Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 16:04:08 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Mar. 4); BP: Eph. 1:3-14; RBTTY: Mk. 9:1-29; Num.
March 4 “God’s Plan, Purpose and Process”
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved. . .in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who works in all things after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:5-6, 11-12
Ultimately, things will turn out the way God wants, for He is sovereign; however, in the process He has invited and allowed us to join Him (I Cor. 3:9-15).
When God created all that is, He said “It is good” (Gen. 1:12, 17, 21) and when He finished, He said “It is very good” (Gen. 1:31). Thus, it’s safe to say our Creator’s “intentions” or original Plan/Purpose was good—yea, perfect.
However, because He is “omniscient” (all-seeing or all-knowing), God knew that Adam and Eve would partake of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:1-7). His questions to Adam “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9) and “What have you done?” (v.11) weren’t for His benefit; they were for Adam’s, to see if Adam knew where he was and the seriousness of his sin. Thus, the question is, “Why did He allow it?”
It goes without saying that God’s giving Adam and Eve (and us) the freedom to choose (e.g., the two trees in the Garden—Gen. 2:9, 16-17; two roads to travel—Mt. 7:13-14; two types of foundations upon which to build—Mt. 7:21-27) clearly shows He is no celestial dictator who has “predestinated” (determined beforehand) who will be saved and who will be lost. Likewise, this view keeps us from a fatalistic view of God, which ultimately makes Him the “Cause” behind things like genocide, ethnic-cleansing, wholesale murder, rape, deviant sins, etc.
Simply puts, it shows that God has a beautiful Plan for our lives; yet, we have a Problem (sin), which causes us to disrupt His intentional Plan and necessitates the need for His “Provisional Plan” in light of our sinfulness.
Does this undermine or negate His Sovereignty? Not at all; it simply shows His “omniscience” (foreknowledge) knew He must make Provisions for our sinfulness. And, as a loving Heavenly Father, like the prodigal son’s father (Lk. 15:11-24), He allows us the freedom to choose to love Him or leave Him. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Rom. 1:18-32, He “gives us up” (vv.24, 26, 28) to our “vain imaginations, darkened hearts and depraved ways” (vv.21-31) without “giving up on us” in the process.
Again, does His “limiting” His ultimate will for now make Him less than an omnipotent (all-powerful) God? No, not at all—any more than Jesus’ willingness to die in our place on the Cross made Him a victim to man’s sinfulness. If anything, it shows the power of the Father’s love to “work all things together for good” (Rom. 8:28). Hallelujah!! And, in the eternal scheme of things, His original purpose of our being “holy and blameless before Him in love. . .to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:4, 6, 12) as “vessels fit for His use” (II Tim. 2:21) can still be accomplished in Christ.
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