Worship

THE GREATEST WORSHIP

by GLENN PEASE
02/04/22
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Based on Heb. 1:6

No other being in all of history has been held up as one to be worshiped by all the angels. God Himself gave the command that all of His intelligent created beings are to bow down to His Son. He forbids that anyone worship any angel, but He demands that His Son be worshiped. This should settle it once and for all that Jesus is God, for no one but God is to be worshiped. He is not an angel, not even the highest of the angels, though He did play the role of the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, but the One that all angels are to worship. Jesus is the greatest object of worship in the universe, for in worshiping Him we are worshiping the God of the universe along with all the superior beings in the universe. Those who thought that worshiping angels would be the highest form of worship are clearly told here that this is folly, for all the angels worship the Son of God. He is the One we are to worship. If you want to be a follower of angels, then do what they do, and exalt Jesus as the ultimate object of worship. If angels are to worship Jesus, how much more are we to do so?

The angels were for the Jews the highest beings they could conceive of, and William Kelly has this comment on that: "If any beings had special account or stood highly exalted in a Jew's eye, the holy angels were they; and no wonder. It was in this form that Jehovah ordinarily appeared, whenever He visited the fathers or the sons of Israel. There were exceptions; but, as a rule, He who made known the will and mani­fested the power of Jehovah in these early days to the fathers is spoken of habitually as the angel of Jehovah. It is thus He was represented. He had not yet taken manhood, or made it part of His person. I do not deny that there was sometimes the appearance of man. An angel might appear in whatever guise it pleased God; but, appear as He might, He was the representative of Jehovah. Accordingly, the Jews always associated angels with the highest idea of beings, next to Jehovah Himself, the chosen messengers of the divine will for any passing vision among men. But now appeared One who completely surpassed the angels. Who was He? The Son of God. It ought to have filled them with joy."

One of the things we have in common with all intelligent beings that God has created is the object of our worship. With the angels we bow before the Son of God and acknowledge Him as our God. The Father and Son are one, and so to worship the Son is to worship the Father. If Jesus was not God then it would be idolatry to bow to Him and worship Him. But God demands that all bow and worship the Son, and so God is clearly revealing that the Son is equal to Him and worthy of worship. John Bunyan was right when he said, "If Jesus Christ be not God, then heaven will be filled with idolaters."

It is the worship of Jesus as the Son of God that makes Christianity unique from all the religions of the world. All religions may pay tribute to Jesus as a great person in many ways, but only Christians will worship Jesus as Lord. The easiest way to determine if any group is truly Christian, or not, is to ask if they worship Jesus as God. If they do no, then they are not a Christian group, even if they have many biblical truths and values. No one is truly biblical and obedient to God who does not worship the Son as equal with the Father.

When the angels praised God at the birth of Jesus they were not idolaters but obedient servants of God, for they were commanded to worship the Son and they did so verbally the very instant that He became a person in history. The Incarnation was a time of angelic worship, for God was doing something never before done in the universe. His Son was becoming a man, and as the God-Man He was a valid object of worship, for even as a man He was still God. It was not idolatry to worship this man, for He was God in human flesh. He was still the God who created all the angels, and they were to convey their loyalty to Him as their God by their worship. It is of interest to note that even the fallen angels felt obligated to worship Jesus. They may have hated it but they could not escape their duty that was a part of their nature, and so we read in Mark 3:11, “Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” They could not help themselves, for they knew He was their God, even though they were in rebellion against Him. All supernatual beings have to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, and wise men all through history join them. I say it in poetry:

All those of the heavenly host
Watched the Son on this earth trod,
And each of them does gladly boast,
We worship Him, the Son of God.

Even the demons, who in hell roast,
Knowing they'll feel His judgment rod,
Must admit from their dark post,
He truly is, the Son of God.

Men join in from coast to coast,
As through their daily toil they plod,
And they praise Him they love the most.
He truly is, the Son of God.

Pfitzner points out that worship is a theme at the beginning and the end in Hebrews. It begins here in the first chapter with all the angels commanded to worship the Son, and in 12:22 we read, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” In the end all the redeemed will join the angels in worshiping the Son. We see this final experience of worship in
Rev. 5:11-14.

“11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” Every creature God has created will one day join the angels in worship of the Son.

