Let’s take a close look at each verse. Verse 7 states, “And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire” (NASB). God speaks of “His angels” as “His ministers.” This simply means they are “His SERVANTS.” They were created for the specific purpose of “serving their Creator.” In their service to Him they are referred to as “winds” and “a flame of fire.” What are we to understand by these? When we think of “wind” and “fire” we think of “swiftness” and “judgment.” Do you remember when Daniel was praying for understanding regarding a vision he had received and God sent His servant Gabriel to give him understanding? In Daniel 9:16-17 we read, “And I heard a man’s voice…who called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ So he came near where I stood.” Gabriel was in heaven when he was sent to on this errand and yet he reached Daniel before he finished his prayer! We simply can’t fathom the speed of angels, for heaven is millions of light-years from earth. In contrast to Gabriel’s “speedy errand of mercy,” the book of Revelation provides us with many examples where God uses angels to unleash His “fiery judgments” upon the earth (see Revelation 7:1; 8:2; 15:1).

Now let’s read verse 14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Here again we see that angels are “servants,” but we see that they have a very unique job; to serve “those who will inherit salvation.” Ah, this is a precious truth for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, for it teaches us that God employs angels to guard and protect those who will be saved. When we speak of “salvation,” it could be referring to us BEFORE we trusted in Christ as our Savior from the PENALTY of sin. In that case, angels were preserving us from death knowing that we would eventually repent of our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, which resulted in “inheriting (possessing) salvation” (the salvation of our souls). Or it could be referring to the FUTURE aspect of salvation when the Lord comes for us and we are delivered from the very PRESENCE of sin. In that case, angels minister to us AFTER we trust in Christ by preserving us through the difficult trials that we encounter as we make our way to heaven. Once we reach heaven we will “inherit salvation,” for we will receive our new bodies of glory. Hebrews 9:28 speaks of this: “So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time FOR SALVATION without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Before we close, I would encourage the reader to study this chapter prayerfully. The THEME of this chapter is “Christ’s superiority over angels.” Today there is such a fascination with angels and this often leads to one flirting with the idea of “worshipping angels.” (In Colossians 2:18 the apostle Paul had to warn the saints at Colosse of this very thing!) To guard against this, the writer to the Hebrews declares in verse 6, “And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’.” We learn here that when God the Father sends His Son back into the world (to reign over it as King of kings and Lord of lords), all the angels will publicly worship Him. Christ ALONE deserves the worship of God’s creatures, whether it is redeemed men and women, or angels who are His ministering spirits. He is indeed “better than the angels” (verse 4) and we must give Him the place that He deserves. (271.1) (DO)