Angels In
Our Midst
Part 2
The
Book of Acts contains the inspired record of the beginning of the church of
Christ on earth. The day of Pentecost marks her birth, for on that day the
Holy Spirit of God came to earth and baptized the assembled believers into
one body. The beginning of the church was made in Jerusalem and all members
of it were believing Jews. As the Lord had commanded, "beginning in
Jerusalem," so it was done. Yet not even the mouthpiece of the Spirit
of God, the apostle Peter, knew on the day-of Pentecost that Gentiles were
to be added to that body. The opening chapters of the Book of Acts present
a transition period. We are still on Jewish ground and, therefore, different
things took place which later when the Gospel is carried far hence to the
Gentiles disappear. What happened in those apostolic days in Jerusalem can
never be repeated. How much confusion and error would have been avoided in
the past, and especially in our days, if this were correctly understood. Such
unscriptural movements as Pentecostalism, Dowieism and others, with their
spurious claims of a restoration of apostolic gifts, especially the gift of
speaking in a strange tongue and the gift of healing, would not flourish if
it had been understood that the supernatural manifestations recorded in the
opening chapters of Acts had a special significance on account of the Jews.
It is written, "the Jews require a sign" I Cor. 1:22. It
was so from the very beginning. It was only after Moses did the signs in the
sight of the people, after his return from Midian, that the people believed
Ex. 4:29-31.
God, in His loving kindness, met this demand "bearing
witness, both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, according to His own will" Heb. 2:4. But these signs and
miracles, so much needed in the beginning of this age, in behalf of the Jews,
are no longer necessary after God's fullest revelation has been given. The age
becomes the age of faith for “we walk by faith and not by sight."
But in connection with the Jews and God's repeated
offer of mercy, supernatural demonstrations were given. A lame man is
supernaturally healed; the apostles among the people worked signs and wonders.
Multitudes came from the surrounding cities, bringing sick folks, and them
which were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed every one. His
apostles, who used His Name, so that the unbelieving Jews might know that He
whom they crucified is living and is their promised Messiah-King, did what the
Lord Jesus had done. There was also a supernatural judgment when Ananias and
his wife Sapphira had told an untruth. Those who seek restoration of apostolic
signs never mention this miracle of judgment. Furthermore, angels also are seen
and act as God's messengers. When the apostles were in the common prison, there
was a miraculous deliverance. "An angel of the Lord by night opened the
prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the
temple to the people all the words of this life" Acts 5:17-20. It was
an angel who gave direction to the evangelist Philip telling him where to go. "And
an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go towards the South
unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert"
Acts 8:26. And Philip obeyed without a moment's hesitation. It was an angel
who appeared to Cornelius, the pious Centurion of the band called Italian, and
an earnest seeker after God. And the angel said to him, "Thy prayers
and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to
Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one
Simon the tanner, whose house is by the seaside, he shall tell thee what
thou oughtest to do" Acts 10:3-6.
God did not send this angel to preach the way of
salvation to Cornelius, for this is not the calling of an angel, but to give
direction to the Centurion of Cesarea. In the twelfth chapter of Acts, Peter is
in prison. Herod intended to kill him as he had killed James, with the sword.
The church made prayer for Peter without ceasing. Their prayers were answered
by a miracle. Peter was specially guarded, sleeping between two
soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the
prison. "And behold an angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light
shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up,
saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said
unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith
unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out and
followed him, and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel, but
thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and second ward, they
came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them
of its own accord, and they went out, and passed on through one street; and
forthwith the angel departed from him" Acts 12:7-10. Evidently the two
soldiers saw nothing and heard nothing of all this. Not even the chains, which
fell off to the floor, awakened them out of their sleep. And even Peter did not
realize that it was an angel; he felt as if it were a dream vision.