We are to worship with the angels, but we are not to worship the angels. This was a strong temptation for early Christians who came out of both Judaism and Paganism. The temptation even came to one as strong in the Christian faith as the Apostle John, but the lesson he learned is recorded for all to learn that angels are never to be worshiped. Listen to his experience:

“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" (Revelation 22:8-9 NIV) The amazing thing is that John had already been warned not to worship an angel earlier. In Rev. 19 he is overwhelmed by what he saw and heard and we read in verse 10, “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The very fact that John, who was the most mature of Apostles, was tempted twice to worship an angel points out how easily it is for men to be amazed by the supernatural and wondrous, and so be tempted to worship someone other than Jesus. This is idolatrous worship, and dangerous worship, and forbidden worship. The world is filled with all kinds of worship of beings and creatures that are not valid forms of worship, and that is why the focus of Hebrews is on the worship of Jesus alone as the only valid worship, and, thereby, the greatest worship.

Anyone who seeks for our worship must be God Himself, or it is idolatry. Ray Stedman wrote, “There is no angel who has ever existed who has ever been worthy of one moments worship. No angel would ever ask us to worship him, no angel would ever accept our worship, no angel would ever desire our worship. The angels of God desire one thing and one thing only, and that is to do God's will! They just want to worship the Lord, to do His will, and to bring glory and honor to His holy name.” Since, as we saw in the Rev. 5 passage above, all created beings will worship Jesus, it follows that no created being is to be worshiped themselves. This includes angels and all other beings, including men. But Jesus received worship without any objection, and He thereby made it clear that He was acknowledging Himself as God. Copeland has compiled a list of the places where Jesus received worship.

Jesus received worship!
a. From the wise men - Mt 2:11
b. From the leper - Mt 8:2
c. From the ruler - Mt 9:18
d. From His disciples in the boat - Mt 14:33
e. From the Canaanite woman - Mt 15:25
f. From the man born blind - Jn 9:38
g. From the women and other disciples following His
resurrection - Mt 28:9,17
h. From disciples after His ascension - Lk 24:52

We live in a day where people are not too different from those to whom the book of Hebrews was written. Angel superstition is very popular. People pray to angels and have angel pins that they wear for good luck charms. There are numerous books on angels that are valid Bible studies on their ministries, but also many books that deal with them as if they were gods worthy of worship. This is clearly idolatry, for the whole point of Hebrews is that absolutely no one, and no being in the universe, is worthy of worship but Jesus. The angels were to worship only God in the Old Testament, and now in the New Testament they are to worship Jesus, because He is their God.

HE ALONE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP

1. Because He is a Son and not a servant.
2. Because He is born of God and not created.
3. Because His kingdom is everlasting and not temporal.

We have looked at His being the Son of God in a previous message. This made Jesus superior to the angels. In this verse we see the stress on Jesus being the firstborn as a basis for the angels to worship Him. Jesus is not a created being like the angels, but is one born of God. He is part of the very being of God. The angels know this and know that He alone is worthy of their worship. Angels are not fools. They know God has never said to them that they are worthy of worship. They know God has never said to them that they are to sit at His right hand. They gladly sing along with the saints the words of Tillit S. Teddlie:

Worthy of praise is Christ our Redeemer
Worthy of glory, honor and pow'r!
Worthy of all our souls adoration, Worthy
art Thow! Worthy art Thou!

Lift up the voice in praise and devotion,
Saints of all earth before Him should bow;
Angels in heaven worship Him saying,
Worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!

Lord, many we come before Thee with
singing, Filled with they spirit, wisdom and
pow'r; May we ascribe Thee glory and
honor, Worthy art Thou! Worthy art Thou!

Chorus: Worthy of riches, blessings and
honor, Worthy of wisdom,glory and
pow'! Worthy of earth and heaven's
thanksgiving, Worthy art Thou! Worthy
art Thou!

In Deuteronomy 6:13 we read, "For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’" The angels are not stupid. They know that it is forbidden for any worship to be directed toward any other being but God, and yet here they are commanded by God to worship the Son. God is declaring that the Son is God, for if He is not, then God is violating His own law by demanding worship of one who is not God. The angels recognize Jesus as their sovereign Lord. He reigns over all creation from the very throne of the Father. They are His servants doing His will in the world, but He is the everlasting King. Angels always serve, but they never reign, for that is not their role in God's plan, but it is His role for the Son. From their point of view nothing is more absurd than to be worshiping them, for it is the Son alone who is worthy of worship. He is the King of kings, clothed in majesty, and seated on the throne with all the glory of the Father. How they must grieve at the folly of men who exalt them above their sovereign King.

The angels are servants who change constantly to fulfill the purpose of God. They are, as we see in verse 7, like the winds and flames of fire. They vary with the moment and the tasks they are assigned to do, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the Rock, and as verse 12 says, He remains the same and unchanging forever. Angels are the servants, but He is the everlasting King of an eternal kingdom. Angels change and creation changes, and everything is always changing, but Jesus never does. He is the solid rock foundation of all reality. He is worthy of worship because He alone is a foundation on which we can build for eternity.

