The Nature of Angels (5)

Well, that song speaks of angels falling prostrate at his feet and worshipping him. Certainly that will happen someday. We're going to see that Lord willing tonight and we talk about the relationship of angels to Christ. So that certainly is a good verse in that song, all the verses of that song are great. We're playing again tonight. And someone was telling me before church, rather than Al Morgans telling me we probably need angels in the outfield tonight to help. So I don't know if that's an appropriate request of make or not. We've been talking about the nature of angels and various aspects of their nature, what they're like, how we would describe angels. We've talked about their personality, the fact that they are persons, not influences or just ethereal forces of some kind. They are genuine persons. We talked about their properties in the sense that they are spirit beings. Do not have a body, but God does allow them to appear in human form sometimes. We talked about several other issues related to their properties. And then we've talked about their powers, the fact that they do have power in several different realms and certainly greater power than we would have than mankind would have. Last week we began talking about the position of angels. And what we're talking about there is where they fit in relationship, first of all to Christ and then in relation to man. We're going to begin tonight with their relation to Christ where their position is in relationship to him. Last week we talked about the contrast in essence. And tonight we're going to talk about the contrast in position. Contrast in essence basically was who they are, their inherent properties, the contrast between angels and Christ we saw in their natures and in their names. Tonight we're going to talk about the contrast in position. As far as the position of Christ and the position of angels as it was anticipated in the song that we sang tonight, there will come a time when angels will join all of creation in bowing and worshipping Christ and proclaiming Him Lord. And so that gives us a clue as to the position of angels in relationship to Christ. But we're going to begin not with Philippians too, we're going to begin with Hebrews. So let's turn to Hebrews chapter 1 where we're going to talk about the relationship of angels to Christ, the contrast in their position. Hebrews is written as we have seen before. Hebrews is written to show the superiority of Christ to the whole Old Testament system. Everything that was involved in the Old Testament, especially the worship system, the priests, Moses, Aaron, the law, the sacrifices, all of that. The book of Hebrews was written to show how Christ was superior to that. And therefore those Jews who had become believers and were tempted to go back to Judaism to escape persecution, the writer of Hebrews puts that in a much bigger frame, a much bigger picture of what that would mean and the fact that you cannot do that because Christ is far superior to everything that you left. But it's interesting that he doesn't start with the law or Moses or the sacrificial system. He starts by comparing Christ with angels. That's where he begins. And so probably because angels were the mediators that stood between God and the nation of this year on the sense of delivering the covenant and so forth, that maybe that's the reason he begins there. But he begins in chapter 1 by showing how superior Christ is to angels. And what he does is begin by describing the dignity of Christ. Interesting in chapter 1, he gives a whole series of quotes from the Old Testament. One quotes from the Old Testament to show that the superiority of Christ as far as his dignity is concerned, his position in contrast to the angels. Let's look at those seven quotes from the Old Testament that show the superiority of Christ. Chapter 1, the first one is in verse 5, for to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have become your father. He's quoting there from Psalm 2 and where he says, today I have become your father. Literally, it is today I have begotten you. I think some translations still keep that more literal rendering. Today I have begotten you. And the idea is the same as we saw last week in John 1 that Christ is the only begotten son which has nothing to do with birth or the beginning of Christ. It has everything to do with uniqueness. The term only begotten has to do with the fact that Christ is unique. He has a unique relationship to God as his son in a way that angels don't and in a way that we, even as believers, the sons of God or children of God, even in a way that we don't. Christ is the unique one and only as the way the NIV translates it. One and only son uniqueness is the emphasis of the word. And so that is the point here, even though in some portion of scripture angels are called sons of God, little S, sons of God, the point here is to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son in the special sense in which you are the only begotten unique in my relationship. And obviously the answer to the question is, he has never said that to angels. So this is the first quote that shows Christ as far as superior to angels. The second one is in the second half of verse 5 or again quotes from another portion of the Old Testament. I will be his father and he will be my son. Now that is a quote from Second Samuel 7 which is the covenant God made with