Baptists in the main are part of the Reformed Protestant church, subscribing to the Westminster Confession of Faith, and you quote what C.H. Spurgeon said in 1866: “You remember how our Lord, who is the true Michael, the only great Archangel, said at the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel, ‘I beheld Satan as lightning falling from Heaven.’” (Our Lord’s Transcendent Greatness, Dec. 2, 1866) In 1868 he said: “We read that Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels, and the dragon was cast down. . . Michael is the Lord Jesus, the only Archangel.” (The Angelic Life, Nov. 22, 1868) Spurgeon also said: “We rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Michael of the angels, the Redeemer of men. For by Him we see Satan cast out and all the powers of evil hurled from their places of power and eminence.” (The Blood of the Lamb, The Conquering Weapon, Sept. 9, 1888) Source: three of his published sermons.
Well, does that mean he believed the pre-incarnate Christ to be a created angel? Given the Reformed Protestant position he took, the answer has to be “No” and here is the evidence for that. John Gill, a Baptist pastor (circa 1750) wrote this about Michael the Archangel based on Jude 1:9:
"Yet Michael the Archangel.... By whom is meant, not a created angel,
but an eternal one, the Lord Jesus Christ;”
Going further back to Reformed Protestant beliefs in the 16th century, John Calvin's comment regarding "Michael" and Christ are revealing. They come only in reference to Daniel 12:1. It is significant that in this passage (and previously in chapter 10), Michael is not explicitly called an "angel," but rather the "mighty prince." If we consider Calvin's comments in context, it is clear that he is NOT saying the ANGEL Michael is Christ.
John Calvin: "Michael may mean an angel; but I embrace the opinion of
those who refer this to the person of Christ because it suits the
subject best to represent him as standing forward for the defense of
his elect people....The angel...calls Michael the mighty prince, as if
he had said Michael should be the guardian and protector of the elect
people." Source: Calvin, Commentary on Daniel 12:1, Lecture 65 John
Calvin, COMMENTARIES ON THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET DANIEL, 12:1, Lecture
65, trans. T. Myers vol. 2 p. 369 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1979)
Most non-Trinitarians who quote this passage leave out the first 5 or 6 words, and thus make it appear that Calvin believes that the Angel Michael is Christ. However, the first clause, and the tell-tale "but", signal that this is not the case. Calvin believes that Michael, in the book of Daniel, is not necessarily the archangel (though he admits this possibility). If not, Michael prefigures Christ in His role as Head of the church. Calvin implies a strict dichotomy: If Michael is an angel, he's not Christ; if not an angel, Christ makes the most sense, given the context.
Elsewhere in his commentary on Daniel, Calvin says that the identification of Michael is open to question. In another work, he warns against too much speculation about angels in general, and specifically of trying to "ascertain gradations of honor" among them (Institutes, I, xiv, 8). He admits that some angels, including Michael, may seem to be placed in positions over their peers, but Calvin enjoins us to refrain from drawing any conclusions from this. His commentary on Jude 9 identifies "Michael the Archangel" as one of many angels ready to do service to God, not as the pre-Incarnate Son. His commentary on Hebrews makes it clear that Calvin views Scripture teaching that Christ is "above the angels" (Commentary on Hebrews 1:6). (1)
Extracts from post by Robert Hommel (October 2006) http://forananswer.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/did-john-calvin-really-teach-that.html\]\[1\]
As for Methodists, here is John Wesley’s position [2]:
“Daniel 10:13 Withstood me – God suffered the wicked counsels of
Cambyses to take place awhile; but Daniel by his prayers, and the
angel by his power, overcame him at last: and this very thing laid a
foundation of the ruin of the Persian monarchies. Michael – Michael
here is commonly supposed to mean Christ. I remained – To counter –
work their designs against the people of God. Daniel 10:21 – Michael –
Christ alone is the protector of his church, when all the princes of
the earth desert or oppose it.”
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/wesleys-explanatory-notes/daniel/daniel-10.html
[2]
Daniel 12:1 –“ For the children – The meaning seems to be, as after
the death of Antiochus the Jews had some deliverance, so there will be
yet a greater deliverance to the people of God, when Michael your
prince, the Messiah shall appear for your salvation.”
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/wesleys-explanatory-notes/daniel/daniel-12.html
[3]
This means that even though Baptists and Methodists have noted a connection between Michael, the Archangel, and Jesus Christ as deliverer of the nation of Israel, they are careful to acknowledge that he is The Mighty One of Isaiah 9:6 (whereas all angels are ‘mighty ones’- note the difference) so that his superiority over all created angels (Hebrews chapter 1) demands a difference of status that is unique. All Baptists and Methodists agree with the ancient creeds that state Jesus, the Word of God, is uncreated. Angels are created. Jesus, as the uncreated Word of God, created all the angels (John 1:1-3), and their comments about Michael (the Prince of his peculiar, i.e. particular, people Israel, accord with the key point that, in Daniel 10:1, Michael is the unique ‘protector of his church’ which, in the time of Daniel, meant the nation of Israel. That has, by Christ’s incarnation, expanded into the Christian congregation which includes both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. Any comments Baptists and Methodists have made about Jesus in relation to the Archangel must be viewed in context of them unambiguously declaring Christ to be the uncreated, eternal Word of God, who is God, not a created angel.
