Precisely what—if anything—did Jesus Christ accomplish by means
of his birth, his life on earth, his tortuous death on the cross, his
resurrection, his return to heaven, and his parousia (return) in 70 A.D.?
Coupled with that question is this: What is God’s ultimate plan for his entire
creation? For you? Are there answers to such questions? Yes—if we believe the
Bible is God‘s revealed word to humankind. If we don’t believe that of the
Bible, then we are totally at a loss to answer such questions. No other
religions or philosophies offer more than vague and incomplete glimpses into
such matters. The Bible alone offers clear, substantive, definitive answers.
The answers I share with you from the Bible in this article
are very controversial, unconventional, and “unorthodox,” but I believe you
will find tranquil peace and soothing rest in your inner being if you will read
on and allow God to teach you through what I write.
I begin by stating that the concept of the ages of time is
quite often misunderstood by many people—even by those who believe the Bible’s
teachings. The concept of eternity is even more misunderstood by many people.
For example, eternity is not a state of unending time—or of time that stretches
on…and on…and on…forever and ever. Just a thought: How can there be a
forever…with an “ever” after it, anyway?!
Eternity is a state of absolute timelessness, a state in
which time does not even exist. Hebrews 1:2 informs us that Jesus created all
the reaches of space and the ages of time: time had a beginning…and time will
end; it does not go on…and on…and on into eternity. Time has both a beginning
and an end. Eternity is not unending time. In eternity there is no time or
space. [I invite you to read our companion article about time and eternity.]
Time and space are “gifts” given by God to humans so they
can learn and appreciate his plans and purposes for them in both time and
eternity. But time and space are not eternity. God uses time and space to work
out his plans and purposes for each of us in preparation for our life in
eternity. Time is divided into ages and eons, and at some point time will end
and be swallowed up into eternity.
After that brief introduction about time and eternity, I
now want us to consider 10 STATEMENTS in the Bible
declaring God’s ultimate purposes for all people.
The FIRST STATEMENT is found in Revelation 4:11: “God created
everything for his purposes and for his glory.” That’s such a simple, clear
statement, isn‘t it? First, let me state the obvious: God is Creator; all else
is part of his creation. As Creator, God is in charge. He is infinite and
unlimited all aspects and respects. We are—and always will be!—finite and
limited. We will never be God; we will be like him in some respects, but never
God!
God created everything—including YOU and me—for his
purposes and for his glory. It is one of God’s ultimate purposes he has decreed
from the very beginning. Everything is part of his purposes, everything was
created for his glory. Everything includes everyone, of course,
but many people have been taught that only those who are named Christians were
created for God’s purposes and God’s glory.
When this reference says God created everything for his
purposes, what does that mean? It means there are no accidents of creation.
Everything God created is intentional and directed toward a specific end in
view. Did you know that about your life? This thought makes me think of
another biblical reference, Jeremiah 29:11, where God says of YOU: “I know
the thoughts and plans I have for you--thoughts and plans for your welfare and
peace and not for evil, to give you hope toward the final outcome of your
life.” I hope such promises of God are meaningful to you. God is always
thinking about you. He is always working out his plans and purposes for your
good. Your birth… Your life… Your death… are no accidents! God is always
working to fulfill his pre-determined, definite plans and purposes for your
good.
What does it mean that God created all humanity for his
glory? The definition of the word “glory” is many faceted throughout the Bible,
but one important aspect of it’s meaning is that God takes great delight in his
creation (including YOU and me); he is very proud of his creation; he is elated,
delighted, and in high spirits all the while he is working out his plans and
purposes for the entire creation. He glories in his creation. That’s what it
means when this reference in Revelation claims God created everything for his
purposes and for his glory. I find that tremendously encouraging and hopeful as
I rely upon him to keep working in my life (both in time and eternity), to bring
me to his appointed, pre-determined end.
