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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established November 2008 Published
Weekly on Friday AM
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Ephesians (1:1-6)
(Lesson 01)
The United States
sends more Christian missionaries abroad than any other country. According to Todd Johnson, director of the
Center for the Study of Global Christianity, in 2010 the United States sent out
127,000 of the world’s estimated 400,000 missionaries. To put this in
perspective, second-place Brazil sent 34,000.
The irony is that now, America needs them sent here.
The widely
discussed American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), released in 2009,
marked an alarming increase in “Nones” – nearly doubling from 8 percent to 15
percent. This made those who claim no religion at all the third largest defined
constituency in the United States, eclipsed only by Catholics and Baptists.
Further, “Nones” were the only religious bloc to rise in percentage in every
single state, thus constituting the only true national trend.
It is difficult to
think of America as a mission field, having been the exporter of faith for so
many generations, but that is precisely what it has become. Dr. James Emery White; 2012
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Welcome to HBS and our
verse-by-verse study of Ephesians.
I pray last week’s Bible
lesson helped you understand our Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches are
principally significant to God’s one Church
(in this parenthetical period of time known as the Dispensation of Grace),
especially the seven letters we looked at which included his prison letters Ephesians, Philippians, and
Colossians.
********
Now
if you’ll open your Bible at Ephesians 1:1-2, well begin our study.
The
Blessings of Redemption
Ephesians 1
Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ (1:2).
Paul – it was customary to
place the name of the writer at the beginning of the letter.
An apostle of
Christ Jesus – this
wasn’t your regular traveling speaker
who put profit before the message, as
so many others were known to do in Paul’s day.
This is Paul, a called apostle of the risen Lord, and this designation
is to be understood in the fullest meaning of the term apostle. He represents
Christ on earth. Therefore, Paul’s
message is Christ’s message.
By the will of God
– here
Paul is saying he neither sought this position nor was he elected by men to the
office of apostle. Instead, he became an
apostle by the divine will of God,
having been set apart even from my mother’s womb and
called through His grace (Galatians 1:15).
This was an act of God’s sovereign will
(1:4-5).
To the saints who
are at Ephesus – contrary
to a popular held belief, all Believers were called saints in the first century church.
Saints, by definition, are
those folks who are saved by God’s Grace,
through faith (alone); they have
been set apart to glorify God in this life (Galatians 5:16; 22-23, Colossians 3:10).
And who are faithful in Christ Jesus – here Paul’s saying
the church at Ephesus forms one unit. The faithful
are in Christ Jesus, i.e. they
are who they are and what they are by virtue of their union with Christ Jesus. This expression, “in Christ Jesus” is without a doubt the most important one in this
entire letter as it occurs in 1:1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9-13, 15, 20, 2:5-7, 10, 13, 21,
22, 3:6, 11, 12, 21, 4:1, 21, 32, 5:8, and then 6:10. It is in connection with Christ Jesus they
receive: “every spiritual blessing” (1:3); “election before the foundation of the world” (1:4-6); “redemption through His blood” (1:7-12);
“and sealing of the Holy Spirit as sons
and daughters and therefore heirs of the promise” (1:13-14).
Grace and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ – this is the
standard N.T. salutation from our Apostle Paul to the churches he planted. It is a prayer that God the Father and our
Lord Jesus Christ may bestow Grace
and peace upon the Ephesian saints.
The Father is the source and
the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator
of all these blessings (1 Timothy
2:5; Hebrews 9:15).
Ephesians 1
3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (where) in the heavenly places in Christ,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ – the
word blessed is translated from the
Koine Greek word Eulogetos (yoo-log-ay-tos’),
Adjective, Strong’s Greek # 2128, meaning:
to bestow praises upon. Our English word Eulogize is derived from
this word. Therefore, Paul is eulogizing
God for His marvelous blessings to His
church.
Who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing (where) in the heavenly places in Christ – the first thing I want to
point out to y’all is Paul doesn’t mention one single material blessing in this statement. Paul used the expression “every spiritual blessing.” I mention this for two reasons. Material
blessings i.e. tangible objects made up of physical matter are referred to
as earthly blessings in the Bible and
those particular blessings were promised to the nation of Israel. More on this is just a bit.