David. Second Samuel 7 is the Davidic covenant. Covenant God promises God made with David to give him an everlasting kingdom and a descendant to sit on his throne. And this particular quote is actually in Second Samuel 7. It has to do with God's relationship with Solomon. He says that Solomon will be David's son and he is the one that will build the temple. He is the one through whom the promises will be fulfilled about the kingdom and the throne and so forth. And it is in that context he says, I will be his father and he will be my son. But the writer of Hebrews takes that out of Second Samuel 7 and applies it to Christ in the same way that he has in the first part of the verse indicating a unique relationship with God. Because he is uniquely God's son in the way that no other person is angel or human being. So the emphasis here is on Christ's reigning on David's throne. So again he is far superior to angels because no angel has ever said that had that said of him in his relationship with the father. Third quote verse 6. Again when God brings his first born into the world he says let all God's angels worship him. The quote from the Old Testament but obviously referring to the birth of Christ when the angels worshiped. When God brought his first born, his son into the world, the angels worshiped him. Again the point here, the writer of Hebrews is how Christ is superior to angels. So angels are worshiping Christ even at his birth. The fourth quote is in verse 7. In speaking of the angels he says he makes his angels, wins, his servants, flames of fire indicating that angels are created to serve God with the speed of the wind and with the passion of fire, with the earnest passion of fire. So that's what angels are made to do. That's angels relationship to God. We contrast that in verse 8 with another quote in the Old Testament but about the son he says, your throne O God will last forever and ever. So while angels are servants who do God's bidding, they're his wind, his fire, they do what he tells them to do, Christ is on a different level. Christ is actually called God in verse 8. Not the son, he says, your throne O God. So clearly referencing the deity of Christ and then his eternal kingdom, your throne O God will last forever and ever. None of those things are said about angels. So that's another way that angels are seen to be inferior to Christ. Christ has seen to be superior to them. The next quote verses 10 through 12. He also says in the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands, they will perish but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment. 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. Another quote from the Old Testament about Christ indicating that he is the creator, he created all these things and all the things he created will pass away but he is unchanging and he is eternal. Again, that is not true of the angels. He has a higher position of angels in the sense that he is eternal. And then the last quote verse 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. The point there is Christ is exalted to the right hand of the Father. He is the exalted priest and king. He has a special position which angels don't have. Verse 14, are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. So in contrast, Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father, exalted as priest and king, angels are simply servants ministering spirits sent out by God to do his work for believers. So there are seven Old Testament quotes here, all of which the writer of Hebrews uses to show how superior Christ is to angels. His whole point is God never said these things to angels but he did say them to his son and about his son. So the dignity of Christ, he is dignified above the angels. Any comments or questions about Hebrews 1 and how that demonstrates the position of angels in relationship to Christ? Okay, the second way that there is a contrast in their position has to do with the dominion of Christ. In chapter 2 verses 1 through 9, it's interesting how he says this, look at verse 5, it is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come about which we are speaking. In other words, angels were never given the responsibility to have dominion over the earth, to rule it, to bring it into subjection. That was never given to angels. Verse 6, but there is a place where someone has testified, here's another quote from the Old Testament Psalm 8, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him, you made him a little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet in putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. What he is saying there is the earth's dominion, the right to have dominion over, to rule over, to bring nature in the animal kingdom into subjection, that dominion was given to man originally, not to angels. He goes on to say at the end of verse 8, yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. What is the problem? Well the problem obviously is sin because of man's rebellion and sin, he is not in control as God originally intended him to be of the creation that God made. We still have that mandate but sin complicates it to the point that we are not able to fulfill that to the extent that God intended for us to fulfill it. But notice verse 9, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, what do you think that is referring to? Is birth? Yes, and all that led from that, his humanity. The