But Jesus is greater than the angels
Hebrews 1:4 The Son is far greater than the angels.
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- If we think angels are cherubs with wings and harps, Hebrews 1:4 sets a low bar for Jesus!
Shutterstock: Lee Yiu Tung
- The idea that we “earn our wings,” becoming angels when we die, also diminishes the significance of this verse.
Shutterstock: HappyPictures
- So does the expression I sometimes heard from my mom, “Be an angel and …” (do something for me). It does reference one of the functions of angels, service. But it’s God who commands angels, not us. We don’t ask angels for help. We ask God.
Shutterstock: Siberian Art
- People in the first century were intrigued by angels, perhaps comparable to the fascination with superheroes today. (This week I heard my six-year-old grandson explain to his four-year-old sister, “God has all the powers.”) The writer of Hebrews takes two chapters to explain that, no, Jesus isn’t just another powerful angel. “He is far greater than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4 through chapter 2).
C.S. Lewis, Physics of Angels
Shutterstock: Melitas
A balanced view does not dismiss the reality of the supernatural, nor does it indulge in curiosity and unhealthy fascination with the unseen world.
Instead, it understands that the invisible realm—like the angels themselves—is everywhere present.
- Of course, angels weren’t created by Hollywood. They were created by God before humans, to serve God as worshipers (Hebrews 1:6), messengers (1:7) and as “ministering spirits” (Greek leitourgos, Hebrews 1:7, 14), “sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.”
I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels, and I believe the Bible to be the true Word of God. We face dangers every day of which we are not even aware. Often God intervenes on our behalf through the use of His angels.
Billy Graham, Angels, God’s Secret Agents
Shutterstock: Nikki Zelewski
- Some people may need more angel-care than others. Our daughter Karis seemed fearless, perhaps because so many times God intervened to save her life when doctors told us this was it. Her father used to say Karis gave her guardian angel a workout. I can imagine her chuckling inside when he said that: we discovered through her journals after she died that she had three angels attending her. She named them Faith, Hope, and Love. A few of her angel stories are told in Karis: All I See Is Grace.
- Thinking about Karis, I can’t help smiling, because of her joy. God poured out joy on Jesus (Hebrews 1:9), and Jesus filled Karis with joy, even in tough times. I’m soooo glad his angels were there to help and care for her.
- I have my own angel stories. Do you? I would love to hear them!
Saints and Angels, KingsPorch
Debra Kornfield 