The
other reason is this. As I’ve said before,
the attack on the gospel is ongoing. Those
preachers who claim the Bible teaches God intends for every Christian to own an expensive vehicle, own
an luxurious home, and basically walk this life on easy-street, financially secure are proclaiming a false
gospel. The prosperity gospel continues
to grow in popularity because people are drawn to its deceptive message. But it is
what it is; the “name it and claim it gospel” is a misrepresentation of the
Scriptures at best, and at its worst, it is a heretical teaching from a new age
cult. I say this because their message
contradicts what God has said. They say people
can use their “power of faith” to
exalt themselves above God. This mind-set
is older than creation itself. It
originated with Lucifer. His pride led
him to believe - He could raise (exalt)
his throne above the stars of God…” (Isaiah
14:12-15; Ecclesiastes 1:9). Lucifer
wanted to be God and people make that same mistake today. They believe they are in the “drivers-seat,” and
this pride in self elevates them high above God’s sovereign authority. In truth they don’t own their next breath or heartbeat.
God does!
Heaven,
Earth, and the Abrahamic Covenant
In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
From
the very beginning we see the LORD God making a distinction between heaven and earth. The LORD God sees fit
to promote this theme throughout the O.T. and into the N.T. This distinction is placed not only on the
present creation but the future creation as well (Isaiah 66:22; Revelation
21:1). The Scriptures, therefore, do not
speak of this world as we know it, calling it the universe, but as “heaven (or heavens)” and “earth” (Ephesians 1:10; Colossians
1:16; Hebrews 1:10; James 5:12; 2 Peter 3:5, 7, 10, 13; Revelation 20, 11,
21:1).
God’s
Promises to Israel are Earthly
For
the first 2000 years of mankind’s existence on this planet (from Genesis 1 to
Genesis 11) the LORD God dealt with the human race as a whole. Beginning in Genesis 12 (about 2000 B.C.) the
LORD changed programs and introduced a brand new plan; this involved calling
out one man, Abram, from an ungodly
culture. Through him He would create a
new race of people who would be known as the Jews.
Let’s
all turn to Genesis 12: Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from
your country, And from your relatives and from your father’s house (Why? It’s been less than 400 years since the
world-wide flood and only 175 years since the Tower of Babel experience. This is when Satan’s counterfeit religions go
global, and people everywhere are worshipping false gods, even Abram’s household), to the (what) land I will
show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make
your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who
bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will
be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3).
This
Bible passage is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. From this text, we learn of the LORD’s
calling of Abram. He told him to leave his country and his household
and go to the land He would show
him. The LORD promised He would do the
following:
Make
him a great nation
Bless
him
Make
his name great
Be
a blessing
Bless
those who blessed him
Curse
those who cursed him
In
him, all the families of the earth will be blessed
Sometime
after God established His promise with Abram,
He revealed more details about the covenant.
From the passage below, we learn included in “make you a great nation” was a Land
Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1-29, 30:1-10).
God told Abram all the land that he could see and walk in would
be his and his descendants forever. We also find the first mention of “earth” in the LORD”s promise; He said, “I will make your descendants as numerous as
the dust of the earth:”
The LORD said to
Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from
the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for
all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants
forever. I will make your descendants
as the dust of the (what) earth,
so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your
descendants can also be numbered. Arise,
walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you” (Genesis
13:14-17).
Flip
on over to Genesis 15:1-6
Then the angel of
the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself
I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not
with held your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I
will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens
and as the sand which is on the seashore;
and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In
your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
because you have obeyed My voice.” So Abraham returned to his young
men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at
Beersheba.
This
passage concludes the familiar story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his
one and only son, Isaac. It also is
unique because it referenced both the heavenly
and earthly aspects of Abraham’s descendants.
Heavenly
and Earthly Promises
I
selected the above Bible passages because they form a guide for earthly and heavenly promises and blessings. I’m trying to show you, per this book, the
Jews had no concept of dying and going to heaven or having anything to do with
heaven for that matter. Their only
interaction with things heavenly was through visions of prophets who saw the
glory and holiness of God and His throne (Isaiah 6:1-6; Ezekiel 1-3; Daniel
7:9-28, 10-12). There’s not one single
Bible verse saying the Jews are destined for heaven; all of Israel’s promises
are earthly. They were promised and looking for a Kingdom
on earth (Matthew 10:5-7).
