Hebrews 1:8-9 – The driving force behind our Messiah, the One who is greater than the angels is His love of righteousness. We understand righteousness to mean “uprightness” describing a person who upholds our common values. In the Bible righteousness is found in the fulfillment of the terms of a covenant with God. Righteousness is absolute faith in and commitment to God (Matthew 3:15; Romans 4:5; 1 Peter 2:24). Flowing from that faith a righteous person gives oneself to the doing of God’s will, and reckoned righteous by God (James 2:23). In our passage here in Hebrews we learn that God loves righteousness and that He is total righteousness.
Contrasted with God’s love for righteousness is His hatred of lawlessness. Evidently righteousness is rooted in the embracing of His law, for to be righteous is to hate lawlessness. This is best understood I think when we consider Galatians 5:14 and understand righteous actions as being filled and walking in the Spirit and lawlessness as being self oriented and walking in the flesh. Because of Jesus’ greater position and love of righteousness He has been anointed above His companions the angels with the oil of gladness. Anointed literally means messiah, this gladness is related to all that He has accomplished and is the fruit of His ministry on our behalf, hence He is above the angels
Hebrews 1:10-12 – Again he moves to another quotation, this time from Psalm 102. Jesus is not only the originator but the sustainer of the universe, the one behind all things, eternally keeping it going until the time that He shall create a new heavens and earth. There is a very interesting thing here, for the scientists among us, The second law of Thermo dynamics, this is the degenerative process observed in the universe. All things will grow old like a garment, but not the one who made them and keeps them, the Son.
Hebrews 1:13-14 The writer demonstrates further the superiority of Jesus over the angels from Psalm 110. But to what angel has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet?” Jesus is greater than the angels because of His position, sitting, which not only speaks of His finished priestly duties, but also indicative of His royal role as King of kings Read (1 Corinthians 15:24-25, 28).
Just as the King is to reign so we see that the angels serve the King on our behalf. Jesus then is greater than the angels in every way. He is Messiah, He is God appearing in flesh, described as Son, Lord, and God. He does the works of God; He creates, sustains, rules, provides atonement, and cleanses sinners from sin. He is worshiped by the angels and all of creation; He is omniscient, omnipotent, unchanging and eternal. What is the writer’s conclusion? We need to pay attention!
