The word angel is chiefly used of those superhuman creatures whose abode is heaven and who are the unseen agents in executing the purposes of God. To them are assigned functions in the administration of nature and of nations as well as in communications to men. They act as God’s messengers and as personal agents in the fulfillment of His Word. They are the hosts of the Lord, innumerable and mighty, and endowed with faculties which fit them for their higher sphere of existence. They excel in strength, and, intently listening to the voice of His word; they are ready instantly to catch the slightest intimation of His will (Ps. 103:20).
They formed the retinue of Jehovah when the Law was given (Deut. 33:2; Heb. 2:2; Gal. 3:18). They are “holy ones” accomplishing perfectly the will of their Creator (Mk. 8:38). They are “elect” for, by means of divine preservation, they refused to be partners with Satan and his angels when they fell (1 Tim. 5:21). They stood victorious in the test of the fierceness of that terrible defection and hence are fitted to help and sympathize as they behold how we have need to stand in our conflict (1 Cor. 4:9).
In their ministry there is a marked economy both of word and of the display of power. Their words are always few and directly to the purpose and, as for the power they exercise, there is nothing superfluous. They never indulge in the slightest self-display and in their obedience they never overpass the limits of their commission. They never add to or diminish the message they carry.
Again, they have no preferences in their service. No errand is beneath them. Whatever it may be, it is equally an honor to serve their Lord. It is all one to them whether they are sent to control the opposing forces of Persia or of Greece or to maintain the cause of Israel, or, on the other hand, to spread a meal for a weary traveller like Elijah (Dan. 10:20; 12:1; 1 Ki. 19:5).
How readily they wait upon the heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14)! Yet they are never permitted to be the objects of our personal regard or to receive the worship due alone to their Creator (Col. 2:18; Rev. 22:8-9). With us the lack of thanks for any help we may bestow on fellow mortals disturbs our spirits, but never theirs. How unselfishly they render service to those who are beneath them in the scale of creation but who are destined to administer the habitable earth to come and to occupy a place nearer to the Throne than theirs throughout eternity (Heb. 2:5; Rev. 5:11). They are never envious of our high destiny.
How gentle, too, is the manner of their service! If they bear us up in their hands lest we dash our foot against a stone, yet is their care so softly rendered that we are rarely conscious of their protection (Ps. 34:7, 91:12). It was an exceptional case to be smitten, like Peter, on the side, but Peter needed to be disturbed from sleep (Acts 12:6).
However lightly and contemptuously the conversion of a soul may be thought of among men, angels behold it with delight, whereas how trifling must human discoveries, exploits and victories appear to them! Nothing so pleases them as the deliverance of a sinner from the power of darkness and his translation into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. They do not originate the joy; it is joy in their presence. They share the joy of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Lk. 15:10).
In all these perfections they can, indeed, be our example: in their instantaneous obedience for they have never to be told twice to do a thing; in their entire absence of self-display; in their absolute impartiality, and in their alacrity to help those who need it, though they never get from us a “thank you”; in their unselfishness and contentment, though the object of their care is quite unconscious of their deed; and in their thorough sympathy with the heart of God towards the lost.
How they must have wondered, to see their Creator on the cross of shame, and how their loyalty must have again been tested as they heard His unanswered cry of anguish, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!” But with what acclamations they would receive Him as He took His seat at God’s right hand, the glorious work completed!
Though they have a high intelligence and can interpret visions (2 Sam. 14:17, 20; Dan. 7:16; 9:21; Rev. 22:8), they desire to look into the things which concern the scheme of our salvation (1 Pet. 1:12). It is not theirs, personally, to enjoy its blessedness. Relatively they do, for they sang with joy at the Advent of our Redeemer and rejoice over a sinner’s repentance.
