WWUTT 1803 His Throne Is Forever and Ever (Hebrews 1:8-14)

Jesus is the greatest of all and if we have Christ we have more than we could ever ask for or imagine.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you Becky. Back to our study in the book of Hebrews.

Today I'm gonna pick up in verse 7 and read through verse 14 out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

This is the word of the Lord. And of the angels he says who makes his angels winds and his ministers flaming fire but of the

Sun he says your throne O God is forever and ever and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness therefore

God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions and you

Lord in the beginning founded the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands they will perish but you remain and they all will wear out like a garment and like a mantle you will roll them up like a garment they will also be changed but you are the same and your years will not come to an end but to which of the angels has he ever said sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet are they not all ministering spirits sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation and there we have bookends to the scripture reading today for in verse 7 we read that the angels are ministers and then in verse 14 we read they are ministers sent to serve those who will inherit salvation so once again as we're looking here in Hebrews 1 we see how

Jesus is the greater word that's what we had in the first four verses

Jesus is even greater than the prophets greater than the law for those things were pointing to him he is therefore the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets what scripture did the

Hebrews hold in highest regard everything that we have in the Old Testament Jesus is the fulfillment of all of that he has come showing that all of that was types and shadows terminology we're gonna see here in the book of Hebrews by the way all of that was pointing to something greater and that is

Jesus Christ the greater than all of the law and the prophets were pointing to him he is the fulfillment of all of that so he is the greater word and then the section we're looking at here is that he is even greater than the angels these of course were mysterious ministering beings to the

Hebrews they knew the angels were great but still something about them beyond compare or imagination and yet Christ is coming he's greater than all of that you don't have to wander or be in mystery about the person of Christ he has been here angels appearing is an occasional thing

Christ came God incarnate in human flesh dwelt among us preached to us we've heard the very

Word of God from Jesus Christ himself and so we can know exact the exact representation of his nature as was said earlier in verse 3 when we look at Jesus Christ the angels still mysterious still beings we know so little about we know so much more about Christ and his authority is even greater than they now in verse 7 it says of the angels he says that they are winds and ministers of flaming fire that's from Psalm 104 let me begin reading here

Psalm 104 verses 1 through 4 bless Yahweh oh my soul oh

Yahweh my God you are very great you are clothed with splendor and majesty wrapping yourself with light as with a cloak stretching out the heavens like a tent curtain he lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters he sets up the clouds to be his chariot he walks upon the wings of the wind he makes his angels the winds his ministers flaming fire there it is verse 4 that gets quoted in Hebrews 1 7 this simply means that God uses the angels to do his bidding he sits enthroned above them and they do what he tells them to do he makes his angels the winds that could also be interpreted as he makes them spirits and that's something else we see at the end of this section in Hebrews 1 remember they are ministering spirits sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation so it's in verse 7 they are made spirits he makes his angels winds and his ministers flaming fire well just as God controls all the majesty of heaven just as we read about there wrapping yourself with light as with a cloak stretching out the heavens laying the beams of his upper chambers in the waters so he is also above the angels he has made them ministers of flaming fire they have been made to do his bidding what

God commands them to do so the angels do what Christ commands them to do therefore he is ranked higher than they whatever we know or think about the angels

Christ's position is higher than even the angels therefore he is not an angel himself he is greater than the angels so in verse 8 but of the

Sun he says your throne Oh God is forever and ever already we see the contrast the angels don't have a throne they are ordered from the throne it is

Christ who sits on the throne your throne Oh God is forever and ever and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom now as I mentioned yesterday teasing into this verse this statement right here this quotation that comes from Psalm 45 this is saying that Jesus is

God of the Sun he says your throne Oh God is forever and ever you can't come away from Hebrews 1 with any other conclusion then

Jesus is God that is the statement in Hebrews 1 so again as as the preacher here is going to get to encouraging his audience to persevere in the midst of hardship of trial of not shrinking back or falling away but continuing to hold fast to Christ and grow in these things and mature in them it begins with exalting

Christ he wants them to see Christ and see him as he is as God who is enthroned above all so that when

Christ came now he had a ministry of his own just because we say that the angels are ministers in flaming fire doesn't mean that Christ is not a minister he's had a ministry for as we see in the book of Hebrews he has the greatest ministry his ministry was greater than anybody else's that came before him but we understand that he is the greatest

God incarnate in human flesh who did this ministry so there is no ministry greater than his and his ministry should be the one that we aspire to as well he proclaimed the gospel and we should want to go out and proclaim the gospel he lived out the effects of the gospel loving us loving one another and so we must also love one another as he has loved us so the greatest ultimate example that we're looking toward is