fact that he became man, back in verse 7, man is made a little lower than the angels, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels. When he became man, he took that position of being lower than the angels. But we see him now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. The point is that Jesus for a time took the position of a man lower than the angels, but now we see him crowned with glory and honor which indicates what man has given up because of the fall, because of sin. Man's original mandate to control the earth and have dominion over the earth is complicated by man's sin. But Jesus who was for a while, man became man, made a little lower than the angels. Now he's been exalted, again, above them, indicating he has the rightful dominion over the earth. He is fulfilling what Adam was entrusted with when Adam was created. The dominion of Christ. Man has not been able to do what God intended him to do, but Christ has. Christ is. Although he made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor. He has taken that position of exalted dominion over the earth. So the dignity of Christ indicates his position is higher than angels. The dominion of Christ indicates his position is higher than angels. And then look at the deliverance of Christ. This is another way he's higher than the angels. Christ came to deliver us. You see it in verses 9 through 15. We're not going to read all those verses, but in verse 9 he tastes death for everyone. In verse 10 he is called the author of our salvation. And then in verse 14, since the children, mankind, have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. That is the devil. Here it is, verse 15. And free those who were all their lives, who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. And so the fact that Jesus came to this earth to deliver us from our sin, not angels, but deliver us, Jesus came to this earth, his superiority as the Savior. He became man to redeem us and to deliver us something that angels could not do. So again he's superior to angels in his position because of his deliverance. And then notice the fourth way that he's superior to angels. And that is by the defeat, the defeat by Christ. There's a defeat mentioned in verse 14. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. That is the devil. Now the devil is an angel, right? Bad angel, but he's an angel. And Christ showed his superiority over that angel by defeating him, destroying him, his power, his kingdom at the cross. It was an interesting verse that portrays this in Colossians 2.15, the screen for you. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphant over them by the cross. Now in this passage in Colossians 2, it's in a context where he's talking about Christ's lordship and superior to over angels. And these powers and authorities are angels. And what Jesus did at the cross was to disarm them and make them a public spectacle. It's just a very graphic picturesque way of describing Jesus' victory over the evil angels by his crucifixion. It uses a very common scene in the Roman world. And that is when the Roman army would conquer an enemy, they would bring some of those captives back with them for a big parade through the streets of Rome. And part of the parade would be led by the general and some of his troops. And then behind the troops would be these disarmed, disgraced captives, conquered people who were openly a spectacle of the power of Rome. And the fact that they had been overcome by Rome. And then usually behind them would be some of the spoils of battle. That was a typical Roman procession, victory procession when a Roman general would conquer a particular country or territory. So that visual imagery that the Colossians would have been very familiar with is used to describe Christ's victory, his defeat of Satan and his angels in the sense that he disarmed them and made a public spectacle of them, complete victory over Satan and his angels. So the defeat by Christ of Satan and his angels at the cross shows his superiority, his position over them. And then one other in Hebrews, and that is the designation of Christ as Lord. Hebrews 1, 3 indicates his position. The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, notice he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. And then 414 is another indication of Christ's present position. Hebrews 414, therefore since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens or gone into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. As evidence of the victory that Christ's death brought, Jesus himself is exalted to the right hand of God. At the ascension, he went into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, the place of dignity, the place of power, the place of victory. And he is there as our priest, our high priest, and as the Lord of glory. He is there as the victor, the conqueror. And it is that scene which Paul uses in Philippians 2 to describe that Jesus who has now been exalted after he came to this earth and humbled himself and went all the way to the cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that if the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And that every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So all created beings will acknowledge Jesus as Lord because of his position in heaven. He has been exalted to the highest position over not only mankind but also angels. And every