John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ Edited by C. F. W. Walther Published by: St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1877 [Translator's Preface. These are the major loci or topics of John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ as edited by Dr. C. F. W. Walther. These should be seen as the broad outline of Baier-Walther's dogmatics, but please don't assume that this is all. Each locus usually includes copious explanatory notes and citations from patristics and other Lutheran dogmaticians.] Chapter Three On angels. 1. Among the creatures the most perfect of all those who share from the benefits of divine goodness are those whom Scripture calls angels. 2. Although truly "angel" is the name of an officer and indicates a servant or a legate, however in a special way this name signifies a certain species of creature that is distinct by its very nature from humans and all other creatures. 3. Scripture most clearly indicates that such natures, or angels, were given existence by God. 4. The efficient cause of angels is God, who produced them out of nothing in time; however, on what day they were made cannot be clearly established. 5. However angels are by their natures spirits, or spiritual and corporeal substances, not made out of matter and form. 6. Just as angels have a spiritual essence along with God and in common with the human soul, in this they are indeed different from God, that their essence is not infinite, but finite; however they are different from the human soul, because their substance is complete. 7. Further angels are intelligent substances, thus so that the intellect is of their essence. 8. The knowledge of angels is established as three-fold: Natural, revealed or beatific. 9. The natural knowledge of angels is said to be that, by which angels know both themselves, and angels coexisting with them, also the heaven and earth, and what is contained in this, the essence of all things, and finally God himself; indeed the knowledge of created things is a clear knowledge, but the knowledge of God is nothing but an abstract knowledge. 10. However by a singular distinction from themselves, especially in regard to material things, which existed by another and at another time, and likewise by accidence, of which they are capable one at a time, successively and in time, angels began to know things. 11. Future contingencies, which depend on the free will, they do not know certainly and infallibly; although we are not able to deny a conjectural knowledge from their own shrewdness. 12. Similarly about the hidden thoughts of humans angels are not able to gather an opinion, unless by seeing signs or deeds that may indicate the hidden thoughts. 13. The free will, or the power of seeking good and turning away from bad, is joined with the intellect in the angelic nature. 14. The facility of speaking was also given to angels, or the facility of manifesting to another the concepts of their minds, so that they are able to speak to God, to other angels, and to humans. 15. Also a power is given to the angels, or a certain power of operating outside themselves, , which power is indeed great, but it is finite and limited. 16. Out of the essence of angels flows (I) simplicity, or the fact that they are not composed out of essential parts, by material and form, nor out of whole parts; (II) incorruptibility, or the fact that they do not have in themselves the principle of corruption; (III) illocality, or the fact that they are not in a 'place.' 17. The number of angels is great, but we are not able to define that number. 18. It is undoubted that angels differ among themselves by certain orders or grades. However it is not proven that they are different by species or essence. 19. Angels are able to be defined in this way, that they are intelligent, spiritual substances, complete and finite. 20. God attributed to the angelic nature in the first moment of creation a certain habitual perfection, for producing acts suitable to themselves, following through the grace of God the cause of the supernatural goal. This perfection the authors call by the name of grace. 21. However just as angels heading toward his goal rightly know God, love him above all things, believe in his truthfulness, are completely assured of his goodness, conform to his commands, and are bound to the hope in eternal life; thus by that grace, permitted to the angels for that outstanding divine act, they were led on the part of the intellect into a certain habitual light, of whose goodness the angels knew, which they knew was for the following supernatural goal, but they were not able to be known by the light of nature; on the part of the will he brought in justice and a habitual sanctity, by which they were able to undertake and complete actions conforming to all the eternal laws of God. 22. And also it is revealed, and it is wholly not possible to deny, that angels were made to the image of God. 23. However they were gathered by a gift of grace from God to all the angels, however that grace was not granted to them all, but some used it exactly rightly; and rising from this is the distinction of angels into good angels and bad angels. 24. The good angels are said to be those, who are preserved in goodness or justice or sanctity, the condition in which they were, and also they are confirmed in the good by God who graciously rewards their obedience, so that they are now not able to lose goodness, to sin, or to do evil. 25. The bad angels are said to be those, who broke away from their first goodness of their own accord and withdrawing from grace, by God's just judgement they are confirmed in evil, so that they are unable to go back to goodness, to do good, or to keep from sinning. 26. However how long the state of grace endured, before some of the angels were confirmed in the good, and others falling from the good did evil, it is not clearly stated. this is certain, that the distinction between good and bad angels took place before humans first fell. 27. However the good angels through their own blessedness are confirmed in the good. 28. After this obedience in this state of life, which they constantly exhibited to God, and also to those fallen angels, it pleased God to fill them with the light of glory, so that they were able to know God himself clearly and intuitively. 29. However the most intense love of God followed this vision, by which the willl of the angels thus began to cling to God, so that the will was not able to turn from him. 30. And thus was done their confirmation in good, or the determination of the will to good, so that, whatever they did, they did it to God in an orderly way, in an infinitely good perfectly good knowledge, without any stain, any defect. 