The Letter to the Hebrews Message Seven

We are continuing today to learn of our Lord Jesus Christ and His exalted position above all things. Paul continued to present evidence to the readers of this letter that Jesus is better than the prophets and even better than the holy angels of God. He is worthy of our worship, of our love, and our obedience. We should delight in Him as we see His –

b. Superiority proved. 1:5-14 By –

1). Relationship. 1:5

a). Angels – created beings.

Psalm 148:2,5 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts…. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.

By creation, not relation.

b). Jesus – exalted Son.

By relation, not by creation

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

And we have the testimony of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son –

Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Lord Jesus Christ is declared superior to all things by His relationship – the Everlasting God! We also must take note of His superiority by the fact the He, as God, is worthy of all –
2). Reverence. Hebrews 1:6 “…let all the angels of God worship him”.

a). Worship commanded.

Philippians 2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 45:21-24 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

How this knowledge should bring us to our knees before the Almighty God! When is the last time that you bowed down on your knees before the Lord in prayer? We see that among the angels of God –

b). Worship practiced.

(1). His birth.

Luke 2:13-14 (KJV) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

(2). His ministry.

Matthew 4:10-11 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Luke 22:42-43 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

(3). His resurrection.

The ascension of the Lord was spoken of by Paul in the letter to the Ephesians –

Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

He was quoting – Psalm 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Which prophesied not only of His ascension, but the manner of the escort to the Throne room of God –

Psalm 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

Luke reported that “… he was parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.”

And Luke wrote in the Acts chapter 1 –

“…while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

When The Lord returns, He will be accompanied by His angels again! –

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

He is superior to all things in Relationship (The everlasting Son of God), in Reverence (He is worthy of all worship), and in –

3). Righteousness. 1:7-9

Adam, the first man, chose to sin – to disobey God. In that choice, all men are born in sin because we are of Adam’s seed. Jesus is greater than man – even the prophets that were blessed by God through preaching His Word to their generations.
Satan, the mighty angel, chose to sin – to disobey God. Through his rebellion against God, multitudes of angels followed him in this rebellion.
The righteous angels that chose to remain faithful to God made a conscious choice to submit to Him, obeying and serving Him.

Jesus cannot choose to sin. He is greater than all because He is infinitely holy. He cannot sin and therefore, is superior to all!

1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

His Kingdom is defined by –

a). Righteous action. 1:7,8 “…a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” The scepter symbolizes the will of the King.

Remember when Queen Esther desired to speak with her husband, King Ahasueras, she feared for her life if he did not give a sign to his guards that she was welcome in his court. That sign was that he would hold out the golden scepter giving his protection and inviting her to come to him. If Ahasuerus held back the scepter, his guards would know that the person coming into the court did not belong there, was an intruder and would be immediately killed.
Our Lord’s court is symbolized by a righteous scepter and all those that have been declared righteous, cleansed by the precious blood of Christ, are welcome there.

b). Righteous nature. 1:8,9 He is holy 1 Peter 1:15,16

His final invitation as given in the book of Revelation reminds of His righteous nature –

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Do you understand His relationship, the Jesus Christ is God?
Do you reverence Him in your life, bowing your knee to Him in worship and prayer?
Do you look up to Him and see Him in all of His righteousness?

Will you submit to Him, give Him your life – for the truth is, it belongs to Him.