Son’s Superiority Being Unchanging Creator

Transcript

GR 1674
01/13/2013
Christ Is Superior as the Unchanging Creator
Hebrews 1:10-14
Gil Rugh

We're in the book of Hebrews together, you might turn there in your Bibles. We have a diverse congregation, some of you have been here a long time and through much of the Word in the studies and you wonder why we repeat so much. Some of you are newer and wonder why we go so fast. I had a couple of men come in to see me this week, solid men who are not here as a part of our congregation but were visiting. Then they made an appointment to come in and see me this week to talk about some things related to ministry, but they had been in the service last week and they wanted to start out by saying, “this is just too much material. You have just gone so fast.” So I appreciated that. We're not going to change anything. I want to encourage you, I always have in part of my mind people like that, that I want to do enough repetition and repeat enough that if they are new they won't feel totally lost and yet have enough that those of you who have been in the Word many times will be strengthened by it. So together if we're going too slow, those who would like to go faster can take a deep breath. And if we're going too fast, don't be discouraged because the Word builds and as you follow along week after week it begins to fit together more clearly.

The book of Hebrews is challenging because it takes us back to the Old Testament so often and we tend to be much less familiar with the Old Testament. The writer to the Hebrews is assuming a knowledge of Old Testament truth on behalf of his readers. These are Jewish believers; they came out of a Jewish background. They would have been raised with the Old Testament as their Scriptures, and so they come with a familiarity.

The book of Hebrews began by saying “God spoke.” That's the most significant thing that we could know, God has spoken. And we want to hear what He has said. That's the only way to know about God. People talk about God, my God does this or God does that or God would do this or God wouldn't do that. The only way we know anything about God is He has chosen to make Himself known and He has spoken. He spoke long ago through the prophets. That goes back to Old Testament times. But now in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son. The last days are the days of Christ the Messiah. We have that truth contained as our New Testament.

And after the first four verses which gave, in a concise manner, truths concerning Christ. He is going to unfold these truths really through the rest of the letter. But he begins by showing the superiority of Christ to angels. The first four verses included the fact that Christ is superior to the prophets because the prophets gave revelation from God in Old Testament times. And often angels were the spirit emissaries from God to these prophets. So the writer wants to show the superiority of Christ to all prior revelation, both in His person and in His work. So he made a point of that, He is superior to the prophets and the revelation they received. It does not mean that prior revelation was wrong, but it does mean it was not complete, it was not full.

Turn to two passages for review. Galatians 3. Sometimes you'll talk to people and you'll say we take the Bible literally. And they'll say, no you don't. And they tell you about an Old Testament passage that says, don't wear mixed materials in your garment. Or don't eat ham sandwiches, and these kinds of things. And they say, see, you don't take it literally because you don't do that. We are worshiping on Sunday, the Old Testament required the Jews to worship on the Sabbath, no variation there. A man was stoned to death for working, doing the wrong things on the Sabbath. They say we don't do that, so you don't take the Bible literally. You pick and choose. What they don't understand is there is progressive revelation in the Bible.

An old preacher and writer, some of you may be familiar with some of his works, Graham Scroggy wrote a book called The Ruling Lines of Progressive Revelation. And just a reminder, we have progressive revelation. God has revealed Himself progressively. Now what He revealed earlier is not wrong, it is revelation from God. But revelation serves a purpose. Revelation given in past times was used of God for a specific purpose. When you come to later revelation, there is a fullness and a clarity and that means some of the prior revelation is no longer operative. The comparison of Scripture is often elementary things like the ABCs and more mature things. There are certain things you tell your children and require of them when they are young. When they become adults, those things do not apply to them any longer, the restrictions and guidelines and so on. That's the picture of Scripture with the Old Testament and the New Testament, or the old covenant and the new covenant.

Just an example that we have looked at previously, Galatians 3:19. “Why the law then?” This is the law, the Mosaic Covenant was called the old covenant. We'll get details on this in Hebrews 8. Why the law then? It was added “because of transgressions.” So here you see there is additional revelation. God had revealed Himself prior to this. Let's round Moses off to 1500 B.C., 1446 would have been the exodus, but let's say 1500. Abraham about 2000 B.C. So 500 years after Abraham, and we're not even back to the beginning, I've just picked Abraham up because we're familiar with him. God added the law. But He had given revelation to Abraham—the Abrahamic Covenant. But then He added the Mosaic Law which was additional revelation to be used for a time.

