1 00:00:00,166 --> 00:00:03,566 Ministers, maybe Bibles, 2 00:00:04,133 --> 00:00:06,266 open with me to Hebrews. 3 00:00:13,199 --> 00:00:17,833 Since we've last been here in 4 00:00:17,833 --> 00:00:21,000 Hebrews, in my study time, 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,133 I've been reminded of fresh and a new how much I don't know. 6 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,500 And the real limitations of 7 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:33,899 being theologically uneducated 8 00:00:33,899 --> 00:00:36,966 and your friendly neighborhood harbor freight preacher 9 00:00:36,966 --> 00:00:40,033 that I am, because 10 00:00:40,033 --> 00:00:45,133 the content of verses 4 to 14 is not milk. 11 00:00:47,233 --> 00:00:50,700 This is theological, 12 00:00:51,566 --> 00:00:55,200 porterhouse, Angus beef, that 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,566 we're fixing to get into here. 14 00:00:58,500 --> 00:00:59,600 There's much disagreement. 15 00:01:01,633 --> 00:01:06,433 Amongst the most theologically educated men in the church, 16 00:01:06,433 --> 00:01:09,566 as to the precise understanding 17 00:01:09,566 --> 00:01:12,700 of, especially, the 18 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:15,799 contents of verses 4 6 that we're going to study 19 00:01:15,799 --> 00:01:18,966 today, and it's 20 00:01:18,966 --> 00:01:22,733 all very nuanced, very nuanced. 21 00:01:24,799 --> 00:01:28,700 These last two weeks, I have read and listened to 22 00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:32,400 more commentary on just three 23 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,700 verses than any three verses that 24 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:39,233 I ever have in my whole 25 years plus of ministry. 25 00:01:39,266 --> 00:01:43,299 I got a lot of this swimming around in my head. 26 00:01:45,433 --> 00:01:48,733 Many of the debates and the differing 27 00:01:48,733 --> 00:01:52,333 viewpoints of these verses are, I 28 00:01:52,333 --> 00:01:54,266 mean, to be really straightforward with you. 29 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:57,799 It's really only for those who are engaged in 30 00:01:57,799 --> 00:02:02,099 rigorous study of high theological 31 00:02:02,099 --> 00:02:06,000 academia, people who know the original 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,066 languages of Hebrew and Greek that 33 00:02:09,066 --> 00:02:12,800 can read Greek and Hebrew, just like we read English. 34 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:17,966 And what we have here, in 35 00:02:17,966 --> 00:02:22,199 our church, is really a rather unique situation, 36 00:02:22,199 --> 00:02:25,599 for several reasons, but one is certainly that 37 00:02:25,599 --> 00:02:29,000 we are all really a small collection of 38 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,033 really more of a working 39 00:02:33,033 --> 00:02:37,733 class social strata, kind 40 00:02:37,766 --> 00:02:39,733 of mindset, and people. 41 00:02:40,900 --> 00:02:44,800 And that's not a slight at us in any way. 42 00:02:44,833 --> 00:02:45,666 It's just a reality. 43 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:47,833 That's what we are. 44 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:49,500 Have any of you been to Princeton? 45 00:02:49,566 --> 00:02:52,566 Have any of you been to Southern Seminary and 46 00:02:52,566 --> 00:02:53,933 got a PhD? 47 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,433 No, including me, right? 48 00:03:00,033 --> 00:03:03,300 And that's just the reality of where we are compared 49 00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:06,366 to the people who have a lot of 50 00:03:06,366 --> 00:03:09,666 theological learning in what I 51 00:03:09,666 --> 00:03:13,099 like the new phrase that we have bantered about called reformed world. 52 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,433 Reform world has gotten a lot more varied. 53 00:03:17,666 --> 00:03:20,766 There's a lot of different stripes of reformed world 54 00:03:20,766 --> 00:03:23,833 out there, especially on the 55 00:03:23,833 --> 00:03:25,766 internet, and don't get me started on that. 56 00:03:25,866 --> 00:03:28,800 But I will say this for sure. 57 00:03:31,933 --> 00:03:34,699 It is singularly the grace of God. 58 00:03:36,733 --> 00:03:41,066 that we are where we are in 59 00:03:41,066 --> 00:03:44,133 our understanding of God's word here at Providence, Baptist 60 00:03:44,133 --> 00:03:47,266 Church, which is really and truly 61 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:51,666 much more meaty than the average evangelical 62 00:03:51,666 --> 00:03:52,800 church in America. 63 00:03:53,166 --> 00:03:54,500 And that's not boasting. 64 00:03:54,566 --> 00:03:56,066 I do not say that to boast. 65 00:03:57,833 --> 00:03:58,500 It's just true. 66 00:04:01,033 --> 00:04:04,766 And that is certainly, let me remind you, that is certainly God's 67 00:04:04,766 --> 00:04:06,733 unmerited favor. 68 00:04:08,833 --> 00:04:12,900 In each of our lives, starting most of all with me. 69 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,033 So, all that having been said, 70 00:04:18,033 --> 00:04:21,466 I'm not going to give you all the nuance 71 00:04:22,433 --> 00:04:23,533 that I've studied here. 72 00:04:25,166 --> 00:04:28,333 Some kind of way with the brain cells that didn't burn up 73 00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:31,399 in the '80s and '90s, I'm able 74 00:04:31,399 --> 00:04:34,766 to keep up with the nuance, but 75 00:04:34,766 --> 00:04:37,766 for me to try to explain 76 00:04:37,766 --> 00:04:40,533 all the nuance to you. 77 00:04:41,699 --> 00:04:43,366 It would be like Charlie's Brown's teacher. 78 00:04:44,133 --> 00:04:45,500 you know, for you. 79 00:04:45,566 --> 00:04:46,533 A lot of it will be. 80 00:04:46,933 --> 00:04:50,766 And it's confusing, and it takes a lot of detailed explanation. 81 00:04:51,733 --> 00:04:52,866 I could easily... 82 00:04:52,866 --> 00:04:56,233 I could have made this a four hour sermon with no problem. 83 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:58,066 No problem. 84 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,600 So instead of doing that, because we don't want to 85 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,433 wait four hours before we have to eat, right, Christie? 86 00:05:05,666 --> 00:05:06,433 She says, right. 87 00:05:08,366 --> 00:05:10,033 What I've done is I've just done my best. 88 00:05:11,399 --> 00:05:16,033 To break these verses down into the most easily understandable, 89 00:05:16,033 --> 00:05:19,033 biblically orthodox way possible 90 00:05:19,033 --> 00:05:20,366 for us, okay? 91 00:05:20,833 --> 00:05:23,300 Because that's how I have to take it in, just like you. 92 00:05:23,966 --> 00:05:27,133 I'm at no greater level than you are. 93 00:05:27,266 --> 00:05:28,300 We're all in this. 94 00:05:28,766 --> 00:05:29,533 We are all in this together. 95 00:05:29,766 --> 00:05:32,633 I'm just, as I say all the time to you. 96 00:05:32,699 --> 00:05:35,866 I'm just giving to you what I learned during the 97 00:05:35,899 --> 00:05:38,666 week in preparation up to this moment. 98 00:05:40,933 --> 00:05:44,166 And this starts with something, I'm telling you, I'm going to keep repeating 99 00:05:44,166 --> 00:05:48,433 this, something that's absolutely critical for you to remember, and 100 00:05:48,433 --> 00:05:51,500 we learn this in our first introductory sermon, and we learn 101 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:52,766 this last time, as well. 102 00:05:53,466 --> 00:05:57,433 The Book of Hebrews was originally written to Jewish people. 103 00:05:59,366 --> 00:06:01,633 primarily to Jewish believers. 104 00:06:03,733 --> 00:06:07,399 And if you remember, sprinkled throughout, it 105 00:06:07,399 --> 00:06:11,000 was also, there are parts, parts, 106 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,300 sprinkled throughout, that are specifically addressed 107 00:06:14,300 --> 00:06:17,466 to Jewish unbelievers, some who 108 00:06:17,466 --> 00:06:20,600 had a profession of faith, but didn't show any fruit of 109 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:25,266 true regeneration, and then others who didn't count 110 00:06:25,266 --> 00:06:26,933 a Messiah as Messiah at all. 111 00:06:28,266 --> 00:06:29,633 Remember, we went over all of that. 112 00:06:30,066 --> 00:06:34,333 Go back and listen, if you have it, you need to, because it's 113 00:06:34,333 --> 00:06:36,000 the only way you can really understand Hebrews. 114 00:06:38,366 --> 00:06:41,500 But in every case, the writer is trying 115 00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:45,066 to convince this little group of Jewish congregants 116 00:06:45,066 --> 00:06:48,233 that the old covenant is better than the new covenant, 117 00:06:48,266 --> 00:06:51,266 if I could just put it simply, and that Jesus 118 00:06:51,266 --> 00:06:53,500 Christ is better than everybody and everything. 119 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:56,466 Is that condensed enough, right? 120 00:06:57,133 --> 00:07:00,300 That he's the better priest, that 121 00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:01,433 he's the better mediator. 122 00:07:02,399 --> 00:07:05,699 from what you're used to in the Old Covenant, and 123 00:07:05,699 --> 00:07:08,533 also, he's the final priest. 124 00:07:10,033 --> 00:07:12,300 He's the better priest. 125 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:16,800 He's the final sacrifice, and, 126 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,933 interestingly enough, there hasn't been another Jewish sacrifice 127 00:07:19,933 --> 00:07:21,133 since 78D. 128 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:23,666 as I always like to point that out. 129 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:29,733 Now, starting in verse four, the writer 130 00:07:29,733 --> 00:07:34,399 starts to unfold the 131 00:07:34,399 --> 00:07:37,933 everybody that Jesus is superior to. 132 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,000 And you know who that starts with, he's superior to the angels. 