The Superiority of Christ

["Click here for scripure"]

Over the Prophets

 ["Click here for Hebrews 1:1-3"]

We see from the very beginning that the author realizes that God has revealed Himself in many and various ways prior to Christ, but the revelation of God to His chosen people was through the Prophets. The Prophets were qualified because they were chosen by God, ordained by God and sustained by God. We know from our study of the Old Testament that even to the Prophets, God used various ways to communicate with them. It was a period of limited communication, God speaking through a chosen few. This period was called "The Dispensation of Law".

With the coming of Christ, God now speaks to the individual. Before, the Prophet was the intermediary, now Christ is our intermediary. Before, new revelation was given from time to time through the Prophets, now, we must not expect any new revelation, only understanding of what has already been revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the final revelation , the revelation of God made by His Son, the most excellent of all messengers.

Four points are brought out here about this messenger:

  1. The nature of Christ.
    1. He is the heir of all things.
    2. He was from the beginning.
    3. All power is given to Him in Heaven and on earth.
    4. He holds all things by the power of His word.
  2. He is the only Begotten Son of God.
    1. He has the same nature.
    2. His person is the glory of God.
    3. He is God, manifested in the flesh.
    4. He is the true image and character of the Father. This means that in Him we see the wisdom, the goodness and the power of God. Paul says elsewhere, "The fullness of the God Head dwells in Christ". i.e. heir to all things and begotten by the Father.
  3. He is our Savior and Redeemer. As Savior, He has provided a way of forgiveness. As our Redeemed, He has provided for us a robe of righteousness and we have been made "right" by His death.
  4. He now sets at the right hand of the Father. He humbled Himself and became as a common criminal, was crucified, died, and rose for our justification. Now He is exalted above all creation by His position beside the Father. He is the one God has used, in these "last days", to speak to men.

Thus the Dispensation of Grace far exceeds the Dispensation of the Law, as Christ is far superior to the Prophets.

Over the Angels

["Click here for Hebrews 1:4-14"]

This section deals with the "divinity" of Christ. From the Psalms, the author quotes bits of revelation that were given to the Prophets concerning the divinity of Christ. It is His divinity that makes Him superior to Angels. Like Matthew, the Gospel writer, this writer uses scripture to prove his point, using that with which they were familiar, to prove his point about the superiority of Christ to Angels, also the author shows that in nature and office, Christ is vastly superior to the Angels.

In the Psalms, things were said of the Messiah that were never said of Angels. In the Second Psalm, it was said of the Messiah, the Christ, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten you." God never said this about an Angel. In Second Samuel it says, "I will be to Him, a Father, and He shall be to me, a Son." God said this to David about one of his ancestors, the Messiah. In Psalm 104, it says, "When God brings His 'first born' into the world, let all Angels of God worship Him."

Matthew Henry paraphrases, "All you that are superior to men, acknowledge yourself to be inferior to Christ." From Psalm 45 we see the eternity of Christ. "Thy thrown is forever and ever." As for the Angels. we see that they are servants and ministering spirits, created to do God's will and pleasure. They are no more than what God created them to be.

Then the author quotes further from the Old Testament to substantiate the superiority of Christ over the Angels.

  1. He is divine, begotten by the Father, and declared so by Him.
  2. He is the King, He has dignity and dominion over all the earth.
  3. He is forever. This distinguishes Him from earthly kings.
  4. He has perfect righteousness. Only in this nature could He become the sacrifice for all sin.
  5. He is qualified to be our mediator, the One to atone for the sins of man.

Thus the author shows the superiority of Christ over the Angels. It might be well, at this time, to remind ourselves that Angel worship had become very popular at the time of Christ. Thus the author is dealing with this false worship as well as showing the superiority of Christ.

It might be well to remind ourselves what our situation is as believers in Christ. We are Saints, heirs of salvation, heirs because we have been chosen by God. In this condition, we need nurturing and sustaining. To do this, the author in verse 14 says that the Angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to serve those who are to obtain salvation. Have you ever heard of "Guardian Angels"? Do you believe in them? Does verse 14 help you in this decision?


Previous Chapter
Return to Outline
Ask Questions
Next Chapter