1) How can you describe Jesus while speaking of God? What is the relationship between the two? What do they share? How are they different?
2) What is the status of the angels? What place do they have in the hierarchy of heaven?
Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians with the goal of helping them realize and remember how superior their faith in Christ was compared to their Jewish beliefs. The writer, who is unknown, starts by showing how Jesus is superior to the prophets. Verses 1-2 say, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” The writer continues by showing the readers that Jesus truly was God. Verse 3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” The understanding that Jesus was both fully God and fully man was and is absolutely fundamental to the faith.
The next comparison made is between Jesus and the angels. According to verse 4, “So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.” The writer then quotes from several Old Testament passages showing how the Son is higher than the angels. Angels are part of God’s creation; Jesus is the Creator Himself.
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