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Is Man Above or Below Angels – Part 2

Today we conclude our 2-part series regarding the position of man in comparison to angels. The first part can be found here. We left off in our last post with the First Adam falling to become lower than the angels.

Jesus Becomes Lower Than the Angels

The Book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus becoming a man. It quotes Psalm 8:5 to tell us how the One whom the angels worshipped (Hebrews 1:8) became lower than they were.

This was not because Jesus was no longer God, but due to his taking on the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of man (Phil 2:5-11). By quoting the Psalm, the writer of Hebrews is letting us know that Jesus as a man was lower than the angels.

Jesus Teaches Man is Equal to the Angels

Jesus tells us we are equal to the angels in Luke 20:36. The context of this verse is the argument He had with the Sadducees regarding the resurrection. First, Jesus sets them straight regarding marriage in Heaven (there won’t be any). Then, He tells them that after a person dies, there is no more dying. He is now a spirit being only, without a body. This puts him on equal footing with the angels, who also are spirit beings who will never die.

I will demonstrate this point using Luke 20:34-38. Jesus guides us through the life of a person: life and marriage (Luke 20:34); death and the end of marriage (Luke 20:35-36); the raising of the dead (Luke 20:37-38). Hence, when Jesus says we are equal to the angels, He is speaking specifically of that time of death: between life on Earth and the Resurrection of the Dead.

Man is Higher Than the Angels

Finally, we learn that in the Resurrection, we will be judging the angels: We will be considered higher than they are. When we are alive, we are lower than they are. When we are dead, we are equal to them. After the Resurrection, we are both spiritual and physical. This places us above the purely spiritual beings called angels.

Insight into the Temptation of Adam and Eve

Going back to the Garden, before the Fall, we should recognize that Adam and Eve were then like we will be. They were both physical and spiritual beings and were considered higher than the angels.

This should help us to understand why Satan fell: His pride was such that it would not allow an entire race of creatures to be above him. It also explains why he was determined to bring us down with him: his covetousness of Man’s position in God’s hierarchy.

Thus, we can see there is no contradiction. We simply have to recognize that each verse is speaking to a different era in the epochs of Time.