Divinity of Christ
Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we have been cleansed from all sin, and we have communion with God and the Father (1 John 1:7). This is because the Word became flesh, yet remained the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of his being, and he endured the cross, despising shame, and insults, and blows, in order to free us from all defilement. As the Son of God, he has become superior to the angels, inheriting a more excellent name, and he is the door and the way to God and the Father (John 14:6). Although he was made a little lower than the angels, because of the measure of humanity, he was in glory and in the nature of divinity, and did not depart from the thrones of the Father. He was a man on earth, yet filled heaven again, and all things were full of him, and through him we have access to God and the Father.
The Word, who is the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of his being, became flesh and dwelled among us, making his own body from the holy virgin (John 1:14). He endured the sufferings of humanity, including the cross, shame, and insults, in order to cleanse us from all sin and join us to God and the Father through himself. As our Savior, he has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and he is the one through whom we have access to God and the Father, and he is the door and the way.
Christ's supremacy is evident in his position above all authority, power, and dominion, as well as every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:21). The apostle Paul, aware of this, writes about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, despite being rich, became poor for our sake, so that we might become rich through his poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9). This makes him far superior to the angels.
The terms 'Angel' and 'Son' have distinct meanings, with 'Angel' signifying a name of ministry and indicating a domestic measure, while 'Son' reveals the substantial and natural existence from the Father. Therefore, he did not say 'greater' or 'more honorable' comparatively, so that someone might not think of these and those as of the same kind. But he said 'better', so that the difference in the Son's nature to the created things might be known. This is supported by scripture, where David sings that one day in God's courts is better than a thousand (Psalm 84:10), and Solomon proclaims that wisdom is better than precious stones (Proverbs 3:15). How are wisdom and earthly stones not of a different substance and nature? What kinship is there between the heavenly courts and earthly houses? Thus, there is no kinship between the Son and the angels. Since there is no kinship, the 'better' was not spoken comparatively, but distinctively because of the difference of his nature from theirs.
Greek
τῶν παραπτωμάτων." γράφει δὲ ὡδὶ καὶ Ἰωάννης περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρός "Ἐὰν περιπατῶμεν ἐν τῷ "φωτὶ κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ "Χριστοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρ"τίας." αἵματι δὴ οὖν κεκαθαρίσμεθα τῷ ἁγίῳ τοῦ πάντων ἡμῶν Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ, ὃς κεκάθικεν ἐν δεξίᾳ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, πότε δέ; ὅτε καθαρισμὸν ἐποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσαι λέγεται, γεγενῆσθαι δὲ καὶ κρείττων ἀγγέλων, κληρονομῆσαι δὲ παρ' αὐτοὺς τὸ διαφορώτερον ὄνομα· κέκληται γὰρ Υἱός. γέγονε μὲν γὰρ σὰρξ ὁ Λόγος καίτοι Λόγος ὢν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ χαρακτὴρ, οὐκ ἰδίᾳ φύσει ποιούμενος τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω τοὺς πόνους· ὑπέμεινε γὰρ "σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας," ἀτιμίας τε καὶ ὕβρεις καὶ ἐμπτύσματα· ἀλλ' ἵν' ἡμᾶς ἀπαλλάξῃ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ αἵματι τῷ ἰδίῳ καθαροὺς ἀποφήνας, συνάψῃ δὲ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί· "δι' αὐτοῦ γὰρ "τὴν προσαγωγὴν" ἐσχήκαμεν, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ θύρα καὶ ἡ ὅδος. πλὴν εἰ καὶ γέγονε "σὰρξ ὁ Λόγος καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν "ἐν ἡμῖν," ἴδιον σῶμα ποιησάμενος τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου ληφθὲν, ἀλλ' οὖν ἐν δόξῃ καὶ φύσει θεότητος ἦν καὶ τῶν ὑπερτάτων τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς οὐκ ἀπέστη θρόνων. ἦν μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ γῆς, ἐπλήρου δὲ πάλιν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἦν αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα μεστά. καὶ ἠλάττωτο μὲν βραχὺ παρ' ἀγγέλους διά γε τὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος μέτρον· ὑποκάθηται γὰρ τῶν ἀγγέλων τὸ εὐκλεὲς ἡ ἀνθρώπου φύσις· ἦν δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἔχων "ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς ἐξουσίας τε "καὶ κυριότητος καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου οὐ μόνον "ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι." καὶ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ θεσπέσιος γράφει Παῦλος "Γινώσκετε γὰρ τὴν 370 "χάριν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὅτι πλούσιος ὢν "ἐπτώχευσε δι' ἡμᾶς, ἵν' ἡμεῖς τῇ αὐτοῦ πτωχείᾳ" πλουτήσωμεν. Τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων. Τὸ μὲν γάρ Ἄγγελος, ὄνομα λειτουργίας ἐστὶ σημαντικὸν, οἰκετικόν τε ἡμῖν ὑπεμφαίνει μέτρον· τὸ δέ γε Υἱὸς, τὴν ἐκ Πατρὸς ὕπαρξιν οὐσιώδη καὶ φυσικὴν δηλοῖ· διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν οὐδὲ συγκριτικῶς εἴρηκε μείζων ἢ τιμιώτερος, ἵνα μὴ ὡς περὶ ὁμογενῶν τούτου κἀκείνων τις λογίσηται· ἀλλά Κρείττων εἴρηκεν, ἵνα τὸ διαλλάττον τῆς φύσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὰ γενητὰ γνωρίσῃ· καὶ τούτων ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν, τοῦ μὲν ∆αβὶδ ψάλλοντος "Ὅτι "κρείσσων ἡμέρα μία ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς σου ὑπὲρ χιλιάδας," τοῦ δὲ Σολομῶντος ἀναφωνοῦντος "Κρείσσων σοφία λίθων "πολυτελῶν·" πῶς γὰρ οὐχ ἑτεροούσια καὶ ἄλλα τὴν φύσιν, ἡ σοφία καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ γῆς λίθοι; ποία δὲ συγγένεια ταῖς ἐν οὐρανοῖς αὐλαῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς οἴκοις; οὕτως ἄρα οὐδεμία συγγένεια τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους ἐστί· μηδεμιᾶς δὲ οὔσης τῆς συγγενείας, οὐκ ἄρα συγκριτικῶς ἐλέχθη τό Κρείττων, ἀλλὰ διακριτικῶς διὰ τὸ διαλλάττον τῆς τούτου φύσεως ἀπ' ἐκείνων· καὶ αὐτὸς οὖν ὁ ἀπόστολος τό Κρείττων ἑρμηνεύων, οὐκ ἐν