HF177 - Hebrews 1:4-14 (Jesus is not an Angel)
To: Hebraic-Foundations@YahooGroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Subject: Bible Study HF177 - Hebrews 1:4-14 (Jesus is not an Angel)
Hebraics,
Some of the traditional thinking of the Jews during the time of Jesus was that the Messiah would be an angel, or one of the prophets incarnated. This is just one of the false beliefs that the book of Hebrews deals with.
This is Bible Study HF177 - Hebrews 1:4-14 (Jesus is not an Angel)
Here are the Scriptures under consideration. Take your time to read them through in their entirety. A number of things will begin to stand out. We will highlight the important elements at the end of the Scripture readings.
V4 - "...having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
v5 - "For to which of the angels did He ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten You.'? And again, 'I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me.'?
v6 - "And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, 'And let all the angels of God worship Him.'
v7 - "And of the angels He says, 'Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.'
v8 - "But of the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
v9 - 'You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness, above your companions.'
v10 "And, 'You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands;
v11 - 'They will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a garment,
v12 - '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.'
v13 - "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'"
v14 - "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?"
Ok, what are the most obvious things that the apostolic writer is saying about Jesus Christ in the afore Scriptures?
The most apparent truth being presented is that Jesus Christ is not an angel, was never an angel, and will never be an angel. Not only is Jesus not an angel, but He is indeed the very Son of God, and is implicitly called 'God'.
Of course this brings us back to the mystery of Messiah in that He existed in all eternity as 'the Word of God,' as 'the Image of God,' as 'the Glory of God,' and even as 'the Son of God.' (Other titles can be equally applied such as 'the Wisdom of God,' and 'the Power of God.')
The apostolic writer in Hebrews is drawing on a number of prophecies concerning God's Messiah, to show that Jesus is indeed God, and as I shared in a prior study, this includes the wondrous mystery of both God unseen and God revealed.
To help my readers with this area of understanding you may wish to review the following study, HF155 - Oneness, Twoness, or Threeness. Go to:
http://christianchallenge.org/hebraic-foundations/HF155.html
Let's take a look at another Scripture that deals with this issue of the mystery in Deity. Here is a noted Scripture from the apostle Paul that serves as an early creedal statement of the infant church:
"For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge..." (1Co8:5-7a)
The interesting thing about what Paul is saying is that he is expressly drawing on that the part of Sh'ma of Israel that is found in Deu 6:4; "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!"
Notice how Paul speaks of one God the Father, but also speaks of one Lord, Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word for Lord that Paul would be drawing from with regard to Jesus, is YHWH (Yahweh). This is the Old Testament covenant term used largely for the God of Israel.
However, it isn't that the Jewish readers would find this strange. The very concept of God expressing Himself in personality through 'the Word of the Lord' is found in their own writings. To them 'the Word of the Lord' had personhood, and yet they never ceased to be monotheistic in their beliefs, nor did the Christian Church. (Monotheistic - belief in only one God.)
So again, without laboring this too much, and since I really want our members to become involved in this study, let me merely say that early Jewish Christianity was firmly settled in much of what the Jewish peoples already believed concerning the Messiah. They had been well prepared for the coming of Jesus. It was the self-righteous leadership in Israel that became an enemy of the cross. (All this is open for discussion.)
There is so much more I would like to share but since the Scriptures under study are pretty plain on what is being said, feel free to ask questions or otherwise discuss any of the Scriptures in our study text. This is a very rich study and worthy of additional exploration.
Blessings,
Buddy
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Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy <at> ChristianChallenge.Org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hebraic-Foundations/
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"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)