Part I — The Nature and Origin of Angels
For Lessons 1 & 2
10 min read
Personal Application
This supplement is a heart-to-heart companion to the preceding two lessons — addressing your immediate personal needs and practical application of the truths studied.
Supplement 1 — For Lessons 1 & 2: The Nature and Knowledge of Angels
Before You Review: A Challenge
Answer this question from memory before reading the rest of this supplement:
What is the single most surprising fact you learned in Lessons 1 or 2 — the thing that most contradicted what you assumed going in?
Hold that answer. Return to it at the end.
Key Terms
Pure Spirit — A being with no material component; existing as intellect and will without a body. The nature of angels, as distinct from the function described by the word "angel."
Infused Knowledge — Knowledge given directly by God to the angelic intellect at creation, without any process of learning through experience. The angel's knowledge is not earned or built; it is given.
Angelic Species — Because angels have no matter to individuate them, each angel is its own unique species. There are as many species of angels as there are individual angels.
Affective Movement of the Will — The angelic equivalent of emotion: a real orientation of the will toward love, joy, or intensity — located in the will, not in a body or sensory appetite.
"Angel" as Office — The word angelos means messenger. It describes what angels do, not what they are. Their nature is pure spirit. Some of the highest angels are never sent on missions at all.
Scripture Memory
Psalm 148:2, 5 "Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts... for he commanded, and they were created."
Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?"
Job 38:7 "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."
Quick Comparison: Angels vs. Humans
| Feature | Angels | Human Beings |
|---|---|---|
| Body | None — pure spirit | Soul united to a physical body |
| Knowledge | Infused at creation | Acquired through senses over time |
| Individuation | Each is its own species | Individuated by matter |
| Emotions | Affective movements of the will | Bodily passions + will |
| Learning | Does not happen — all given | The defining feature of human growth |
| Error | Cannot err about natural things | Constantly prone to error |
Five Questions — Chosen for Bite, Not Comfort
- 1 The tradition says each angel is its own species — as distinct from every other angel as a horse is from a dog. The number of angelic species equals the number of individual angels. If that is true, what does it suggest about how God values unique individuality? And does that bear on how He values yours?
- 2 Your guardian angel knew you were coming before you were born — as part of its infused knowledge at creation. How does it feel to sit with the idea that you were known and anticipated in heaven before your first breath?
- 3 Thomas says angels cannot be in factual error about natural things. What would it feel like to know rather than believe something? What is the difference — and why does that difference matter for how we relate to God?
- 4 The word "angel" describes a function, not a nature. The Seraphim closest to God are technically never "sent" anywhere. In your own life, what is the difference between your function (what you do) and your nature (what you are)? Are you defining yourself by function when you should be defining yourself by nature?
- 5 Now return to your answer from the opening challenge. What did you answer — and why does that particular thing surprise you? What assumption did you have that the lesson displaced?