God’s Purpose

Now, at long last, we come to the incredibly good news of the Bible story. Satan may have had a plan, but God had an undefeatable purpose for His creation, and for man in particular.

I.  God Created Man for Close Fellowship

We know that God had close fellowship with man after his creation, in the garden:

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day . . .” (Ge 3:8)

After the fall of man, we repeatedly read of God’s desire for fellowship with us, in His Word:

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Re 3:20)

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Ps 34:18)

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (Ja 4:8)

“. . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world . . .” (Mt 28:20)

From the beginning to the end of the Bible story, God makes it repeatedly clear that He made us for himself, to dwell with Him in companionship.

II.  The Power Paradox

It is telling that God chose to make us in His “image,” and “likeness.” (Ge 1:26) With companionship as a primary purpose in creating us, doesn’t this make sense? Perhaps a useful comparison can be seen in God’s initial search for a companion for the first man:

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.” (Ge 2:18-20)

As we read further into Chapter 2 of Genesis, we see that God subsequently made the second human – Eve, the first woman – as a companion (and helper, or, “help meet”) for Adam. Eve was obviously far more like Adam than any of the animals: among the obvious physical, intellectual and emotional commonality they shared, Eve was the only other creature on the earth that also had a living soul.

Consider your own relationships: some are invariably closer than others. You may have many friends, but you almost certainly do not share your life with them all equally. You probably do not share the same level of commitment, trust or love with each and every one of them. While there are many things that make for a close relationship, we surmise that those that are closest to you are often those who have the most in common with you.

If you’ve had a child – or perhaps a much younger sibling, for example – you (hopefully) have loved and related to that person in a deep and loving manner. But you could not interact with that child on an adult level, intellectually or emotionally. To find that type of companionship, you may have looked to a spouse or close adult friend. Your relationship with a child may be one of the most important that you have, but there are inherent limitations to the interactions.

With this in mind, imagine trying to create the perfect companion for God himself – a Person who is described in the language of the infinite. If “having things in common” is foundational to close companionship, let’s consider a few of the requirements for the perfect companion for God:

1)       Intellect – infinite.

2)      Power – limitless.

3)      Virtue – perfect.

As we have previously discussed, nothing that God purposes to accomplish is imperfect in any way. If He determines to create a suitable companion for Himself, then we know He will succeed. Yet no matter how powerful, knowledgeable, intelligent or virtuous a companion God may make for himself, anything less than “infinite” in these characteristics falls infinitely short! Going back to our example on children, while the differences between an adult and a child may seem large, those differences are infinitely smaller than the differences between God and a sinful human being! (Remember Is 55:9 ?) Imagine how limited the companionship would necessarily be! As things stood after the fall of man, it appeared that God’s original purpose in creating companions for himself had failed.

Suddenly, that question about God creating an infinitely heavy boulder does not seem so rhetorical. Such is the nature of creating a perfect companion for God: the obstacles boggle our limited minds. If we take only one of God’s attributes – omnipotence, say – and attempt to create a companion who shares this attribute . . . we get . . . a cataclysm of infinite proportions . . . two all-powerful beings attempting to establish all power over each other. Simply stated, the assertion that there can be two all-powerful beings in existence at the same time is . . . self-refuting . . . by the very definition of the word, “omnipotent.”

This leads to an interesting question: how much power can a person be given before that person eventually concludes that they may be able to successfully exercise it against the will of God? Well, it seems safe to say this level of power is at or below that which was originally given to Satan . . . because that is precisely what he attempted to do!  Moreover, Eve found the (false) promise of enormous power tempting enough to sin against God’s commandment in the garden. (Remember the lie that finally persuaded Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge: the promise of gaining the power to decide good and evil for herself?) It seems the closer God comes to creating a companion for himself that shares in His attributes, the more likely it becomes that this would-be companion will attempt to exercise his/her power against their Creator. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call this the “Power Paradox.”

After the fall, Adam and Eve “resembled” Satan in this trait of rebellion – and passed it on to all of us through the natural procreative process. Now we are also guilty of this sin . . . of attempting to exercise our limited power against the will of God . . . the very definition of the word “sin.” As things stand, we are anything but suitable companions for Him. So where could we possibly fit in to God’s grand purpose? Thankfully, He’s already told us . . .