133 00:07:45,266 --> 00:07:49,033 Now, we, as human beings, we are superior 134 00:07:49,033 --> 00:07:52,866 and higher than all of the creatures of 135 00:07:52,866 --> 00:07:57,800 the earth, the animals, sometimes 136 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,633 that might be debatable with certain people, but I digress. 137 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,800 But above us, there 138 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,566 is another created group that 139 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:09,666 is higher than us. 140 00:08:10,899 --> 00:08:12,866 And that is, the angels. 141 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:17,300 If you skip down to Hebrews 2 and verse 142 00:08:17,300 --> 00:08:18,666 9, look at what it says. 143 00:08:21,899 --> 00:08:26,266 But we do see him, as Jesus, 144 00:08:26,266 --> 00:08:31,433 who was made, for a little while, lower 145 00:08:31,433 --> 00:08:34,933 than the angels, namely Jesus. 146 00:08:35,533 --> 00:08:38,600 So right there, that tells us that angels are higher 147 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,733 than humans, because when Jesus became a man for a 148 00:08:41,733 --> 00:08:46,866 little while, he was made, like us, lower than the angels. 149 00:08:47,466 --> 00:08:48,600 So that tells you right there. 150 00:08:48,799 --> 00:08:51,866 So before we get to verse 4 to 6, I want 151 00:08:51,866 --> 00:08:55,933 to take a quick look, a quick biblical look at angels. 152 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,666 After the fall, the holy angels 153 00:08:59,666 --> 00:09:02,766 have always no longer been 154 00:09:02,766 --> 00:09:04,200 subject to sin. 155 00:09:05,166 --> 00:09:07,333 That's great, right, to exist that way. 156 00:09:08,366 --> 00:09:13,299 They are holy, they are powerful, and they are wise. 157 00:09:14,966 --> 00:09:17,966 They don't have to deal with the infirmities 158 00:09:17,966 --> 00:09:21,200 that we have to deal with while 159 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,766 living out our lives on Earth. 160 00:09:23,833 --> 00:09:27,133 They don't have to deal with arthritis and knee replacements and hip 161 00:09:27,133 --> 00:09:28,566 replacements and all of that. 162 00:09:29,899 --> 00:09:33,600 They are specially created spirit 163 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,066 beings made by God before 164 00:09:37,100 --> 00:09:38,600 men were ever created. 165 00:09:40,566 --> 00:09:42,899 They do not have flesh and bones. 166 00:09:43,466 --> 00:09:47,966 But, interestingly, they do have bodies. 167 00:09:49,866 --> 00:09:52,866 And whatever form, they get 168 00:09:52,866 --> 00:09:56,933 that in a minute, whatever form they have, they 169 00:09:56,966 --> 00:10:00,500 are capable of appearing in human form. 170 00:10:01,700 --> 00:10:04,399 For example, we're all familiar with this text. 171 00:10:05,533 --> 00:10:06,600 Hebrews 13, 2. 172 00:10:07,899 --> 00:10:08,600 Look what it says. 173 00:10:08,766 --> 00:10:12,366 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, 174 00:10:12,366 --> 00:10:17,033 for by this, some have entertain angels. 175 00:10:18,833 --> 00:10:19,799 without knowing it. 176 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:25,233 And that is absolutely fascinating to think about, right? 177 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,600 Somewhere in our lives, we may have had the random one 178 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,766 on one encounter with a person that we never met before, 179 00:10:35,633 --> 00:10:36,899 who could have been an actual angel. 180 00:10:39,133 --> 00:10:42,566 I mean, I could just stop right there and think about that for a long time, right? 181 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,133 They have some kind of form on their own. 182 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,333 For example, at the empty tomb, Matthew, 183 00:10:52,333 --> 00:10:53,399 28, 3. 184 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,033 Look at this, speaking of an angel. 185 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,466 It says, and his appearance was 186 00:11:01,466 --> 00:11:02,500 like lightning. 187 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,000 What does that look like? 188 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:12,266 I don't know exactly, but keep going, 189 00:11:12,266 --> 00:11:15,366 and his clothing was white as snow, 190 00:11:15,366 --> 00:11:17,100 the guards shook. 191 00:11:17,966 --> 00:11:21,100 They literally, their bodies were trembling for 192 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:24,233 fear of him, and they became like dead men. 193 00:11:24,966 --> 00:11:27,966 They just overwhelmed them, just looking at 194 00:11:27,966 --> 00:11:29,399 this angel. 195 00:11:31,266 --> 00:11:34,399 And really, I mean, with an 196 00:11:34,399 --> 00:11:37,799 appearance like lightning, I'm 197 00:11:37,799 --> 00:11:40,799 sure we would be shaking in fear, too, if one of 198 00:11:40,799 --> 00:11:42,000 them walked in the door right here. 199 00:11:43,100 --> 00:11:47,233 James Montgomery Boyce said if we saw one, we would be tempted to worship him. 200 00:11:48,566 --> 00:11:49,466 We probably would be. 201 00:11:52,166 --> 00:11:55,399 And the inference that we get out of Colossians 1, I think it's clear. 202 00:11:55,466 --> 00:11:58,500 We won't look at it, but it seems it appears that all of the 203 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:00,466 angels were created simultaneously. 204 00:12:00,666 --> 00:12:02,766 That's the best inference that we can get. 205 00:12:02,899 --> 00:12:04,566 We don't get a lot of detail about this. 206 00:12:06,733 --> 00:12:08,100 Angels don't procreate. 207 00:12:08,166 --> 00:12:12,833 They are not like married couples up there procreating little baby angels. 208 00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:17,600 John MacArthur said only men and women have little 209 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,333 angels who grow up to be anything but can I get a witness? 210 00:12:25,633 --> 00:12:29,066 The number of angels, this is interesting to think about. 211 00:12:29,533 --> 00:12:32,833 The number of angels has not changed one bit, 212 00:12:33,799 --> 00:12:35,899 since they were originally created. 213 00:12:36,899 --> 00:12:38,166 God's not adding angel. 214 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,133 Don't listen to people who are terribly confused. 215 00:12:43,266 --> 00:12:45,133 God gained another angel in heaven. 216 00:12:45,266 --> 00:12:46,033 No, he didn't. 217 00:12:47,299 --> 00:12:48,666 The angel number is set. 218 00:12:49,033 --> 00:12:50,466 We don't turn into angels. 219 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:51,433 Okay? 220 00:12:53,299 --> 00:12:57,266 Kindly share that with somebody, a few weeks after the funeral, okay? 221 00:12:58,033 --> 00:13:02,299 Anyway, though 222 00:13:02,299 --> 00:13:06,266 a third of them fell into now, 223 00:13:06,266 --> 00:13:09,866 of course, being demons, fallen 224 00:13:09,866 --> 00:13:13,333 angels, they still exist as 225 00:13:13,333 --> 00:13:16,766 they were created, except now with the demons, 226 00:13:16,766 --> 00:13:20,100 of course, incomprehensibly evil, at 227 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:22,633 a scale we can't even begin to comprehend. 228 00:13:24,799 --> 00:13:28,166 None of them are subject to death, like we are. 229 00:13:29,899 --> 00:13:33,266 So they don't increase, and 230 00:13:33,266 --> 00:13:34,299 they don't decrease. 231 00:13:37,333 --> 00:13:38,166 Think about this thought. 232 00:13:38,899 --> 00:13:42,000 The same holy angels created, 233 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,000 from the very start, are going 234 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,000 to be those same holy angels who are 235 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,733 going to be with us in eternity forever, who 236 00:13:51,733 --> 00:13:54,500 were involved with us all during our earthly lives. 237 00:13:56,433 --> 00:13:58,100 I think that might make some conversations. 238 00:13:58,200 --> 00:13:58,933 I don't know. 239 00:13:58,933 --> 00:14:02,066 I can't be dogmatic about nothing that happens in 240 00:14:02,066 --> 00:14:04,100 heaven, because I'm not like Jesse Duplanis. 241 00:14:04,166 --> 00:14:04,766 I haven't been there. 242 00:14:04,799 --> 00:14:05,166 Okay? 243 00:14:06,433 --> 00:14:07,700 But I can just kind of guess. 244 00:14:09,899 --> 00:14:13,066 There are actually 108 references to angels 245 00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:16,566 in the Old Testament, and 165 246 00:14:16,566 --> 00:14:18,733 references in the New Testament. 247 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,466 So there's absolutely no doubt that they exist. 248 00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:27,066 And I was very tempted to go through a long bunch 249 00:14:27,066 --> 00:14:30,533 of great examples, how, you know, one angel slew 10,000. 250 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:34,200 I mean, I mean, 251 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,700 we would be here for it. 252 00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:36,733 The food would get cold. 253 00:14:37,333 --> 00:14:38,966 You know this already. 254 00:14:39,299 --> 00:14:41,766 You know the greatness of angels, okay? 255 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,866 So I just kind of want to give you this brief 256 00:14:45,866 --> 00:14:49,833 general summary, because I got some important stuff to get to, is what I'm saying. 257 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,899 Angels render intelligent worship 258 00:14:54,899 --> 00:14:58,066 to God, and service to God. 259 00:14:59,299 --> 00:15:00,266 That's why they were created. 