DEITY OF CHRIST

Hebrews 1:1-14

Introduction:  Paul waste no time in establishing that Jesus is better.  The word “deity” means His God nature.  In other words, what makes Him God.  You must remember that many Jewish people had a hard time accepting that Jesus was God and the promised messiah.  Paul deals with this in this chapter.

      In this chapter, Paul will be comparing of Christ to the angels.  The Jewish people place a lot of importance on angels.  Angels were mentioned many times in the Old Testament.  Let me cite a couple of examples.

1)  In the life of Abraham, we see in the account of his life just before he takes the knife and kills Isaac, the angel stopped him. Gen. 22:11

“And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.”

2) In the life of Jacob, when he going home and is facing his brother, he is alone the night before and he is wrestling with an angel. Gen. 32:24-26

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”

      I could show more examples but it makes you think more about angels than the One that is above angels- the Lord Jesus.  this entire chapter shows that Jesus is better than the angels. 

      An Old Testament reference that you could see this truth is Psalms 2: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

I. THE SPEAKING vs. 1-4

      A. Speaking in the Old Testament.  Many times    the Lord spoke to people through visions and    dreams.  Some examples of this would be:

            1. Jacob Genesis 31:11

                  “And the angel of God spake unto me in a    dream, [saying], Jacob: And I said, Here     [am] I.”

            2. Daniel Daniel 7:1

                  “In the first year of Belshazzar king of     Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of    his head upon his bed: then he wrote the     dream, [and] told the sum of the matters.”  3. Joseph Matthew 1:20

                  “But while he thought on these things,     behold, the angel of the Lord appeared     unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou    son of David, fear not to take unto thee     Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived    in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

      B. Son  vs. 2

            The Lord now speaks to man through His Son,   His life and His teachings.

                        John 8:28

            “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have    lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know    that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of    myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I    speak these things.”

      C. Sacrifice vs. 3

            Christ in the form of God. 

                        John 14:7

            “If ye had known me, ye should have known    my Father also: and from henceforth ye know    him, and have seen him.”

                        Phil. 2:5-11

            “Let this mind be in you, which was also in    Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God,    thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

            But made himself of no reputation, and took    upon him the form of a servant, and was made   in the likeness of men:  And being found in    fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and    became obedient unto death, even the death of   the cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly    exalted him, and given him a name which is    above every name:  That at the name of Jesus   every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven,    and [things] in earth, and [things] under the    earth; And [that] every tongue should confess    that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God   the Father.”

            Christ was born of the virgin, loved, died in    my place, buried and rose again on the third    day and sitting on the right hand of the    Father.  This same Jesus is my Lord and    Master.

      D. Superiority vs. 4

            He was better than the angels.  Why?  An    angel could never and would never take on the   robe of flesh and live the sinless life and die    for sinful man.  Jesus was not able to sin and   neither would have He chose to sin at any    time.  This make Him better than an angel.     Some angels did chose to sin.   

II. THE SON vs. 5-8

      A. Supremacy vs. 5-6

            1. He is above the angels in that they were     never addressed as the one begotten of the    Father.

            2. He is the Son of God.  He is worshipped by    the angels. Rev. 5:2-13

                  “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with    a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the     book, and to loose the seals thereof?  And    no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither     under the earth, was able to open the book,    neither to look thereon.  And I wept much,    because no man was found worthy to open    and to read the book, neither to look     thereon.  And one of the elders saith unto    me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe    of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed    to open the book, and to loose the seven     seals thereof.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the    midst of the throne and of the four beasts,    and in the midst of the elders, stood a     Lamb as it had been slain, having seven     horns and seven eyes, which are the seven    Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

                  And he came and took the book out of the    right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

                  And when he had taken the book, the four    beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell     down before the Lamb, having every one of    them harps, and golden vials full of odours,    which are the prayers of saints.  And they    sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy     to take the book, and to open the seals     thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast     redeemed us to God by thy blood out of     every kindred, and tongue, and people, and    nation;  And hast made us unto our God     kings and priests: and we shall reign on the    earth.  And I beheld, and I heard the voice    of many angels round about the throne and    the beasts and the elders: and the number    of them was ten thousand times ten     thousand, and thousands of thousands;      Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the     Lamb that was slain to receive power, and    riches, and wisdom, and strength, and     honour, and glory, and blessing.  And every    creature which is in heaven, and on the     earth, and under the earth, and such as are    in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I    saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory,     and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon    the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and    ever.”

