Angels
Spiritual Warfare • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 9 viewsGoal of this sermon is to show the purpose and range of angels and their power/knowledge. They are not dead humans. They were created by God for purposes of service. They are not to be worshipped.
Notes
Transcript
Hebrews 1:1-6
Hebrews 1:1-6
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?
6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
First point. We, just as the early church was in danger of doing, can begin to worship the creation over the creator, and even more so with angels, because they have certain qualities that reflect their creator in powerful ways. Because GOD CREATED THEM THAT WAY.
Second point. Its important that we don’t confuse Christ with angels. Its easy for us to do BECAUSE we live in the age of the Holy Spirit. We have never known what its like to live in a time when the Holy Spirit wasn’t accessable in the same way that He is today. He was sent by God to live in us. So, my THEORY is that God speaks to us through HIS WORD, THROUGH PRAYER, and THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit was sent at Pentacose following Christ’s ascension to Heaven. Because of this, angels MIGHT not be used as often in the same capacity as they were because the focus of their attention has changed. Doesn’t mean they don’t, just means they may be serving God’s will in other specific ways than appearing to give news or aid BECAUSE, the Holy Spirit is our Helper. But I’m getting a couple sermons ahead, we aren’t supposed to get to the Holy Spirit for another 2 Sundays.
So lets focus on Angels.
So lets look at the scriptural purposes and functions angels are created for and charged with.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.
To GUARD
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his hosts.
2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
To WORSHIP GOD
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
To GIVE NEWS - MESSENGERS - A Main function -
THING TO THINK ABOUT - God doesn’t reveal Himself to us because if He did we would DIE because of HIS Holiness. So, I’m glad He created angels so that people could get messages from God that they needed without the person receiving the message from dying.
20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him.
22 “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.
5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
Angels are numbered. Not reproducing nor more being created - finite
21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
Angels are wiser than us.
20 in order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.”
Mighty and powerful
11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.
They were given this power to do God’s will.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!
A choice, a free will, was given to angels at some point in time unknown to us.
6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Thomas Aquinas’ theory on how can angels have free will and yet have perfect obedience now is that they were given free will at one point in time, during that time they chose weather to be obedient to God or to be rebellious, and then once that decision is made, they are no longer able to or given their own will in obeying or not obeying God.
Not only will we not marry, but we will not die, living in heaven, LIKE angels
36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Created to Serve God
Angels serve God by serving man
Great in power - not all powerful
Great in wisdom - not all wisdom
In many places, but localized - not all places or multiple places at once, not omnipresent
Live in Heaven - thousands upon thousands of them
Immortal but not Eternal
