“ILLUSTRIOUS AND NOBLE EXAMPLES” OF GOD’S SOVEREIGN CARE
A SURVEY OF CALVIN’S WRITINGS ON THE ANGELS (PT. 3)
The Angels’ Function and Purpose
As Calvin continues to write about angels in his Institutes, he moves from their origins to their functions. Calvin spends ample time warning his reader not to move into speculation but to be guided by the Word of God regarding the angels’ occupations. [1] Following his warning, Calvin opens his comments on the angels’ functions by stating,
“One reads here and there in Scripture that angels are celestial spirits whose ministry and service God uses to carry out all things he has decreed.” [2]
This quote is a foundational summary statement. As the hosts of angels move about God’s created order, their entire purpose is to minister as servants of the Lord. Calvin even says that it is through the angels that the Lord "wonderfully sets forth and declares the power and strength of his hand." [3] Their function and purpose, in many ways, mirror the divinity of the Almighty to his children. [4]
Many theologians join Calvin at this point to specify what the Bible teaches about the angels’ works amongst creation. First, though, before mentioning any specifications, it is good to dwell for a moment on the fact that they are servants to the Almighty.
The Puritan John Owen is beneficial at this point. While writing about the angels' service, Owen points back to the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the reign of the Lord, the Ancient of Days. [5] In this vision, Daniel, the faithful servant of the Lord, sees many thrones surrounding one centralized throne, and there amid the thrones, the Ancient of Days took his seat. This seated One is the Lord, for Daniel sees the pure white garments visualizing his holiness and the fiery flames of his throne illustrating his awesomeness. Furthermore, around the throne stands “a thousand thousands…and ten thousand times ten thousand” of the heavenly hosts. [6] It is this standing posture of the angels which Owen dwells. The angels’ standing posture shows their readiness to serve the Lord and perform his will. This scene is breathtaking. The hosts of angels are standing as a mighty army ready to obey every command of their Master. Together they are prepared to serve the Lord.
Owen likens this mighty scene in Daniel 7 to the Old Testament priests and Levites. Owen writes, “God chose the priests and Levites to stand and minister in the LORD's name." [7] In the name of God, this standing and ministering is the service of the angels, ready to do his will at a moment’s notice. From this standing posture, they wait in gladness and expectation to minister to God’s people on behalf of God himself. Owen continues, stating that the angels are standing endlessly before the throne of heaven, and God continually sends them out. [8]
As we see throughout the scriptures, sometimes God sends out many angels, like the hosts who proclaim the birth of Christ to the shepherds in the field, [9] and sometimes it is one, like the angel sent to stop Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac on the mountain. [10] No matter the number of angels God sends, he always sends out a sufficient number for the work he has them to do. [11] When God sends, the angels go in humble obedience, for they are servants of the Master.
When God sends the angels, they serve and minister in his name. So, this does beg the question, "In what ways do they serve God?" Calvin gives his answer by discussing three aspects of the angels’ service on behalf of the believers. These three aspects of the angels’ service, according to Calvin, are how they function as messengers, protectors, and helpers. In this post, I want to address this first function.
Functioning as God’s Messengers
God commissions the angels to deliver divine communications to his people as messengers. To understand this, scriptural examples are helpful. Many familiar bible stories come to mind when thinking about the angels as messengers. For example, think about Abraham and Sarah, whom angels in Genesis 18 visited. In this account, God sends three angels to deliver the message of Sarah's soon pregnancy despite her old age. The promise from God, delivered by these three divine messengers, was that Sarah would bear a son who would begin the promised lineage of Abraham. This great lineage would be the family tree that would make Abraham the father of the nations. Within a year, this prophetic message had come true.
In Judges 6, an angel of the Lord visits Gideon. In this account, the angel comes to a weary Gideon and calls him a “man of valor" and declares the presence of the LORD is with his servant. [12] As this interaction continues, the angel reminds Gideon of God's faithfulness in the past, specifically mentioning the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, to assure this future Judge of Israel of God's salvation and faithfulness. This assurance carries Gideon forward in his work as a Judge on behalf of the Lord.
Angelic messages to God's chosen servants bookend the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke.
In the first two chapters of Luke's gospel, angels appear to Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds. With Zechariah and Mary, as previously mentioned, a single angel appears to deliver the divine prophecy of the Lord with the promises of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. Next, an angelic host appears to deliver the "good news of great joy for all people with the shepherds!" [13] As the angelic chorus breaks forth in praise, they tell the shepherds of the birth of the Savior and tell them where to find the Christ child. Luke's gospel then closes with two angels appearing to the women at the tomb of Jesus. Here, in Luke 24, the women arrive at the tomb on the first Easter morning to anoint Jesus’ body with spices and ointments. As these women see the tomb empty and the stone rolled away, the text continues, “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.” [14] These two radiant messengers now ask the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” [15] They continue to remind the women of Jesus's prophetic words of how he would be crucified but would then rise on the third day. At this heavenly-appointed message, the women "remembered his words." [16]
In the Gospel of Matthew, early in this account of Jesus’s life and ministry, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel's message is quite different from those previously summarized. Nonetheless, it was heavenly appointed because it was a message of warning to preserve the life of the Christ child. Herod, the king, had heard the prophecies of Jesus, and in a fit of jealousy and anger, he declared that all male toddlers within his province must die. Knowing that this proclamation would include Jesus, the angel of the Lord tells Joseph to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus in an escape from the wrath of Herod. Matthew’s gospel then ends, in chapter 28, with the same account that Luke presented. Again, telling the same story, Matthew writes of the angel that appears to the women at the tomb of Jesus, declaring his victorious resurrection from the grave. [17]
Prior to the Canon being closed, being God's messengers to believers seemed to be the primary function of the angels. Again, observing what Joel Beeke writes, “Angels, as the word indicates, are messengers; they do not speak for themselves, but bear messages from God.” [18] However, it demands mentioning that this function of the angels has now ceased. Often times, especially when we think about this magnificent bible stories, we ask the question, “Do the angels still appear to people today?” The biblical answer is, “No.” Angels do not appear to God’s people today. That demands another question. Why would the apparent primary function of the angels now be ceased? The answer is simple. The Scriptures are complete. Therefore, God has ceased to give new Revelation to his children; they have everything needed in the Word of God.
That should not cause us to discount the ministry of the angels, however. Lord willing, in my next post, I will ponder the angelic functions of protecting and helping. Hopefully, there we will see that our Lord still uses his angelic armies to display His illustrious, noble, and sovereign care for His people.
[1] Ibid., 165
[2] Ibid., 165
[3] Ibid., 165
[4] Ibid., 165
[5] Daniel 7: 9-12
[6] Daniel 7: 10
[7] Owen, John. An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Volume 1. Edinburgh, Scotland: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1991. 239
[8] Ibid., 239
[9] Luke 2: 8-20
[10] Genesis 22: 9-19
[11] Owen. Hebrews, 239
[12] Judges 6:12
[13] Luke 2: 10
[14] Luke 24: 4
[15] Luke 24: 5
[16] Luke 24: 8
[17] Matthew 28: 5-6
[18] Beeke and Smalley. Reformed Systematic Theology. 1123