SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/14/2018
10:22 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Redemptive Reason”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eph. 1:9b-10
Message of the verses: “according to His
kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to
the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in
Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”
I
am going to also use the Phillips paraphrase version of the Bible to look at
these verses, but I have to use all of verse nine: “9 For God has allowed us to know the secret
of his plan, and it is this: he purposed long ago in his sovereign will 10 that all human history should be
consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth should
find its perfection and fulfillment in Him.”
Sometimes
I like to look at the Phillips paraphrase version of the Bible as it seems to
me that he makes it more understandable to me.
I suppose that not all paraphrase Bibles are as accurate as Phillips and
that is why I like looking at it and in the case for these verses I can see
things that were a bit more difficult to see in the NASB95 version.
As
we look back at the verses prior to this one we may want to ask a question, and
that question may have many parts as we sort of review what we have been
studying. We may want to ask why has God
done some much for us? We have seen many
things that God has done for us through Christ and may wonder why. I suppose that if we answered that He loves
us that that would be a good answer, but is there more to this answer, for as
we have seen He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, has chosen us in
Christ before the foundation of the world, has made us holy and blameless, and
predestined us to adoption as His children, He has redeemed us through His blood,
and has lavishly given us forgiveness, and also given us wisdom and insight as
we say yesterday, and He has done all of this according to the infinite riches
of His grace.
We
are looking at the “Redemptive Reason” in this section and so we desire to know
what that reason is. John MacArthur writes “God redeems men in order that He
might gather everything to Himself. The
time of that gathering will be the millennial kingdom, which will be ‘an administration
suitable to the fulness of the times.’
When the completion of history comes, the kingdom arrives, eternity
begins again, and the new heaven and new earth are established, there will be a
‘summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the
earth.’ Jesus Christ is the goal of
history, which finds it resolution in Him.
The paradise lost in Adam is restored in Christ.”
As
we look, especially at the Phillips paraphrase Bible we can see that what
MacArthur wrote helps us make sense a little better. If I see this correctly what I see is things
were made to bring glory to the Son as was all planned in eternity past. All believers are a part of this wonderful
plan that began in eternity past and will continue in eternity future when all
believers, (the bride of Christ) will be with Him in the New Jerusalem as seen
at the end of the book of Revelation.
This was God’s plan all along that is to provide bride for His Son. A picture of this is seen in the parable from
the 25th chapter of the gospel of Matthew.
MacArthur
adds “When every trace of evil has been disposed of, God will establish an incomparable
unity in Himself of all things that remain.
That is the inevitable goal of the universe.
“Macbeth
pessimistically declared that history is ‘a tale told by and idiot, full of
sound and fury, signifying nothing’ (Shakespeare, Macbeth, 5. 5. 19).”
I
am studying for my Sunday school class over the last two weeks things that
Antichrist, and also the False Prophet will be doing in the latter part of the
tribulation period. I suppose that if
you look at the quote from Macbeth and apply it to man you could see it when
what is unredeemed man gets a chance to rule the world during the last three
and a half years of history as we know it.
But as Paul Harvey used to say “The rest of the story” will be seen when
the Lord returns to rid the earth of Satan, Antichrist, and the False prophet
and then bring on the millennial kingdom.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The Bible is a book of hope for all who
believe what it tells, that is to realize that you are a sinner from birth
because of your father Adam, but hope when you become a child of God through
the next Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to give me wisdom to complete
my Sunday school lesson in a way that will bring glory to the Lord.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Matthew and John.”
Today’s Bible question: “What did God ask Solomon in a dream?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/14/2018 10:57 AM
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