Angels as God’s servants

Angels are God’s servants

Psalm 103:20 ESV

Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

See also Heb 1:7; Ps 104:4

Named angels

The archangel Michael:

Da 10:13; Da 12:1; Jud 9; Re 12:7

Gabriel:

Da 8:16; Da 9:21; Lk 1:19; Lk 1:26

Angels as agents of God’s salvation

Hebrews 1:14 ESV

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

See also Ex 23:23; Ex 32:34; Ex 33:2; Nu 20:16; Is 63:8–9

Angels do not fully understand God’s salvation

1 Peter 1:10–12 ESV

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Angels deliver God’s people from their enemies

2 Ki 19:35; Ac 5:19; Ac 12:6–11

Angels as mediators

Ac 7:53 The law was mediated by angels to Moses and Israel

See also Job 33:22–26; Ac 7:38; Ga 3:19; Heb 2:2

Angels as revealers of God’s will

Zechariah 1:8–10 ESV

“I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’

See also Da 7:15–16; Zec 4:11–14; Re 17:1; Re 21:9

Angels convey and fulfil God’s instructions

Zechariah 3:4 ESV

And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

See also Nu 22:21–35; Zec 3:6–7; Mt 2:13; Ga 1:8; Re 7:2

Angels attend to the needs of God’s people

Angels provide food at special times

1 Kings 19:5–7 ESV

And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”

See also Ps 78:23–25

Angels provide protection

Psalm 91:11–12 ESV

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

See also Ge 19:15; Ge 48:16; Ps 34:7; Da 3:28; Da 6:22; Mt 18:10; Ac 27:23–24

Angels give guidance

Exodus 23:20 ESV

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

See also Ge 24:7; Ge 24:40; Ac 8:26

Angels serve Jesus Christ

Angels care for Jesus Christ’s needs

Matthew 4:11 ESV

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

See also Lk 22:43

Angels are ready to protect Jesus Christ

Matthew 26:53 ESV

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

See also Mt 2:13; Mt 2:19–20; Mt 4:6; Ps 91:11–12

Angels are inferior to Jesus Christ

Hebrews 1:5–13 ESV

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?