260 00:15:01,899 --> 00:15:03,766 They are also emotional creatures. 261 00:15:05,066 --> 00:15:08,066 The Bible talks about angels rejoicing 262 00:15:09,333 --> 00:15:11,700 in heaven when sinners are saved. 263 00:15:12,733 --> 00:15:15,366 I bet today, really, was shouting when I got saved. 264 00:15:15,733 --> 00:15:16,466 Can you believe? 265 00:15:17,133 --> 00:15:18,200 Oh, not that one. 266 00:15:20,666 --> 00:15:21,799 They can speak. 267 00:15:23,033 --> 00:15:26,966 We see that all throughout the Gospels in the New Testament and the Old Testament as well, right? 268 00:15:27,366 --> 00:15:29,533 They can speak to human beings. 269 00:15:29,966 --> 00:15:32,966 Angels have incredible speed, read through 270 00:15:32,966 --> 00:15:34,100 Daniel 9. 271 00:15:34,466 --> 00:15:37,166 Sometimes they're pictured with wings. 272 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,100 That is generally how we think of them in contemporary and ancient art. 273 00:15:42,133 --> 00:15:43,633 sometimes with many as six wings. 274 00:15:45,066 --> 00:15:48,133 and they dwell in what 275 00:15:48,133 --> 00:15:51,266 Paul describes as the 276 00:15:51,266 --> 00:15:54,266 three different areas of heaven, and I've 277 00:15:54,266 --> 00:15:57,633 talked about this before, but this I find this so fascinating to think about. 278 00:15:58,466 --> 00:16:01,833 First, there's the heaven with us, the abode of God, 279 00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:04,399 the presence of God, right? 280 00:16:04,766 --> 00:16:08,000 The angels are existing there, and 281 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,700 then space and the whole universe, 282 00:16:11,700 --> 00:16:13,266 they exist there. 283 00:16:13,466 --> 00:16:16,866 And then what's called the first heaven is the 284 00:16:16,866 --> 00:16:19,866 atmosphere in and around the Earth, and we've talked 285 00:16:19,866 --> 00:16:21,366 about that before. 286 00:16:22,399 --> 00:16:25,633 So they can exist, they do exist in 287 00:16:25,633 --> 00:16:28,700 all three areas of what we call the heavens, 288 00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:30,533 if you will. 289 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:34,966 And so that means there may be some in here right now. 290 00:16:36,333 --> 00:16:37,799 And I'm not making a joke about that. 291 00:16:39,666 --> 00:16:41,700 Isn't that just stunning? 292 00:16:42,433 --> 00:16:43,033 to think about. 293 00:16:43,399 --> 00:16:46,533 There could literally be angels in this room, right this moment. 294 00:16:47,166 --> 00:16:50,166 Um, I found that just wild 295 00:16:50,166 --> 00:16:51,200 to think about. 296 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:57,233 Now, the number of them is apparently countless trillions. 297 00:16:58,299 --> 00:17:01,666 And I'm talking about after the fall with the holy angels. 298 00:17:01,766 --> 00:17:03,333 Daniel uses this wording. 299 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:08,099 Thousands upon thousands, and then he uses this phrase, myriads 300 00:17:08,099 --> 00:17:10,033 upon myriads. 301 00:17:10,099 --> 00:17:13,833 And interestingly, the Apostle John uses that word in Revelation. 302 00:17:14,900 --> 00:17:19,933 What that word describes, really, is just countless, countless. 303 00:17:21,866 --> 00:17:24,033 They fill the heavens. 304 00:17:25,799 --> 00:17:28,866 The earth, in the earth, around the atmosphere, 305 00:17:28,866 --> 00:17:32,700 in space, they are right now flying all over the place. 306 00:17:34,566 --> 00:17:37,700 And for sure, whatever the 307 00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:40,766 exact number of them is, they 308 00:17:40,766 --> 00:17:46,200 are exactly enough angels 309 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,900 to get God's work done that he wants them to do in 310 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:52,766 serving, and in worshiping him. 311 00:17:53,233 --> 00:17:56,366 So there's no lazy, loafing 312 00:17:56,366 --> 00:18:00,266 angels floating around on the cloud, just not doing anything. 313 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,533 They are far more powerful than us, far more. 314 00:18:07,466 --> 00:18:10,799 We have to call on divine power to deal with 315 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:13,966 them, especially the fallen ones, who are 316 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,066 also far more powerful than us, as 317 00:18:17,066 --> 00:18:20,433 we learned, in Ephesians on both sides. 318 00:18:22,033 --> 00:18:26,099 Fallen and holy, they are highly organized. 319 00:18:26,766 --> 00:18:30,900 They are divided into ranks that 320 00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:34,033 are very complex, and we don't get a lot of detail about 321 00:18:34,033 --> 00:18:37,633 this in scripture, but the ranks, apparently, 322 00:18:37,633 --> 00:18:41,599 have supervisory responsibility overthrones, 323 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:45,433 powers, dominions, principalities, and authorities. 324 00:18:45,799 --> 00:18:46,933 It's very organized. 325 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:48,433 There's a lot going on. 326 00:18:49,466 --> 00:18:52,466 And I'm very certain in heaven that 327 00:18:52,466 --> 00:18:56,066 we're going to be absolutely overwhelmed to learn how 328 00:18:56,066 --> 00:18:59,466 all of this worked with these angels on 329 00:18:59,466 --> 00:19:02,700 both sides, while we were here, living out 330 00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:04,633 our lives, and we just can't see them. 331 00:19:04,933 --> 00:19:06,566 It's just going to be overwhelming to us. 332 00:19:08,099 --> 00:19:12,166 There are cherubim, there are seraphim, there are living creatures. 333 00:19:12,366 --> 00:19:15,433 They have names like Michael and Gabriel, 334 00:19:15,433 --> 00:19:19,166 and Lucifer, who fell, and 335 00:19:19,166 --> 00:19:22,933 is now Satan, Michael is the head of the armies, and there's 336 00:19:22,933 --> 00:19:24,500 army in heaven that he's the head of. 337 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:25,466 Gabriel. 338 00:19:26,099 --> 00:19:27,733 He's known as the mighty One. 339 00:19:28,933 --> 00:19:30,066 And it's so interesting. 340 00:19:32,599 --> 00:19:35,733 They are seen in scripture as 341 00:19:35,733 --> 00:19:39,666 spectators at all the 342 00:19:39,666 --> 00:19:41,633 redemptive events in history. 343 00:19:42,866 --> 00:19:45,866 at the birth of Jesus, at the death of Jesus, 344 00:19:45,866 --> 00:19:47,966 the resurrection of Jesus. 345 00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:53,000 They ministered to Jesus, remember, in his temptation, in the wilderness. 346 00:19:54,266 --> 00:19:54,866 And guess what? 347 00:19:56,099 --> 00:19:57,333 They minister to us. 348 00:19:59,166 --> 00:20:01,433 ministering servants to God's people. 349 00:20:02,799 --> 00:20:03,799 How wild is that? 350 00:20:05,933 --> 00:20:06,733 They watch us. 351 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:10,233 They watch the church. 352 00:20:12,599 --> 00:20:13,900 They watch preachers. 353 00:20:15,266 --> 00:20:19,466 They probably weep, then 354 00:20:19,466 --> 00:20:23,599 a lot of our preachers, they protect us. 355 00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:29,000 If I had to guess, and this 356 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,799 is just, how did RC say it, it's 357 00:20:32,799 --> 00:20:35,900 the preacher's prerogative every now and then, and then to just 358 00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:38,533 speculate, but you have to be clear when you're speculating, right? 359 00:20:38,599 --> 00:20:39,866 I'm speculating here. 360 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:41,066 I had to guess. 361 00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:47,566 There were most likely, multiple times, 362 00:20:47,599 --> 00:20:51,133 in my life, before Christ, that 363 00:20:51,133 --> 00:20:54,366 they had to jump into action, to 364 00:20:54,366 --> 00:20:57,500 get me out of some seriously stupid decisions, to 365 00:20:57,500 --> 00:21:00,633 keep me alive, until I came to faith 366 00:21:00,633 --> 00:21:04,200 in Christ in 25 years of ministry. 367 00:21:05,433 --> 00:21:07,633 I literally, you have no idea. 368 00:21:07,700 --> 00:21:10,700 I came close to death a number of times, on my own 369 00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:11,733 stupid decisions. 370 00:21:12,733 --> 00:21:16,866 Shooting dope would be at the heart of that, you know? 371 00:21:18,599 --> 00:21:22,200 I've woken up after nodding out in an abandoned house in 372 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,166 Brookstown with a needle hanging out of my arm, shooting dope. 373 00:21:26,533 --> 00:21:28,566 I mean, I could go on and on, right? 374 00:21:29,066 --> 00:21:32,599 I'm sure that very possible angels 375 00:21:34,033 --> 00:21:35,833 were, uh, send him down there again. 376 00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:36,933 He's about to do it. 377 00:21:36,966 --> 00:21:38,533 He's about to get out of here. 378 00:21:38,666 --> 00:21:40,333 We gotta, we gotta help him. 379 00:21:40,466 --> 00:21:41,433 He's so dumb. 380 00:21:42,599 --> 00:21:43,066 Anyway. 381 00:21:44,533 --> 00:21:48,366 Look, there's a lot more to this subject of angels, but that's 382 00:21:48,366 --> 00:21:51,299 my very brief summary of angelology, okay? 383 00:21:51,433 --> 00:21:55,500 If you got more questions, I'll be glad to talk to you about it at lunch, 'cause we got to get on here. 384 00:21:58,033 --> 00:22:02,099 What that does is lay the biblical foundation of angels, 385 00:22:02,099 --> 00:22:06,133 because I need to do that, first, 386 00:22:06,133 --> 00:22:09,366 in order to take you to next, very 387 00:22:09,366 --> 00:22:12,733 important, what the Jewish view 388 00:22:12,733 --> 00:22:16,799 of angels was, at the time this book was written. 