September 29, 2024: Sunday School

Order of Service

• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-14
• Sermon
• Prayer of Benediction

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Sermon Title: Christ the Son, Greater Than Angels

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-14

I. Why the Writer Compares the Son to Angels

A. The role of angels in Jewish thought

1. Angels served as messengers in Old Testament revelation, including the giving of the law at Sinai — Acts 7:38, Galatians 3:19
2. Jewish piety risked elevating angels too highly (Calvin: hearts inclined to superstition obscured God's glory by extolling angels)

B. The danger of angel worship in the early church

1. Paul warns against worship of angels — Colossians 2:18
2. John twice tempted to bow to an angel; the angel refuses — Revelation 19:10, Revelation 22:8-9
3. The recipients of Hebrews likely faced this same temptation

C. The broader human tendency to oscillate between materialism and an overemphasis on the spiritual/supernatural

1. Christianity calls for a stable, scriptural supernaturalism
2. Angels are magnificent creatures, but creatures nonetheless — Christ is always better

II. Verse 4 — Transition and Introduction: The Name of Son

A. Hebrews 1:4 serves as both transition from verses 1–3 and introduction to the comparison that follows B. The name the Son inherits is the name Son — working on two levels:

1. Ontologically — Christ is eternally God the Son, the only begotten of the Father, through whom creation was made
2. Redemptively — Christ is declared and installed as Son in his saving work, the successful second Adam, fulfilled Israel, and enthroned Messiah

III. The Appointment of the Messianic Son Makes Him Better Than Angels (verse 5)

A. First quotation: Psalm 2:7 — You are my Son, today I have begotten you

1. No angel has ever been addressed this way
2. Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm anticipating a Davidic son who reigns forever — grounded in the covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:14
3. Solomon partially fulfills the promise; Christ fully and finally fulfills it

B. Second quotation: 2 Samuel 7:14 — I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son

1. The eternal promise of a Davidic son whose kingdom will not fall is fulfilled only in Christ

C. When does Christ inherit this name?

1. He has always been the Son — no new relationship with the Father is formed at the incarnation
2. Scripture interprets Scripture: Acts 13:32-33 — Paul applies Psalm 2:7 to the resurrection of Jesus
3. Romans 1:3-4 — declared Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead
4. At the resurrection, Christ's Redemptive work as Son is fully demonstrated — his salvation is far richer than a merely national restoration; he defeats death itself

IV. The Adoration of the Messianic Son Makes Him Better Than Angels (verses 6–9)

A. First quotation: Psalm 97:7 — Let all God's angels worship him

1. Angels worship the Son — how could anyone be tempted to worship those who are themselves worshipers?
2. Only God is worthy of worship; the Son receiving angelic worship confirms his divinity

B. Angels described as winds and flames of fire — their creaturely nature is underscored; they are ministers, part of creation

C. Second quotation: Psalm 45:6-7 — Your throne, O God, is forever and ever

1. Psalm 45 is a wedding psalm in which the bride extols her royal bridegroom
2. The startling move: the bride addresses the king as God — no earthly king of Judah ever fulfilled this
3. Hebrews applies it to the Son: he is anointed with the oil of gladness beyond his companions, the perfect and eternal king who rules in righteousness