At Just The Right Time

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131ak Re-Written 25MAR09

Save Me Today—Part Thirty Seven: At Just The Right Time

by rev dave c

...We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began (1Co 2:7). ...A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time (Ti 1:2). This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2Ti 1:9b). In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ep 1:11). 9 ...To make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ep 3).

Periodically I hear people teach that God’s “Plan-A” failed when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden and so He had to form “Plan-B.” Before considering this issue, we must first remember that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. God, our eternal Creator, Sustainer, and Lord, exists outside of time as we know it. God created time and space—from within and from without our universe His will is irrevocably and irresistibly sovereign. If this is true, what could possibly take place in this life that would be outside His knowledge and permissive will? There are no accidents or coincidences. There is only the purposeful outworking of God’s plan from before the beginning.

The “Plan A/B” people teach that when mankind fell, God had to scramble His forces and put into effect defensive measures in order to contain the spread of evil and to begin a new plan for reclamation of humanity specifically, and creation generally. They believe that it is at this point that God the Father decided to, at a particular crossroads in human history, send God the Son into the World in the likeness of fallen mankind in order to redeem the human race and regain legal control of creation. In this way the Divine could steer history back onto the appropriate path of actualization for His creation plan.

I pray that even a superficial reading of the verses quoted above from the New Testament put into perspective the absurdity of this teaching. We refer to God as The Almighty. Think about that word: “All-Mighty.” God is All Knowing and All Powerful and All Present...and He had a secret wisdom from before time began for you and I to have the hope of eternal life as promised before the beginning of time because we have been predestined according to the plan of grace...given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. His [plan is] that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose [that is, His plan from before the beginning, and for after the ending, of time] which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is only Plan-A. There has never been a Plan-B. Christ tells us in Revelation 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega….” He is not the “Beta and the Omega.” God was not caught off guard by the events in the Garden of Eden. He has not been wringing His hands ever since with the worry of, “What to do?” When God called Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Jehovah already knew Abraham’s heart and mind of obedience. The events on a mountain in the region of Moriah 4,000 years ago were not for God’s benefit—they were for Abraham and for all of humanity since. Just as God knew His man, Job, the Lord knew Abraham’s heart. As Abraham and Isaac were climbing up one side of the mountain, Jehovah was bringing the ram to be sacrificed up the other so that it would be in the exact place, and at the exact moment, of need. The ram was not Plan-B. The Patriarch was being taught that, without fail, God is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Will Provide (Gen 22).

It was on this same mountain, 2,000 years after the day of Abraham, and 2,000 years before our day, that God the Father delivered His Son to be sacrificed for our sins and in our stead. As humanity was traveling up the space and time side of existence, God was bringing His spotless Lamb up the spiritual other side. Romans 5:6 tells us, ...at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Three times in Revelation, Jesus Christ tells us, "I am the Alpha and the Omega...who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Re 1:8); "...It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life (Re 21:6); and finally, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Re 22:13). Let us live our lives in the confidence of so great a salvation, For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1Pe 1:18-21). Amen.