190728 God’s Messengers (2)

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Angels are the only moral, highly intelligent creatures, aside from man, that God created. Since the angels were not made in God’s image they are, in the order of things, lower than mankind. Several times the Bible tells us that we were made in God’s image. Nowhere is the same thing said about angels.

All of the angels must have been created by the end of the sixth day. I believe that is indicated in Genesis 2:1 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” It is further strengthened by the words in the fourth commandment (the Sabbath commandment) found in Exodus 20:11 “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” However, we only have hints in the Scripture. We must trust God to give us the information we need. One thing we know, angels apparently have great power. The psalmist described them as “mighty ones who do his word” (Psalm 103:20). Let’s look into some of that might and how it relates to us.

It seems fair to conclude that we are more like God than the angels, or any other created being. Out of all of God’s creation only…

The man was made in God’s image. Let’s look at Genesis 1:26. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

In the image of God includes a likeness to God. “Likeness” refers to something that is similar but not identical. We are not gods but we are made to be like him. That sense of likeness qualifies mankind to rule over the creation. When Christ returns and order is reestablished men will be given the authority to rule.

We should not think that our physical bodies imply that God has a body. In the words of Jesus, to the Samaritan woman, God is Spirit.

Our bodies allow abilities that reflect our God-likeness. We have eyes giving us the ability to see. Seeing is a godlike quality. He sees far more than we ever will but he does not do it with physical eyes as we do. We have ears to hear with and God hears. We have the ability to speak and we serve a God who speaks. Now, all of our abilities that reflect God-likeness are shared by the angels. Angels see, hear and speak. They travel from place to place just as we do. Even though we are higher than the angels in the cosmic pecking order…

We are temporarily lower than the angels. As is stated in Hebrews 2:7. You made him (mankind) for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,

God put mankind on earth to subdue it and rule over it. Not as owners but as servants of the true owner who is God himself. Mankind was designed to share in Christ’s authority over the universe. In the eyes of God, we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). But, while we are on this earth we are lower than the angels in ability and power.

God created the universe to show his glory. He did not have to create, he did not need more glory. God desired to create the universe to demonstrate his excellence. When he created man in his own image he declared that the entire creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). God’s creative activity is reflected in the delight people have in their creative abilities. Our creative ability comes from God. People take delight in many activities that reflect God’s character. All kinds of activity: cooking a nice meal, decorating our house or space, working with wood or other materials reflect, in a small way, God’s delight in creation.

We are not at our top form because sin broke our fellowship with God. The angels that serve God have an unbroken relationship. There are angels who sinned in rebellion against God but right now we are only considering those who remained obedient to him.

We are ultimately to rule the universe alongside our God and do not now fully reflect the image of God. And, for the time being, we are a little lower than the angels as our Lord Jesus Christ was while he was on earth. In the coming age…

We will judge the angels. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 6:3a. Do you not know that we are to judge angels?

Scripture does not tell us all we want to know. It could well be that judging the angels includes some kind of authority over the angelic world. In this passage, Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to judge issues between themselves rather than going to the world’s court system. He is not just talking about our ruling angels he also has said: “the saints will judge the world”.

This could mean that we will observe the judgment by Christ. This kind of judgment involves the ability to evaluate and discern issues. In Revelation 20:4 there is a reference to “thrones and seated on them are those to whom judgment was committed”. We don’t know all that this includes but we can be comfortable with the idea that we are somehow involved in the final ruling of the universe. Part of that authority coming down from Christ to us is the ability to judge the angels.

It has occurred to me that the angels are committed to training us for a good reason. Since we are going to judge them the…

Angels serve us now. Let’s look at Hebrews 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

When our salvation is complete we will be exalted above the angels. I’m sure this is something they are well aware of. If you were a servant I am sure you would want the opportunity to guide and train your future master. We see in this the fact that God has a plan that integrates the spiritual world with the physical world. Angels — coming and going from the physical world — will be permanently visible in the world to come. When John saw the vision that we call “Revelation” he saw the throne in heaven and heard the voice of many angels. Those good angels number “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11). At the same time, the number of redeemed mankind will also be innumerable.

All of my life I have heard preachers and teachers talking about how few there will be who are saved. They do this by referring to the narrow gate that leads to heaven. It’s true, Jesus spoke of such a narrow path and also the very wide path that leads to hell. Jesus gave John a different story! He saw “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). We must remember that the book of Revelation is properly entitled “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1).

The writer of Hebrews heard a trumpet and the words “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Hebrews 12:22). Again we see the number of angels described as innumerable — without number! And these are only the angels that did not rebel against God. Before we judge the rebels too severely we need to remember that all of mankind rebelled and all of mankind inherited the sin of rebellion. There is a major difference between what happened to mankind and what happened to the angels who sinned. When Adam sinned God the Father Himself provided a sacrifice that was a symbol of the sacrifice of God’s only Son on the cross. Some of the angels sinned and were cast out of heaven along with Satan their leader. God decided to redeem none of them.

In Adam, all mankind sinned. God could have let all of us go on our self-centered path to destruction. And God chose to let mankind follow the path of the sending angels he would’ve been perfectly just. If on the other hand, God had chosen to redeem five people out of all who lived he would have been perfectly just. If God decided to save 100 he would have been perfectly just. Instead, God has decided to redeem out of sinful mankind a great multitude. This is grace, mercy, and love beyond our understanding. We often see people dealing with very difficult circumstances and hear them say, “I don’t deserve this!”. No, we do not disserve to be redeemed. What we deserve is to die and go to hell. But somehow rather than leaving us in the same predicament as the fallen angels God has chosen to save many — beyond number!

 The offspring of Adam and Eve may be saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is…

When Satan rebelled against God taking a large number of angels with him condemned them to hell. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that any of the angels who sinned could be born again. They have no hope. They were created as servants of God. They rebelled along with Satan. They sinned. They cannot be redeemed.

Praise God, humans, people like you and I can have our sin debt paid. While the angels are being kept in pits of darkness mankind can be released from sin. We were created to glorify God.

It is possible for angels to involve themselves in human activity. The godly angels will do everything they possibly can to help us live a godly life. The evil angels will do everything they possibly can to hinder our spiritual growth and prevent us from bringing glory to God.

Sometime after the sixth day of creation, a part of the angels sinned and rebelled against God. After that Satan, who is their leader tempted Eve and then Adam into rebellion. Angels can influence our lives but only Jesus can provide salvation. Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, I encourage you to do so today!

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.