Saved ignoble

All that we have is from Christ’s life, not from our life of performing acts

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Here is one of the great mistakes of religion and why many people cannot understand the apostle Paul’s message. The mistake is that religion believes the human needs to attain to the life of Christ, however, the truth is that Jesus IS our life.

Now, I know that Jesus commanded His disciples to follow Him, while the saints during the last seven years will be assessed by their acts. However, the earthly life of Jesus was to confirm the patriarchal promises of Israel.

8 For I am saying that Christ has become the Servant of the Circumcision, for the sake of the truth of God, to confirm the patriarchal promises.
9 Yet the nations are to glorify God for His mercy, according as it is written, “Therefore I shall be acclaiming Thee among the nations,” “And to Thy name shall I be playing music.” -Romans 15: 8-9

Jesus Christ, while on earth, came to fulfill the law that Israel could not. Yet, the nations are to glorify God for His mercy (Romans 15:9). In fact, Jesus Himself said “I was not commissioned except for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24-25).

This does not mean that Jesus only came to save Israel. But, it does mean that His earthly ministry was focused on Israel. You see, its not until the glorified Christ appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus that the plan for the nations was revealed.

The glorified Christ, in a series of revelations, explained to Paul the full meaning of the cross and what it meant for the nations. Paul, our apostle to the nations, goes far beyond Israel and the 1000 year kingdom to a time when the cross reconciles all creation to God (Colossians 1:20), when God will be All in all (1 Corinthians 15:28), and when all that die in Adam will be made alive in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

This revelation of Paul from the glorified Christ Jesus has nothing to do with our behavior and our acts. It has everything to do with Christ Jesus giving us His life.

So now to the verses I wanted to discuss:

1 If, then, you were roused together with Christ, be seeking that which is above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Be disposed to that which is above, not to that on the earth,
3 for you died, and your life is hid together with Christ in God.
4 Whenever Christ, our Life, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory. -Colossians 3: 1-4

There is so much to unpack here, but for time sake I’ll keep it short. First, Paul says ‘you were roused together with Christ.’ This speaks to a previous verse in Colossians 2:13 where Paul says that Jesus vivifies (makes immortal) us together JOINTLY with Him.

You see, we die with Christ and we were roused together with Christ, not separate from Him. Religion teaches that we must save ourselves apart from Christ in order to get to Christ. Christianity teaches that a person must accept Christ or do good works by their own ‘human free will.’ These teachings go against the truth of scripture.

Again, we are roused jointly, together with Christ. This is truth. This is the opposite of being roused by our own acceptance or free will acts. If we believe that our decision or our acts are separate from God, then those choices and acts are not jointly, together with Christ, but they are separate from Him. Therefore, we must conclude that we are only raised WITH CHRIST if we save ourselves apart from Christ.

However, this is not true. Let me illustrate:

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15: 22 that says ‘For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.’

We all die in Adam as the above verse says. In fact, Romans 5:12-13 says that DEATH passed through into ALL MANKIND. We get death jointly with Adam and through his sinful act. In truth, we are all born into death because of Adam’s act. We didn’t do anything apart from Adam by our free will or any other means to earn death. We simply inherited it from Adam, jointly, together with him.

Therefore, as Romans 5: 12-14 explains, our sin is a result of the death operating in us. The death we received from Adam, jointly, together with him. So, in Adam, we are dying. Now, in Christ, will all be vivified. Vivified means to be made immortal and roused with Christ, jointly, together.

So, in the same way that we get death together with Adam, we get immortality together with Christ. Notice in I Corinthians 15:22, the same all that are dying in Adam (everyone) is the exact same all vivified by Christ (everyone). The exact same way we get death from Adam, we get life from Christ…jointly…together with Him.

Ephesians 2:6 says that God vivifies us together in Christ (in grace are you saved) and rouses us together and seats us among the celestials. The key is TOGETHER…TOGETHER…TOGETHER! Together with Christ and together in Christ. As if we could be seated among the celestials apart from Christ.

Paul says that whenever Christ, OUR LIFE, should be manifested, then you also shall be manifested together with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4). Notice that Paul didn’t say that whenever Christ’s life is manifested, then our lives will be manifested if we have believed or done certain things. No, there is no separation. Christ is our life! Everything that He is and everything He has done is given to us.

WE take HIS life. The temporary successes and failures of our lives on earth are traded for the life of Christ. Now, of course God gives belief to the chosen beforehand to have a special salvation and this is the group to whom Paul was speaking. But, this salvation is eventually for all humanity (Colossians 1: 15-20, 1 Timothy 4:10, I Corinthians 15:21-28, Romans 5: 18-19).

Grace and peace to you all!

You would never ask this question if you experienced God’s grace

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You know how one can tell whether or not a person really understands grace? I’ll get to that in a moment. First, I want to emphasize just how important grace is because as Ephesians 2:8 says, ‘We are saved in grace.’

8 For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you; it is God’s approach present (Ephesians 2:8).

Now, here’s the thing about grace…you can’t do anything to earn it. The minute you do something to earn it then it is no longer grace. That is how the definition and action of grace works.

Let’s define grace: Grace is a gift of God given to man that man does not deserve. The apostle Paul explains the fact human beings can do nothing to earn grace with this verse in Romans:

6 Now if it is in grace, it is no longer out of works, else the grace is coming to be no longer grace. Now, if it is out of works, it is no longer grace, else the work is no longer work (Romans 11:6).

There it is! Paul says once you do something to earn grace, then it is no longer grace. Our apostle also says that this grace is NOT OUT OF YOU in Ephesians 2:8. In fact, Paul says in Acts 17:25 that God Himself gives to ALL life and breath and ALL. So everything that we have, be it faith, repentance, love, or anything else is given to us by God, therefore given in grace.

Well, now to the purpose of this post. I’ve heard Christians make statements against grace and speaking out using names like free-grace or hyper-grace. This, in their religious view, is a bad thing. In other words, they are suggesting that too much grace is a bad thing or that if we don’t act in a certain way, then grace really doesn’t apply. In essence, they make people ‘do something’ in order to earn or maintain grace because us doing nothing destroys human pride and proves that all is of God.

