Expert: Elder Greg Madden - 5/4/2008

Question
QUESTION: "Could any angel other than Jesus redeemed mankind from sin?"

ANSWER: Joe,

No, an angel could not die for mans sins. The Bible teaches us that because man sin, it would take the death of a perfect, sinless man to die for the sins of all.

Romans 5:12-19
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man's  offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Angels could not redeem man, it would take Christ in His incarnation to do so.

Hope this helps.

Elder Greg Madden



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answer. However, what I meant to ask was if an other angel other than Jesus could have been made incarnate and therefore saved mankind?

Answer
Joe,

Thank you for the clarification. However, Jesus was not, is not, and will never be an angel. You are obviously mistaken in your understanding of Who Jesus is, and the nature of God. Let me see if I can explain by useing a copy of our "What We Believe." page on our ministry site...

THE GODHEAD - We believe in the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, and immutable triune God; and in the unity of the Godhead where three personalities, equal in every divine perfection and attribute, execute distinct, harmonious offices, in the great work of redemption. This does not mean that there are three “people” called God, but rather a way of saying God eternally exists in three personally distinct ways. Scriptures declare that there is only one God, Who is eternally (past, present, and future) manifested as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Scripture References : 1 John 5:7, 2 Cor. 13:14, John 1:1,2, Rev. 4:2-5 & 5:1-7

Another way of understanding this definition of the nature of God is to understand His attributes. His omniscience (He knows all things), His omnipotence (He is all powerful), and His omnipresence’s (He is everywhere at the same time, and at all times). His omnipresence’s allows us to see how He can be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time. Being omnipresent He is not only everywhere at the same time, He is everywhere at every time. God is here, now, at this present time. But He is also in the future. He is already there because He is not limited by time. He is also in the past. You see, time is linier. Time had a starting point (Gen. 1:1) and it will come to an end (Rev. 10:6). But God is eternal. He has no beginning, and He will have no end. Therefore time itself existents within God, God is not limited within time. God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit eternally (in the past, in the present, and in the future).

THE FATHER - Co-existent, co-eternal, and co-equal with the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is the Creator and Giver of life. He is God revealed as Father in creation.
Scripture References: Isa. 43:10; 44:8, John 3:16, James 1:17, John 4:24

THE SON - Co-existent, co-eternal, and co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived by the Spirit and born of a virgin, to take upon Himself the form of man. By doing so, He never ceased to be God. In His incarnation He laid aside His “expression” of Deity, but not His “procession”. By His death, Jesus bore the curse of sin, sickness and sorrow redeeming us back to Himself. He arose the third day and ascended unto heaven, there He sits on the right hand of the Father, where He eternaly make intercession for us. He is the only mediator between ourselves and the Father (“Solus Christus” Christ alone). He is God revealed as Son in redemption.
Scripture References: John 1:1-3, Matt. 1:23, 1 Tim. 2:5, Eph. 2:18, Phil. 2:6-11

THE HOLY SPIRIT - Co-existent, co-eternal and co-equal with the Father and the Son. Sent by the Father, through the Son, He reproves the world of sin, prepares the church for Christ’s return, and empowers the believer to follow the Lord. He is God revealed as Holy Ghost in regeneration.
Scripture References : John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8

http://www.forministry.com/USOKPENTEMMM1/WhatWeBelieve.dsp

Please let me know if this helps, or if you have any further questions.

Elder Greg Madden