‘Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.’1Gen 2:1.
‘There are more things in heaven and earth … Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’2William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, scene 5, RSC edition, 159–167.
1. THE SPIRITUAL WORLD AND THE ORIGIN OF ANGELS
The Invisible Realm is Totally Real
The first sentence of the Bible explains that God created both ‘the heavens and the earth.’ This indicates that the environment that we inhabit is twofold. God’s world is comprised of two parts. The physical universe – ‘earth’ – has a counterpart in the spiritual universe – ‘the heavens’. There are then two distinct dimensions of created reality, two interlocking spheres, directly connected in some respects and more indirectly linked in others. God, in his fatherly goodness, is Lord of both, and has created and administers both for his glory and our good. As expressed in the Nicene Creed, ‘We believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.’ As well as the observable, visible, material world, the cosmos includes a transcendent realm, a spiritual sphere, exterior and superior to us, that is for the time being usually invisible to us, but which is actually continuous and coexistent with us. According to Scripture, ‘the heavens’ (literally ‘atmosphere, sky’) is the world of angels, spirits, demons, cherubim, seraphim, authorities, principalities, powers, rulers, thrones, and dominions (Rom 8:38-39; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10).3‘We live in a world of unseen spirits. Everywhere we go, we live in the presence of God, the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Spirit. A human spirit animates the body of every man, woman, or child that we encounter. Furthermore, angelic and demonic spirits move invisibly about us as they strive to advance or defeat Christ’s kingdom’ (Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1109). Herman Bavinck’s summary is astute: ‘Belief in a spiritual world is rooted in and profoundly expresses the truth of revelation; only God can make it known to us, and he has done so in Scripture.’4Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics.Abridged, 276. In the face of atheistic disinclination to recognize the reality of the spirit world, Bavinck remarks, ‘[N]o science or philosophy can advance any argument against the possibility of such spiritual beings. Humans are psychic beings and cannot explain the life of the soul from material metabolism but have to predicate some spiritual substance for that life. This continues even after death and, therefore, the reality of the spiritual world is not inconsistent with any argument of reason or fact of experience’ (276).
These last two clauses of Bavinck’s observation indicate the only way we can come to true knowledge about angels. We are a physical creation, in an observable, visible, material world. Angels are purely spiritual, inhabitants in a transcendent realm, a spiritual sphere, exterior and superior to us. Therefore, only God can give us knowledge of angels, and as an exercise of his lordship over heaven and earth he has done so in Holy Scripture. The Bible alone must be our sole source of knowledge, which means that we must resolutely stay within its limits and avoid speculation. By the nature of the case, speculation by us about the spiritual sphere can only be unmitigated presumption and rejection of God’s fatherly lordship and kindness in revealing himself in Christ clothed with his gospel. ‘[L]et us remember here,’ counselled Calvin, ‘as in all religious doctrine, that we ought to hold to one rule of modesty and sobriety: not to speak, or guess, or even to seek to know, concerning obscure matters anything except what has been imparted to us by God’s Word. … The theologian’s task is not to divert the ears with chatter, but strengthen consciences, by teaching things true, sure, and profitable.’5Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.4; Battles ed., 164. Thanks to Robert Doyle for helping clarify this matter.
The Angels Are Spiritual Creatures
Although the existence of angels is a given in the Bible, details surrounding the origin of angels are sparse. They are undoubtedly presented as created beings, as creatures, not divine beings (Psa 148:1-6). Angels are therefore absolutely distinct from God. Equally clearly, like all other things, angels were created by God’s ‘beloved Son’ (Col 1:13-16), through whom the Father exercises his benevolent and good rule over us. Angels had no involvement in and made no contribution to God’s original work of creation, either as agents or intermediaries. They are – like human beings – a product of the Triune God’s creativity, summoned into existence out of absolutely nothing. They are vast in number (‘myriads of myriads,’ Rev 5:11; ‘a thousand thousands … ten thousand times ten thousand,’ Dan 7:10; cf. Job 25:3), but their precise population number is unknown to us.
Genesis does not directly recount the creation of angels themselves. It is possible that God brought them into existence on the first day of creation.6Noting again Calvin’s measured advice referred to above: ‘[L]et us remember here … The theologian’s task is not to divert the ears with chatter, but strengthen consciences, by teaching things true, sure, and profitable’ (Institutes, 1.14.4; 164). They are said to have witnessed the creation of human beings and the material world and, that being so, they were called into being before the physical world and before people (Gen 2:1; Job 38:4-7). So, angels are celestial – heavenly – creatures, yet creatures who were present at the creation of the physical-visible earthly world. Because angels are asexual and ungendered, they do not mate and cannot therefore reproduce (Matt 22:30). As we know of no further direct creations of God since Genesis 2:1-3, angels may be supposed to have all been brought into being at once, in the same point of time. ‘Nothing is anterior to the creation of heaven and earth, but it is certain that the angels were created before the seventh day, when heaven and earth and all the host of them were finished, and God rested from his labour.’7Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 279. Obviously, the creation and fall of Satan must have preceded his role as deceiver and tempter of Adam and Eve (Rev 12:9).8The book of Revelation contains the term ‘angel’ nearly eighty times.
The spirit world then came into being after the creation of time and space, but it was created before the material world. As spiritual creatures, angels only have a finite, limited relation to time and space, though what this relation amounts to is difficult to say. Moreover, angels have a somewhat different relation to physical matter than human beings and, being created spirits, are commonly assumed to be immaterial and non-physical.
Two Dimensions Interacting With One Another
The two dimensions of creation – the physical world and the spiritual world – border one another. The invisible sphere and visible sphere intersect by boundary and frontier. God is Lord of both the heavenly and the earthly realms, yet the nature of his present relation to each differs. Heaven (singular) does not contain God, for it is his creation. ‘The heavens are the LORD’s heavens’ (Psa 115:16). Heaven is God’s dwelling, the realm of God’s rule, the place where God’s presence is immediately manifest, and the arena within which God directs his work outward into the earthly creation. Heaven is then the sphere of creation entirely beyond human control, the domain where God’s will goes unchallenged and is fully performed (Deut 26:15; Matt 6:9-10; Acts 1:11; Rev 4:11).
Whilst they border earth, ‘heaven’, the domain of God, and ‘the heavens,’ the world of spirits, are both inaccessible to us and unseen by us. Supernatural spiritual forces that are (usually) invisible to humanity and beyond our capacity to influence, comprehend, or reach, nonetheless act, determine, and influence everyday matters in the natural and visible sphere. They operate ‘in the heavenly places’ (Eph 3:10; 6:12). All of collective human life and every individual human life therefore has an essentially and irreducibly transcendent dimension, a realm that is exterior to us and in significant respects superior to us. Whilst the invisible dimension is not accessible or discernible to physical sense-perception (sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell), it is entirely actual and totally real. Our lives in this world play out against an invisible background comprised of created spirits – the human spirit, plus good and evil spirits – and of God’s uncreated Spirit.
Yet, as we follow the trajectory of Holy Scripture, the inner and actual nature of God’s heavenly rule is revealed to us. The incapacity of our physical sense to see and understand it is overcome. Our natural ignorance does not have to mean fear, anxiety, engagement in speculation, superstition, or magic. For Scripture shows us that heaven is where God’s rule, his word, his commands, are done without deviation. That is the foundation for the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt 6:10). Angels are depicted as they who obey, who do God’s bidding with great vigour as he exercises his dominion (Psa 103:20). In its depiction of God’s heavenly rule as he brings it to its consummation – the full extension of his kingdom on earth by the defeat of evil – the book of Revelation refers to angels nearly 60 times. That consummation (Rev 20-22) is the final ushering in of the new heavens and the new earth, where the Satan through disobedient men and women can no longer trouble and persecute the church, the bride of Christ. In the movement towards this glorious end the angels have been God’s servants for our good. The book of Revelation draws aside the heavenly curtain, so to speak. And in that disclosure we see how and where we may experience the intersection of both spheres of God’s kingdom. It is reassuring. Angels are God’s fatherly servants for our good.9Grateful thanks to Robert Doyle for clarification here.
So, Hidden Yet Decisive
So, we see then in Scripture a good deal of material about the invisible, spiritual realm, although biblical teaching about it is characterised by a certain reticence, and does not offer full explanations of the origins, nature, and operation of the spiritual creatures. After all, the spiritual creatures exist in another dimension, and this may be part of the reason why they are treated indirectly. Nonetheless, their place in God’s purposes is extremely significant and, in some respects, even decisive. So ‘if we desire to recognize God from his works, we ought by no means to overlook such an illustrious and noble example. Besides, this part of doctrine is very necessary to refute many errors.’10Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.3; 162. The particular error Calvin here has in mind here is that of Manicheism, which taught that good things were created by God, but evil things were created by the devil. To which Calvin responds that nothing in creation is evil according to original nature, but due to ‘the corruption of nature.’ Although their presence and operation are hidden and imperceptible, the effect of God’s angels upon the world is material, determinative, and dramatic. Moreover, as we shall see, there is a great deal of encouragement to be gained by understanding God’s action in the world and God’s care for his people through the ministry of his angels. It is important, therefore, as far as we may, to accurately understand them and the role they play in God’s ways with the world.
