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0:51Well, the message of Hebrews continues to be, pay attention to Jesus. At least in chapter 1, pay attention to Jesus. This is evident in verse 2, 1. For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it. Because the Son, chapter 2, verse 9 makes very clear, is Jesus. Pay attention to him. And one of the reasons that you are to pay attention to Jesus is because he is superior to the angels. And that's what the author. Is going to spend considerable time in chapter 1 expressing and giving reasons to believe and understand the superiority of Jesus to the angels. You know, have you ever wished that the Lord would just open up skies and say, Hey, this is what I want you to do, and writes it out in real large print, or maybe sends an angel and has, I mean, wouldn't that be nice if the Lord would just send an angel to you, commission an angel to you with words of comfort, or maybe some kind of commission, or with some kind of message? I think we think about that and often, Lord, why don't you just give me that sign? Give me that angel. Well, angels are spectacular beings, as we read in Scripture. In fact, we read about all kinds of angels in the scriptures. Isaiah encountered one of those glorious seraphim in Isaiah chapter 6, verse 1 says this, In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings. With two, he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, and one called out to another and said, Holy, holy, holy. Is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Of course, Isaiah sees this and he feels like a dead man, a man of unclean lips.

3:14And then one of the angels, one of these glorious seraphim, touched him with a burning coal. And he said, Your iniquity has been taken away, your lips and purified, your sin is forgiven. And it was in that context that Isaiah hears, who will go for us? Who shall I send? And who will go for us? And then I heard, then I said, Here am I, send me. Wouldn't it be nice to have a glorious angel commission you in such a way? Such were the seraphim that Isaiah encountered. It was a cherubim who guarded the way to the tree of life after the couple was expelled from the Garden of Eden. It was cherubim, magnificent beings who were given the position to cover the ark in the tabernacle. Ezekiel encountered these magnificent cherubim. Ezekiel chapter 1, there by the river Chibar. And they were carrying the enthroned one of heaven. And he describes them in Ezekiel 1, verse 5. And this was their appearance. They had a human form. Each of them had four faces, four wings. Their legs were straight. Their feet were like a calf's foot, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings, on their four sides, were human hands, as for the faces and wings of the four of them. Their wings touched one another, their faces did not turn when they moved. Each went straight forward. And as he goes on to describe them, they ran back and forth like bolts of lightning. And wherever the Spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. Such were the cherubim. As you read through scriptures, you come across those named angels, such as Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel, that great messenger of good news. He announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah. He announces the birth of Christ to Mary. Then there's that great archangel Michael who overpowers the dragon and all of his forces and expels them from heaven in one decisive moment. So there's not a single place left for any of them anywhere.

5:57Such is the power. As we keep going through Revelation, we meet all kinds of these powerful beings. There's trumpet angels, temple angels, flying preaching angels, there's the harvesting angels, there's the bowl angels, and there's the strong angels, such like that great chain angel who binds Satan and in an instant hurls him into the abyss. No contest. Angels are spectacular beings. So spectacular that even the Apostle John bowed down to worship one in Revelation 22. But the angel said, Don't do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.

6:54Well, our world today is still very much captivated by the thought of angels, even though most are completely ignorant about what the Bible really says about them. You see, we often want to make heaven about us, and so we contrive angels and we come up with what we would imagine an angel to be like and how we might want to be touched by one. You see, we want some kind of validation from heaven. We love the idea to have an encounter with someone. Something from the heavenly realm.

7:34Well, so it was in times past. Writer of Hebrews, they paid attention to angels, paid attention to angelic teachings. There's a preoccupation then, much like there could be a preoccupation now with messages from the heavenly realm that don't come from the Word of God. What about you? Suppose an angel appeared to you today and told you to do something. Would you do it? Suppose a glorious seraphim came up to you and said, Don't cheat on that exam this week. Would you pay attention?

8:26What if a glorious seraphim came to you and said, You need to be inclined to be more humble this week. Incline your heart to be humble. You need to grieve more over sin. You need to be merciful. You need to repent of your sin. You need to forgive the people that have wronged you in your life. You need to love someone in your life. You need to honor your parents better. You need to love your wife. If such a message came from heaven, Like that to you today, would you be inclined to obey?

