A Little Lower Than the Angels

I was listening to the first sermon of Pastor John Herbert’s comprehensive series on the Letter to the Hebrews and he states:

“When God brought Christ into the inhabited world the first time we will remember that He came ‘a little lower than the angels,’ but when He comes into the inhabited world again then the angels of God will worship Him.”

Scripture attests to this fact both in the Old Testament and the New Testament:

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: (Psalm 8:4-6)

But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:6-10)

This got me thinking about whether these passages have a second literal meaning.  Herbert says: “At His first advent He came to pay the price for sin in a role subordinate to the angels, when He comes again the situation is entirely different.”  He is referring to the fact that Jesus came as a man during his first advent and He will return as King during His Millennial Kingdom.

But is Scripture is also referring to the physical location where Jesus was created?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7, emphasis mine).

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5, emphasis mine).

Scripture tells us that there are three heavens:

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:22)

The early Jewish rabbis believed that the first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere, the second is the starry heaven, and the third heaven is where the throne of God dwells (Clarke).

Other Scripture passages talk about the heaven of heavens, which appears to be this third heaven:

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. (Deuteronomy 10:14)

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1 Kings 8:27)

We know that God created the angels and one might assume this took place in the third heaven.  Jesus, however, was created differently.  God created His son through the virgin woman Mary on earth where Jesus was born.  So when Scripture talks about God making Jesus a little lower than the angels, could it mean that Jesus was lower in stature to the angels and that the location where He was created was lower than the place where the angels were created?

I’m not sure if there is any great significance to this, but it is interesting that when Jesus returns to the lower place of His creation, His stature will be higher than all of the angels.  Oh, how we will rejoice on that day.  Come Christ Jesus, come!