2. NATURE, CAPACITIES, AND CAPABILITIES
Biblical Expressions
The word for ‘angel’ in both Hebrew (mal’ak) and Greek (angelos) means ‘envoy,’ ‘herald,’ ‘messenger,’ and ‘bearer or proclaimer of news.’ Occasionally the word ‘angel’ is used to refer to human messengers, and it is possible that this is the case with the address to the seven churches (Rev 2-3).11See D. Broughton Knox, ‘Translating “Angel” in the New Testament,’ Selected Works 1:363-373. Other expressions referring to angels are: ‘sons of God/sons of might’ (Job 1:6; 2:1; Psa 29:1; 89:6), ‘gods/heavenly beings’ (Psa 8:5; 97:7), ‘holy ones’ (Psa 89:5, 7; Dan 4:13), and ‘observers/watchers’ (Daniel 4:13, 17, 23). Metaphorically angels are likened to ‘stars,’ (Job 38:7; Rev 9:1, 11; cf. Deut 4:19; 17:3; Jer 33:22), ‘winds’ and ‘flaming fire’ (Psa 104:4; cf. 2 Ki 2:11; 6:17), ‘burning coals,’ ‘torches,’ and ‘lightning flashes’ (Eze 1:13-14).
Servants and Messengers
By comparison with humans, angels reside now in God’s immediate presence, as their name suggests serving as his emissaries and messengers. They never speak on their own authority, nor do they ever act on their own initiative. Angels, as it were, do not decide. They follow orders. Their office as servants and messengers, more than their metaphysical nature, is the focus of biblical concentration.
Presence and Appearance
Angels are said to be a type of ‘spirit’ (Psa 104:4; Acts 23:8-9; Heb 1:14), and on this basis it has usually been assumed that angels are immaterial, unbodily, noncorporeal creatures. This may indeed be so. Certainly, their relationship to the physical world is very different to ours. But rather than assume that angels are inherently immaterial and unbodily, it may perhaps be preferable to reckon that they have a physical constitution and material presence, a relation to matter, space, and time, of a kind currently beyond human conception, possibly corresponding to the ‘spiritual body’ that glorified humans will eventually assume (1 Cor 15:44).12Diverging from Bavinck, who acknowledges the line of reasoning supportive of the suggestion that angels may have a material constitution that is hyperphysical or superphysical: ‘Some … occasionally restate convictions about the corporeality of angels in some sense because the concept of a purely incorporeal nature is metaphysically inconceivable. Like God, angels are spirits; but quite unlike God who is unbounded by time and space, angels are bounded, finite, because they are creatures’ (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 279). Certainly, angels can take on bodily human appearance and functions, including the digestion of food (Gen 19:1-3). If angels do have their own bodies, they are patently quite different to current human bodies.
Angels are ungendered and immortal. They do not mate, and they cannot die, being unceasing spiritual beings (Matt 22:30; Lk 20:36) that exist as unique individual personal identities across the sweep of human history (Dan 8:16; 9:21; 1:19; 1:26). Not necessarily all angels are winged, although they do fly (Dan 9:21; Rev 14:6), and the cherubim and seraphim are presented as winged (Exo 25:20; Isa 6:2; cf. Eze 1:6 and Rev 4:8). Wings on angels generally may be inferred, but not necessarily inferred.
Differences to Human Beings
Only human beings are explicitly said to be created in God’s image. ‘Part of the problem lies in defining the image of God, which may refer broadly to man’s whole being and function as God’s visible reigning representative on earth (Gen 1:26-28), or more narrowly to knowledge, righteousness, and holiness (Eph 4:24; Col 3:10).’13Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1117. Perhaps a distinction between angels and humans may be identified in differing capacities to choose and to love.
‘While angels may be mightier spirits – greater in intellect and power – humans are far richer in relationships; the full image of God in all its richness is unfolded only in humanity.’14Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282. Unlike humans, angels do not couple, bear children, rear families, or draw their identity from ancestry and intimate relationships.
Unique, Individual, and Personal Creatures
Yet despite being ‘non-organic and non-generating,’15D. A. Carson, ‘Sin’s Contemporary Significance,’ in C. W. Morgan and R. A. Peterson eds., Fallen: A Theology of Sin (Crossway, 2013), 26. angels possess personal characteristics in common with human beings. They are personal spirits and personal subjects. Two (Michael and Gabriel) are named in Scripture,16Michael – Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev 12:7; Gabriel – Dan 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26. and this would seem to suggest that the other angels also have their own personal names. Gabriel refers to himself in the first person (Luke 1:19). They are evidently self-conscious personal beings of unique individual identity, moral capacity, rational intelligence, and emotional affections. The angels were overjoyed at God’s creation of the material world (Job 38:7). In one place, Jesus mentioned that ‘the angels of God’ are especially thrilled when just ‘one sinner’ transitions to repentance (Luke 15:10).17‘The angels are in concord with us even now, when our sins are forgiven’ (Augustine, Enchiridion, 17.64; trans. Outler, 376). In another place, angels are said to express desire and longing (1 Pet 1:12). That they are personal beings – having conscious identity in interactive relation to God and other creatures – is particularly clear and evident in their obvious use of language.
We may summarize:
Angels are moral creatures. They possess volition, self-determination, will, and as a consequence are ethically responsible. Some are described as ‘holy’ (Matt 25:31; Mk 8:38; Lk 1:26; Acts 10:22; Rev 14:10), but others lie and sin (Jn 8:44; 1 Jn 3:8). Angels will be held to personal account before God (1 Cor 6:3).
Angels are intelligent creatures. They possess intellect, understanding, knowledge, often immensely greater that human knowledge (cf. 2 Sam 14:20; Rev 22:9), despite the content of what angels know remaining limited (Matt 24:36; 1 Peter 1:12). Evidently, the knowledge of angels interacts with human behavior and is affected by it (Luke 12:8; 15:10; 1 Cor 4:9; Eph 3:10). Angels possess personal consciousness. Moreover, it is the very nature of angels as God’s messengers that they are language-users. They communicate. They speak. Indeed, unless it is hyperbole, Paul suggests that there are angelic languages (1 Cor 13:1).
Angels are vastly powerful creatures, ‘mighty ones’ (Psa 103:20). Their ability surpasses fallen human powers in many respects (2 Pet 2:11). The remarkable consequences of their action (Gen 19:11; 2 Chr 32:21; Dan 6:22; Acts 12:7-11, 23) and the great offices that they hold – thrones, rulers, authorities – express their exercise of decisive material effect across vast cosmic dominion. Angelic power comes from God, and their activity is directed (and limited) by him. As immediate residents of God’s throne-room, their role is devoted to the execution of the divine will, serving the practical hands-on exercise of his authority and spoken direction (Psa 103:20).
‘From this we conclude that angels, like humans, are a unity of created, spiritual, rational, moral beings; both were originally created in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; both were given dominion, immortality, and blessedness; both are called sons of God (Job 1:6; Luke 3:38).’18Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 281.
Seraphim and Cherubim
Related heavenly beings are seraphim and cherubim. Seraphs – literally, ‘burning ones’ – are mentioned just once, in connection with their acclamation of the superlative holiness of God, and their accompanying declaration from the altar of God’s provision of atonement for sin (Isa 6:2, 6). Cherubim are referred to more often. The exact connection of seraphim and cherubim with angels is not given, though it is likely that they are a class or type of angel, and therefore a distinct kind of spiritual creature with particular abilities or functions.19‘The similarities between Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Revelation 4 suggest that cherubim and seraphim might not be distinct kinds of angels, but different ways of describing the same spirits. It is difficult to be sure’ (Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1112.)
In the Bible’s earliest explicit appearance of spiritual creatures, cherubim wielding a flaming sword guarded Eden from intrusion after the ejection of Adam and Eve (Gen 3.24). After they were expelled from the garden, cherubim are placed east of Eden, together with ‘a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life’ (Gen 3:24).
Images of cherubim were later placed on the ark of the covenant (Exo 25:18-22; 37:7-9; Num 7:89; 1 Chr 28:18), on the curtains and the veil of the tabernacle (Exo 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35), in the temple’s inner sanctuary (1 Ki 6:23-35; 7:29-8:7), and on its walls (2 Chr 3:7). For this reason, the LORD is figuratively said to be ‘enthroned above the cherubim’ (1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Ki 19:15; 1 Chr 13:6; Psa 80:1; 99:1; Isa 37:16), and also to ride and fly swiftly ‘on a cherub’ (2 Sam 22:11; Psa 18:10). Most significantly, when Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he is said to have heard the LORD’s ‘voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him’ (Num 7:89).