It was added “because of transgression, having been ordained to angels by the agency of a mediator, now note, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Talking about Christ. So you see the law, the old covenant was added to serve a purpose for a specific period of time until the Messiah came. Now we understand that revelation is from God, we learn from it, but it is not operative in the same way today. So all of its laws and rules and regulations do not apply today. We're told, I'm going to tell you this for a time. It's like our children, when they are young you tell them to do something and here are the rules. But they become adults and those rules don't apply to you anymore. You tell your young child, don't cross the street without holding an adult's hand. Well, you don't tell your 21-year-old that, some 21-year-olds but not all. Why? Because that revelation doesn't apply. It doesn't mean it wasn't true and it wasn't good and it didn't serve a good purpose. And it taught a lesson that would be applicable later even though the specific law is not applicable.

Come down while you are here to verse 24. Therefore the law has become our tutor, our school master, like an overseer who was the one responsible to get the child to where he should go and so on, to Christ so that we may be justified by faith. So the law served a purpose. It was added later, like later than the Abrahamic Covenant, and it was to serve to help keep Israel on track until Christ came. But now that faith has come, and we understand justification by faith and God is not operating on the basis of those specific laws in the Mosaic law, then we are no longer under a tutor. Some people know just enough about the Bible to throw out verses that they think then proves what you are saying is wrong or you are inconsistent, you pick and choose. No, it's just progressive revelation. But that revelation still contains truth and are things we are to learn from.

All right, come back to Hebrews 1. He is moving on to show the superiority of Christ to the angels. They are glorious spirit beings. They serve in the presence of God in the fullness of His glory in heaven. They were used of God to convey God's message to the prophets in the Old Testament. But the Son is superior to angels. And that's the point he is making and we are looking at those seven quotations contained in verses 5-13. We've been making our way though. There are seven quotes from the Old Testament showing that that revelation, even though it has been superseded, it has been superseded because much of it has been fulfilled. Not all of it, but it was anticipating Christ, the Seed that would come. And with His coming it has been shown to be completed. So we have six reasons Christ is superior to the angels, but we have seven passages of Scripture and six reasons.

First, Christ is superior to angels because He is God's unique Son. That's verse 5. And verse 5 is supported by two different references. So that's why we have six reasons and seven passages. Psalm 2:7, “you are my son, today I have begotten you;” and 2 Samuel 7:14, “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.” So Christ is God's unique Son. That makes Him superior to angels.

Second reason we noted, He is superior to angels because the angels are commanded to worship Him. That's verse 6, quoting from Psalm 97:7, “when He brought His Son into the world, let all the angels of God worship Him.” We have the connection there of His humanity and deity. He is coming into the world, born into the human race and He is to be worshiped by angels. And you should not worship anyone but God. We looked at that.

A third reason why Chris is superior to the angels is because the angels are servants. Verse 7, “He makes His angels winds and His ministers.” And that word translated ministers is one of the words in Greek for servants, often used of spiritual service but it has to so with serving. The angels are servants. That came from Psalm 104:4.

A fourth reason is because He is God and has an eternal throne. We could say He is the enthroned God but we broke it into both pieces. He is God and He has an eternal throne because He is addressed as God in verses 8-9 of the passages where we are. And they quote Psalm 45:6-7. He is addressed as God—“your throne, oh God, is forever and ever.” Strong statement of the deity of the Son. He is called God by God the Father. And yet in His earthly ministry and earthly life, verse 9 says, “you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.” So in verse 8 Christ was addressed as God and told that He has an eternal throne. We noted that's not the Davidic throne, that's not the start of the kingdom, that's the throne He shares with God the Father and has shared for all eternity.

