Hebrews 2:5-9: A Little Lower Than the Angels
2022-07-16
Hebrews 2:5
The angels will not rule the world to come, but Jesus, the Son of God will. There may be an emphasis on “world to come.” Do angels have rule over this current world?
Consider John 12:27-32. Satan is presumably the prince of this world, according to Jesus. His power was destroyed by the crucifixion of Christ. It ensured the devil’s defeat.
Consider that every unbeliever is under the power of Satan: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2).
Also, we are told that the real battle is against spiritual rulers: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Even the devil himself seemed to think that he was a world ruler. Consider Luke 4:5-8. Somehow, Satan could show Jesus the kingdoms of the world. He told Him, perhaps as a temptation to circumvent the cross, that he could give him the glory and power of the world’s kingdoms. Jesus, in turn, did not argue that, but rather that only God, not Satan, should receive worship.
In the book of Daniel, there are spiritual entities behind the kings of the nations. Satan himself is behind the kings of Babylon and Tyre in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.
It becomes clear that this current fallen world is ruled by satanic powers. That will not be the case in the coming kingdom, where Jesus will rule over all things. No angelic power will rule over His kingdom.
Hebrews 2:6
This transition from the present world to the world to come is demonstrated in the next several verses, which quote Psalm 8:4-6. Let us consider the verses here before looking at the original psalm.
I do not believe that everything in the original psalm necessarily refers to Jesus Christ. However, in its ultimate fulfillment, Jesus is the fulfillment of it.
These rhetorical questions imply that there is nothing in man, namely, humankind, that deserves anything at all. The human race as a whole is condemned before God. The “man” in the singular is “Adam,” which is translated “man,” and all his descendants (more on this shortly). It is used for humankind, not necessarily males. Humankind is dependent on God despite their disobedience. They are enemies, yet God is mindful of these subordinate and disobedient creatures. The animals did not rebel; only humanity rebelled against God.
However, the rhetorical questions also imply that though humankind does not deserve God’s attention and intervention, they receive it. This is grace!
The use of the phrase “son of man” means a man or a human being. We do not necessarily assume this means Son of Man as Jesus referred to Himself. Throughout the Old Testament, “man” and “son of man” are paired together in parallel; they mean about the same thing. Ezekiel also was called this repeatedly.
Hebrews 2:7
God made “him a little lower than the angels.” The antecedent of “him” would naturally refer to the “man” in the previous verse. However, ultimately, this is not referring to Adam and His race, but someone who became a man, namely, Jesus Christ. He existed from all eternity but was “made” lower than the angels. This does not contradict our theme so far to date. According to Hebrews 2:9, this indicates that Jesus was “made” into a human being so that He could die (we will discuss this in a bit).
After His death, He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and was enthroned at the right hand of the Father: “thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.”
Hebrews 2:8
Of the Lord Jesus, it is also said, “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” All things. This means that Christ is supreme over all, including those angels He once was made lower than for a season.
“But now we see not yet all things put under him.” Sin still abounds. Wicked rulers are very much alive and striving against the Lord. The prince of the power of the air is still controlling the sons of disobedience. Recall that “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). There will come a time when He will end the wicked rule of the enemy and Christ will physically rule from Jerusalem.
Hebrews 2:9
Here, we see that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for the sake of dying for the human race. This was done by the grace of God alone. He experienced death for everyone, not a select few. We may physically die, but we do not experience the wrath of God like Jesus did in our place. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).
Who are we, that He is mindful of us? Who are we, that He visits us and alleviates us from our sin and intervenes for us? This is the grace of God at work, in that His Son made Himself lower than angels and died a mortal man’s death, raising again to honor and glory.
Let us look at Psalm 8.
Psalm 8:1
This was a psalm written by David for the Gittite harp. Here, we see that the name of the LORD is “excellent.” Recall that “name” refers to the excellence of His power and authority. His glory is above the heavens, the highest point in all the universe. He is exalted above everything.
Psalm 8:2
Jesus quoted this verse in Matthew 21:16. “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:15-16). The common people and the lowest sinners accepted Him, but the leaders did not.
Why was this? Because God uses the weak things of the world to demonstrate His power, so that it is obvious that the power is from God. Gideon thwarted armies with few men to show that it was from God. It was the same with Jehoshaphat when He stood before armies, watching them destroy themselves. Or Hezekiah and the Assyrians. There are many such stories in the Bible.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
When Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2, He did so knowing that this would insult the religious leaders. Why? “...because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” He did not quote that part of the verse, but the religious leaders would know the whole verse, and that He was calling them enemies that God would destroy.
Psalm 8:3
God created the massive objects in space, including the stars and the moon. These were “the work of thy fingers.” Think that only small objects can be placed in our hands. In God’s hands are endless lightyears of space. Consider the strength He has with this thought alone.
Psalm 8:4-6
These are our verses of interest. How can God be mindful of the small, miserable, sinful race of human beings when the lightyears of space are in His hands? But we are. He sent His Son into this world, lower than angels, to suffer and die. He rose again to honor and glory, and will rule from Jerusalem in the future.
The words used for “man” in Psalm 8:4 are different. In the Hebrews 2:6, they are the same Greek word: anthropos. In this text, the first term is Enosh, and the second term is Adam. This is common throughout other parts of Scripture. Enosh means mortal. Strangely enough, though, Enosh is also the name of Adam’s grandson. “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:25-26). In those ancient times, people who were godly realized their mortality and simultaneously called on God, recognizing their need in Him. Mortal men from the sinful race of Adam were saved by that great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Psalm 8:7-9
Christ was put over the entire Creation, or as we said before, the world to come, including every creature in heaven, earth, and sea. All the great works God has done requires the refrain, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Do you see how awesome His power is when you consider this fulfillment in Jesus Christ? The ruling of Adam over the creation ended in failure because of sin. The ruling of Jesus over the creation ended in eternal praise to God, doing what mortal man could never do.