Welcome back to the Ask Pastor John podcast, Pastor John, you're off to Indianapolis for the

gospel coalitions 2019 national conference there you're going to be delivering the opening

plenary address of the conference today on Monday. That's 1 p.m. at the Indiana Convention

Center. Please be praying for that. Please be praying for Pastor John. I'm not sure if that

message is going to be live streamed. I assume so, but I'm not sure. But first before you go,

today's question comes to us from a listener named Austin. Hello Pastor John. In my Bible study,

I've been stout by the phrase that says Jesus has become much superior to angels. If Jesus has

eternally existed as God, how do I understand this passage in the theme that seems to pop up in

Hebrews? Why and how did Jesus somehow become superior to angels? Well, first thing I'd say is

I love this kind of question. I just think that's so important that we not gloss over apparent

difficulties and just read on and and let them dangle. The text that Austin is referring to is

sound in Hebrews 1.4 and it's interesting that you don't have to leave this text. It's immediate

context in order to see that in the mind of the writer, the Son of God has always existed

as superior to angels. So then how does he become superior? He's always superior. So let me read it.

So I'll start verse 3 of Hebrews 1. He that is the Son of God is the radiance of the glory of God

and the exact imprint of his nature. No angel could ever have that said about him. And he upholds

the universe by the word his power. So none of that can be said of any angel. The Son of God is by

nature, God and the Son upholds the universe. So in what sense then did he become superior to angels?

Here's what verse 4 goes on to say. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right

hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited

and more excellent than theirs. So two massive realities explain the sentence in which the Son of

God becomes superior to angels. The first massive reality is the incarnation. And the second one is

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