THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST (Part 9).
Hebrews 1. Verses 4-7 read:
“being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, And his ministers a flame of fire.
Supremacy is proven by the attainment of superiority over all possible contending forces. Yesterday, we focused on Jesus’ superiority over the revered status of the prophet through his exemplary life, which flawlessly reflected God the Father. He was more than a prophet. He was actually God made manifest in the flesh. Today, we want to move on to Jesus’ superiority over angels.
Scripture says that when he set aside his divinity and became a man, Jesus was made much better or superior to angels. Jesus came into the world as the Son of God, and he obtained a more excellent name than the angels. God’s household is made up of the Father, sons, and servants. Jesus and all who express faith in him and continue in a life that is subject to the leadership of the Holy Spirit are the sons of God, Jesus, being the foremost begotten of the Heavenly Father. Refer to Romans 8 verse 29. The angels are the servants who run errands or render service in God’s household. In terms of hierarchy, sons come ahead of servants, and what distinguishes Jesus among the sons is that none could match his flawless representation of the Heavenly Father on earth.
The Father never described any of his angels as sons, but he consistently described Jesus as such. Of Christ, the Father said:
- “Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee.” Refer to Romans 1 verses 3-4.
- “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.” This is a relationship with a bond of affection and a strong sense of belonging.
In addition to this, God let his angels worship Jesus when he came into the world. It is the lesser who worships the greater. In describing the angels, the Father said that they are ministering spirits and a flaming sword. As ministering spirits, their duty is to attend to the hiers of salvation, that is, the sons of God, under the direction of the Father. From the scriptures, angels can be put in two broad categories:
- The cherubs or cherubims. These are guardian angels whose operation ensures the sustenance of God’s presence in a domain.
- Seraphs or seraphims. These are firey angels that God uses for purging or purification operations as well as supernatural warfare. In the lives of Elijah and Elisha, the seraphs manifested as chariots on fire.
Being spirits, men can easily get fascinated by the appearance of angels and thereby shifting attention from the son. It is for this reason that the seraphims covered their faces when Isaiah appeared before God. Refer to Isaiah 6 verse 2. In acknowledgement of the superiority of the Son, the angels covered their faces to give Jesus the preeminence and the attention he deserved as the superior one. To him belongs the supremacy.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