During the construction of the first Jerusalem temple, an extended reference to large sculptures of two cherubim specifies their position ‘in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place’, where they stood on their ‘feet’ with a combined twenty-cubit spread of their four ‘wings’ rising above the place of the ark (2 Chr 3:10-14; 5:7-8).
Ezekiel’s early visions contain a further extended mention of cherubim. In addition to wings, they are depicted as ‘living creatures’ with human hands and four-fold faces, as well as numerous eyes (Eze 1:5-10; 9:3; 10:1-21; cf. Rev 4:6-9; 5:6-7:11; 8:9; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4). In Ezekiel’s later visions, images of cherubim with two faces are carved on the walls of the inner sanctuary (41:18, 20, 25). In the NT, ‘cherubim of glory’ are said to have overshadowed ‘the mercy seat’ (Heb 9:5). In sum, it seems that cherubim guard the holy presence of God against intrusion, play a ministerial role in the presentation of divine speech, and convey the majestic reality of God’s sovereign rule and presence.
3. ORGANIZATION AND ROLE IN HEAVEN
Devotion, Worship, and Witness
Angels reside in heaven (Luke 2:15), the heavenly court and throne-room, where they are obedient to God’s Word, devoted to God’s service and to enacting his will (Psa 103:20-21). In heaven, angels are fundamentally dedicated to God’s praise and worship. Serving God without interruption, they are in direct proximity to God’s immediate presence, and are said to see God’s face (Matt 18:10). Angel function as witnesses in heaven, both to believing faith in Christ and also to the denial of him (Luke 9:26; 12:8-9).
Hierarchy and Military
It seems that some angels are mightier than others (Rev 10:1; 18:1), with archangels being commanding figures (1 Thess 4:16; Jude 9). The archangel Michael is called ‘one of the chief princes’ (Dan 10:13) and the ‘great prince’ (Dan 12:1), with other angels under him (Rev 12:7-9), but more exact chains of command are not explained. The archangel Michael is said to have charge of the defence of God’s people (Dan 12:1). The Hebrew word commonly rendered ‘host’ (tsab’a) is also translated ‘army’ or ‘troops’ (1 Ki 4:4; 16:16). ‘They are called “hosts,”’ Calvin reckoned, because ‘as bodyguards surround their prince, they adorn his majesty and render it conspicuous.’20Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 165. Yet above all these powers, God himself is emphatically and repeatedly presented as ‘the Lord of armies/hosts/troops,’ and in one instance as ‘Prince of the army/host/troops’ (Dan 8:11).
Besides the command structure implicit in military hierarchical ranking, we do not have further detail about relationships between angels. They are evidently directed by God – ‘the Lord of hosts’ – and clearly organized in some kind of order of rank, with differing levels of official dignity, and a variety in degrees of authority. Yet, we have little if no information about the structure, combination, or sequence of angelic relations.
During the medieval period, elaborate speculative systems were developed for grouping, organization, and rank among angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim.21Pseudo-Dionysius, The Heavenly Hierarchy, dates from late fifth century Syria and proposes a three-fold division of nine spiritual beings (seraphim-cherubim-thrones, dominions-authorities-powers, principalities-archangels-angels), attributing each with respective functions.This work was influential on the lengthy elaborations about angels and demons by Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 1.50-64, 107-114, andSumma Contra Gentiles 2.91-101. Karl Barth’s critique of these and other over-imaginative treatments is penetrating (Church Dogmatics, III/3, 381-401). In this matter, as in all matters, we must adhere to clear biblical teaching and avoid undue speculation. Over-active speculation – combining fact with fantasy – often produces in turn the corresponding over-reactions of denial and neglect. Angels ought to be taken as seriously as Scripture itself determines. But beyond the sheer fact or hierarchy in their ranks, that angels and archangels are differentiated by degrees of authority and spheres of responsibility, regarding angelic organization only limited information is given. ‘[W]ho could on this basis,’ Calvin questioned, ‘determine the degrees of honor among angels, distinguish each by his insignia, assign to each his place and station?’22Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.8; 168.
The Divine Council and the Heavenly Army
Taken together as a group, the company of angels in heaven is called an ‘assembly’ (Psa 89:5), ‘the divine council’ (Psa 8:21; 89:7), the ‘host’ or ‘hosts’ (Gen 2:1; Psa 148:2), as in ‘LORD of hosts’ (from 1 Sam 1:11 onward, including more than sixty times in Isaiah), the ‘heavenly army/host’ (Luke 2:13), as well as ‘thrones,’ ‘dominions,’ ‘rulers,’ ‘authorities,’ and ‘powers’ (Col 1:16; 1 Pet 3:22). These latter expressions are used by Paul and Peter with reference to angels in positions of cosmic power, whether for good or evil (Rom 8:38; Eph 3:10; 6:12; Col 2:15).
Much is accomplished in heaven and many arrangements are made there, for it is God’s place and the realm where his goals, objectives, strategies, decisions, decrees, and will are fully enacted. However, we do not know the essential being of ‘the divine council,’ the particular nature of ‘the assembly’ of heavenly beings, or the specific contents of its agenda. We also do not know the ways in which the individuality of particular members relates from one to another. Their being is a mystery. But we do know that the heavenly beings exist both as individuals and as a group and totality. We also know that, as individual members and as a collective, they exist in unwavering devotion to God. Their reason for being is rendering service to God. ‘It is their existence and nature to observe the will of God and to stand at his disposal. Their heavenly glory consists solely in this determination.’23Barth, Church Dogmatics, III/3, 451-452.
Administration and Governance
Without much then in the way of detail beyond the obvious presidency of God, the Scriptures indicates the existence of a heavenly council comprised of a membership of spiritual beings, ‘all the host of heaven’ (1 Ki 22:19-23; Jer 23:18), each of whom are elected to office and commissioned with particular tasks and responsibilities. Elements of God’s providence – his preservation and government of creation toward its promised end – are delegated to the business of angels. The administration and exercise of God’s authority in some aspects of the universe has been devolved, entrusted to the arrangement of angels. In all the affairs they conduct, angels are plenipotentiaries, fully invested with power of God to act. It is, wrote Calvin, ‘celestial spirits whose ministry and service God uses to carry out all things he has decreed.’24Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 165. In particular, angels are those through whom God has chosen to dispense ‘his benefits among men.’25Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.9; 169. They are effectively administrators of the grace of God and ‘of all good things to us.’26Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.10; 170. There is then at least some substance to recent comparisons of angels to ‘ambassadors,’ ‘secret agents’ and celestial ‘civil servants.’27Respectively, Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/3, §51; Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents(Doubleday, 1975); Bray, God is Love, 260.
There is in the heavenly council a harmonious order among individual members working together as an entourage in service of the Kingdom of God. The shared direction of their action is from heaven to earth. Though they are separate from God, angels attend upon God’s immediate presence, are involved in the current life of heaven, worshipping God without interruption (Rev 5:11-14). In this sense, in their instant proximity to God, and its associated capacities and capabilities, they are for the moment superior to human beings.
Directed by God
There is in Scripture a strong emphasis on angels being unerringly directed by God and absolutely subordinate to him. The God-directed and God-subordinate nature of angels is indicated by their description primarily in relation to God. Angels belong to God, they are his (Psa 104:4). Each one is elected personally and specifically by him (1 Tim 5:21). The meaning of the two given angelic names further expresses an unbroken, instantaneous God-centred relation: Michael (‘who is like God?’) and Gabriel (‘mighty one [gibor] of God’). It is certain that their abilities are presently greater than ours, in knowledge and movement, for instance (Dan 9:20-23). ‘[A]ngels … relate more freely to time and space than humans do … [possessing ability] to move at lightning speed and not be obstructed by physical objects in immediate translocation.’28Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 280. That said, it appears that angels have a local and limited personal presence, coming and going from place to place. Whilst they wield vast power to effect material events on earth (Isa 37:36), angels are not, as God is, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. In one place, we learn that on occasion angels may be ‘withstood’ by opposition, held back, obstructed, prevented from acting as they would ideally intend of wish (Dan 10:13). Angels, in sharp contrast to God, are not omnipotent, let alone eternal, omniscient, or omnipresent.
Angels, therefore, cannot do ‘what God alone can do. . . They cannot save, redeem or liberate the earthly creature. They cannot forgive even the smallest sin, or remove even the slightest pain.’29Barth, Church Dogmatics, III/3, 460. In summary, angels remain finite creatures, subordinate to God’s Son (Heb 1-2), serving those who trust in Christ.
Subordinate to Christ
Although it may be tempting to think of angels as mediators between God and humanity, mediation is exclusive to Christ himself (1 Tim 2:5). Their status is absolutely subordinate to Christ their Creator, who as such is absolutely superior to them (Heb 1:5-2:9).