Yes, all things—including all people—were created for God’s
glory. I don’t presume to explain that, but I believe it. It just makes plain
sense to a normal thinking person who believes God exists and that he has
created all things. He didn’t create all things—including all people—simply to
abandon them and go elsewhere. No, he is actively involved in working out his
plans and purposes in all things and in all humanity for our good and for his
glory.
Colossians 1:20 furnishes us the SECOND STATEMENT
about God’s ultimate purposes for all humanity. “God’s purpose is that
through the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf, God has reconciled everything
and everyone in heaven and earth to himself, making peace with them through the
blood Jesus shed on the cross.” The word “reconcile” in this reference
means to restore to favor someone who had previously fallen out of favor; it
also means to renew broken friendships. It also means to reconstruct something
that has fallen into ruin. Many of us have “fallen into ruin” because of wrong
choices and decisions we’ve made during this stage of our life journey. We’ve
gotten detoured from our journey. God is in the process of rebuilding our lives
and placing us back on his High Way.
Through sin, we humans fell out of favor with God and broke
off our friendship with him. By means of the work Jesus accomplished on our
behalf, God has taken care of the estranged and broken relationships we fell
into and brought all people back into a loving relationship with himself. He
didn’t merely wave a magic wand and arbitrarily reconcile all humanity to
himself. He did it by means of the awesome, eternal work of Jesus Christ dying
on the cross for us.
Yes, God is always in the process of rebuilding,
reconciling, and renewing. He will not stop until the entire creation has been
fully restored to himself. We must always remember that God is able to
accomplish his purposes in our lives because of the completed redemptive work of
Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf. No Jesus on the cross, no shed blood:
no reconciliation!
Our THIRD STATEMENT is found In Revelation 21:5.
God proclaims: “I am creating all things new!” In the original Greek
language in which this statement was written the tense is present-progressive,
and the word is “create“ rather than “make“ as it reads in some older versions
of the Bible. Simply stated it means that God is still in the process of
creating and making all things new, of making all things in his image. God is
presently—progressively—unfolding his plans and purposes for all people
everywhere. His ultimate objective will be reached when all things are made new
and his image is restored in all humanity.
One example of the process of making all things new is
found in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It claims that whenever anyone is joined to Jesus
Christ, all his or her old life passes away and they become totally new
persons. The Bible is replete with other corroborating references informing us
that he is in the process of renewing and restoring the entire
creation—including all humanity—to himself—always making all things new. A few
such references are Isaiah 43:19 and 65:17; Ezekiel 11:19; Revelation 2:17 and
5:9.
Yes, God is in the process of making everything new
throughout the entire created cosmic order. Everything is in the process of
metamorphosis, in the process of transition and change, in the process of being
reconstructed. That’s what the ages of time were created for. The ages of time
will continue to unfold and progress until God’s plans and purposes are
finalized—and then time will end and the ages and eons will be swallowed up by
the eternal state in which everything will be new. God is in the process of
creating your life and mine into something new and beautiful. We may resist his
work, we may take 3 steps forward and 2 backwards many times, we may not
understand his creative work in our lives, but his plans and purposes cannot be
thwarted. He is inexorably at work making us new!
The FOURTH STATEMENT about God’s plans and purposes
for his creation is Acts 3:21. There we read that “Jesus returned to the
heavenlies to remain until the time of the complete restoration of all things.”
That complete restoration actually began with his birth, life, and death,
continued with his resurrection and ascension into heaven, and was finalized
upon Jesus’ return in 70 A.D. In another sense, however, the complete
restoration of all things only began in 70 A.D., and continues to unfold in the
lives of each person born in each generation since that time. The restoration
of all things is finished and complete in a cosmic sense, and yet—in another
sense—it has only begun being worked out in the lives of individual humans born
in each generation since his return. This complete restoration…or
restitution…or reconstruction of all things was foretold by many of the prophets
of Old Testament times.
Incidentally, in case you are struggling with this concept
of God reconstructing ALL things, in the Greek language in which the New
Testament was written the word really does mean all. It does not mean some, or
a few, or a partial amount. It means all, i.e., the entire amount, the whole
extent or quantity, everyone, everything, the totality, etc.
