Do Angels have Free Will?

The Scriptures do not teach celestial angels have either free moral agency or the power of choice. Such flawed teaching has its roots in the erroneous doctrine that the devil was once an angel in Heaven who rebelled against God and was cast out. We know that teaching is not so since the Scriptures teach he was a devil "from the beginning" (John 8:44). The thought of angels having the power of choice is rooted in that teaching.

How do we know angels do not have "free will"? First, "free will," choice, or free moral agency are all various expressions indicating the ability to choose to sin or not to sin. For there to be a choice to sin, there must be the ability to be subject to temptation. The Scriptures are clear concerning the avenue through which temptation works. James 1:14 tells us, "But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." This verse reveals two things: (1) "every MAN is tempted" (temptation is solely an experience for mankind); and (2) all temptation stems from human "lust" ("inordinate desire"; The Emphatic Greek Diaglott).

To understand what desires James was alluding to, we must consider 1 John 2:16, which reads, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 

Angels are not "of the world." Neither do they have "flesh" nor human "life" with which to be tempted. Colossians 1:16 lets us know they are created beings, stating, "For by him ['his dear Son'; verse 13] were all things created, that are in heaven." Hebrews 1:13-14 tells us "angels" are "all ministering spirits." They are spirit beings, hence, not fleshly creatures, or "of the world." Therefore, they are not subject to temptation, and there must be temptation to exercise a power of choice.

Several Scriptures are often used to support the false belief that angels can sin. Let us look at some of them. First Kings 22:19-22 portrays a response to divine will. In verse 20, the Lord posed a question to elicit a response: "Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up?" That was the divine will. The "host of heaven" (verse 19) responded to perform the divine will. This passage has nothing to do with the exercise of any will for them to sin or make a moral choice. 

Because angels have no free moral agency does not mean they are unintelligent or unable to make decisions in other matters. In Genesis 19:17-22, the angel instructed Lot to "escape to the mountain," but Lot requested, "this city is near to flee unto ... let me escape thither." In verse 21, we read the angel changed his mind. He made a decision, but this decision was not a matter of moral consequence concerning sin.

In Luke 8:32, we read, "They besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them." This does not speak of angelic beings, for verse 33 refers to them as "devils." This verse reveals demons have desires but are subject to the power of Christ. Again, the question posed in this verse has no moral consequence because neither angels nor demoniac spirits possess the power of moral choice. Both are spirit beings created to perform a certain function.
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Second Timothy 2:26 speaks of "the devil" and "his will." Obviously, he has a "will," but that "will" is to desire accordingly and perform and fulfill the purpose and divine will for which he was created. The devil has no power to choose concerning to sin or not. He serves, according to Matthew 4:3, as "the tempter," not the tempted.

If angels were subject to "free will" and had the ability to choose to sin, they must also have an opportunity to avail themselves of salvation. The Apostle Peter, penning in 1 Peter 1:12 concerning "salvation" (verse 10), wrote it was an experience which "the angels desire to look into." The clear implication is that it is something they are unable to comprehend or enjoy. Why? Because it does not pertain to them due to the type of being that they are

Earl R. Borders

From the August 2025 issue of The Gospel Trumpeter