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Hebrews 1: 4 -9 Jesus , Greater Than The Angels Part 1
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Feb 19, 2025
Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews. Last week, we looked at verses 1 through 3 of chapter 1. And in those three verses, we understood that the author was showing the supremacy of Jesus over the prophets of old. They were indeed highly esteemed but they weren’t given the honor of sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high. In other words, they were not of the same substance as God. Today we’ll turn our attention to verses 4-9 in which the author is going to show us how Christ is also superior to the angels. Angels had an important role in the Jewish religion because they assisted in the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. And even before the advent of Christ, they appeared to shepherds, to Mary herself just to name some of the occasions in which God used them to transmit his message to His people. But as we will see in today’s presentation, Jesus Christ is greater than the mightiest of angels, and we’ll see why.
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Hello, good morning, and this is Taiba taibs.com, and welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews
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We launched chapter 1 last week, and we only covered verses 1 through 3
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And in those verses, we talked about how the author establishes at the outset that Jesus is greater than the prophet
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And we also say that the prophets were God's mouthpiece to the people in the Old Testament
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God used them, and they were held in the highest esteem. but as high as they were held, they don't compare to Jesus
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in the sense that Jesus has supremacy over the prophet because he is of the same essence as God himself
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And we talked about how Jesus was sat at the right hand of the father
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and God gave him the name that is above every name and this is what we're going to be discussing and today
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So Jesus, from verses 1 through 3, we learn that Jesus is the son of God
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and Jesus is of the same essence as of the same substance as the father
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and he qualifies as God because he's God incarnate. We talk about the dual nature of Christ
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He is both God and man. And we talked about how, after making purification for sins
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in a sense that he died for the sins of the whole world, he fulfilled his mission on earth
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and God gave him the name that is above every name because he sat down at the right hand of God
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and we say that this was a place that was the only reserved for one like God or God himself
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So I don't like the term one like God, because Jesus is God. I don't want to say he is like God because he is the exact imprint of his nature
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That's what we talked about. And we say that he's the radiance of the glory of God
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And in him, the fullness of God was pleased unto dwell. So we talked about all that last week
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So today we are going to talk about verses 4 through 9 in which the author is going to show that Jesus is greater than the angels
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Now, the angels again, the angels had a great impact in the Old Testament
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They had an important role because in the Jewish religion, they assisted in the giving of the law at Mount Sinai
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And even before the advent of Christ, they appeared to shepherd to marry herself
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And just to name some few occasions in which God used the angels to fulfill his messages to the people or to deliver his messages to the people
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But in today's presentation, we are going to talk about how Jesus is greater than the mightiest of angels
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and that's what the author is going to be talking about. So I'm going to read verses 4 through 9 of the book of Hebrews chapter 1
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and then we are going to dissect it one verse at a time. So let's go to Hebrews chapter 1
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You can follow on my screen, and I'm going to be reading verses 4 through 9
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Okay? So the scripture says, Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs
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for to which of the angels did God ever say You are my son today I have begotten you
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Or again I will be to him a father And he shall be to me a son
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And again when he brings the first born into the world He says let all God's angels worship him
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But of the angels he says He makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire
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But of the son he says Your throne O God is forever and ever
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The sceptre of uprightness is the scept of your kingdom. You have loved
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righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of
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gladness beyond your companions. And I'm going to stop there because I want to make this
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into a two-part lecture. Okay? Because this is not easy to interpret
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This is not easy to understand. And I want it to be very careful because
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when you deal with this kind of scripture, they are not like too straightforward. So you have to
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really allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into all the truth as God
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promised. So I went and researched this topic. I went and looked
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at some expository books and I wanted to know that what I was saying was consistent with what
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the scripted teaches. So it wasn't something that I'm just going to interpret because
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I think I know it now. It's delicate stuff and we have to be
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accurate in the way we described and we interpret scripture. So again, this is up. I'm hoping that what I'm conveying is going to be good
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So please bear with me. So let's go to verse four. Now in verse four, the scripture says
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having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs
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Now again, when the scripture says he, the scripture is referring to Jesus. Okay. Now, to be able
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to understand verse four, we have to look at verse three carefully
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Now the scripture says in verse 3, after Jesus made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God
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And this is a place of honor only reserved for God. So verse 3 pretty much informs what we read in verse 4