31. And the liberty of all the angelic wills was not taken away. For even if that liberty was not more indifferent to bad and to good, however it is indifferent to the created good, that thus as you might wish of them, what you wish, also it was possible not to wish or for one to wish something else. 32. Truly to that blessedness the good angels are certainly destined by an eternal decree of God, and thus they were elected. 33. In their blessed life the good angels are occupied with diverse operations, of which some pertain to the very blessedness of them, others are ministerial, by which the angels serve God and the God- man Christ, and by which they advance the salvation of humans. 34. The actions of the former group are partly those, in which consist the essential blessedness of the angels, and they are specially the intuitive act of knowing God, the act of most intensely loving God by a clear knowledge; partly those, which join a certain accidental blessedness to the angels, that is, the act of understanding another object peculiarly revealed by God or though experience perceived in the church, for example, the mystery of the incarnation, the conversion of human sinners; by which actions similarly on the part of the will they are engaged in acts of love and joy. 35. The actions of the latter class look toward partly every single pious human, partly guarding their hierarchical state and improving their interest. 36. The angels serve each single pious person, when they guard them in the beginning of their life and infancy, when they serve adults in every honest function, and then they are present at death. 37. The state of ecclesiastics by reason also pertains to the office of angels, that they promote the ministry of the word, and especially, of the promulgation of the law of Moses, at the giving of which they were present at as servants; then they announced the arrival of Christ in the flesh; they hinder the introduction of idolatry in the church, and they are present at the sacred meetings. 38. Thus also the angels guard the political state, hindering things so that the chains of the republic are not shattered; they help and defend the magistrate and his servants, they protect from danger, and they strike down hostile enemies. 39. They serve the family (lit. oeconomiae) by improving the marriages of the pious, by guarding family matters, by guarding the security of families, of children. 40. Finally the office of the angels is especially that which is performed on the last day, when they will accompany Christ to the coming judgment and will proclaim his arrival with the sound of trumpets; when they will also collect humans from very part of the world, separate the pious from the impious, place the former at the right hand of Christ, leading them to him in a meeting in the air, the latter, placed at the left of the judge, they will then throw into the infernal regions. 41. On account of these perfections, which we see the good angels to be strong in, and because they are favorable to us and benefit us, certainly it is proper that we prize them highly, love them, and beware of offending them by evil actions. 42. However it is not proper to direct our prayers to angels. For this is either impiety and idolatry, or at least not useful and imprudent. 43. The fall of the evil angels or the first sin, through which they fell away from created goodness, and were made evil, of what sort it was, is not clear enough; it is thought to have been pride. 44. Howwever the fall is an assembly of evil angels under a certain leader or prince, whom the Scriptures name the devil, and who either by example, or by his persuasion led certain other angels to his society of sin. 45. Having committed sin, all these angels lost the grace created in them, and thus they fell into the most bitter misery, without hope of restoration. 46. Truly the intellect of those evil angels is destitute not only of the light of grace, but also of the light of glory, and is fixed in the contemplation of the divine wrath and of their own miseries, just as they are beated and are without the doing of good by right judgment. 47. The will of the evil angels being deprived of the highest love of God and deprieved of the gladness that goes with that love and thus turned from God, it was hardened in evil, and is tormented and injured by the misery of that hardening and deprivation. 48. And thus the freedom of the will of the damned angels does not apply indifference to good or evil, or indifference to more good things, but it is turned toward small bits of evil, in so far as they have the ability to choose or not to choose, and likewise as they are able to choose anything. 49. The operations which the evil angels work at are varied: especially in truth it ought to be noted, that their operations are thosewhch tend to the destruction of individual humans, then also the order of hierarchies. 50. Thus they undertood to harm partly in the bodies of humans, in that they send in death; partly in the external goods or resources of humans, so that they corrupt hyumans or seduce them; partly in their souls, so that they turn from God and through sins the evil angels entice them into damnation. 51. Especially the spiritual possession of evil angles pertains here, through which Satan effectually forces the minds of impious humans to the worst crimes; and it pertains to bodily possession, by which Satan according to his substance dwells within the bodies of humans, and operates in them by divine permission. 52. Similarly to this it also pertains, that demons through apparitions play with humans and they are eager to destroy or to injure either soul or body. 53. Especially they oppose the ecclesiastical state, when they give great attention to the spreading of heresies, and hinder the pious and healthful efforts of the servants of the church, when they lead hearers away from a pious meditation of the word, so that they steal conversion and salvation from them, and also when they excite persecution against doctrine and against the Christian church. 54. In the political state demons provide unfair and destructive plans to rulers and also in many other ways they destroy the concord of the republic. 55. In the family they plot against the marriages themselves, the children, and the good of the family. 56. Meanwhile God himself also uses the service of evil angels for the chastening of the pious in this worls and the punishing of the impious, first in life, then after death. 57. The devil and his angels have also prepared for themselves torture and pain from the fire of hell. 58. The punishments were eternal, by which the evil angels are struck down. -------------------------------------------------------------- This text was translated by Rev. Theodore Mayes and is copy- righted material, (c)1996, but it is free for non-commercial use or distribution, and especially for use on Project Wittenberg. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 66000 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (260) 452-3149 Fax: (260) 452-2126 --------------------------------------------------------------