We are continuing to address the great theme of Christ’s supremacy over the angels. Here in this passage, His greatness is declared in His work of creating and dissolving all created things, and in His mediatorial reign.
And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
(Heb. 1:10-14)
This passage begins with an and, which shows us that God the Father is still speaking to the Son. Remember that earlier God addressed the Son as God; here He addresses Him as Creator. The Word of God did the concrete work of laying the foundation of the earth, and He was the one who did the finish work in the heavens. The New Testament tells us repeatedly that the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the agent of all creation. And God said, ‘Let there be light . . .’ What is the Word of God but God speaking, and God spoke (through the Son) in this particular ways, the universe came to be. Consider also John 1:3, Col. 1:16, and verse 2 of this chapter. As Creator, therefore, Christ is God, and much greater than the angels.
He is also the dissolver. In verse 3, we learned that Christ sustains all created things; here we are told that He will not always do so. The heavens and earth which He created are things which wear out. The same processes which undo your favorite pair of jeans also undo the heavens and earth. The created order, as it is now, will perish. Christ never alters, never changes. He is always the same, and His years will never fail. But the created order as it is now will perish. But remember God’s way. Death is followed by resurrection. Christ will fold it all up, but then it will be transformed. This shows us that the creation will not be annihilated, but it will grow old, it will be folded up, and then it will be transformed. And Christ will do it all. This can be identified with the glory the creation will receive when we are revealed as the sons of God at the resurrection (Rom. 8). Just as we will receive a new body, so the universe around us will receive a new body.
So Christ is King. The author repeats his question. To which of the angels did God ever say anyting like this? The nature of the question (and the nature of angels) indicates that the glory of sitting at God’s right hand is immeasurable. Countless sermons could be preached on this text alone.
Sit at My right hand:
Christ is not sitting there to rest, or to recuperate, but to reign. What is the right hand of God but the place of all authority? And if Christ was the agent of creation, what will He do now as the agent of recreation?
Til I make:
Christ is reigning now, and He will continue to reign until His will is fully accomplished. He did not leave in order that His will would not be done. He left and assumed the position of all rule and authority, over every nation and tribe, and He will continue to sit at the right hand of the Father until . . . In other words, while Christ is seated there, before His return, all His enemies (with death the exception) will be subdued to Him. This will be through the means that He ordained, which is the preaching of the gosepl. Through the declaration of Christ’s mediatorial lordship, and the basis of it, which is His death and resurrection, everything will be put right.
Your enemies:
Christ is being spoken of here as king, and these enemies are any enemies of His kingdom. The fact that Christ is reigning does not mean that He has no enemies. It means He has those enemies well in hand. The devil’s capital city has fallen, and the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world is the mopping up operation in the hinterlands. In these outlying areas, there are still enemies to Christ’s kingdom. There are still those who say “we do not want this man to rule over us.” That’s too bad.
A footstool:
Christ’s enemies, all of them, will be subdued and brought under His visible authority. They are under His authority now; this will be made manifest to all so that it is beyond dispute. Christ is Lord; the time is coming when every tongue will confess that He is Lord, and every knee will bow. But this is so important — we do not confess that He is Lord as the means of making Him Lord. He is Lord, and over time His Lordship will be manifested through the fact that the whole earth confesses it. We are preaching and announcing and declaring an accomplished fact. The earth went around the sun before people started believing Copernicus.
If Christ is so much greater than the angels, then, what is the role of angels? We must not make the mistake of reacting, and assign no biblical role whatever to angels. They are fellow servants, and not to be worshipped. However, their liturgical ministry — work in the course of the church — is important. “They are sent forth. They stand in the presence of God, and God sends them to minister to us. “Who will inherit salvation.” They minister to the Christian Church. By faith, we belong to the same company of worshippers as they do. In coming into the New Jerusalem, which is the Christian church, we have also come into an innumerable company of angels (Heb. 12:22). All things, whether in heaven or on earth, have been reconciled in Christ (Col. 1:20). This means that they are servants in the divine household, ministering to the sons of the house, but as such, they are members of the house.
Our response should be gratitude and faith, not vain speculations. Our rule is to be the Word alone. But Scripture does give us some idea what the ministry of these angels in part consists of. First, they protect us from danger. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him” (Ps. 34:7). Secondly, too witness our obedience, sufferings, and worship: Paul was a spectacle both before angels and men (1 Cor. 4:9). Timothy was charged before the elect angels to discharge his ministerial duties (1 Tim. 5:21). The modesty and decorum of women in public assembly is important “because of the angels” (1 Cor. 11:10). Third, they escort us from this life: “and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). And last, to attend us at the day of resurrection: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all His holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matt. 25:31).
But all this service which the angels render to the Church is not the kind of service which would make us worship them. The service that Christ rendered to the Church — by offering up His life, by submitting to burial, by rising from the dead, by ascending into heaven to receive the crown of all nations — is service that makes us aware of our need to worship Him. And as we worship God the Father through our worship of God the Son, in the power of God the Holy Spirit, the world is transformed. The key to world history is right worship.