9:08Well, we have something far more weighty than the words of angels. And that's what the writer of Hebrew is hitting across. Jesus is superior to the angels. Who brought all these magnificent, wonderful, frightening beings into existence? His name is Jesus. Christ, a power so far greater than anything that we read about in the angelic realms. Such is Christ. Oh, that we at Emmanuel would walk in the Spirit of Christ. I want you to leave here today far more treasuring the words of Christ than you did when you came in here.

10:10Look at verse 4. Having become as much better than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they. That's the author's launching point into the magnificence of Christ and the superiority of Christ over angels. And so he continues with that thought. He goes on describing the superiority of Jesus over the angels so that we will be far more captivated by Jesus and his words than any other being or any other thing in the universe.

10:50He wants us to treasure Christ. He wants us to pay attention to Christ. And so he gives three lines of proof that Jesus is superior to the angels. And that's what we're going to look at this morning. Three lines of proof that Jesus is superior to the angels. First of all, his name is superior to the angels. His name is superior to the angels. Look at verse 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 shall be a son to me.

11:33Picking up on what he just said in verse 4, the more excellent name that Jesus has inherited is much greater than that of the angelic beings. The uniqueness of Jesus is seen in his unique title as son. What happens in verse 5 is the author asks two rhetorical questions based on. Two Old Testament texts. And the answer to each is none. First question: For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten you? The answer, none.

12:18Then he asks the second question: For which of the angels did he ever say, I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me? The answer is, none. Now, just to get this out of the way, there are places in Scripture, Genesis 6, in Job 1, where the sons of God, or the angels, are referred to as the sons of God. The Septuagint translates the word sons of God to angels, God.

12:51But that's speaking in a collective sense. What he is saying here is very spot-on. For to which of any of the one ain't to any angel did God ever say, you are my son? None. He's never spoken to a one in an individual sense like this. So sometimes sons of God may be referred to in general. No telling where we're going this morning. Can you hear me now? Okay. So where was I? Okay, so let's just move on from that thought. Yeah, sometimes the sons of God are referred to as angels in a collective sense, but there's never a time where one is referred to in an individual sense. And certainly, to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son?

14:40None. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. None. So the first question is based on Psalm 2:7. Seems to be a favorite psalm. It was a favorite psalm of Paul. We read in Galatians when he was there. Acts 13 and goes into the synagogue at Galatia. One of the first verses he comes through is this verse, Psalm 2.7. The writer of Hebrews, preacher of Hebrews, loved the Psalms because of many of the verses here, far number in this chapter, are from the book of Psalms.

15:23But he says this in Psalm 2:7. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, You are my son, today I have begotten you. So, in the context of Psalm 2, God's unique Son is God's anointed king over humanity, and he is God's answer to human rebellion. He is God's answer to human rebellion, your rebellion, my rebellion, and the world's rebellion. The anointed one, Son, is God's king. Let me read to you part of Psalm 2, beginning in verse 1. Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us tear their feathers apart and cast away their cords from us.

16:30He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. And then, in the very next verse, for I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord, he said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. So we should pay attention to Jesus. Why? Because he is Christ.

17:07That's the Greek for Messiah, Hebrew. He is God's anointed one through whom God rules. That's why you should pay attention to him. To oppose Jesus, to discount Jesus, is to discount God. To oppose Jesus is to oppose God. To think little of Jesus is to think little of God. To disregard Jesus is to disregard God. Oh, you're not just doing the Aggie. They're trying to give me signals back here, and I'm not buying into the Aggie thing.

17:50But we're happy for him. Thank you. It's important to note that Jesus was not silent about his sonship. The very words before those cited by Hebrews, in Psalm 2:7, I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. I will surely speak of the words, the decree of Yahweh. He said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Jesus was not silent at all about God being his father. In John 5, 18, the Jews wanted to kill him. Why? Because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. Jesus wanted to tell of the decree.

18:54God was his father. In John 10, 30, I and the Father am one. And the Jews picked up stones to stone him. In Mark 14, 61, he's standing there before the high priest. The high priest says, Tell us, are you the Christ? Are you the Son of the Blessed One? And Jesus said, I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven at this. High priest tore his clothes, and that is what condemns. Him to death. Now, he was not silent.

