Friday, May 23, 2014

HEBREWS: Christ Above the Angels; "having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they!"

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.
He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. (Psalm 148:1-6, 13) ...having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 1:4) ...
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (I Peter 3:22)


There is absolutely nothing and no one we are to praise and worship above God and His Son, Christ Jesus!  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phillipians 2:9-11) The name that God gave Jesus, that is above every name is, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22)  God never has and never will call anyone else by that name, My Beloved Son!  “...The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (Psalm 2:7) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

A lot of false teachers will have people praising and worshiping all kinds of created things (Colossians 2:18), but we are not to fall for those lies (see World Faiths and Religions).  God explains very clearly Christs superiority and preeminence over the angels and all created things:
- For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” [Psalm 2:7]?

- And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son” [II Samuel 2:14]?

- But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him” [Psalm 97:7].

- And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire” [Psalm 104:4].

- But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions” [Psalm 45:6-7].

- And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail” [Psalm 102:25-27].

- But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” [Psalm 110:1]?

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:5-14)

Angels are ministering spirits (Matthew 4:11), messengers of God (Luke 1:19), appear in human form (Hebrews 13:2), guards of the the throne of God (Genesis 3:24), etc.  But they know no more than what God tells them (Mark 13:32), and  even less than what God has told man (I Peter 1:12)!  They are not perfect and will be judged just like man, For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;... then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,... (II Peter 2:4,9) And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode [Revelations 12:4], He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ...are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.(Jude 1:6-7)

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,... (Hebrews 2:1-3) We will not escape!  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when [we] received the word of God which [we] heard ..., [we] welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in [us] who believe. (I Thessalonians 2:13)

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