SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 1:5-14

Transcription

1 The Son and the Angels, Pt. 1 No. 3 in the series Anchoring the Soul: Studies in the Epistle to the Hebrews Given May 22, 2011 Cornerstone Bible Church Lilburn, Georgia Dr. Doug McIntosh, Senior Pastor Every age has to fight its own spiritual battles. The history of the church is littered with the remains of spiritual enemies that have sought to distract people from the truth that God has revealed in His Son. The recipients of the letter that we are studying, the Epistle to the Hebrews, had their own special enemies to fight, and the bulk of chapter 1 is devoted to defending the uniqueness of the Son of God when compared to the angels. That was their battle, or at least one of their battles. Remember that the prologue ends by telling us that Jesus has inherited a better name than the angels. He claims the proud name of Son. No angel can make that claim. The rest of chapter 1 is going to flesh out this argument in a considerable amount of detail, so I suggest we get the text in front of us so that we can see his point. Let me read Hebrews 1:5-14. SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 1: For to which of the angels did He ever say, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU? [PSA. 2:7] And again I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON? [2 SAM. 7:14] 6 But when He again brings the Firstborn Son into the world, He says, LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM, [PSA. 97:7]

2 Page 2 7 while of the angels He says, HE MAKES HIS ANGELS BE WINDS AND HIS SERVANTS BE FIERY FLAMES. [PSA. 104:4] 8 But to the Son He says, YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER; THE SCEPTER OF YOUR KINGDOM IS A SCEPTER OF JUSTICE. 9 YOU HAVE LOVED JUSTICE AND HATED WICKEDNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS OVER YOUR ASSOCIATES. [PSA. 45:6-7] 10 And He says further, YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS. 11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; THEY WILL ALL GROW OLD LIKE A GARMENT; 12 LIKE A CLOAK YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP, AND THEY WILL BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, YOUR YEARS WILL NOT FAIL. [PSA. 102:25-27] 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL? [PSA. 110:1] 14 Are angels not all ministering spirits sent forth to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? THE BIBLICAL TREES OF THIS PASSAGE As we read this brief section we find ourselves thrust into the middle of a dozen theological points that the writer simply throws at us and assumes that we can navigate our way through them. We are in the middle of a lot of trees here but it s hard to see the forest right now. We ll do that in a moment. And this passage seems quite odd to us. The writer assembles seven quotations, all from the Old Testament, all of which are designed to show how Jesus Christ is to be regarded as God s unique royal Son, exalted above the angels of God. Now I have labored in the work of ministry for forty years and have seldom had a discussion with anyone who seriously thought that Jesus was in any way inferior to angels, or even that He was merely one of their peers. It is an issue that ebbs and flows in church history, but it has not flowed for a while, and I think largely due to the power of the first two chapters of Hebrews. But these Christians were part of a cultural environment where there was confusion on this point. Their friends and relatives were inclined to think of angels as essential mediators between God and humanity.

3 Page 3 Where did they come up with this idea? Probably from two sources. Tree #1: Angels and the giving of the Law at Sinai First was the Old Testament tradition that the angels were involved in the giving of God s law at Mount Sinai. You see this reflected in three places in Scripture. One is in Stephen s speech before the Council in Acts 7:53. There Stephen, just before being stoned, told the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that they were hypocrites because they had received the Law through the mediation of angels, and yet they did not obey it. That probably emerged from the Greek Old Testament translation of Deuteronomy 33:2 where the text reads this way: The Lord came from Sinai from ten thousands of angels with flaming fire at his right hand. You see a reflection of the angels role in bringing the law of God to Israel also in Galatians 3:19, where Paul writes, What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. So the Deuteronomy passage was one reason why Jewish Christians had such a high regard for angels. Tree #2: The Limbs of Logic The other was simple logic based on Scripture. All through Bible we receive glimpses of angels as spirit beings, and they are uniformly powerful creatures who are sent from God. They are powerful and do His bidding, and perform miracles that human beings cannot begin to do. An angel rolled away the stone at the tomb of Jesus. An angel unlocked the prison gate in Acts 12 to release Peter from prison. A destroying angel took the lives of the firstborn of Egypt on the night of the Passover. It was natural to suppose that Jesus, as a human being Himself, might be considered less exalted than angels of such great power. This misconception the writer of Hebrews is now going to explode, and he is going to use a series of Old Testament quotations to do that. Before we specify how he does so, let s just step back a moment from looking at these doctrinal trees and remember THE BIBLICAL FOREST OF THIS PASSAGE It is easy to get lost in all the detail, so let me remind you that this book is about the need to endure not to give up. Enduring is remaining faithful to what you know is true. Enduring is holding fast to what is critically important while living in a world that tries to pull your eyes away to trifles. When you re in an airplane you don t see detail. You see rivers and how they run. You don t see just water. You don t see just a large rock at the side of a mountain, you see mountain ranges. The mountain range here is the book as a whole. Hebrews says in just those words in chapter 12 keep your eyes on Jesus. He is God s great kingly Son. His destiny is to rule the universe and to be the owner and disposer of everything. He is right now in the process of training disciples for a glorious destiny of ruling with Him in the age to come; but