Ephesians 1: 9 and 10
corroborates Acts 3:21. At the “climax of the ages” (the time from Jesus birth
to 70 A.D.) all things were consummated in Christ. All things includes all
humanity. There are those who feel the climax of the ages is yet to come in the
future. That’s a misconception. The climax of the ages—a time when all the
ages came together—a time called “the fulness of time”—a time called “the
maturity of the times”—occurred 2000 years ago. The work that Jesus did on
behalf of all humanity is a finished work; it’s complete, it’s over, it’s done.
My next statement may shock you:
The Bible does not deal primarily with eternity! It is primarily a book dealing
with time. The Bible is about the journey that all humans take through
time…on their way to eternity. It is a book about the grand plan
for humanity that God is working out through the ages of time—ages which reached
their climax or maturity beginning with the birth of Jesus Christ and ending
with his return in 70 A.D.
Ephesians 1: 19-23 constitutes the “blueprint” of God’s
grand plan of the ages. This reference teaches us God’s almighty power raised
Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenlies. Jesus
is far above all other powers and dominions of all the ages of time. God has
put all things—including all people—under Jesus’ dominion and has appointed him
Head of the Church. The Church is actually God’s body. Working through the
Church, God will make everything complete and fill everything and
everyone—everywhere—with himself. God’s blueprint is to use the Church to work
out his plans and purposes for reconstructing the entire creation.
Romans 11:36 discloses the FIFTH biblical STATEMENT
about God’s grand plans and purposes for creation: “All things originate
with God and come from him. All things exist through him. All things center in
him. All things consummate and end in him. To him be glory for all time!”
What a bold statement. What a clear statement. What a concise statement. What
a precise statement…. How can it possibly be misunderstood? How can such a
statement be limited in any way? God was fully present at the beginning of all
things. He is fully present now while all things continue to unfold. He will
be fully present at the end—and beyond—when he consummates all things. It’s a
“package deal,” dear reader, from beginning to end. Nothing—and no one—is left
out of his grand plans and purposes.
1 Corinthians 15:28 is the SIXTH STATEMENT, again
giving us the ultimate purpose of God for all humanity: “When everything is
finally subjected to God, then Jesus will voluntarily place himself under God,
too. Once, God put everything under Jesus, but Jesus will put
everything—including himself—back under God. And then God will be all in all!”
This cosmic event occurred in the heavenlies when Jesus ascended to Father
God, sat down at his right hand, and then returned in 70 A.D. to usher in his
unfolding eternal kingdom.
This is a cosmic event occurring beyond the scope of time
and space. Although it occurred in time 2000 years ago, in reality it occurred
in eternity before time was even created. We must always distinguish between
events that occur in eternity (over, above, and beyond the limitations of time
and space) and how those eternal events are actually manifested and worked out
in time so we humans—who are bound by time and space—can see them, understand
them, and have them become part of our own experiences. From his perspective in
eternity, God is already—and has always been—all in all. From our perspective
within the limitations of time and space God is not yet all in all. But he is
in the process of making himself all in all as each of us makes our journey
through time enroute to eternity. From God’s vantage point everything has
already been returned to God. From our limited vantage point, it is yet to
occur.
Our SEVENTH STATEMENT is found in Philippians 2:
9-11: “God has highly exalted Jesus and given him a name above every other
name. Before him every knee shall bow and every mouth confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Some people might suggest that
although every knee shall bow to Jesus and every person confess him as Lord,
some of those doing so will do it only because God forces them to do so. Not
so! 1 Corinthians 12:3 tells us the only way people can do this is because the
Holy Spirit lives in them, gently and sweetly influencing them to bow to Jesus
and confess him as Lord of their own free wills.
We’ll begin our EIGHTH
STATEMENT with 1 Timothy 4:10: “We labor, strive, and even suffer
reproach because we have fixed our hope on the living God who is the Savior of
all humanity, especially of those who believe.” Here again, the word “all”
as in “all humanity,“ means all. Verse 11 commands us to teach these matters.