The argument from Christianity goes like this: Yes, salvation is by God’s grace but you must do something in order to earn it or maintain it. Christ died for you but you must have faith says Mr. Christian. Okay, well faith is a gift from God given to each in measure (Romans 12:3), therefore it is grace. You must do works, acts, or the law some of the religious say. However, Paul says we are saved apart from works (Ephesians 2:9), not in accord with our acts (2 Timothy 1: 9), and apart from law (Romans 3:21).

So does that mean that we don’t have faith or that we don’t do good works? No. It means that God gives us the faith and the good works by grace. He gives some faith now and they are the firstfruits of salvation, not because they did something of themselves, but because God gave them faith. See, its still all grace. Those that are not saved now will be given the grace later. Reference 1 Timothy 4:10:

10 (for for this are we toiling and being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of believers (1 Timothy 4:10).

I have talked about grace in my other posts so I am not going into detail here. But now, I want to address the question I asked at the beginning of this post: How can you know if a person really understands grace or not?

When people here that God will eventually save all creation, their objection will go something like this: “Oh, so grace is free, really, so I can go out murder children and commit all kinds of sin and God will eventually save me.”

That response above absolutely PROVES a person does not understand grace. I would dare say that the person that says this has not experienced grace. Why? BECAUSE ANYONE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED GRACE KNOWS THAT GRACE DOES NOT PRODUCE SIN, BUT PRODUCES GOOD THINGS.

This person that objects is really saying that he or she is doing something to earn grace and at least that part of it is of them and not God. Therefore, they deny the grace of God because they say it is earned in some way.

The person that has truly come to the end of self and completely rely on God’s salvation through the death, entombment, and resurrection of Christ, knows they can do nothing. All their eggs are in the grace basket.

Therefore, knowing what Christ has done for them only makes them want to give thanks to God and Christ. In fact, Paul says that believers behave themselves because of the grace of God (2 Corinthians 1:12). You see, we behave ourselves because we have grace, not in order to earn grace.

This is the motivation (grace) that God loves. But, in order for grace to truly be the motivator, we must know that salvation is all of God and there is nothing we can do to earn it or lose it. However, once we believe that our actions or behavior earn or maintain grace, then ‘doing’ will always be our motivation. This gives way to salvation and grace by ‘human will power’ and not the power of God.

Rest in His grace. All is of God.

By denying God as the Creator of Evil, we attribute to greatest ‘evil’ to Him

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The apostle Paul says that God Himself gives to all life and breath and all (Acts 17:25-26). Does this ‘all’ not include evil?

Think about our lives and how many of us would think that ‘evil’ is a big part of our lives. Now, Paul says God gives us all things, but those of religion believe that this ‘all’ does not include evil? How can God give ‘all’ to ‘all’ people and this not include ‘evil,’ something which is such a major part of our lives? We all experience evil in different forms and degrees in our daily life.

Evil is a creation of God and is completely under His control. Please see my previous articles on the scripture that supports this. Many don’t believe this because they do not understand that God uses evil for an eventual good purpose. However, in attributing the creation of evil to the Adversary or humanity, religion actually accuses God of the greatest evil in which the results are the satanic doctrines of ‘human free will’ and ‘eternal conscious torment.’

Which scenario is evil and which is good?

1. Giving a person temporary pain in order for them to understand pain. Then, taking that pain away and giving that person joy forever. The joy will be that much better because the person knew pain.
2. Giving a person temporary joy in order for them to understand joy. Then, taking that joy away and giving that person pain forever. The pain will be that much worse because the person knew joy.

I think all of us would choose option 1 as being good and option 2 as being evil. Then, why does religion say that God operates option 2’s evil?

To answer the above stated question, let’s look at Christ’s own words in Luke 6:35:

35 Moreover, be loving your enemies, and be doing good, and be lending, expecting nothing from them, and your wages will be vast in the heavens, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. -Luke 6:35

So, Jesus commands us to love our enemies and says that God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Well, those that reject Christ are Christ’s enemies and evil people are ungrateful and wicked. Now, Christians say that these people will be in eternal hell but Jesus expresses love and kindness to them. So, how does eternal conscious torment show love and kindness to God’s enemies or to the ungrateful and wicked?

It doesn’t. Therefore, my detractors would say that God is kind only for a period of time before that kindness runs out. Then, its too late they will say. So, if this is the case, God has shown His wicked, ungrateful enemies kindness for a period of time only to torture them in fire for all eternity. The kindness shown would just add to the torture because of contrast. It would have been better if God showed them no kindness at all.

So, if God shows kindness and then eventually tortures the person forever, then the kindness was only a contrast that makes hell even worse. Therefore, we must ask the question: Does God give us an experience of goodness and kindness in order to enhance the experience of evil or does He give us an experience of evil in order to enhance the experience of His goodness and kindness?

The latter is true of course, however, this cannot be understood if we do not realize that God is the Creator of evil. Those that don’t believe God is the Creator of evil will use ‘human free will’ to get God off the hook and place blame on the human being.

However, the false doctrine of ‘human free will’ defined as ‘the ability of God’s creature to operate independently of God’ actually takes God off of His throne. How can God be sovereign if 8 billion human beings can do whatever they want?

1 Timothy 2:4 says:

3 for this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Saviour, God,
4 Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth.

God wills all mankind to be saved and Ephesians 1:11 says that God is One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will. Yet, human free will takes away God’s sovereignty and makes ‘man’s free will’ stronger than God. So God now has to react to the mighty decision of man.

As a result, evil is separate and protected from God’s hand through the fallacy that God allows and cannot touch the evil of man because He has given him free will. Now, the responsibility of evil is placed on man and not God. Therefore, God no longer controls man’s destiny, instead, man controls his own destiny.

Consequently, this evil that God is no longer in control of operates contrary to His will for all eternity. Therefore, a place must be invented to hold this evil forever. Enter ‘eternal hell’ which actually makes God a sinner. The definition of sin is ‘missing the mark.’ If God wills all men to be saved and fails, then He missed the mark and has sinned.

