How Do Angels Compare to Humans?
While God created both angels and humans, there are differences between them. Here are some comparisons listed below:
-Angels are spirit beings. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Humans are souls (Genesis 2:7; Ezekiel 18:4,20). When God breathed divine breath of life into the lifeless form of man, he became a living “soul.”
-Angels are a little higher than humans. “You have made him (man) a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands” (Hebrews 2:7). These spirit beings are God’s special work force in heaven.
-Angels are stronger than humans. “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength” (Psalm 103:20; 2 Peter 2:11). The Bible tells us that “on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead” (2 Kings 19:35).
-Angels are greater than humans in knowledge. “To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth” (2 Samuel 14:20; Matthew 24:36).
-Angels are more noble than humans. “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). Of guardian angels it is said that they “do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). These heavenly beings “always” have access to the presence of the Father.
-Angels can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). They appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:1–8), of Lot (Genesis19:1–3), and of Manoah (Judges 13:2–4, 9–21).
-Angels do not marry or reproduce like humans. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30).
-These heavenly beings appear sometimes in dazzling white and blazing glory. “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:2-4). This radiant, living light was none other than the Shekinah glory, the reflection of the divine presence.
-Angels are without physical bodies but at times take a physical form in order to appear to humans. “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground” (Genesis 19:1).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