On that ground, we must say that angels do not mediate God. God mediates himself. Angels are present when he does this, as we see at the conception and birth of Jesus, the eternal Son of God incarnate (Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 2:8-20). The service of angels is subordinate to God’s unique and singular work. They declare what God is doing, witness to it, and only in that way are participants in his mediating ministry, as they, bearing God’s own word, explain the significance of his work.30Thanks to Robert Doyle for clarification here.
Angels must therefore not be worshipped (Col 2:18). Angels are not in themselves to be reverenced as holding the status of divine intermediaries. In terms of being, they are absolutely distinct from God. Angels are not some midpoint between human creatures and their Creator. Although angels for the time being transcend us, their role is ancillary. By comparison with Jesus (and the Spirit of God), their nature is creaturely, and their status is supplemental (Heb 2:5-9).
Witnesses and Protagonists
There are things that God alone can do, and that angels cannot – create, reveal, forgive, save, reconcile, judge, and perfect. Angels respond, and respond perfectly appropriately, performing a variety of duties in God’s Kingdom, testifying to what only God himself can accomplish. They respond as witnesses and as absolutely reliable, unimaginably powerful, protagonists. Angels do the will of God exactly, immediately, without error, and without exception. They are not themselves the ones who reveal God’s Word, as it were, directly. God alone is the one who speaks God’s Word. Angels confirm the revelation of his Word which God himself provides through their ministry. When angels speak, we hear directly from God. When angels act, we deal directly with God. The angels are God’s angels. Their chief activities are as messengers of God and ministers to God’s people.
Serving Humanity
Mankind is said to be ‘lower’ than ‘the heavenly beings’ (Psa 8:5; Heb 2:7), as for a short time was Jesus himself (Heb 2:9). This does not however indicate that angels exercise dominion over humanity. What advantages they currently have, surpassing present human abilities, are actually temporary. Eventually, angels are to be subordinated to perfected people. In the value structure of God’s eternal Kingdom, it is the future destiny of believers in union with the glorified Christ to be elevated above angels (Heb 2:5-9). In distinction from human beings, ‘Angels are not kings, only servants.’31Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 281.
From our superior position in the world to come, we may expect to be somehow involved in the judgment of angels (1 Cor 6:3; cf. Job 4:18; 15:15). Paul made this comment almost in passing but the statement is to be taken in context of the astounding broader set of assumptions that humanity’s destiny is to involve higher status in relation to God to that of both angels and the other creatures. Actually, the superior future status of humanity to angels is anticipated now in advance, for in the Bible people are never called to serve angels but, in the nearest biblical statement there is to a definition of the nature and status of angels, they are said to be set about serving God’s people, acting ‘for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation’ (Heb 1:14).
Observing Salvation
In one place we learn that as well as participants and protagonists in the promotion of God’s Kingdom, angels are also enthusiastic onlookers. The great truths of the Gospel proclaimed ‘in the Holy Spirit’ to sinful humanity by human servants, are said to be the fascination of the angels (1 Pet 1:12; cf. Eph 3:10). As angels themselves are heralds and witnesses to Christ, so they are deeply interested observers of human efforts as heralds and witnesses of God’s Word. It is in theory possible that one reason for the particular interest of angels in the content of God’s saving purpose for humanity ‘is that although they fight for the salvation of God’s people, they don’t experience salvation for themselves.’32Frame, Systematic Theology, 774. ‘Angels do not know God’s saving grace, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness by experience, but only by observing his ways with men.’33Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1118. As we shall see later on, in distinction from fallen humans, there is no way back for fallen angels. They cannot be redeemed. However, the sense of the claim, if any, in which God’s angels learn things they do not otherwise know by observing church proclamation, or that human heralds have things to teach God’s angels about ‘the manifold wisdom of God’ (Eph 3:10) must be extremely tentative. Such a claim is a dubious inference based on an unlikely reading of the text. Paul’s main concentration here is more likely focussed on definitive demonstration to opposing spiritual forces of the great, divine power of gospel proclamation which has produced the miracle of the Christian church. Through the person and work of Christ, and the subsequent proclamation of that work, all of humanity in its sinful hostility to God and each other, are now being reconciled back to God and each other, in peace, as ‘one new mankind’ (Eph 2:11-22). It is not the ignorance of good angels which is being informed, but that of evil powers who oppose this work.34Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Eerdmans/Apollos, 1999), 247. The New Living Translation of Eph 3:10 conveys the preferred sense: ‘God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.’ Thanks are due to Robert Doyle for providing clearer explanation of this.
Not Tame but Terrifying
Angels are usually unseen by humans. In Scripture, angelic appearance sometimes took male human form, of an ordinariness which meant that the fact that they actually were angels went for a period unrecognized to their human recipients (Gen 18:2, 16, 22; 19:1-22; Judg 13:3-21; cf. Heb 13:2). That angelic appearance invariably took masculine human form conflicts with the almost entirely infantile and feminine representation of angels in much popular art and culture. Angels of God are fearsome figures of inherent divine authority, so their contemporary taming and trivialization is most unwise and entirely unwarranted.35‘The modern perception is romantic and attractive, but the biblical revelation is more likely to be one of fiery spiritual beings who are figures of terror and judgment’ (Gerald Bray, God is Love, 253). When angels do become visible according to their nature – rather than in human disguise – their appearance is not tame, but awesome, overwhelming, tremendous, terrifying, and spectacular (Num 22:31; 2 Ki 6:17; Dan 10:4-9; Matt 28:3; Luke 2:9; Rev 10:1-3). Small wonder that John was twice tempted to ‘worship at the feet of the angel’ who brought God’s revelation to him, though this is expressly prohibited (Rev 19:10; 22:8).36‘Surely, since the splendour of the divine majesty shines in them, nothing is easier for us than to fall down, stupefied, in adoration of them, and then even to attribute to them everything that is owed to God alone’ (Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.10; 170).
A Difficult Passage
There is a passage telling how, with accelerating perversion during the run-up to the flood, ‘the sons of God’ were attracted to and mated with earthly women, ‘daughters of men,’ and produced children (Gen 6:1-4). Identifying ‘the sons of God’ here is problematic, with several possibilities supported by the Hebrew grammar and wider use of the term ‘sons of God’. Three main possibilities are offered: Sethites, descendents of the third son of Adam and Eve (Gen 4:25, 5:4-8);’ a tyrannical dynasty of kings succeeding Lamech who engaged in coercive polygamy; or angels. Sexual activity by angels runs contrary to the logic of Jesus’ teaching about their being ungendered (Matt 22:30), though his remark refers to angelic existence in heaven and not appearance on earth. The angel interpretation is the oldest, and was accepted in earliest Jewish and Christian sources. But the Hebrew word, ben, in general means ‘son, child or descendant.’ It does not specify an ‘angel’ as such. It is the context that points to a supernatural understanding of ben. Interpreting ben with the ‘more ambivalent term ‘spirit’ offers help.37Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (Word, 1987), 140. Indeed, Job 1 and 2 depicts the Satan appearing before the Lord as one among the sons of God. That the ‘sons of God’ refer to superhuman spiritual beings is the view of many recent commentators.38Wenham, Genesis 1-15, 139-43, 146. It may be possible that demons inhabiting men, or demons in human form, copulated with mortals during this period. No one interpretation is entirely satisfactory, but gross sexual immorality under some form of strong demonic influence seems most likely. ‘The best solution is to combine the “angelic” interpretation with the “divine king” view. The tyrants were demon possessed. … “The text presents us with men who are controlled by fallen angels.” Their perverted psyches allowed this entrance of the demonic.’39Bruce Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Zondervan, 2001), 117. We shall return to this in another place.
Equivalent to the Presence of God
On earth, angels are devoted to God’s service. Whilst the ‘ordinary’ action of angels in heaven is absorption in praise to God, ‘their extraordinary ministry is to accompany the history of redemption at its cardinal points.’40Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282. Early in Scripture, the expressions ‘angel of the LORD’ or ‘angel of God’ are identified with the being and action of God himself. ‘Their status as creatures … is a unique one in the biblical statements, since God himself is directly present in them as his instruments and messengers, so that in some cases it is not clear whether God himself is acting or one who is different from him.’41Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 2:104. Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1114, draws an absolute distinction between created angels and the uncreated – divine – angel of the LORD. God’s angel appears first to Hagar (Gen 16:7-12; 21:17), then to Lot (Gen 19:1, 15), Abraham (Gen 22:11, 15), and Jacob (Gen 28:12; 31:11, 13; 32:1). Although the action of an angel may be a distinct form of the action of God (Exo 23:20), on all occasions an angel’s coming is presented as equivalent to the presence and working of God (Gen 24:7, 40; 32:1; 48:16).
