God's Biblical Plan

In several previous posts I have listed a number of Bible texts that demonstrate the plan of God to eventually reconcile all of his creation. In this post I will use some of them to show how the expression of this plan runs right through the New Testament.

In the beginning God
created all things (Genesis 1) and all (these) created things are to be reconciled to himself (Colossians 1 : 16 - 20), because all things are from him, through him and to him (Romans 11 : 36). For this to be so, God must be in the restoration business (Acts 3 : 21). In fact, he promises to make all things new (Revelation 21 : 5).

God's plan is unchanging (Hebrews 6 : 17), his love, kindness and mercy are also unchanging, even towards his enemies (Luke 6 : 27 - 36), and his patience allows everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3 : 9), reflecting his desire for all people to be saved and to know the truth (1 Timothy 2 : 4). Indeed, he has allowed us all to be stubborn and disobedient so that he can have mercy on us all (Romans 11 : 32).

God appointed his Son, Jesus Christ,
to be the heir of all things (Hebrews 1 : 2), placing all things under his control (Ephesians 1 : 22), and to all of them he will give eternal life (John 17 : 2), through the giving of himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2 : 6), so that all people will see God's salvation. (Luke 3 : 6)

Jesus, knowing that God had given him authority over all things (John 3 : 35 and John 13 : 3), promised to draw all people to himself (John 12 : 32), and lose none of them (John 6 : 37 - 39).  However, if any of them does stray, he will go after them until he finds them (Luke 15 : 4).

Jesus came so that all people should come to belief (John 1 : 7 and 9) ensuring that the world would be saved through him (John 3 : 17) - his grace bringing salvation to the world (Titus 2 : 11) by taking away the world's sin (John 1 : 29 and 1 John 2 : 2). As Jesus said, "I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12 : 47), and he did this by destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3 : 8), destroying death and bringing life and immortality through the gospel (2 Timothy 1 : 10).

So, not only has sin been dealt with (Hebrews 9 : 26), but Jesus gave his life for the life of the world as well (John 6 : 33 and 51). Yes, every descendant  of Adam who has inherited death from him will become a descendant of Christ and will therefore inherit life from him (1 Corinthians 15 : 22).

Jesus completes his work when all things have submitted to him (Philippians 2 : 10 and 11), and he hands over his kingdom to God so that God becomes everything to everyone (1 Corinthians 15 : 24 - 28).

Consequently,
we can be assured that God will bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ (Ephesians 1 : 10), having brought justification and life to all people (Romans 5 : 18), that assurance being confirmed by the knowledge that God's gifts and call are irrevocable (Romans 11 : 29).
 
Surely a quick summary like this can be used as a reasonable excuse for being a heretic.  

Blessings, Barry

Eternal Life Has Always Been God's Plan

In the previous post I mentioned that "eternal life is a given for everyone because of what Jesus achieved on the cross".
Yes, this is true. Remember ...

God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
[Ephesians 1 : 9, 10 GNB]

So then, as the one sin (Adam's) condemned all people, in the same way the one righteous act (Jesus') sets all people free and gives them life.
And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.
[ Romans 5 : 18, 19 GNB]

And let's also remember that it is our job (the already chosen's job) to present this good news to the world. Churches often spend so much time telling people what they must do to be saved (see previous post) instead of telling them they are saved already.

And all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And he has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.
[2 Corinthians 5 : 18, 19 EHV]

But just as amazingly we are told that this has been God's plan from the very beginning, before time began, before the world was created, yes, even before any of us was born - it's not a Plan B or something God has added to his agenda for the world.
The Bible mentions this pre-determined purpose of God often.
Here's an example.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
[Ephesians 1 : 4, 5 NLT]

If this has always been God's plan, and He created the heavens and earth (and you and me) as the vehicle for its happening, then we can confidently expect it will happen.
Some of it in some ages, some of it in others, but at the end of the ages, the plan will be complete.

Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
[1 Corinthians 15 :28 NLT]

Let's get busy sharing the "message of reconciliation" we have been entrusted with. Let's be telling people what Christ has done for them so they might love him and be given the faith to join the Body of Christ.

Blessings, Barry

Eternal Life is Not on Offer

At the beginning of Chapter 5 in "The Really Good News About God" I mention preachers who ask their congregations, "Where will you spend eternity?"- a question designed to prepare the audience for a "fake news" promotion.

If those preachers understood that Jesus died for the sins of the world (1 John 2 : 2), 
that God is the Saviour of the world (1 Timothy 4 : 10),
that Jesus came to save the world (John 3 : 17) and
that God no longer holds people's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5 : 19),
then they would not ask such a silly question. 

They should all just know the answer: we'll all be together with God.
Eternal life is a given for everyone because of what Jesus achieved on the cross.

