Christ Better Than Angels, Pt. 2

September 16th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?

Jews believed in the power of a name. For example, Michael means “who is like God”; Daniel means “mighty man of God”; and Nathaniel means “given by God.” The very name “Jesus” (Heb. Yeshua; Eng. Joshua) means “Yahweh saves.” Furthermore, it was prophesied that the Messiah’s name would be “Immanuel,” a Hebrew phrase that means “God with us.” On top of that, Jesus the Messiah was the unique “Son” of God. Although angels are called “sons of God” in Scripture (cf. Job 1:6), God has one unique, or “only begotten,” Son (John 3:16): Jesus. This name He “inherited.” No angel was ever referred to with the title, Son of God. Ever.

In v. 5, the quote is from Psalm 2:7, which says, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Since Psalm 2 anticipated the Messiah, the author of Hebrews affirms that Jesus was the fulfillment of it. Written by David circa 1000 BC, Psalm 2 anticipated a future descendant from David who would be crowned Israel’s ultimate king, a reality declared by God the Father to God the Son in eternity past. Notably, when Jesus was baptized, God’s voice from heaven was heard, saying, “You are my beloved Son. In You I am well-pleased” (Mark 1:11).

The phrase from Psalm 2, “today I have become your Father” refers to Christ’s exaltation and enthronement as Son in eternity past, or “today” in Psalm 2:7. Yes, Jesus “was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4; cf. Acts 13:32-33), but Jesus was the Son of God in eternity past, the meaning of “today” in Psalm 2:7. That decree was always true (Jesus being God’s Son), but it came to ultimate fulfillment after Jesus’ birth and subsequent resurrection. Though He was made lower than the angels for a time (Heb. 2:9), being a man, He became “as much better than the angels…” (Heb. 1:4).

The author of Hebrews grounds his argument yet again from another OT quotation in v. 5, this time from 2 Samuel 7:14: “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men.” These words come from God Himself, promising David a future descendant, namely the Christ, who would build a house for God and rule over the kingdom of God while on the throne of God (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-16). The prophecy did not concern David’s son Solomon, for not only did Solomon not fulfill this prophecy, the later OT prophets looked forward to a greater son of David who would fulfill it. It is therefore not surprising to see the angel Gabriel later appear to a virgin named Mary, telling her about her virgin-born Son: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and…God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:32-33; cf. Rom. 1:3).

Food For Thought
Let us observe first how Jesus is our Prophet in that He speaks to us. For God’s prophets were sent to announce truth and lead us to repentance. Second, observe that Jesus is our Priest in that He is the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) who intercedes for us, praying on our behalf (Rom. 8:34). Imagine that! God the Son is praying to God for Father on our behalf! Note thirdly that Jesus is our King. He sits on the throne in Heaven, at the right hand of God the Father praying for us. Whereas angels, though mighty and awesome, far above mankind, are nothing but messengers of God. Jesus’ name is superior to theirs, for He is the Son of God. If we who profess faith in Christ truly understood Him to be the eternal God in human form, we would stop relegating Him, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses blatantly and falsely teach, to an angel. The author of Hebrews clearly contradicts this. Jesus is the Son of God, not an angel.