Daily Devotions
Hebrews
"Obtained a more excellent name"
Text: Hebrews 1:4b
THE DOCTRINE OF ANGELS
The Scriptures teach about angels. Hebrews 1 gives us significant insights about the angels of God. Let’s look at the first comparison between Jesus and the angels of God.
“Having become so much better than the angels,
as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they.”Hebrews 1:4
1. Definition of “angels” (anggelon)
a) An angel is simply “a messenger”.
b) They are special and powerful messengers of God.
2. The angels are ranked higher than man. The following text bears this up. Psalm 8 was written by King David and it was a reflection on the excellent name of God. In this meditation David mused over the creation of God.
a) There were moon and stars God had created (Cf. Psalm 8:3)
b) Man was also a special creation of God (Cf. Psalm 8:4)
c) Angels were also mentioned in the context of the creation of man.
“For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honour.”Psalm 8:5
d) If man is covered with “glory and honour” then angels have been given even greater glory and honour for they are ranked above man!
INHERITANCE OF A MORE EXCELLENT NAME
One of the ways to measure the stature of a person is to look at his “name”. Two things are highlighted in this comparison between Jesus and the angels of God (Hebrews 1:4).
1. Jesus is described as “so much better than the angels”.
The very nature of Jesus as One who is Deity would immediately make him “better than” the mightiest of angels!
2. He is also described as having a special “inheritance” bestowed upon Him by God.
The word “inheritance” is not limited to ownership of physical or material things. It also includes a person’s name. Jesus had the most excellent name bestowed on Him (Cf. Philippians 2:5-11).