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- Website: Ichthys.com
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Audio clip from Ichthys
In our previous lesson, we discussed the devil’s organization, tactical plans and procedures, and his integrated system for the enslavement of humanity. We now turn our attention to God’s point of view and shall see how He has been in complete control of the process of human history all along. In this final installment of the present series, we shift our focus to a chronological and strategic overview of God’s plan for humanity as it moves resolutely and inexorably forward toward history’s final conclusion, decisively pushing aside in the process all satanic resistance, defeating the devil at every turn until he and all the evil he represents are finally eradicated from the universe. As is the case with so many aspects of divine truth, the process of judgment, restoration and replacement, a threefold set of actions that can stand as short-hand for the plan of God overall, are themselves divisible into three distinct parts. <!– — –>In this respect, they parallel the believer’s sanctification (see Peter #13), the process whereby an unsaved human being is restored to complete and eternal fellowship with God better than what was lost at the fall:
- Initial sanctification: in Christ, we enter into the family of God through faith in Jesus and are restored to fellowship (though the full reality of these blessings to come is yet future). Just as God restored light to the universe in Genesis 1:3, so new believers are transferred out of darkness into the light by believing in the true light of the world, Jesus Christ (Jn.8:12; Col.1:13; cf. Jn.1:5; 1:9), and so positionally become “light in the Lord” (Eph.5:8).
- Experiential or progressive sanctification: by following Christ, we are transformed in this life through spiritual growth toward the goal of living like restored persons in spite of the sin within us and the evil in the world around us (demonstrating thereby the power of God to His glory). Just as God sustains light in the universe as a witness in this dark world (Ps.19:1-6; 74:16; 136:7-9; Is.40:26 Jer.31:35; Rom.1:20), so as believers we are charged to continue to reflect experientially His light as we make our way through life (2Cor.3:18; Eph.5:8).
- Ultimate sanctification: with Christ, we are literally transformed through resurrection, bringing the process of restoration to completion (1Jn.3:2). Just as God will at the end of time replace the limited, restored light of the sun with the glory of the Son and of Himself (Rev.21:23), so we believers will ultimately shine forever like stars in the firmament in the Kingdom of God forever (Dan.12:3; 1Cor.15:41-43; cf. Rev.2:28).
God’s overall plan of universal history is constructed in parallel fashion to this individual plan of sanctification for believers. Phase one of judgment, restoration and replacement sets the stage for restoring God’s harmonious universal order in a positional way in the person of Adam (though the actual realization of this is yet future). Phase two (otherwise known as human history) is bringing about an experiential restoration in the persons of believers of all eras, and will reach its culmination in the millennial rule of Jesus Christ (where grace, truth and goodness will rule in spite of the continued presence of sin). Phase three will see the destruction of the present material universe, the final execution of Satan and his followers, and their final replacement with perfected, resurrected human beings, along with other perfect (angelic) creatures living forever with the Father and the Son in a perfect world without spot or blemish.
Summary points and follow-on topics
Summary points:
- This study: A “chronological and strategic overview of God’s plan for humanity as it moves resolutely and inexorably forward toward history’s final conclusion, decisively pushing aside in the process all satanic resistance, defeating the devil at every turn until he and all the evil he represents are finally eradicated from the universe.”
- Even us finite, limited human beings plan. So why wouldn’t the Omniscient God of the universe have a plan? Except unlike our imperfect plans, God’s Plan is completely perfect and all-encompassing. See BB4B Soteriology, §Foreknowledge and the Divine Decrees.
- While we may never be able to plumb the depths of God’s wisdom and understand all the details, there is value in us studying exactly how God’s Plan works, to make sure we are marching in line with it, rather than trying to go against it.
- This is true both of us personally, and also of the world in general. As believers, we need to make sure we are matching ourselves to God’s purposes at both the microscopic and macroscopic scales.<!– — –>
- While these two perspectives are indeed different, they also share things in common. In particular, God’s redemptive actions for us as individuals closely mirror His redemptive actions for the world in general.
- Just how we are positionally made clean when we believe, so too did God positionally start redeeming the universe that Satan’s rebellion had polluted by creating mankind. This, in essence, started the countdown on the replacement of Satan and the fallen angels.
- Just how we work towards holiness day by day as part of our experiential sanctification, so too is God working out an experiential restoration of this corrupted creation through the spread of His Truth in the world.
- Just how we will be literally transformed by resurrection (receiving new bodies without sin or corruption), so too will God literally remake the heavens and earth anew, with all sin and unrighteousness eradicated and banished.
Follow-on topics:
- Comparing and contrasting the individual and the collective is a common activity in literary analysis, but it applies to us spiritually too. Things that are true of us as individual believers have parallels in the Church. Things that are true of material creation have parallels in us as individual believers. You get the idea.
- There is what we might call symmetry in all of this, a natural order to the universe, with themes and motifs echoing throughout—from the smallest blade of grass, to the furthest star in the universe, to the hidden thoughts of the human heart, a common thread of purpose is clearly visible. We Christians identify this as the hand of God at work, and unbelievers… well, they do their best to ignore such inconvenient evidence that clearly points to a Designer.
- When we put our hope and trust in God, it becomes possible to see the patterns emerge throughout all of history, a perfect tapestry of redemption and restoration. Like a master weaver expertly placing every last thread, God holds all the strings of the universe, and things play out exactly according to His will. Not one thing happens that is has not been ordained from eternity past in the perfect plan of God.