19:35Jesus is clearly God's ruler. And like the Son of Psalm 2, Jesus is also God's heir to the inhabited earth. And he is completely going to shatter all thoughts, all opposition, all processes of human rebellion. That's what Jesus is going to do. Psalm 2, 8, right after Psalm 2, 7 says this, Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. You see, Jesus wasn't silent about this part of the decree either. He is heir. I'm going to tell of that part of the decree. He is heir of all things. In fact, he says in Matthew 11, 27, all things have been handed over to me by my Father. John 5, 22, the Father has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.

20:47So the message of Psalm 2, the Son in Psalm 2 was God's warning to sinners. Jesus is God's warning. To sinners. He is also the announcement of the source of blessings to all who will abandon their rebellious ways and listen to him. Psalm 2:10 goes on to say, Now, therefore, O kings, and you and me, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth, worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. Fundamentally, you know what it means to pay homage? It's to pay attention to.

21:48The main exhortation of Psalm 2 is to pay attention to God's Son. Pay attention to him as the most important figure in your life. And this text, this exhortation is what Paul exhorted those in Galatia. Very same text. Comes to it. Listen to the Son. You are my Son. Today I have begotten you. And this is the very same message that the author of Hebrews is stressing here. In our passage, very consistent use of the Old Testament in the new, preaching to people and implying its message.

22:44The answer: to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son, today I have begotten you, none. All those angelic beings, majestic as they are, there is one who far surpasses them in glory. Nothing like this was ever said to an angel. There's a second question brought up in verse 5: Or to which of the angels did he ever say, I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.

23:20To which of the angels did God ever say that? None. But he does say that to David's son. 2 Samuel 7:14. I won't spend all the time going through all the aspects of the Davidic covenant, but if you want to read about it, read it in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and read through verse 16 and then read Psalm 89:30 through 33. It'll give you a commentary on the Davidic covenant. But I can tell you, there are many promises that God made. To David in the Davidic covenant. Such promises include a great name, a place for the physical descendants of Israel, rest from enemies, and a house for David, a dynasty, and a commitment to discipline his sons instead of cutting them off like he did Saul. But then there is a promise to a singular descendant whom God would raise up as king and whose throne would endure forever. And God refers to this descendant as his son. And just as Jesus was not silent about his relationship with God, so God was not silent about his relationship with Jesus.

24:47Remember in Luke chapter 1, Gabriel comes to Mary. In verse 32, he says this, he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. Mary knew. Remember at Jesus' baptism in Luke 3:22, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased. He wanted people to understand who Jesus was there. You remember on the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples go. Up the mountain, and just a couple of them. Just a few of them. And Matthew 7:5, while he was still standing, still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, that is the disciples. And behold, a voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Pay attention to him.

25:58Then at the resurrection, God puts an exclamation point on Jesus being his Son. Listen to what Paul says in the opening verses of Romans. Verse 1. Romans 1, Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his son, who was born, a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. Declared Son in his incarnation, declared Son with power in his resurrection. Pay attention to Jesus. The resurrection speaks boldly. This is the only one that's come forth from the grave like this.

27:01He is Lord over death. So God's endorsement of Jesus as his son could not be more clear. And Jesus' endorsement of God as his father could not be more clear. There is a relationship, a perfect father-son relationship between them. And this fits well with the message of Hebrews 1. Listen to him. Very consistent. There is a perfect relationship. God has made a promise to the Son, and God is not going to go back or fail his faithfulness or fail to be faithful. Again, in very consistent use of the scriptures. So the second rhetorical question, to which of the angels did God ever say, I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me? The answer is none.

27:57I've never said this about any single angel. You see, the speech regarding Jesus' sonship is unique to him. And the author of Hebrews, what he's wanting us to do is listen to his son. Get all the other voices out. Listen to his son. Pay attention to Jesus because, as his name implies, he has a superior relationship to the angels. Angels and to any other entity for that matter. That's the highest we can think these glorious beings.

28:40So the first line of proof that Jesus is superior to the angels is that his name is superior to the angels. Next line of proof is that the angels worship him in verse 6. The angels are commanded to worship Jesus. Look at verse 6. And when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, and let all the angels of God worship him. And he says again, he's saying something to the effect, since we're on this topic of the superiority of Jesus over the angels, let me add another consideration from the Old Testament. When he brings the firstborn, that is, not speaking about the origin of the Son, as if he came, was created sometime, but his priority, his firstborn status, his heir status, his sonship, his privileged status, his relationship.

