Sorrow, Suffering and Satisfied Sanctification

For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise.” Hebrews 2:11-12 (NAS)

Having established that Jesus Christ is superior to the Old Testament prophets and to angels, the divinely directed writer of Hebrews moves to speak of the superior benefits derived by the saints through Jesus coming in the flesh for “a little while lower than the angels.” This takes us to our next Old Testament passage cited by the writer of Hebrews for our edification, Psalms 22:22. “I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.” (NAS)

The Father’s Crowning Achievement

But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:6-8 (NAS)

After demonstrating that Jesus occupies the power position at the right hand of the father in the eternal domain of heaven exercising authority, the inspired penman in the opening verses of Hebrews chapter two, issues the first warning to believers not to neglect the message of God spoken to them through the Son. Those who had heard it, consequently passed the message on and confirmed its legitimacy by performing signs, wonders, and various miracles. The warning supplemented with the reminder that the words spoken through angels were unalterable, then certainly the words of He who brought salvation and sits at the right hand of the majesty on high are deserving of “closer attention”!

Jesus’ Designation, Domain and Dominion

But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies A footstool for Thy feet”? Hebrews 1:13 (NAS)

How appropriate that today, Resurrection Lord’s Day 2010, the next Old Testament citation by the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews to help clinch Christ’s superiority to the angels is from one of the most often quoted and/or alluded to passages from the Old Testament, Psalm 110:1. Here is the verse’s complete rendering as contained in the Old Testament: ‘The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” ’ (NASB)

Thou Art The Same

And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; They will perish, but Thou remainest; and they all will become old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. but Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end.” Hebrews 1:10-12

The inspired writer of the Hebrew letter, continuing to build his case of the superiority of Christ Jesus to the angels, quotes from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 102, verses 25-27. The NASB translation of these verses reads: “Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.”

God Hath Anointed Thee Above Thy Companions

But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions.”   Hebrews 1:8-9

The purpose of the book of Hebrews is to help the reader understand the things seen with the physical eye are temporal, the things seen with the eyes of the spirit, those are the eternal. To the logical mind then, the eternal things bear more weight and value than the temporal. Thus the superiority of Christ, and likewise, the church and the New Covenant, compared to angels, Moses, physical Israel, and the Old Covenant Law.

Who Makes The Angels His Ministers?

And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7

In last week’s installment we looked at Hebrews 1:6 and the writer’s quote of Psalm 97:7 which established Christ Jesus as superior to the angels in heaven based upon His power over death and resulting ascension to the throne in glory. In His righteous judgment of offering Himself on our behalf, He has cast down His adversaries (the rebellious angels) with the guarantee that he will burn them up (Matt. 25:41), delivered those in Christ from the wicked one, and preserved the souls of the faithful. His church (ZION) rejoices in the gladness of His salvation and willingly worships Him along with the remaining faithful in the heavenly realm.

And Let All Worship Him

And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says,” And let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6

If you ever wanted an understanding of how our Great God was preparing to bring forth the Christ and His church according to type and foreshadows, Hebrews is the book you want to study because of its use and interpretation of Old Testament passages within it.

I Have Kept For Myself

Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, they have torn down Thine altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Rom. 11:2b-4

Here in Romans chapter eleven, the apostle Paul, describes the spiritual condition of the physical nation of Israel in his time. His quotes come from 1 Kings 19 and events in the life of the prophet Elijah following his title fight with the prophets of Baal about who was the true God in Israel.

Every Man According To His Deeds

“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds:” Romans 2:5-6 (NASB)

We’ve a few more forays into the book of Romans before we sally forth into other rich New Testament scriptural soil supplemented by Old Testament quotations. Today we consider our text from Romans 2:6 and the apostle Paul’s citation of the inspired psalmist’s utterance as found in Psalm 62:12. Although Paul does not say, ‘as it is written’, in prefacing his citing of the psalmist, it would be very clear from whom he references in light of who he is addressing (the Jews) in this section of his letter.

Accepting And Acting Upon The Things Revealed

But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? At the first Moses says,”I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you.”

Romans 10:19 (NAS)

We will prolong our stay in the book of Romans for a while longer yet as we study the Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament. This week, it’s to chapter 10 and Paul’s citation from the song of Moses as found in Deuteronomy 32:21. The full verse reads, “They have made Me jealous with what is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation”