_3_The Nature and the Properties of the Angels

The angels are spirits (), that is, immaterial beings. Luke 24:39 forbids us to ascribe to the angels even an ethereal corporeity. “A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.” Here we are told that being a spirit is the direct opposite (oppositio adequata) to every form of corporeity, including the glorified form. The same applies to the evil angels: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12). The idea of some Church Fathers and also of recent theologians who clothe the angels with some kind of ethereal body, a refined material fabric and the like, has no basis in Scripture.6 The human bodies in which angels, incorporeal by nature, appeared on certain occasions (see Genesis 18 and 19) were therefore only assumed forms (unio accidentalis), by which the invisible angels rendered themselves temporarily visible. The consumption of food (Gen. 18:8 and Gen. 19:3), by the way, was a real eating; it was not necessary for the nourishment of these assumed bodies, but it convinced men of the reality of the presence of these angels. The food was consumed in a manner incomprehensible to us; perhaps, as some dogmaticians say, as food is consumed by fire.7

The difference between God as (John 4:24: “God is a spirit”) and the angels as (Heb. 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits?”) is the difference between God as the Creator and the angels as finite spirits, finite creatures. (This has already been set forth in the chapter “The Unity of God.”) — As distinct from the immaterial human soul, the angels are complete beings (spiritus completi), while the human soul is a spiritus incompletus, since the body belongs as an integral part to man; soul and body make the complete man.

The properties of the angels. Scripture ascribes to them intellect (intellectus) and will (voluntas). The good angels know “by the Church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10) and gladly minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). The temptation of Eve (Genesis 3) as well as that of Christ (Matthew 4) by the devil shows that the evil angels likewise possess intelligence and will. Scripture informs us further that the angels possess the power to react to material things. Angels take Lot and his wife and daughters by the hand (Gen. 19:16) and the devil takes Christ into the holy city and sets Him on a pinnacle of the Temple (Matt. 4:5). This influence is analogous to the one our immaterial soul exercises on our material body. How it is accomplished is beyond our comprehension. (More on this matter in the chapters on the activity of the good and evil angels.) — Let us recall here that since only God has omniscientia and praescientia, the angels do not know all things, and particularly they have of themselves no knowledge of future things. They also do not know the thoughts of men, since this likewise is a prerogative of God. 1 Kings 8:39: “Thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men.” Baier, II, 111: “On the hidden thoughts of men the angels can form only a conjectural opinion, based on the signs and effects.”

The power of the angels is very great. Scripture speaks of them as “His angels, that excel in strength” (Ps. 103:20) and as “His mighty angels” (2 Thess. 1:7). And the devil is described as “the strong man” (Matt. 12:29). It is a power far transcending human power. The good angels, our guardians, are stronger than we, whom they guard (Ps. 91:11-13). The evil angels are stronger than men; the devil holds all unbelievers securely captive in his kingdom (Luke 11:21-22), while the believer can withstand the attacks of Satan only in the power of God (Eph. 6:10-17). However, the power of the angels is not unlimited, but is rather at all times subordinate to the power of God.

In this connection the question has been raised whether the devils can perform miracles. The dogmaticians here make a distinction. The devils cannot perform real miracles, e. g., they cannot create new things, raise the dead, etc., for Scripture ascribes this to God alone (Ps. 72:18: “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things”). But under God’s sufferance and according to His decree the devils can do things which to men appear as miracles. Men lack an all-embracing understanding of the realm of spirits and particularly of the might and ability of the spirits. Scripture expressly states that Antichrist will secure a following among men by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). And that this occurs according to God’s decree is stated in the words that follow: “For this cause [because they received not the love of the truth] God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The dogmaticians distinguish between miracula and mirabilia seu mira (wonderful or amazing things).8

The story that angels can and did contract marriages with human beings, which is retold by some modern theologians, is pure fiction. They base this fable on Gen. 6:2: “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Scripture, however, names this as a characteristic of the angels, that “they neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matt. 22:30).9

The angels are illocal, that is to say that while they may be at a definite place (as the angel was with Peter in the prison, Acts 12:7), they are, as immaterial beings, independent of space; they occupy no space — they can be in the space occupied by another body. Quenstedt: “Coexistunt loco corporeo vel corpori” (Systema I, 633). They are not, of course, omnipresent, for at any particular time they are only at some one place. They are, as the dogmaticians express it, somewhere (), which “somewhere” can be determined. A case in point is the human soul. The immaterial soul fills no space, and still we can say where it is. In a living person it is not outside his body, but “in him” (Acts 20:10).10