 Welcome back everyone. We will continue. We were in Hebrews chapter 1 and we had this question from Sey where he was asking about the ministers, the ministers of God basically let me read it from NKJV verse 7 from Hebrews 1 and of the angels he says who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. So Sey my understanding is because we are talking in the context of angels this passage refers to angels. It's describing angels as firstly they are spirits like God is a spirit spiritually you know we know that even human beings we have been given a spirit so it's describing the nature of angels in that way. So angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. So as we go further down I think it's verse 14 even there it'll talk about the angels as the ministers of God. What are ministers? Ministers are nothing but those who serve. So when we take this term ministers it's primarily referring to the angels that they are servants or if servant sounds you know a little too wrong to some of us basically those who do the bidding of God. So they are in the service of God them as flame of fire. Now coming to your point where you said that sometimes this is used for men and women who serve God. Though it's in the context of angels I personally do not think there is anything wrong if we use this for men and women as well. So are you okay with that? Okay I think I can agree here there's nothing wrong. Yeah that's okay. Sure. Thank you. Thank you. Say Divya I know I had a question. Thank you Pastor. Yes yes Pastor. I was looking at this verse that talks about I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son that has been taken from 2nd Samuel 714. So I just was looking back at the reference in the Old Testament. So as I was reading it I had a question regarding whom is that referring to is it because it is in the context of David telling like the law telling David through Nathan the Prophet. So and he's talking about Solomon in that context his son Solomon but in the same verse it says if I read 2nd Samuel 714 the B part actually I had a question regarding that B part of it because it says if he commits iniquity I will chase in him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. So I was confused when I read the B part because if it is referring to Solomon I can understand but if it is you know quoted in the New Testament with reference to Jesus Christ I got a bit confused with that. Yeah thank you. Yeah a really good question. Frankly I have never thought about this but this is how I would look at it. You see there are courts in the Psalms from passages of other Old Testament books but these courts are limited like how we just read you know the B part has been excluded. So you only have I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. So what we would do is we would just stick with what has been mentioned because you know this manner of speech is prophetic. Okay and it's so beautiful that God through the normal lives of people like you know David talking about Solomon or whoever right. God has taken that from somebody's life and it has actually become a like a prophetic indicator for the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay so we will take that limited those limited lines and we will understand it the way the Spirit of God is presenting it to us. So obviously as we read these words in Hebrews chapter one they're not referring to you know any of David's sons and obviously they were human and they they went into error and so many other things happen but God is not putting the focus and all those all those things. He's just putting the focus on the fact that there is a father-son relationship okay between David and his sons and just that focus has been put here to describe the relationship between Father God and the Son Jesus Christ. So it's a prophetic way of talking and we will limit ourselves to what has been presented. Okay does that help Divya? Is it confusing you? Yeah it helps and you know if we just look at the first part of it yeah it makes sense yeah yeah and even in second Samuel though it is referring to Solomon towards the end of it there is a promise given to David like your kingdom will be established forever through your seed and all that so it's kind of yeah we could think of but yeah only this this particular line was a bit confusing for me yeah. Yeah so if you recall when we studied prophetic ministry we said something like prophetic foreshortening where it's really funny how you know the how from different contexts themes are taken to communicate a message to us so in a given passage maybe one phrase is applicable and then the rest of the lines are not applicable and then suddenly another line is applicable so we have to flow with the spirit to get that not everything will be relevant. Okay yeah got it got it. Yes yes thank you Divya. All right so we were in this place where we said that the right of the Hebrews is going quite specific to address the reverence that these Christians had for angels and he doesn't want them to worship angels so he's trying to make it clear to them that look there is only one begotten son and that is the Lord Jesus Christ and angels why is he talking about the Lord Jesus as the angel because you see even in Genesis there is some reference I think this is in Genesis chapter 6 verses 2 and 4 and also Job chapter 1 verse 6 where angels are referred to as sons of God okay so we know that even though there is such a reference you have to interpret scripture in the light of the rest of scripture so God did not make angels in his own image so they're not really the sons of God in that sense and so this in this passage the writer is making clear to them that Jesus is the begotten son or the one who is born to the Father and the angels are but spirits they are but spirits I'll read verses 6 and 7 but when he again brings the first one into the world he says that all the angels of God worship him and of the angels he says who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire so angels they are spirits and that they are in service to God that's that's all he talks about angels and one more