The apostle Paul said that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15-16). Jesus Himself said that He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Do we really believe that Jesus did not accomplish His mission? It is such a spiritual cop out to claim that indeed Jesus did not complete His mission of saving all sinners and seeking all the lost because of ‘human free will.’ This is the worst form of evil, claiming that man’s will can thwart the God that does all that He pleases with peoples of the earth (Daniel 4:35).

So, by taking evil away from God, people make God a sinner and attribute the great evil of eternal hell to Him. Free will and eternal hell mean that evil and Satan will steal most of God’s creation forever. As a result, evil destroys the sovereignty and love of God. Human free will and the Adversary, the creator of hell, become more powerful than the Almighty God. The true ‘Subjector and Placer,’ God, becomes subject to and has to react to human free will and Satan.

So in summary, evil needs to be quarantined in a specific part of God’s creation because not only did He not create it nor plan it, but neither can He overcome it for all eternity. Therefore, religion has to make man responsible for choosing to go to hell through the fiction of ‘human free will.’ People think that this gets God of the hook. But, no it certainly does not. It simply takes God off His throne and places man’s will, evil, and Satan above Him.

However, this is not the case. God is the God of evil and He places it exactly according to plan. Not one evil act can occur apart from the Almighty’s will. Eternal hell and human free will do not exist. In fact, man’s will is subject to God’s will in every way and once evil, sin, and death run their course, all mankind will be saved. This is the glorious end when God is All in all because of Christ’s death for sin, His entombment, and His resurrection.

Grace and peace to you all!

Scripture proves that evil beings fulfill God’s purpose

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God is the Placer of all things. The best definition I’ve seen for the Greek word ‘Theos’ which is translated God is this: Theos refers to One Who appoints everything and gives it a place. Nothing takes place without Him giving it a place.

God means ‘placer’ and if another being PLACED evil in God’s creation then that would make them the ‘placer’ or God.

God is ultimately responsible for ‘every evil’ done in His universe. If He wasn’t, then He would not be God and Whomever created evil would be just as powerful as God. After all, according to popular religion, the one that created evil is not only a creator (something only God can do), but one that has thwarted God’s plan.

However, a close study of ‘evil’ in scripture shows that God creates it in order to eventually serve a good purpose. So, evil is a part of God’s plan to perfect His creation and not something foreign to His creation that can mess things up. For years, religion has taught the lie that God created a perfect universe and ‘sin and evil’ has entered and destroyed His creation apart from His plan.

However, the truth is this: Evil is created by God in order to play a part in perfecting His creation. It is an ongoing process, this perfecting all creation thing, and it will not stop until God is All in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). Once it does stop, once Christ perfects all creation through His death for sin, His entombment, and His resurrection, then will evil be done away with. Once it has served its purpose and all creation, including Christ, is subjected to God, then evil and every enemy will cease to exist.

Like the ugly but necessary scaffolding on a mighty skyscraper, once the building is complete, once it has served its purpose, the evil and the scaffolding are gone forever.

But wait! What about these evil beings that exact evil on God’s creation? Do they operate separately from God or do they actually do God’s work?

To the scripture in 1 Kings 22: 19-23:

19 Micaiah replied, Not so! Hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne and all the host of the heavens standing by Him, to His right and to His left. 20 Yahweh said, Who shall entice Ahab, so that he may march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? Now this one said thus, and another was saying thus. 21 Then a spirit came forth, stood before Yahweh and said, I myself shall entice him. Yahweh asked him, By what means? 22 He replied, I shall go forth, and I will become a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then He said, You shall entice, and, moreover, you shall prevail. Go forth and do so. 23 And now behold, Yahweh has bestowed a false spirit into the mouth of all of these, your prophets, for Yahweh Himself has decreed evil concerning you.

Do you see what is going on here? God gave a spirit permission to become a false spirit in the mouth of these prophets. A false spirit is a liar. But, look at what verse 23 says: And now behold, Yahweh has bestowed a false spirit into the mouth of all of these, your prophets, for Yahweh Himself has decreed evil concerning you.

It was Yahweh that did this, scripture says, even though it was the spirit that became a false spirit. This false spirit was attributed to Yahweh because God does all. This spirit is God’s action because no part of creation can operate separately from the Almighty.

So if a spirit, Satan, or any part of creation does evil, it is God doing it. However, God is not evil and does not sin because He works this evil to an eventual good purpose. The evil spirits and beings are still evil, but God is not. Just like my previous example of God, according to His plan, having killed Jesus by the works of evil men actually produced the salvation of all mankind. This is how God works evil done by his creation to an eventual good done by Him.

This is exactly why Job, with all the evil done to him by the adversary, never acknowledges anyone but God. In the book of Job, the adversary entered the throne room and God gave him permission to afflict Job. Why then does Job only acknowledge God and not the adversary?

It’s because the adversary could do nothing apart from God’s plan. Job knew this and so he never addresses Satan. Job knew that Satan could only do what God had planned for him to do. God doesn’t allow anything but does everything.

The adversary killed Job’s children and Job said: “Yahweh, He gives, and Yahweh, He takes away”…(Job 1:21). Then, verse 22 says that in all this, Job neither sinned nor ascribed anything improper to Elohim. So, Job was right in attributing what Satan did to Yahweh.

The adversary did everything to hurt job physically, mentally, and spiritually except kill him and Job responds by saying, “Indeed should we receive good from the One, Elohim, and should we not receive evil (Job 2:10).”

In all the evil being done, Job acknowledges God and ignores the adversary. This is because everything the adversary does is God’s intention. All is of God and every creature can only do what God Himself has planned. Even when these evil beings do evil and appear to be opposite of God, they still can only do God’s will. They will eventually be judged for the evil they do, but God will not because this evil will be turned to good by the Creators hand. This is the purpose in all evil.

