Hebrews 1:5-7

Summary retelling of Hebrews 1:5-7

We are reminded that God has never said to the angels, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”  Neither has God ever called Himself the father of the angels.  In fact, the angels worship God’s Son; thus Son must be superior to the angels.  We are then given a quote from Psalm 104:4, which implies that it is the angels who serve the Son. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus is God’s own Son.  The word “begotten” is used intentionally here.  This is a word that literally means “to come from procreation.”  The angels are created beings.  We as human beings are created beings.  But Jesus is not a created being.  He is literally begotten of the Father.  He is of the same essence as the Father.  It is natural to think that Jesus is superior to us and the angels since while we and the angels are created, He is begotten.

What does it mean to you that Jesus is begotten?  What does it mean to you that Jesus is not created but of the very same essence as God?  If this is all true, why is it important to understand that our salvation only comes through Jesus and not through the angels or one another or ourselves?

Second Thought:

God has never called Himself the Father of the angels.  Clearly, He is the Father of Jesus.  Jesus teaches us to also call God our Father.  Thus, we are different from the angels.  We should not think that when we die that people “become angels.”  We should not want to become angels.  We are heirs with Christ to having God as our Father.  We have been given the most incredible privilege – a privilege we surely do not deserve.

What does it mean to you that you are able to be called the children of God because of Jesus?  Have you ever heard someone teach that when people die they become “angels in heaven?”  Why is that teaching not a teaching that we want to promote in the least?

Third Thought:

The angels serve Jesus.  We know this.  They minister to Him when He is in the wilderness after being tempted by Satan.  We also hear in the Gospel of Luke that when Jesus was praying right before his arrest that an angel came and ministered to Him.  When Jesus is arrested He mentions that if He desired He could call legions of angels to come and save Him.  This seems to be the purpose of angels.  They are a part of the heavenly realm to serve the divine will of God.

Have you ever thought of angels as divine messengers of God’s will? Have you ever wanted the power to have angels serve you and do what you want?  Why is it important to remember that the angels are created to serve God’s will and not ours?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 1:8-9