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So because Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, it shows that God has glorified his humanity and has bestowed on him the name that is above every name
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greater than angels. And the name that God gave him is the name Son
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And we're going to see that in verse 5 as we read on. But if you read something important in Psalm 24
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verse 7 to 10, I wanted to share that with you because if you understand that Psalm
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it gives so much weight to this passage here. Now in Psalm 24, verse 7 to 10
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the scripture says, lift up your head, oh gates, and be lifted up, oh ancient doors
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that the king of glory make a, come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle
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Lift up your heads, O gate, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in
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Who is this king of glory? The Lord of host, he is the king of glory. Now, what do we learn from
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this passage? Okay. The psalms surely shows the glorious entry of Jesus after his mission on earth
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He was going back to the Father, and this is exactly how he was welcome
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Okay, the scripture said somewhere that Jesus said, My food is to do the will of Him who sent me
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Okay? So after he completed his mission, after he made purification for sins
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thus on fulfilling the will of God, in his humanity, God glorified that humanity and sat him at his right hand
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and thus giving him a more excellent name than the angels, the name's son
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Again, that's going to lead us to verse 5. because we are going to understand why this is so important
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So in verse 5, we read on the following. For to which of the angels did God ever say
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You are my son? Today, I have begotten you. Or again I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son Now pretty much the author gives the proof for the name Jesus has inherited He gives the proof in this chapter Okay And this is interesting because you see how the author of the book of
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Hebrews is interpreting scripture. We need to learn a thing of two from these people. He is doing
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the correct interpretation of scripture. This is how he's interpreting those passages of scripture
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in Psalm 2.7. Psalm 2.7 read. We're going to read Psalm 2 verse 7 because this is exactly why he's
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quoting here. The scripture says in Psalm 2, verse 7, I would tell of the decree, the Lord
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say to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. So who's talking? This is the Lord
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Jesus talking, and he said, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Now, let's see how
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the author of Hebrew interpret the scripture. Okay. So no angels has ever received this honor
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and no other person in the history of the world has this verse been applied to
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So it must have been applied to somebody. And who's that somebody? This is what the author is trying to show us today
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So God can only give the title son to a person who's of the same substance as him
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And we talked about that in verses 1 to 3. Okay. So the time of this begetting, according to Paul, takes place at the resurrection of Jesus Christ
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Because he says in Acts 13, verse 33, listen to the scripture
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This he has fulfilled to us, their children, by race. in Jesus as also
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it is written in the second Psalm. You are my son. Today I have begotten you
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So Paul interprets Psalm 27 to coincide with the resurrection. And he actually also mentions it in
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Romans 1 verse 4. Listen to what Romans 1 verse 4 says. I'm
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going to read that to you. First, let's go from 1 to 4
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because he makes more sense. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
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set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
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concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, meaning according to his humanity
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and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord
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You see that. So basically, this verse based on Paul, This actually pinpoints Psalm 27
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Psalm 27 is interpreted by Paul to mean that the resurrection proved the begetting of Jesus
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This is exactly how Paul interprets that scripture, and we ought to do the same thing
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Okay? So basically, what is all this means? From all eternity, Jesus was God the Son, the second person of the Trinity
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So when the word became flesh, according to Philippians 2, verse 5 to 11
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he concealed and veiled his glory in his humanity. Okay, through his humanity, Jesus concealed his glory
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But at the resurrection, God glorified that humanity by giving back to Jesus, the man, the glory he had from all eternity according to his divine nature
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Okay? John 17, 1 to 5, we read the following. Let's go to the scripture
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Listen to what Jesus says. When Jesus had spoken his word, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said
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Father, the hour has come. glorify your son that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him and this is eternal life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent I have glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now Father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before
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the world existed. So you see exactly what Paul is talking about here. Okay. So Jesus, the man was, was, was giving back the glory that the divine nature had from all eternity. So God glorified that humanity. Okay. And so that's what we read. Now in the second quotation, this is from two, two Samuel 714 or second Simon 714. The scripture says, or again, I'll be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. Now, when I went to look that up, it kind of gave me
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a little bit of a hard time because if you go to 2 Samuel 7 14
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the scripture read, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me
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a son. When he commits iniquity I'll discipline him with the rod of man