Nor can they be the direct channel of the communication of the gospel; in this human, not angelic, instruments are used. Their ministry may be employed indirectly in furthering the bringing of the good news to men but it is not theirs to impart spiritual instruction. That is the work of the Spirit of God through the Word. It was an angel that directed the outward circumstances of Philip; but it was the Spirit who gave him directions for his spiritual service (Acts 8:26-39).
So far as men are concerned, angels deal with material, rather than with spiritual things, though they may avert evils which might hinder the progress of the gospel and they may be used to bring about results which promote the reception of the message.
If, as we have seen, they can be to us examples of obedience and other graces, they can also learn, by means of the Church, the multi-varied wisdom of God (Eph. 3:10). They watch the behavior of assemblies as well as of individuals and notice the slightest tendency to immodesty or irreverence in those they serve (1 Cor. 2:10). If these holy beings are accustomed to veil their faces and cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” in the presence of the Lord of hosts, how much more should we, who are sinners by nature and practice! As those who themselves have never sinned, who can tell how even they are edified by the obedience of mortal men and by their steadfastness in trial (1 Cor. 4:9)? Before these angels the Lord is going to confess or deny those who have confessed or denied Him before men (Lk. 12:8-9).
Doubtless He who calls the stars by name has given names to the angelic host, but of these, apart from Satan, we know but two: Michael and Gabriel. Michael is an archangel and Gabriel seems to be in some nearer relationship to God than others less elevated in power, for he speaks of himself as “standing in the presence of God” (Lk. 1:19).
There are also cherubim and seraphim, an order of heavenly beings not sent to earth at all but who always attend on God and are the bearers of His throne.
There seems to be a variety in angelic ministry, for Gabriel’s ministry is on behalf of men, whereas Michael’s seems rather to be in opposition to Satan. Gabriel is a messenger of mercy, peace and restoration (Dan. 9:21-23; Lk. 1:26), whereas Michael is a warrior prince, apparently in charge of Israel, a messenger of wrath against movements hostile to the Kingdom of God (Dan. 10:13-21; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7).
There are diversities among them of strength, for a “mighty” angel is spoken of as though all were not precisely such, though all of them excel in power (Rev. 18:21; Ps. 103:20). There are also gradations of rank among them, for we read of “thrones, dominions, principalities and powers,” all of whom have been created by Christ and for Him (Col. 1:16). He who once was “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” is supreme over all the angelic host (Heb. 2:9).
We read of their “council” (Ps. 89:7; 1 Ki. 22:19) as well as of their “general assembly” (Heb. 12:23; Ps. 82:1; 89:5), but beyond this we know but little of the angelic hierarchy. They spoke usually in human voice, though ordinarily their tongue is distinguished from man’s (1 Cor. 13:1). They are spoken of as “men” and never “women” for there are no sex distinctions in their case (Mt. 20:30). Though created before the foundation of the world, they never grow old; they are always in their prime and appear as “young” (Mk. 16:5). Their numbers never diminish and never increase and they need no means to perpetuate their race as mortals do.
Angels not only rejoiced at the birth of Jesus but ministered to Him in the days of His flesh, both after His temptation in the wilderness and in His agony in the Garden. What form that service took is hidden from us. It would seem to have been in the nature of physical rather than of spiritual assistance (Mt. 4:11; Lk. 22:43; Mt. 26:53). They announced His Second Advent (Acts 1:11) and they will all worship and accompany Him when He comes in the glory of His Father and of the holy angels (Heb. 1:6, rv; Mt. 25:31). They will then be the instruments in the execution of the judgments that will attend that coming (Mt. 13:41-49; 2 Thess. 1:7).
These myriads, continually ascending and descending on errands of mercy, render instant service to the heirs of salvation during life and cease not their office till they have carried the souls of the righteous to their heavenly abode (2 Ki. 2:11; Lk. 16:22). How many a deliverance has been ours, did we only know it, whether through their personal agency or through the natural agencies under their control!
Let us, then, take courage. They that be with us are more than they that be with those who may oppose us. While there is no room for carelessness or sloth, there is no room for despair on the part of the one who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.