Come back to Isaiah 6, I've referred to this passage a number of times but let's look at it. It always help to look at a passage and fix it in your mind. Isaiah 6, we want to see something that the throne that belongs to the Son as God, that throne would belong to Him, if you will, before He became a man at Bethlehem. In Isaiah 6 we read, “in the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne.” Keep in mind, the Lord sitting on a throne. “Lofty and exalted with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim,” who are a group of angels, category of angels, “stood above Him, each having six wings. With two he covered his face, two he covered his feet, two he flew. One called out to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” Then Isaiah is given a commission down in verses 9-10. “Go tell this people, keep on listening and do not perceive, keep on looking and don't understand. Render the heart of this people insensitive, their ears dull, their eyes dim. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and return and be healed.” Now we're talking about Jesus Christ on the throne in Isaiah 6. When you read in verse 1, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne lofty and exalted. And the seraphim are crying out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” We're talking about Jesus as God on the throne with the Father.

We know that, come over to John 12. We'll come down to verse 39, “for this reason they could not believe for Isaiah said again.” So now He's going to quote from Isaiah. “He has blinded their eyes, hardened their hearts so they would not see with their eyes, perceive with their hearts and be converted and heal them.” That comes from what we just read in Isaiah 6:9-10. And then note the next verse, verse 41, “these things Isaiah said because he saw His glory and he spoke of Him.” He's talking about Christ here. The next verse, “nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him.” Goes on if you read the context, he's talking about Jesus Christ. He says when Isaiah wrote of the glory of the Lord of Hosts sitting enthroned and the angelic seraphim gathered around declaring holy, holy, holy. The whole earth is full of His glory. They were worshiping Christ on the throne. That's the throne that is His as God, that's an eternal throne. It was His before His birth and He is enthroned today as God.

So come back to Hebrews 1. When it says “your throne, O God, is forever and ever,” then verse 9, “you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness,” that carries to His earthly life where He is not only God but man, and even as man He functioned consistently, perfectly in every way with the character of God. He is one person with two natures, and as a result of His earthly ministry and offering the sacrifice that pleased God, therefore God, your God, has “anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.” This is where we were when we left off. That oil of gladness is not an inauguration but it is God bringing to Him the joy of the fulfillment of His work. Later in Hebrews we are told, “for the joy set before Him Christ endured the cross.” And after the finished work of the cross, the fullness of that joy and having accomplished redemption by becoming man and dying on the cross, He paid the penalty for sin. As we are told in verse 3, He made purification of sins, which will become a major emphasis in the book of Hebrews as we talk about the high priestly ministry of Christ, including His person as priest and His work in offering the sacrifice.

Verse 9 says, at the end of the verse, “God has anointed you.” The middle of verse 9 when we talked about therefore God your God has anointed you, we noted here in this context in verse 8 you have the Son addressed as God by the Father. It's the Father speaking through this whole section. It started out God spoke in verse 1. And then in verse 5, “for to which of the angels did He ever say.” This is part of what God spoke and here is what He said. And so when you come down to verse 8, of the Son He says, “your throne O God.” So God the Father’s speaking to God the Son and calling Him God. There is only one God but He eternally exists in three persons. Now in verse 9 the Father is called the God of Christ, God of the Son. Therefore God your God, addressing the Son, has anointed you. And we see here both are deity but they are distinct. There is not just one person comprising the one God who manifests Himself in three forms or ways, other ideas. There are three distinct persons. So God the Father can call God the Son, God and God the Son can call God the Father, God. And during His earthly ministry consistently referred to Him that way, even though He declared His own deity. But for example on the cross He said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” That doesn't mean He is less than God, but as man paying the price for our sin, acknowledges the Father.

You've been anointed with the oil of gladness above your companions. And a question on who are the companions. Some would say, well in the context they must be the angels. But I think in the context of Hebrews he is talking about fellow believers. The reason for that, this word translated companion is used several other times. I think it's about four times. But each of those four times this Greek word translated companions is used in the rest of Hebrews, it's used of believers.

Just an example, we're not going to look at them all. Hebrews 3:1, translated companions, it's the same Greek word when we come over to Hebrews 3:1, “therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling.” And that word partakers is the same word translated companions. And he is talking about the holy brethren, fellow believers. And that's consistent in the other uses. So I think anointed with oil above His companions, He became a man, He is truly man. But He has accomplished redemption for the rest of mankind because He is not only man but He is God, and as the God/Man He paid the price for sin so that we might have forgiveness.