After all, God Himself created the ruiner to harm:

Behold, I Myself created the craftsman, Who blows into the fire of coals And brings forth an implement for his work; And I Myself created the ruiner to harm. – Isaiah 54:16

The Creator of and the ultimate end-game purpose of evil and vanity (a form of evil) is explained perfectly in Romans, chapter 8:

19 For the premonition of the creation is awaiting the unveiling of the sons of God.
20 For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation
21 that the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until now.
23 Yet not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the spirit, we ourselves also, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body. – Roman 8: 19-23

First, let’s recognize that creation is subjected to vanity, not voluntarily, but by Him Who subjects it. This means that it is not a human being’s action or free will choice that results in vanity. We experience vanity against our will, NOT VOLUNTARILY. God subjects us to vanity or in other words, The Almighty PLACED vanity on His creation on purpose.

Here is Strong’s definition of the Greek word ‘mataiotes’ which is translated ‘vanity.’

Strong’s Concordance

mataiotés: vanity, emptiness

Original Word: ματαιότης, τητος, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: mataiotés
Phonetic Spelling: (mat-ah-yot’-ace)
Definition: vanity, emptiness
Usage: vanity, emptiness, unreality, purposelessness, ineffectiveness, instability, frailty; false religion.

So, Why? Why would the Almighty God choose to subject His creation to vanity apart from the creature’s will nor based on anything that creature has done? Why would God subject creation to emptiness, purposelessness, ineffectiveness, false religion, and all these evil things?

Well, Paul answers this in verse 21 of Romans, chapter 8:

21 that the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Creation is subjected to vanity by God so that God will one day free creation from it. This is the very reason we have an experience of evil. God uses evil to shape us and hold us down so that we enjoy and understand the experience of freedom from this evil to the highest possible degree.

Paul says that ‘we ourselves, are groaning in ourselves, awaiting the sonship, the deliverance of our body.’ He is referring to believers here, however, in verse 21 Paul says that this deliverance is not just for believers, but eventually for all of creation.

In conclusion, God creates and subjects His creation to evil and vanity in order to set that very creation free from it, each in their own order. Evil shapes us and is a part of the plan. We must experience evil, sin, death and separation from God in order to understand and enjoy goodness, sinlessness, immortality and being filled with God forever. Once God is All in all, then evil, sin, and death are abolished forever. All of this is accomplished through Christ’s death for sin, His entombment, and His resurrection!

Grace and peace to you all.

Evil is a part of God’s creation

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The depths of Satan and the depths of evil throughout the ages is appalling. How could God allow such atrocities to take place in His creation?

I am not pretending to be someone that understands why there is so much suffering and pain in the world. However, perhaps the answer lies in the depths of Satan and evil. Maybe we have to experience this in order to truly understand and marvel in the depths of God and His goodness.

After all, Ecclesiastes 1:13 says concerning all that is done under the heavens: It is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

So, this life is an experience of evil. Of course, some good is mixed in but perhaps this experience is preparing us for something. Maybe we, as humans, cannot understand righteousness if we don’t experience sin…perhaps we cannot know the full joy of being immortal if we do not experience the ravages of death…and experiencing the bitter depths of evil, sin, and failure only give us a greater understanding of God’s goodness, sinlessness, and success.

I believe that from scripture, we can prove that God created evil for a purpose and plans everything in His universe. This evil serves as a contrast for humans to truly know good and enjoy it even more having experienced evil. Then, when evil has served its purpose, it will be done away with forever.

Think about it…there is nothing you know without knowing the opposite. For instance, you cannot understand winning without understanding losing…you can’t understand up without knowing down…you can’t appreciate honesty if you don’t know dishonesty. Everything we know is based on also understanding the opposite. So it is with evil.

First, to examine evil more closely, lets look at who created it in the first place.

Former of light and Creator of darkness, Maker of good and Creator of Evil, I, Yahweh, make all these things. – Isaiah 45:7

Here, according to Isaiah, Yahweh is speaking in the first person claiming to be the creator of evil. Not Satan, not any human, but Yahweh Himself. The word evil used in this verse is the Hebrew word ‘ra/rah’ and it is the same word used to describe the ‘evil’ people in Noah’s day wiped out by the flood and the same word used in Genesis 2:9 to describe the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. The word is ‘bad,evil’ and God created it.

Many object to these plain words of scripture because they are trying to protect God because they conclude that God must be evil, if He created it. However, this is not true if God uses ‘evil’ in order to eventually produce a greater ‘good.’ This is exactly what God does.

For instance, Acts 4: 27-28 says that those that murdered Jesus, an evil act I’d say, did this because God planned it. This evil act, planned by God, resulted in salvation for all creation. So, it was evil of these people to plan and carry out this act. However, God used it for ultimate good. So, God does this with all evil.

27 For of a truth, in this city were gathered against Thy holy Boy Jesus, Whom Thou dost anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel designates beforehand to occur.

Another example is when Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him and then sold him into slavery. This was evil of the brothers but God planned this so that Joseph would raise to power in Egypt in order to save all of Israel. Without the evil acts of the brothers, Joseph would not have risen to power and Israel would have starved to death.

In fact, Joseph actually said to his brothers, “You devised evil against me, yet Elohim, He devised it for good in order to accomplish, as at this day, to preserve many people alive.” That’s from Genesis 50:20.

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to show His power to the entire world so that God’s name would be praised. On and on go scriptural examples of God planning evil in order to fulfill a good purpose.

What if God did not create evil?

If God did not create evil then a foreign element has invaded His creation that He cannot control. Therefore, God becomes REACTIVE to this evil that He did not create and has to adjust His plan accordingly. Even more so, this evil can thwart His plan. God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This verse becomes a pathetic wish from a God that can’t get what He wants because of evil. This makes Satan, or whoever created evil, a god on equal footing with the Almighty. Those that want to protect God from His creation of evil actually succeed in taking Him off His throne.

The truth is that God creates and uses evil for an ultimate good purpose that we as humans don’t always comprehend. However, once evil runs its course and all creation is home with God, evil and all enemies are abolished (1 Corinthians 15: 25-27) and found nowhere in creation.

