Very few are aware of the vastness of God. The word says the natural mind cannot understand the things of God. If it cannot understand the things of God, how on earth could it understand God Himself? I once had a vision in which I was shown the mystery of God. I understood what I was seeing in the beginning, but it quickly got to a place where I couldn’t understand a thing. I kept seeing things. My ceiling and roof opened up and I saw into heaven. I saw things that were so magnificent and so glorious there were no words to describe what I was seeing.
Paul also had a similar experience when he was writing the Book of Romans. It began when he started explaining the Jews who had not recognized Jesus as their Messiah and ended when he said, “Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen,” Romans 11:33-36.
Many will balk at this, but hopefully, a few will be comforted.
While the word of God clearly teaches that we are responsible to repent of our sins and learn obedience as the Father disciplines us, the fact remains that we are destined to do what God intends for us. God requires us to make our own choices even though it doesn’t depend on what we choose; for it depends on God who shows mercy. This is because He preordained it to be this way.
Some will say whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life. But who is whoever? Whoever believes in Him are those who have been appointed to eternal life. ‘And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed,’ Acts 13:48.
Others will say those called chosen or predestined are made up of those God foreknew would accept Christ. They will say these are not actually chosen by God; they are those God knew would make the choice themselves. While this sounds plausible in the natural mind, it is not true in the KINGDOM OF GOD. It is His kingdom; it is His choice.
Romans 9:14-18,
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”
16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.”
18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
It doesn’t matter whether you believe these verses of Scripture or not. The walk and the ending are the same – God predestined us to the point that He prepared works for us to do – He gave us faith to seek and find Him – He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us in those works and in His word.
He finds fault with us even though we cannot resist His will. But as Paul said, who are we to answer back to God?
Romans 9:10-13,
10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
11 for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad,in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls,
12 it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.”
13 Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
Notice in chapter 9 Paul said it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.
In chapter 10 He said, For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
In chapter 11, and after maintaining that the children of the promise are the true Israel (Romans 9:8), he reveals the mystery that all of the physical Jewish nation will be saved after the fulness of the Gentiles has come in. He then explains how the Gentiles were once disobedient, but now have been shown mercy because of the disobedience of the Jews, so they also have been disobedient, in order that because of the mercy shown to the Gentiles the Jews also may now be shown mercy.
Then comes the statement, “Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen,” Romans 11:33-36.
Chapter 12 begins with I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
This is not a new gospel. This is, and always has been, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As I already said, it doesn’t make any difference whether or not you can comprehend this, for the walk and the ending is the same. God predestined us to the point that He prepared works for us to do – He gave us faith to seek and find Him – He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us in those works and in His word.
And, yes, He finds fault with us even though we cannot resist His will.
“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day, John 6:44.
In closing, the entire Bible bears witness of Jesus and it all comes together like pieces of a puzzle.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
P.S. The predestination I’m referring to concerns the choice of God. We still have free will, however, our free will is directed by God when it comes to His purpose and to His chosen ones. Those who will persevere to the end are those who have been appointed to eternal life.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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