In the same chapter an angel is used in executing
judgment upon wicked Herod, "Upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal
apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people
gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And
immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not the glory to
God, and he was eaten of worms, and gave us the ghost." The last time
an angel is mentioned in the Book of Acts is in connection with Paul's journey
to Rome. The prisoner of the Lord, when disaster stared the sea-faring company
in the face, addressed them in the following words: "And now I exhort
you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's, life among
you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of God, whose I
am, and whom I serve, Saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before
Caesar, and Io, God has given thee all them that sail with thee" Acts
27:22-27.
In the last chapter of this book we see the great
apostle Paul in a Roman prison. No angel appeared to open his prison door. And
when later he is condemned to die, no angel comes to arrest the arm of the executioner.
Throughout this age thousands upon thousands of Christians were cast into vile
prisons, cruelly tortured and finally put to death in a merciless manner. No
angels came to deliver them. The heavens are silent. Angels are no longer seen
for the reason that God expects man to believe in His completed revelation.
But while no longer angels appear in visible form as
in olden times as God's ministers, while these beings of the heavenly spheres
no longer display their glorious figures, it does not mean in the least that
they have ceased to visit the earth and are no longer active in the affairs of
human existence. They are heaven's visitors still and He who has all power in
heaven and on earth, who is far above the angels, uses them as His servants. There
is Scripture evidence that makes this clear. It is true we lack a full
revelation on the matter of the ministry of angels throughout this present age,
and we will have to wait till all things become known to us in glory to find
out the great and various services they rendered, under the Lord, to His
people.
In approaching, now, the present ministries of
angels and their intercourse with the earth let us consider a passage from the
Epistle to the Ephesians. In the third chapter of this epistle Paul speaks of
his God- given ministry: "Unto me, who am less than the least of all
the Saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship
of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose, which he purposed
in Christ Jesus our Lord" Eph. 3:8-11.The principalities and powers in
the heavenly places are the angels.
As we have learned, from the beginning the angels
were desirous of looking into the things concerning redemption, the redemption
of man. It was the great theme they followed in Old Testament times with wonder
and adoration.
When Jesus came they were intimately connected with
His life and work on earth. But now they learn the manifold wisdom of God by
the mystery of God that was hid in God from the beginning of the world. That
mystery is the church. They see, now, that all who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, Jews and Gentiles, become members of that body and that the Lord Jesus
is the head of it. They see that in each heart dwells the Spirit of God that
they are one spirit with Him; that each member possesses His life, is of His
flesh and of His bones Eph. 5:30. They behold how this building is fitly framed
together, groweth towards its final destiny to be a holy temple unto the Lord.
They watch to learn the manifold wisdom of God in all this so that the church,
the body of Christ, the mystery made known, is, during this age, one, of the
great objects of angelic contemplation. If we, as believers, had this more real
before our hearts, that these heavenly beings are watching and beholding us,
how much more we would give all diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace, and avoid everything which would mar in the least that
unity. How angels must grieve when they see the degradation of the
"church" and see those who are real members of the body of Christ
divided amongst themselves. They know that such divisions are
Christ-dishonoring and are not according to the purpose of God.
In the first epistle to the Corinthians, angels are
mentioned in connection with the worship of the true church. I Cor. 11:10
"For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of
the angels." What is the meaning of this verse? God is the God of
order not only in creation but also in redemption. Man and woman are given a
place before Him. In the church, woman has her place given to her by the Lord.
That place is revealed in I Timothy 2:11-14. "Let the women learn in
silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp
authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then
Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression." God has given to man the first place both in creation
and in church organization. Woman takes her place as subject to man. Paul, in
this chapter, speaks of this when he writes by the Spirit of God that the head
of the woman is the man; that the head of the man is Christ, and that the head
of Christ is God. This is the scale of power ascending to the supreme God. I
Cor. 11:3.
Then he adds that the man was not created for the
woman, but the woman for the man. In worship in the assembly, that is the
church; woman has, therefore, her place, which needs to be expressed outwardly.