So, the God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4) actually gets what He wants and evil is a part of this, not something that can stop it. Thus, making Ephesians 1:11 true: …One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will…

So, scripture proves that God wants or wills to save all mankind, then has the power to do all He wants or wills. Evil, God’s own creation, cannot stop Him but is a means to the end.

Evil and sin go hand and hand, wouldn’t you say? Well, what about sin?

Many think that sin entered the world without God’s approval or plan but Revelation 13:8 says the Lambkin slain from the disruption of the world. The disruption of the world occurred before Adam and Eve were ever created. Therefore, God had the remedy for sin before Adam and Eve sinned. He planned it all.

Why? Because without sin, God would not have been able to show His creation how much He loved them by sending His only Son to save them. Without sin, no need for a Savior…without sin, God could not show the extent of His love through Christ.

In my next article, I will review more scripture that proves beyond any doubt that God is the Author and Controller of evil.

Grace and peace to you all.

It is important to understand that believers and unbelievers have a different process and a different destiny in the ages to come. However, all believers and unbelievers (won’t remain unbelievers forever) will eventually be with God because of Christ’s death for sin, His entombment, and His resurrection.

For Christ died for every sin, including the sin of unbelief.

Remember also, that God alone chooses who will believe and who will not believe:

God parts faith to each that He chooses: 3 For I am saying, through the grace which is given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to be overweening, beyond what your disposition must be, but to be of a sane disposition, as God parts to each the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

God chooses who will have this saving grace before we were even born: 9 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian (2 Timothy 1:9).

Believer indeed have a special salvation in that they get in early and share in the glories of Christ, but unbelievers also have a salvation that includes a period of time outside the kingdom, some will experience the second death (Lake of Fire), but in the end, Christ saves all because ALL DEATH is abolished by His work.

10 (for for this are we toiling and being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of believers (1 Timothy 4:10).

Below is a brief study using various scriptures concerning the truths of believers and unbelievers written by Matt Fisher:

Believers: Believe the Evangel/Gospel in this life and are saved for the Eons/Ages. The Good News; God is at peace with us and offers us His Grace (Eph. 2:8).  His Son Jesus Christ died, was entombed and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3,4). We are justified by God’s Grace (Rom. 3:24).  We are reconciled to God (Col. 1:22). We receive the Spirit of God, and we are set free from the dominion of sin in our lives (Rom. 8:9-11 and 6:1-23). We will experience the deliverance of our bodies when Christ Jesus returns (1 Cor. 15:50-58). We will share the glory and the labor of our Savior during the coming Eons/Ages (Eph. 2:1-10 and 3:8-11).

Unbelievers: Those who do not believe in this life will be resurrected and judged at the time of the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15). God will deal with them justly according to their deeds (Rom. 2:1-16). Then the unbelievers whose names are not in the book of life will have a second death (Rev. 20:15). This is not the unbelievers final end, for unbelievers will be Made Alive at the conclusion of the Eons/Ages when Christ Jesus abolishes the Last Enemy DEATH (1 Cor. 15: 25,26). Then they too will be justified (Rom. 5:18,19), reconciled to God (Col. 1:13-20), and be made immortal (1 Cor. 15:22; Rom. 8:18-23; 2 Tim. 1:9-11). Then ALL will be subjected to God the Father and God will be ALL IN ALL (1 Cor.15:27,28).

Looking at Christ to see what is guaranteed for all humanity

How do we know we are saved?

Some say its by faith…some says its by faith and works…some say its by not sinning…and on and on based on your persuasion and religion. But, what is faith? How many works is enough? Are there sins I can commit that disqualify me?

For me, I start at the end and look to see what in scripture is guaranteed to all mankind and to those in Adam. I am dying in Adam and am a card carrying member of mankind. Therefore, anything promised to ‘all mankind’ or to those ‘dying in Adam’ is guaranteed for me.

Therefore, I have come up with an acronym to fall back on whenever people accuse me of being an unbeliever, condemning me to hell, or when my faith is low and I really don’t know where I stand with God. The acronym is J.I.L.L. and it is an absolute guarantee for me, you, and all mankind.

The death, entombment, and resurrection of Christ Jesus gives us many things, however, I am focusing on three of these things that are for ALL HUMANITY. Therefore, no matter where you stand…faith or not…good works or not…sinning or not…you know you have these things because Christ did them for all humanity.

So, the ‘J’ in J.I.L.L. stands for justify or justification. I know I am justified in the eyes of God and one day, I will be constituted just. This is a guarantee because scripture says its a guarantee for all humanity. Wait! What if my faith, works, righteousness are not up to par? DOES NOT MATTER! This justification is guaranteed for you because of CHRIST’S ACTION and NOT YOURS.

Check out Romans 5: 18-19:

18 Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for all mankind for life’s justifying.
19 For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just.

Notice that these verses teach that ‘all mankind’ is condemned in Adam, THAT’S ME, and also all mankind is justified by Christ, THAT’S ME. You cannot, as Christians try to do, apply the ‘all mankind’ to condemnation and not apply the ‘life’s justifying’ to all mankind.

In verse 19, the ‘many’ is referring back to the ‘all mankind’ is verse 18. Therefore, ‘the many’ also means ‘all mankind.’ Less, you think that not all of mankind were constituted sinners by Adam. The same ‘many’ that were constituted sinners by Adam shall be constituted just by Christ. That’s all mankind. That’s me. My JUSTIFICATION is an absolute guarantee.

Second, the ‘I’ in J.I.L.L. stands for immortality. My future immortality is guaranteed by Christ’s work because all those dying in Adam will be made immortal by Christ. This ‘immortality’ given to all humanity is Christ’s immortality. The very same immortality that Christ has now will be shared by all those that die in Adam. I have to say that because there are many that think God will give immortality to people just to torture them in hell. NOT TRUE. NOT POSSIBLE. The only immortality given to humans is that of Christ’s.

Check out 1 Corinthians 15: 21-22:

21 For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead.
22 For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.

