Hebrews 1:5,6

God's Statements Show Christ Is Superior

Christ's superiority to the angels can be seen in statements God has made about Him. For instance, Psalms 2:7 is quoted by the writer of Hebrews in 1:5 and by Paul in Acts 13:33. In Acts 13:1-52, Paul points to the resurrection as the time Jesus was begotten of the Father. John 3:16 and Romans 8:3 tell us God sent His only begotten Son to rid us of sin. Romans 1:4 says, "and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." As another instance, 2 Samuel 7:14 is quoted. The writer says this is another verse recording God's words to Jesus, His true Son. All of these facts combined make Jesus greater than the angels who were involved in the transmission of the law of Moses (Galatians 3:19; Acts 7:53).

In Hebrews 1:6, we find a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:43, which is taken from the LXX (or Septuagint translation). The Psalmist said something very similar in 97:7. Since the angels are commanded by God to worship Christ, He is obviously superior. Jesus was the "firstborn" in several senses. There can certainly be no doubt He was the firstborn from the dead. “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5; Romans 8:29).

As Thompson writes, "In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the recipient of special favors and privileges (cf. Genesis 48:18; Genesis 43:33). Thus, the term came to apply to one who is specially favored (cf. Hebrews 12:23.) In Psalms 89:27 the king is referred to as God's firstborn. Thus when Jesus is called the firstborn, the author is referring to his pre-eminence as one who has a unique and favored relationship to God." Notice Psalms 89:20 says God anointed David, yet he was the youngest of Jesse's sons (1 Samuel 16:11).