“My brethren, the angels are part of the worshippers of Christ as well as we; as they are part of His family, as they are part of His city (Heb. 12:22), whereof He is the King and Lord, so they are part of His worshippers. And, as you shall set anon, we, with all them, worship God and Him together, both here, and shall do so hereafter.
They are worshippers of Him, and in that sense make a part of the Church; for ecclesia colentium, a church is properly for worship. If they be therefore part of the worshippers of Christ, they come under His Church, they are a part of it; particular churches are ordained for worship, and so is the general Church for a worship to be performed to Christ.
And it is the proper expression of the members of a church, what they are designed unto—they are worshippers. Now, in Heb. 1:6, you shall find that the angels are all worshippers of Jesus Christ, ‘And again, when He bringeth His first-begotten into the world, He saith, Let all the angels of God worship Him,’ speaking of Christ…
Little do we think it, but the angels fill our churches as well as men, and are present at all our congregations and assemblies. Because we are to be with them hereafter, and to worship God together with them, therefore they come down and are present at the worship of God here with us…
Angels are round about the throne; and they are present at the courts of God’s house; still they are worshippers, you see, together with us on earth. They do delight to hear Christ preached, because Christ is their Head, and therefore are present (Eph. 1:21-22).
The text is express, Eph. 3:10; Paul sheweth there the end why to him was committed, and so to others, the preaching of the gospel: ‘To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.’
They do not know it out of the Scripture simply, but as it is opened in the church, by the ministers of the church, for the good of the church, so they come to know it; and they delight to do so, for so you have it, 1 Pet 1:12. Saith he, speaking of the fathers before in the Old Testament, ‘It was revealed unto them, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you’ (he speaks in general) ‘by them that preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.’
The angels are present, and they are glad to hear Christ laid open and preached unto men, to hear their Head spoken of. They are worshippers together with us of Christ…
Here on earth angels have joy when any poor soul is converted. As they come to church, be they observe who is wrought upon. When they see a poor soul go home and humble himself, fall down upon his knees and become a new creature, news is presently carried up to heaven; for the text saith, Luke 15:10, that ‘there is joy in the presence of the angels of God’—that is, in the court of heaven, amongst them all, so the word signifieth, ἐνώπιον, in the face of all the angels; it is the same word used, Luke 12:8, ‘him shall the Son of man confess before the angels of God,’ He will own him in his court, and confess Him in the presence, in the face of all the angels; so there is joy amongst the angels, they rejoice before God—‘over one sinner that is converted,’ over a poor soul that is gathered unto Christ their Head.
This association, my brethren, we have with them, besides all the services they do us, which I cannot stand to repeat and reckon up unto you; for all the angels are our fellow-servants; so that angel calleth himself, Rev. 22:9. And Jacob’s ladder that touched heaven, the angels ascended and descended upon it; and Christ himself, John 1:51, interprets it that He is the ladder; they all come down upon Him and ascend upon Him, for the service of men.
He is their head, their ruler, their governor. But as we have in this world this association with them, so in the world to come we shall all worship God with one worship, both angels and men together.
Such he there is Heb. 12, the place I quoted before; ‘you are come to the Mount Sion,’—so he calleth the Church, which consisteth both of angels and men, as I observed before. Mount Sion, you know, was the place of God’s worship.
What is his meaning, then, when he saith, ‘you are come to the Mount Sion, to the heavenly Jerusalem?’ You are all come, saith he, to the place of worship whither angels are come up; for al the tribes came up there, to that Mount Sion, to worship God—the mount where all the angels are, and where all the souls of just men made perfect shall come up in their succession, and all to worship God.
It is called Mount Sion, because it is the place of God’s worship. And that which we translate the company of angels, μυριάσιν, it is the solemn assembly of angels; so the word signifieth, such an assembly as was at a solemn feast of the Jews, whither all the people came up.
The men that dwelt at Jerusalem, he compareth them to the angels, for that is their standing seat and dwelling; and we that are upon earth, he compareth to the tribes that came up to the solemn assembly, to the solemn feast. And he calleth them the general assembly, for there God will have all His children about Him. So that both angels and we one day shall be common worshippers, live in one kingdom together; we shall be as angels; so Matt. 22:30...
Angels have a happiness in Christ, in seeing of Him as well as we. I take that to be part of the meaning of that 1 Tim. 3:16. I have often wondered at the expression there; I shall give you what I think to be the meaning of it.
Speaking of Christ, and of the great mystery of godliness in Him, saith he, ‘God, who was manifested in the flesh,’—and there was more of God manifested in the flesh in the person of Christ, than there is in all creatures that were made, or possibly could be made,—‘justified in the Spirit,’ which was spoken of his resurrection, ‘seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.’
Here are two principles, faith and vision. Here is faith attributed to men; they cleave to Christ their head by faith, ‘believed on in the world.’ The angels cleave unto him by vision, ‘seen of angels;’ admiring Him with infinite joy, looking upon Him as their Head.
They saw more of God manifested in that man Christ Jesus, than they had seen in heaven before. We cleave to Him by faith; they cleave to Him by sense: that which we shall have, for we shall see Him one day as He is, that the angels do, and are made happy in Him; the same eternal life that we have, they have, ‘and this is eternal life, to know God, and to know Jesus Christ,’ John 17:3.
Their happiness lieth, as our happiness, in seeing God incarnate, in seeing God in the flesh, in seeing God face to face, and His Christ forever.”
–Thomas Goodwin, “Sermon X: Ephesians 1:10,” The Works of Thomas Goodwin, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 1861/2021), 1: 160–161, 162, 163, 163–164, 166.