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with the stripes of the sons of man. So I'm thinking, okay, how can
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this apply to Jesus if Jesus never committed any inequity? Now you have to understand. The direct
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application of this verse is to Solomon. Okay, David's son. And then
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the ultimate application is to Jesus. But here's what's so interesting. interesting. The same verse is quoted in 1st Chronicle 17. If you go to 1st Chronicle 17, verse 13
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the scripture says, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my
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steadfast love from him as I took it from him who was before you. So you can see that in first
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chronicle, the second portion is not mentioned. So this is again, the ultimate application to
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this verse is to Jesus because his kingdom was established forever. Okay. Jesus, one day his
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kingdom is going to be established forever. So this ultimate application to this verse is to Jesus
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Now, the direct application is to Solomon, because Solomon eventually, Solomon did now live up to
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the standards of God in the sense that he took many wives and we know about Solomon. We know what
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happened with him. So he committed inequity. And eventually God disciplined him. But God never took away
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his love from the house of David. Okay. So this verse found his fulfillment, ultimate fulfillment in
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Jesus. So again, it applies to Jesus. We have to learn the principle of
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interpretation, and the book of Hebrews is shown us exactly that. So, this is verse..
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Verse 5. Okay? Now, again, the immediate application of this verse is to
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Solomon, but the ultimate application is to Jesus. He is the one whose throne
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will be established forever. And his relationship with God would be like
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that of a father and his son, in the sense that Jesus receives
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the honor of the son, while God, The Father receives the honor of the Father
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Okay? So Jesus is subordinate to the Father in terms of role
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but in terms of essence, he's of the same essence. He's of the same substance
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We need to make sure we understand that. There's a distinction there. In terms of role, Jesus is subordinate to the Father
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but in terms of essence, he's of the same essence as the Father. He is God, very God and very God
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But in terms of role, he submits to the Father. We need to understand that
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And that takes us to verse 6. So in verse 6, again, the author is proven that Jesus is superior to the angels
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Listen to what the scripture says. And again when he brings the firstborn into the world he says let all God angels worship him Now Jesus being the first born doesn mean that he was born first biologically We need to understand that because the Jehovah Witness twist and distort this verse to say what he doesn say
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So first born in this verse stands for his preeminence over all things. And we need to know why he's
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the first born over all creation. Last week we talked about Colossians 1 verse 15 to 19. And we saw
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why Jesus was called the first born. Let's go back to that again because I think it's fitting for us to
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to look at it again and again and again. Let's listen to the scripture
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Now, he is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation
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Why? For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible
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and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him
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And he is before all things and in him all things hold
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together. Okay, you see. see that. And verse 19 says, for in him all the
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fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The reason why is the first one of all
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creation is because he created all things. So he has pre-eminence over all things. He is not
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subject to the creation because he created all things. So he is not part of the creations
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He's not part of the created things because he is before all things. So he
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created all things himself. So therefore he has pre-eminence because the scripture says
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all things were created for him and by him. Okay, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God
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All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that had been made
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So Jesus himself is not part of the creation touching his divine nature
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because he himself created all things, so therefore he has preeminence over all things
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And this is what this is teaching us here. So this has nothing to do with biological order or birth, okay
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So let all God's angels worship him. The author, again, is quoting Deuteronomy 3443
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Scripture foresaw the deity of Christ. Angels are only to worship the Lord
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So who's at the right hand of God? So Jesus is worshipped by angels
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He is greater than the angels because he created them in the first place
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So when the author says, let's all God's angels worship him. He's basically saying that Jesus accepts worship from angels because he himself is God
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You see that. Okay? Now let's go to verse 7. In verse 7, now he's going to give you a description of angels and their role
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Of the angels, he says, he makes his angels wings and his ministers a flame of fire
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Again, in this verse, the author is quoting Psalm 104. The author shows one final contrast between Jesus and the angels
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They are made to serve God, and sometimes when they minister on earth, they can assume a human body
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They can. But they are spirits and have no. bodies, but they can assume a human body
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when working on earth. We saw that in Genesis 19 when they came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah
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And later on, the author is going to give the role of angels in verse 14. In verse 14