Verse 21 says that ‘through a man (Adam)’ comes death…not through our sin, lack of faith, or lack of good works. Also, ‘through a man (Christ)’, comes the resurrection of the dead…not through our faith or good works.

Verse 22 says that in Adam, all are dying, THAT’S ME. I am in Adam and I am dying. So are all of us. Thus also, the verse continues, the same ‘all’ in Adam are the exact same ‘all’ vivified or made immortal in Christ. Notice this verse does not say, again like Christians suggest, that only those ‘in Christ’ will be vivified. No sir, no mam. This verse says in Christ, ALL shall be made immortal. That’s me. That means that my future immortality is guaranteed and so is yours.

Let me remind you that there is only one way we are made immortal and it is explained in 1 Corinthians 15:54 below: The mortal must put on immortality and the corruptible put on incorruption. This is what Christ is doing to ‘all mankind’ in 1 Corinthians 15: 21-22.

54 Now, whenever this corruptible should be putting on incorruption and this mortal should be putting on immortality, then shall come to pass the word which is written, Swallowed up was Death by Victory.

This is the only way to abolish death…and remember, Christ reigns UNTIL He abolishes death. All death is abolished. Whether it’s the Lake of Fire, which is the SECOND DEATH, the first death, or even the un-scriptural ‘spiritual death’ used by those in religion. All death is abolished for all those that die in Adam by the process of Christ making them, me and you, immortal.

25 For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy is being abolished: death (I Corinthians 15: 25-26).

So, I know that I will be justified and immortal one day by Christ’s death for sin, His entombment, and His resurrection. This is guaranteed for me because it is guaranteed to all humanity, all those that die in Adam, in which I am a member.

The last two letters, both ‘L’s’ in J.I.L.L. is also a guarantee for all mankind and that is ‘Lack of Lack.’ This comes from 1 Corinthians 15:28 in that the same ‘all in Adam’ in verses 21-22 are the same all that God will fill up. There will be a lack of lack because we will lack nothing when God becomes all in us.

Every broken dream, every sin, every pain, every moment that could have been good but wasn’t, every treasure that could have been discovered but remained hidden, every experience of failure and missed opportunity will be filled by God in all creation when He becomes All in all. How could we possible lack anything when God is our all. Not possible, so there is the lack of lack. This is a guarantee for all creation.

So there it is, J.I.L.L, justification, immortality, and the lack of lack is what I know for certain I have because all humanity has it. How do I know I’m saved? J.I.L.L. is for all mankind, all those that die in Adam…this includes me, you, and everyone else.

Nobody can ever take this away, including myself. Why, because Christ is the only One that achieved this for me. Its not up to me nor anybody else, so those people cannot take it away.

So, what about faith? Faith is given to us by God to realized the J.I.L.L. is true. Faith is not given to us to make J.I.L.L. true for us. Salvation is based on Christ’s work and not ours. Faith acquaints us with this truth.

Those who do not have faith still have these promises but they will come to a realization of the truth later and will not experience the ‘special salvation’ like those given faith now. However, they will come to the realization of J.I.L.L. and ultimate salvation later, through judgement. Thus, making 1 Timothy 4:10 true:

10 (for for this are we toiling and being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of believers.

So, what about good works and sin? God causes us to walk in good works because we are saved, not in order for us to be saved. Ephesians 2:10:

10 For His achievement are we, being created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them.

As far as sin goes, we are instructed by Paul not to grieve the spirit, refrain from sinning, and to walk worthily because we REALIZE that we are saved by Christ’s work and not our own, knowing that nothing we do or don’t do can effect our position in Christ. We walk worthily because we are saved, not in order to be saved. Therefore, if we do ‘sin’ and we do walk ‘unworthily,’ our position and salvation is still guaranteed. Why? Because every promise we have is based on Christ’s work, His death for sin, His entombment and His resurrection…NOT our behavior or our work.

So, no matter what anyone says, we can be sure of the promises of J.I.L.L. because this is for all mankind because of Christ’s work on the cross alone. Nothing we do or anyone else does can take this away from us. That is how we know we are saved. That is how I know I am saved. Guaranteed!

Having the faith to realize this is a gift from God. Faith brings us in to these benefits early before the rest. After judgement, at God’s appointed time, the rest will be brought in as well. Christ is the guarantee for ALL.

Grace and peace.

His resurrection gurantees the justification of all

In 1 Corinthians 2:3, Paul says that he decides not to perceive anything among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

What does ‘Jesus Christ crucified mean?’

The answer to this question is based on all that Christ is and all that the crucifixion accomplished for us.

Now, the cross of Christ led to a lot of things, such as: the death of the old humanity (Romans 6:6), the justification and eventual salvation of all creation (Romans 5: 18-19, Colossians 1: 15-20, 1 Corinthians 15: 21-22, 1 Timothy 4:10), and the guarantee that God will be All in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).

However, I am not going to focus on these things in this article. What I am going to focus on is the fact that Christ’s resurrection guarantees that all humanity will be resurrected. In fact, Christ’s resurrection IS our resurrection!

There were those among the Corinthians that did not believe in the resurrection. These are the people Paul was talking to in 1 Corinthians 15: 12-19. I encourage you to read all of these verses but I am going to focus on two here.

1. Now if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been roused (1 Corinthians 15:13).
2. For, if the dead are not being roused, neither has Christ been roused (1 Corinthians 15:16).

Do you get what Paul is saying here?

He is saying that if the ‘died ones’ will not be resurrected then Christ was not resurrected. Paul is not saying that Christ was resurrected and then ‘some, but not all’ of those that died or the ‘died ones’ would be resurrected.

No! Paul is saying that Christ’s resurrection is a guarantee that those that have died will be resurrected. He is saying that the resurrection of the ‘died ones’ is proof that Christ was resurrected. Without the resurrection of humanity, Christ was not resurrected. That is how closely we are related to Christ’s resurrection.