Rescue and Spoken Revelation
The role of angels as servants of God’s presence, guidance, deliverance, and protection is reiterated during the Exodus period (Exo 3:2; 14:19; 23:20; 23:23; 32:34; 33:2). Invariably the angel of the LORD is sent to fulfil God’s purpose and to execute his will. This often entails the practical defence, rescue, preservation, comfort, and assistance of God’s people. But the expressly communicative activity of angels as agents of the knowledge of God is defined early on in Scripture as they act in service of God’s spoken revelation. At virtually all points, angels combine material assistance with verbal delivery of the will of God in words of command and promise (Num 22:22-35; 1 Ki 19:7; 2 Ki 1:3, 15), sometimes at considerable length (Zech 1-6). In these appearances and others, God’s angel pronounces blessing and promises salvation, as well as announcing warning of punishment and the impending execution of vengeance upon God’s enemies (Gen 19:13). Having said that angels play a part in God’s communication with human beings, this revelational aspect is clearly regarded as uncommon, irregular, exceptional, and unexpected. God’s preferred means of communication is otherwise. Moreover, there is no suggestion that human beings might seek to initiate communication with angels in order to communicate with God.
During the Life of Christ
Angels are reported to appear to Christ himself just twice, once at the outset of his ministry and once at the end. But angels were extensively engaged in events surrounding the beginning and end of Christ’s incarnate career. From annunciation and naming (Matt 1:20-23; Luke 1:26-38), birth and early childhood (Matt 2:13, 19; Luke 2:9-15), through temptation by the devil in the wilderness (Matt 4:11; Mark 1:13), on to their potential availability (Matt 26:53) and actual strengthening presence at the time of his passion (Luke 22:43), angels accompany Christ’s resurrection (Matt 28:2, 5) and ascension (Acts 1:10-11).
The angels operate then at the intersection of heaven and earth, ascending and descending (Gen 28:12) between the physical and spiritual spheres, working across the boundary and frontier between the visible and invisibles realms of creation. Exactly how they function is hidden from us. But despite the not-wholly-explicable character of their operation, several clearly identifiable aspects of their role emerge.
Messengers
(1) Angels are messengers. They are those who speak in the name of someone else. At various points in God’s revelation, they are agents of communication, verbal witnesses of God’s saving acts of reconciliation. Angels speak God’s word. They convey God’s messages to humanity. They act as announcers and they are employed by God to reveal the future. Angels were involved in the original commissioning of the law and the prophets (Exo 3:2; Isa 6:1-7). They were intermediaries in the disclosure of God’s law (Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19; Heb 2:2) and helped interpret its meaning to various prophets (Dan 10; Zech 1-4, 6, 12).
Particularly prominent angelic speeches are those delivered at the outset of the Gospel story, during Gabriel’s appearances to Zechariah and Mary. Anticipating the births of John the Baptizer and of Jesus Christ, Gabriel announced the substance of what would happen and explained its essential significance as God’s definitive act of reconciliation and salvation (Luke 1:11-20, 26-38). A large company of angels accompanied the actual event of Christ’s birth, voicing praise to God and summoning other to worship the new-born child (Luke 2:13-14). It was an angel bearing messages from God who guided Joseph’s action in the crisis of Mary’s pregnancy and, in the aftermath of Jesus’ birth, again guided Joseph twice against the threat of imminent danger, to and from Egypt, protecting the holy family from the murderous onslaught of Herod (Matt 1:20-24; 2:13, 19-20).
Later, it was an angel who prompted Cornelius’ reception of the extension of God’s message of salvation to all ethnicities through the apostolic preaching (Acts 10:1-8). Occasionally, angels provided individual guidance and instruction tailored to certain specific situations – to Philip (Acts 8:26), Cornelius (10:3-7), Peter (11:13; 12:7-11), and Paul (27:23-6). It is noteworthy that God’s guidance to Philip, spoken by ‘an angel of the Lord,’ delivered precise and detailed directions (“Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza”). Such direction is, though, continuous with yet distinguished from guidance by ‘the Spirit,’ delivered a few moments later in the same sequence. ‘And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot,”’ belonging to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26, 29). Here, the role of angels is as witnesses to God’s purposes, and thus through their instructions to individuals, to preserve and strengthen human witness to the gospel of Christ. The same action and purpose can be seen in the instruction brought to Cornelius and Peter regarding inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s purposes (Acts 10:3-7 etc.). Again, the same goal and trajectory is also present in the angelic encouragement to Paul, predicting that he and his companions would survive shipwreck and that Paul himself would eventually ‘stand before Caesar’ (Acts 27:24).
Warriors
(2) Angels are warriors. During the Exodus, the ‘angel of God’ defended the newly liberated people of Israel (Exo:19).Much later, a ‘mountain … full of horses and chariots of fire’, protected Elisha from capture by ‘a great army’ sent by the king of Syria (2 Ki 6:11-17). When Sennacherib attacked Judah and threatened to overrun Jerusalem, ‘an angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians’ (2 Ki 19:35).
Beyond the natural order, cherubim stand guard over the immediate presence of God (Gen 3:24 etc.), and in the vision of God’s ultimate city it is angels who provide security in the perfect place God has prepared for his people (Rev 21:27). More broadly, it is angels who contend with the devil and combat the powers of evil, ‘the dragon and his angels’ (Rev 12:7; cf. Jude 9). The ultimate military force, angels are organized into an army or a number of armies, that fight to defend and advance the Kingdom of God, engaging in massive conflict behind the scenes in the unseen world. Jesus could refer to his Father’s immediate military deployment of twelve legions, totaling 72,000 angels, as required (Matt 26:53).
Mention of angelic combat with ‘the prince of the kingdom of Persia’ and ‘the prince of Greece’ (Dan 10:13, 20-21), suggests to some commentators that earthly empires, including associated industrial, military and political powers, have powerful heavenly counterparts in the spiritual realm. Another way of putting this is to say that, under the mastery of the exalted Christ, biblical angels can be understood as the main protagonists in an invisible yet influential and decisive role in the government and destiny of nations. Angels are in this regard portrayed as personal-spiritual ‘powers’ operative in both nature and history. We have seen that Scripture relates angels to invisible, heavenly, spiritual beings with terms such as ‘powers’, ‘principalities,’ ‘dominions,’ ‘rulers,’ and ‘authorities’ (Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 1 Pet 3:22). This would seem to imply that at the command of God, angels function at a cosmic level both in general world history as well as in special covenant history. Wherever the Kingdom of God is, there are angels. Of that we may be sure. That objective spiritual entities in demonic autonomy against God oppose them is similarly clear. In the Bible, angels are chief characters in continuing colossal conflict with the demonic world. But beyond the general descriptions and occasional indications of the kinds and spheres of angelic activity, more exactly and specifically it is difficult to know.
There are a number of occasions when destruction – decisive retributive judgement – upon God’s enemies is specifically said to be executed by angels, either singly or en masse, we are told, with ‘a company of destroying angels’ (Psa 78:49-51 [Exo 12:29]; 2 Ki 19:35; Isa 37:36; Acts 12:23). On one decisive occasion, it is an angel who brought a plague upon Jerusalem ‘to destroy it’ by ‘striking the people,’ even as the geographical location of the same particular angel is taken by David to determine the position of the proposed temple building (2 Sam 24:16-17).
Integral to Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the weeds, it is angels whom he sends to consign evil and evildoers to perdition, saying that they will ‘gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace’ (Matt 13:39, 41-42). In the parable of the net, it is angels whom Jesus says, ‘will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace’ (Matt 13:49-50). Jesus also indicated that angels will accompany the Son of Man when he comes ‘in glory of his Father’ to ‘repay each person according to what he has done’ (Matt 16:27).
The largest-scale engagement of angels, in conflict of cosmic proportions, is described at considerable length and in dramatic detail in Revelation (Rev 8:6-9:21; 15:1-18:24). ‘They do not merely tell of Babylon’s overthrow; Michael with his troops march with the Lamb to accomplish it’.42Robert Jenson, Systematic Theology,2:125. ‘[W]hen the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven,’ he will bring with him, ‘his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus’ (2 Thess 1:7-8). It is, moreover, an unnamed angel, ‘holding in his hand the key to bottomless pit and a great chain,’ who is said to bind and confine the devil (Rev 20:1-4).
These are terrific matters. It is, however, of capital importance to recognize that the implementation of God’s vengeance by way of angelic retribution is manifestly subordinated to the ultimate goal of delivering creation from evil and its effects. In this vein, angels perform God’s mighty acts of liberation. It was ‘an angel of the Lord’ who ‘descended from heaven,’ ‘rolled back’ the tombstone entrance to Christ’s grave, explained what had happened to ‘Mary Magdalene and the other Mary,’ telling them to inform the disciples both that he had ‘risen from the dead’ and that he would meet them a little later on in Galilee (Matt 28:1-7). It was ‘an angel of the Lord’ that executed release from prison on two separate occasions, in the first instance for all the apostles together (Acts 5:18-19), and in the second, for Peter alone (Acts 12:6-10). These acts of liberation, note, promote the cause of the gospel by defending human preachers from constraint, imprisonment, and persecution, thus preserving the proclamation of Christ from the efforts of its adversaries.