thing he establishes here he says let the angels of God worship him now he referred to the Lord Jesus as the first one also so you see just in a couple of verses a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus has been painted for us and create begotten son express image you know the radiance of God so many things to describe the Lord Jesus and now the first born whereas you don't see any of the angels as the born of God so the first born into the world that's how he refers to us the Lord Jesus Christ giving him all the supremacy and he also points out that the angels are subject to Jesus Christ so Jesus is above the angels what what do the angels then need to do they need to worship him even that he's making it clear the angels are supposed to worship Jesus Jesus is above the angels now let's move on I would like a request someone to please read for us from verse 8 all the way to verse 14 please shall I read yes can I read okay I think let Divya go ahead because she responded first yes Divya sure but to the son he says your throne of God is forever and ever a sceptre of righteousness is a sceptre of your kingdom you have love righteousness and hated lawlessness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions and you Lord in the beginning laid the foundations 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'll fold them up and they will be changed but you are the same and your ears will not fail but to which of the angels has he ever said so that my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool are they not all ministering spirits and forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation thank you Divya so again each of these scriptures are power packed and as we've been saying courts from the Old Testament are in the book of Hebrews so from verse 8 to verse 14 we have passages from Psalm 45 verses 6 and 7 Psalm 102 verses 25 through 27 a Psalm 110 verse 1 so just quoting the Old Testament to establish some truth here so in verse 8 the writer says but to the son he says your throne oh God is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom so you see the interaction between the father and the son now people say oh where is the word trinity in the Bible it's not mentioned there is no such word called trinity but you see there are passages where you can see the communication you know between the persons in the trinity we know that Jesus said oh the Holy Spirit the father will send the Holy Spirit he will come he will lead you into all truth so Jesus talked about the father and the Holy Spirit so three persons in the trinity you know we we know that scriptures give us sufficient evidence about the three people in the godhead the father the son and the Holy Spirit now in this particular verse we are told but to the son he says meaning the father is talking to the son so you see it's giving us a picture of the interaction within the trinity so they talk to each other and what is the father saying the fellowship fellowship of the trinity is revealed here your throne oh God is forever and ever why would the father call the son god and also notice your throne so there is a throne so it helps us understand that the father honors the son as a ruler as one who reigns your throne oh God so there is honor you see and we always talk about this we talk about the fact that three persons in the trinity the godhead they are co-equal meaning one is not above the other you know in that sense they're all co-equal so yes the father is calling the son god and giving him honor and also pointing to the fact that he is a ruler he rules he reigns in other words you know when the father calls the son god one thing we can see in Hebrews 1 is Jesus is deity Jesus God became a man came to the earth that's what we celebrated you know during Christmas God became a man that's that's true humanity is very much a part of Jesus but you see he was 100% God and 100% man so Jesus along with all that talks about his supremacy the writer is establishing Jesus is deity Jesus is God that's what he's saying here it's like John chapter one was in the beginning was the word word was with God word was God so similarly he's saying believers don't you understand this Jesus though you saw him suffer and go through all the pain he's God wake up he's God and you put your faith in this Christ and this is a you know a wonderful faith and legacy of faith that you're holding on to so don't be discouraged so just in this one passage you know we can understand that Jesus is co-equal with the father the father honors the son there is there is this honorable interaction within the Trinity Jesus is deity and also the fact he says a scepter of righteousness is a scepter of your kingdom so as a ruler he's a righteous ruler okay he's a righteous ruler and your throne is established forever and ever so what kind of a role and reign is this everlasting everlasting so you see so many pictures of Jesus and really frankly every time I do Hebrews chapter one we can't but worship isn't it as we get revelation about who this Christ is who this God is our right response is worship it causes our heart to worship to know that this is who he is his throne is forever and ever kingdoms will come kingdoms will go but his throne will never be shaken it's a throne of righteousness his scepter is a scepter of righteousness how beautiful we causes us to really come before the Lord with worship so that's verse 8 coming to verse 9 says you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions so again Jesus is honored he has a more excellent name how did he get that name by inheritance because he is the begotten of the father but notice you see sometimes people can just get something through inheritance they may or may not necessarily you know have the right attitudes and the right personality you know just the right heart to to deserve that great inheritance but thinking about Jesus he received an excellent name by inheritance but look at his life look at his nature look at his attitudes it says you have loved righteousness you have hated lawlessness now wouldn't everyone want a ruler like this when his