Central Christian Church Lampasas

Angels are spiritual beings who assist God, especially in his work of salvation, conveying his word to human beings and attending to the needs of God’s people. Angels also worship God especially in the visions of God’s throne room. Angels have specific yet limited roles to play in declaring God’s will and purposes for humanity. Angels always focus worship on God and away from them. Angels exist to glorify God.

When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Jesus is superior to the angels. The angels are created, limited, contingent beings. In Hebrews 1:4–14 we read that Jesus is superior to the angels, in proportion as he had received a more excellent rank than they did. For to which of the angels did God ever call my Son.

The English translation “Angel” in the New Testament is always a rendering of ἄγγελος (angelos); this is not a true translation—it merely anglicizes the Greek letters into English. This same Greek word is used to translate “messenger” (מַלְאָךְ, mal'akh) in the Old Testament. A human or heavenly messenger in the Greek Bible is ἄγγελος (angelos), whereas we (in English) distinguish “angel” and “messenger.” New Testament uses of ἄγγελος (angelos) are: “[Human] messenger, envoy, one who is sent.”

Angelos can also mean heavenly spirits. “Heavenly spirits” of whom some are “guardian [messengers]” (Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, 5).
New Testament “messengers” (good or obedient angels) are called:
· The angel
· His angels
· The Angel of the Lord
· Angel of God
· Angel of the church
· Holy angels
· An archangel
· My angel
· Elect angels

The good angels are sometimes further described as “mighty,” “in heaven,” “from heaven,” or “from the temple in Heaven.”

Angel(s)” in the Old Testament The Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (mal'akh) appears 213 times in the Old Testament and its Aramaic equivalent appears twice. “Angel” is found in English versions (e.g., KJV…) in Isaiah chapter six, we see that angels worship not only with a sense of humility, but also with a deep sense of reverence. They chanted before God’s throne (in Isaiah 6 and later in Revelation 4), "Holy, holy, holy" (Isa. 6:3). You see, holiness is the preeminent characteristic of God. It, above all others, is to be accentuated in our worship. God is faithful. He is just. He is kind. He is compassionate. But the angels are not standing before the Lord saying wise, wise, wise or compassionate, compassionate, compassionate. They stand before His throne day and night saying, "Holy, holy, holy" (Isa. 6:3). His holiness incorporates all these other attributes. Whatever we do in our worship time should enhance our appreciation of God’s holiness and our reverence for Him. Nothing should diminish or detract from this sense of awe before His holiness.

God was on the throne. The throne was high and exalted which means that it is greater and exceeded all other thrones. The train (just the train) of His robe filled the temple. I don't know why it is but when a bride walks down an aisle her dress often has a long "train". Some of you remember the wedding of Diana and Prince Charles. Diana's train was so long that there were people there to carry the train of her dress! Why? It is a symbol of royalty. The train of God filled the entire temple! His royalty far surpasses anything we have known or can imagine. The angels acknowledged the eternal King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Throughout scripture people would sometimes mistakenly began to worship angels because they were so holy and powerful. Can we even begin to imagine who the angels worship? Yahweh, Jehovah, The I Am, The Lord, The Ancient of Days. The Alpha and Omega. The Creator. The Sustainer. The Judge. The Lion of Judah.

God’s glory so overwhelming that the angels covered themselves with their wings. At his side were angels. Their job was to give glory to the Lord. We know that these angels were beings that were without sin. They were pure, yet, with their six wings they cover their face and feet. The symbols of their creatureliness are covered in the presence of the magnificent God! We make a mistake when we imagine that God's goodness is simply higher than that of the best human. It is in a class all of it's own. Even the greatest of God’s creations must cover themselves before the awesomeness and glory of God. Even the best people are flawed people! God's purity makes the angels blush and seek cover.

There are two ideas to holiness. The first is the idea of greatness. One of the meanings of holiness is the idea of being "set apart". God is apart from us . . . He is in a class by Himself. "There is a profound difference between Him and those He has created. When the Bible speaks of holy objects or holy people or holy time, it refers to things that have been set apart, consecrated, or made different by the touch of God upon them. It was the nearness of the divine that made the ordinary suddenly extraordinary and the common, uncommon." [Sproul ibid.] Holiness means that God is transcendent (or unique and superior) in His greatness.

How do we serve the great, awesome holy God of the universe? What difference should this truth make in our lives? We humbly acknowledge that God is still on His throne. We see the angels as servants and messengers. Our focus is to remain on God and not on angels or anything else. We should live lives of righteousness.

R. C. Sproul noted the following: “Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying, “God, Your law is not good. My judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.”