GOD’S PLAN
What
we have discovered so far is:
Ø
Man
was created to have fellowship with God, and
Ø
Because
of man’s stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way -
separating himself from God, his Creator
and that
Ø
Man’s
stubborn self-will caused the original fellowship with their Creator to become broken, and
Ø
That
a man’s destiny is decided by his or her own choices and
Ø
God
cannot be blamed for choices they have made for them self
The self-will of man is characterized
by an attitude of open defiance, and willful rebellion against God, and defined
as sin. Death is a physical act experienced in the human body when the spirit
that was breathed into the first man Adam, and that same breath automatically
continues in each man or woman at birth; is returned to God the Father who gave
it.1 The physical body at the point of death
is separated forever from spirit. Spiritual death is eternal separation from
God, which is what Adam caused to fall on every man.2
God is Holy, and man is sinful. Because of God’s holiness, and man’s birth as
sinners, a great gulf separates the two. Sin to God is like anthrax is to men.
Not implying that sin will kill God, but that it is sickening to Him. Man’s
self righteous attitude is what causes him to continually try to obtain
abundant life through his own efforts, which ultimately fail. Christ Jesus is
God’s only provision for reconciliation with God.
It is only through Christ, that
mankind can know and experience God’s love and plan for life, which can only be
found in the finished work of the Cross. Christ’s substitution in death paid
the ransom price for every man, even those who have not yet accepted His gracious
Gift. Once a man receives this knowledge, that man or woman will be reckoned righteous.3
Christ died for the world’s sins; He was buried, and raised again to
life on the third day from the dead, according to Scripture. After Christ was
resurrected:
Ø He appeared to Peter
Ø The twelve Apostles
Ø The Apostle Paul, and after that
Ø He appeared to more than five hundred
people alive in his resurrected body4
God’s Plan of Redemption comes only
through faith in Christ Jesus.5 God has bridged the gulf that once
separated man from Him by sending His Son to die in our place. Once we exercise
our will and make the individual choice to receive Christ as our Savior and
Lord, then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for Life. There is no
cap or limit on Salvation,
under Grace; whoever will, may come.6
We must receive Christ by faith in order to receive Salvation, by free Grace. God’s unmerited favor is what will
deliver you and me from judgment and made us partakers of Christ's Salvation
through faith. Salvation did not come to us because of some good thing we done,
but it is the gift of God. Salvation does not come to us because of works that
the Law demand leaving a man nothing to brag about. 7
When we receive Christ Jesus into our
heart and life by giving Him a personal invitation, we experience the new
birth.8 Receiving Christ Jesus is an act of the
will, God knows our hearts, and His concern is with the attitude of the heart
when we receive Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord.9 God’s
plan is for believer’s faith to rest in the finished work and teaching of
Christ Jesus, who called and passed the mantle to the Apostle Paul; as Apostle
to the Gentiles.
God’s plan for mankind in general and
believers, to be specific is to follow the teachings of the Apostle Paul as he
follows Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 11: 1). This trust in Christ Jesus through
the writings of our Apostle leads believers into an active life of obedience to
Him and His Word. Every man is
dealt a measure of faith, and obedience to God’s plan using faith causes
believers to learn and grow up spiritually from His Word, simply because faith has its origin in Him. God’s
plan for our life is to serve Him as we mature spiritually growing in Grace. He
is sought daily by believers for greater understanding of His Word, and Truth.
God’s plan is for believers to have a thorough understanding of Him by
individual, personal experience, which is why we must share His truth with
others.
God
only requires that believers know and understand Scripture for themselves so that they may be able to
find their way out of deception. To acquire true faith an individual must truly
know and understand whom it is, and what they are placing their faith and trust
in. Faith is
placing confidence in the achievement of God's will, even though unseen. It is the embodiment of the believer’s belief system. Faith elevates and is not
limited to a mental state, it is
an accomplishment
and it plays a central role in overcoming the world, the flesh and the devil. Christ Jesus
reprimanded the disciples for
faithlessness: "The disciples went and woke him, saying, Lord, save us!
We're going to drown!' He replied, 'you of little faith, why are you so
afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was
completely calm (Matthew 8: 25-26 - NIV).
A lack of faith can lead an individual in
many directions away from God’s intended plan. Lacking faith is very harmful
because it leads to self-destructive behavior. Faith gives the believer the
power to ignore the devil and all
his antics. Often faith in God inspires extra initiative because it adds
confidence that yield desired results. "Since they could not get him to
Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and,
after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on,"
and Jesus cured him (Mark 2: 4).
The greatest definition of faith is found in the Book
of
Hebrews. It states, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11: 1 NIV). Faith itself is a gift from the Holy Spirit, for one is given by the
Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the
same Spirit (I Corinthians 12: 8-9).
A
reference to faith is found in Genesis where God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his
only son Isaac. As Abraham
prepared to do what God commanded, he was stopped and told, "Do not lay a
hand on the boy, do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,
because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son (Genesis 22: 12). The main elements in faith in its relation
to the invisible God is:
Ø
A
firm conviction that produces a full acknowledgment of God's truth
(II
Thessalonians 2: 11-12)
Ø
A
personal surrender to Him, and (John 1: 12)
Ø
An
evident lifestyle that reflect that surrender (II Corinthians 5: 7)
Faith is to take God
at His word, believing before it comes to pass, forsaking all and trusting Him
as did the heroes of our faith. They all died in the faith, not receiving the
promise, but seeing them afar off and were persuaded of them, embracing and
confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11: 13).
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