Question: Some people teach that Jesus is an angel. Is this true?

Answer: The Scriptures tell us specifically that Jesus is not an angel. Let’s look at Hebrews 1:1-9 - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, You are My Son, this day have I begotten You? (Psalm 2:7) And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? And again, when He bribngs in the firstbegotten into the world, He says, And let all the angels of God worship Him. And of the angels He said, Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But to the Son He said, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows.

Jesus was made “better than the angels.” He is the “only” Son. The word “begotten” in John three sixteen is monogenes in the Greek which means single of its kind – only). While Jesus is the Only Son and not an angel, the Scriptures tell us that He has an angel, (Rev. 1:1). This angel is probably Michael, the defender of God’s people.

The angels are referred to as Sons of God (Job 1:6) and so are God’s people –For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14). We are spiritual sons by adoption through Messiah Jesus (Ephesians 1:5). But Jesus is the only Son – the firstborn. He is the beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14). The early church believed that although Jesus eternally existed within the Father’s being there was a time when He was brought forth or begotten. The commentaries on Colossians 1:15 from John Wesley, and the Geneva Bible are as follows - "Who is - By describing the glory of Christ, and His pre-eminence over the highest angels, the apostle here lays a foundation for the reproof of all worshippers of angels. The image of the invisible God - Whom none can represent, but His only begotten Son; in His divine nature the invisible image, in His human the visible image of the Father. The first begotten of every creature - That is, begotten before every creature; subsisting before all world’s before all time, from all eternity." – John Wesley’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

Commentary from the Geneva Bible - "A graphic description of the person of Christ, by which we understand, that in him alone God shows himself to be seen: who was begotten of the Father before anything was made, that is, from everlasting. And by Him also all things that are made, were made without any exception, by whom also they continue to exist, and whose glory they serve. Begotten before anything was made: and therefore the everlasting Son of the everlasting Father."

Jesus is God’s only Son. He was birthed, or brought forth directly from the substance of the Father’s spirit and God created everything through Him. (Ephesians 3:9, John 1:3). Thus the angels, the subsequent sons of God were birthed through Christ. This is a parallel of Adam’s creation. He was birthed from the preexisting substance of the earth, and all life proceeded from him.
      Notice in Hebrews Jesus is referred to as “God” in verse eight and then God is referred to as His God in verse nine. Some scholars maintain that the correct translation of this verse is “God’s throne is your throne.” Jesus’ human aspect is always treated separately and subordinate to the Father throughout the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul recognized this distinction addressing God as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Corinthians 11:31). After Jesus’ resurrection He tells His disciples that He is returning to My God and your God (John 20:17). In Revelation 3:12 the human aspect defers again to “His God” then He quotes His Father from the Old Testament and applies it to Himself –I am the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:11, Isaiah 41:4). Jesus’ human aspect could experience temptation and wrestle with it, but because His Spirit is the Holy Spirit of the Father which cannot be tempted (James 1:13) and cannot sin, Jesus as a man yeilded to the Holy Spirit within Him and resisted sin as no man has ever done and be the perfect unblemished sacrifice for our sins.

When defending His deity before the Pharisees he said, God was in Him,(John 10:28-30) and this is where His deity is derived. Jesus' spirit is God's Spirit, the "Spirit of the Father" (Matthew 10:20). Jesus' soul, or "person" is the express image of God’s “person.” God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Wesley says in His Commentary on the Whole Bible regarding II Corinthians -5:19 – “God – the whole Godhead, but more eminently God the Father was in Christ, reconciling the world.”
      Jesus is the image of the invisible God; therefore He is viewed as God, because the Spirit of the Father was in Him, “with” Jesus’ human soul or person. This explains the “with” and the “was” of John 1:1 - and why the Scriptures view Jesus as God. Psalm 24:7, 10 - Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.- Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. - I Corinthians 2:8 - Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Copyright 2007 by H. D. Shively

For a more related content plaese see Understanding the Trinity from the Scriptures - It's all about God's Love for You