Christ Better Than Angels, Pt. 1

September 15th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 1:2a, 4 …in these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son… 4 having become as much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

The writer of Hebrews presents Jesus as superior to everything, the Prophet through whom God now speaks (v. 2). As the Son of God, Jesus is the Inheritor of all things, the Creator of everything, the Radiator of God’s glory, the Representor of God’s nature, the Sustainer of God’s creation, the Purifier of the believer’s sins, and the Mediator between God and man (1:1-3). Jesus is therefore greater than all! In spite of this, some of the Jewish believers whom the writer of Hebrews addresses were apparently exalting angels above Jesus or on par with Jesus.

Angels, or “messengers” (Heb. malak; Gr. angelos), are mentioned over 260 times in the Bible—more than 100 times in the OT and over 160 times in the NT. Unlike modern depictions of angels, in the Bible angels are awesome creatures, oftentimes bringing great fear to those to whom they appear (Judges 13:20; Isa. 6:1-7; Matt. 28:3). Yet they are in fact mostly invisible to the human eye. When they are visible, angels look like men (Gen. 18:2; 19:1, 2; Mark 16:5), at times shining with glorious light (Matt. 28:3; Luke 2:9), and at times having wings (Exod. 25:20; Isa 6:2; Ezek. 1). Scripture does not reveal how many angels actually exist, but they are said to be ten thousand times ten thousand (Rev. 5:11), and they exist to worship and serve God and man (Job 38:7; Ps. 103:20; Isa. 6:1-3; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 4:8; 5:9-12).

Angels mediated the giving of God’s Law on Mount Sinai (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19), revealing the future (Dan. 10:10-15; Rev. 17:1; 21:9; 22:16), and announcing the births of both John and Jesus (Matt. 1:19-24; Luke 1:11-28; 2:9-12). While ministering to believers (Ps. 34; 91:11-12; Heb. 1:!4), angels rejoice at the conversion of sinners (Luke 15:10), observing Christians (1 Cor. 4:9; 11:10; 1 Tim. 5:21), and carrying the deceased saints into the presence of God (Luke 16:22). Prior to the second coming of Christ, angels will be intricately involved in meting out God’s final judgments upon unbelievers (Rev. 6-16) and executing the judgment against Satan and his emissaries (Rev. 19:17—20:3, 10). When Jesus does return, the angels will call forth God’s elect (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16-17) and separate the wheat from the chaff (Matt. 13:39-42).

The very mention of Christ’s superiority over the angels in vv. 4-14 points to the fact that angels had become prominent in the thoughts and beliefs of Jewish Christians—perhaps too prominent. Some of these professed believers were in danger, compromising Jesus’ superiority and lapsing back into Judaism, their former religion. Being Christian had put them in imminent danger of persecution. Also, they were likely being ostracized by fellow Jews who had rejected Jesus as Messiah. Not wanting to leave their newfound faith, perhaps they began to surmise that Jesus was an angel, in keeping with the beginnings of Gnosticism in that day which worshiped angels. Even the Colossian church was being warned by Paul: “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels” (Col. 2:18).

It is known that Jews believed in guardian angels for individuals and nations, an angel in charge of the sea, angels of weather, angels as wardens of hell, destroying angels, even an angel in charge of death. Many may have decided that Jesus was just the greatest of these angels. Given this, perhaps many in the audience of the Hebrews author had simply decided to adjust their faith and relegate Jesus to an angel. Doing so might just allow these Jewish Christians to be accepted once again into the Jewish families they left when they became Christians. Yet doing so would clearly be a danger to their souls. For Jesus is not an angel, He is God in flesh. And the author of Hebrews set out to reiterate this point throughout his epistle.

Food For Thought
Persecution runs rampant today for outspoken Christians. And why not? We speak the words of God and live a life that convicts sinners. Jesus Himself knew that the world hated Him simply because He called them sinners (John 7:7). People hated Jesus, and they literally hate us too for our beliefs and the truth we preach. Yet some who call themselves Christians neither know the word of God nor live the word of God. Some have even figured out how to live under the radar without actually denying Jesus—all in an effort to blend in and avoid persecution. Call Jesus a great man and messenger of God, like an angel! But this denies Christ His glory. And it reveals a false faith in the one who has no courage to stand for the truth of the gospel.