1Pe 1:20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
1Pe 1:21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Eph 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Eph 1:5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Eph 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
2Ti 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
2Ti 1:9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
These three sections are monumental in our understanding of who God is. One of the most common and horrific ways to handle God’s plan for redemption is to make his plan a reaction to sin. I can remember in Sunday school being taught this common layout of the redemption plan:
Lucifer and some angels rebelled against God. Then Lucifer deceived man and man sinned. Then God loving us and needing to bring us back to him, made a plan to save us from our sin so that we could be with Him again.
That sounded great at the time. It is all correct accept for two things:
1. God didn’t need to bring us back to him
2. God didn’t make a plan then; the fall was already part of the plan.
If we say that God made a plan after the fall of man, we are being blasphemous to our scriptures and belittling God. If God made the world the way He did and then it went wrong on Him, this means that He failed. If He failed, this means that He is not all powerful, all knowing, all present, and perfect in nature. This means that He is a God that I no longer want to serve because He is not God at all.
But this isn’t what happened. He was foreknown, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, and grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. Christ was a planned response to sin not a reaction to sin. The purpose of creation was the glory of Christ.
Eph 1:5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Eph 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
2Ti 1:9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
The understanding that God had pre-planned the cross of Christ before he even created, for a purpose, is monumental information for us. This will make us raise many questions and change the way we look at almost everything. I know that it changes the way we look at suffering and brokenness. It means that things aren’t spiraling out of God’s hands but that in all things, in all occurrences, in all pain, in all heartache, in all sickness, in all death, in everything, God is in control and He has planned for it for the purpose of his will and glorious grace. Isn’t that incredible news!
We can walk in an incredible amount of freedom from anxiety. We can also walk in such a way that we can glorify God in hardship. I always thought texts like this were inconceivable:
Act 5:40 …and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Act 5:41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
But now, I can identify with this text because in everything that happens in my life, God foreknew it because He is all knowing. He has planned for it to lead me to Christ and to lead me to holiness. All of which he has planned for me to be in Him before the ages began.
We can rest assured that God, in all things, is guiding us for the purpose of His will and His Glory. We need to trust Him and seek His face. We can do nothing by our effort and works alone. We will only succeed and glorify Christ according to what He has planned. We are called to have faith in him and to labor by our faith. Let’s trust in Him and be faithful in our work and effort.
God’s greatest act was not creation, but re-creation. God’s plan was not just making us, but it was the glory of His Son through the cross and the conquering of death and sin. This gives us a giant foundation to build upon our understanding of God.
Take time to think of all the questions this understanding leaves us with about God. Take time to think of all the truths this understanding leaves us with about our life and our ministry. Consider the thoughts of Jonathan Edwards, a reformer in the 18th Century.
“God has greatly glorified himself in the work of creation and providence. All his works praise him, and his glory shines brightly from them all: but as some stars differ from others in glory, so the glory of God shines brighter in some works than in others. And amongst all these, the work of redemption is like the sun in its strength.”
-Jonathon Edwards, “Wisdom of God”-
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