I spend a lot of time "in the Bible." I read it, read about it, think about it, doodle about it.
I love making notes about connections I see in it - connections between OT and NT, between promises or prophecies and fulfilment, etc.
So I thought I would share a few of these with you.
They are about God's will, pleasure, promise, oath, and work to save all people.
The first is below, and I'll add the others as comments to this post over the course of the weekend.
God's Will - to save all people
God wills all people to be saved and come to recognise the truth.
[ 1 Timothy 2 : 4 ]
God declares the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying, "My plans will stand, and I will do all my will."
[ Isaiah 46 : 10 ]
Blessings, Barry
Showing posts with label WebBible/1God&Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WebBible/1God&Plan. Show all posts
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The Best Poem in the World
Here's a cute poem that was sent to me by a close friend who hasn't yet seen that God will reconcile all to him eventually ..... or is my friend trying to say something to me by sending the poem? What do you think?
He called it the BEST POEM IN THE WORLD
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbour
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.
'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you..'
Friday, April 27, 2012
Promises from Paul
The good news from Paul is sooooo extensive --- it just goes on and on.
Paul asserts that, by God's grace, everyone will be justified, raised to life, saved, be friends of God and reconciled to him.
What more could anyone hope for?
Let me illustrate with just a short quote from each of five of his letters.
All will be justified, declared just or righteous, be given right-standing before God.
Just as one offence resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
[ Romans 5 : 18 BSV ]
All will be vivified, enlivened, raised to life.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
[ 1 Cor 15 :: 22 NIV ]
because
The last enemy to be abolished is death.
[ 1 Cor 15 : 26 BSV ]
All will be saved.
This is why we labour and stive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 10 NIV ]
All are God's friends.
God was in Christ befriending the world to himself, not counting people's sins against them.
[ 2 Cor 5 : 19 BSV ]
All will be reconciled to God.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Col 1 : 19 - 20 BSV ]
And none of this should catch us by surprise when Paul reminds us that
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
[ Romans 11 : 36 BSV ]
because
God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
[ Ephesians 1 : 11 BSV ]
There's too much from Paul to ignore, don't you think?
Blessings, Barry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW. I will be uploading Chapter 2 of the book for you to read and pull apart early next week.
Please attack it for me.
(I can handle anything from people who love me.)
Paul asserts that, by God's grace, everyone will be justified, raised to life, saved, be friends of God and reconciled to him.
What more could anyone hope for?
Let me illustrate with just a short quote from each of five of his letters.
All will be justified, declared just or righteous, be given right-standing before God.
Just as one offence resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
[ Romans 5 : 18 BSV ]
All will be vivified, enlivened, raised to life.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
[ 1 Cor 15 :: 22 NIV ]
because
The last enemy to be abolished is death.
[ 1 Cor 15 : 26 BSV ]
All will be saved.
This is why we labour and stive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 10 NIV ]
All are God's friends.
God was in Christ befriending the world to himself, not counting people's sins against them.
[ 2 Cor 5 : 19 BSV ]
All will be reconciled to God.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
[Col 1 : 19 - 20 BSV ]
And none of this should catch us by surprise when Paul reminds us that
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
[ Romans 11 : 36 BSV ]
because
God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
[ Ephesians 1 : 11 BSV ]
There's too much from Paul to ignore, don't you think?
Blessings, Barry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW. I will be uploading Chapter 2 of the book for you to read and pull apart early next week.
Please attack it for me.
(I can handle anything from people who love me.)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Paul's Secrets
Paul says on several occasions that some of God's secrets, or mysteries as most translations call them, that had been hidden from previous generations in previous ages, had been revealed to him.
And he revealed these secrets to those to whom he wrote his letters, and therefore of course, to us.
Unfortunately, many who read the Bible haven't seen these secrets revealed, and are totally in the dark about some of God's most exciting plans.
One of these is God's plan to bring unity to all in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[ Eph 1 : 9 - 10 ]
And because it includes all, it means Gentiles as well as Jews.
[ Eph 3 : 6 ]
And because it includes all, it means unbelievers as well as believers.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 10 ]
And because it includes all, it means the whole world as God is no longer counting people's sins against them.
[ 2 Cor 5 : 19 ]
And because it includes all, it means the creation itself will be brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
[ Romans 8 : 21 ]
What a plan!
And it's no longer a secret.
Everyone can know about it, by just reading the Bible with open eyes.
Blessings, Barry
And he revealed these secrets to those to whom he wrote his letters, and therefore of course, to us.
Unfortunately, many who read the Bible haven't seen these secrets revealed, and are totally in the dark about some of God's most exciting plans.
One of these is God's plan to bring unity to all in heaven and on earth under Christ.
[ Eph 1 : 9 - 10 ]
And because it includes all, it means Gentiles as well as Jews.
[ Eph 3 : 6 ]
And because it includes all, it means unbelievers as well as believers.
[ 1 Tim 4 : 10 ]
And because it includes all, it means the whole world as God is no longer counting people's sins against them.