29:45Privileged priority relationship. And let all the angels of God worship him. Now there's a couple of suggestions. What is, what part of the Old Testament did this come from? Well, there's a place in Deuteronomy, there's a place in Psalms, Deuteronomy 32, 43, and both come from the Greek Septuagint. Now, the Greek Septuagint was that translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek a couple hundred years before Christ. And so many would be, in Christ's time, were using the Greek Septuagint, as was the writer of Hebrews, which becomes very clear how he cites verses.

30:34And it would be appropriate for the world that Hebrews was first written. But one is Deuteronomy 32, 43. That's the last verse of the Song of Moses. And there's an expanded version of the Greek Septuagint that reads like this: Let the sons of God worship him, and let the angels of God ascribe strength to him. This would be a very fitting conclusion to Moses' ministry. Israel was to worship God alone. Others see this as a reference to Psalm 97:7, which in most of our Bibles reads this: Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast that. themselves of idols. Worship him, all you gods. All you gods, all you Elohim. Now the Greek Septuagint translates the word Elohim as angels, which it does throughout. Worship him all you angels. It would be a very direct statement. So most of our translations are based on the Masoretic text and translates the word Elohim as gods. But the Greek Septuagint was very much, the word gods oftentimes refers to angels, which, again, would be appropriate. But Psalm 91, this would be a very appropriate psalm to bring into this line of reasoning that the angels are to worship him. Listen to what Psalm 97, 1, the Lord reigns. Verse 2, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Verse 3, he burns up his adversaries. Verse 6, the heavens declare his righteousness. Therefore, and verse 9, you are the Lord most high over all the earth. You are exalted above all gods. Therefore, the heart and soul message of Psalm 97 and verse 7 is: let all of you be ashamed who worship graven images.

33:02Worship him, all you Elohim, all you angels, all you gods, bow down to him. The emphasis is paying attention and worship, just like Psalm 2. Worship him. Regardless of which text is specifically in view, it's clear that the angels are expected to worship God, and that's exactly what they do. Come to Revelation 7. What happens in verse 11? And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. Angels from the realms of glory, what are they called to do? Worship, worship. What are we called to do? Worship, worship. Pay attention to the sun. This is your one task in life.

33:59Pay attention. Do homage to the sun. The lesser undoubtedly worships the greater. And so Jesus is superior to the angels. His name is superior to the angels. The angels worship him. All this are two lines of reasoning, proofs that Jesus is superior to the angels. But there's a third that our pastor in Hebrew. Shares. The angels serve him. The angels serve him. Verse 7. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire. Winds, spirits. Who makes the one creating, the one who created, the one making angels.

34:58Winds, ministers. This statement comes from Psalm 104, and it speaks of Yahweh's creative purposes for the angels. Listen to what Psalm 104, verse 1 says. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariots. He walks upon the wings of the wind. All this, creation. He lays the beams, upper chambers. And then he says this in verse 4. He makes the winds his messengers. Flaming fire his ministers.

35:58Angels are messengers. Not son. Angels are ministers to God, not son. Incredible. Who should you pay attention to? Just read to you a number of incredible beings we call angels and we encounter in scripture glorious, powerful, majestic beings. Who's greater? The one who created them. That's who you should be paying attention to. The one who makes them his messengers and his ministers. They have a subservient purpose. Their function is subservient to God. It is subservient to the sons. And let me show you something in verse 14 that should strike you.

37:07Verse 14: Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? The angels serve God. They serve his son. And they serve those who are going to inherit salvation. Why Jesus is superior to the angels, and why we should be listening and paying attention to Him. What's interesting in these last two citations in the Old Testament in verses 6 and verse 7, the author of Hebrews applies statements concerning Yahweh to Jesus. He sees Jesus as Yahweh, having come in the flesh.

37:58The Son of God is Yahweh, eternal God, eternal generation, not incarnational generation. I'll talk that up in our theology class. It's the one place where John MacArthur changed his position as he first preached through Galatians and then later came to this verse, started looking at an incarnational sonship, but then later studied more carefully and came to an eternal generation view of the Son. That is, he is God, but he's always been son, eternally generated. And that this does not diminish his deity or his essence in any It.