The
LORD’s earthly promises to the nation of Israel included both land and a kingdom. The vehicle of
these promises was God’s covenants to the Jews.
Again, the promises of an earthly kingdom began with the LORD God’s
covenant with Abraham which included the land
provision. Through His Covenant with
David, He promised He would establish David’s line (seed) upon the throne and
his kingdom forever (2 Samuel
7:8-17). Mary was the wife of Joseph and
the mother of Jesus. Her genealogy is
given in Luke 3. She was from the tribe
of Judah and the lineage of King David (Psalm 132:11; Luke 1:32). This means Jesus was born into the tribe of
Judah fulfilling God’s promise to establish King David’s throne – forever!
The
Jews understood these covenants and anticipated the arrival of the kingdom (Luke 1:31-33, 46-55,
67-79), since God had described it in hundreds of passages through His prophets
(Isaiah 2:2-4, 11:1-10; Ezekiel 37:1-28; Zechariah 14:9-21).
Heavenly
Promises: The Church, the Body of Christ
Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
God’s
promises to Israel, beginning with the Abrahamic Covenant and following in His
additional covenants, were all earthly.
The promises decreed a people, a land, and a kingdom. But God’s promises
to His one Church, the body of
Christ, are all heavenly. The Jew under
the covenants had no concept or promise of dying and going to heaven. But we do.
Paul revealed God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Let’s
all turn to Philippians 3:20-21:
For our citizenship
is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity
with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to
subject all things to Himself.
The
Jews never heard language like this: transforming our bodies into conformity with
the Lords… But we do. Besides having heavenly blessings right now, Paul revealed members of the Body of
Christ are citizens of heaven. Again, not even Abraham or Moses heard the
LORD God (Jehovah) talk like this. This
was a new revelation God gave to Paul.
Let’s
a go to Colossians 1:13-14:
For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved
Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
This
is a brand new truth only revealed to Paul folks. God has rescued
the true Believer of Paul’s gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) from the domain of darkness to the
kingdom of His Son. This book
teaches us “the kingdom” is wherever the Son of God is and right now the Lord
Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God
the Father (Psalm 110:1), so the kingdom is located in heaven. Jesus Christ is
returning and when He does the kingdom will be here on earth for 1,000
years.
In
Paul’s II letter to the Corinthians, he disclosed to the Believers there the
wonderful hope a new body awaits
them in heaven. God created us, body,
soul, and spirit. Our present bodies
experience many things; they are subject to joy and to sorrow and pain. But one day Believers will have an eternal
body minus any and all weaknesses for we all will be like Christ (2 Corinthians
5:1-8).
Try
as you might, you’ll not find language like this directed toward the nation of
Israel. God
used “heaven and earth” to declare not only the creation
of His universe but to provide a template of salvation for distinctive
entities: the nation of Israel and the
church (the Body of Christ). To Israel,
God made earthly promises. To the
Church, God made heavenly promises. Both
set of promises originate in Abraham.
Getting
back to verse 3, those Christians who have chosen to listen to the message of the prosperity
gospel are no different than the Galatians of old who invited deception by listening to the Judaizers gospel of works (Galatians 6:7-8; 2
Timothy 4:3); they too have changed
course, forsaking the gospel of Grace for a “different gospel.”
Paul’s
saying God the Father is the source of every
spiritual blessing and He’s held nothing back; not one single blessing has been withheld from God’s one church (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians
10:17, 12:12-13, 20; Ephesians 2:16, 4:4).
The heavenly places in Christ – to
understand the meaning of this phrase you have to link it with every spiritual blessing. Paul seems to be saying God has blessed every Believer in Christ in regard to spiritual blessings. This phrase appears four times in this
letter. It shows up again in 1:20, 2:6,
and 3:10 and unless I’m mistaken nowhere else in Paul’s writings. The following spiritual blessings are ours now for we are in Christ Jesus at this very moment: pardoned
of our sins, justified and adopted sons and daughters of God, co-heirs, sealed
with the Holy Spirit of God.