I’m obeying God’s command by writing this article and teaching you these truths
about God’s grand purposes for all humanity. 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us it is God’s
will for everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Can
anything God has created thwart God’s will?! True, people might stubbornly
resist God’s will for a time, but in the end they cannot thwart the complete
fulfillment of his will. In the end, God will prevail. In the end, God wins
and declares “It’s good!” about all he has created.
Look at Titus 2:11. It boldly states “God’s grace,
bringing deliverance from sin and salvation to all humanity, has been made known
to all people.” Can anything be clearer? Can any statement be plainer?
Can there be a simpler statement about God’s plans and purposes for you and me?
God’s grand plans and purposes for their lives has been revealed to all
people. It might be clearer to some than to others, and some may deny knowing
it, but everyone has some intuitive knowledge that God is a good God and is
working all things for their good. God has made it known to all people. It’s
usually not lack of inner intuitive knowledge that causes some people to deny
these truths; it’s wrong teaching that has led them to wrong conclusions about
God’s character, nature, and the good things he is doing for all humankind.
Yes, there is sin, evil, and
wrongdoing in our world—but that’s caused by us, not by God. God is always at
work behind the scenes restoring, correcting, and making good out of all our
wrongdoing. Don’t blame God for your own wrongdoing or for the sin and evil
caused by others. That’s your fault, my fault, their fault. We’ve made sinful,
evil, and wrong choices, not God. But God will swallow up into final victory
all our sin, evil, and wrongdoing and make something amazingly beautiful of each
of our lives!
Here’s our NINTH STATEMENT.
1 Corinthians 15: 22-24 unmistakably affirms: “Because all people are ’in’
Adam, they will all die, but all those same people are made alive ‘in’ Christ.
Each person takes his or her own turn: Jesus first, then those who are ‘in’ him
when he comes [in 70 A.D.]. After that, the final consummation of all things
will occur when Jesus voluntarily gives the kingdom back to God the Father—after
he has rendered inoperative and abolished every other authority and power.
(verses 25-27 continue the same theme; earlier, we examined verse 28 in detail)
Simply stated, this passage in 1 Corinthians 15 says: In the end, God will be
in everything and everyone…everywhere! Yes, God will be all in all….
At this point in my article, I
want to ask you this question: Have I taken any of these references out of
their context, twisted them, or stretched them? You may feel that’s the case
because of some preconceived notions or traditional religious beliefs based on
what you’ve been taught in the past, but the truth is I have not done any of
those things. I have written those references just as they’ve come from the
Greek language in which they were first written.
The only liberty I’ve taken with any of the references is
to paraphrase portions of them to make them a little easier to read in modern,
everyday English--and put some clarifying information in brackets. [The
information in brackets is my own viewpoint, not what the
biblical text says.] All the biblical texts I’ve quoted and written are true
to the original biblical language in which they were written. Check them out
with a good Bible concordance. Check them out with someone you know who
understands biblical Greek and Hebrew. Check them out with various
modern-language versions of the Bible.
Romans 5:17&18 shed even more light on what God has
accomplished for the salvation of all humanity: “Death
came to all people through Adam’s trespass. By the same token, God’s grace and
righteousness cause all humanity to reign in life through Jesus Christ. Put
another way, Adam’s trespass led to condemnation for all humanity, but Jesus’
righteousness leads to acquital, right standing, and life for all people.”
At this point, I hope you have
clearly seen that I have not been taking isolated and hard-to-understand texts
from here and there in the Bible. I hope you see the consistency of this
teaching about God’s plans and purposes for everyone. It is a strong, recurring
theme found throughout the Bible if one will simply open one’s eyes to see it.
I am giving you only ten statements from the Bible. There are many more I could
furnish you, but that would make this article far too lengthy.