[ 2 Cor 5 : 19 ]
And because it includes all, it means the creation itself will be brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
[ Romans 8 : 21 ]
What a plan!
And it's no longer a secret.
Everyone can know about it, by just reading the Bible with open eyes.
Blessings, Barry
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
How can people NOT see this?
Romans 5 : 18 - 19 [NIV]
Consequently,
JUST AS
one trespass
resulted in condemnation
for all people
SO ALSO
one righteous act
resulted in justification and life
for all people
For
JUST AS
through the disobedience of the one man
the many
were made sinners
SO ALSO
through the obedience of the one man
the many
will be made righteous
How could God state his plan to restore all people more clearly?
How can people NOT see this?
They just have to read what's in their Bibles.
Blessings, Barry
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Church Leaders Hostile to God's Plan
Hi Glenn
Thanks for your question. It has given me a great day today.
I had never even thought about such a question before you asked it last night.
I have previously considered and made decisions about the lesser question -
why can't people, especially church leaders, see what God is going to do for all mankind?
- but I have never considered why they are so hostile to the plan.
Why is God's plan to save all so abhorrent to most Christians, and especially to church leaders?
So ...... I have spent much of the day waiting on God, in prayer and in His Word.
I've had a wonderful day.
I won't go into any of the details of my journey through the day, but simply say that I believe "God's plan to restore all" challenges mankind's real god at the deepest level.
Most of mankind's real god is self, and their most prized possession is their free will.
This is true of most Christians as well.
Man prides himself on his right and ability to make his own decisions as a free agent, as do most Christians.
Most Christians are proud of their decision to choose Christ, to be saved, to become a disciple, to join the church, or whatever.
I became a Christian when I .....
I was saved when I .......
I was appointed a church elder or board member when I ........
I led this person or that person to Christ when I .......
And on it goes.
They believe their wise and/or clever choices have given them "rightly deserved" advantages over those who haven't been so wise or clever, and they should get the credit for that.
When the idea that it is God who chooses who and how many will be saved, and when and how that will happen, most Christians, and particularly church leaders, are threatened to the core.
Things aren't under their control as they thought and they can no longer take credit for the good things they have done.
Their choice to invite Christ into their hearts or to enter the ministry or to accept the appointment or position they now have is no longer considered to be their doing.
Self, their god, has been brutally challenged and dethroned - and they want none of it.
Don't talk about it. Don't even think about it. It's heresy. It's dangerous. It will get you into trouble. Don't associate with people who talk like that.
They will happily preach on the sovereignty of God, as long as you don't take it to extremes or suggest it applies to everything and everyone.
For them, God is a lesser sovereign than self.
For them, God's plan for salvation only works when we agree to it.
And if you suggest that we might not have the final word on this, look out.
The second chapter of my book is on the sovereignty of God.
That should guarantee it will never be recommended to those in mainstream churches.
Blessings, Barry
Thanks for your question. It has given me a great day today.
I had never even thought about such a question before you asked it last night.
I have previously considered and made decisions about the lesser question -
why can't people, especially church leaders, see what God is going to do for all mankind?
- but I have never considered why they are so hostile to the plan.
Why is God's plan to save all so abhorrent to most Christians, and especially to church leaders?
So ...... I have spent much of the day waiting on God, in prayer and in His Word.
I've had a wonderful day.
I won't go into any of the details of my journey through the day, but simply say that I believe "God's plan to restore all" challenges mankind's real god at the deepest level.
Most of mankind's real god is self, and their most prized possession is their free will.
This is true of most Christians as well.
Man prides himself on his right and ability to make his own decisions as a free agent, as do most Christians.
Most Christians are proud of their decision to choose Christ, to be saved, to become a disciple, to join the church, or whatever.
I became a Christian when I .....
I was saved when I .......
I was appointed a church elder or board member when I ........
I led this person or that person to Christ when I .......
And on it goes.
They believe their wise and/or clever choices have given them "rightly deserved" advantages over those who haven't been so wise or clever, and they should get the credit for that.
When the idea that it is God who chooses who and how many will be saved, and when and how that will happen, most Christians, and particularly church leaders, are threatened to the core.
Things aren't under their control as they thought and they can no longer take credit for the good things they have done.
Their choice to invite Christ into their hearts or to enter the ministry or to accept the appointment or position they now have is no longer considered to be their doing.
Self, their god, has been brutally challenged and dethroned - and they want none of it.
Don't talk about it. Don't even think about it. It's heresy. It's dangerous. It will get you into trouble. Don't associate with people who talk like that.
They will happily preach on the sovereignty of God, as long as you don't take it to extremes or suggest it applies to everything and everyone.
For them, God is a lesser sovereign than self.
For them, God's plan for salvation only works when we agree to it.
And if you suggest that we might not have the final word on this, look out.
The second chapter of my book is on the sovereignty of God.
That should guarantee it will never be recommended to those in mainstream churches.
Blessings, Barry
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