Verse
4-6:
Ephesians 1
just as He chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world (in eternity past), that we would be holy (set apart) and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His
will, to the praise and glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us
in the beloved (4-6).
Predestination
The
biblical subject of predestination
troubles many within the church. The
primary reason for their distress is simply due to the fact that God’s Word has
either been misunderstood or misrepresented.
The idea God has chosen some folks for heaven and some for hell and therefore
one’s destiny is fixed from birth simply does not line up with scripture. The Bible does not teach this and this is not what
the Bible means by predestination.
Theologians
have devoted much effort and time in arguing Calvinism (the religious doctrine of John Calvin, which maintains
that salvation comes through faith in God, and also that God has already chosen
those who will believe and be saved) versus Arminianism
(relating to or following the Protestant theologian Arminius or his doctrines,
which rejects the Calvinist view of absolute predestination). But not
much has been gained. The debate
continues without anyone ceding their “point of view.”
A
study of predestination requires a
careful examination of related areas of concern such as, God’s foreknowledge, election, our ability to exercise free will, and how divine and human wills interact. The Creator God is not the author of
confusion; He is the God of order. Therefore, in this book we will find He has
provided an outline and enough information for Believers to understand this
subject sufficiently.
Biblical
Terms Concerning Predestination
Foreknowledge is part of
God’s omniscience, i.e. God knows everything. It means to know something
beforehand and as it relates to man it is confined to time. (See Acts 26:5; Romans
8:29, 11:2; 1 Peter 1:20; 2 Peter 3:17)
Elect or Choose (verb) occurs in the
following verses: Mark 13:20; Luke 6:13,
10:2, 14:7; John 6:70, 13:18, 15:16, 19; Acts 1:2, 24, 6:5, 13:17, 15:7, 22,
25; 1 Corinthians 1:27-28; Ephesians 1:4; James 2:5. The most helpful verses are Mark 13:20 and
Ephesians 1:4. Objections
arise concerning verses which speak of Jesus choosing the Twelve. Opponents they say verses like Luke 6:13 and
Acts 1:2, 24 should be considered but they are problematic since John 6:70,
13:18 include Judas as one of the chosen twelve.
Elect
or Chosen (noun) provides more
help than the verb. It occurs in the
following verses: Matthew 20:16 (KJV),
22:14, 24:22, 24, 31; Mark 13:20, 22,
27; Luke 18:7, 23:35; Romans 8:33,
16:13; Colossians 3:12; 1 Timothy 5:21;
2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; etc. Most of these verses clearly declare
God has chosen some and that these
are synonymous with Believers.
Called is a verb
used 146 times and means “to call,”
or “to be called or named.” Useful
occurrences are the following.
Matthew 9:13, 22:3-4, 8-9; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32, 14:16-17, 24; John 10:3; Romans 8:30, 9:11, 25; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 7:22, 15:9; Galatians 1:6,
15, 5:8, 13; Ephesians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 4:7, 5:24; 2 Thessalonians
2:14; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 9:15, 11:8; 1 Peter 1:15, 2:21,
3:9, 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3; etc. The word’s meaning in terms of our subject is
synonymous with “chosen” or “elect.”
Predestine occurs six
times in scripture. Our Apostle Paul
uses it five times in:
Acts
4:28; Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 2:7; and Ephesians 1:5, 11.
Summing
this section up, these words reveal God has elected, predestined, or
chosen certain individuals. In every case, the terms refer to Believers. This book never says God has predestined or chosen unbelievers, and that’s significant to this discussion.
That
thought leads us into the next section:
All
Are Enlightened
The
Bible states God has revealed Himself to every human being, i.e. everyone born into
this world knows God exists. Therefore God holds everyone accountable and responsible
to respond or to reject Him. Consider
the following verses:
There was the true
Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man (John 1:9).
…because that
which is known about God is evident within them (we are born with
an innate knowledge of the Creator God);
for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they
are without excuse (Romans 1:19-20).
if indeed you
continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from
the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all
creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister (Colossians
1:23).
