Angels: Ministering Spirits

By Pastor Chad

Our world is far more complex than what the eye can see. There is more to this universe than what we can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell. According to Scripture, there is an unseen world that is just as real as the visible world. It is a realm that impacts ours, but it is as mysterious as it is intriguing. There is much we do not know about the spiritual world; much about which we can only speculate. Scripture, however, does give us some insight into the unseen domain. Specifically, we can get a sense about the spiritual world by looking at the angelic beings that inhabit it. Though we also know very little even about them, Scripture does give us some details about their creation, responsibilities, nature, and role within the gospel ministry. 

Hebrews 1:14 asks a rhetorical question: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” Thus, we first see that angels are not embodied creatures like humans. They are primarily spiritual or nonphysical. Granted, we know from Scripture that angels can take human form, but that is not their main mode of existence. 

The word translated “spirits” is the same word used for “wind or breath.” This is the word used in John 3 when Jesus is describing to Nicodemus the work of the Holy Spirit. Angels are ultimately spiritual beings. That means they do not have a body like we do. They do not primarily live as we do. No one is sure when God created angelic beings; however, we do know they were created by God. In fact, we assume that every angel was directly created by God for a specific purpose. 

This leads to the second detail given to us in Hebrews 1:14: Angels are sent by God for the work of God. Angels are created spiritual beings designed to worship and serve God. They are at work in creation today. Serving God to do whatever He asks of them. For example, you all probably know the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. In the book of Daniel, we learn that Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den because He prayed to the God of heaven. While in the den, Daniel 6:22 tells us that God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions so no harm would come to Daniel. In Jude, we read that Michael the Archangel battled Satan over the body of Moses. In 2 Kings 6:8-23, we read that a heavenly host protected Elisha and his servant from the armies of the king of Syria. In Isaiah 6, we read of angelic hosts that simply exist to declare God as holy. These illustrate that God uses angels to accomplish His purpose and plan in the world.  

There is one very important way angels serve God, which is the third detail mentioned about angels. Angels serve God by serving those who will or have inherited salvation. Angels are created–at least in part–to serve God by serving God’s people. Keep in mind, we primarily like to make offhanded comments about guardian angels protecting us from physical harm or preventing us from doing something stupid; however, the primary way they serve us is spiritually. Angels are agents sent by God to help us in our faith journey. Their very existence revolves around kingdom work. If these creatures–who have a far greater picture of existence than we–focus solely on glorifying and magnifying God, then we–who are created in His image–should do the same.