Man is to pray and worship with his head uncovered. He represents authority,
and in this respect was invested with the glory of God, of whom he was the
image. The woman is to have her head covered, as an outward sign and evidence
that she is subject to the man; that covering is a token of the power to which
she is subject. In connection with this the apostle speaks of the order in
creation, according to which a woman's hair, her glory and attractive ornament,
showed in contrast with the hair of the man that she was not made to present
herself before all with the boldness of man. Given as a veil, her hair showed
that modesty, submission (a covered head that hides itself, as it were, in that
submission and in that modesty) was her true position, her distinctive glory.
It hardly needs any mention how all these
injunctions are ignored in our days. But few pay attention to them. Others say
they are but unessential details and have no more meaning for us today. Sad it
is to see how professedly Christian women can imitate the fashion of this world
and have their hair shorn. But even these details are connected with the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But let me return to the theme. The woman, in her
worship and in prayer, should cover her head. Besides maintaining the order of
God she is to do this because of the angels. They look on while the church is
gathered to worship. With what holy admiration they must witness the supremest
form of worship on earth, when true believers gather around the Lord's Table to
break the bread and partake of the blessed cup, showing forth the Lord's death,
till He comes! They behold the divine order then, man uncovered, the token of
his place; woman with covered head, the token of her place. The verse teaches
us that angels behold the church in worship. They are the unseen witnesses when
God's people meet in that blessed and worthy name.
Another
passage on the same truth we find in I Tim. 5:21, "I charge thee before
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these
things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality."
Here, also it is the question of order. "Let all things be done
decently and in order" I Cor. 14:40. The elect angels behold all these
things.
We have already mentioned the words of our Lord in
the fifteenth chapter of Luke's Gospel that there is joy in the presence of the
angels over one sinner that repents. They are looking on when the Gospel is
preached. Unseen beings are present when the Holy Spirit pleads, by way of the
Word, with the unsaved to turn to Christ. The demons are there to catch away
the seed that has been sown. Angels watch and when one sinner repents they
begin their rejoicing.
We learn then from these passages of Scripture that
the church is the special object of angelic occupation and contemplation.
Through the mystery of God hidden in former ages, they learn the manifold
wisdom of God. They look on when believers worship; they are the unseen
witnesses when the Gospel is preached. And now we turn to the verse in the New
Testament that reveals the fact that angels are ministers of God during this
dispensation. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb.1:4. We are
compelled to take these words to mean exactly what they say. The meaning is
that the angels are ministering to those who shall be heirs of salvation. In
what exact capacity they minister, it is not clear! The fact that angels are
ministering spirits sent forth from above cannot be denied! But how do they
minister? What kind of ministry do they exercise? They cannot minister to
believers in spiritual things. They cannot assist them in the study and in the
understanding of the Word and the Truth of God.
Believers have the unction from above; they are
indwelt by the Holy Spirit. "But the anointing which ye have received
of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as
it has taught you, ye shall abide in him" I John 2:27. “We have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit, which is of God; that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things we also
speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit
teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual" I Cor. 2:12, 13.
Angels are not the temples of the Holy Spirit, for
the Spirit of God is the gift of the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ,
given to those who believe on Him. Therefore, angels are beneath us in this
respect and they cannot minister to us in spiritual things; God, the Holy
Spirit, through the Word of God, of which He is the author, ministers to the
spiritual needs of the flock of God.
We cannot tell and we do not know all the ways in
which this unseen ministry is done. We are assured that there is such a
ministry and far be it from us to go beyond that which is written or to try to
explore that which is God's secret.
The story of Lazarus tells us how they are used when
God's people die. What other ministries the angels have in this great universe
in connection with its government and its laws, we do not know. The day is
coming when we shall no longer look into a glass darkly, when we shall know as
we are known. Then we shall know these secret things and meet the angels. What
discoveries we shall make then as we trace our little life's story in the light
of God. Perhaps these blessed beings will tell us in glory of the many ways in
which they were alongside of us, and beheld us in our endeavors to worship and
praise the same God who called them into existence and whom we call Abba
Father.