(Jesus) sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become SUPERIOR TO THE ANGELS, to the extent that He has INHERITED A MORE EXCELLENT NAME than they. ⁵ 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 will be a Son to Me”? ⁶ And when He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” ⁷ And regarding the angels He says, “He makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” ⁸ But regarding the Son He says,  “Your throne, O GOD, is forever and ever, And the sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of His kingdom.⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; and BECAUSE OF THIS GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU with the oil of joy above Your associates.” ¹⁰ And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS. ¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; and they all will wear out like a garment, ¹² and like a robe 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.” 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”? ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Heb1:3b-14)

So having provided a purification for sins (previous post), Jesus sat down at the  right hand of God. The writer to the Hebrews then proceeds to demonstrate how far the Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. as God-Man) is superior to the angels. He does so in terms of statements that God the Father will have been made about His Son that would not apply to any angel. This does not detract from what I have  emphasizing about the monarchical status of the Father within the Godhead, rather it establishes it. Particularly verse 9: “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; and BECAUSE OF THIS GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU with the oil of joy above Your associates.”

But the Lord Jesus Christ’s superiority over the angels (and all of us) is supremely evident in the verse that follows it: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS (v10)”. And as Paul had written: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

So affirming such authority the writer to the Hebrews poses a few questions : “To which of the angels did God ever say, “You are My Son, today I have fathered You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me”? (Heb1:5). And “To which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool”? (Heb1:13). So regardless of any ordering within the Godhead, who would not with disciple Thomas declare of Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn20:28).

Angels and the elect of God

In terms of the angels’ role, the passage concludes: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (v14)  With that in mind I shall pose some further questions: To which of the angels did JESUS ever say: “I regard you as my own kith and kin” (cf. Mt12:50); “I who sanctify you and you who are being sanctified ARE ALL OF ONE, therefore I am not ashamed to call you my brothers and sisters” (Heb2:11). And to which of the angels has Christ ever said, “My Father has chosen you to be my corporate Bride through eternity, even to share my throne” (cf. Rev3:21; 19:7).

Need I go on?   It largely pertains to the fact that the Word of God has been incarnated as a Man, not an Angel. And if Jesus Christ has authority over the angels, then so (in due course) shall those He regards as His corporate Bride. “In due course” for two things need to happen for that to come about. Firstly, we need to be saved/purged/purified from sins of the flesh (covered in previous post). Secondly (and not currently available), we need a new body. Yes, “even we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit  groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, being THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY! (Rom8:23)

Suffering – the grist for glory

No wonder some of the angels rebelled when they learnt of God’s plans for humanity, whilst the rest still long to look into these matters (1Pet1:12). The supreme irony at Satan’s expense is that the rebellion he led and the damage he inflicted on the world, together with the human suffering that resulted from it, has enabled humanity rather than the angels to be perfected for the greater glory, as Christ’s corporate bride. Paul provides further hints to this mystery in Rom8:20-21; the writer to the Hebrews still more so in Heb2:10, whilst the matter is worked out in more detail in “The Little Book of Providence”.