Christ who is our king who commands us to do these things and so therefore we follow so his throne for he is

God is forever and ever and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom and I mentioned earlier about a scepter meaning that it is the it is the tool of a king the one who holds the scepter the one who positions the scepter a certain way he is the one who makes laws who grants something to one person or takes away from another and so this is

Christ who sits in throne above all but every decision that he makes as king is always always good those things that have been foreordained from before the foundation of the world

God has foreordained them in goodness the uprightness of his scepter by which he guides and orders his kingdom same passage of Scripture continues on in verse 9 you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness therefore

God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions so it's saying here

Jesus is God and also your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness so we have a statement of the

Father and of the Son here now this is being quoted from Psalm 45 and it's beginning in verse 6 that we read the following your throne

O God is forever and ever a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness therefore

God your God has anointed you with the oil of joy above your companions your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia out of ivory palaces stringed instruments you have made glad King's daughters are among your noble ladies at your right hand stands the

Queen in gold from Ophir and so is this is referring to Christ we know according to what is said here in Hebrews 1 that this statement in Psalm 45 is referring to Jesus his throne is forever and ever he who has he who is the fulfillment of the

Davidic covenant he has the throne of David which is established forever and ever that was what God said in this covenant to David in 2nd

Samuel chapter 7 so he sits on this throne forever he has a scepter of uprightness he has loved righteousness and hated wickedness in fact there was never a person on this earth who loved righteousness more so than Christ and hated wickedness more so than Christ therefore

God your God has anointed you with the oil of joy or the oil of gladness as it comes out here in the in the

Septuagint as being quoted in Hebrews 1 with the oil of joy above your companions so even there in Psalm 45 your throne

O God is forever and ever therefore God your God has anointed you that must have been truly confusing to many

Hebrews 3 ,000 years ago when that particular Psalm was written but whatever mystery was wrapped in that has become revealed in Jesus Christ who shows us the

Father and therefore we know it was referring to Christ whose throne is forever and ever and the

God who has anointed him is the Father God has anointed God with the oil of joy above his companions now the oil of joy or the oil of gladness it may not necessarily mean that he's been anointed with joy or with gladness anointing was symbolic of having chosen a king remember that when

Saul was chosen king of Israel he was anointed by Samuel when David was chosen as his successor he was anointed by Samuel so that anointing that is a choosing of a king and so Christ being king is therefore anointed the oil of gladness doesn't mean gladness is being poured out on him but that we rejoice we have joy in knowing that Christ is our king the kingdom rejoices when a king has been chosen and so as Christ is the one who sits enthroned above all and as he is the one who has accomplished forgiveness of sins that we read back in verse 3 he has accomplished cleansing for sins and sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high therefore we rejoice for in Christ our sins are forgiven he reigns enthroned above all we don't need to be in mystery as to who is in control of all of this

Christ the one who has conquered death sits enthroned above all therefore we rejoice and knowing that because he has risen from the dead we will rise also we who have faith in him and we will reign with him forever as co -heirs as fellow heirs of this eternal kingdom where he sits enthroned forever and ever that knowing that about the ministry of Christ fills us with great joy he has loved righteousness and hated lawlessness and so likewise we must do the same we must love his righteousness and walk in it if we're followers of Christ scripture tells us we've been clothed in his righteousness and so we must live righteously as Jesus did and living righteously means that we hate lawlessness we hate those things that are opposed to the law of God as the

Apostle Paul said in Romans 3 do we therefore overthrow the law by our faith by no means on the contrary we uphold the law this is the law of God through which

Christ governs all things he has ordered all things and so as his followers in his kingdom we delight to obey his commands because Christ perfectly kept the law he is therefore our righteousness therefore

God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions similar to what we read in Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11 that because Christ was obedient to the point of death even death on a cross therefore

God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue proclaim that Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory of God the Father now about this statement above your companions what does that mean with the oil of gladness he's been anointed with the oil of gladness above your companions it means he's king of kings and Lord of Lords that's what that means so he is a king higher than every other king he is

Lord over every other Lord so he has the oil of this anointing having been seated and enthroned above others who are who would therefore call themselves

King or Lord Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords verse 10 we have another

Old Testament reference here and you Lord in the beginning founded the earth we've already talked about a lot of these things here with regard to Christ being creator of all things as we had considered that in verses 2 & 3 so in the beginning you founded the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands they will perish but you remain and they will all wear out like a garment and like a mantle you will roll them up like a garment they also will be changed but you are the same and your years will not come to an end these two references that we've read here in verses 8 & 9 and then in verses 10 through 12 speak of Christ eternality he was from the beginning he is to the end as Christ describes himself in the book of Revelation I am the

Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end he has no beginning and has no end is another way of saying that it doesn't mean that that he was the very start of all things and he's not going to disappear until all other things disappear no as we know he has no end therefore he has no beginning

Christ is eternal as I mentioned yesterday though his incarnation has a definite beginning a couple thousand years ago when he was born of a virgin but as the

Son of God as co -equal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit the triune

Godhead he is from everlasting to everlasting he has no beginning and therefore no end

Jesus even saying in his high priestly prayer in John 17 that he shared glory with the

Father before all things were created so if we ever wonder what what were the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit doing together before God made all things well they gloried with one another is what they did and in fact here's the amazing thing about that we are invited to share in that glory which we will have with him forever in his eternal kingdom so whatever

God was doing among himself a community unto himself Father Son and Holy Spirit whatever he was doing from eternity past before anything was made we get to see and observe and be part of that when we enter into his eternity at the end of our short life here on earth we will get to glory with him in that eternal praise and that's by no means boring that's not a dawning angel wings and a halo and sitting on a cloud and strumming a harp we read about it in Revelation we get hints of it the huge praise chorus that's going on with people from every single nation around the throne singing the praises of Christ our

King we get a glimpse of eternity there in Revelation but not even the half has been told it's going to be incredible when we get there glorying in our maker and our

Savior so once again the statement in verse 10 he founded the earth and the heavens are the works of your hands as I said yesterday if Christ is the creator of all things he therefore cannot himself be created or else he would not be the creator of all things because he was someone or something that was created

Christ the Son is eternal just as the Father is eternal the heavens are the works of your hands they will perish but you remain and they will all wear out like a garment and like a mantle you will roll them up we see once again

Christ's reign and his control over all things that have been made and also his judgment over everything that has been made like a garment they will also be changed but you are the same and your years will not come to an end right now with my

Sunday school class we're going through 1st Corinthians and we're gonna get to chapter 15 where the

Apostle Paul talks about our being changed we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye we will become something different right now we live in the physical in the finite we are transient but when we enter the eternal we will be changed the mortal will put on immortality while we will be changed

Christ remains the same and it's later on in Hebrews that we read he is the same yesterday today and forever and his years will not come to an end that's a comfort for us when we understand that we will rise again and reign with Christ and that reign will never come to an end we will dwell with him forever in his eternal kingdom though these bodies will die though we will die on this side of heaven when we get to him in our next state we live forever where there's no more corruption no more sin no more evil no more sickness no more dying as it says in Revelation every tear will be wiped away he will dry the tears from our eyes verse 13 but to which of the angels has he ever said sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet that is from Psalm 110 right at the beginning

Yahweh says to my Lord here we have God speaking to God again right sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet

Yahweh will stretch forth your song scepter from Zion saying have dominion in the midst of your enemies your people will offer themselves freely in the day of your power in the splendor of holiness from the womb of the dawn the dew of your youthfulness will be yours

Yahweh has sworn and will not change his mind you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek and as you might know that comes up again later on here in the book of Hebrews but for now we understand this rhetorical question that's being asked to which of the angels was it ever said sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet the answer none of them

Yahweh says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet we know this is

Christ he is God God incarnate the God man who came in flesh to dwell among us live a perfect life die the death that we deserve to die the wrath of God poured out upon him on the cross which he took for us was buried in a tomb rose again on the third day ascended into heaven where he is seated at his right hand all who believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life and finally verse 14 this is in reference to the angels are they not all ministering spirits sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation so the angels serve us we who will inherit salvation by faith in our

Lord Jesus Christ and it's from that question right there that we launch into the rest of the letter understanding that salvation comes from Christ and therefore as his servants and as his co -heirs of his eternal kingdom we must understand the things that are going to come in the next 12 chapters and my friends

I hope that it is a comfort to you knowing that Christ reigns he who died for our sins and rose again from the dead and reigns enthroned in heaven above he is in control of all things and so that gives you comfort and peace and that it convicts your heart even to turn from sin and the ways of this world and walk in the righteousness that he has and has given to us so turn from these things and do not despair the activity that you see going on in the world but hold fast to Christ and the promise of his kingdom and all the things that we need will be added to us as well he does love us and care for us and we know that when we look at the cross he died for us so be encouraged in these days have courage in these days that we would live for him and proclaim his gospel to the praise of his glorious grace heavenly father as we wrap up a study of this first chapter of Hebrews I pray that we see

Christ in a mighty way and be filled with a desire to serve and follow him we have peace within our hearts a peace that surpasses all understanding guarding our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus guarding guarding us from despair guarding us from the ways of this world that we may be fully devoted unto

Christ as we live in these present days lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake it's in Jesus name that we pray amen for more about our ministry visit us online at WWUTT .com