Search
Scripture Reading: Heb. 1—2
In these messages we will continue to see a general sketch of the New Testament in the light of Christ and the church. As we have already pointed out, the entire New Testament reveals a universal man, which is composed of Christ as the Head and the church as the Body. The New Testament can be divided into three sections. The first section is composed of the first five books, from Matthew through Acts, showing us the history of this universal man. The second section comprises the twenty-one Epistles from Romans through Jude, giving us a full definition and explanation of this universal man. The last section is the book of Revelation, which shows us the ultimate consummation of this universal man. Thus, the entire New Testament deals with the universal man and the history, definition, and consummation of this man.
The first part of the second section includes the books from Romans through Philemon. These thirteen Epistles give us a full definition, a full picture, of the Body of this universal man. Then, the other eight Epistles, from Hebrews through Jude, serve as a supplement to this definition. These last eight Epistles comprise five items of supplement. The first item of the supplement is the book of Hebrews, which is an explanation of the difference between Christ and Judaism. The thirteen Epistles from Romans through Philemon do not address the problem of Judaism and the difference between Christ and Judaism. Therefore, a supplementary book is needed to clarify this matter. The second book, James, is a supplement dealing with the relationship between works and faith. The first thirteen Epistles stress the matter of faith. They do not give us a clear understanding about the relationship of works and faith, so again there is the need of a supplement. First and 2 Peter, as the third item of the supplement, deal with the government of God. Again, the first thirteen Epistles do not touch the matter of the divine government of God. Today in this universe there is the divine government of God. We must keep all the rules of this divine government. If we violate any one of them, we will suffer something. The fourth item of the supplement, the Epistles of John, deals with the fellowship in God’s divine family. The last item, Jude, deals with apostasy, the drifting away of the church from the right track of God’s economy.
Hebrews, as the first item of the supplement, is a rich and high book dealing with the matter of Judaism. I have conducted a study of this book on at least three main occasions. I have spent many years in it, and I have found that it is a rich yet difficult book. It is not easy for its readers to understand.
Before Christ was incarnated as a man, God gave the people of Israel a number of items, all of which compose Judaism. In Judaism, the Jewish religion, there is first of all God Himself. Second, there are the angels. Following these there are the leaders, such as Moses and Joshua. Fourth, there is the priesthood with the priests, such as Aaron and his sons. The last item is the old covenant, including all the sacrifices, the offerings, the tabernacle, and the temple. Judaism is composed of these five items — God, the angels, the leaders, the priests, and the old covenant. If you take away these five items, Judaism will collapse. God is so good, and the angels are wonderful. We highly esteem Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and his sons the priests. We also consider the old covenant as something marvelous. Altogether, Judaism is very good, even wonderful, because in it we have God, the angels, the leaders, the priests, and the old covenant.
The Gentiles never had such leaders as Moses and Joshua and such a person as Aaron. Neither did the heathen religions have such a covenant from God. Therefore, Judaism is altogether good. How then could the Hebrew believers, as people of God, forsake this religion? This bothered the Hebrews, because they had inherited all the things of Judaism, but then they believed in Christ and became Christians. On the one hand, they had received Judaism, and on the other hand they had received Christ. They realized that they needed Christ, but they could not give up Judaism. This became a bothering to them. It was under such a situation that Paul wrote this book to clarify the situation. He told them that Christ is altogether better than all of those five items.
In Judaism there is God, but Paul told the Hebrews that Christ is the very God. If we do not have Christ, we have God in terminology and name only, not in reality. The reality of this God is Christ, so in order to have God, we need Christ. Christ is better than Judaism because Judaism gives us God in name but not in reality, whereas Christ is the very embodiment and reality of God. If we have Christ as our reality, there is no need to hold on to Judaism. Since we have the reality, there is no need to keep the mere terms.
In the first two chapters of Hebrews, Paul tells us that Christ is better than the angels (1:4—2:18). Then chapters 3 and 4 tell us that Christ is better than the Jewish leaders (3:1—4:13). Christ is better than Moses and better than Joshua. From Hebrews 4:14 through 7:28, Paul tells us that Christ is also superior to Aaron and all the priests of the order of Aaron. Then from 8:1 through 10:18, Paul tells us that Christ’s new covenant is superior to the old. Chapters 11 through 13 are a final section of this book, speaking of faith as the unique pathway to follow Christ, among other matters. We should keep these sections of Hebrews in mind. On the one hand, this book is hard to understand, but on the other hand, no other book is so clearly divided as Hebrews. The first four sections tell us that Christ is superior to everything else, and the last section shows us the way to go on and follow Christ.
In addition, each of the five sections contains a particular exhortation or warning. In order to understand this book, we must take care of these five warnings. The warnings appear either at the end of a section or midway through it. Hebrews 2:1-4, for example, is the first exhortation and warning, found in the middle of the first section of this book.