created being, including angels, will worship him as Lord and recognize who he is. Paul also says that in Ephesians 1. He talked about the power that was exalted when he raised Christ from the dead and ceded him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. There is that seating of Christ again in power and glory. Notice far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also on the one to come. And we'll see this later when we get into the different categories of angels. These are different ranks of angels, rule, authority, power, dominion, different ranks of angels, angelic beings. And God has exalted Christ far above them. So it's clear in Hebrews and other passages as well, there's a tremendous contrast in position. The reason I wanted to spend some time on this is what we said last week. There are some major cults that equate Jesus with angels. And although they, for instance, Jehovah's Witnesses have moderated their position a little bit because they were taken to task so hard over this, they've moderated their position a little bit. Now they teach as of, I think they corrected or changed their view a little bit 1997. I believe it was. Now they teach that Jesus is a spirit being equal to angels. They're not calling him one of the angels but a spirit being equal to angels. But still on the same level as angels, not on the same level as God. And that's why I wanted to spend some time on this. Evidently they've not read Hebrews. Because Hebrews one is just boom, boom, boom, boom, seven Old Testament quotes to show that Jesus is far above the angels, not in the same category at all. And so that is a point that needs to be driven in with a sledgehammer. And that's what the writer Hebrews does. So that cults that equate Jesus on the same level as angels are proven to be wrong by Scripture itself. And so that's why I wanted to spend a little time on this contrast in position between Christ and the angels. Okay, I've been doing all the talking. So questions, comments. Tommy? No, he does not have the power to kill us. What he's talking about there is further explain verse 15. And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. The power of Satan in the realm of death is the fear that we have of death. The fear that we have of the eternity. What's going to happen to us when we die? And Satan uses that to keep people in bondage. And so what Jesus did is he destroyed that power that Satan has over people. It's not the power to inflict death, it's power in the realm of death to create the fear of death. That's really what his power is. Yeah, that's good question. It could sound like it could, depending on how you read it, it could sound like the devil has ultimate power to inflict death. And that's not really what Jesus or what the writer of Hebrews is talking about. Okay, good question. Any others? Okay, let's talk about the position of angels in relation to man then. There are several things that are important to keep in mind here. One is the distinctions between people and angels. There are certain distinctions and let's talk about a couple of them. People and angels have, first of all, a distinct station in life or position in life. Again, we're talking about the position of angels. So people and angels have a distinct station in life, station, position assigned by God. And it's right here in Hebrews 2, we read it just a few moments ago, Hebrews 2 verses 5 through 7. It is not the angels that he has subjected the world to come about which we're speaking, but there is a place where someone has testified, what is man? Quote from Psalm 8, what is man that you're mindful of him? The son of man that you care for him, you made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor, put everything under his feet. So although man was initially given this responsibility to rule over the earth, to subdue it and rule over it, still it's quite clear from Psalm 8 that man was created lower than the angels. He is not on the same level and plain as angels are ultimately, angels are higher than us in the scheme of how God has created us and created them. In our original creation and constitution and station in life, it seems clear in Psalm 8 that we were created to be lower than the angels. Certainly we've seen already they have more power than us and we'll see some other distinctions here in a couple of minutes. All right, any comment or question about that? We're created lower than the angels. Christ is higher than the angels, we are lower. So we're beginning to see how everybody fits. There's not only a distinct station in life, there's also distinct service in life. Look back at chapter 1 verse 14, are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. Angels are spirit beings that are ministering to those who will inherit salvation. Those who will inherit salvation, simply meaning whenever the Bible talks about salvation in terms of an inheritance, it's talking about heaven, the future aspect of our salvation. So we're simply talking about those who are believers and our inheritance is in heaven and in that sense when we get to heaven we will be fully saved. We will inherit salvation. Paul talks about that a lot in Romans, the future aspect of salvation, the redemption of the body and so forth. So that's just a way to describe believers. Those are spirits that serve God in ministering to believers. Now the difference between them and us as far as service is