throne is established forever and ever what confidence we can have as God's people that oh wow he is a righteous ruler he hates what is wrong he loves what is right and I can put my trust in him okay so he he is also living out you you could say the right kind of of life and you know the right kind of judgments he hates what is wrong he loves what is right and therefore God your God has anointed you so in the way we could also say that Jesus has earned the honor that he carries he got it by inheritance that's true but he also has earned that honor in a sense and because he's such a righteous ruler righteous king God has anointed you it says he has been empowered he has been appointed he has been chosen that he has been commissioned by God you see the interaction the father is so pleased with the son because the son is also doing it right and that's what we see so Jesus is great not just because he is a son out of inheritance but also because of the person that he is okay and so he has received that anointing and we are told that Jesus has been anointed with the oil of gladness more than your companions so basically it simply goes to say that he's honored he's been rewarded with gladness by the father for the kind of person that he is moving on to verses 10 and 11 now 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 so once again now these lines are from Psalm 102 verses 25 and 27 we already saw Jesus being called as the air you know he was there when everything was created first born now notice you Lord so in the Godhead there is honor placed upon the son as well he's co-equal in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth sometimes in our minds we have it very clear that the father is the creator okay he spoke and the earth was formed and all that the Holy Spirit was hovering upon the waters and he's also part of creation but you see in Hebrews 1 this very clear reference to the son as a creator it says you Lord in the beginning is it God's beginning no God doesn't have any beginning that's why the passage started with God right he's always existed it's not talking about God's beginning beginning of the world beginning of the earth beginning of you know mankind that beginning is what we are referring to you Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth so Jesus was involved in creation and the heavens are the work of your hands again involved in creation verse 11 look at this they will perish but you remain so what are some pictures about Jesus that we can get from these lines creator okay creator mighty because he created the earths created the heavens in the beginning it says so meaning he was there before the beginning self-existent he was existent before the world started off what else what else can we see here it says they will perish but you remain again eternal going forward the the earth will perish one day but God he doesn't have an end he doesn't have a beginning he remains Jesus remains and so the supremacy of Christ is being re-established you know line by line phrase by phrase and the end of verse 11 and they will all grow old like a garment so you see it it shows the greatness of God when we think about the earth right it's a revelation of who God is as you look at creation recently we did that whole faith and science series and frankly as I was learning you know to share in that series and as pastor sent out the sermon notes I was in awe of the heavens wow the galaxies and how vast the expanses our God must be so big if he's created the universe that is you know so big and mighty but see what this particular verse here says it says they will all grow old like a garment you know sometimes we we have old clothes what do we do we we may have used it up a bit too much we just fold it away you know and put it off so he's talking about the heavens as if it was that simple so if the heavens in comparison to God are only talked about like you know a curtain we'll just roll it off you know we'll crumble it and we'll just throw it that how mighty God must be if that's the way in which he's going to close off this grand creation of the heavens okay so again it goes to show us that Jesus is so great he's incredible his majesty is is beyond our imagination beyond our thinking and here emphasizing on the deity of God notice how the father earlier what did he refer to what did he call the son he said God you throw no God now what's happening you Lord notice deity Jesus yes he is a man but he's God and that's what Hebrews 1 is trying to literally hammer into our minds so verse 12 again talking about the heavens it says like a cloak you will fold them up see the heavens God is so mighty like a cloak you'll just fold them up and they will be changed but you are the same and your years will not fail continuing to attribute greatness majesty even sovereignty to God right sovereign authority whenever he chooses he'll just fold it all up like a cloak and that is how great Jesus is and also notice he says but you are the same what is that the nature of Christ we can use the term you know in theology they use the term immutable or in simpler terms unchangeable we know you know Hebrews tells us Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever he doesn't change things can change but the nature of God cannot will not change and that's what the writer is saying but you are the same immutable unchanging eternal God that is who Jesus is the second person of the trinity and yeah so verse 12 is talking about all these things moving on to verse 13 but to which of the angels has he ever said see again we can be very clear that there was a tendency for angel worship among the then believers that's why he's coming back again on the same subject talked about the greatness of Jesus and now telling that the angels are not sons of God so verse 13 but to which of the angels has he ever said sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool so God never spoke like this to angels because who are angels they are spirits they are ministers okay they are supposed to listen listen to the command of God and do it and also they are supposed to worship Jesus so that