Scott Grant has written what we all know to be true: “Nothing else and no one else is like Jesus. Everything and everyone else changes. People change; moods change; jobs change. Times change; fashions change; computers change. Leaders change; bosses change; interests change. In our age, technology has changed everything. And technology is changing so fast that we can't keep track of the changes. Products of new technology are obsolete by the time they're out the door. Such rapid-fire change frays the edges of our psyches, for we don't know where the next change is coming from, or even if we will notice it at all.” In such a world as this we need some basis for stability, and we find it in Jesus. Wind and fire are wonderful servants, like the angels, but we do not worship the wind and the flames, for they have no stability, and are part of the ever-changing environment in which we live.

There is no question about Jesus being superior to the angels, and that He alone is worthy of their worship, but there is some question about just when it is referred to that they are commanded to worship the Son. It says when God brings His firstborn into the world. This is ambiguous, for the Son was brought into the world in His incarnation, but He is also brought into the world in His Second Coming. Some prefer one or the other of these two times. It really does not matter, for Jesus is always the Son worthy of worship by the angels. There has never been a time when this was not the case, and there will never be a future time when they will not worship their Creator and King, the Lord Jesus. But for sake of argument we want to look at the reasoning behind the convictions of Bible interpreters.

First we look at those who see this command to worship the Son as being at the time of the incarnation. Calvin is of this persuasion, and he wrote, “The subject is Christ manifested in the flesh, and the Apostle expressly says, that the Spirit thus spoke when Christ was introduced into the world; but this would not have been said consistently with truth except the manifestation of Christ be really spoken of in the Psalm. And so the case indeed is; for the Psalm commences with an exhortation to rejoice; nor did David address the Jews, but the whole earth, including the islands, that is, countries beyond the sea. The reason for this joy is given, because the Lord would reign. Further, if you read the whole Psalm, you will find nothing else but the kingdom of Christ, which began when the Gospel was published; nor is the whole Psalm anything else but a solemn decree, as it were, by which Christ was sent to take possession of His kingdom. Besides, what joy could arise from His kingdom, except it brought salvation to the whole world, to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews? Aptly then does the Apostle say here, that he was introduced into the world, because in that Psalm what is described is his coming to men.”

Another author that I do not remember has this excellent defense of the incarnation being the time referred to: “Make no mistake about this, the angels will surely be worshiping Him when He comes again--but that is not the point of our text. It is when He was "brought into the world" the first time that particularly accentuates His superiority. This is Jesus in a humbled state, having divested Himself of all of the prerogatives of Deity. When, at birth, He was "brought into the world," He could neither bless or curse, pray or preach, guide or feed. He had to be cared for, nourished, and protected. He had to be rescued from Herod, and raised to "increase in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:40,52). It was then, in that humbled condition, that the cry went out in heaven, "Let all the angels of God worship Him!" Who can forget the arresting words of Scripture: "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:12-14).

“Such things never occurred at the birth of anyone else. As great as were Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, the heavenly hosts did not praise God at their birth! The praises of angels were not even heard at the birth of John the Baptist! But when God brought His only begotten Son into the world, the angelic order was called into activity. An angel announced His birth (Luke 1:26-29), revealed the name of the Holy Child (Lk 1:31), allayed the concerns of Joseph (Matt 1:20), and directed him in the care of the Child (Matt 2:13,19). Angels ministered to Jesus in His temptation (Matt 4:11), and one these holy ones strengthened Him in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43).”

William Kelly adds to this view by writing, " It is not predicated of the Son as eternally such; there would be no wonder in this. None could be surprised, assuredly, that the Son of God, viewed in His own eternal being, should be greater than an angel. But that He, an infant on earth, looked at as the son of the Virgin, that He should be above all the angels in heaven - this was a wonder to the Jewish mind; and yet what had in their scriptures a plainer proof? It was not to an angel in heaven, but to the Babe at Bethlehem, that God had said, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee;" and, again, "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son" - words said historically of David's son; but, as usual, looking onward to a greater than David, or his wise son, who immediately succeeded him. Christ is the true and continual object of the inspiring Spirit."