An interesting way of saying this is : If you are a descendant of Adam, then you have eternal life.
Really?
Yes, 1 Corinthians 15 : 22 says, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."
(Beware of people, including some translators, who change the order of the words in this verse to support their claim that not all who die because of Adam will be made alive because of Christ.)
I like using the CEV version of this verse, because it makes the order of the words harder to change,  "Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us."

For many people this will not happen until the conclusion of the ages.
They will live their life on this planet giving God no consideration at all, will die, will remain asleep until the resurrection at the end of the realm of time, when, among other things, death is abolished and only life remains - eternal life with God.

Now, about this fake news or fake sales promotion.
Preachers who are trying to sell "eternal life" are trying to promote something to people they already have.
"You need to confess your sins, you need to repent, you need to be baptised, you need to join our church, you need to ... and you will be saved, get eternal life," is a frequent line of approach.
But the fact is: we don't need to do anything now to get eternal life - it's a done deal, for all descendants of Adam.

So what justification is there for preachers to offer eternal life to people?
Unfortunately, poor translation of our English Bibles.
Most of our popular translations of the New Testament mention eternal life 42 times which gives preachers the Biblical backing for asking their question.
However in all of those 42 occasions, the underlying Greek word is aionian, which means "belonging to/during the eon or age", not "eternal". **

For example, look at 2 Peter 1 : 11 from two popular translations (ESV and NIV) and two literal translations (YLT and CLV).

• For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (ESV)
• and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NIV)

• for so, richly shall be superadded to you the entrance into the age-during reign of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (YLT)
• For thus will be richly supplied to you the entrance into the eonian kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (CLV)

Given that Jesus is going to hand over His kingdom to the Father at the end of the ages (1 Cor 15 : 24), it is impossible for His kingdom to be eternal, just age-during or eonian, showing how obvious is the translation error in our popular translations.

So the offer really being made is for eonian life, life during the ages, life in the kingdom of Christ, life in the Body of Christ during the remaining eons, and not having to wait till the end of the ages when all will receive eternal life.

So what about those verses that say you have to be a believer to have eternal life?
Correctly translated, they are saying you have to be a believer to be in the Body of Christ, to have life and rule with Christ through the coming ages.
And what a blessing that will be!

Blessings, Barry

 ** To read more about this wrongly translated word, go to our webpage at www.ibtechservices.com.au, enter Main Website, click on The Bible image, click Bible Background, click on Translations, and read about Nouns and Their Adjectives.

Re-Writing the Bible (Again)

On several occasions I have referred to English translations of the New Testament Scriptures that have led many Christians to misunderstand the plans, and indeed the character, of God.
I won't go over old ground with this post, just draw attention to a new translation recommended for my consideration and opinion by my beautiful granddaughter.

It doesn't take long when looking at a new translation to discover the theology or doctrines of the translator or translation team.
For example, a minister once told me he changed his preferred translation because the translation team of his new preference was more evangelical than of his previous choice. It really can be that obvious.

What did my granddaughter recommend I review?
The Passion Translation (TPT).
It reads really well and has many very helpful comments at the bottom of each page, and I have enjoyed its fresh, passionate approach. It claims to use italics to show words used to clarify the narrative that are not in the original texts, which again is very helpful.

However lack of consistency in using italics (or not using them, actually) demonstrates the translator's personal bias and beliefs. This is what I call the Bible PUB test - Personal Unverified Bias or Belief.
Take, for example, two verses that are used to demonstrate God's sovereignty and God's purpose for His creation.

Here's the first - Acts 13 : 48

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. 
(Acts 13 : 48 NIV)

When the non-Jewish people in the crowd heard these words, they were thrilled and they honored the word of the Lord. All who believed that they were destined to experience eternal life received the message.
(Acts 13 : 48 TPT)

Let's overlook the wrong use of 'eternal' in both translations, and focus on the added words in TPT that were NOT italicised.
God's sovereignty in appointing/predestining has been replaced by mankind's belief/decision to determine their own destiny. There's that free-will myth again, discussed in "The Really Good News About God" page 78ff, showing the translator's PUB.

Here's a second - Romans 11 : 32

For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11 : 32 NIV)

Actually, God considers all of humanity to be prisoners of their unbelief, so that he can unlock our hearts and show his tender mercies to all who come to him. (Romans 11 : 32 TPT)

Let's overlook the TPT's diluting of God's action and involvement to just considering, and focus on the added words in TPT that are NOT italicised.
We again have God's sovereign action replaced by the freewill action of those who have chosen to come to him.

TPT is dotted with "salvation by mankind's freewill action" rather than God's gracious provision through the faithfulness of Jesus - all occurrences are displayed in the same type as the main text - which leads to so much incorrect thinking and theology.