In Hebrews 2:10, “for it was fitting for Him for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory.” So that's the companions, those who would become sons of God through faith in the Son of God. He is bringing these many sons to glory. Verse 11, “both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one father, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” I think those are the companions he is talking about. But He is anointed with oil. Never lose sight of the fact that He is man, but He is God and He is the Savior. And because of His work as the God/Man, fully God and fully man paying the penalty for sin, we can be born into God's family and be called sons of God because of our relationship to God the father through Christ. And we looked at some of this.

So we come to verse 10 and we come to the fifth reason whey Christ is superior to angels—because He is Creator and eternally the same. He is Creator and is eternally the same. This covers verses 10-12. And these verses quote from Psalm 102:25-27. We could have said He is the unchanging Creator, but both points get emphasized here but they are making the same point, that the Creator is unchanging by His very nature. He is going to draw a contrast and that's why it ties to the creation. What He created is changing, but He doesn't change. You talk about the earth and the heavens, they are changing. He doesn't change. That's the contrast being drawn.

Verse 10 says, “and you Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all become old like a garment, like a mantle you will roll them up, like a garment they will all be changed. But you are the same and your years will not end. And here indicates this is still God speaking. Goes back to verse 1 and verse 2. God has spoken, He has spoken today. Here is what God says. And you see that the New Testament writers recognized that the Old Testament is the very word of God. And this is God speaking and it's applicable even until today. It is still God speaking. Has to be understood properly.

So he starts quoting from Psalm 102:25, “You, Lord.” And you see Jesus Christ has been called Son in Hebrews 1, He has been called God in verse 8. Now He is called Lord. So these three titles identify Him as deity. Lord, the Greek word kurios, Lord. It is a title of God. The Old Testament and our old English translations, they translated it Jehovah. It's the translation of the four letters so we sometimes refer to the tetragramaton. What they're talking about are the four letters YHWH, as we would say it. Hebrew didn't have, as originally written, any vowels. So you just knew how to pronounce these consonants that were all put together because you were raised with that language. The vowels were added much later, after the time of Christ to help people in their pronunciation. Jesus talked about the jot and the tittle and the little marks that go into the Hebrew that was added, and these things were added. So we have vowels added later to Hebrew.

So in the Old Testament YHWH, just four letters, referred to God. In some of our songs we sing about Jehovah. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it's represented by LXX, the Roman numerals for 70. The Greek translation of the Old Testament made before the time of Christ, translated YHWH as Lord. So now in our more modern English translations most of them say Lord instead of Jehovah. So it's all going back to the same Hebrew word YHWH.

So when Jews read this and Jesus is addressed as Lord in this kind of context, we are talking about God. You Lord, Jehovah, YHWH, God. And we know He is deity because what does it say? “In the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands.” In Psalm 102 where this is quoted from it doesn't distinguish between the persons of the Godhead. There the psalmist is talking about his suffering, what he goes through and the contrast with God and His power and His creation and His control. But you read it, He is just talking about God, the Lord. Now we come here and we find under the direction of the Holy Spirit who is the third person of the triune God that the reference is specifically to God the Son. It's not wrong to address it to God, speak of God, but the Old Testament doesn't clarify as much as the New Testament does the distinction between the persons, whether we're talking about God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. So here he is showing that, that reference was to God the Son. And in God the Father's revelation He said, you Lord, referring again as He did in verse 8. He said to the Son, “Your throne O God.” Here He addresses Him as Lord, the sovereign master, ruler. “You Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” He is the Lord, He is the Creator. That's a declaration of deity.

Come back to Isaiah 45, we were in Isaiah 6 a few moments ago. Isaiah 45, we won't take a lot of time to look at other verses, but just put these two verses from Isaiah to show the declaration of God's deity. In Isaiah 45:5, God speaks. “I am the Lord,” there we are, “and there is no other. Besides Me there is no God.” He is the only God, one God. Now as further revelation comes we see it, we see it in the Old Testament but the clarity of the triune God, called the trinity, comes with additional revelation. But here, there is no other God, the one true and living God. Then note what he says in verse 12, “it is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host.” You see what God says, “I am the only God, there is no other God.” There are small “g” gods that men create, but there is only one true and living God. And I am the One who has created everything in heaven and on earth.

