“Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:4).

The mighty angels (“messengers”) of God are ostensibly the greatest of all God’s creatures. They “excel in strength” (Psalm 103:20) and “know all things that are in the earth” (II Samuel 14:20). They can fly at incredible speeds (Daniel 9:21–23); their legions are innumerable (Hebrews 12:22).

As powerful spirit beings, they are normally invisible to human eyes, though they definitely reside in this space/time universe and sometimes are near us in great numbers (II Kings 6:16,17). Despite their great power, they are still finite creatures, created by God as His own “ministers” (literally “servants”—Psalm 104:4) and also as “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). These faithful, powerful, wise, swift, numberless servants of God “do His commandments, harkening unto the voice of His word” (Psalm 103:20).

In two respects, however, they are limited in ability and destiny, at least in comparison to human beings: First, they are not able to reproduce and multiply, as Adam and Eve were commanded (Genesis 1:28; Matthew 22:30). Second, they were not “created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), as men and women were.

But to redeem the fallen creation, God Himself, in Christ, became man, died for sin, and rose again. For a time, He was made “a little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7), “for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9). Now, as the “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), He is “gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him” (I Peter 3:22). Thus, not only by His eternal pre-existence, but now also by His human inheritance, He is far “better than the angels.” HMM