I don't mind an author (or translator) publishing a book with these personal beliefs (which I can read and agree with or not), but I don't appreciate these beliefs being inserted into the text of an English translation without proper notation.

Having a literal translation on hand, like a Young or Concordant or Rotherham, will help evaluate the Bible translations we most frequently use and will keep us on track with understanding and appreciating God's character and His plans for mankind.

Blessings, Barry

 

Can Christians Fall From Grace?

We often hear the expression "he/she has fallen from grace" when referring to a follower of Jesus who has become lukewarm or antagonistic towards their previous Christian faith or lifestyle.
Even Paul accuses the Christians in Galatia who have reverted to following the law as their means of remaining in right-standing before God as having fallen from grace (Gal 5 : 4)

Since grace is God's gift, his undeserved favour toward us, and completely under his control, how can we fall from it? No matter what we do God doesn't withdraw his love or grace. It is determined, guaranteed, by his character.

So what can possibly be meant by the expression "fallen from grace"?
Because it is an action taken by the once-believer, and not an action taken by God, it can only mean that people in that position no longer appreciate God's grace and, of course, have foregone all the benefits that God's grace showers on us.

So, can we fall from grace?
Most definitely YES.
We can turn our backs on what God has provided for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, as the Galatians did, and miss out on the blessings of living in union with Christ during the ages, the realm of time.
And this would be a great shame to have tasted these blessings and then let them go.
(I don't really understand how people manage to live in this corrupt world with all its dangers and heartaches without a relationship with God.)

But does this mean such a person is eternally lost?
Most definitely NO.
God eventually abolishes death and becomes All in all at the completion of the ages. (1 Cor 15 : 20 - 28)
So although people might miss out on eonian life (age-during life), life exists for all after death is abolished.
And how does this eventuate?
Not sure, but I offer some suggestions in Chapter 5 of "The Really Good News About God".

Blessings, Barry

Can We Lose Our Salvation?

After publishing the last post, I received a private email asking the question above, and I promised its author that I would share some thoughts on it next.
So here we go.

Let's repeat our nutshell description of salvation from last time ... 
Salvation is a journey of restoration that starts with re-gaining life and is completed when we return to being God's true image bearers, as was Jesus.
So salvation is a journey with a beginning and an end.

The beginning is being restored or resurrected to life. 
This life is God's life, eternal life, which God breathes into us, his Holy Spirit.
It comes from knowing God, having God and Jesus revealed to us, and indwelling us.
Jesus said ...

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

and

"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11: 27)

In my opinion, once we know God, we can't "un-know" him.
We might disappoint him, or fail him, or even disown him (as did Peter during Jesus' lifetime on earth), but we can't subsequently say we don't know him.
Therefore we cannot lose eternal life, we cannot lose the beginning of the salvation journey once it has been given to us.

The end is Christ-likeness, being restored to the image of God.
So if this is the end, there is no time or opportunity remaining in which to lose anything.
Therefore we cannot lose Christ-likeness, we cannot lose the end of the journey after we have finally arrived there, as there is no "after".

So what about the (major) part of the journey - the bit between the beginning and end?
Can we lose that? Ummmmmm ...
That's a weird question, isn't it?

At times, we can lose our way, get side-tracked, take routes that are long and winding and dangerous; we can give up for a while, take extended siestas, etc. etc.
But eventually, we will respond to the nudging and corrections of the Holy Spirit within us, repent and get back on track again.

What makes me so sure?
Firstly, there are so many characters in the Bible whose lives demonstrate that this happens.
Take David for example. 
The prophet Samuel told Saul that he was to be replaced as King of Israel by a man after God's own heart, referring to David.
And yet it was subsequent to his appointment as king that David committed adultery and arranged a cowardly murder before repenting and getting his life back on track and becoming a key person in Israel's history and in the earthly ancestry of Jesus Christ.

And, secondly, the Apostle Paul guarantees we will get to the end.
Hear him to the believers in Philippi ...

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)

and to his apprentice Timothy ...

"That is why we labour and strive, 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)

If God is to be the Saviour of all people, surely that includes those who start that journey while on earth, regardless of what might happen during the rest of their lifetimes here.

So, can we lose our salvation?
We can't lose the beginning, we can't lose the end, and God guarantees the journey in between.
And to top it off, God is going to be the Saviour of all.
So no-one can lose their salvation, including those who haven't begun the journey yet.

Now it's my turn to ask a couple of questions.
1. What is so "especially" about the believers mentioned in 1 Timothy 4 : 10?
2. What do we lose (or miss out on) during those siestas and side-tracks?

Do we have some bloggers who would like to discuss these?

Blessings, Barry