So when you come to the passage in Hebrews and he says, “You Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands,” that is a clear statement of deity. And that's why the Father addresses the Son as Lord, because there is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and together they are the one true and living God. He is the Creator. Amazing. The Son created it all.

We have to come back to John 1. Remember the four great Christological passages, concise passages that focus on the person and work of Christ—John 1 being the first of those, not all of it, and then Philippians 2, Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1. Probably have the verses from when we talked about it before. John 1, “in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word was God.” A statement of His deity again. He was in the beginning with God. Not in the beginning was the Word and He was in the beginning with God. He was God and He was with God. Again you see the same balance. He was God, but He is not all there is to God. He, the Word was with God the Father in the beginning, verse 2. But verse 1 told us He was also God. But there is only one God but three persons. He was in the beginning with God. What's the beginning? Well Genesis 1:1, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That's where creation starts. Before that there was God, but that's all. You could translate the imperfect tense here, in the beginning the Word already was.

Then verse 3, “all things came into being through Him. Apart from Him nothing has come into being that has come into being.” So here as we looked earlier, the Son created everything and there is nothing that was created without the work of the Son. Well I thought in the beginning God created. Yes, but God the Father creating through God the Son. And as we noted in Genesis 1, the Spirit of God hovered over the creation as God the Spirit performed His role. So you can talk about God creating everything, or you can talk about God the Son in specific being the active One in bringing things into existence. Father, Son and Holy Spirit always work in perfect harmony and agreement, of course.

Colossians 1:16-17 say the same thing, we've looked at that in prior study here.

So come back to Hebrews 1. We're picking up things and it sounds like review, it is because in verses 2-3 he told us this same thing. Hebrews 1:2, “in these last days God has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” You'll note the word ‘world’ there is the Greek word for ages. He made the ages, the successive periods of time and everything in them. And then verse 3 says, “He upholds all things by the word of His power.” He not only created it, He sustains it. Colossians 1:16-17 we would have talked about this if we had gone there. We talk about the laws of nature. If Christ withdrew His withholding power, all creation would dissolve into nothingness. The laws of nature are simply the power of Christ sovereignly upholding everything. Amazing when you think of the vastness of creation and what we know beyond what the New Testament writers knew about how many galaxies and universes and billions of stars and everything else that are out there. And He sustains it all by the word of His power.

So He is the God who has created everything. Down in verse 10 he elaborates. Now when he elaborates here it is not just to stress He is the Creator. He has already said that, but the contrast between the Creator and the creation. They will perish but you remain, they will all become old like a garment, like a mantle you will roll them up. Like a garment they will be changed, but you are the same. Two key words here, verse 11, “they will perish but you remain.” The word remain. Then in verse 12, “you are the same.” Those two words are stressing the contrast. The Son remains, the Son is unchanging, He is the same. The creation, it's like old clothes. They wear out, they serve their purpose. And you'll note who is in charge of this. There will come a time when He will say, we're done with that, roll it up. We're going to make it new. Like we're going out, throw those away, we're getting new ones. Now here just like an old garment, like a mantle, an element of clothing in those days. You roll them up. Like a garment they will also be changed. But not Him. You are the same, your years will not come to the end. He is the unchanging God who will never cease. The contrast between the creation and the Creator and His ongoing work.

Peter wrote about this, turn over to 2 Peter 3:10, “but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which 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.” That has a practical application. “Since these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in all holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed with burnings and the elements will melt with intense heat.” And everything will be over. No. But according to His promise, here He speaks, He has spoken, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. But you see the present creation as it is will have served its purpose and it's part of the work of redemption. Christ not only provided forgiveness of our sins personally, but He has provided for the redemption of creation.

Revelation 21:1, “then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” One of the things that will be true about the new earth, there won't be any sea. So there will be a New Jerusalem. So you see He makes things new.

These come from Isaiah, we could go back to Isaiah 65 and Isaiah 66. God spoke to the prophet and told him He would make a new heavens and a new earth. Now you can see when we come to the New Testament the fullness of God's plan and how that will all be accomplished and something of the timeline of carrying it out is unfolded for us.