4 Page 4 that destiny can be lost. Living with Christ forever is a gift that He will not take back from those who have put their trust in Christ. The privilege of reigning with Christ, however, can be lost. Last week I quoted Romans 8 and its reference to heirship with Christ. Here is the entire reference: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:16-17). And that is the question: will we endure the sufferings necessary to be glorified with Him? If we turn our eyes away from His central place in our lives and in the life of the age to come, we probably won t suffer with Him, and as a result we will not be glorified with Him. We have to know why this is also so important. What claim does Jesus have to be the central figure of human history and the ruler of the earth in the age to come? Verse 5 answers that question. The writer uses two quotations to make his point. For the remainder of our time together, we are going to look at these two quotes in context because they are so critical in his argument. PSALM 2 AND THE CENTRALITY OF GOD S SON Let s look at this brief psalm together in its entirety. Here is how it reads, beginning with verse 1 with a description of The Insurrection against God You see this in verses 1-3 WHY ARE THE NATIONS IN AN UPROAR? WHY DO THE PEOPLES HATCH THEIR FUTILE PLANS? THE KINGS OF THE EARTH RISE UP, THE RULERS TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER AGAINST YAHWEH AND HIS ANOINTED: LET US BREAK APART THEIR BONDS AND CAST OFF THEIR RESTRICTIONS! This sort of insurrection goes on all the time and has been going on ever since Eden. People are always looking for ways to justify pushing aside all moral restraints. Sometimes the impulses come from the grass roots. In this psalm, however, it is the rulers of the world who are leading the rebellion. They are supposed to be wise and powerful, so they decide that they ought to be able to free themselves from God s moral limits. The normal way this is done today is to have some public figure tell the world that morals are outmoded. They reflect primitive desires to restrict people. Let s get rid of them! So what does God think of all this? Is He bothered by it? Next in the psalm we see in verses 4-5 The Indignation of God HE WHO SITS IN HEAVEN LAUGHS; THE LORD SCOFFS AT THEM. THEN HE SPEAKS TO THEM IN HIS ANGER; HE TERRIFIES THEM IN HIS WRATH:

5 Page 5 The most powerful leaders on the globe pose no threat to God. He first laughs at their ideas and scoffs at their plans. And what is God s answer to the arrogance and hubris of the kings of the earth? Verse 6 I HAVE INSTALLED MY KING UPON ZION, MY HOLY MOUNTAIN. This is God s answer to this world s rebellions. All of them. It was even an answer centuries ago when the kings of Israel were living there on Mount Zion. All the kings of Israel were personal representatives of God. They were ruling their small corner of the globe in His name. They stood out because they had a different agenda. Israel was God s beachhead, His little amphibious landing on the shores of a world in rebellion. Beachheads are important. They hold the promise of a great invasion later. More troops are on the way. God s victory is certain. And in due time the greatest King of all will come to Mount Zion. In the next verse we hear from the King himself, who tells us of The Intention of God For the first time in the psalm the King Himself speaks. THE KING SAYS: I DECLARE THE DECREE OF YAHWEH. HE SAID TO ME, YOU ARE MY SON TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU. ASK OF ME, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE NATIONS AS YOUR INHERITANCE AND THE ENDS OF THE EARTH AS YOUR POSSESSION. YOU WILL BREAK THEM WITH AN IRON SCEPTER. YOU WILL SHATTER THEM LIKE A POTTERY JAR! Most people think (and I am one of them) that this psalm was used when Israelite kings went through their coronations. It became part of the ritual, because each king that ruled was supposed to be a reminder, or a precursor, of the one great King who was coming, Yahweh s Anointed, the Lord s Messiah. So how does a pagan ruler, a Gentile king, live wisely in a world when that ruler s days are numbered? How does a king rule prudently? We get the answer in the last portion of the psalm where we see The Invitation of God NOW THEREFORE, BE WISE, O KINGS; BE INSTRUCTED, YOU RULERS OF THE EARTH. SERVE YAHWEH WITH FEAR, AND REJOICE WITH TREMBLING. PAY HOMAGE TO THE SON OR HE WILL BE ANGRY AND YOU WILL PERISH IN YOUR REBELLION, FOR HIS ANGER MAY IGNITE AT ANY MOMENT. HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.

