John 14:20 (KJV)
At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
This entire year the Holy Spirit has captivated me with this verse. What He has shown me about the incarnation and our adoption in Christ is so huge I stand in awe of His amazing plan for humanity.
As I study this I see the absolute defeat of satan and the triumph of mankind in Jesus Christ.
As a result the God kind of faith has risen in my heart to the point that I now see its not as difficult as we thought to reach the world for Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:19 (KJV)
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
He has committed unto us a WORD that when proclaimed in faith will cause people to see themselves reconciled with God, declared right with GOD or righteous in Jesus through His finished work. The result of this Word being proclaimed is faith comes and they can believe and will receive the gift of God.
Romans 10:17 (KJV)
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We have allowed religion to teach us that the fall of man or sin caused God to have to change His plan. This is not so! Our union with Him and the enjoyment of sharing His very life has always been the plan. Sin was a serious matter however it is not capable of changing God’s plan.
“Let me ask a few questions here, “Is this union between God, the human race and creation in Jesus Christ plan ‘B,’ quickly implemented after the failure of plan ‘A’ in Adam?” Or, “is Jesus Christ plan ‘A,’ the eternal foreword to all divine activity?”
What does it mean to speak of Jesus Christ as the Eternal Word of God, if not that Jesus is the eternal point? What does it mean to speak of Him as the Alpha and the Omega if not that He is–in this union with His Father and Spirit, and with us, and with creation–the truth preceding creation itself?
Why, and on what grounds would we look beyond Jesus Christ–in his three-fold union–to find another, higher, deeper or secret plan of God? Is this union a divine afterthought?”
The identity of Christ is the revelation to us of who God is and who we are. Its also the revelation to us of why we are here and where this universe is headed.
Paul says that God the Father predestined us to adoption as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5). According to verse four this was before the foundation of the world. This means from Gods viewpoint we were found in Jesus before we were lost in Adam.
I cannot think of a better word to sum up the heart of the Father and the plan behind creation than the word “adoption.” That truth in itself is stunning, but the real stunner in Paul’s comment is the phrase “through Jesus Christ.” Think about it. Before creation was called into being our adoption was set forward as the great goal of creation itself. Our adoption was given into the hands of Jesus Christ to accomplish. The implications here are staggering.”
As faith people we are aware of Gods desire to bless us. We know and believe He blessed Adam and that the blessing still stands, but my question is do we know how extravagant that blessing is? Are we aware of what is being stated in Ephesians 1:5?
Have we grasped the fact that we are the inspiration behind the creation?
The staggering fact is everything was created by the Eternal Word for us to enjoy in union with God Himself.
I am speaking in terms of our general orientation of thought. For the most part we see the coming of Jesus as a reaction to the Fall of Adam. However, if we take Paul seriously then before the foundation of the world, the Word of God was on the road to becoming flesh.
The Father’s eternal purpose of our adoption in Christ is the reality that drives creation and the incarnation, not the disaster of human sin. That, of course, does not mean sin is not a problem. It just means that the God is preoccupied with the eternal purpose of our adoption not driven by reaction to the Fall. That seems to me to be rather huge!
“Since Jesus Christ, and the union between God and the human race in Him is not plan “B,” but the eternal plan of the Father, then in Jesus we are face to face with the truth about God and with the why and wherefores of our human existence.
For me, everything we thought we knew, from our doctrine of God to our notions of salvation, from election to eschatology, from heaven and hell to repentance and faith have to be rethought in the light of Jesus’ identity. Jesus is the light of the world. It seems to me that the Christian community is called to believe in Jesus and that means to stop believing in ourselves and our own notions of God, life, and history. If we err, we are to err on the side of making too much of Jesus and His place in the whole of creation–which, of course, is impossible.
Given that the incarnation of the Eternal Word was predestined before creation, then a threefold scheme of history opens before us:
The preparationThe fulfillmentThe revelation
Those categories are not hard fast, but they do help us see that from creation to Christ is the formation of ‘the womb of the incarnation.
In the incarnate life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ we have the fulfillment of the Father’s eternal purpose for us and for creation. After the ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost we have the time of revelation, when the Spirit is at work educating the human race as to its real identity and destiny in Christ, until we come to know the truth and are set free by it.
John 8:36 (KJV)
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
At this point all I can say is, "Oh how I love Jesus because he first loved me."
Pastor Bill Annis President Faith Christian Fellowship Canada