Chapter 14. The Ninth Royal Privilege is—that we shall be as the angels in heaven!
Chapter 14.
The Ninth Royal Privilege is—that we shall be as the angels in heaven!
Matthew 22:30, "The will be like the angels in heaven." Christ does not say, we shall be angels—but like the angels.
Question. How is that?
Answer. Two ways.
1. In regard of our manner of WORSHIP. The angels fulfill the will of God, 1. Readily. 2. Perfectly.
1. The angels fulfill the will of God READILY. When God sends the angels upon a commission, they do not hesitate or dispute the case with God—but immediately obey. The cherubim are pictured with wings displayed—to show how ready they are in their obedience, it is as if they had wings, Dan. 9:21. As soon as God speaks the word, the angels are eager to obey. When we get to heaven—we shall be as the angels!
This is a singular comfort to a weak Christian! Alas, we are not as the angels in this life! When God commands us to service, or to mourn for sin, or to take up the cross—O what a dispute is there! how long is it sometimes before we can get permission from our stubborn hearts to go to prayer! Jesus Christ went more willingly to suffer, than we do often to pray! How badly do we perform our duties! God had as good almost be without it! O but (if this is our grief) be of good comfort—in heaven we shall serve God swiftly—we shall be winged in our obedience, even as the angels!
2. The angels fulfill the will of God PERFECTLY. They fulfill God's whole will; they leave nothing undone! When God commands
them upon duty, they can shoot to a hair's breadth. Alas, our services —how lame and bedridden are they! We do things by halves. We pray as if we prayed not; we weep for sin as if we wept not; how many blemishes are there in our holy things! as the moon when it shines brightest, has a dark spot in it. How many grains would we lack, if Christ did not put his merits into the scales! Our duties, like good wine, do smell of a bad cask. The angel pouring sweet fragrances into the prayers of the saints, Rev. 8:3, shows that in themselves they yield no sweet savor, unless perfumed with Christ's incense. But in heaven we shall be even as the angels—we shall serve God perfectly!
How should we long for that time!
2. We shall be as the angels in regard of DIGNITY. There is no question—but in regard of our marriage-union with Christ, we shall be above the angels. But behold our human nature, simply and entirely considered, shall be parallel with the angelic nature. Luke
20:36, "they shall be equal to the angels." I shall show the dignity of the angelic nature, and the analogies between the saints glorified, and the angels. The dignity of the angels appears,
1. The dignity of the angels appears in their SAGACITY. The angels (who are God's courtiers) are wise, intelligent creatures. Tyre in regard of wisdom is styled a cherubim, or angel, Ezek. 28:3, 4, 16.
The angels have a most critical exquisite judgment, they are discerning spirits. Thus the saints shall be as the angels—for wisdom and sagacity. Christ the wisdom of God is their oracle.
2. The dignity of angels appears in their MAJESTY. An angel is a beautiful glorious creature. They saw Stephen's face "as it had been the face of an angel," Acts 6:15. The angels are compared to lightning, in regard of their sparkling luster, Matt. 28:3. Such beams of majesty fall from the angels, that we are not able to bear a sight of them. John the apostle was so amazed at the sight of an angel, that he fell at his feet to worship him, Rev. 19:10. Thus shall we be as the angels—for splendor and majesty. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," Matt. 13:43, not that
the saints shall not surpass the sun in brightness, says Chrysostom; but the sun being the most noble and excellent creature, therefore our Savior takes a resemblance thence, to express the saints' glory.
They shall not only be of a sun-like brightness—but angel-like brightness! The beams of Christ's glory will be transparent in them.
3. The dignity of angels is seen in their POWER. Angels "excel in strength," Psalm 103:20. We read of one angel which destroyed an army of a hundred and eighty-five thousand at one blow! An angel would be able to merely look us dead! Thus shall we be as the angels.
Here on earth, we have our fainting fits, we wrestle continually with infirmities; but in heaven the weak reed shall be turned into a cedar!
We shall put on strength, and be as the angels of God.
4. The dignity and nobility of angels consists in their PURITY. Take away holiness from an angel, and he is no more an angel—but a devil. Those blessed spirits are sinless, spotless creatures; no unholy thought enters into their mind. They are virgin spirits; therefore they are said to be "clothed in pure white linen,"
Rev. 15:6. And they are represented by the cherubim overshadowing the mercy-seat, which were made "all of fine gold," to denote the purity of their essence. In this sense we shall be as the angels—of a refined, pure, sublime nature. Therefore the saints are said to have
"washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," Rev. 7:14. Christ's blood washes white! We read of "the spirits of just men made perfect."
5. The dignity of angels appears in their IMMUNITY. The angels are privileged by their immunities—and thus shall we be as the angels. There is a two-fold immunity.
1. We shall be immune from the DIFFICULTIES of piety. Duties are irksome to the flesh. But in heaven, we shall be as the angels; no more praying or fasting, no more repenting or mortification. When we are above sin—then we shall be above ordinances! I do not say we shall be free from serving God—but we
shall be freed from all that is tedious and unpleasant! The angels serve God—but it is with cheerfulness. It is their heaven to serve God
—when they are singing hallelujahs they are ravished with holy delight! Though being spirits, they need no food—yet it is their food and drink to be doing the will of God: "the joy of the Lord is their strength." Thus the saints shall be as the angels, "they shall rest from their labors," Rev. 14:13. They shall not rest from serving God—but from their labor in serving him. Their service shall be sweetened with so much pleasure and delight, that it shall not be a task—but a recreation! What joy will it be to sing in the heavenly choir! The angels begin the music—and the saints join in the concert!
2. We shall be immune from TEMPTATION. The angels, those blessed spirits, have no temptations to sin—thus shall we be as the angels. It is sad to have atheistical, blasphemous thoughts forced upon us. It is sad always to lie under the Devil's spout, to have temptations dropping upon us! And though we do not yield to the enemy—yet to have the garrison continually assaulted, is a great grief to a child of God! But this is a believer's privilege—he shall be shortly as the angels—not subject to temptation. The Devil is cast out of paradise! The old serpent shall never sneak into the New Jerusalem.
Heaven is pictured out by an exceeding high mountain, Rev. 21:10.
This heavenly mount is so high, that Satan's fiery darts cannot shoot up to it—it is above the reach of his arrow!
The dignity of angels consist in their IMPECCABILITY. The blessed angels are not only without sin— but they are in an impossibility of sinning. The angels have a clear sight of God! They are, by the sweet influence of that vision, so enamored with the beauty and love of God, that they have not the least motion or will to sin. "They are confirmed by the power of God," says Augustine, "that they cannot sin!" The angels are immoveable in holiness.
Indeed Origen affirms that there is a possibility of sinning even in the angels; but this opinion is, 1. Contrary to the current of the