concerned, we as humans also serve believers we can, but we have another responsibility that angels do not have and that is that we have the responsibility to preach the gospel or to speak the gospel to people or to take the gospel to people. We also have an opportunity to minister to the unsaved. Now it's not clearly stated that angels do that. There may be some ways in which God allows them to minister to unsaved people, but that's not real clear in the scriptures. That seems to be a unique responsibility God's given us to be the instruments of his testimony and witness to the lost. Angels minister to those who will inherit salvation, who are believers, we have the opportunity to minister both the believers and unbelievers as we take the gospel. Angels are not entrusted with the responsibility of spreading the gospel. It's our responsibility and it behooves us to take that seriously. You know God could take the gospel to every tribe, ethnic group, language group by angels just making it clear to these people, but he has chosen to use people to do that. That's why it's so important that we take the challenge of missions seriously because God's not going to have the angels doing that. It's us. It's our responsibility. We have a different service in life in the sense that God has entrusted us with the responsibility to get the gospel to the lost. That's our responsibility, not angels. There is a sense in which in the kingdom of Christ believers in their glorified bodies, believers who are glorified will judge angels. Look at this passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 2 and 3 where he's talking about taking believers to court and how that should never be done. He says, do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the world and if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life? Now there's just that statement there, that little tidbit of information that makes us want to know more. What does he mean? We will judge angels. I think it's speaking of Christ's kingdom and maybe even a particular judgment that we will at least be present at the Great White Throne judgment where death and hell, death and hate, Satan and all of his demons will be cast forever in the lake of fire. It could simply mean that. It could mean that in our glorified bodies in his kingdom and in heaven, we will actually now take a position above the angels. It's a little unclear as to what all that involves. Right now we are in our humanity below the angels. It's possible there's at least some sense in which that will change in our glorified bodies. What I was involved in that verse is a little difficult to know. It can't be too dogmatic about that. Okay, comments or questions about our position in relationship to angels, their position in relation to us? Yeah, I don't think we can go quite that far with it. I don't think we'll be the jury that sentences them to hell, but certainly Paul was indicating there's going to be some sense in which we are over angels and are involved in making decisions or judging regarding them. I have no exactly what's involved in that. Okay. That's a great question and the simple answer is no they don't. The cults do not place the same emphasis on getting to heaven through Christ in the sense that Christ is uniquely the Savior. In fact, one of the hallmarks of cults is their view of Christ. They do not believe that He is God and thus they do not believe that He is uniquely the Savior. Now, some cults will talk about Jesus as the way to heaven, but they will also include works in that and that's a hallmark of cults. There's always something I have to do in order to contribute to my salvation. So they do not see Christ as uniquely the Savior, the only way to heaven. There's always something you have to do within their context of their religion to get there. So yeah, that's one of the damaging characteristics of cults. Okay. Anything else there? Okay. I just want to list some other distinctions between angels. Yes, Libby? No. They are already judged in the sense that their doom is sure. That was made certain at the cross. You know, Jesus said in John chapter 12 verse 30 just before he went to the cross, now the prince of this world is judged. So speaking of the cross in that context with the Greeks who were coming to see Jesus and so forth, he's talking, he's looking forward ahead to the cross. So he's making clear that it is the cross that passed the ultimate sentence. That sentence has not yet been carried out. They have not yet been thrown into the lake of fire. Now whether or not we will have some part in that, it's difficult to know because there's no other information that really details that for us. So in what sense we will judge angels a little difficult to know. We do know that Christ is the one who is the judge on the great white throne. He is the one doing the judging. So we're not going to be the ones saying, okay, demon, you troubled me a bunch. I'm going to throw you into hell. We're not going to be doing that, obviously. What role we might play is hard to say. It would be speculation to go any further. And the word judge, the reason some say it would just mean of change in position is because it may have more to do with just rule, not judging in the sense that we throw them into the lake of fire, but judging in the sense that we rule over them. That could be what it means. And that's the reason I'm saying one of the