389 00:22:18,066 --> 00:22:21,599 So you just got the biblical view, and 390 00:22:21,599 --> 00:22:24,599 understanding the Jewish view at the time of 391 00:22:24,599 --> 00:22:28,366 angels is going to be very critical for 392 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,099 all of us to understand the purpose of why verses 393 00:22:32,099 --> 00:22:35,400 4 6 is written in the way that it's written, okay? 394 00:22:35,466 --> 00:22:36,200 You with me on that? 395 00:22:37,933 --> 00:22:41,000 By the time Hebrews was written, and you know 396 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,133 this, too, in general, the 397 00:22:44,133 --> 00:22:47,833 Jews had long begin to wander 398 00:22:47,833 --> 00:22:51,799 away from the Old Testament alone context of angels. 399 00:22:52,566 --> 00:22:55,733 And that was because of the Talmud and other 400 00:22:55,766 --> 00:22:57,033 rabbinical teachings. 401 00:22:57,299 --> 00:23:00,066 Remember, they had been adding all these laws and all these different things. 402 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,666 They had been piling on that was apart from the Old Testament. 403 00:23:05,466 --> 00:23:08,466 And they came up with some very interesting and different views 404 00:23:08,466 --> 00:23:10,266 of angels. 405 00:23:10,333 --> 00:23:13,633 So understand, the writer 406 00:23:13,633 --> 00:23:16,866 of Hebrews is not only writing with a 407 00:23:16,866 --> 00:23:20,033 true backdrop of a biblical 408 00:23:20,066 --> 00:23:23,599 view of angels, he's also writing against 409 00:23:23,599 --> 00:23:26,666 a batdrop of this altered 410 00:23:26,666 --> 00:23:29,599 Jewish concept of angels. 411 00:23:29,666 --> 00:23:31,333 So he's doing both at the same time. 412 00:23:32,966 --> 00:23:36,200 Now, they didn't completely believe all 413 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:37,533 wrong things about angels. 414 00:23:37,633 --> 00:23:41,000 They did believe that angels were very important to the old covenant, 415 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,233 and they had always esteemed angels as the highest 416 00:23:44,233 --> 00:23:45,599 beings next to God. 417 00:23:45,799 --> 00:23:48,866 They believed that God was surrounded by angels, 418 00:23:48,866 --> 00:23:52,200 and that they were the instruments of bringing His word to 419 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,900 men and working out His will in the universe. 420 00:23:55,099 --> 00:23:58,700 They were thought of by the Jews as these ethereal 421 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:02,533 creatures of blazing light, who did not eat, drink, 422 00:24:02,533 --> 00:24:06,433 or procreate, so far, not really too far off of base, but. 423 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,733 They also believed that these beings that God created were 424 00:24:11,733 --> 00:24:15,599 God's senate, if you will, to use that term. 425 00:24:16,333 --> 00:24:19,400 And they believed that God never did anything without 426 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,200 asking the angels. 427 00:24:22,099 --> 00:24:25,099 Now, right there, you're going straight off, right, 428 00:24:25,099 --> 00:24:26,166 the biblical cliff. 429 00:24:27,566 --> 00:24:30,700 For example, in Genesis 1, where God said, 430 00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:34,099 let us make man in our image, easily 431 00:24:34,099 --> 00:24:37,266 reference to the Trinity, they believe God was 432 00:24:37,266 --> 00:24:42,599 speaking of his angelic senate in that word us, which is wrong. 433 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,333 Some Jews believe that angels objected to the creation 434 00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:49,566 of men, and they were annihilated at that time, 435 00:24:49,566 --> 00:24:51,066 for their objection. 436 00:24:51,066 --> 00:24:53,299 We find that nowhere in scripture. 437 00:24:53,833 --> 00:24:57,066 Others believed that they objected to the giving of the law, and 438 00:24:57,066 --> 00:25:00,066 that angels actually attacked Moses on his 439 00:25:00,066 --> 00:25:01,799 way up Mount Sinai. 440 00:25:01,866 --> 00:25:02,400 That didn't happen. 441 00:25:03,066 --> 00:25:04,433 And they even named angels. 442 00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:08,900 There were what they called presence angels, who 443 00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:11,066 stayed in God's presence at all times. 444 00:25:11,233 --> 00:25:14,366 And there are those, but they came up with names like 445 00:25:14,366 --> 00:25:17,366 Raphael, and Uriel, and Thaniel, and then they added 446 00:25:17,366 --> 00:25:20,366 in Gabriel, and Michael, notice the EL, 447 00:25:20,366 --> 00:25:23,599 the L, at the end of each, L was a name for God, 448 00:25:23,599 --> 00:25:26,299 and they used that as an ending for each of the names. 449 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,466 And then, very interestingly, they believed that 200 angels 450 00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:32,666 controlled the movement of the stars. 451 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,166 We find that nowhere in scripture. 452 00:25:35,233 --> 00:25:38,466 One special angel was the calendar angel who 453 00:25:38,466 --> 00:25:40,433 controlled all the months, days, and years. 454 00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:42,566 So they were just making all this up. 455 00:25:43,099 --> 00:25:46,400 One mighty angel took care of the seas, and others tended 456 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,700 to the frost, the dew, and the rain, and the snow, and the hail, 457 00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:52,766 and the thunder, and the lightning, and if all this were true, I wish 458 00:25:52,766 --> 00:25:55,000 the Fall Angel would hurry up and get it in gear. 459 00:25:56,900 --> 00:26:00,799 Other angels, there 460 00:26:00,799 --> 00:26:03,799 were other Jews believed that there were angels who were 461 00:26:03,799 --> 00:26:07,333 the wardens of hell, and that they were the torturers 462 00:26:07,333 --> 00:26:10,799 of the damned, and there was a guardian angel over 463 00:26:10,799 --> 00:26:13,433 every nation and every child. 464 00:26:14,366 --> 00:26:17,433 And, of course, that flowed its way into Catholicism. 465 00:26:17,533 --> 00:26:19,866 And we may well have multiple guardian angels. 466 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,799 I don't know, like I said, we'll see when we get there. 467 00:26:22,566 --> 00:26:26,633 Is it different angels that deal with us, or as we get assigned angels, I don't know, you know. 468 00:26:27,133 --> 00:26:30,733 We watch a wonderful life at Christmas time, and the 469 00:26:30,733 --> 00:26:32,400 angel comes down, you know, all that. 470 00:26:32,966 --> 00:26:36,033 Anyway, they also, 471 00:26:36,033 --> 00:26:39,733 these Jews believed that there were recording angels who 472 00:26:39,733 --> 00:26:43,799 actually wrote down every single word that man spoke. 473 00:26:45,299 --> 00:26:48,733 Well, what's the point of that when God already knows, every 474 00:26:48,733 --> 00:26:50,966 word you speak before you speak it, but I digress. 475 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,633 So all of that is a very general summary of the Jewish 476 00:26:55,633 --> 00:26:59,066 view of angels at that time that Hebrews 477 00:26:59,066 --> 00:27:02,233 was written, they believed that they were the highest created beings in 478 00:27:02,233 --> 00:27:06,566 the universe, and that they mediated 479 00:27:06,566 --> 00:27:09,799 between God and man, but there's one more important thing 480 00:27:09,799 --> 00:27:13,266 that they believe that we need to understand this 481 00:27:13,266 --> 00:27:16,266 before we look at these verses, the 482 00:27:16,266 --> 00:27:19,433 Jews also knew that the Old Covenant 483 00:27:19,466 --> 00:27:21,633 and the Old Testament was brought 484 00:27:21,733 --> 00:27:25,766 to them from God by angels. 485 00:27:26,066 --> 00:27:29,299 And this, above everything else, it exalted 486 00:27:29,299 --> 00:27:32,966 angels in the minds of these Jews. 487 00:27:33,266 --> 00:27:36,033 And there is some New Testament examples of this. 488 00:27:36,366 --> 00:27:39,533 Let me remind you of this, you may have skimmed over this in 489 00:27:39,566 --> 00:27:43,000 your reading of certain scriptures, like Acts chapter 7, 490 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,733 verse 53, speaking of the Jews, Stephen 491 00:27:46,766 --> 00:27:48,400 says this is an interesting phrase. 492 00:27:49,099 --> 00:27:52,166 You who received the law, he's talking to the Jews, 493 00:27:52,166 --> 00:27:56,900 as ordained by angels, and 494 00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:57,933 yet did not keep it. 495 00:27:58,633 --> 00:27:59,900 So he's getting on to the Jews there. 496 00:28:00,133 --> 00:28:01,633 Then look in Galatians 3.19. 497 00:28:02,366 --> 00:28:03,333 Why the law, then? 498 00:28:03,966 --> 00:28:07,266 It was added because of transgressions having 499 00:28:07,266 --> 00:28:10,733 been ordained through angels 500 00:28:10,766 --> 00:28:14,599 by the agency of a mediator. 501 00:28:14,833 --> 00:28:17,599 Now, here's what MacArthur records in his study Bible. 502 00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaking of angels, scripture does not delineate 503 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,333 their precise role in the giving of the law, 504 00:28:25,333 --> 00:28:28,266 but clearly states the fact of their presence. 505 00:28:29,766 --> 00:28:32,833 So what those two verses do is tell us, 506 00:28:32,833 --> 00:28:35,700 yeah, they played some role, but we don't know exactly what. 507 00:28:36,433 --> 00:28:39,066 All we know is that they played some role, and that's it. 508 00:28:39,599 --> 00:28:42,733 Well, the Jews knew this from other 509 00:28:42,733 --> 00:28:45,799 verses in Old Testament like Deuteronomy 33, but 510 00:28:45,799 --> 00:28:49,400 what did it cause them to do with that incomplete information? 