Friday, March 23, 2012

Angels With Us

For some reason, this blog title reminds me of a song called, "I'm Loving Angels Instead" but that is not what this post will be about.   :)

This post is another about a chapter I am still going through in Wayne Grudem's book, Bible Doctrine.
The chapter talks about angels, demons, Satan but so far I have only read about angels in the midst of us and it is something not really talked about in Christian circles, or at least from what I have seen.

It is pretty amazing to know that angels are around us and that they have been created by our God! I know some people use the saying, "Your guardian angel is with you" but really what it should say is something along the lines of, "Angels are guarding us." I have to be honest and say that I don't always think about angels as much as I should but they do exist and the Bible is very clear about that.
Genesis 16:7-  "The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur." Talking about Hagar, the servant of Sarai, Abram's wife, when she was fleeing from Sarai after Sarai "delt harshly with her" for looking at Sarai with contempt after she conceived a child. There is more I could say about this particular chapter in Genesis, but I want to continue on about angels.

A particular section of this chapter that I really enjoyed reading was on angels and their place in God's purpose. These paragraphs talked about some things I never really gave too much thought, such as how angels show the greatness of God's love for us and His plan for us. For example, in Genesis 1:26-27 and chapter 9 verse 6, it is stated that "man is made after our likeness" and "God created man in his own image." Note the plural, "our" here in this verse. This is in reference to last Friday's post about the Trinity and that means that we are made in the likeness of God. Therefore, we, human beings, are said to be made in the image of God and this is listed more than once in the Bible. How awesome that we were created in God's image and he loves us that much to do so! The Bible also doesn't specifically state that angels were created in the image of God, so that is something interesting to think about.


Another thought that I want to quote from his book is this:
"God will someday give us authority over angels, to judge them." I Corinthians 6:3 says, "Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!" When our salvation is complete, we will be exalted above the angels and will rule over them. In fact, even now, angels already serve us." Hebrews 1:14 talks about this when it says that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation." These are some pretty amazing statements from the Bible that are not to be taken lightly.

Knowing all of this really shows me how much the Lord loves me and it shows us how much grace He really has for a sinner like me! To put in the words of Wayne Grudem, "this is far beyond our comprehension." How true! The Lord my God loves me so much that He gave His Son for me to save me from my sin.

Another point that is talked about in this chapter is about the example that angels set for us. In the Bible, angels worship God and sing praises to Him many times. They are also very obedient and that is something that I need to do be striving for daily. I need to pray daily to have the obedience the angels do. They delight in the Lord and perform tasks assigned to them "whether great or small." Isn't that how we ought to live? Singing praises to God our Father and be obedient to His Word?!

I do really enjoy reading Bible Doctrine and am continuously encouraged by the love of God and His plan for my life. It lifts me up to daily be in His Word and I pray that I can only love Him and others the way He loves me!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy all that He has created.   :)



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