Question

Are angels masculine in their nature, they have masculine names such as Gabriel and Michael. Also why does the Bible quote God as "He"? Can you answer these questions?

Answer

I'll try, for these are good questions....

1. "Are angels masculine in their nature, they have masculine names such as Gabriel and Michael?"

In reality angels have no sex in the sense as we understand it. They never procreated and they never marry (Mat 22:30). They are spirit beings and thus have no physical body (1 Corinthians 15:44). However, that being said, they did, in Bible times, appear to men and women on the earth, and always appeared as men, and are always referred to with the masculine pronoun (with one possible exception being Zechariah 5:9).   I will say more as I seek to answer your next question.

2. "Also why does the Bible quote God as "He"?

Try to stay with me on this....for I am going to try to explain something that is not really defined or explained in the Word, therefore, I am simply putting together thoughts and ideas from what I can glean from the Word....

In eternity past, prior to the creation of angels and the universe, the Trinity always existed, and were each Divine Spirit beings, which means that they had no material bodies. Thus in one sense they had no sexual definition whatever. However, at some point, They (the Trinity) created angels, which were also spirit beings, but not divine, and they too were without physical bodies. Each of the angels were individual creations, thus there was no need for marriage and procreation, and therefore no real sexual distinction.

Then one member of the Trinity (whom we call The Father) decided to give another member of the Trinity (The Son) a "love" gift of a race of humans that would love and adore Christ for all eternity--the Bride of Christ. It was God's plan that this entire race of people would be born from the initial two created parents (Adam and Eve).

So, when God created Adam and Eve He created sexual difference and made them male and female, masculine and feminine. God created them "different" for the "two separate roles" that He created them for:

Male: Leader, Provider, Protector, Messenger, Father

Female: Helper, Protected one, Dependant, Submissive, Child Bearer, Mother

It must always be remembered that God never created women inferior to men, but only "different" to satisfy His wise plans. In God's sight, men and women are totally and completely equal, yet assigned different roles. A good way to see this is to look at the Trinity, They are absolutely equal in every possible way Father = Son = Holy Spirit, yet to accomplish the salvation of God's chosen ones the Trinity has assumed different roles:

The Father gives the gift of the Bride, and sends the Son into the world to be born a man.

The Holy Spirit empowers the Son to accomplish the Father's will for His life. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and points them to the one and only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Son, so to speak, willingly steps off His throne of Glory, and submits to the humiliation of becoming a man and being subject to the pains and struggles of life and death on earth. Jesus came not to do His will but only the will of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, we see in the roles of the Trinity and in the roles of men and women, the same concept of total equality, but different roles. The woman is submissive to the man as Christ is submissive to the Father.

Now, about why angels and God are seen in the masculine and are referred to by the masculine pronoun:

I believe, and these are my thoughts, that since it was God who created the masculine characteristics and role, of Leader, Provider, Protector, and Messenger that these particular characteristics are integral to His own character, thus when He presents Himself to His creation He is referred to as "masculine" because of the definition our languages give to it. Really, in our languages we have only masculine, feminine, and neuter, of which the only one that best fits an understanding of who God is and how He functions is "masculine." The same could be said about the angels whose role best matches up with the masculine.

Bottom line, the use of the masculine for God and the angels is not to declare a superiority of the masculine over the feminine, but rather just to reflect the best understanding of the person and role.

I hope this helps your understanding of the subject, for it is so hard for the "finite" to try to explain the "infinite"...

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Tony Capoccia's Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
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Email: tony@biblebb.com
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