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we read, are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those
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who are to inherit salvation? So again, the angels compared to Jesus
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do not cut it. They, yes, they're important. God uses them, but they are what? They are his
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flame, he makes his angels wins and his ministers a flame of fire. They are here to serve God
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They serve his purpose. And they are, in terms of order, they are below Jesus because Jesus himself
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created them. Okay? So the angels, yes, they're important, but they don't
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compare to Jesus, he has supremacy over the angels. Now in verse 8
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again, he says about the sons. But of the sun, the scripture says, your throne, oh God, is
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forever and ever. And the sceptor of uprightness is the sceptor of your kingdom
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Now, what do we read here? Now, the author has given us a synopsis of the role of angels
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He's given us pretty much what they do. So he's now telling us through the scriptures about the supremacy of the sun
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starting with verse 8. He quotes on Psalm 45, verse 6, which he attributes to Jesus
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Again, you see the principle of interpretation. He attributes Psalm 45, verse 6 to Jesus
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The psalmist himself calls the person to whom the psalmist addressed. God. And that's going back to
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2nd, Simon 714. We know that Solomon's earthly kingdom wasn't established forever, but Jesus
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kingdom will someday be established forever. So the Psalm is certainly referring to Jesus. So, now
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one king in Israel was upright in all the days of his life. So this Psalm could not
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be applied to any of them. Because each one of them had a problem
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They all faltered on one point or another. So that verse could not be
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applied to any of the kings, because it is applied to the king's. Because it is applied to the king's
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of kings, Jesus himself. If you go to Psalm 110 verse 1, the scripture says
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the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make
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your enemies your footstool. The Jewish people knew that the Messiah would be the son of David. They knew it
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It was the lineage of David, but they couldn't get the full picture of his identity
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Because Jesus himself, in Mark 12, verse 35 to 37, he proves that
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he is the son of God and he's also the son of David
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going to go to Mark 12 verse 35 to 37. I want to read that to you because that's important
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I think this is of great importance here. Mark 12 verse 35 to 37
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Let's go there. Now listen. And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said
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how can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself in the Holy Spirit declared
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The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put
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your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son
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And the great throng heard him gladly. This is the thing. Jesus is showing his deity because
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David himself calls him Lord in the sense that who is David's God
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David's Lord is God. So if David is calling somebody else Lord, that means
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that person is equal with God. Okay? So Jesus is showing there that
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yes, he's of the lineage of David in terms of his humanity which we saw
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in Romans 1. But in terms of divine nature, he is of God
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He's of the same substance as God. So he is God. He is God incarnate, the son of God
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All right? And if you go further in verse 9, which we will end after that, the scripture says
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you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions
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Now, he continues his description of the son by quoting verse 7. or Psalm 45. See, not one human on the face of the earth has loved righteousness and hated wickedness
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Show me one person who has done it because we are all born with our sinful nature. We don't love
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righteousness We don love good things We don hate wickedness because we are wicked by nature Jesus though he has loved righteousness from the beginning If you go to Isaiah 714
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it's right there, God with us, Emmanuel, let's go to Isaiah 7. I want to read that because this is
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important. We're going to read something important there because that gives more weight to this
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verse here. Isaiah 7. Listen to what scripture says here. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign
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Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear his son And shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us
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He shall eat curds and honey When he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good
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For before the boys knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good
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The land will stook kings with dread will be deserted You see, the scripture says
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Before the boys knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good
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See, we did the opposite. We chose the evil and refused the good
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Jesus! Oh, Lord, I love this. Jesus refused the evil and chose the good
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We, by nature, did the opposite. We refused the good and chose the evil
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So that makes Him God because no one else can do that. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness
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That's what the scripture is saying here. Oh, my gosh. So therefore, God, your God has a God
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anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Again, he has loved righteousness and hated wickedness from all eternity because he is God
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In verse 6 of Psalm 45, the Psalm is already called Him God
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And now he confirms the identity as God with these qualifiers. Notice how the Psalmist also makes the distinction within the God hell
