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᛭ INI ᛭

THE LORD USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION.

That’s something we can focus on today. After all, we “believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” It’s something simple we can hang our hats on as we deal with the sometimes confusing topic of angels. Today, is the festival of St. Michael and All the Angels; so it’s a good day to take up that topic. And when we cover angels correctly we’ll see

THE LORD USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION.

(I. What the “visible things” of creation the Lord uses for your salvation are.)

Christ Himself is the “visible thing” that He uses for your salvation. The eternal Son of God became man. Christ is the visible, tangible (touchable), killable true God. “Making peace with the blood of His cross,” “He has reconciled [you] in the body of His flesh through death.” (Col 1) He does this for humans who covet, envy, lust, and get angry and then use our eyes and hands and mouths to sin by who or what we look at, do what we shouldn’t or maybe not do what we should with our hands, or by what we say.

We don’t take sin as seriously as Jesus… It’s true that it’s better to cut off a hand or foot, gouge out an eye, cut out your tongue, than to keep the thieving hand, lustful eye, gossiping tongue and end up in hell. We quench the Spirit, resisting the slightest change in our behavior.

For the sins that we commit using our bodies, Christ the Son of God, “became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn 1) He lived blamelessly in His visible flesh, was crucified, died, and was buried in His flesh. Raised too! That’s how serious your sins are! The eternal Son of God had to die. Sin is that eternally serious! But the Lord takes your sinfulness, the sinfulness of your body and soul, so seriously that He dies and also makes you new. To do that He uses the “visible things” of Creation!

The Lord unites His Word with splash-able water to make a new creation, to awaken and enliven a new person within you by His Spirit and through the forgiveness of sins. “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” “Let the little children come to Me.” (Mt 19) “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3) That’s what Holy Baptism’s all about.

Christ also takes up simple Words with visible, edible bread and wine for His Supper! “This [bread] is My body,” He says, “which is given for you.” “This [cup of wine] is the New Testament in My blood,” He says, “which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” The sinful flesh is kept at bay by the flesh of Christ, for it is the medicine of eternal life which strengthens the New Creation of Holy Baptism. Not only that we overcome Satan “by the blood of the Lamb.”

(II. What the “visible things” of creation the Lord uses for your salvation are.)

Since THE LORD USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION, He uses delivery men, visible ministers, to accomplish giving these visible things out. “That we might obtain [saving] faith the Office of preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted.” (AC V) But it’s not just visible things or visible ministers. It’s St. Michael and All Angels, and so, the Lord also has His invisible messengers, His angels that He also uses for your salvation.

The Lord created angels, and just like there’s all sorts of people in the world, so there’s all sorts of angels. The Lord created them at some point during the 6 days of creation. We’re not told exactly when, but the LORD tells Job that during creation “the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy.” (Job 38) There’s all sorts of other titles for angels in the Bible, too: “watchers, holy ones, seraphs, cherubims, thrones, dominions, princedoms, powers, virtues, archangels, angels choirs.” (LSB 670)

Now, there’s all sorts of wrong ideas about angels out there. They can appear in physical form, but they aren’t physical creatures like we are—never have been. No one becomes an angel when they die. The Son of God became man to redeem us as human beings and we will rise again as humans on the Last Day. We are humans and will never become angels. And while they may appear we are not to ask them directly for help or guidance. We pray to the Lord alone.

The Lord created angels, His invisible creatures, for your salvation. That is, He uses them to protect you by waging an unseen spiritual war for your good. They war against the demons and devil who are fallen, rebellious, evil angels. The demons are at work in the nations of the world, (politics, statecraft are demonic tools and instruments) as Daniel 10 reveals to us today. The Lord sends forth angels, even His great general, the Archangel Michael, to deal with them, for the protection and salvation of Christ’s holy people, even you and me.

After all, the “Lord commands His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” He sets a holy army around His baptized saints—not just one guardian angel but a vanguard of angels! “In heaven [the little ones’] angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” And one day the Lord will send His angels to carry your soul to His presence where you will rest at His side forever. (Lk 16)

(Conclusion.)

THE LORD USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION.

He “became flesh and dwelt among us,” (Jn 1) that He might suffer, shed His blood, be crucified, and die for the sins we commit with our bodies. Real sins! Sin that runs so deep into our hearts and souls that produce not only sinful desires but unkind words, a roaming eye, a thieving or lazy hand at work, just to name a few. A deadly serious thing is whatever causes you to sin!

Besides that you’ve got the deadly serious devil and his demons after you. They’re real. They exist. They don’t like you believing in Jesus. They don’t want you to live a Christian, god-pleasing life. The devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. (1Pet 5) “He’s got great wrath, because he knows his time is short.” (Rev 12)

In our pride we don’t think we’re that bad off in ourselves, and that the devil and demons are that big of problem. So big the Lord sets angels to fight them! We think Jesus’ Word and Sacraments are insignificant things, and we don’t think to ask the LORD to send His angels day and night for protection, even though the Catechism teaches you otherwise…

In fact, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION. He’s baptized you and so commands His angels concerning you. And we do conquer the devil and have forgiveness and the sustaining of new life against the “old leaven of malice and evil” not only because “Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed (1Cor 5),” but we eat the flesh of our Passover lamb and also “conquer the devil by the blood of the lamb.”

Today the visible and invisible creation comes together as Christ gives out His flesh and blood for your forgiveness—bread and wine, body and blood, for sure. But the angels are here, the archangels are here, the entire company of heaven is here as we gather around Christ, His Father, and the SPIRIT who USES ALL CREATION VISBLE AND INVISIBLE FOR YOUR SALVATION.

᛭ INI ᛭