Lord of Hosts

Hebrews 1:3(b) - 14

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,
    and he shall be to me a son”?

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God's angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,
    and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.[a]
But you are the same,
    and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

In these verses of Hebrews chapter one, I see several points of contrast made between the Son of God and angels.  It is quite clear, by the end of the first chapter, that angels are not to be worshiped or regarded as having any form of equality with the Savior.  The first three verses of this chapter establish that Christ is perfectly God, has ultimate power, accomplished the work of purification for sins, has the place of honor, and holds the title of "Son."   Beginning with verse five, there are seven Old Testament references to phrases which God the Father said regarding His Son.  The author of Hebrews asks "to which of the angels did God ever say....?" The references give multiple points of difference, setting Christ apart and making Him superior to the angels.  I will try to recognize and expound on all the contrasts between Christ and His angels in the following bullet points.  See if you can find more!

• vs 5 - "You are my Son..." and "I will be to him a father...."  There is only One who holds the position of Son and heir to the throne of God.  It is Jesus Christ.  The phrase, "today I have begottten you" is not to mean that Christ was created at the time of His incarnation when Mary carried Him in her womb; but rather it simply means that the Son of God came to the inhabitable world at a finite point in time.  This is also referenced in verse 6.  There is no angel who has been called "Son".  There was one angel who coveted the position of Most High.  He (Lucifer) was cast out of heaven and will be conquered at the end of the age.
• vs 6 - "Let all the angels worship Him"   The angels are ministers to God, not the other way around.  Angels bow down and worship the Lord.  In God's holy throne room there are myriads of angels and creatures who worship Christ saying, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain..." (Rev 5:11-12).  Angel messengers warned those that they visited in scripture not to bow down and worship.  There is one condition.  Christ, before His coming in the form of man, was manifest as "the Angel of the Lord" where Old Testament passages tell of men who worshiped Him (Exodus 3:2-6).
•  vs 7 - "He makes His angels winds. . ."  Here are three statements about angels.  First, "He makes" shows that angels are created beings.  The Son has always existed in trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Second, "His angels" points out that the hosts of heaven belong to God.  In fact, even the evil fallen angels belong to Him or else He would not have the power over them to cast them into hell and lock them up for an eternity of punishment along with all people who reject the Savior.   Third, "He makes His angels winds..."  literally means that they are spirits.  This is similar to God because He is spirit; Christ became man and dwelt in body with us, so this makes Him greater than the angels.  Though Christ's place on earth was a lowly state compared to angels for a little while, He is worthy of praise because of the task He accomplished while He was here.  In the form of man, He was still ministered to by angels on many occasions.  He was still Lord of Hosts who created the angels and all things.  Regarding the phrase, "and His ministers a flame of fire," I suspect that we are to understand that angels have a type of glory because they were created by God, belong to Him and serve Him.  Verse 7 is a reference to Psalm 104:4 regarding the angel's presence at creation.  There is also more of a  visual description of angels found Ezekiel 10.
• vs 8 - "Your throne, O God, is forever. . . "  It is fascinating here that the Father addresses the Son as "God".  This shows Christ's equality with the Father.  Jesus said in John 10:30, "I and the Father are One."  So the nature of God is that He is forever eternal.  And  the phrase, "The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom," is also about the nature of God.  His uprightness means that the very character of Christ is approved by God.  Uprightness is not attributed to the angels.  Angels are holy (Mark 8:38), respectful of authority (Jude 1:9), obedient (Psalm 103:20), but they are found to be imperfect which makes their uprightness of character conditional upon their obedience (Job 4:18-19).  "Your uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom" refers to Christ's rule over all things.  Uprightness is the very sign of His authority.  Angels do not rule over anything but rather are powerful ministering agents to their God and Creator.
• vs 9 - "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. . "  Again, God the Father is speaking to the Son.  Here, He shows the righteous judgment of Christ who is the judge of the living and the dead (Job 10:42).  "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."  Anointing oil has several purposes.  This could represent that Christ is set apart from the angels in a ceremonial ordination of sorts.  It could also mean that God has commissioned Christ to take the "healing oil" of salvation to all who would trust in Him.  In either case, Christ remains superior to angels on this account.
• vs 10 - "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands."  Again, the Father calls His Son "Lord" identifying Christ's deity and equality with the Father.  Who created the earth?  The perfect Sunday school student would answer, "God!"  Being One with the Father, Christ was present at creation.  Not only was He present, He was the Creator.  All things were created by Christ and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17).  In the Lord's answer to Job, He spoke of the beginning when the foundation of the earth was created.  In that time the "morning stars" sang together and the "sons of God" shouted for joy!  (The phrase, sons of God with lower case 's' - is translated as "angels" here).  The angels were watching the Lord create all things.  Christ created; angels watched and worshiped.
• vs 11 & 12 - "they will perish...they will all wear out..You will roll them up....they will be changed."  'They' refers to the earth and the heavens mentioned in verse 10.  The earth will one day be destroyed and the universe will collapse (II Peter 3:4-13); but God is eternal and immutable (unchanging).  The earth, the heavens and angels are created beings.  We are created.  God is not.  God is infinite.  He is the Most High.
• vs 13 & 14 - "Sit at my right hand until...." indicates that there is a period of time before the final judgement is brought to the earth.  There is, however, a judgment that Christ brings to each person who encounters Him.  When faced with the Savior, each person must choose to see Him as He is or refuse His redemptive power (John 9:39), thus bringing judgment upon oneself.  "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."(John 12:31-32).  God has set Christ apart from the angels once again in that all things are subject to Him and He draws all mankind to Himself for judgment.  The angels are His servants who "minister to those who are to inherit salvation."  Angels do service for God to be ushers to those who will inherit salvation.  Even now as angels are messengers and ministering spirits to us, so we will one day judge the angels (I Corinthians 6:2-3).  Therefore, do not worship the angels, but rather worship Christ who has made the way for us to inherit this great salvation!