Last week, we asked this fundamental question: Do Angels Play the Role of The Holy Spirit? And from a number of texts, we discovered that angels don’t and cannot play the role of the Holy Spirit to a New Testament believer, because the two spirits don’t operate in the same capacity. The Old Testament had so much of angelic activities to mankind because the Holy Spirit had not yet come. The New Testament too recorded a number of angelic activities, but not as much as it was recorded in the Old. The reason is because the New Testament is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit to believers.

 

Listen to Podcast: UNDERSTANDING THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS TO MANKIND PT. 2

 

The New Testament ushered in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:7 to His disciples: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not goa way, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”  The ‘Helper’ Jesus was talking about in that passage was the Holy Spirit, and this statement by Jesus was signaling the commencement of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

 

So, even though angels are “ministering spirits” as we rightly saw in Hebrews 1:14, and the Holy Spirit as well also ministers to us, what angels are meant to do, their assignment, cannot be substituted for the role of the Holy Spirit in your life as a believer.

 

Now, we have seen that the Holy Spirit, is God Himself. But angels are not God and cannot play the role of God. And because they are not God, therefore, they cannot and should not be worshipped. As a matter of scriptural fact, worshipping of angels violates one of the commandments of God in Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Relating to this as well is the fact that angels are not to be prayed to. Jesus is the mediator between God and man and not angels.

 

“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness on earth: The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

1 John 5:6-8

 

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”

1 Timothy 2:5-6

 

“Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.”

Colossians 2:18

 

So, as a New Testament believer, you can enjoy the ministry of angels, because they have been sent to us who would inherit salvation according to Hebrews 1:14, but you cannot substitute the role of angels to that of the Holy Spirit in your life. I believe we got that very well. If you are been praying to angels or worshipping them, this is a good time to stop that before you incur the judgment of God.

 

Scriptural Roles that Angels Play

1. Executes God’s Judgment

Angels are set in motion at the command of God’s word. They enforce God’s will and execute His judgment. Matthew 6:10 says “your will be done on earth as it in heaven.” God’s will on earth is enforced through angels, and through us, mankind that He has made. If man would not enforce the will of God on earth, angels will step in and get it done at the command of His word. Psalms 103:20 says: “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word.”

 

An example of angels executing God’s judgment on earth was documented in Genesis 19:12-13. The Bible says: “Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

 

2. Worshippers

Right before the creation of man, angels had existed, and all they do is worship God day and night, and they still do till today. As a matter of fact, it was believed that Satan was a singer before his fall because according to Ezekiel 28:13, his description in that passage depicted that Satan had something to do with music in heaven. And I believe we still haven’t forgotten that Satan was a fallen angel.

 

You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

 

Apart from the above, there are other documented scriptures as well that shows the worship role that angels play in heaven. We know that there is no known food that we know that God loves. His only food is worship and praise and therefore, angels had been there before the creation of the world supplying this daily food to Him. It is my belief that if God made humans to live and survive on food, there is something also that makes God, God all the time, and that thing is worship.

 

“All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”

Revelations 7:11-12

 

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Isaiah 6:1-3

 

3. Messengers

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

Hebrews 1:14

 

“And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.”

Luke 1:19

 

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

Luke 1:26-28

 

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:8-11

 

Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

Daniel 9:21-22

 

 

The Significant of the Ministry of Angels to Mankind!

1. Supplied Provision

The Bible says in Psalms 68:19 that God daily loads us with benefits. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation.” Also, Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:11 says “give us this day our daily bread.” We can summon angels to daily bring us our daily benefits. Someone be tempted to think, is this even possible really? It is actually possible. In 1 Kings 19:5-8, the Bible recorded that angels brought prophet Elijah food twice.

 

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So, he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:5-8

 

If Elijah could enjoy this even in the Old Testament, how much more we that the heirs of salvation that these angels are meant to serve? That tells you that it is possible for the angels of God to comb the entire earth every day in order to bring your provision for that day.

 

2. Angels Are Meant to Be Our Fellow Servants!

Even though we are not on the same level with angels, however we are colleagues (fellow servants) in the scheme of things. They are answerable to God as much as we are answerable to Him too. They do the Lord’s bidding the same way we also do. They tremble at the word of God the same we also tremble. Revelation 22:8-9 gave us a pictorial picture of this. The Bible says: “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. ⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

 

3. Angels Watches Over Us!

There is this knowledge of “guardian angel” that was coined from Matthew 18:10 when Jesus said children should not be looked down upon because their angels constantly behold the face of the Father in heaven. From this passage, it was believed that angels watch over people and the fact that we can’t see them does not mean that they aren’t there. I once read the testimony of an accident victim some year ago and that testimony remained with me till date. A man was travelling and the vehicle he was in was involved in a fatal accident. But he said within a split second, he saw someone literally lifting him out of the vehicle, and while the accident occurs, he found himself beside the road unharmed and unscratched, and there were many casualties in the said accident. This testimony remained with me till now, and I sure believe that angels watch over us.

 

For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Psalms 91:11-12

 

4. Angels Can Give Us Direction!

The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:7

 

5. Angels Can Deliver!

“Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so, he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Acts 12:7-11

 

 

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

Psalms 34:7

 

6. They Aid in Our Transition to Glory!

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luke 16:22

 

 

Amen

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!