Assistants
(3) Angels are assistants. All of the above may be summarized in terms of service and assistance. The activity of angels is certainly remarkable in the Bible, but it is supplementary to the main story line. The role of angels is as ancillaries, assistants, ministers, and servants. Service is the overwhelming emphasis in what the Scriptures say about them. Angels play a critically important yet supporting role in God’s own dealings with his people, especially at moments of crisis, whether temptation to sin, intense suffering, mental stress, physical threat, or other varieties of danger. God’s deliverance, protection, guarding, and care, as provided by his angels, can be spoken of in quite general terms (Psa 34:7; 91:11; Matt 18:10). But angelic deployment in certain pivotal events is sometimes specified, such as orchestrating Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt (Exo 14:19-20) and releasing the apostles from prison (Acts 5:19; 12:6-11). Angels are set about accomplishment of God’s purposes and the fulfilment of God’s plans in support of God’s people, for ‘they are all ministering [leitourgikos] spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation’ (Heb 1:14). This statement is the closest biblical teaching comes to offering a definition of the nature of angels, and their nature is specified as servants and as spirits.
According to Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus, at the point of death angels carry God’s people to paradise (Luke 16:22; 2 Ki 2:11). At the ultimate coming of the Son of Man with a definitive display of ‘power and great glory,’ it is angels whom Christ says he will ‘send out’ to ‘gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’ (Matt 24:30-31; Mark 13:27). The supporting company of angels at Christ’s second coming is reiterated in connection with the permanent establishment of his eternal rule ‘on his glorious throne’ (Matt 25:31; Mark 8:38).Paul reinforces the picture, predicting the Lord’s descent from heaven, ‘with the voice of an archangel’ (1 Thes 4:16).
Angels apparently observe the lives of individual believers (Luke 15:10; 1 Cor 4:9), are present to believers together with God and Christ himself (1 Tim 5:21), and oversee the propriety of church gatherings (1 Cor 11:10). On the basis of John’s account of Jesus’ written address to the seven angels of the seven churches, it is possible that God assigns guardian angels to congregations. Commentators vary on this particular point.
7. ANGELS AND CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
Protection and Preservation
‘Angels,’ Heppe tells us, ‘are appointed to glorify God, to serve as messengers, to watch over the elect, to support them in bodily and spiritual need, and to bring their souls to eternal rest.’43Heppe, Reformed Dogmatics, 211. We have noted that angels act at the convergence between heaven and earth, implementing the administration of God’s action in and interaction with the world.
As angels strengthened Christ to withstand temptation in the wilderness and suffering in Gethsemane (Mark 1:13; Luke 22:43), caused an earthquake whilst removing the stone from his grave (Matt 28:2), and explained that he had ascended into heaven eventually to return (Acts 1:10-11), so instances of release from prison through angelic assistance are similarly exceptional (Acts 5:19-21; 12:6-11). Yet their ongoing deliverance, guarding, and protection of believers may be assumed today, and in every age (Psa 34:7; 91:11). The scriptural accounts encourage believers to cultivate a thankful awareness of the invisible realm, and to recognise the real and vital role that angels continue to play in fulfilment of God’s purposes for his people.
From biblical attestation ‘we can conclude that, since the fall, God has used his angels for the following purposes:
(1) They are there to protect us from harm.
(2) They are sent to announce God’s blessing and his judgment.
(3) They appear most often when God is about to begin some new, great, and thitherto unexpected or unknown work.
(4) They carry on their work of preservation even when they do not appear openly.’44Bray, God is Love, 258.
The Bigger Picture
This may be difficult for us to appreciate.
‘The doctrine of angels rebukes the smallness and impersonalism of our cosmology. Modern worldviews typically claim to have discovered a much larger universe than was known to the ancients and medievals. But they have a much smaller view of the universe of persons, having abandoned belief in God and in angels. According to Scripture, however, vast numbers of angels inhabit the world. So we need to develop a larger perspective.’45Frame, Systematic Theology, 777.
The point is well-taken. The decline in public interest (including some stables of Evangelical interest) about angels was partly due to an influential suggestion that belief in angels is immature and superfluous, making no practical difference to Christian faith and practice.46Friedrich Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith (Bloomsbury T&T, 2016 [Orig. 1830]), 156-60. However, awareness of the existence, nature, and activity of angels promotes a robustly personal cosmology. Far from the universe being basically impersonal, there are human persons, there are Divine persons, and there are also angelic persons. Angels are personal observers (‘watchers’), who witness God’s work first-hand (1 Tim 3:16) and, for better or worse, are fully aware of human belief and behaviour (Luke 12:8-9; 1 Cor 4:9; Luke 15:10; 1 Cor 11:10; 1 Tim 5:21; cf. Rev 3:5). Angels, no less than humans, are personal agents and ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. The unseen spirit world is not a world of cold, blind, impersonal forces and powers. The invisible world is not less personal than the visible world. Rather the opposite. The angels demonstrate that moral agency, personal identity, and individual character is essential to and constitutive of ‘all things’ in created reality across both the visible and invisible realms. ‘[R]evelation presumes a spiritual world above and behind this visible world from which we receive communication. Believing in angels expresses conviction about a world beyond our senses, about transcendence, miracle, and revelation.’47Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 276.
The Question of Guardian Angels
On the matter of one-to-one angelic appointment to particular persons, two texts have been taken to imply that specific angels are responsible for care and guarding of specific individuals (Matt 18:10; Acts 12:15). There seems to have been a tradition carrying this belief within intertestamental Judaism. Commenting on Acts 12:15, Chrysostom claimed that ‘everyone has an angel.’48Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 26; as cited in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament V. Acts, ed. Francis M. Martin (IVP, 2006), 155. Aquinas reckoned that ‘Each man has a guardian angel appointed to him. This rests upon the fact that the guardianship of angels belongs to the execution of divine providence concerning men.’49Summa Theologica, 1.113.2; trans. Pegis, 1039. It is because there are demons, argued Aquinas, that each of us requires a personal angelic bodyguard. This remains the teaching of the Vatican.50Catechism of the Catholic Church, 335-36.
Having said this, a ‘problem with the doctrine of guardian angels and their intercession is that it leads to veneration and worship.’51Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 284. In addition, various other biblical statements indicate that numerous angels – plural – help and attend God’s people (2 Ki 6:17; Matt 26:53; Luke 16:22). All God’s angels have a ministerial role, assisting and protecting the individual, and there is simply not enough concrete biblical evidence to support definite belief in individually assigned guardian angels. Calvin remarks accordingly:
‘Whether individual angels have been assigned to individual believers for their protection, I dare not affirm with confidence. Certainly … specific angels have been appointed as guardians over kingdoms and provinces. … But from this I do not know whether one ought to infer that each individual has the protection of his own angel. We ought to hold as a fact that the care of each one of us is not the task of one angel only, but all with one consent watch over our salvation.’52Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.7; 167.
Avoiding Both Super-Spiritual Excess and Sub-Spiritual Denial
Biblically informed awareness of angels avoids two extremes, excessive super-spiritual over-interest and excessively restrictive sub-spiritual denial. From our human perspective, God’s creation is divided into the seen realm and the unseen realm. Although there are claims of contemporary and historic angelic appearances, we cannot here comment definitively about whether or not angels have appeared visibly to people since biblical times.53For a survey of reported angelic appearances, see Craig Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Baker Academic, 2011), 585-87. Whilst absolute skepticism is unnecessary, sober discernment and caution are critical. Whilst angelic appearances are impossible to publicly verify, and whilst they are by definition the opposite of routine, there is no explicit biblical warrant for flat denial or an insistent assumption that beyond biblical times visible angelic occurrences have ceased.
It is arguable that the appearance of angels is inherently extraordinary and as such is limited to ‘the history of redemption at its cardinal points.’ From the time of the apostles, ‘they cease their extraordinary ministry and will only resume a public role at the return of Christ. … With Christ’s coming and the full revelation of God’s Word, this extraordinary ministry has ceased.’54Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282. This is to argue for cessation from inference. Whether an absolute cessation of angelic appearances beyond apostolic times is a necessary consequence and implication of apostolic texts is debatable.