For the grace of
God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (Titus 2:11).
The
Argument of God’s Absoluteness in Salvation
Because
so many people believe the argument of predestination
centers on God’s sovereign decree independent of man’s choice I thought we’d
look at the Bible passages these folks use to support their case:
just as He chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless
before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of
His will,
(Ephesians 1:4-5).
for though the
twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so
that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand,
not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said
to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob
I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall
we say then? There is no injustice with
God, is there? May it never be! For
He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then
it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs,
but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:11-16).
In Him also
we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to
the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the
praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening
to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit
of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a
view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to
the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:11-14).
The
Bible passages above, according to those who believe man’s salvation is based
solely on God’s sovereign choice, demonstrate God has predestined or elected
some people despite their free will.
John
10:26: “But you do not
believe because you are not of My sheep” is interpreted to mean a
person believes because God has chosen them to believe. Thus, according to the reasoning of those who maintain God is absolutely
sovereign in the matter of salvation, God chooses to have mercy on some and for
everyone else, not so much. Furthermore,
they argue when one exercises faith in the
gospel, it is God who has drawn the individual and gives them faith (John
6:44-45, 65; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 1:29).
The
Argument of God’s Absoluteness in Salvation
Because
so many people believe the argument of predestination
centers on God’s sovereign decree independent of man’s choice I thought we’d
look at the Bible passages these folks use to support their case:
just as He chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless
before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of
His will,
(Ephesians 1:4-5).
for though the
twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so
that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand,
not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said
to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob
I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall
we say then? There is no injustice with
God, is there? May it never be! For
He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then
it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs,
but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:11-16).
In Him also
we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to
the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the
praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening
to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit
of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a
view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to
the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:11-14).
The
Bible passages above, according to those who believe man’s salvation is based
solely on God’s sovereign choice, demonstrate God has predestined or elected
some people despite their free will.
John
10:26: “But you do not
believe because you are not of My sheep” is interpreted to mean a
person believes because God has chosen them to believe. Thus, according to the reasoning of those who maintain God is absolutely
sovereign in the matter of salvation, God chooses to have mercy on some and for
everyone else, not so much. Furthermore,
they argue when one exercises faith in the
gospel, it is God who has drawn the individual and gives them faith (John
6:44-45, 65; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 1:29).
The
Bible’s Response to the Argument
Several
problems exist with their argument. While
the passages above seem to indicate God’s absolute sovereignty in the matter of
salvation, these folks fail to consider other passages on the subject. To obtain a sound understanding of predestination and election we must consider the entire body of Scripture related to
the subject. We must compare Scripture
with Scripture. Obviously, failure to do
this will result in flawed interpretation and explanation of the biblical texts.
Comparing
Scripture with Scripture
God
has revealed He is unwilling that any
perish. But clearly, some do. Why? If
God wills something and it does not
come to pass, does this mean God is only sovereign now and again? It wouldn’t go there. Let’s consider the following verses:
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth
(1Timothy 2:3-4).
“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 18:12-14).
These
Bible passages are from Peter, Paul, and the Lord Himself. Each declares God wants none to be lost but ALL to be saved. If God wants ALL to be saved and ALL are not saved, what accounts for the inconsistency?
Consider the logic of those who maintain salvation is a matter
of God’s sovereign decree in the following statements:
|
God
chooses some to be saved.
|
|
God
wills that all be saved.
|
The
message of these two statements is basically this: “God
wills that all be saved but chooses some to be saved.” This statement makes no sense. In addition to that, this statement cannot
stand based upon other information we have in Scripture. How do the proponents of Calvinism continue
to maintain God’s sovereign will is significant in salvation?
That’s
easy; those who maintain salvation is based solely upon God’s sovereign decree
teach the straightforward reading of the Bible text is a misreading of the
text. They teach the text should
read “all kinds of men,” not, “all
men.” Thus, they contradict God’s Word by maintaining God does NOT want all to be saved. They also teach Christ did not die for the whole human race but only for
those God has chosen to save. Why do
they contradict God’s Word? If they’re
wrong and Jesus Christ actually died for all,
their man-made religion is destroyed.