Come back to Romans 8. Look at verse 18, “for I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now. And we also groan, but we've been saved in hope and we have the promise of God. So we look forward to the realization of our salvation, which he is going to mention in a moment.

So you see the contrast. The Creator created the heavens and the earth but they won't last forever. There will come a time when He will make them new and all remnants of sin and the effects of sin will be removed forever. But He doesn't change. Hebrews 13:8 as you come back to Hebrews 1. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.” Malachi 3:8, “for I the Lord do not change.” Doesn't mean He always does the same things the same way. Sometimes I hear these verses quoted by people who say, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. He healed people when He was on earth, He should heal them today; He raised the dead, we should raise the dead today. He doesn't always do the same thing. He is not walking the earth today in a physical body, that's not what he is talking about. In His character, nature, purpose and plans He is the unchanging God. That's the context of Malachi 3:8. If He wasn't the unchanging God, Israel would have been destroyed. But He is the God who is true to His word and keeps His promises and provides for the fulfillment of all He has promised.

So in Hebrews 1:12, “you are the same,” the end of the verse, “your years will not come to an end.” So we shouldn't get too attached to this world, the things of this world. That's the point of Peter in 2 Peter 3. We have something more permanent. That's why we're not storing up our treasure here because this is going to go. And when all this is gone, what will we have? As believers we have everything of value, the inheritance that God has promised to those who love Him.

So that brings us to verse 13. “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?” This is the sixth and final reason why Christ is superior to the angels—because He is seated at the Father's right hand. The Son is seated at the Father's right hand. That's a position to which no one else ever has or will be elevated. He will be given great honor. The angels have the honor of serving the living God, they have never been seated at the Father's right hand. This is the position of honor, of authority. It's not the Davidic throne, not the Messianic throne as we've talked about. This is the Father's throne, the throne He shares with the Father as we looked at in Revelation 3:21, this is His as God and now the God/Man who has accomplished redemption. And here He is seated, having finished the work of redemption, “until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Now this psalm was alluded to in Hebrews 1:3, look at the last statement of the verse. “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.” So he doesn't quote it, but he speaks of the fulfillment of it. And it didn't happen until He made purification of sins. So this elevation is the result of the work of redemption. And we looked at passages pertaining to that. The acclaim of heaven in Revelation 5 as a result of being the Lamb who has dealt with the sin issue

Sit at My right hand. That's the place of supreme authority. He is Lord in verse 10, “you Lord.” He has power and authority over all. But He is seated there. That indicates His finished work. He has made purification of sins. But He is waiting. He's not on the throne of David, the kingdom promised to David and his descendants in fulfillment of that aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant is not yet started. I stress this because writer after writer says, here we have now the start of the kingdom. No we don't. He is seated at the right hand waiting until the time the promises given in the Davidic Covenant can be fulfilled. You sit there until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. We looked at passages relating to the kingdom, when Christ comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him. Then He will be seated on His throne. That will be the throne of David. Then, Matthew 25, “He will say to those who are His enemies, depart into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. But those who have become believers in Him, He will say, come and inherit the kingdom prepared for you by My Father from the foundation of the world.” So He is seated at the place of authority and power, seated because He has finished the work of redemption, and He is waiting to assume the throne that is His as Son of Man in fulfillment of the promise to David.

This statement, “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool,” Psalm 110:1. It's an important verse to us like all verses are, but this one stands out especially. It is referred to more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament verse. So sometimes you have a questions in a Bible quiz, what verse from the Old Testament is referred to more often in the New Testament than any other verse? It is Psalm 110:1, “sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” In other words they are all subdued and He reigns supreme.

Jesus applied this verse to Himself. Come back to Luke 22. As we are into the events that will culminate in the crucifixion, Christ has been arrested and He is brought before the Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin. Verse 66, “when it was day the council of the elders of the people assembled, chief priests and scribes. They led Him away to their council saying, if you are the Christ, tell us. He said, if I tell you, you will not believe. If I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” What is He saying? He is the fulfillment of Psalm 110. He indeed is the Christ, the Christos, the Anointed One, the Messiah. They all said, verse 70, “Are you the Son of God then? He said to them, Yes I am.” You see in this statement you have both verse 69, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Father. An indication of when that will happen—after He makes purification of sins. That was the incarnation's purpose. And they recognized that, it was a declaration of deity. Are you the Son of God? So no doubt Psalm 110 was anticipating Christ.

