Does the Bible teach that children have guardian angels? Yes and no. But mostly no. Let us examine the passages before getting into our study.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
"Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." Matthew 18:1-14
They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Mark 9:33-50
An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great." Luke 9:46-48
He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." Luke 17:1-4
What is the discussion here about?
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew) Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all; (Mark) the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great." (Luke)
Jesus sat down, which was the manner of teachers when they taught, denoting their authority. He called the twelve to Himself, letting them know that what He was about to speak was a serious matter of universal concern for them to learn in order to teach others. He who does not desire to be first, who is most separated from pride and ambition, who condemns the priorities and superiorities of the world, shall be greatest. He who is proud and ambitions, who seeks great things for himself, shall be esteemed least in the kingdom. He is least in grace and ought to be esteemed and reputed as least among Christians, for he will be last in the kingdom.
Jesus called a young child to Himself because it was the perfect pattern with which to commend humility to His disciples. Using the child as a type, He said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are
converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven." The word conversion here does not refer to regeneration, but to a repentance from one's pride and ambition toward humility and contentment. "Become like children." Humbling yourselves as little children. Children know nothing of dominion. Children are ready to be taught and instructed. Children trust easily. This does not mean becoming like children in all ways, acting like children, as the Anabaptists in Germany practiced, running about the streets playing with rattles, etc.
So what is meant by verses 5 and 6? "And whoever receives one such child
in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who
believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy
millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the
sea." Mark reads, "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me. ... Whoever causes one of these little
ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy
millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea." What is meant by one child and one of these little ones?
Context, context, context! What is being discussed here? "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" It was a question of social status. In the Greco-Roman world, honour and status levels were based
on birth, family, title, wealth, and relationship with others. Jesus
indicated that they must emulate the humble status of children. The child is the illustration—not the topic. What is meant by one child and one of these little ones? Simple. The humble Christian! The Christian who humbles himself like a child, becoming like a child, having faith like a child. The phrases one child and one of these little ones is not speaking of a literal child; it is speaking of the believing saint who humbles him/herself like a child.
"Whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." Any kindness or unkindness done to Christ, the Father takes as done to Himself. "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me." Any kindness or unkindness done to any humble, believing soul, Christ takes as done to Himself. Hence the words, "For whoever gives you a cup of
water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say
to you, he will not lose his reward. (Mark) It is inevitable that stumbling
blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better
for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into
the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. (Luke)"
So what is meant by verse 10 in Matthew? "I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven." Christians, who have angels for their companions and friends, ought not to be despised, condemned, or neglected seeing that God their heavenly Father has such care of them that He has given charge over them to His angels. The text does not say that each individual has his/her own particular angel who attends them. All angels are ministering spirits for the good of God's elect: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?" (Heb. 1:14). God's angels, all of them, are our angels because all His is ours, if we belong to Christ. Each believing saint does not have a particular guardian angel, but when there is occasion, he/she has a guard of angels! The Christian can look on the heavenly hosts and call them his/hers. The angels, beholding the face of God, expecting to receive orders from Him what to do for the good of the saints, are ever ready to minister to His saints.
Believing children, as believing adults, have the entire heavenly host taking charge over them, looking after them, ready to act on the word of God the Father. Angels are the defenders of God's children (Ps. 34:8; 91:11; Dan. 6:22; 10:10, 13, 20; Matt. 18:10; Acts 5:19; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 12:7), even though God's children outrank them and will judge them (1 Cor. 6:3; Heb. 1:14). This text does not teach that children have guardian angels, or even that each individual believer has a particular guardian angel. Context, context, context! The subject of these passages is "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" The child is used as an illustration. The child is not the topic. The child is being used to teach a particular truth about the kingdom and those who belong to it.