is the position of angels but to Jesus did he say this or not yes he did say this to Jesus he said sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool so the trinity the Godhead is together and Christ is victorious that's what we understand from this through the cross he has won the victory and you know he continues to rule and reign in victory verse 14 it says and they not all are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation so now verse 14 is referring to angels so simply he's saying that angels are for service and they are not for dominion angels are ministers who serve and they have a responsibility from God to help so what does this particular verse say it says that sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation so who are the people who are going to inherit salvation it's the believers isn't it so we are the ones who will we have received it but we will also inherit every aspect of it so angels are here he's telling the believer to help you for believer the angels are here to help you in what God has called you to do so give Christ the position of deity worship him and don't worship angels so that is as far as Hebrews chapter 1 goes and you know we can move ahead to Hebrews chapter 2 but before that we'll just pause for a bit if you would like to share anything anything that you've picked up or learned today or something that has stood out for you from Hebrews chapter 1 okay so we have some comments here on the chat okay Kennedy asked a question he said when the Hebrew writer affirmed that the sun sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high what did this convey to the Jewish people believers so I think I've answered that question Kennedy basically sat down simply means finishing the work so he finished the work of redemption and another question Elisha the Holy Spirit is there to help us why angels again okay so Elisha God wants to give extra help there's no problem no we can take all the help that God wants to give us for whatever reason yeah so you see God knows that we the Holy Spirit is there and he has his functions but God has also given us angels but then we also as we study scripture we see that we walk in relationship with people and many a time we need the help of man as well okay and I'm sure you've heard that whenever God wants to fulfill his purpose he calls a man or a woman right so when Israel needed deliverance God picked Moses so there are people as well that God would send into our lives to help us and so God works in all these ways Elisha and it's not to sort of everything has its place so it's not one or the other we can get the help of the Holy Spirit angels people and every other help that's available right nice question confirmation of the law and thermodynamics oh wow okay so which law are you referring to Kennedy I vaguely remember thermodynamics after all these years so which particular law are you talking about okay so all right so while Kennedy thinks of his answer Divya go ahead Divya it's just a question regarding what Kennedy asked earlier about sitting down at he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high I have heard someone telling this as well I'm not sure if it is in line like it also indicates the equality like the his equality with God the Father like in the Trinity like how he is equal and and even right hand sometimes also indicates that authority right the kind of yeah sure sure that that's perfectly fine Divya so all this is affirm these the thoughts that you shared we can affirm it from other passages of scripture so it's absolutely valid okay thank you thank you yes Kennedy the long time dynamic deals with wear and tear yeah wear and tear okay wear and tear okay so uh yeah you're you're saying like the the heavens will be you know folded up like a cloak okay sure thank you thank you okay so Asha what way are ministers called to be the flame of fire okay flame of fire fire okay so as we look at the the Greek for these terms Asha ministers a flame of fire it's it's simply referring to a picture of you know like a blazing furnace blazing furnace as far as I'm concerned I think it's just talking about how effective you know how effective or how powerful we can be in what God has called us to do so that's what it would mean yeah so if we are through with with our questions we can move on to Hebrews chapter 2 so as till now we saw that the author has established the superiority of Jesus the over angels he has also established that Jesus is deity and now he calls the readers to pay attention to the application of of these thoughts so he's inviting the believers who are now in Christ to have some understanding so far he said Jesus is great okay have that understanding and Jesus brought a salvation and so in Hebrews chapter 2 we'll talk about how this salvation is so great okay so that's where he's going to urge the believer to come to he that he should consider and understand this great salvation Jesus is great work that has been completed for us and he also goes ahead and encourages the believers not to neglect the salvation okay so neglecting is a is also a position that a believer can take but unfortunately there are consequences to neglecting this great salvation that has been given to us and in Hebrews chapter 2 another very beautiful picture of Jesus which will be painted for us is the fact that Jesus is fully human so Hebrews 1 he was talking about Jesus's deity Jesus is supreme he will talk about hey he was a man okay so there's there's that contrast which we will also pick up the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that Jesus so wonderfully shared in our humanity he therefore can understand us and he continues to be such a faithful and a merciful high priest towards us so let's begin with the Hebrews chapter 2 I would like to request someone to read from verse 1 through 4 Hebrews 2 verses 1 through 4 please can I read yes Charles please go ahead Hebrews chapter 2 therefore we must give the more honest heed to the things we have had let's do drift away for if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was conformed to us by those who had