Finally, here is STATEMENT TEN. Let’s take a look
at 2 Corinthians 5:14-21: “The love of Christ compels
me to tell you if he died for all, then all were dead. Yes, he died for all so
that those who live might die to the old life they used to live—because he died
and was raised from the dead for their sake…. Therefore, if any person is in
Christ, he or she becomes a totally new creation, beginning an entirely new
life. Yes, all these things are accomplished for us by God who reconciled us to
himself through Jesus Christ. God has given us the privilege of inviting
everyone to return to God and be reconciled to him. God was in Christ,
reconciling all humanity to himself, completely removing their sins from them.
We are ambassadors of Christ, urging you to be reconciled to God. God poured
all our sins into the sinless Christ. Then, in exchange, he poured his goodness
into us!“
Dear reader, this is the real GOOD NEWS called the Gospel
of Jesus Christ!
In conclusion, I will attempt to
answer some important questions that often arise when people hear this good news
for the first time: “What about people who have already died—people who
weren’t ‘saved’ before they died? What about people who have never heard about
Jesus? What about atheists and agnostics? What about people who lived and died
many thousands of years ago? What about—? Those are very insightful
questions. Some of my other articles attempt to answer such questions in more
detail.
There is much we do not know about the process of how God is
working out his plans and purposes for all people everywhere and everywhen. But
God has given us some insight into how all this takes place. First, we know
that all of us originated with God. God is the “father of spirits,” and when we
are born on this earth, he places our spirits within us and we come alive as
human beings. We also know that there is much, much activity in other realms
and spheres other than what takes place only on this earth. There is much
activity in the heavenlies, in spirit realms and spheres, and after death that
we know very little about—other than brief glimpses and insights we may get from
time to time from the Bible and from our interactions with God and with other
people.
True, some of those processes and activities may involve
punishment, correction, judgment, and the like. But think about this: in the
Bible, the concept of “hell-fire” after death is always used by God as a means
of cleansing and correction, not punishment forever and ever. [see our
companion article entitled “Fire.”]
In fact, the Bible declares that the “real world”
constituting eternity is invisible and vastly “larger” than what we think is
real here; our so-called reality this side of the grave is only a dim reflection
of the real world beyond the grave and outside the limitations of time and
space. Let’s not limit God to working in humans only when they’re alive on this
earth. That’s only a very limited part of the overall work God is doing
throughout his vast creation.
In that light, many people tend to think that death is a
final “passage” wherein people who die simply cease to exist. Not so! The
Bible is clear that death is merely a temporary passage, a momentary transition
into a state of existence far more real than our present state of existence.
But the Bible doesn’t really tell us very much about the new life we enter into
after we die.
Some well-meaning people often quote Hebrews 9:27 as proof
positive that when a person dies, he or she is immediately judged by God. Yet
Ruth 2:20 and various references in chapters 3 and 4 of 1 Peter (and many
others) give us some blurry glimpses into other types of activity which occur in
the “place” to which people go after they have died. The truth is we cannot be
certain about what happens to people after they die. Perhaps all we can say
with any certainty is that God continues dealing with people and working out his
plans and purposes for them after they die—in ways we know very little about
this side of the grave.
There is only one thing about which we can be certain: God
is the God of both the living and the dead. Jesus died and rose from the dead.
He knows all there is to know about death—and beyond. And because God has
reconciled all humanity to himself through the risen Christ, we will rise again
“in Christ” after our own death—and go to be with him in the realm or sphere
where he is. That we can say with certainty. Most everything else is
speculation and wishful thinking.
So what happens when we die—bottom line? We return to God,
the father of spirits, the God of both the living and the dead, fully reconciled
to him with a totally new form of life because of Jesus’ birth, life, death,
resurrection, ascension, and return on behalf of all humanity. That’s what
happens when we die. After that, God alone knows the full story. My own belief
is that the journey we began here simply continues on, while God continues to
work out his plans and purposes for each of us during the remainder of time and
then beyond in the eternal state.
Let’s journey on…!