      B. Servants vs. 7

            The word “minister” means servant.

                        Mt. 20:26-28

            “But it shall not be so among you: but     whosoever will be great among you, let him be   your minister;  And whosoever will be chief    among you, let him be your servant:  Even as    the Son of man came not to be ministered    unto, but to minister, and to give his life a    ransom for many.”

            It is the job of the angels to be the Lord’s    ministers.  They had the high privilege to    minister unto  the Lord Jesus on several    occasions in His life while He was here on    earth in His earthly ministry.

                        Mt. 4:11

            “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold,    angels came and ministered unto him.”

                        Luke 22:43

            “And there appeared an angel unto him from    heaven, strengthening him.”    C. Son  vs. 8

            1. His kingdom is everlasting.

                        Rev. 11:15

                  “And the seventh angel sounded; and there    were great voices in heaven, saying, The     kingdoms of this world are become the     kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ;     and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

            2. We will reign with Him. (Joint-heirs)

                        Rev. 5:9-10

                  “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou     art worthy to take the book, and to open     the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and    hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out    of every kindred, and tongue, and people,    and nation;  And hast made us unto our     God kings and priests: and we shall reign     on the earth.”

                        Rom. 8:16-17

                  “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our    spirit, that we are the children of God:      And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,     and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we    suffer with him, that we may be also     glorified together.”

                  All that Christ has, He has made it so we    can share with Him.  This is only true for    those who have received Him as Saviour.

                        John 1:12-13

                  “But as many as received him, to them     gave he power to become the sons of God,    even to them that believe on his name:

                  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the     will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but    of God.” 

III. THE SAMENESS vs. 9-12

      Christ and the Father have the same attributes,  actions and attitudes. 

      A. Anointing vs. 9

            The Lord Jesus hates sin.  His Holiness which   is greater than His Love can not allow sin to    enter into His presence.

            He has anointed us with the oil of gladness.

            We should be glad that He hated sin and loved

            righteousness.

            We should be glad that He became sin for us.

                        2 Cor. 5:21

            “For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who    knew no sin; that we might be made the    righteousness of God in him.”

      B. Attitude vs. 10

            1. It is an established Biblical fact that     Christ was and still is equal with the     Father. John 10:30

                  “I and [my] Father are one.”

                        Phil. 2:5-6

                  Let this mind be in you, which was also in    Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of     God, thought it not robbery to be equal     with God”

            2. It is an established Biblical fact that cults    try to put Christ out of the picture as Lord    or try to belittle His importance and His     place with the Father.

                        1 John 4:1-3

                  “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try    the spirits whether they are of God:     because many false prophets are gone out     into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit    of God: Every spirit that confesseth that     Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

                  And every spirit that confesseth not that     Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of    God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,     whereof ye have heard that it should come;    and even now already is it in the world.”

                        1 John 2:22-23

                  “Who is a liar but he that denieth that     Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that     denieth the Father and the Son.        Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath    not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth    the Son hath the Father also.”

      C. Affect vs. 11-12

            1. Man will perish and pass away.

            2. The Man- Christ Jesus will never pass     away. Heb. 7:22-25

                  “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a    better testament.  And they truly were     many priests, because they were not     suffered to continue by reason of death:      But this man, because he continueth ever,    hath an unchangeable priesthood.       Wherefore he is able also to save them to     the uttermost that come unto God by him,    seeing he ever liveth to make intercession    for them.” 

IV. THE SALVATION vs. 13-14

      Because of what Christ did for us, we have  salvation.

      A. Coronation vs. 13

            No angel could do all these things for us.  Only   Christ could and did all the requirements    under the sacrificial law for us.

            1. He is KING.

            2. He is LORD.

            3. He is MASTER.

      B. Conversations vs. 14

            1. This verse answers vs. 13.  Angel are only    God’s messengers sent to carry God’s     work.  They don’t deserve or even want     worship. Rev. 22:8-9

                  “And I John saw these things, and heard     them. And when I had heard and seen, I     fell down to worship before the feet of the    angel which shewed me these things.  Then    saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I    am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren    the prophets, and of them which keep the    sayings of this book: worship God.”

            2. This verse assures us that Christ is the     only begotten Son of God. 

Conclusion:  Christ is far above all angels.  He is equal with the Father.  He  is Lord, King, and Master.  Let’s end this study with these verses that honor Him.

                        Phil. 2:9-11

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;   And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

                        Rev. 5:11-14

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”