6 Page 6 This psalm was written 3,000 years ago. Do you see its central message? God has issued a decree that is designed to address human rebellion. He has designated a future King, a King who will rule human life with firmness and power, a King who will bless those who trust in Him, and that King will occupy the unique status of a Son. For centuries, Israel s kings were pale precursors of Him, but now we know the Anointed One of whom this psalm speaks. It is Jesus Christ, God s royal Son, who is destined to rule all things. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of all those who rule. He is the Heir who will rule everything, and all who take refuge in Him have a happy future ahead of them. But even if you re a king, you don t want to cross Him. Now what is the application that you and I are meant to take from this quotation and from the rich psalm in which it is contained? It is the basic message of Hebrews: whatever you do, no matter how hard things are, never give up. Never give up. Help astonishingly able help is on the way. Someone is coming who will run the world the way it was always meant to be run. And the author will tell us later that He is present to help right now as the great High Priest When I was in seminary many years ago shortly after Noah and his family came ashore a story broke out of Philadelphia about a woman named Katarina Yesinchuk. Her story was a very unusual one. In 1921 she was discovered wandering the streets of Philadelphia mumbling to herself and quite incoherent. Police interviewed her but could not communicate with her. Because she was apparently irrational she was taken to a mental hospital where the medical staff tried to communicate with her. They tried everything they knew how to do for six years, but were not successful. After that time Katarina decided to talk no longer. She spent the next forty years either wandering the grounds of the institution or simply sitting on her bed, looking at the wall. But after 47 years, in 1968, doctors were finally able to get through to her. They discovered that the sounds coming from her were not unintelligible after all, but were the language of the Ukraine in what was then the Soviet Union. Doctors discovered that she had come to this country in 1921 with her husband and daughter from the Ukraine. Both her husband and daughter died shortly after their arrival, and Katarina was left alone and distraught. She didn t know anybody. She didn t know what to do, so she wandered the streets. Homeless, alone, unable to make herself understood even to people who tried to help, she finally did something terrible. She gave up. She turned her face toward the wall and simply checked out of life. By the time she was able to communicate, her life was mostly behind her. That kind of mistake is what Hebrews was written to address. Believers are not to give up. Our King is coming. He will rule the whole earth, including things seen and unseen. He will exercise authority over human beings and over angels, for no angel has ever been granted the stupendous name of God s royal Son as He has. So don t give up!

7 Page 7 Perhaps even more to this point, the writer of Hebrews issues a second quotation, this one from SECOND SAMUEL 7 AND THE CERTAINTY OF GOD S PROMISE The quotation says, And again I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON. This is the central verse of what theologians call the Davidic Covenant. God unilaterally made a set of promises to David after he was established on the throne of Israel. God said to him, When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son (2 Sam. 7:12-14). Clearly, the original intent of this promise was fulfilled in Solomon, who built the temple and took over from David. But the promise went further than that. God said, I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. The throne of David was to be an eternal throne, and that could not have been completed with Solomon. Now we all know that the throne of David in Jerusalem has been vacant for many centuries. It was last occupied nearly 600 years before Christ. Nobody has sat on it since. If the throne of David were an ordinary throne, we would probably say, That s the end of that. Kingdoms cannot be resuscitated after a year lapse. But this throne is different. This throne has God s promise behind it. This throne had been vacant for 600 years when guess what? an angel, one of the noblest of them all, the angel Gabriel, visited a humble Hebrew maiden in Nazareth and told her that she was going to bear the promised King of Israel. The angel described the Baby to come in this way: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32). Then he added the language of the Davidic Covenant: He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:33). When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time prior to the cross, the nation hailed Him as the coming Heir to the throne of David: Hosanna to the Son of David! They were hoping that somehow He would push the Romans aside and reclaim that throne, but as we know it never happened. They simply were engaging in wishful thinking. They didn t understand that God the Father was not content to merely give Jesus the rule of Israel. He had plans to make Jesus the King of the earth itself. That required that people from every tribe and tongue and nation be gathered into the family of God. And so the gospel has been going out ever since, and at last there are people from all over the globe today who gladly acknowledge Him as their rightful King.

8 Page 8 You can see where this leads. As we see the unique place of the Lord Jesus and consider His loveliness, we are supposed to be drawn into an everincreasing love for Him and commitment to Him. If we do that, we will find that not giving up becomes much easier to do. We will find ourselves like the man in the story told by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He tells in one of his books how in the days of sail a ship s captain heard the cry, Man overboard! The captain knew that it would take the better part of a mile to stop the ship and turn it around and the man might drown or be attacked in that time. The captain was at the stern of the vessel, and as they passed the man in the water he quickly grabbed a long coil of rope and threw one end into the water hoping that the man in the water could grab it, and he did. The seas were heavy, and the man was drug along for a while, but he kept his grip on the rope, and after a while the ship was stopped and they threw a second rope over the side with a loop in it and drug the man back on board. They found that once aboard it took them the better part of an hour to get the man s hands loose from the rope. His muscles had gripped it so tightly that they simply wouldn t let go. 1 His mind quickly saw how life itself depending on his attachment to that rope. That s a very suggestive story. The more clearly we see the issues of human life, the more likely we are to lay hold of the Lord Jesus and not let go. The stronger the grip we have on Him, the firmer our grasp of the promises that will once and for all time set this troubled world right. Copyright 2011 P. Douglas McIntosh. This data file/manuscript is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file/manuscript must contain the above copyright notice. This data file/manuscript may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale, or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays, or other products offered for sale without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to Dr. Doug McIntosh, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Bible Church, 869 Cole Drive, Lilburn, GA NOTES 1 Quoted in The Quotable Spurgeon (Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers. Hypertexted and included in QuickVerse Bible Software, Version