Hebrews 1:13-14 (HCSB)
Now to which of the angels has He ever said:
Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies Your footstool?
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?
The writer of Hebrews continues to contrast Jesus with the angels, because some of the Jewish Christians had been taught that Jesus was divine, but only in the sense that angels are divine; that He was not literally God in the flesh. There are some Christian sects and cults today that teach the same thing. Some even teach that Jesus was not the incarnation of God, but the incarnation of Michael the Archangel. The writer of Hebrews tells us that that is clearly a false theology.
In addition to the previous Scriptures, the writer turns to Psalm 110, undisputed as a messianic psalm among the rabbis. In this psalm, God clearly invites the Messiah to sit in the place of highest honor, at His right hand. No angel could ever attain that place of honor, essentially Gods co-regent of the universe. But the Messiah is promised that high and exalted position.
The writer then goes on to conclude this section by reminding the readers of the purpose of angels. They were not created to save, but to serve. Even though their appearance is awe inspiring and majestic, they are only God’s messengers and are, in an important sense, lower than mankind to whom they are sent to serve. Thus, the Messiah, Jesus, though he lowered himself, emptied himself to become a human being, even then was higher than the angels. That those who equate him with angels or claim that He was the incarnation of an angel, even an archangel, are clearly wrong.
Father, as humans we can easily be awed by anything supernatural, not just You and angels, but by satan and demons as well. It is easy for us to assume that, since they are all supernatural, they are all superior to us. But your word tells us otherwise. Help us to see ourselves as You see us – in need of Your love and grace, absolutely. But in our saved and sanctified state, as You created us to be, and as You can make us in Christ, true children of God, and co-heirs with Jesus of all you possess (Romans 8:16-17), capable of literally changing the world in Your power that lives and works in us, and with angels called to serve and to help us do all You have called us to do. Amen.