The above arguments sound very convincing to me, but there are powerful voices who disagree and see this command as reference to the coming of Jesus into the world at His Second Coming. Arthur Pink sums up this conviction with these words: “And again when He bringeth in the First-begotten into the world," etc. Commentators are divided as to the meaning and placing of the word "again," many contending it should be rendered, "When He shall bring in again into the habitable earth the Firstborn." There is not a little to be said in favor of this view. First, the Greek warrants it. In the second part of verse 5 the translators have observed the order of the original-"and again, I will be unto Him," etc. But here in verse 6 they have departed from it-"And again, when He bringeth in" instead of "when He shall bring in again." Secondly, we know of nothing in Scripture which intimates that the angels worshipped the infant Savior. Luke 2:13, 14 refers to them adoring God in heaven, and not His incarnate Son on earth. But Revelation 5:11-14 shows us all heaven worshipping the Lamb on the eve of His return to the earth, when He comes with power and glory. Scriptures which mention the angels in connection with Christ’s second advent are Matthew 13:41; 16:27; 24:31; 25:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7.

That verse 6 has reference to the second advent of Christ receives further confirmation in the expression "when He bringeth in the First-begotten into the world." This language clearly looks back to Jehovah putting Israel into possession of the land of Canaan, their promised inheritance. "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance" (Exo. 15:17). "To drive out the nations from before thee, greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance" (Deut. 4:38). In like manner, when Christ returns to the earth, the Father will say to Him, "Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. 2:8).

In addition to what has just been said on "when He bringeth in the firstborn" into the world we would call attention to what we doubt not, is a latent contrast here. It is set over against His expulsion from the world, at His first advent. Men, as it were, drove Him ignominiously from the world. But He will re-enter it in majesty, in the manifested power of God. He will be "brought into it" in solemn pomp, and the same world which before witnessed His reproach, shall then behold His Divine dominion. Then shall He come, "in the glory of His Father" (Matt. 16:27), and then shall the angels render gladsome homage to that One whose honor is the Father’s chief delight. Then shall the word go forth from the Father’s lips, "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

“Our minds naturally turn back to the first advent and what is recorded in Luke 2. But there the angels praised the Sender, not the Sent: God in the highest was the object of their worship though the moving cause of it was the lowly Babe. But when Christ comes back to earth it is the Firstborn Himself who shall be worshipped by them. It was to this He referred when He said, "When He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s and of the holy angels." The "glory of the angels," i.e. the glory they will bring to Him, namely, their worship of Him. Then shall be seen "the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51). May we who have been sought out and saved by Him "worship" Him now in the time of His rejection.”

My own conviction, after reading all of the above arguments, is that there is no way to exclude either of the times. Jesus was always the eternal Son superior to the angels, and so He was worshiped by the angels in His pre-incarnate state, His incarnate state, and will be worshiped in the fullness of His glory when He comes again. There is no point in limiting the worship of Jesus by the angels to any particular time, for there has never been a time when this was not appropriate and expected, and there never will be such a time. When it comes to the worship of Jesus the name of the game is inclusion and not exclusion. You do not seek for a time when it is excluded, for it does not exist, and that is why worshiping Jesus is the greatest worship. If there was a time when Jesus was not worshiped, then He would not be equal with the Father, and so it is not wise to try and find a time when these words of command to worship Him do not apply. Consider this, He was also "brought into the world" at His resurrection, returning from the region of the dead (Psa 26:10; Acts 2:27; Rom 10:7). This was also a time to worship Him as victor over the greatest enemy of man. Worshiping Jesus is the greatest worship because it is never ending worship, and everlastingly appropriate, for He is always worthy of worship.

The obvious conclusion is, if the angels are to worship the Son as Lord, how much more are we to worship Him as our Lord? He is the King over all creation, and He is our King now and forever. We are to join the angels in perpetual worship of our sovereign King. We are to honor Him just as we honor the Father. John 5:21-23 says, “"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him" (John 5:21-23 NKJV).

Don Styles in an editorial makes these comments on the above text: "Honor" is a component of worship, but in this context we can go further and recognize it actually means to "worship." Consider the following:
1. "Honor" is used as a synonym for "worship" in Matt. 15:8-9: "…And honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me…" Their worship was only with their lips, by which they "honored" or "worshipped" God.

2. Throughout his ministry Jesus was "worshipped" by many -- Mt. 8:2 a leper; 9:18 a ruler; 14:33 the twelve; 15:25 a gentile woman, etc. - and Jesus never corrected these people from doing so.

3.The authority to raise the dead and to pass judgment belonged to Jesus during his ministry -- to Martha, Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25) and proved it by raising Lazarus from the dead; in other words, the Son had authority even then to give life. To the thief on the cross Jesus pronounced, "You will be with me in paradise," pronouncing at that moment the eternal judgment of the penitent thief.”

Jesus was worshiped in His manhood, and Jesus is worshiped in His deity, and forever both angelic and human beings will worship the God-Man on His throne. Can there be any doubt that worshiping Jesus is THE GREATEST WORSHIP.