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He called the Son God and also shows that the Son is supporting to the Father in terms of rank
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I want to raise Psalm 45. Let's go there and we're going to see that. Let's go to Psalm 45
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This is incredible. Let's read it. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme
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I address my verses to the king. My tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe
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You are the most handsome of sons of men. Grace is poured upon your lips
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Therefore, God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh
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O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty. In your majesty, ride out
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victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness. Let your right hand teach you awesome deeds
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Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemy. The peoples
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fall under you. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your uprightness
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The scepter of your kingdom is a sceptor of uprightness. You have loved righteousness
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and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond
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your companions. Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From every palaces, stringed instruments make you glad
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From every palaces, stringed instrument make you glad. Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor
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At your right hand stands the queen in gold of offer. Here, O daughter, and consider, incline your ear
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Forget your people in your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him
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Oh, my goodness. The people of Tyra will see. your favor with gifts, the richest of the people. All glorious is the princess in her chamber
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with robes interwoven with gold. In many colored robes, she is led to the king
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with her virgin companions following her behind her. With joy and gladness, they are led along
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as they enter the palace of the king. In place of your father shall be your sons. You will make
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them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore
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nation will praise you forever and ever. I mean, this is incredible stuff, man. This is
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absolutely incredible. Okay. So he called the son God and also shows that the son is
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subordinate to the father in terms of rank. Therefore, God, your God, okay? So Jesus has been
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anointed with the oil of gladness beyond his companions by God, the father. And to understand
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this oil of gladness, we can look at Hebrews 12 verse 2. The scripture says, let's go to Hebrews 12
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verse 2 and then we're going to close after that Hebrews 12
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chapter 2 listen look into Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith
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who for the joy that was set before him and Lord the cross
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despising the shame and he is seated at the right hand of the throne
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of God okay so again he despised the shame and Jesus loved the father and he
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he always says, I delight to do your will. So nobody else will ever acquire or receives
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this joy, gladness that Jesus received and is still the recipient of after the completion
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of his mission on earth. So I don't even know if I can fully understand all this in my limited
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understanding and finite mind. But you get the point. Okay. So from verse 4 to 9, the author
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is basically showing that Jesus is above the angels. He is completely above and there's no
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even comparison there. And we see he gives you verses after verses. He interprets the old
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Testament scriptures to mean, so that we can understand what they mean. I mean, this is the
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principle of interpretation. We need to learn from the book of Hebrews and the author of the
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book of Hebrews because he shows us how to interpret scripture the right way. Okay? So again
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Jesus is superior to the angels and from, we're going to do part two next week where he's
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going to continue to show how Jesus is superior to the angels. So this is it for
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today. Again, this is a tough, tough scripture, and I will encourage you to go back and read it
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yourself and let the Holy Spirit guide you and look for some resources. There's a lot of good
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interpreters out, and I will invite you to check out R.C. Sproles, Ligonier Ministry, because they do
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some good work. And I've always used their resources. And also, if you, let's say you're trying
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to get some more understanding, I'll use this resource called blue letterbibble.org. It was given me
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by a friend. It's a website where you can actually go there and then look up the word
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to understand the word that I've been used in the scripture. So those are good resources to
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use. All right? So this is it for today. Again, Jesus is greater than the prophets
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He's greater than the angels because he's God in the flesh. And this
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is good news for us because he sat down at the right hand
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of God after making purification for sins because his blood was that worthy
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He took on the sins of the whole world and he is able to save
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to the utmost those who come to him. So, and then we know that we are saved by grace through faith
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It's not of ourselves so that we cannot boast about it. If I am here today, it's not because I chose Jesus
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It's because he chose me. Okay. I had nothing to do with my salvation
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And this is a tough, again, this is a tough doctrine for people to understand that we don't
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choose God because we want to, but we choose God because he chose us first
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And he enables us to receive them as our Lord and Savior. Have a wonderful day, and I'll see you next time
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