The author of Hebrews wastes little time getting to the heart of the matter. In fact, the entire first chapter is aimed at immediately establishing for his audience the supremacy of Christ. Your ESV translation likely even contains the section heading, "The Supremacy of God's Son," at the beginning of chapter 1. But, what do we mean when we say that something or someone is supreme? And why is it so important to the author of Hebrews that he establish Jesus as supreme?
The word supreme is not one that we often struggle to understand. When we hear something described as "supreme" we immediately recognize that it is important...it is the best. The supreme pizza has all of the toppings on it. The Supreme Court is the highest level of the US judicial system. So, when we refer to the supremacy of Christ, we are saying that Jesus is the most important...he is above everything else. How and why can we say that? To make such a claim about a mere mortal man would be blasphemy of the highest degree.
This was the question at the heart of Jesus ministry and his conflict with the religious leaders of his day. Was Jesus who he claimed to be? If he was simply another self-proclaimed messiah, then by claiming himself equal with God he was breaking the most foundational of all Jewish laws. But if he wasn't divine, then how could he say and do all that he was saying and doing? What was the source of his power and authority? Clearly his power came from God, so perhaps he was some sort of special angel???
This was specifically one of the many erroneous teachings concerning Jesus throughout Church history. The reality is that Jesus wasn't an angel. As the author of Hebrews says in verses 3b-4, "After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs."
But Jesus also, though referred to in scripture as "the Son," "the firstborn," and "begotten" (among other things), was not a creature like the angels, nor like you and I. Jesus' sonship isn't like that of an earthly son. My sons were created through procreation between my wife and I (I think we all know where babies come from, so I'll leave it at that). Jesus' sonship refers to his personhood within the Godhead...Father, Son, and Spirit.
The great and mysterious ontological reality of the Trinity has birthed its fair share of heresies over the years. We must admit that how God can be simultaneously one and three puts a lot of mental strain on our finite minds. And yet, both are true of God as we see in scripture.
In other words, Jesus is "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" (Hebrews 1:3), "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), and "Immanuel (which means, God with us)" (Matthew 1:23). To say it another way, Jesus is the quintessence of the very nature of God. He is God incarnate...God embodied and enfleshed in humanity. He is eternal and uncreated; simultaneously fully God and fully man.
This is extremely important for us to wrap our minds around because it impacts everything we believe. There is no area of doctrine or theology which is not Christocentric (that is, centered on Christ) at its core because as scripture affirms, he is the center of all things:
"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17).
This past Sunday we celebrated Easter. This is, for Christians, the Super Bowl of the liturgical calendar. If Jesus were just a man, or an angel, or anything other than God himself, then the cross would be powerless to save. It is because Christ was who he claimed to be and through our union with him that we receive all of the blessings and benefits that ultimately belong to him alone.
Because I am united to Christ, I am forgiven through his atoning work. And because I am united to Christ, I receive in place of my sin, his perfect righteousness. It is through my union with Christ that I have descended into death and been resurrected to new life. All of the blessings of salvation are received through our union with Christ. We are now "in Christ." Everything that can be said of Christ, can now be said of me because of my relationship to Christ and the fact that I am in him. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Christ lives through his Church and we live through him. What a glorious truth for us!
In Grace,
Chris Morris
If you missed this week's sermon (or just want to listen again), follow the link below to listen. Or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes.
Part 2 - Jesus & Angels
Questions discussed in this sermon:
1. Could Jesus be an angel?
2. Can you worship angels?
3. How is Jesus a sufficient savior?
Next week's lesson: Hebrews 2:1-4
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