511 00:28:50,599 --> 00:28:54,733 What it caused them to do was go all the way to worshipping angels. 512 00:28:56,366 --> 00:28:59,133 That's the problem, the big problem here. 513 00:28:59,833 --> 00:29:03,799 which Paul strictly forbids the worship of angels in the Book of Colossians. 514 00:29:05,066 --> 00:29:08,066 And the point to all this Jewish angelology 515 00:29:08,066 --> 00:29:11,966 that I'm giving you is to get you to understand this. 516 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,700 for these Jews, that this book is written to, how 517 00:29:17,700 --> 00:29:20,866 extremely exalted angels 518 00:29:20,900 --> 00:29:25,633 were in their Jewish minds at this time period. 519 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:27,833 That's what I'm wanting you to see here. 520 00:29:29,299 --> 00:29:33,900 And that means that if this writer of Hebrews 521 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:36,933 is going to present Jesus being the 522 00:29:36,933 --> 00:29:41,033 mediator of a better covenant, then guess what? 523 00:29:41,366 --> 00:29:45,366 He is going to have to show them that 524 00:29:45,366 --> 00:29:46,866 Jesus is better than angels. 525 00:29:47,833 --> 00:29:48,599 You see what I'm saying? 526 00:29:49,333 --> 00:29:49,933 That's the point. 527 00:29:51,866 --> 00:29:54,966 And that becomes the writer's whole purpose here 528 00:29:54,966 --> 00:29:57,433 in verses 4 to 14. 529 00:29:58,500 --> 00:30:00,166 And in a very brilliant way. 530 00:30:01,799 --> 00:30:02,900 And I mean brilliant. 531 00:30:03,799 --> 00:30:06,799 The writer is going to use seven Old 532 00:30:06,799 --> 00:30:09,866 Testament passages from their Old Testament 533 00:30:09,866 --> 00:30:12,866 to establish this extremely 534 00:30:12,866 --> 00:30:15,966 profound truth of Jesus being 535 00:30:15,966 --> 00:30:17,599 better than the angels. 536 00:30:19,033 --> 00:30:22,633 He has to show Christ to them as 537 00:30:22,633 --> 00:30:25,799 the bearer of a new covenant in his blood, 538 00:30:25,799 --> 00:30:29,466 one sacrifice, one priest, once for all. 539 00:30:29,700 --> 00:30:30,833 That's his mission here. 540 00:30:32,299 --> 00:30:35,433 And that Christ himself is the mediator of 541 00:30:35,433 --> 00:30:38,700 this new covenant, angels played no 542 00:30:38,700 --> 00:30:40,733 role in any of his work. 543 00:30:42,333 --> 00:30:43,400 It's Christ alone. 544 00:30:44,700 --> 00:30:48,099 Now, I have to give you this aside as well. 545 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:52,566 You need to know that the Old Testament quotations in 546 00:30:52,566 --> 00:30:55,700 the book of Hebrews, they vary slightly from the 547 00:30:55,700 --> 00:30:58,866 Old Testament texts from which they were taken. 548 00:30:58,933 --> 00:31:00,900 You look at that in your Bible, you see that to be true. 549 00:31:01,333 --> 00:31:01,933 Why is that? 550 00:31:02,533 --> 00:31:06,433 Well, the reason for that is, by this time, the Jews used, 551 00:31:06,433 --> 00:31:09,900 and especially these Jews, probably, in this area, a Greek translation 552 00:31:09,900 --> 00:31:13,200 of the Old Testament, called the 553 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,933 septagon, or septu again, people say it different ways. 554 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,400 I found this little thing on Google, where you asked for 555 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,466 the pronunciation, and this little cartoon mouth comes 556 00:31:23,466 --> 00:31:25,933 on, and it said, Sep 2 again. 557 00:31:26,099 --> 00:31:28,033 But then other people say, septic. 558 00:31:28,166 --> 00:31:29,599 You can say it any way you want. 559 00:31:29,666 --> 00:31:32,066 It's the Greek translation of the Old Testament is all it means. 560 00:31:35,833 --> 00:31:39,500 The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, right? 561 00:31:39,566 --> 00:31:40,033 We know that. 562 00:31:41,299 --> 00:31:44,366 But by the time of Jesus, there were so many 563 00:31:44,366 --> 00:31:47,666 Greek speaking Jews throughout the land, there 564 00:31:47,666 --> 00:31:50,833 were 70 men who got together, and 565 00:31:50,833 --> 00:31:53,400 they translated the Hebrew into Greek. 566 00:31:54,433 --> 00:31:56,066 So that's the septug. 567 00:31:57,299 --> 00:32:00,366 So, just like when Greek is translated 568 00:32:00,366 --> 00:32:04,266 into English, or Hebrew is translated into English, 569 00:32:04,299 --> 00:32:07,700 it's going to vary slightly from 570 00:32:07,700 --> 00:32:11,000 the original Hebrew, but not ever in 571 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,566 the meaning, you understand? 572 00:32:12,866 --> 00:32:15,866 Just like in our English translations, not ever in 573 00:32:15,866 --> 00:32:18,933 the truth, just different 574 00:32:18,933 --> 00:32:21,966 word choices and phrases put a different way 575 00:32:21,966 --> 00:32:25,933 in order to best translate from one language to another. 576 00:32:26,166 --> 00:32:27,299 You understand that, right? 577 00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:29,766 So that's where he's going to be quoting from. 578 00:32:31,333 --> 00:32:34,933 Because, again, the 579 00:32:34,933 --> 00:32:37,933 writer knows that's what they're using, and he's using their 580 00:32:37,933 --> 00:32:40,933 own Old Testament that they're most familiar 581 00:32:40,933 --> 00:32:44,000 with to show them that Christ is 582 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,700 a better mediator from the Old Testament. 583 00:32:48,133 --> 00:32:48,666 It's brilliant. 584 00:32:50,066 --> 00:32:53,366 As you're going to see, this is a powerful argument to 585 00:32:53,366 --> 00:32:56,799 prove to the Jews that Jesus is better than everything. 586 00:32:58,700 --> 00:33:02,166 If they said, I don't accept your New Testament. 587 00:33:02,766 --> 00:33:06,066 No problem, the writer says, I'm 588 00:33:06,066 --> 00:33:07,566 going to prove it from your own Old Testament. 589 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,266 So let's get started, okay? 590 00:33:11,700 --> 00:33:15,066 Let's go back to verse 3 for just a minute that we already started, and 591 00:33:15,066 --> 00:33:18,200 that's the lead up to verse 4, 592 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,200 that we'll start in to Dave, starting in verse 593 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,666 3 and 4, speaking of Jesus, and he, 594 00:33:24,666 --> 00:33:28,500 Jesus, is the radiance of his glory, 595 00:33:28,500 --> 00:33:31,733 and the exact representation of his nature, and 596 00:33:31,766 --> 00:33:35,233 upholds all things by the word of his power. 597 00:33:35,233 --> 00:33:38,366 When he had made purifications of 598 00:33:38,366 --> 00:33:40,400 sin, he sat down 599 00:33:41,066 --> 00:33:44,299 at the right hand of the majesty on high, 600 00:33:44,299 --> 00:33:47,599 having become as much better than 601 00:33:47,599 --> 00:33:50,700 the angels, as he has inherited a 602 00:33:50,700 --> 00:33:53,333 much more excellent name than they. 603 00:33:55,099 --> 00:33:58,266 So from verse 4, Jesus is 604 00:33:58,266 --> 00:34:01,333 better than the angels, first of all, because he has 605 00:34:01,333 --> 00:34:04,500 a better title, or, as it says there, 606 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:07,733 a much more excellent name than they. 607 00:34:07,866 --> 00:34:09,199 We're going to see that title in a minute. 608 00:34:10,599 --> 00:34:13,933 But notice, after the Sun had 609 00:34:13,933 --> 00:34:17,000 made purification for sins and sat down at 610 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,733 God's right hand, look, having become 611 00:34:22,500 --> 00:34:24,933 as much better than the angels. 612 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:26,633 Now very important. 613 00:34:28,099 --> 00:34:31,233 Having become does not 614 00:34:31,233 --> 00:34:34,733 mean that the sun was ever inferior to the angels. 615 00:34:35,699 --> 00:34:36,199 You understand? 616 00:34:37,699 --> 00:34:40,766 This phrase points us to 617 00:34:40,766 --> 00:34:43,033 a massive theological truce. 618 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,133 It points us to the exaltation of 619 00:34:48,133 --> 00:34:51,800 the sun as the incarnate, crucified, 620 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,866 risen Messiah, who sat down at the 621 00:34:54,866 --> 00:34:57,900 right hand of the majesty on high when 622 00:34:57,900 --> 00:34:59,466 his work was done. 623 00:35:00,966 --> 00:35:02,233 I love the way R.C. 624 00:35:02,233 --> 00:35:02,900 Sproul puts this. 625 00:35:02,966 --> 00:35:03,500 Listen to this. 626 00:35:06,266 --> 00:35:07,099 Listen slowly. 627 00:35:09,566 --> 00:35:11,133 The eternal sun. 628 00:35:12,666 --> 00:35:15,733 took on a human nature to 629 00:35:15,733 --> 00:35:19,599 rescue us from sin and death, 630 00:35:19,599 --> 00:35:24,733 having for a time, voluntarily 631 00:35:24,733 --> 00:35:27,733 taken a position lower 632 00:35:27,733 --> 00:35:31,400 than the angels, as I showed you earlier, remember? 633 00:35:32,366 --> 00:35:36,033 He is now, in 634 00:35:36,033 --> 00:35:39,766 his resurrection, and ascension, 635 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,033 declared to be the son of God 636 00:35:43,033 --> 00:35:44,366 in power. 637 00:35:44,466 --> 00:35:45,599 That's Romans 14. 638 00:35:46,699 --> 00:35:47,800 To save his people. 639 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:50,766 Now listen to this. 640 00:35:50,833 --> 00:35:51,666 This is the most important part. 641 00:35:52,933 --> 00:35:57,000 Christ, exaltation, thus, 642 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,166 inaugurates a new phase 643 00:36:00,166 --> 00:36:03,900 of his messianic and redemptive 644 00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:07,133 sonship and gives him a dignity 645 00:36:07,166 --> 00:36:09,933 far above that of the angels. 