redemption if he was the eternal Son of God. Inheriting the more excellent “name” of “Lord” means instead that Jesus Christ has been appointed as the reigning Lord.

However, the context of Hebrews indicates that the name Jesus inherited is the name “Son.” Again, this does not mean that Jesus was adopted into divine sonship. He has always been the eternal Son of God. Hebrews 1:2 makes this clear. Instead, as verse 5 tells us, it points to that messianic element of sonship that fulfills the promises of the Davidic covenant (Rom 1:4).

The Superior Worship of the Son

Hebrews 1:5-6

It is important to remember that we are not merely reading the author’s random devotional reflections when he references different sections of the Old Testament. Through the author of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit is providing his own inerrant, infallible commentary on the Old Testament. In other words, we are learning from the author of Hebrews himself the importance of reading Scripture in the light of the rest of Scripture, specifically in the light of the New Testament. We have here the Holy Spirit’s own commentary on the very Old Testament Scriptures he inspired.

The Old Testament passages quoted are each taken from one of the major divisions in the Hebrew Scriptures: Psalm 2:7 from the Writings, 2 Samuel 7:14 from the Prophets, and Deuteronomy 32:43 from the Law. Through a rhetorical question, the author makes the point that God never makes any claim of sonship for any of the angels. An angel may serve as God’s agent, messenger, and witness, but not as God’s Son. The quotation from 2 Samuel 7 shows this sonship refers not only to Jesus as the eternal Son of God, but to Jesus as the messianic Son—the fulfillment of the Davidic promises.

The final quotation, from Deuteronomy 32:43, is particularly interesting. In its original context, the statement about the angels bowing down in worship is in reference to Yahweh, whom the writer of Hebrews now identifies as Jesus! The argument is clear. The angels worship Christ; it is not Christ who worships the angels. The angels declare the birth of Christ; it is not Christ who declares the ministry of angels. The angels are not called sons, but that is the very name that Christ himself, the Davidic Messiah, has inherited.

The Superior Throne of the Son

Hebrews 1:7-12

The Old Testament quotation in verse 7 comes from Psalm 104:4. The psalmist uses exalted language to describe the angelic host. They are a flame of fire; they enjoy God’s presence and carry out his purposes. However, they are only “servants” in God’s court. The contrast is made even more explicit in verses 8-11. Yahweh says that the angels are only servants, but the Son is divine (1:8)! The words in verses 8-9 are from Psalm 45:6-7. Angels may surround the throne of God, but the Son sits on the throne. Angels may be sent, but Christ is the Anointed One.

The quotation in verses 10-12 comes from Psalm 102:25-27. Again, in their Old Testament context these verses are about Yahweh. Yet the Holy Spirit, through the author of Hebrews, identifies the Son with Yahweh. The only explanation for this logic is a Trinitarian theology beneath the surface of the text. The notion that the Son laid the foundation of the earth revisits the fact that it was “through” the Son that God created the world.

This passage also highlights the distinction that exists between the creature and the Creator. The contrast is specifically between things permanent and things temporal. Creation will perish. It will “wear out like clothing.” The Son, on the other hand, will not. The Son is eternal and permanent. Whereas the created order is subject to change, decay, and ultimate destruction, the person of Christ is unending and unchanging. His years have no end. He knows no change.

The Superior Reign of the Son

Hebrews 1:13-14

The final Old Testament citation comes from Psalm 110:1. The author ends his argument the same way he started it: with the rhetorical question, “to which of the angels has he ever said . . . ?” (cf. 1:5). Psalm 110 communicates that Yahweh promised the Messiah utter dominion over the world. He is the singular Son of God. He is the agent of creation and redemption.

Again, verse 14 draws a contrast between the reigning Christ and angelic servants. Yet it also speaks of the role of angels in the lives of God’s people. They are “ministering spirits” who are sent out for our good. What is this ministry that they have among God’s people? A good short course in “angelology” might be helpful here, especially since American Christianity is often confused by the unbiblical, pop culture portrayal of angels. The commercialized, cute, chubby, cupid-like angels seen in get-well cards could not be further from the biblical portrait of angelic beings. When an angel shows up in Scripture, people fall down in sheer terror. Just think about the response of the shepherds to the angelic visitation in Luke 2:9. Clearly we need to recover a biblical doctrine of angels.

Both the Old and the New Testament make clear that angels are creations of God. While they may have distinct privileges and even extraordinary powers, they are by no means divine. Angels reside in the heavenly assembly and are part of the throng worshiping before the throne of God. The Bible also indicates that angels are messengers of God and that they carry out his purposes. The angels function as witnesses of major redemptive-historical events, such as the birth of Christ. They are also agents of God’s justice. After the fall, God placed an angel with a flaming sword at the border of the garden of Eden to exact vengeance on anyone who would try to eat from the tree of life ( Gen 3:25). Revelation indicates that Christ will lead an angelic army in the last day to execute his just judgment on the world. Hebrews 1:14 underscores the glorious reality that for those of us who believe in Christ, angels are sent from God’s throne room to work for the good of the church. We may not know exactly how angels are engaged in spiritual warfare on behalf of the church, but we can be confident that these agents of God’s throne are sent out for that very purpose. God works all things for the good of his church (Rom 8:28). This includes the ministry of angels.

Yet while this passage gives us a clearer understanding of the function of angels in God’s purposes of redemption, we must not miss the main point. Angels are spirits that minister to the body of Christ and are thus sent out by Christ himself. Angels are indeed remarkable. But they pale in comparison to the glory of the Redeemer, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is superior to every angel—indeed to the entire angelic host.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What is the difference between the person of Christ and the work of Christ?
2. How does the author of the book of Hebrews aid us in our understanding of the person and work of Christ, particularly in terms of our evangelistic conversations? What are some of the ways we can incorporate both the person of Christ and the work of Christ into our gospel conversations?
3. How might developing a deeper understanding of the person and work of Christ help you better articulate a comprehensive picture of what Scripture teaches about Jesus?
4. Based on what you’ve learned so far, what are some ways the author of Hebrews answers the three questions introduced earlier: Who is Jesus Christ? What has he done? What is the significance for us?
5. In what ways is Jesus Christ superior to the angels? What is his relationship to angels?
6. The author of Hebrews used the Old Testament fluidly. How might this help us as we read the Old Testament in light of Christ and the New Testament?
7. What are some of the ways that the portrait of angels presented in this passage differs from the portrait of angels presented in pop culture? How can we critique culture’s angelology with the angelology provided in this passage?
8. How do angels serve the Son? How do they serve and minister to the church?
9. What things in your life do you consider supreme? How does the reality of Christ’s superiority over all things change the way you view those things? How does Christ’s supremacy affect the way you live your life day to day?
10. How does the ministry and spiritual warfare of angels on behalf of the church serve as an encouragement to your faith in Christ?