The nature and purpose of angels considered
God created millions of angels to glorify Him, to be messengers of His will, and to protect, guide, and encourage Christians.
Revs. Mark McCuistion and Larry Long say angels appear all over the Bible, as in Hebrews 13:2: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing this some people have unknowingly shown hospitality to angels.”
“Hebrews 1:14 asks: ‘Are not all angels spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?'” said Rev. McCuistion, pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene.
“Sometimes they take the form of a human body, but most of the time they don’t. They will always look like Jesus.”
McCuistion said Jesus also gave people his character so that they could receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
“We make Jesus not only our Savior, but also our leader and boss,” he said. “If you say, ‘God forgive me for what I’m going to do now,’ you’re not actually following it.
“To believe is to receive the Spirit of God into our lives and to speak to backslidden believers. Jesus says, ‘If you open the door of your heart to me, I will come in and be with you and dine with you and you with me.’
“Food symbolizes sharing life and sustenance.”
The Rev. Long, who teaches seminary at The Gathering in Midland, said there are evil spirits at work in the world as well as divine spirits.
“Satan is a fallen angel who is assisted by other fallen angels,” Long said. “He has a lot of power, but it is not unlimited power like God’s.
“I cast out evil spirits from people and cast them out in Jesus’ name.”
Long said Jesus confirmed that children have guardian angels, and there are indications in Scripture that adults do too.
“I know I’ve been in many situations where I should have died but didn’t,” he said. “We will not worship angels.
“I don’t know if they take people to heaven, but I know we won’t be angels when we die.”
The article considering the nature and purpose of angels first appeared in the Odessa American.
