The Son has a more excellent name than the angels. Hebrews 1:4 speaks of Christ “having become as much better than the angels as to have inherited a more distinguished name than they.” This more distinguished name is the Son, which is fully defined in the succeeding verses of this chapter: “For to which of the angels has He ever said, ‘You are My Son; this day have I begotten You’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me’?” (v. 5). Romans 1:4 says that Christ “was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead.” His coming out of death was the designation that He is the Son of God. Christ has been designated as and declared to be the Son of God. He has received such an excellent name. Regrettably, some Christians seem to love the angels more than Christ, but we need to see that Christ has inherited a more distinguished name—the name of the Son of God—than they.
Hebrews 1:9, which is addressed to Christ the Son says, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy above Your partners.” The expression Your God seems to mean “God’s God.” Christ the Son is God, yet God is His God. How can we explain this? Since the Son is also man, God is His God.
Verse 9 indicates that God the Father has anointed God the Son with God the Spirit as the oil of exultant joy. In God’s economy Christ is the One appointed by God to accomplish God’s plan, and we are Christ’s partners in the divine interest. He was anointed by God, and we share with Him this anointing for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. In a sense, Christ is the greatest businessman in the universe; He is carrying out a divine enterprise, a divine career, for the accomplishment of God’s economy (cf. Luke 19:13). We should remember our status as Christ’s partners and declare that we are partners of Christ in His great enterprise.
Christ was appointed in eternity past and anointed in time (Heb. 1:9). That anointing was the initial heavenly, divine inauguration. God initially inaugurated His appointed Heir into office by anointing Him. God the Spirit poured Himself out as the anointing oil upon this appointed Heir, anointing Him to be the operator of God’s divine operation.
As the partners of Christ, we are partners in His anointing. His anointing includes us. In Psalm 133 we see that the ointment poured out upon the head of Aaron, the high priest, flows down upon the whole body to the hem of his garments. This signifies that all the members of the Body of the High Priest share His anointing. We, the partners, share the anointing of the unique Heir. The anointing was the initial inauguration. Therefore, we all share in His inauguration. In this heavenly, divine, and eternal inauguration, we are His partners. He has obtained the anointing, and we share it with Him because we are His partners. This means that we all have been anointed. We all have been put into office. We are not only the partakers of Christ who enjoy Him but also the partners of Christ who share in His operation. He will accomplish a full expression of God in glory, and we are now cooperating with Him in this operation. We are Christ’s joint-heirs and partners, cooperating with Him and sharing in His operation. His office must also be our office.
In Hebrews 1:9 we see our relationship with God’s anointed One. In God’s economy, Christ is the Heir appointed by God, and in verse 9 we see that this appointed Heir has been anointed. The anointing confirms the appointment. God first appointed the Son and then anointed Him. As Christ’s partners, we all partake of His anointing. We need to see that we are partners of Christ and that we share in His anointing.
The second coming of Christ is followed by His kingdom. He, as the coming firstborn Son of God, will be superior to the angels in His kingdom. Verse 8 says, “Of the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’” Here the Son is addressed, “O God.” This is strong proof that the Son is God. Surely God is superior to the angels. This verse also indicates that the throne of the Son is the everlasting throne of God. Thus, His kingdom must also be the kingdom of God. Christ, the Son of God, has the throne of God and the kingdom of God. The throne is under Him, and the scepter of the kingdom, which signifies the authority of the kingdom, is in His hand. As the Son of God who possesses both the throne and the kingdom of God, Christ is much superior to the angels.
Hebrews 1 gives us an account of Christ from eternity past to eternity future. He was the very God in eternity past (v. 8); He was the Creator of the earth and the heavens (vv. 10, 2); He is the Upholder of all things and the One who bears all things (v. 3); He is the Heir of all things (v. 2); He was incarnated for redemption by being crucified (v. 3); He was begotten as the Son of God in resurrection for the imparting of life to the many sons of God (v. 5); He is the firstborn Son of God who will come again (v. 6); He will be the King on the throne with the scepter in the kingdom (vv. 8-9); and He will remain forever and ever in eternity future (vv. 11-12). This short chapter covers such a wide span of what Christ is from eternity past to eternity future. This is our Christ, the Son of God who is superior to the angels!