646 00:36:09,966 --> 00:36:11,466 Hey, that is some meat right there. 647 00:36:12,433 --> 00:36:12,866 OK? 648 00:36:12,866 --> 00:36:14,800 Let me give you the, in other words. 649 00:36:16,699 --> 00:36:17,666 I want you to get this. 650 00:36:19,566 --> 00:36:22,633 In other words, he has always eternally been the Son 651 00:36:22,633 --> 00:36:23,666 of God, right? 652 00:36:25,199 --> 00:36:26,566 The second person of the Trinity. 653 00:36:28,766 --> 00:36:30,133 Above angels, even then. 654 00:36:33,300 --> 00:36:36,366 Of course, because he created them. 655 00:36:37,199 --> 00:36:37,533 Right? 656 00:36:38,199 --> 00:36:40,000 So, of course, he was above them even then. 657 00:36:40,866 --> 00:36:42,433 But now, listen to me. 658 00:36:42,966 --> 00:36:46,800 After his complete redemptive work was done, this 659 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:50,233 new phase of his messianic 660 00:36:50,233 --> 00:36:53,366 and redemptive sonship, now 661 00:36:53,366 --> 00:36:56,500 that that's done, gives him a dignity 662 00:36:56,500 --> 00:37:00,500 in the infinite stratosphere above the angels. 663 00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:01,766 You feel me? 664 00:37:03,433 --> 00:37:07,633 That's the complete thrust of what's being said here in verse 4. 665 00:37:08,633 --> 00:37:12,000 It's a staggering, stunning, massive theological truth. 666 00:37:13,900 --> 00:37:17,166 Now, next in verse 5, the writer is going to prove 667 00:37:17,166 --> 00:37:20,300 from the Old Testament, what the more 668 00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:23,466 excellent name is from verse 4. 669 00:37:23,666 --> 00:37:24,433 Look at verse 5. 670 00:37:26,533 --> 00:37:29,599 For to which of the angels did he ever say, You 671 00:37:29,599 --> 00:37:30,733 are my son. 672 00:37:31,433 --> 00:37:34,266 Today, I have begotten you. 673 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,566 And again, I will be a father to him, and he 674 00:37:37,566 --> 00:37:41,000 shall be a son to me. 675 00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:42,866 Now first, get this. 676 00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:45,800 You are my son. 677 00:37:45,866 --> 00:37:48,033 Today, I have begotten you. 678 00:37:48,199 --> 00:37:48,866 Guess where? 679 00:37:49,033 --> 00:37:52,699 That comes from, a quote, from Psalm 2 7. 680 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,166 Their own Old Testament. 681 00:37:55,866 --> 00:37:58,866 Now, some of you, if you have MacArthur study Bibles, 682 00:37:58,866 --> 00:38:02,300 especially, you've got these Old Testament verses in caps. 683 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,699 If you look in your Bible, all the Old Testament verses are in cap. 684 00:38:05,766 --> 00:38:06,433 Some of you may not. 685 00:38:07,933 --> 00:38:11,900 Commentator Richard Phillips says this, including 686 00:38:11,900 --> 00:38:12,933 both quotes. 687 00:38:13,699 --> 00:38:16,966 First, you are my son, today I've forgotten you is from Psalm 688 00:38:16,966 --> 00:38:20,366 2 7, then next, I will be a father to him, 689 00:38:20,366 --> 00:38:21,633 and he shall be a son to me. 690 00:38:21,966 --> 00:38:23,900 That's 2 Samuel 714. 691 00:38:25,766 --> 00:38:29,300 So he's using two Old Testament 692 00:38:29,300 --> 00:38:32,766 scriptures to give you the sun, the title. 693 00:38:32,766 --> 00:38:34,400 This is what Richard Phillips says. 694 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,400 Both of those, quotes from the Old 695 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:40,933 Testament, are messianic declarations of 696 00:38:40,933 --> 00:38:44,533 the Davidic king that find their fulfillment in Christ. 697 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,599 In other words, these are clear messianic declarations 698 00:38:48,599 --> 00:38:51,599 from the Old Testament, declaring 699 00:38:51,599 --> 00:38:55,033 the more excellent name from verse 4. 700 00:38:55,466 --> 00:38:56,233 What does that name? 701 00:38:56,699 --> 00:38:57,433 Sun. 702 00:38:58,466 --> 00:38:59,800 That's the more excellent name. 703 00:39:00,900 --> 00:39:03,466 And he's using the Old Testament to get the word. 704 00:39:05,199 --> 00:39:08,800 centuries before Jesus ever was incarnated into this world. 705 00:39:10,266 --> 00:39:13,433 In both of these quotes, from the 706 00:39:13,466 --> 00:39:16,766 Old Testament, the writer presents the unique 707 00:39:16,766 --> 00:39:20,599 relationship that the Father has with 708 00:39:20,599 --> 00:39:21,800 the Son. 709 00:39:22,333 --> 00:39:26,366 And by the way, he points out that no angel ever experienced such a relationship. 710 00:39:28,566 --> 00:39:31,633 He starts out by saying in verse 5, For to which of the 711 00:39:31,633 --> 00:39:34,633 angels did he ever say, and he quotes, Their 712 00:39:34,633 --> 00:39:37,933 Old Testament, twice, with the title, son, and the answer is, 713 00:39:37,933 --> 00:39:39,000 no angel ever. 714 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:40,533 That's the answer. 715 00:39:42,599 --> 00:39:45,666 Angels are called sons of God, just like we're 716 00:39:45,666 --> 00:39:48,666 called sons of God, but nobody else is called 717 00:39:48,666 --> 00:39:51,500 sun, singular, no s on the end. 718 00:39:54,599 --> 00:39:59,033 Now, we've already gone over that title, Son of God, last time. 719 00:40:00,699 --> 00:40:01,466 Do you remember? 720 00:40:02,366 --> 00:40:05,366 It is absolutely nothing like 721 00:40:05,366 --> 00:40:08,400 or to do with Trenton 722 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,066 is the son of Philip, okay? 723 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,400 Please don't think of it in those terms at all 724 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:15,599 whatsoever. 725 00:40:17,633 --> 00:40:18,066 Remember. 726 00:40:20,233 --> 00:40:21,966 Remember the culture of this day, especially. 727 00:40:23,466 --> 00:40:26,599 The Sun, in those days, was thought of as 728 00:40:26,599 --> 00:40:29,766 being of the very same essence as the Father. 729 00:40:30,666 --> 00:40:33,966 He was the heir to all the father's rights and privileges and 730 00:40:33,966 --> 00:40:35,333 equal in every regard. 731 00:40:35,833 --> 00:40:39,433 So when Jesus is called the Son of God, 732 00:40:39,900 --> 00:40:43,366 It was always immediately understood by 733 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,400 the Jews, categorically as 734 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,633 a title of deity, making him equal 735 00:40:49,633 --> 00:40:53,000 with God, of the same essence as 736 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,066 the Father. 737 00:40:54,133 --> 00:40:56,466 When he said, I am the son of God. 738 00:40:56,766 --> 00:41:00,300 And that is why the Jews considered what he said, as 739 00:41:00,300 --> 00:41:02,333 the highest blasphemy. 740 00:41:02,599 --> 00:41:06,566 And even, look again, we're going to keep looking at this in John 5:18. 741 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:07,699 Look at the end of the verse. 742 00:41:08,066 --> 00:41:11,300 John 5:18, but he was even calling God 743 00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:15,433 his own father, making himself equal with God. 744 00:41:17,099 --> 00:41:21,033 That's what eventually got him killed, at least from the Jewish perspective. 745 00:41:22,900 --> 00:41:24,466 They understood what it meant. 746 00:41:24,900 --> 00:41:25,666 very clearly. 747 00:41:27,733 --> 00:41:31,199 And lots of people get tripped up with 748 00:41:31,199 --> 00:41:34,433 this phrase, Today, I have begotten 749 00:41:34,466 --> 00:41:36,933 you in Hebrews 1:5, 750 00:41:38,166 --> 00:41:39,199 especially the calls. 751 00:41:41,233 --> 00:41:42,900 They get real tripped up with this. 752 00:41:44,599 --> 00:41:46,866 Scripture also refers to Christ as what? 753 00:41:47,166 --> 00:41:49,699 The only begotten of the Father. 754 00:41:51,300 --> 00:41:55,133 In the Greek, only begotten is the manoganes. 755 00:41:55,300 --> 00:41:58,400 The only way I say that word is because I've 756 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:02,233 heard James White say it five billion times when talking about this subject. 757 00:42:03,366 --> 00:42:04,733 The monoganes. 758 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:09,066 It has to do totally and completely with 759 00:42:09,066 --> 00:42:11,900 the utter uniqueness of Christ. 760 00:42:13,533 --> 00:42:15,566 It can literally be rendered one of a kind. 761 00:42:17,466 --> 00:42:20,699 And yet, at the same time, at the same time, stick 762 00:42:20,699 --> 00:42:24,133 with me, it also signifies 763 00:42:24,133 --> 00:42:27,266 that he is of the very same essence as 764 00:42:27,266 --> 00:42:30,333 the Father, begotten only begotten. 765 00:42:32,466 --> 00:42:35,766 This is where we get into that rare Trinitarian 766 00:42:35,766 --> 00:42:39,133 air, that I can only say, We have to be very, very careful 767 00:42:39,133 --> 00:42:42,433 that we don't go too far, and the inner workings of the 768 00:42:42,433 --> 00:42:45,500 Trinity, and I just have a personal opinion that 769 00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:48,733 some of these academic elites go a little too far into 770 00:42:48,733 --> 00:42:50,900 the speculation of how all of that works. 771 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,000 But that's just me old warehouse worker 772 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:55,133 on Hooper Road over here. 773 00:42:56,900 --> 00:42:59,300 And this is hard, OK? 774 00:43:01,199 --> 00:43:03,733 From the human perspective, because I want you to think about it. 775 00:43:04,933 --> 00:43:08,366 When you just automatically think of the term begotten, 776 00:43:08,366 --> 00:43:11,766 you think of, speaking of the origin 777 00:43:11,766 --> 00:43:13,400 of one's offspring, right? 