Angel bodies...

The teaching is that angels have no body but are pure spirits. This is taken different ways though. The early Christians and even later, including some Reformed, felt that it was not possible for them to have no body at all (and still be creatures), so they assumed angels have airy or fiery bodies (or most subtle bodies). The Work would say all is material, but just different degrees of materiality. So a thought is as material as a stone, just relatively so. So the thought of angels having bodies doesn't clash with anything. And the Bible saying they are spirit can just mean they are not flesh and bone bodies. Berkhof, in his big Systematic Theology, as usual presents all the different views, then comes down on the side of 'no bodies', and in this case I can disagree with him without feeling like I'm doing it because I just don't like the biblical answer. I think it is very sound to read the biblical description of angels as having 'some' kind of body, just not a materially heavy one. Not flesh and bone certainly. Perhaps very changeable in different ways, yet basically an ethereal or fiery or whatever body.

Basically like a glorified body.

I.e. the Bible doesn't contradict the Work on this subject.

When I wrote on angels awhile back I was bothered by this teaching that angels have absolutely NO bodies whatsoever. Because I could see it was the usual non-understanding of materiality when degree is not entered into the picture. Their bodies have none of the limitations of human bodies, of course. They can even take on the impression (or reality?) of human bodies. But to say they have absolutely no body didn't - and doesn't - ring true. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they have no body. And the way they are described in the Bible suggests some kind of body. There is just a strong inclination of theologians to want to present them in a way where imagination won't go overboard, and they won't be worshiped (I suppose). Also, angel bodies may be SO different from flesh and bone bodies that they are effectively like pure spirits. Judged in contrast to human bodies that is. But seen in perspective of all degrees of the hierarchy, they can still be said to have bodies... - C.