In essence, Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection. That is why Paul says in Colossians 2:13 that Jesus vivifies us together jointly with Him…

In Romans 6: 4-7, Paul says we were entombed together with Christ, planted in His death, and that we shall be of the resurrection. You see, that is what it means to know Christ crucified: that we died with Him and will share in His glory. He accomplished this, not us.

Religion denies Paul’s word because they say that humanity is resurrected and saved apart from Christ. They say Christ was resurrected but it is up to humanity to save themselves by their own faith, acts, or rule following. This is not what Paul says. Paul says that all humanity is in Christ and participates in His death and resurrection.

Some come to this realization now and have an early, special salvation. However, many have to go through judgement and some even through the lake of fire before they realize the reality of what Christ has accomplished for them.

…God, Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of believers (1 Timothy 4:10).

Read Romans 5: 18-19 to prove that all humanity is guaranteed eventual justification and immortal life. Yes, many will miss out on the 1000 year kingdom and perhaps the ‘new heaven and new earth’ ages. Many will face judgement. However, these verses talk about a time when Christ’s accomplishment is complete and judgement and death are over. The parenthesis (all mankind) are my addition. ‘The many’ in verse 19 refers to the ‘all mankind’ in verse 18

18 Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for all mankind for life’s justifying.
19 For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many (all mankind) were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many (all mankind) shall be constituted just.

Humanity is not separate from Christ and His accomplishments as religion tells us. NO, Christ’s immortality is not for Him only and then we must ‘do something’ separate from Christ in order to partake. We must ‘do’ things but all things are of God and He does all.

We all are with Christ and His resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Not only that, Christ’s immortality guarantees all humanity’s immortality. The fact that God is Christ’s all guarantees that God will be humanity’s all.

Grace and peace to you all!

Paul tells of a time when Separation from God no longer exists anywhere

The apostle Paul completes the word of God as mentioned in Colossians 1: 25. How could this be when some letters were penned at a later date?

Well, this is because Paul gives the deepest truth of scripture. He reveals what the glorified Christ gave only to him to dispense to the nations. Paul was given the furthest truths that occur at the end of the ages. In that sense, Paul completes the word of God.

You see, one of the reasons religious people believe that a person will be separate from God forever is because they mistake an age or a period of time for eternity. However, Paul goes the furthest in time. He goes to a time when the ages are complete, when judgement and separation from God are no more. Paul is acquainted with a time in which every creature created by God through Christ is reconciled to God through the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20).

The Christian says that many will miss out on the Millennial Kingdom. True. But this kingdom lasts for a 1000 years. What happens after?

The Christian says that many will miss the new heavens and the new earth because they are cast into the lake of fire. True. But what happens after the lake of fire is abolished (1 Corinthians 15:27)?

Paul answers what happens after all of this in his letter to the Colossians. I am going to focus on Colossians 1: 15-20.

15 Who is the Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature,
16 for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him,
17 and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him.
18 And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first,
19 for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,
20 and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.

In these verses of scripture, Paul makes it obvious that he is talking about every creature ever created. First, he actually says ‘every creature’ and then discusses the visible and the invisible. What creature doesn’t fit into the ‘visible and the invisible?’ That’s everyone!

Then, Paul includes thrones, lordships, sovereignties, and authorities. He says that all of these are created through Him, for Him, and have its cohesion in Him. Now, I want to compare Ephesians 6:12 to show who exactly is included in this group:

12 for it is not ours to wrestle with blood and flesh, but with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world-mights of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials.

–Ephesians 6:12

Do you see that the same words are used in Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 1:16? This means that the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials are included in the ‘visible and invisible’ and the thrones, lordships, sovereignties, and authorities that are created through Him, for Him, and have their cohesion in Him.

God created these beings for a purpose and they are included in all creation.

Now, here is the shocker! Something that religion lies about and tries to make these scriptures mean something different. In verses 15-17 in Colossians, Paul establishes the ALL created by God through Christ. It includes everyone that is ‘visible and invisible’ and every sovereignty, authority, lordship, and throne…even the wicked ones.

That’s you, me, every spiritual entity, and every creature ever created. This is the ‘ALL’ of the context.

Then, in Colossians 1:20, Paul says that this very same ‘ALL’ will be reconciled to God through the blood of the cross. See, the religious people of Christianity have no problem understanding the ‘ALL’ in verses 15-17, but they ignore the ‘ALL’ when it comes to their reconciliation through the blood of the cross.

However, Paul clearly states in these verses that the same ‘ALL’ created by God through Christ are the exact same ‘ALL’ reconciled to God through the blood of the cross.

Scriptural proof that God plans Disobedience to Accomplish His Purpose

False Free-will proof #1: The disobedience of man proves human free-will

Many people say that Adam and Eve made a free will choice in the garden. Why? Scripture does not say that God gave them or anyone a free-will. So, what leads a person to that conclusion?

The common answer: The proof that God gave Adam and Eve free-will is in the fact that they DISOBEYED God’s command to not eat of the tree. Okay, fair enough but does this prove human free-will?

What if I can find one instance in scripture where God intends for a human TO DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what He said He wants them to do? What if I could find multiple instances of this? If scripture shows that God plans and executes human disobedience in order for humans to go against what He instructs them to do or not to do, then what would that prove?

It would prove that human disobedience does not prove human free-will. Quite the opposite in fact.

Acts 4: 27-28

For of a truth, in this city were gathered against Thy holy Boy Jesus, Whom Thou doest annoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel designates beforehand to occur. – Concordant Literal

Herod, Pilate, those of the nations, people of Israel all had a hand in killing Jesus. Did these people disobey God in killing His Son?

Of Course! It’s the greatest act of disobedience of all time. They murdered God’s Son and not only does this break God’s stated commandment but it shows utter and complete hatred of God’s stated will.

These people obviously exercised their free-will to disobey God so greatly, right?

Not so fast! Look at verse 28 that says these people did this not because of their free-will choice to disobey God….no…doesn’t say that. It does say that they did what the counsel of God designates beforehand to occur. If God determined beforehand for this to occur, then Pilate, Herod, the gentiles, and the Jews were not free to do anything else.

These evil doers made a choice and they will be judged and eventually corrected. However, their choice was the necessary action that God chose to bring His own Son to the cross in order to save humanity.

Without this act of evil, Jesus would not have gone to the cross and therefore nobody would be saved. The disobedience of Pilate, Herod, the Jews, and gents was part of God’s plan as much as the cross. It was the necessary means to bring about the cross.

This disobedience was part of God’s plan and NOT an exercise of human free will. In fact, these evil doers did exactly what God had planned for them to do from the beginning.

Genesis 50:20

You devised evil against me, yet Elohim, He devised it for good in order to accomplish, as at this day, to preserve many people alive.

Joseph’s older siblings sold their little brother into slavery after they plotting to kill him. Then, they lied to their father about it. The father of Joseph and his brothers was none other than Israel himself. I’ll get to why that is important in a moment.

Many of you know the story of Joseph, but I encourage you to read it in Genesis, if you have not.

Here is a very brief summary: Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and conspired to kill him. At the last moment, they ended up selling their little brother to the Ishmaelites. Years past and Joseph became a very powerful man in Egypt as Pharaoh put him in charge of rationing food during a great famine. Israel sent his son’s to Egypt to get food because the whole family was starving. Remember I said I’d get back to how important Israel is…well, Joseph ended up saving the lives of Israel and that entire family, including his brothers which became the tribes of Israel. Israel is God’s chosen people and through whom our Savior would come. Joseph saved these people…without him, no Savior.

So…was it God’s plan to raise Joseph to power in order to save Israel? Absolutely it was as Joseph explicitly states in Genesis 50:20.

Now…the money question: Would Joseph had risen to power if his brothers didn’t sell him to the Ishmaelites after planning to kill him? If the brothers returned to Israel with Joseph on that day and life continued as normal, would Joseph have been in Egypt in position to save his brothers and all of Israel?

Of course not!

Now, we all know God can do what He wants in any way He wants. However, He chose to use the sin of the brothers in order to raise Joseph to power in order to save the very ones that sold him into slavery.

Here, we have another example of how disobedience was God’s intention in order to fulfill His purpose. Joseph’s brothers did not have a free will, they did exactly what God planned for them to do. Joseph’s own words:

“You devised evil against me, yet Elohim, He devised it for good in order to accomplish, as at this day, to preserve many people alive.”

You see, the evil that the brothers committed was devised by God in order to fulfill the Almighty’s purpose of saving Israel. God planned Joseph’s brothers to do what they did and it was good because it fulfilled His purpose. It was still an evil choice committed by the siblings but it was not a free choice. God planned it on purpose.

Disobedience does not prove ‘human free-will.’

Judas Iscariot

Another example in scripture of God planning man’s disobedience is Judas Iscariot. Can we all agree that it was God’s intention for His Son to die on the cross to save humanity? Well then, Judas was necessary in accomplishing that purpose.

Was Judas using his ‘free-will’ to betray Jesus or was he acting out what was purposed in order to fulfill scripture?

Jesus Christ Himself said in the upper room during the Last Supper, “He who is masticating bread with Me lifts up his heel against me.” –John 13:18

Jesus was quoting Psalm 41:9 when referring to Judas and said that “I am aware whom I choose, but that the scripture may be fulfilled.”

Judas disobeyed God and God’s Son. Yet, the book of Psalms was written years before Judas was even born. So, scripture must be fulfilled as Jesus said and scripture says that Judas would do what he did. Therefore, this disobedience was planned to happen by God before Judas was even born in order for Christ to get to the cross. God planned it, Jesus knew, Judas had no free will to do otherwise.

In fact, Jesus said to Judas, “What you are doing, do more quickly.” Judas had to betray Jesus because it was written in scripture, therefore planned by God. In addition to this, Satan entered Judas to make him commit this act. How can a man be free if Satan is influencing him?

Once again, God planned disobedience in order to fulfill His purpose. God makes decisions beforehand and then works out all the circumstances of the life of Judas in order for him to make the decision when the time was right.

Disobedience does not prove ‘human free will.’ Quite the opposite. It fulfills God’s purpose.

The Law

God wrote the Law for Israel on stone tablets and demanded that it be followed. We all know that Israel failed miserably at following this law and nobody could do it perfectly. In addition, the law of Israel extended in much more detail than just the 10 commandments. Law was a part of everything they did.

So, even though God wrote out the law and demanded it to be followed…was it the Almighty’s intention for it to actually be followed?

NO! The apostle Paul says that it is impossible for humans to follow the law to free us (Romans 3:20, Romans 8:3).

Even though the law is righteous, God never intended for Israel to do it. Even though God said to do it, He planned from the beginning that they would fall short. God did this in order to show Israel that they needed a Messiah, to show us that we need a Savior.

The just verdict of God, because, by works of law, no flesh at all should be justified in His sight, for through law is the recognition of sin. – Romans 3:20

The law is still God’s standard and He can demand it but the purpose of law gives the recognition of sin so that we see the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The law WAS NOT given for man to fulfill in order to prove their own righteousness.

God instructed man to follow the law but intended that they fall short. He did this in order to prepare man for the only One that could fulfill the law, Christ Jesus.

So that the law has become our escort to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:24

Thus, God commanded Israel to follow a law He knew they couldn’t in order to show them the Savior. God still demands righteousness, however, this righteousness comes through Jesus Christ. Something Israel and humanity wouldn’t understand unless they failed at law and committed sin.

If we or Israel could have fulfilled the law like God demanded, then there would be no need for Jesus. God planned for disobedience in order to bring the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God planned this long before Israel was even born because Revelation 13:8 says Jesus was slain from the disruption of the world. Human disobedience allows God to display the righteousness and love of Christ to the world.

Human disobedience is planned by God and not an act of ‘human free will.’

Romans, chapter 9 reviews in detail that though a man can disobey God’s stated will, no one can ever go against God’s intention. Not one human can do something outside of what God has planned for them to do. I will review Romans 9 in my next ‘free-will’ article.

Grace and peace to all.