778 00:43:13,633 --> 00:43:17,500 begotten, the begetting of the sun, 779 00:43:17,500 --> 00:43:21,000 and a natural human realm is talking about that 780 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:24,133 point in time at which he comes into being 781 00:43:24,133 --> 00:43:27,733 physically, the begetting of a sun. 782 00:43:29,199 --> 00:43:32,666 But, folks, we know, as 783 00:43:32,666 --> 00:43:36,900 Christians, that Jesus is the uncreated 784 00:43:36,900 --> 00:43:40,066 eternally existing Son of God. 785 00:43:41,900 --> 00:43:44,966 So, clearly, you don't even have to 786 00:43:44,966 --> 00:43:48,133 put your thinking cap on straight, to 787 00:43:48,133 --> 00:43:51,733 understand that begotten cannot be understood 788 00:43:51,733 --> 00:43:55,833 that way, physically, 789 00:43:55,833 --> 00:44:00,066 that it's being understood from Hebrews 1, 5 here, quoted from Psalm 2:7. 790 00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:06,166 Now, in the design of God, each offspring 791 00:44:06,199 --> 00:44:10,233 of every creature begets offspring after its kind. 792 00:44:10,766 --> 00:44:12,500 We learn that in Genesis 1, right? 793 00:44:13,033 --> 00:44:14,599 Cows beget cows. 794 00:44:14,833 --> 00:44:16,400 pigs beget pigs, right? 795 00:44:18,033 --> 00:44:19,033 So here's the sense. 796 00:44:19,333 --> 00:44:22,699 The offspring, of course, bears 797 00:44:22,699 --> 00:44:25,533 the exact likeness of the parent. 798 00:44:26,599 --> 00:44:30,366 The fact that a sun is generated by the Father guarantees 799 00:44:30,366 --> 00:44:33,966 that the sun shares the same essence as the Father. 800 00:44:34,099 --> 00:44:35,433 That's easy to understand, right? 801 00:44:36,433 --> 00:44:38,233 So track this with me here. 802 00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:44,000 This is the sense that scripture 803 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,066 means, when it speaks of the Father 804 00:44:47,066 --> 00:44:49,099 begetting Christ. 805 00:44:50,666 --> 00:44:52,166 Christ is not a created being. 806 00:44:53,666 --> 00:44:56,833 So the beginning, begetting, has nothing to 807 00:44:56,833 --> 00:44:59,766 do with his origin, of course. 808 00:44:59,833 --> 00:45:00,566 He's uncreated. 809 00:45:01,699 --> 00:45:04,699 It has everything to do, what the 810 00:45:04,699 --> 00:45:07,800 words are describing is the fact that he is of 811 00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:09,833 the same essence with the Father. 812 00:45:10,266 --> 00:45:13,866 This is describing to us the absolute 813 00:45:13,866 --> 00:45:17,300 oneness of essence between the 814 00:45:17,300 --> 00:45:20,833 eternally existing Father and the eternally existing Son. 815 00:45:21,633 --> 00:45:22,500 You getting that? 816 00:45:24,133 --> 00:45:25,633 Get out of your mind. 817 00:45:26,599 --> 00:45:29,866 Down here in human land, this expression 818 00:45:29,866 --> 00:45:34,400 of begetting, intending to give us the idea of procreation. 819 00:45:35,199 --> 00:45:36,766 It has nothing to do with that. 820 00:45:38,099 --> 00:45:39,466 We're talking about God here. 821 00:45:40,099 --> 00:45:42,633 We're not talking about normal human beings. 822 00:45:44,833 --> 00:45:49,433 Christ, sonship, Christ 823 00:45:49,433 --> 00:45:52,699 being begotten, is all about his deity. 824 00:45:53,300 --> 00:45:55,533 It's all about his deity, his position. 825 00:45:56,233 --> 00:45:57,733 Again, listen, RC. 826 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:02,099 He says, The Father's 827 00:46:02,099 --> 00:46:05,099 decree declaring the Messiah to be his 828 00:46:05,099 --> 00:46:09,533 son is identified with Christ's exaltation. 829 00:46:10,866 --> 00:46:14,233 Though Jesus is the eternal and divine 830 00:46:14,233 --> 00:46:16,500 Son of God, 831 00:46:17,133 --> 00:46:20,400 And this is the same basic thing he's saying in the other quote. 832 00:46:20,466 --> 00:46:21,000 Let me keep going. 833 00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:25,800 The declaration of redemptive sonship prophesied 834 00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:28,966 in Psalm 27 was conferred on him in 835 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,066 time when he completed his messianic work, 836 00:46:32,066 --> 00:46:35,233 so that he was already the Son, 837 00:46:35,233 --> 00:46:38,400 eternally, yes, but declared 838 00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:42,133 the Son in power in saving, through with his work. 839 00:46:43,099 --> 00:46:46,533 It was conferred upon him, prophesied, in Psalm 840 00:46:46,533 --> 00:46:50,266 2 7, when his complete messianic work was done. 841 00:46:50,900 --> 00:46:51,500 You get me? 842 00:46:52,133 --> 00:46:52,866 This is so good. 843 00:46:54,300 --> 00:46:57,433 So the Spirit of God, through the writer of Hebrews, 844 00:46:57,433 --> 00:47:01,266 is saying, that Jesus is 845 00:47:01,266 --> 00:47:05,533 better than angels, because he has a better name, 846 00:47:05,533 --> 00:47:09,133 Son, the only Son, 847 00:47:09,133 --> 00:47:14,233 the only begotten Son of God. 848 00:47:14,966 --> 00:47:16,000 Angels are servants. 849 00:47:17,233 --> 00:47:19,033 Christ is a son. 850 00:47:20,366 --> 00:47:21,433 Now lastly, for today. 851 00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:23,133 Verse 6. 852 00:47:25,566 --> 00:47:28,800 And when he again brings the first born 853 00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:32,566 into the world, he says, And 854 00:47:32,599 --> 00:47:34,766 let all the angels of God worship him. 855 00:47:36,133 --> 00:47:39,566 So not only has God never called any angels, son, 856 00:47:39,566 --> 00:47:42,800 secondly, Christ is greater because angels 857 00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:44,766 worship him. 858 00:47:45,599 --> 00:47:48,900 And the first thing we have to deal with in verse 6 is 859 00:47:48,900 --> 00:47:52,633 another word that trips up the people in the cults, the 860 00:47:52,633 --> 00:47:54,266 word firstborn. 861 00:47:55,099 --> 00:47:55,466 OK? 862 00:47:55,466 --> 00:47:58,833 Just like the term sun and begotten, 863 00:47:58,833 --> 00:48:02,633 you simply cannot apply the word firstborn 864 00:48:02,666 --> 00:48:06,300 in a strictly human physical understanding 865 00:48:06,300 --> 00:48:09,300 of God, the Son, being the firstborn. 866 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:14,533 That should be obvious by now, even 867 00:48:14,533 --> 00:48:17,766 within the time of this sermon, but unfortunately, 868 00:48:17,766 --> 00:48:20,933 cults and false religions twist all three of those terms 869 00:48:20,966 --> 00:48:23,000 up in order to deceive people. 870 00:48:23,300 --> 00:48:25,466 about the definition of who Jesus is. 871 00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:30,199 If all things came into being through Christ. 872 00:48:30,666 --> 00:48:33,800 And we've already learned that, right, then you should 873 00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:37,033 be able to figure out that 874 00:48:37,033 --> 00:48:40,033 the term firstborn does not mean that 875 00:48:40,033 --> 00:48:42,599 Jesus is the first created being. 876 00:48:42,733 --> 00:48:43,400 Can I get a witness? 877 00:48:44,366 --> 00:48:45,566 You should be able to figure that out. 878 00:48:47,300 --> 00:48:50,666 First born, applied to Jesus, is 879 00:48:50,666 --> 00:48:52,533 just like these other titles. 880 00:48:52,566 --> 00:48:55,199 It's a title, like sun is a title. 881 00:48:55,633 --> 00:48:57,066 It's a title of rank. 882 00:48:57,133 --> 00:48:58,466 It's a title of inheritance. 883 00:48:58,500 --> 00:49:00,133 It's a title of pre eminence. 884 00:49:00,900 --> 00:49:03,366 Firstborn in the Greek is protototicos. 885 00:49:03,500 --> 00:49:05,000 I learned that from Dr. James White, too. 886 00:49:05,766 --> 00:49:09,666 This word does not refer to time, like the very first one born. 887 00:49:09,666 --> 00:49:12,966 It's a position word, prototicos. 888 00:49:12,966 --> 00:49:15,199 It's not a description. 889 00:49:15,900 --> 00:49:17,000 It's a title. 890 00:49:18,366 --> 00:49:21,233 Like when it says, he is the only begotten son. 891 00:49:21,300 --> 00:49:24,666 It's not talking about the fact that he's begotten in the human 892 00:49:24,666 --> 00:49:25,733 sense, as I just said. 893 00:49:26,099 --> 00:49:28,866 It's talking about the fact that he's the chief of everything. 894 00:49:30,300 --> 00:49:31,099 The sovereign. 895 00:49:32,333 --> 00:49:34,266 Protonicos means he's the chief one. 896 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,366 And in the culture of that day, the firstborn son, 897 00:49:39,366 --> 00:49:42,366 the only begotten son, the first begotten, was usually the 898 00:49:42,366 --> 00:49:45,599 chief heir of everything that the father owned, and 899 00:49:45,599 --> 00:49:49,133 he usually became the chief one of the father's estate. 900 00:49:49,166 --> 00:49:52,166 So Prototticos meant that the one 901 00:49:52,166 --> 00:49:56,066 with all the honor and the dignity who stood as the chief one. 902 00:49:56,900 --> 00:49:57,466 That's what it means. 903 00:49:59,633 --> 00:50:02,599 That's the only human sense connection that these terms have. 904 00:50:02,833 --> 00:50:04,466 to Jesus, any of the three. 905 00:50:05,466 --> 00:50:08,633 When he's described as prototicos, not 906 00:50:08,666 --> 00:50:11,966 in terms of physical timing, but rather in terms of 907 00:50:11,966 --> 00:50:14,966 right and authority, he is the 908 00:50:14,966 --> 00:50:16,233 prototicos, okay? 909 00:50:18,633 --> 00:50:21,866 Protonicas is a right to rule, word. 910 00:50:22,533 --> 00:50:23,366 That's what he has. 911 00:50:23,699 --> 00:50:25,199 Think of Colossians 118. 912 00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:25,766 Look at it. 913 00:50:27,366 --> 00:50:30,800 He is also head of the body, the church, 914 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:33,933 and he is the beginning, the firstborn 915 00:50:33,933 --> 00:50:37,666 from the dead, so that he himself will 916 00:50:37,699 --> 00:50:40,699 come to have first place in everything. 