Putting Angels in Their Proper Place!

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Jesus Christ Is God’s Son

1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

Today we begin studying the book of Hebrews. We don't know who the author is. Some say it is the apostle Paul, but the way the book is written does not reflect his style of writing or way of thinking. What is clear is that the book of Hebrews was written to the Jewish Christian community. The biggest theme is the person of Jesus of God, who is the exact representation of God. 

God had spoken to the Hebrews in the Old Testament in many ways. Through visions, mediators like Moses, kings like David, and the minor and major prophets, who communicated in various ways including object lessons. I.e. Moses and the burning bush, Amos a basket of fruit,  and Isaiah in a heavenly vision in the temple. 

The purpose of Hebrews is that He had now spoken to them through His Son. Jesus was and is of One essence as God himself. The Son was and is the inheritor of everything, and was with God the Father in the Creation of the world. In short, the Son expresses all of the majesty and radiance of the Father, and with the Father sustains all things. 

The time of this book is probably sometime in the 60's A.D. The book does not mention the destruction of the temple, which happened in A.D. 70, nor the persecution the early Christians started facing after the temple was destroyed. One of the issues facing the church was the worship of angels, and the accusation that Jesus was an angel, albeit a powerful one. The writer of Hebrews rebukes this heresy today.

Today people are often obsessed with angels. Though angels played a role as messengers of God in the bible, they are not to be worshipped, let alone be seen as equal to Christ. It can also it is dangerous to say things like, "I am protected by my own personal angel!" Though the angelic host still watches over God's people in a general sense, we are protected by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Also, we have the Holy Spirit of Jesus living within us. Though angels are not unimportant, we have the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, and enlightens His church on earth. 

I think the most important thing in this passage is that Jesus is the exact image of God. The word used also means "stamp". All of the character of God is stamped on Jesus and everything He does carries His imprint. Though we cannot see God, the world saw Jesus, which means they saw God. And have seen him captured in all 4 gospels, by people who lived in his day as well. We see the way he lived, prayed, healed, loved, and relied on His Father in heaven. 

Simply put we cannot spend enough time with Jesus. As we spend time with him, stay rooted in him, and abide in Him, we can become the kind of person he would be if he were us.  This book was of great importance to the church in the 1st century and of great importance to us today. We need to see Jesus, the exact imprint of God, and share Him with those who don't yet know Him.