Lower Than The Angels?

Q

My question today is from Hebrews 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels….” How can that be and what does this mean? God bless you.

 

A

Hebrews 2:5-8 is a quote from Psalm 8 and is the source of the phrase you mention in verse 9. In becoming a man, Jesus stepped down from His Throne past the angelic ranks to become a man. The author’s point is that Jesus didn’t become an angel to save angels but a man to save mankind. He’s refuting an early portion of the Gnostic Error that identified Jesus as an angel.

There’s also a sense in which the word translated “little” refers to time as well as position. In that sense it would read “for a little while” and refers to both the Lord’s case and ours. At the resurrection, though created “for a little while” lower than the angels, we’ll be raised up past the angelic ranks to be crowned with honor and glory as the Bride of Christ just as Jesus was raised up past them to resume His seat on the Throne of God.(Ephes. 1:19-21, Ephes. 2:6)