possibilities is that in our glorified bodies we may have a position higher than the angels. Okay, let me just give some other distinctions, just kind of list them. Distinctions between angels and humans, mankind. Angels are spirit beings while we have a body and a spirit. We have a spirit, yes, but it's inside a body. So we are localized, we are restricted to a body while angels are not their spirit beings. Another distinction is that angels are normally invisible. We normally are not. We're always not invisible. Just want to check if you're with me. Angels can appear in human form, but normally they're invisible, they're spirit beings. We're not. Because we have bodies, we're not invisible. Angels do not propagate their own kind, whereas humans do. So there are lots of distinctions like that. Angels are greater in intelligence and strength than we are. That's part of their position above us is their strength and intelligence. Angels are not subject to death, whereas we are. Angels will not die, but we will in our human bodies. And there's no indication in the Bible that people ever become angels. No indication of that at all in the Bible that people become angels. So the common misconception or kind of old wives tale that children who die become angels in heaven. That's just not true at all. No indication of that in scriptures. We will always remain human. Even in our glorified body will still be human. We don't change into angels. Angels appear in human form sometimes, and that's the reason why there may be some confusion about that. But there's no indication in the Bible that humans ever become angels. So those are some other distinctions. Any comments or questions about those? Then let me mention just a few similarities. We've talked about the distinctions, the difference in position between angels and people. What are some similarities between people and angels? Can you name some? What are some similarities we share with angels? We share it with God. Okay, God is our God as well as their God. He is over us. Yes, yes. That's true. We have the same creator. We are both dependent on God for our existence. God created angels. He created us. So there is that similarity. Free will. We both have choice. Man was created with a choice. The ability to make choices. And remember we saw that angels were created with that same ability. Now once they made that choice, we saw that they're confirmed in that, but they were initially created with that freedom to choose either to rebel against God or to stay obedient to Him. So there's a likeness there. There's a sense in which you could say both are created in the image of God. If by the image of God you mean there's the capacity to have a relationship with God. Angels do have a relationship with God. We are created with the capacity to have a relationship with God. So there's a sense in which both are created in the image of God in that sense at least. Any other likenesses you can think of? Some of you guys are missing a great opportunity to say, my wife is like an angel. I give you a chance. Can't blame me. Okay. That's a good one. We each have jobs. We each have responsibilities to our Creator. God has given us opportunities to serve Him. Angels also serve Him. Yeah. Very good. Anything else? Pardon me? People and angels both will be judged. We both have accountability to God. We will be judged. Angels also will face judgment for their choices. Particularly the evil angels will be judged and cast into the lake of fire. Here's an interesting question. I don't know that we can answer it, but it's interesting to speculate and think about. No two people are exactly alike, even identical twins, different in some ways. Is it possible that no two angels are alike? I know they are spirit beings, but they have personality. They are capable of intellect, emotion and will. Could it also be true that no two angels are alike? They all have different elements. There are certainly different ranks of them in different levels of power. The angel that was going to answer Daniel's prayer needed reinforcement from Michael to get through the demon that was holding him up. Yes. I think that's a good point. Jim, when you look at God's creation, there is such variety in everything else God has created. You would expect that angels would not be cookie cutter either. But there would be some variety, some individuality there. But we really can't speculate because part of it is their spirit beings. If they had bodies, it would be easier to say they each have a separate fingerprint or whatever, but we can't really say that. But it's interesting to think about anyway. Okay. I'm done. Are you all done? I want you to mark. Look at the clock. Mark the date. Actually getting out early tonight. Okay. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for these wonderful creatures that you have made who are ministering spirits for us, who are your children. Thank you that you have blessed us with the ministry of angels to us. We pray that as we study that further and begin to understand, at least from instances and scripture, how they might serve us and minister to us, we pray that our hearts will rejoice in this provision you have made for us as well. But more than angels, we thank you for our Savior, the Lord Jesus, your Son, who died to be our Savior. Certainly He is uniquely your Son and uniquely our Savior. Thank you for Him in His name. We pray, Amen.