39:02But this connection to the Son's godness has already been made. Look at verse 3. And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature and upholds all things by the power of his word. It's the exact radiance, the exact manifestation of the nature of God. Well, we've looked at the three lines of proof that Jesus is superior to angelic beings. His name is superior to the angels. The angels worship him, and the angels serve him.

39:56So, for these reasons, we should pay more careful attention to what we have heard this peasant from Galilee say, because he's far more than just a peasant from Galilee. That's a depiction of his humility. He brought the worlds into existence. He brought you and me into existence. He brought the magnificent Angels and all their hosts into existence. Pay careful attention to him. He's Christ. Sometimes we limit our understanding to Jesus as a good teacher, or some little peasant that has good things to say, good suggestions. That's a picture of his humility, that he came as a peasant, but he is Christ. He is Son of God, the creator of the worlds and angelic realms, and all that power and might you see in the angelic, he far surpasses all of that. He is Christ. Oh, that the Spirit of Christ would dwell in us here at Emmanuel.

41:34He is superior to all angels. And this makes him superior to all other people in your life. All other teachings, all other customs, all other ideas, all other imaginations that come out of the human realm, whether that be somebody else or your own mind. He is superior to every fortune cookie you pick up. And all other forms of spiritism, whether that be astrology or even AI these days, or anything else that sets itself up as some kind of authority in your life. Pay attention to the sun. You have no idea the magnitude of the individual that has spoken to us in the words that you hold in your hand. Treasure them.

42:28They are more instructive, more authoritative, more sufficient than if heaven were opened up and printed across the sky with your exact routine for the next five days. It's far more substantive than any of that. Treasure the words while you have time, while you have mind, while you have presence. Use these times. Treasure his words. Listen to his voice. Pay attention to him. Do homage to the sun. That is what the preacher of Hebrews is communicating. We have heard the sun.

43:08Stop paying attention to lesser things. Look, I don't know what the year is going to bring in your life or mine. I do not know what's going to come upon the earth in the next year. Neither do you. even know what the day will bring but I do know that paying attention to Jesus is necessary to face whatever comes and we our Bibles are rich with the testimony of Christ from beginning to end this magnificent person and then we have his own words straight from his mouth we have the words of those who saw his coming and predicted and gave us a background to understand we heard the words of those who who were there with him we have all these and they testify of him let me reread to you some words that I read earlier in the service and this is just an example of the words that we have in Matthew chapter 5 when the crowds saw the when Jesus saw the crowds he went up on the mountain and after he sat down his disciples came to him and then he opened his mouth and he began to teach them let these words have weight because oftentimes we we read through scripture and I'm scarcely pausing to take in its authority its direct speech to us and it's all throughout He opened his mouth and he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven. You know what Jesus is saying there? Be humble.

45:15Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Grieve over the sin in your own life. Grieve over the fallenness of humanity. That's what he wants you to do today. These are weighty words. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. You know what Jesus wants you to do today? Be gentle. No matter what comes your way today, I can tell you how he wants you to be, be gentle.

45:54Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. You know what God wants from you today? Seek to do that which is right, no matter what you face. That's better than if an angel came and delivered that message, because it wouldn't be more profound or higher than that. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. You know what he wants you to do today? It's not hard, is it? Show mercy.

46:30Show mercy. Let these words have weight. Are you paying attention to the Son? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Grow in purity of heart and mind. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Be a peacemaker. These are the words of your creator. Believe in the Son to have life. If you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, come to him. Meet him at the cross. That is what he tells you to do. Have new life today.

47:03There are many more words like this. As you pick up the Bible, it's just alive with instruction from Christ. Pay attention to him and do homage to him. Let his words, let God's testimony carry the greatest weight in your life. Let's pay attention to Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we indeed bow our hearts before you. We recognize that, Jesus, you are greater than all the hosts, all the angelic beings, and we see many. Mighty ones. And we thank you for your great power. We thank you for your care and concern. We thank you that even such beings as these are ministering spirits, even to us who are to receive your salvation. What a joy. What a privilege.

48:31Let us be humbled before these words and let us walk in them. In Jesus' name.