It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels long to look into.
Truth to Learn
Angels are watching us to learn about salvation.
Behind the Words
The words “they were … serving” are translated from the Greek verb diakoneō, which means “to serve” or “to wait on” just as a waiter does at a restaurant. It is the word from which we get our English word deacon; a position of servanthood within the church. The verb is expressed here in the imperfect tense indicating past, ongoing action.
At the end of this verse, the word “long” is from the Greek verb epithumeō, meaning “extremely strong desire.” It is the word used of the prodigal son’s desire to satisfy his hunger with the husks in Luke 15:16 and of the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes in 1 John 2:16.
The word translated “to look” is the Greek verb parakuptō, meaning “to bend down” or “to stoop down” or “to peer into.” The implication here, as with the prophets, is that the angels are intently looking into these things. James uses this same word in James 1:25, “but whoever looks intently into the perfect law of liberty …” and it also is used of Peter himself in Luke 24:12 when he had arrived at the empty tomb and stooped down looking in to see the grave clothes.
Meaning Explained
The purpose of Peter’s message in these verses is to impress upon those to whom he was writing in the 1st century (and to us who read these words today) not only the value of the message contained in the scriptures, but also our very privileged position in being able to understand what was written in a way that saints of old were not permitted. The prophets of the Old Testament searched with effort for the true meaning of the message, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit, in order to understand the things of the Messiah and this salvation that we have. Now Peter tells us that the angelic beings have an intense desire to know more about these things as well.
An angel cannot experience salvation as we can. Each angelic being is a separate creation and is responsible to God for his own actions. It is because of the procreation of mankind from a single created being that Christ was able to atone for the sins of Adam’s entire race. Since angels can’t experience salvation themselves, they have to understand it by studying those of us who are experiencing it.
So, the next time you feel like someone is watching you (other than the omnipresent God we serve) it may well be that it is an angel, trying to better understand more about the salvation so freely offered to us, even though we don’t deserve it.
Application
Let’s give praise to God for our salvation, and let’s be a witness of His grace to those around us who we can see, as well as to those who we can’t see. Be a witness to an angel today!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved