Andrew Meredith’s Reviews > Institutes of the Christian Religion (text only) Revised edition by J. Calvin,H. Beveridge > Status Update

(3) Before more fully treating the topic of man, it is proper to say something of angels. They are wondrously powerful beings indeed, and because Moses does not include their creation but only speaks of them later, some have heretically assigned them a divinity alongside Yahweh. Infamously, Manes arose with a doctrine of two first principles - God and the devil, and attributed the origin of all good things to the former and all bad things to the latter. Besides deifying Satan, a horrible thought, this view destroys the omnipotence of God and gives indestructiblity to evil.

The Manichees did this that they may thereby exonerate God for the evil in the world, but they impiously overstepped Scripture's testimony in the process. It is true that God only created what is good, true, and beautiful. From where does evil then come? First, we must properly define evil as the twisting and defilement of that which was originally created good. It is a privation. Second, the Holy Spirit saw fit to withhold the deeper knowledge of its origins from us. Whenever we encounter such silence from God, it is our servile duty to remain in willing ignorance, rather than risk fabricating monstrous fictions to satisfy the measure of our small minds.

God's Word has left us equally ignorant, (4) as to the time or order in which angels were created. "Not to dwell on this, let us here remember that on the whole subject of religion one rule of modesty and soberness is to be observed, and it is this: in obscure matters not to speak or think, or even long to know, more than the word of God has delivered. A second rule is, that, in reading the Scriptures, we should constantly direct our inquiries and meditations to those things which tend to edification, not indulge in curiosity, or in studying things of no use." Therefore let us reject the vain babblings of idle men like Pseudo-Dionysius concerning the nature, ranks, and number of angels, and teach what is true, certain, and useful for faith and godliness.

What can we know of angels then? (5) They are "heavenly spirits whose obedience and ministry the Lord employs to execute all the purposes which He has decreed." And thus their name, "angel" which means "messenger." They are called "hosts" because they surround the King in His court and are ready to promptly execute His orders. "As His government of the world is exercised and administered by them, they are called at one time 'principalities,' at another 'powers,' and another 'dominions' (Col 1:16; Eph 1:21). The Angel of Yahweh, however, is not a created angel among the ranks, but the preincarnate Christ, very God of very God Himself.

What benefit to us do the angels perform on our behalf that is useful to our faith? (6) "They watch for our safety, undertake our defense, direct our path, and take heed that no evil befalls us." "They war against the Devil and all our enemies, and execute vengeance upon those who afflict us."

(7) We can clearly see from the Scriptures that certain angels are appointed as a kind of presidents over kingdoms and provinces, but "whether or not each believer has a single angel assigned to him for his defense, I dare not positively affirm." Indeed, we hold on the basis of Christ's words (Matt 18:10) that "each of us is cared for not by one angel merely, but that all with one consent watch for our safety." What about Peter's "angel" (Acts 12:15)? First, even if we were to take these likely superstitious words for doctrinal teaching, it does not limit Peter's angels to one, and second, those in the house were far from being correct with their assertion anyway. Again, what good is it to know the exact number of angels God has assigned to us?

(8) Scripture does speak of cherubim, seraphim, angels, and archangels, and so we must belive that these exist, but attempting to number them or rank them is a vain and idle activity. "Let us class these concerns among those mysterious subjects, the full revelation of which is deferred to the last day, and accordingly refrain from inquiring too curiously or talking presumptuously."

(9) It is true that the Sadducees of Jesus day denied the existence of angels (Acts 23:8) as many have begun to do again today. "But this dream is so contradicted by so many passages of Scripture that it seems strange how such gross ignorance could have had any countenance among the Jews." Therefore it is important to teach truly about angels' existence "with the view of putting the simple upon their guard against the foolish and absurd imaginations which, suggested by Satan many centuries ago, are ever and anon starting up anew."

Equally important, however, is to remember and teach (10) that these angels, for all their glory, are servile ministers of God. Superstition too often elevates them above their proper station in our minds. "In this way, extravagant eulogiums have been pronounced upon angels without any authority from Scripture." There is scarcely a corruption of greater antiquity than the exaltation of angels. Here we must constantly be on guard as even the Apostle John confesses lapses in his Apocalypse (Rev 19:10; 22:8-9).

(11) Why then does God deploy them when He could more than easily do everything He desire Himself? Indeed, whenever He pleases, He passes them by to enact His Own will. Why, indeed does He tell us of them? Because of our weakness. The servant of Elisha (2 Kgs 6:17), completely overcome by terror at the sight of his countless enemies, received courage when he beheld the overwhelming host of heaven standing guard over him. Not a hair on his head could be touched. What a great comfort we have that myriads of beings so wondrously powerful and glorious are ministering spirits sent to our aid by the hand of their Master.

(12) "Since the Lord has provided us with such protection, let us not be terrified at the multitude of our enemies as if they could prevail notwithstanding His aid, but let us adopt the sentiment of Elisha, that more are for us than against us." But let us not lose sight of where our help and our hope actually lie. The angels are but the hands, as it were, of the One Who sends them. "Away, then, with that Platonic philosophy of seeking access to God by means of angels and courting them with the view of making God more propitious."

My thoughts: I have a far simpler interpretation of Acts 12:15. The Greek word "aggelos" originally and properly means "messenger" (literally anyone carrying a message could be called an aggelos), and by metonymy is applied to celestial beings because they often serve as God's messengers. However, there are plenty of uses in Scripture that reflect the original meaning (Lu 7:24; 9:52; Ja 2:25; etc.). Therefore, there is no contextual reason here to think that the saints in the house aren't just theorizing that Peter had sent them a human messenger, which would be a very ordinary thing to think under the circumstances.

I love Calvin's answer to the problem of evil. There is a whole cottage industry and Olympic-sized pools of ink spilled, trying to figure out this question, but Calvin correctly points out that if it were a useful thing for us to know, then God would have told us. He has given us all that is needful for life and godliness, and we must learn to trust Him with everything.

Finally, I love Calvin's understanding of angels that they are "heavenly spirits whose obedience and ministry the Lord employs to execute all the purposes which He has decreed." It reflects an older and wiser view of the world, one could call it a "cosmos," where, rather than having a wall between the natural and the spiritual and demanding material explanations for everything, the world is seen as porous, with the natural interpenetrated and interacted with by the spiritual.

For more see Charles Taylor's excellent "A Secular Age" and C.S. Lewis's "The Discarded Image."