Constant Ongoing Action
We must, however, clearly distinguish between angelic appearances and angelic activity. The bigger biblical picture seems to assume the constant ongoing activity of angels, in a manner continuous with the scriptural patterns. The biblical record encourages deep consciousness of the invisible world, of the spirit world, and of the unseen activity of angels. A strong case can be built that, with the cessation of special revelation, the conspicuous and communicative aspects of the activity of angels has ceased.55Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1123; building on the earlier discussion, 409-480. Yet there is nothing to indicate that their invisible role has significantly changed. Whilst visibly encountering angels ourselves is admittedly very unlikely, there is no biblical statement promising that God will never – between the time of the apostles and the return of Christ – use the visible appearance of angels to reach or help his people. ‘Some of us may have had experiences highly suggestive of the intervention of angelic powers, but we cannot be precise of speak with authority.’56Letham, Systematic Theology, 299. Certain circumstances and events may appear so unusual as to resist routine expectation, and we may be moved to attribute this to the special providence of God, but ‘we cannot possibly distinguish between an event brought about by angelic instrumentality and once caused by the direct, unmediated action of God.’57Letham, Systematic Theology, 304. Either way, through angelic agency or God’s own direct action, it is God who has acted for our good. And that ought be the dominating centre of our attention. Knowing that there are very many unimaginably virtuous, capable, devoted, powerful, though unseen, figures campaigning, fighting, and serving us on behalf of Jesus should bring considerable confidence and encouragement.
God Employs Angels to Comfort His People and Increase Their Confidence
Indeed, this may be much of the intention moving the Lord’s employment of angels. It is not that God has to care for his people with angelic assistance. The Lord Jesus is often said to act directly towards us and for us. Yet ‘God makes use of the angels, not for his own sake, but for ours. … to comfort our weakness.’ It is ‘out of his immeasurable kindness and gentleness’ that God commissions angels to care for us.58Calvin, Institutes, 1.15.10; 171. Doing so, he is purely concerned to banish our fear, to keep us from being overly frightened by the evils that we face, and to reinforce our trust in his boundless goodness and infinite greatness.
To doubly assure us of his provision and protection, God not only promises to help us himself, ‘but tells us he has innumerable guardians whom he has bidden to look after our safety; that so long as we are hedged about by their defense and keeping, whatever perils may threaten, we have been placed beyond all chance of evil.’59Calvin, Institutes, 1.15.10; 171. Although most of the time believers are unaware of angelic care or protection, Scripture presents it a solid spiritual reality. Far from being mere ideas, ‘qualities or inspirations without substance,’ the angels are actual and concrete beings, ‘spirits having a real existence.’60Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.9; 169. Believers may confidently trust in God’s guarding in all our ways (Psa 91:1). The action and intervention of angels occurs as part and parcel of God’s providential care and direction, whether or not we are consciously aware of it. As Elisha understood, ‘those who are with us are more than those who are with them’ (2 Ki 6:16-17).
Spiritual Warfare Is Totally Real
In addition, awareness of angels strengthens sensitivity to the unseen conflict within which all of human life and all of creation is currently caught. Awareness of angels reinforces recognition of the completely invisible yet utterly real spiritual and moral dimensions of this conflict. The existence and action of angels means that believers are not left alone in their ‘good fight’ for faith and faithfulness (1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7). Angels too fight for the Kingdom of God. Indeed, angels fight for the help and benefit of believers. God’s protection of his people has been delegated to his angelic guard. They are vigilant ‘for our safety, take upon themselves our defense, direct our ways, and take care that some harm may not befall us. … [T]o fulfil the task of protecting us the angels fight against the devil and all our enemies, and carry out God’s vengeance against those who harm us.’61Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.6; 166-67.
Angels are engaged in battle as it takes place above and behind the earthly human realm, ‘in the heavenly places’ (Eph 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). There are God’s angels who are entirely good and, as we shall soon consider in some detail, there are evil angels who are entirely bad. The relentless combat between these fearsome creatures is fundamental to the context in which our lives our lived. There are two armies of angels up in arms, fighting to the death, tooth and nail, ceaselessly, with no surrender, either for us or against us. There is war between two groups of invisible spirits, each group operating under titanic super-human leadership.
Whilst the Bible does not contain the expression ‘spiritual warfare,’ the idea (properly grasped) is a constant theme.62The best recent single thing available on this matter is Keith Ferdinando, The Message of Spiritual Warfare (IVP, 2016). The spirit world is irretrievably bound up in the conflict between God and his people with the ‘domain of darkness’ (Col 1:13). Hostility and hatred and hell, malice and meanness and malevolence, are integral to biblical metaphysics. As has been said, ‘life is not like war, life is war’. Our foe far exceeds tiny human capacities of force and intelligence. Yet this warfare is the warfare of Almighty God, against every element of creaturely rebellion. Whilst we should not underestimate the difficulty, or the drama, or the dimensions of the struggle, victory is inevitable, for Christ’s angels are active always, invariably. God’s invisible operatives powerfully prosecute his campaign on behalf of his people. The angels are mighty instruments of God. The LORD of hosts will prevail.
Moreover, the titanic power of angels to execute the God’s retributive judgment issues a warning to live in holy fear of sin and its consequence, the holy wrath of God.
The Angels’ Devotion and Service to God is an Example to Us
As the current position of angels is elevated above the material human order with on-the-spot proximity to God, a principal element of angelic activity is worship. Their ordinary function in heaven is voicing God’s praise and glory (Isa 6:1-3; Dan 7:9-10; Rev 4:8-9; 5:11-12; 7:11; 8:1-4). This is markedly the case with regard to the glory of God in Christ, as was one strikingly on display at the point of Jesus’s birth on earth (Luke 2:13-14). Angels are essentially worshippers. ‘[I]n their ministry as in a mirror they in some respect exhibit his divinity to us. … angels, [are those] in whom the brightness of the divine glory shines forth much more richly.’63Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 166.
The worship of the angels before God has immediate practical relevance. Their adoration and devotion to the exclusive worship of God alone, provides a model for us to emulate in our own behaviour and action. In particular, the angels who worship are servants of God’s Word. They listen to God’s voice and they are perfectly obedient to God’s commands (Psa 104:20). Angelic satisfaction in God commends and parallels human satisfaction in God. It also indicates something of the focus of our own future lives within God’s presence in heaven.
The worship of angels is both intensive and extensive. Extensively, in everything they do, the angels are set on progressing God’s purpose, carrying out God’s plans, promoting the knowledge of Christ, and implementing the advance of God’s Kingdom. Angelic activity promoting God’s Word, prosecuting war-like combat for God’s Kingdom, and serving the needs of God’s people, is identical with Christ’s express intention for his human disciples.
Intensively, ‘innumerable angels in festal gathering’ (Heb 12:22) comprise the ultimate circle of fellowship within which believers are ‘enrolled in heaven’ (Heb 12:23), and with whom they are united in Christ as they worship God, promote the cause of the gospel, and serve the good of God’s people. The ‘Communion Service’ in the Book of Common Prayer recognizes the participation of worshipping believers ‘with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven’ giving voice to the praise and proclamation of God. The overarching orientation of angels at worship is duty to God and service to others. In this they provide a clear and compelling example to us.
The Bible Does Not Encourage Us to Seek Direct Contact with Angels
In various places, we have accounts of conversation between God’s angels and God’s people. The angels speak to people verbally, in the form of words, addressing people in regular human language. Sometimes (though not always) people respond, talking back to angels. It is true that ‘angels appear to respect the identity of the human beings to whom they have been sent and deal with them as one person to another.’64Bray, God is Love, 260. At no point, however, does Scripture encourage believers to seek direct independent communication and contact with angels for themselves, or to initiate conversation or any kind of personal relationship with angels. Through and in Christ, our elder brother and mediator (Heb 2:5-18), Christians do have fellowship with God, as the Prayerbook says, together ‘with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven,’ but there is presently no place for direct fellowship between people and angels.
Angels Are to be Honored But Not Worshipped
By comparison with the present capacities of people, the power of angels is undoubtedly ‘greater in might and power’ (2 Pet 2:11). But angels are not divine. Their abilities are given by God and are, like ours, entirely reliant upon him. Furthermore, ‘brought near by the blood of Christ … we have access in one Spirit to the Father’ (Eph 2:13, 18). Believers pray direct to God the Father, in the name of Christ, by the power of the Spirit. As children of God by the adoption of grace, we have first-hand fellowship with the Almighty Father. Union with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father is definitely supported by the activity of angels, but it is certainly not established by them. Personal relationship with God in Christ is evidently assisted by angels but it does not require them.
The activity of angels is supplemental in all respects. ‘Scripture tells us about angels in a way that does not detract from God’s honor … true faith is about the grace of God in Christ and not about angels.’65Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 277. We are not directly related to angels at any point and angels are not the object of biblical faith. The Roman idea that there is a distinction to be drawn between believers’ worship of God on the one hand, and believers’ homage to angels on the other, has no biblical warrant at all. ‘Scripture knows no twofold religious veneration, one of a lower kind and the other of a higher kind.’ The reverence fitting to angels is akin to ‘civil honor’ of a ‘civil nature.’66Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 284-85. Here is Turretin:
‘Now as angels are not our intercessors with God, so neither are they to be considered objects of religious worship (as the Romanists wish) after the ancient Angelics (whom Augustine numbers among heretics as inclined to the worship of angels, De Haeresibus 39) … [T]he question is not whether any honor and veneration is due to them (for we do not deny that honor is to be paid them by reason of their dignity, that we may acknowledge and celebrate their influence, revere their presence, obey their admonitions, imitate their example and repay their intense love for us by reciprocal affection – which is the sentiment of Augustine: “We honor them not by divine worship, but with love”).’67Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, trans. G. M. Musgrave (P&R, 1992), 7.9.12;1:563. Turretin is citing Augustine, Of True Religion, 55.
