And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”
Hebrews 1:6,7
In business and in life, we’re always trying to separate ourselves. To be unique. To be different from the rest. But we want to be more than just different. We want to be better than those around us. To be above the crowd.
And in the world of faith, there is one thing that really separates one from another. That makes it different from the rest. The one thing that separates the men from the boys in the world of religions. And that one thing is worship.
Show me who and what you worship, and I’ll show you what you truly believe. Oh sure, you can recite prayers and lists of rules with the best of them. You could recount chapter and verse of Bible verses till the cows come home. You might even have memorized long catechisms written long ago, in another time.
But none of that really tells us who you think God is. It doesn’t show your heart and what’s really going on deep inside. Those things only hide that place in your soul that we don’t want anyone to know about. To be kept secret. To hide from everyone.
It may sound simple to say, but the person or thing that’s worshiped is always above the worshiper. We never worship what’s below us. We don’t even worship what’s beside us. We only worship that person or thing that’s above us. After all, we only worship someone or something that’s more powerful. That can help us. That can save us.
That why the people reading this letter, the Hebrews, are remined up front about angels and who they worship. You see, if angels’ worship someone else, then they can’t be at the top. There’s got to be someone above them. Someone more powerful then they are.
Notice who the angels are to worship. He’s called “his firstborn.” Not just some firstborn. Not just any firstborn. But his firstborn. The firstborn of God. And in that time, in that culture, the firstborn had all the rights and privileges of their father.
Everyone reading this letter would immediately be taken back in their memory to the book of Psalms. It was their hymnal and there was a promise about their coming messiah, their savior, who was going to rescue them spiritually, politically, and physically.
He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
Psalm 89:26,27
This firstborn has a very special place in history. Look at the two sides of the coin about their relationship.
Fatherly relationship. This son calls out to his father. But not just any father, but “my” father. And this isn’t just some other father, it’s Father with a capital F. This is the Father of all the world. His Father is God. Period. There’s no doubt about this. And His Father is the Rock. Not just some rock, but the Rock. And not just any old savior, but my Savior.
Sonship relationship. The Father appoints Him as His Son. His one and only Son. The Father and Son have a most unique and special relationship They share everything. There are no hidden agenda or barriers between them. The Father also appoints him as not just another king among the neighborhood of kings, but as the most exalted king on all the earth.
As you can see, this Father and Son have the most special relationship in all the universe. They are one even though they are different and unique. They have a relationship that no one here on earth has.
Jesus himself picks up on this very same truth when he’s talking and praying with his disciples. He says that he and the Father are one[1]. He also asks God to glorify him so that he can glorify God the Father[2]. Jesus also says that he’s the one and only one that God the Father has sent[3].
I don’t know how you can get any clearer than this. Jesus is saying that he’s God’s one and only, unique Son. And he also saying that he’s God. Period. There can be no misunderstanding. Jesus claims to be God are right there for everyone to see. You can’t miss them.
So, the question is what are we going to do with his claims to be God. There are really only two options. Either he wrong or he right. That’s it. He’s either telling the truth or he’s lying through his teeth. If he’s lying, then we should run away from him with all our might. But if he telling the truth, then we should run to him with everything we are. We need to fall down and worship him His claims to be God are what separates Jesus from everyone else.
Noodling Questions
Why do we separate people into different groups?
Which is more important to you: Fatherly or Sonship? Explain.
How has Jesus’ claims to be God changed your life?
[1] John 17:11
[2] John 17:1
[3] John 17:3
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