Angels are God's special creatures
Do angels exist? What are they like, and what is their
role in God's plan?
By ROLAND CHIA
THERE seem to be two extreme responses to the reality of angels
among Christians today. On one end of the spectrum, some Christians
seem to dismiss angels as a myth that no one in this scientific
age can be expected to take seriously. On the other end, however,
there are Christians who speak of angelic encounters as if they
are part of the normal Christian experience.
Most Christians stand between the two extremes. They are aware
that the Bible does speak of angels, but they are unsure what
these creatures are and what they are supposed to do. Except for
a few allusions, they seldom hear about angels in Sunday sermons.
Yet, the Bible is full of accounts of angelic activity. Angels
were present at different occasions in the history of Israel.
They were present at the events surrounding the birth and ministry
of Jesus. Angelic activity in the early church is recorded in
Acts, and Revelation describes their various roles at the close
of the age. However, while the Bible describes the presence and
activities of angels, it says precious little about their nature
and purpose.
The English word angel is derived from the Greek aggelos which
simply means "the sent one". "Angels' therefore
simply means "messenger", and can be used to refer either
to a human or divine person.
In the Bible, angels mostly refer to the spiritual
or divine messengers of God. Psalm 8:5 makes clear that angels
are superior to human beings but inferior to God. "You have
made him (man) a little lower than the heavenly beings (angels)
and crown him with glory and honour." Angels are therefore
God's special creatures, a part of God's wonderful and diverse
creation. In Colossians, Paul refers to angels as the "invisible
things" that God has created through Christ (Col 1:16).
As created beings, angels, although in many ways superior to human
beings, do not possess attributes that belong only to God. For
example, although angelic knowledge is superior to the knowledge
possessed by human beings, angels are not omniscient - they do
not know everything. And although angels appear to be able to
shuttle from God's throne in heaven to earth in a flash, they
are not omnipresent. In light of this, the Bible explicitly prohibits
the worship of angels (See Rev 19:9-10).
What do angels look like? Do they have human features? Do they
have physical bodies? Are they visible or invisible? There is
a large body of literature in the Christian tradition that deal
with questions like these.
Most theologians maintain that the Bible teaches that angels are
spirits, and therefore do not possess physical bodies like human
beings. Some theologians, however, opined that angels are pure
spirits while others maintain that they possess spiritual bodies.
Theologians who maintain that angels possess spiritual bodies
insist that only God is pure spirit.
All of His creatures are in some sense corporeal, possessing bodies
in accordance with their natures. Angels, they claim, are corporeal
in that they possess bodies that are very different from the physical
bodies of human beings.
Ordinarily, angels are invisible to the human eye, although they
can appear in human form. There are many accounts in the Bible
of real encounters between humans and angels. These encounters
suggest that angels are able to take on the form of human beings.
The great medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas, maintains that
angels have the ability to assume human bodies. But he is silent
about how this is done and where these human bodies come from.
The Bible teaches that part of the ministry of angels is to protect
God's people and deliver them from harm. In Psalm 91, David writes:
"For he (God) will command his angels concerning you to guard
you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (v 12).
Instances of angelic protection can be found in Acts, the most
famous of which is 12:5-11, which describes the rescue of Peter
from prison by an angel (See also Acts 27).
The author of Hebrews therefore describes angels as "ministering
spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to
obtain salvation" (Heb 1:14). Describing the work of angels
in his sermon entitled, "Of Good Angels", John Wesley
wrote:
May they not minister also to us with respect to our bodies, in
a thousand ways which we do not now understand? They may prevent
our falling into many dangers which we are not sensible of; and
may deliver us out of many others though we know not whence our
deliverance comes. How many times have we been strangely and unaccountably
preserved in sudden and dangerous falls? And it is well if we
did not impute that preservation to chance, or to our own wisdom
or strength. Not so; it was God gave his angels charge over us,
and in their hands they bore us up (Sermon 71, "Of Good Angels").
As angels mostly work in secret and incognito, Christians should
not be obsessed by angelic activities in the world. Rather, Christians
should always be thankful to God for sending these mysterious
creatures, His servants, to serve and protect His people.
Dr Roland Chia is Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Lecturer
in Historical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Theological College.
He worships at the Fairfield Preaching Point in Woodlands.
QUOTE:
INVISIBLE TO HUMAN EYE
'Ordinarily, angels are invisible to the human eye, although they can appear in human form. There are many accounts in the Bible of real encounters between humans and angels. These encounters suggest that angels are able to take on the form of human beings.'