917 00:50:41,466 --> 00:50:43,866 Oh, wait a minute, brother Philip, firstborn from the dead. 918 00:50:45,633 --> 00:50:47,400 Had anybody been resurrected before Jesus? 919 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:51,166 Well, yeah, we just studied him. 920 00:50:51,366 --> 00:50:52,699 How about old Lazarus? 921 00:50:52,933 --> 00:50:53,133 Huh? 922 00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:55,366 We got other examples. 923 00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:56,866 Right? 924 00:50:57,599 --> 00:50:58,699 What's the point right there? 925 00:50:59,166 --> 00:51:03,133 First born from the dead, he's the protonicos from the dead. 926 00:51:04,033 --> 00:51:04,766 What does that mean? 927 00:51:05,166 --> 00:51:09,066 He's the chief one of all who had ever been raised from the dead. 928 00:51:09,366 --> 00:51:12,366 He's the protonicos, the main one raised 929 00:51:12,366 --> 00:51:15,733 from the dead, above all the others that's ever been raised from the dead. 930 00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:16,633 is Jesus. 931 00:51:16,933 --> 00:51:17,766 That's what it means. 932 00:51:19,033 --> 00:51:22,199 Now, we're getting close, I'm promising 933 00:51:22,199 --> 00:51:25,800 you, let's read all of our six again. 934 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:30,800 And when he again brings the firstborn into 935 00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:33,800 the world, he says, 936 00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:37,400 and let all the angels of God worship 937 00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:40,533 him, so now we also need to deal with that phrase 938 00:51:40,533 --> 00:51:43,666 in verse 6, if you're paying attention carefully, that word when 939 00:51:43,699 --> 00:51:46,933 he says, he again brings the firstborn 940 00:51:46,933 --> 00:51:48,066 into the world. 941 00:51:49,199 --> 00:51:49,833 What does that mean? 942 00:51:49,933 --> 00:51:52,199 He again brings the firstborn. 943 00:51:52,333 --> 00:51:56,533 Well, RC says that means his incarnation. 944 00:51:58,766 --> 00:52:01,766 He says, as the sun condescends to 945 00:52:01,766 --> 00:52:05,366 assume our human nature, angels worship 946 00:52:05,366 --> 00:52:08,466 him, and R.C. cites Luke 2, 947 00:52:08,466 --> 00:52:11,533 verses 13 14, when suddenly 948 00:52:11,533 --> 00:52:15,133 there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising 949 00:52:15,133 --> 00:52:18,266 God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, 950 00:52:18,266 --> 00:52:21,500 peace among those with whom he is pleased. 951 00:52:21,566 --> 00:52:23,133 And so that's what our seed thinks. 952 00:52:23,366 --> 00:52:26,066 Others, like MacArthur, point a different direction. 953 00:52:27,266 --> 00:52:30,333 They say, when he again brings the 954 00:52:30,333 --> 00:52:34,033 firstborn in the world, the angels are worshiping, refers to the second coming. 955 00:52:35,066 --> 00:52:38,300 When he again, focusing again, connecting 956 00:52:38,300 --> 00:52:40,099 that to the second, coming. 957 00:52:40,099 --> 00:52:43,199 So there are great commentators on both sides of 958 00:52:43,199 --> 00:52:44,566 this little nuance. 959 00:52:44,699 --> 00:52:45,433 But guess what? 960 00:52:45,433 --> 00:52:48,599 My little pea brain figured out with this difference. 961 00:52:49,333 --> 00:52:50,900 The point is the same in the both. 962 00:52:52,199 --> 00:52:53,066 So I don't have a problem. 963 00:52:54,500 --> 00:52:57,566 In fact, Jesus was worshipped 964 00:52:57,566 --> 00:53:01,000 before, during, and after his earthly ministry by the angels. 965 00:53:01,866 --> 00:53:05,400 and we'll be in and after his second coming by the angels. 966 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:10,099 So I'm going to let the smart guys debate the language nuance 967 00:53:10,099 --> 00:53:11,900 here with the word again. 968 00:53:13,133 --> 00:53:16,166 The point is, the writer is using the Old Testament to 969 00:53:16,166 --> 00:53:19,333 prove his point, quoting, right here, another 970 00:53:19,333 --> 00:53:22,766 Old Testament, verse 6, 971 00:53:22,766 --> 00:53:26,666 and let all the angels of God worship him, that's Psalm 977. 972 00:53:27,566 --> 00:53:30,433 Written centuries before Jesus came into the world. 973 00:53:31,233 --> 00:53:34,266 Remember, worship is due 974 00:53:34,266 --> 00:53:35,400 to God alone. 975 00:53:37,400 --> 00:53:40,800 So that means, therefore, the sun is 976 00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:42,000 not a fellow creature. 977 00:53:42,599 --> 00:53:43,166 He's God. 978 00:53:45,133 --> 00:53:48,566 He is the object of angelic worship. 979 00:53:49,866 --> 00:53:52,933 That single command, let all the angels of 980 00:53:52,933 --> 00:53:56,533 God worship him, both demotes, angels, 981 00:53:56,533 --> 00:53:59,766 to servants, and confesses very clearly the deity 982 00:53:59,766 --> 00:54:01,500 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 983 00:54:02,066 --> 00:54:05,000 So, Y'all ready to wrap this up? 984 00:54:05,599 --> 00:54:07,099 Let's wrap it up with a summary statement. 985 00:54:08,666 --> 00:54:11,900 Remember, Jewish Christians, 986 00:54:12,599 --> 00:54:13,699 primary audience here. 987 00:54:15,333 --> 00:54:16,266 Don't forget this. 988 00:54:17,533 --> 00:54:20,366 They are under severe pressure. 989 00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:23,466 At the time this letter was written to retreat to 990 00:54:23,466 --> 00:54:26,633 the Old Covenant, which would have resulted 991 00:54:26,666 --> 00:54:30,000 in this bizarre mixture of Old Testament Judaism and 992 00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:33,166 New Testament Christianity, in which, as we have learned 993 00:54:33,199 --> 00:54:36,199 today, angels had a prominent role in 994 00:54:36,199 --> 00:54:39,566 the Old Covenant, in giving the law. 995 00:54:39,599 --> 00:54:42,833 And so the writer is showing them that, 996 00:54:42,866 --> 00:54:46,199 hey, don't look to lesser 997 00:54:46,199 --> 00:54:47,633 mediators like angels. 998 00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:53,633 If the highest created beings worship 999 00:54:53,666 --> 00:54:58,400 the sun, then leave 1000 00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:01,633 Christ to anything 1001 00:55:01,633 --> 00:55:05,966 associated with angels, is 1002 00:55:05,966 --> 00:55:09,266 to abandon the one who is the heir of all things, 1003 00:55:09,266 --> 00:55:11,900 and who is upholding all things by the word of his power. 1004 00:55:13,033 --> 00:55:14,766 Just leave the angels, dude. 1005 00:55:15,800 --> 00:55:16,766 Go to Christ alone. 1006 00:55:17,733 --> 00:55:18,199 Guys. 1007 00:55:19,766 --> 00:55:21,800 And this same logic applies to us. 1008 00:55:23,599 --> 00:55:26,966 The risen, ruling, reigning, son 1009 00:55:26,966 --> 00:55:29,599 of God, is all sufficient, Christian. 1010 00:55:30,566 --> 00:55:33,666 There is absolutely nothing that we 1011 00:55:33,666 --> 00:55:36,666 need that is not found in him. 1012 00:55:39,300 --> 00:55:42,900 So think of this whole text, just these 1013 00:55:42,900 --> 00:55:44,533 verses, right here. 1014 00:55:44,900 --> 00:55:48,666 Verses 4 6, the exaltation of Jesus, 1015 00:55:48,666 --> 00:55:51,733 the unique sonship of Jesus, his firstborn 1016 00:55:51,733 --> 00:55:55,033 inheritance, his right to angelic 1017 00:55:55,033 --> 00:55:58,166 worship, all of that together in just three verses 1018 00:55:58,166 --> 00:56:01,333 established that he belongs to an 1019 00:56:01,333 --> 00:56:05,666 entirely different category from the angels. 1020 00:56:07,633 --> 00:56:11,766 because he is the one and only Monoganes, Potatacos, 1021 00:56:11,766 --> 00:56:16,333 the one and only begotten son of the living God, 1022 00:56:16,333 --> 00:56:19,500 and how blessed are we to 1023 00:56:19,500 --> 00:56:22,500 understand that now, to understand what 1024 00:56:22,500 --> 00:56:25,500 Son of God means, to understand what begotten 1025 00:56:25,500 --> 00:56:26,699 and only begotten means. 1026 00:56:27,666 --> 00:56:31,199 That is the blessing of the grace of God in our life that 1027 00:56:31,199 --> 00:56:34,500 we get through the writer of Hebrews, and the 1028 00:56:34,500 --> 00:56:37,733 power of the Holy Spirit, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 1029 00:56:37,766 --> 00:56:41,366 to understand in an even deeper way who 1030 00:56:41,366 --> 00:56:44,000 the person of Jesus is. 1031 00:56:44,533 --> 00:56:48,733 And so for today, now we go, and 1032 00:56:48,733 --> 00:56:52,199 we get this great opportunity, again, to 1033 00:56:52,199 --> 00:56:55,366 actually be obedient 1034 00:56:55,400 --> 00:56:58,466 to a direct command, from 1035 00:56:58,466 --> 00:57:01,933 this Protauticos, this Jesus, 1036 00:57:01,933 --> 00:57:05,333 this Son of God, gave us a direct command, 1037 00:57:05,333 --> 00:57:08,699 to do this, what we're fixing to do, in 1038 00:57:08,699 --> 00:57:11,766 remembrance of him, in the church for all time, 1039 00:57:11,766 --> 00:57:14,099 until he comes again. 1040 00:57:14,666 --> 00:57:18,133 And so as we always do, let's turn 1st 1041 00:57:18,133 --> 00:57:20,833 to 1 Corinthians 11. 1042 00:57:25,266 --> 00:57:26,466 Starting in verse 27. 1043 00:57:28,566 --> 00:57:31,633 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup 1044 00:57:31,633 --> 00:57:34,800 of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be 1045 00:57:34,800 --> 00:57:36,900 guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 1046 00:57:38,066 --> 00:57:41,733 The man must examine himself, and 1047 00:57:41,733 --> 00:57:45,433 in so doing, he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 1048 00:57:47,066 --> 00:57:50,199 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks 1049 00:57:50,199 --> 00:57:53,533 judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 1050 00:57:53,833 --> 00:57:56,966 For this reason, many among you are weak and sick, 1051 00:57:57,400 --> 00:57:59,566 and a number, sleep. 1052 00:58:01,099 --> 00:58:01,366 And