For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Recommended Reading: Colossians 2:9-10
Look at the way any organization is structured, whether a business, a church, the military, or an athletic team. The organization can always be structured according to a chart of hierarchy and function. Organizations are not just random collections of individuals or groups. Rather, they are organized and structured according to purpose.
Why do human beings structure organizations that way? Because we are made in the image of God and that is the way God orders His own creation. God has even applied structure and organization to His ranks of angels. While the Bible does not give us an organizational “chart” of angelic beings, we do have descriptive terms that reflect angelic orders of both good and evil angels. On the evil side, there are principalities, powers, rulers, and hosts of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). On the good side, there are thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers (Colossians 1:16).
Thank God today that He has structured His creation and your place in it for His own glory and purposes—even angelic beings.
Angels are the ministers of God’s wrath, as well as of His grace.
John Calvin