We're going to deal with Psalm 110 because when you get down to verse 4 in Psalm 110 you have that other verse that is so prominent in Hebrews from this chapter—“you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” So very important anticipating Christ and His finished work.

Come back, we have to say something about verse 14, and we'll leave here and we'll pick up here because it transitions into Hebrews 2:1-4. Having given all these verses, seven verses showing six ways the Son is superior to angels, he concludes. You'll note this is not a quote, it's a summary statement on these seven passages of Scripture. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” What are the angels? The Son is God, He is the Lord, He is the Creator, He is the One who never changes, that will always be. The angels? They are servants. He is the One who will rule ultimately with all enemies subdued and removed. What are the angels? Ministering spirits. That word ministering was used back in verse 7 of the angels. Of the angels, he says, “who makes his angels winds and his ministers,” same word. I told you we get the word liturgy from this word. It's a word that means to serve. It was often used in a religious context, it will be used in that way in Hebrews of religious service. But it is serving. And you have it connected here. They are sent out to render service. This is the same basic word we get the word deacon from, a word that means to serve.

So these ministering spirits performing service for God as those who serve for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. Let me read you Matthew 18:10, Jesus speaking. And He says, “see that you do not despise one of these little ones.” And you'll note in the context these little ones are not little children or babies, not to put down babies and God's care for them, but He is not talking about that here. The little ones are those who are believers, they are God's precious children. So that's what Christ is talking about. See that you do not despise one of these little ones, these believers in Me. “For I say to you that there are angels in heaven who continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” These little ones, they are angels. We talk about guardian angels, I think that's carrying it maybe a little too far because it doesn't specify that way, but the angels serve as God's representative to render service to us in ways we do not see because they are spirit beings. They are doing things for our good in carrying out the plan of God in our lives. Remarkable. But you'll note what they are, they are ministering spirits, they are spirits. We might think, then they deserve honor and worship. Well, they can be honored as servants of God, but that's what they are—servants. And he'll clarify that even further when we get into Hebrews 2. There will come a time when we will exercise authority over angels.

So the angels are servants; they are sent to render service. You see their position, different than the Creator who is enthroned, that One called God. These are ministering spirits sent out to do His will. And we benefit. They are rendering service for those who will inherit salvation. That carries us to the future dimension of our salvation. That is transitioning because the first four verses of Hebrews 2 bring us to the first of those sections sometimes called the warning passages in Hebrews, which commentators will note comprise some of the most difficult issues in interpretation in the New Testament. But I think they are clear. And so he is preparing because he is talking about salvation and those who will inherit salvation.

But there is a danger that some may hear this message but not inherit the salvation. And the ultimate dimension of our salvation is when we will be brought into the glorious presence of the Son and His Father. We'll pick up there. There are a number of passages that talk about our salvation in the future dimension, because our salvation in that sense is not complete. It has been completely provided, but I haven't entered into its completeness, yet. I have this physical body that is decaying, getting old. If Christ does not come, it will be folded up and set aside. We anticipate the fullness of our salvation when there will be no death, no tears, no suffering, no misery as Revelation 21 talks about. We'll pick up here.

All this to stress the greatness of Christ. Even as believers we can be like these Hebrew Christians who begin to lose perspective on who Christ is, the wonder of the One who is our Savior, the One who has promised He will never leave us or forsake us, the One who promises that He will bring us to the appointed end of inheriting everything that God has promised to those who love Him. What a great salvation, what a great Savior.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace, the grace that provided a plan in agreement with Your Son, Your Spirit that You would come, be born into the human race, suffer rejection, ultimate death on the cross so on that cross He might pay the penalty for our sin so that we through faith in Him might experience purification from sin, be cleansed before You, be born into Your family, become Your children and have all the promises You've made to those who love Your Son. Thank You for the riches of Your work in our lives. And, Lord, as we leave today, may we not lose focus on who Christ is, the wonder of His person, the greatness of His work. We pray in Christ's name, amen.