him God also bearing goodness both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will amen okay so after saying everything in Hebrews 1 see all these numbers have been put later so when the person actually wrote it he was writing it in you know in sort of in continuation and he was trying to make a point so though Hebrews chapter 1 is completed you see the word there therefore therefore is a word that establishes continuity I said all this because so now he's going to actually make the point oh Jesus is great and the angels are just ministers because I'm telling you all this because okay why why did he tell us all this he's saying therefore we must give the more honest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away so he's trying to awaken them and he's saying that because Jesus is so great he's the Son of God he's begotten he's air he's creator he's firstborn you know he's immutable so many things you have to be very careful with what you do about this revelation so he says something like give the more honest heed or more honest heed is this is extremely important okay give give all your attention give all your attention to what you have heard till now and there's a sense of urgency right he could have just said therefore pay attention to the things no he says therefore give the more honest heed meaning this is very urgent this is essential or there is a necessity for you to give your attention and obey the voice of God whatever you've heard till now about Jesus and not only that you know he he says lest we drift away lest we drift away so the concept something like see we know all this about God and about Jesus but we have to get an anchor in it okay or our hearts have to have the revelation and be convinced about it and begin to worship God for all these things if we don't anchor ourselves in this way what is the possibility you know a ship or a boat I don't know how many of us really know about boats and ships but we all understand that when there is a boat with no anchor what can happen it can slowly move away from the shore okay whichever direction the wind is blowing in so we call that drift away and he's talking about believers sometimes we get excited that somebody has become a believer that's great but you know what we have to walk this journey of being a believer and a disciple to the end that is what is most important now if we don't have an anchor in the revelation of who God is what is the possibility if there's no anchor the boat will drift away so he's saying any believer who's not giving careful thought to who God is and what God is speaking to us what God is revealing to us can be in the danger of drifting away how does drifting happen does it happen suddenly like you see a boat just go away from the shore no we can be watching it and little by little little by little it's just moving moving moving and then the next thing you know in a couple of days it's somewhere in the center of the sea or the ocean so drifting away or slipping away is a very gradual process that can happen to any believer if we are not careful if we are not serious about our spiritual work and so that's what the writer of the Hebrews is telling these believers come on it's time to get serious okay don't be careless about your faith you got to take give the most earnest heed to the things that you have heard because there is a danger of what drifting away slipping away and we don't want that to happen then he goes on in verse 2 he says for if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward so what is he referring to the word spoken through angels is the mosaic law remember how the law was given to moses now angels sometimes people take that word and get confused what word was spoken to angels you know which brought punishment if it wasn't obeyed so it's not referring to the spirit angels that we talked about till now when you look at that term angel laws it also refers to messenger messenger so moses was the angel that this or moses is the angel or the messenger that this passage is talking about so the laws were given to moses the messenger and you remember it was steadfast meaning it was so strict isn't it so whenever they did not keep the law what happened there was punishment and it was taken very seriously there were consequences for disobedience when they did not listen to what moses gave them and so now what the writer is saying is you didn't listen to the message those who didn't listen to the message of moses had consequences i just told you that jesus is the message verse 3 he says how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation so what came after moses through jesus is so much greater and he says which at the first began to be spoken by the lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him so he's saying we have a greater message there is a greater salvation it's been brought to us through jesus if disobedience to moses's law had consequences be warned disobedience to the message of christ the salvation of christ if we neglect it it will have its consequence so it's a warning it's a warning okay so let's stop here at verse 3 we shall come back next week and continue from here in the meantime it's a good thing for us to keep reading the chapters in different translations and also use david guzik's enduring word commentary which will help us a lot in understanding these passages so shall we all wrap up with a word of prayer i request one of us to please go ahead and pray let's pray do you have any further thank you so much for the time that you have had for the last two hours that we're able to study your word lord it is so deep we need more of your reveration that we'll be able to understand it so that we shall live a life that praises you and as we part lord we pray that you will keep us safe until we meet again when jesus and we pray and believe amen amen thank you charles thank you everyone uh in kennedy yeah the the numbering of the scriptures came later uh was it god inspired or not i hope so i hope it was okay all right so let's close with this and have a blessed weekend everyone and we will meet again next friday god bless