Personal communion with God, communion with the Father, communion with the Son Jesus Christ, and communion with the Holy Spirit, is the greater reality to which angels themselves are devoted, and to which they render service.68The seventeenth-century classic on trinitarian fellowship with God remains (probably) the best. See the recent edition of John Owen, Communion with the Triune God, eds. Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor (Crossway, 2007).
Supporting Trust in God Alone
The Bible contains a rich vein of material to elucidate the part angels play in God’s purposes, yet there is much left unknown. After all, they operate on the boundary of human existence and knowledge.69Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/3, 369-371. The force of angels operates in our relation to God in a manner that is hidden, yet nevertheless active. Their importance for us is purely and simply that ‘God chooses to use them in ways that obviously affect us even if we don’t know exactly how.’70Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 285. The aim is less to satisfy curiosity than to support the faith of believers in the assurance that – whether or not we are aware of it – God provides appropriate care, assistance, and protection to his people, constantly at various points of need, especially at times of obvious crisis, and typically during periods of sharp spiritual pressure.
‘Suffice it to pinpoint the relevance of angels by saying that if at any time we stand in need of their ministry, we shall receive it; and that as the world watches Christians in hope of seeing them tumble, so do good angels watch Christians in hope of seeing grace triumph in their lives.’71J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Tyndale House, 1993), 65.
The absolute subordination of angels to Christ and the God-directed and God-devoted role angels fulfil indicates that whilst angels care and protect God’s people without ceasing, it is God himself who cares, and God himself who protects by way of angelic action. In those actions by angels, as God’s servants and at his command, it is God in Christ who reveals, saves, guides, preserves, and perfects every good purpose for his chosen people whom he loves. The angels’ efforts are designed to direct us to Christ himself, ‘that we may wholly depend on him, lean upon him, be brought to him, and rest in him.’72Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.12; 172.
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- 1Gen 2:1.
- 2William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, scene 5, RSC edition, 159–167.
- 3‘We live in a world of unseen spirits. Everywhere we go, we live in the presence of God, the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Spirit. A human spirit animates the body of every man, woman, or child that we encounter. Furthermore, angelic and demonic spirits move invisibly about us as they strive to advance or defeat Christ’s kingdom’ (Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1109).
- 4Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics.Abridged, 276. In the face of atheistic disinclination to recognize the reality of the spirit world, Bavinck remarks, ‘[N]o science or philosophy can advance any argument against the possibility of such spiritual beings. Humans are psychic beings and cannot explain the life of the soul from material metabolism but have to predicate some spiritual substance for that life. This continues even after death and, therefore, the reality of the spiritual world is not inconsistent with any argument of reason or fact of experience’ (276).
- 5Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.4; Battles ed., 164. Thanks to Robert Doyle for helping clarify this matter.
- 6Noting again Calvin’s measured advice referred to above: ‘[L]et us remember here … The theologian’s task is not to divert the ears with chatter, but strengthen consciences, by teaching things true, sure, and profitable’ (Institutes, 1.14.4; 164).
- 7Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 279.
- 8The book of Revelation contains the term ‘angel’ nearly eighty times.
- 9Grateful thanks to Robert Doyle for clarification here.
- 10Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.3; 162. The particular error Calvin here has in mind here is that of Manicheism, which taught that good things were created by God, but evil things were created by the devil. To which Calvin responds that nothing in creation is evil according to original nature, but due to ‘the corruption of nature.’
- 11See D. Broughton Knox, ‘Translating “Angel” in the New Testament,’ Selected Works 1:363-373.
- 12Diverging from Bavinck, who acknowledges the line of reasoning supportive of the suggestion that angels may have a material constitution that is hyperphysical or superphysical: ‘Some … occasionally restate convictions about the corporeality of angels in some sense because the concept of a purely incorporeal nature is metaphysically inconceivable. Like God, angels are spirits; but quite unlike God who is unbounded by time and space, angels are bounded, finite, because they are creatures’ (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 279).
- 13Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1117.
- 14Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282.
- 15D. A. Carson, ‘Sin’s Contemporary Significance,’ in C. W. Morgan and R. A. Peterson eds., Fallen: A Theology of Sin (Crossway, 2013), 26.
- 16Michael – Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev 12:7; Gabriel – Dan 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26.
- 17‘The angels are in concord with us even now, when our sins are forgiven’ (Augustine, Enchiridion, 17.64; trans. Outler, 376).
- 18Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 281.
- 19‘The similarities between Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Revelation 4 suggest that cherubim and seraphim might not be distinct kinds of angels, but different ways of describing the same spirits. It is difficult to be sure’ (Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1112.)
- 20Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 165.
- 21Pseudo-Dionysius, The Heavenly Hierarchy, dates from late fifth century Syria and proposes a three-fold division of nine spiritual beings (seraphim-cherubim-thrones, dominions-authorities-powers, principalities-archangels-angels), attributing each with respective functions.This work was influential on the lengthy elaborations about angels and demons by Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 1.50-64, 107-114, andSumma Contra Gentiles 2.91-101. Karl Barth’s critique of these and other over-imaginative treatments is penetrating (Church Dogmatics, III/3, 381-401).
- 22Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.8; 168.
- 23Barth, Church Dogmatics, III/3, 451-452.
- 24Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 165.
- 25Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.9; 169.
- 26Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.10; 170.
- 27Respectively, Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/3, §51; Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents(Doubleday, 1975); Bray, God is Love, 260.
- 28Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 280.
- 29Barth, Church Dogmatics, III/3, 460.
- 30Thanks to Robert Doyle for clarification here.
- 31Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 281.
- 32Frame, Systematic Theology, 774.
- 33Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1118.
- 34Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Eerdmans/Apollos, 1999), 247. The New Living Translation of Eph 3:10 conveys the preferred sense: ‘God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.’ Thanks are due to Robert Doyle for providing clearer explanation of this.
- 35‘The modern perception is romantic and attractive, but the biblical revelation is more likely to be one of fiery spiritual beings who are figures of terror and judgment’ (Gerald Bray, God is Love, 253).
- 36‘Surely, since the splendour of the divine majesty shines in them, nothing is easier for us than to fall down, stupefied, in adoration of them, and then even to attribute to them everything that is owed to God alone’ (Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.10; 170).
- 37Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (Word, 1987), 140.
- 38Wenham, Genesis 1-15, 139-43, 146.
- 39Bruce Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Zondervan, 2001), 117.
- 40Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282.
- 41Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 2:104. Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1114, draws an absolute distinction between created angels and the uncreated – divine – angel of the LORD.
- 42Robert Jenson, Systematic Theology,2:125.
- 43Heppe, Reformed Dogmatics, 211.
- 44Bray, God is Love, 258.
- 45Frame, Systematic Theology, 777.
- 46Friedrich Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith (Bloomsbury T&T, 2016 [Orig. 1830]), 156-60.
- 47Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 276.
- 48Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 26; as cited in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament V. Acts, ed. Francis M. Martin (IVP, 2006), 155.
- 49Summa Theologica, 1.113.2; trans. Pegis, 1039.
- 50Catechism of the Catholic Church, 335-36.
- 51Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 284.
- 52Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.7; 167.
- 53For a survey of reported angelic appearances, see Craig Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Baker Academic, 2011), 585-87.
- 54Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 282.
- 55Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:1123; building on the earlier discussion, 409-480.
- 56Letham, Systematic Theology, 299.
- 57Letham, Systematic Theology, 304.
- 58Calvin, Institutes, 1.15.10; 171.
- 59Calvin, Institutes, 1.15.10; 171.
- 60Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.9; 169.
- 61Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.6; 166-67.
- 62The best recent single thing available on this matter is Keith Ferdinando, The Message of Spiritual Warfare (IVP, 2016).
- 63Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.5; 166.
- 64Bray, God is Love, 260.
- 65Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 277.
- 66Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 284-85.
- 67Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, trans. G. M. Musgrave (P&R, 1992), 7.9.12;1:563. Turretin is citing Augustine, Of True Religion, 55.
- 68The seventeenth-century classic on trinitarian fellowship with God remains (probably) the best. See the recent edition of John Owen, Communion with the Triune God, eds. Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor (Crossway, 2007).
- 69Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/3, 369-371.
- 70Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics. Abridged, 285.
- 71J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Tyndale House, 1993), 65.
- 72Calvin, Institutes, 1.14.12; 172.