Above All Names
Hebrews 1:4-14
Emmanuel Christian Church 2.9.25
INTRODUCTION: Well, fasten your seatbelts! Up to this point, we’ve been
crawling through the first few verses of Hebrews chapter one for the
singular purpose of understanding the superiority of Christ. This
morning, we’re actually going finish chapter 1 as we blast through TEN
VERSES!
PROPOSITION: These ten verses are really one argument for the
superiority of Christ. That argument is simple- when compared to Jesus,
angels have nothing to boast about! It begins with this simple statement:
Hebrews 1:4 So [Jesus] became as much superior to the angels as the
name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Verse 5 makes the first argument in support of this proposition:
Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my
Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and
he will be my Son”?
Jesus is superior to the angels because His relationship with God is that
of…
Father/Son
- In His being, Jesus is fundamentally different from the angels- they are
part of the Creation, He is the “Only Begotten Son”.
- As the pot to the potter is merely an expression of his artistry, Jesus is
NOT the pot, but rather the Son of the Potter. But even that analogy falls
short, because unlike a human potter and his son, God the Father and
Jesus His only son are of the one and same substance and essence!
Remember, that little word “being” back in verse 3?
APPLICATION: There is only ONE Son of God. However, because of what
He has done in offering Himself as the sacrifice for our sin, WE can
become ADOPTED sons and daughters go God.
John 1:10 [Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made
through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which
was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we
should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the
world does not know us is that it did not know [Jesus]. 2 Dear friends,
now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made
known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is.
Worthy Of Worship
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he
says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
- Angels are NOT to be worshipped! They are merely a part of God’s
Creation- NOT to be confused with the Creator Himself!
- Paul makes the simple point that when Jesus made His entrance into
the world- it was the angels that worshipped HIM!
- At the end of the Revelation, John records an experience that makes
crystal clear who should be worshipping who:
Revelation 22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.
And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of
the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Do
not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the
prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
APPLICATION: God alone is worthy of worship! Jesus, God the Son, by
God’s own testimony is worthy of worship!
Everlasting
Hebrews 1:7 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels
winds, his servants flames of fire.” 8 But about the Son he says, “Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the
scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated
wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your
companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
- Angels are consumable, Jesus is indestructible!
- Angels are created beings, Jesus is the Creator
- Angels are corruptible, Jesus is undefiled!
- Fallen angels: Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:16; Revelation 12:7
- The power of Jesus’ throne will never fade, or be overthrown!
- The pure, true, “straight as an arrow” integrity of Jesus’ ruling authority
will never change!
APPLICATION: If you’ve ever been let down by a promise unkept, if
you’ve ever been disappointed by a trust betrayed- know this: Jesus will
NEVER let you down!
Later on in the book of Hebrews, Paul quotes a passage from the
Old Testament book of Joshua written during the time of Israel’s imminent
conquest of the Promised land after having wandered in the desert for 40
years:
Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your
life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor
forsake you.
Like the Israelites, we’re walking through the desert of life heading for
ultimate Promised Land. We can have absolute confidence in Jesus’
indestructible power and trustworthy integrity to get us there!
Powerful, Persistent, Unchanging
Hebrews 1:10 He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the
foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12
You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But
you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
- Angels, as a part of the Creation, had a fixed point in time where they
came to be.
- Jesus predates the “beginning”! Again, Jesus is NOT part of the
Creation, but rather the Creator Himself!
- Three times Scripture makes reference to the fact that Jesus is NOT a
part of the Creation:
John 17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where
I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved
me before the creation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4 For [God] chose us in [Jesus] before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
1 Peter 1:20 [Jesus] was chosen before the creation of the world, but
was revealed in these last times for your sake.
Scripture is very clear on the point that this present Creation will one day
be consumed by fire, then re-created in its original perfect condition.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens
will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the
earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of
people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you
look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring
about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt
in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a
new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
APPLICATION: As Creator, Jesus made this present universe and He
sustains it by His Word to this very moment. As Redeemer, He will one
day roll it up like a soiled garment and cast it away as He ushers in the
perfected home of His perfected people:
John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am.
Exalted
Hebrews 1:13 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are not all
angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
“Jesus Christ”
The Name of God’s only Son, worthy of worship, the everlasting Being,
Whose powerful, persistent, unchanging nature gave Him the power to
defeat the enem
- Here’s how God sees this Name:
Philippians 2: 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave
him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
- Fools choose to abuse this Name- using it as a blasphemous epithet.
- Cowards dare not speak this name with their friends, family, or (perish
the thought!) in ANY public forum.
- Courageous are the disciples of Jesus who cannot help themselves but
to proclaim their loyalty to “the name that is above name”!
CONCLUSION: Taking a stand before the religious elite of his day for
having healed a man crippled from birth, here’s what the Apostle Peter had
to say about the Name:
Acts 4:8 “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to
account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked
how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It
is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom
God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He
is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ 12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