The
Scriptures provide two key verses to help solve the issue of God’s divine will
and man’s will and the nature of predestination
and election. One is from Paul and the other from Peter.
In
Romans 8:28-30, Paul wrote the Roman church (primarily Gentiles) and defined
God’s foreknowledge and predestination. It reads:
And we know
that God causes all things to work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed
to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many
brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these
whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He
also glorified.
Peter,
addressing Jewish Believers, wrote the following in 1 Peter 1:1-2.
Peter, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to
obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the
fullest measure.
These
two passages provide critical information in understanding and resolving the
issue of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.
Believers
are the subject of God’s foreknowledge,
predestination, calling, justification, glorification, and His working of
all things together for good. Unbelievers are never the
subject of these teachings.
The
texts state God predestined and chose those whom He foreknew; thus, foreknowledge precedes
predestined and election. Foreknowledge
governs election.
God
exists in eternity. Eternity is not
simply a long time it is timeless. Time
is a fourth dimension of reality in addition to length, height, and width. For mankind the present is now. God is outside time and its constraints. For God, past, present, and future are
now. God experiences all events as now. Therefore, God sees all decisions we make (or
will make) and all events as now. In
effect, God has all eternity to contemplate each moment we experience in time. We describe God’s foreknowledge as something “future.” But for God, foreknowledge as “future” is meaningless. For Him, it is simply now.
As
we have seen, the suggestion, “God wills
that all be saved but chooses some to be saved” is illogical. The passages above, Romans 8:28-30 and 1
Peter 1:1-2, provide the missing piece of information. God’s election
and predestination of individuals is
based upon His foreknowledge, which
includes knowledge of all things that do happen and could possibly happen. The Scriptures reveal God has provided a
witness of Himself to everyone coming into this world. Everyone knows God
exists. The Scriptures reveal God has given man the will to respond or to
reject Him. Therefore, what God foresees
is man’s response to that knowledge. If
an individual responds to the light he has been given, the Lord will provide
him with more information. Thus, like Lydia who listened to Paul, God opened her heart to respond (Acts
16:14) to the things she heard. Lydia was willing to know more and God
opened her heart to believe Paul’s gospel.
This
may be just one single explanation but it links all the Scriptures together
perfectly when you consider the phrase, “God
desires all be saved.” But God has
also created us with the will to accept or reject Him. A person can say, “I want to know more.” Or he
or she can say, “I have no interest.”
If a person responds, God provides more light. If the individual doesn’t, God won’t. The genius of God is He can give man free will
and still have things come out exactly as He planned. In all this, God is completely Sovereign. Therefore, God predestines on the basis of His foreknowledge. Foreknowledge governs predestination but does not determine
it, since within foreknowledge there
are events that will not occur (since God knows all possible outcomes). Those who respond to God are those whom He
saves; they become the elect and predestined.
Conclusion
Those
who argue for God’s absolute sovereignty in man’s salvation have no answer for
verses that declare God wants all to
be saved. They address the issue by
theological deceitfulness (Spurgeon called it “theological gunpowder”) by
declaring “all men” means “all kinds of men.” The Scriptures are clear: mankind has a choice
in salvation. We are not born “winners” or
“losers.” If God did not love us, would
He have suffered on the cross for us? Does
He love some more than others? That
would be, “No,” Ultimately, we have to trust God. God created each of us in His image and loves
us equally. God has provided salvation
for each person. God has given everyone
the ability to choose. We can respond to
His love or reject it. C. S. Lewis
wrote, “There are only two kinds of
people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom
God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done. All that are in Hell choose it”
and “the doors of hell are locked on the inside.”
The
biblical account of Noah’s Ark foreshadows
our salvation in Christ Jesus. Once Noah
and his family entered the Ark via the “one Door,”
of their own free will, the LORD God shut the door from the outside… (Genesis 7:16-17; John 10:9),
effectively sealing their safety. Those who chose not to believe the
LORD God demonstrated their lack of faith by not entering the Ark of safety,
and everyone perished.
What
is significant about God shutting the door of the Ark? It provides a wonderful manifestation of the
twin truths of man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty that we
see playing out throughout Scripture.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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