The first three verses of Hebrews are the introduction of this book. This book begins by telling us that God is speaking in the Son. In the Old Testament time God spoke through many prophets, but now in the New Testament age God speaks in the Son. The Son is the Word of God, the explanation and expression of God.
The first section of Hebrews, from 1:4 to the end of chapter 2, reveals to us that Christ is superior to the angels because of two things. First, since Christ is God Himself and God is certainly superior to the angels, Christ is superior to the angels. Second, because Christ is also a man, as a man He is superior to the angels. We should give up wanting to be like an angel. Many times I have thanked the Lord that I was created as a man, not as an angel, because man is superior to the angels. Not only is God superior to the angels, but man is also superior to them. Therefore, in the first two chapters Christ is superior to the angels because according to chapter 1 He is God, and according to chapter 2 He is man.
Chapter 1 quotes the prophecies in the Old Testament to tell us that the Son, through whom God speaks, is God Himself (v. 8). The angels, however, are merely the servants of God and even of those who inherit God’s salvation (vv. 6-7, 14). Those who inherit God’s salvation are men. Therefore, we are the masters, and the angels are our servants.
Chapter 2 tells us that this very Christ, who is the Son of God and who is God Himself, one day became a man. This very God came into man to mingle Himself with man. By the incarnation of Christ the position and standard of man were very much uplifted. The incarnation of Christ uplifted man’s standard and position because God Himself became a man. Formerly, the angels could boast of their position in heaven, but now we can return the boast to them. We can say, “Angels, you do not have God within you, but we do. God is not one with you, but God today is one with us!” By the incarnation God took the same position as man, and man shared the same position with God. If the president of the United States came into our meeting and sat among us, everyone would feel uplifted in position, sharing the same position with the president. Today, however, man and God share the same position, because God became a man.
Hebrews 2 tells us that one day this man, Jesus, who for a time was made a little inferior to the angels, resurrected and ascended to the third heaven and was crowned with glory and honor (v. 7). A man is now in heaven crowned with glory and honor. Once again we can boast to the angels and say, “Angels, you are in heaven, but you are not crowned. There is now a man crowned in heaven.” Therefore, who is higher, man or the angels? Would you rather be a man or an angel? We no longer should prefer to be angels. We should be fully satisfied to be a man, having Christ within us and being in Christ. In Him we also are crowned with glory and honor. Moreover, He and we, we and He, have the same life and nature. He has the divine life, and we do also. He is the Son of God, and we are the sons of God. We are His brothers, and He is our elder Brother. The angels, however, are merely our servants, but we are sons of God and brothers of Christ.
By Christ’s incarnation He put on the human nature, and through His resurrection and ascension we have His divine nature. Now if God says to us, “You are humans,” we can reverently say, “Yes, but You too have the human nature.” If He says, “I have the divine nature,” we can say, “Lord, we have the divine nature also.” This is the reason that man today is superior to the angels. Moreover, one day Christ will bring all His dear ones, the sons of God, His many brothers, into glory (v. 10).
In this way the first two chapters of Hebrews tell us that Christ as the Son of God, the very God Himself, through His incarnation, ascension, and glorification made Himself the same as we are and made us the same as He is. We are human, and He made Himself human. He is divine, and He made us to have the divine life and nature. Since He is such a man, and at the same time God Himself, He is superior to the angels. This is the message of Hebrews 1 and 2. In chapter 1 Christ is God, and in chapter 2 He is man. He is the God-man, the mingling of God and man.
Within this section there is the first warning. The first four verses of chapter 2 exhort us to be careful. We have so great a salvation that brings us into the nature of God and the glory of God. If we neglect such a salvation, we will suffer loss. The Hebrew believers should not go back into Judaism. In Judaism at most there is God in name only, along with the angels, but there is no reality of God and nothing of the human nature uplifted into the divine nature and brought into the divine glory. The great salvation mentioned in 2:3 is much higher than Judaism. If we neglect such a great salvation, we will lose much.
Our Christ is wonderful. He is the reality and glory of God, and He is superior to the angels. Hence, if we are one with Him, we also are superior to the angels. We have to tell the angels that we are superior and that they are merely our servants. All the angels, regardless how wonderful they are, are only our servants, ministering to us. Acts 12 tells us that Peter had an angel. When Peter knocked at the door of the house of Mary, those within said, “It is his angel” (v. 15). We all have an angel as our servant, and sometimes the Lord may give us a number of angels to protect us. We are superior to the angels because we are in Christ and Christ is superior to them.
Therefore, there is no need to return to Judaism. Let us forget Judaism and cling to Christ. Christ is God not only in name but also in reality, and He is a man in the glory. We are now one with Him, so both we and He are superior to the angels. In the first section of this book, the writer helped the Hebrew believers to drop Judaism by taking Christ as the superior One.