III.  God’s Purpose Revealed

Immediately after Adam and Eve fell, God began to reveal His ultimate purpose in creating man. In addressing Satan (in the form of a serpent) and his role in facilitating the fall of man, God’s Word tells us:

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Ge 3: 14-15, emphasis added)

God curses Satan (the serpent), and then makes a promise to eventually destroy him. Let’s examine this promise more closely in the second quoted verse above (verse 15):

First, God promises to put “enmity” (mutual hatred) between Satan’s “seed” and the “seed” of the woman.  The oft-overlooked doctrine that Satan has “seed” – or descendents – in the world is important, but a topic for another time.  But in addressing the descendents of the woman (“her seed”) God’s choice of words seems peculiar, at least at first glance: according to God’s ordained procreative process, women do not have “seed.” As we see fulfilled later in God’s Word, God is promising a descendent from the woman alone – without the concurrence (or seed) of a man – that will ultimately deliver a fatal blow to Satan. We see this in the phrase, “bruise thy head:” there is no more instantly-fatal a place to strike than the head. Moreover, we see that Satan will deliver his own – non-fatal – blow to this descendant. (“. . . bruise his heal.”) Who is this descendant, and what is God foretelling in describing this exchanging of blows? (To be clear: the answer goes far beyond the mere angst of snakebites!)

Fast-forward four thousand years to the first Christmas story. A virgin – a young Jewish woman named Mary – is described as having become miraculously pregnant:

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,    To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Lu 1:26-35, emphasis added)

The “seed” of the woman promised in the garden was, of course, Jesus Christ – God in human flesh. (remember Jo 1:14?) Why was it necessary that Jesus be born of a virgin? Remember that God’s ordained procreative process was that all things reproduced “after their kind,” and that after the fall, man no longer reproduced in the “image” of God, but in the image of the first sinful man – Adam. If Jesus was born of a sinful man, He would have been born in the image of a sinner – spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph 2:1) Obviously this could not occur without God violating His own attributes.

What about Satan bruising the “heel” of Jesus? Let’s look at another prediction from God’s Word – made more than 700 years in advance:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all . . . Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.   He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Is 53:3-12, emphasis added)

There is only one person in the whole of God’s Word who is described as being able to be “wounded for our transgressions . . . bruised for our iniquities:” Jesus Christ. The person described above clearly faced death – i.e. “he hath poured out his soul unto death.” Recall God’s only acceptable payment (and logical consequence of) sin is death. But – and this is the most important thing you have read on this web site to this point – the passage above also tells us that God the Father, when looking upon the death and “travail” of His Son Jesus, “shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Let’s be clear: Webster’s defines the word “justify” as, “to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable.” This passage is telling us that when Satan was allowed to “bruise” Jesus’ heel, “many” of us were “prove[ed]” to be “right” and “just,” while God’s attribute of perfect virtue and justice was “satisfied” at the same time.

But wait! Haven’t we spent the last few pages learning that we’re sinners . . . NOT justified . . . servants of Satan and in the image of sinful Adam? According to the passage above, this was no longer the case for “many” after the death of Jesus: He “made intercession” on their behalf, paid their penalty of death and thereby “justified” them . . . as if they had never sinned at all.

If you’re at all familiar with the Easter story, then you may have heard how all of this took place: Jesus was betrayed into the hands of religious authorities in Jerusalem, who ultimately had Him crucified. You can read one of the gospel accounts of it here. (Matthew, Chapter 27) Interestingly, if you study crucifixion as a method of execution, you learn that long spikes are driven through the victim’s feet/heals (as well as the hands/wrists) to hold him in place on the cross. Apparently, Jesus died exactly as God had promised in the garden more than 4000 years previous.

IV.  Satan’s Plan Overturned

Satan saw Jesus – God, the Son – as an unwelcome guest in his usurped kingdom on this Earth. Since Satan had failed to lure Jesus into become his subject, he worked through his other servants – sinful men – to have Him removed from his earthly kingdom. He initially saw this as a victory, no doubt. But for him, it was just the opposite: with the death of God’s son, “many” of Satan’s sinful human subjects were “justified,” no longer to be servants in his wicked kingdom. God’s requirement for perfect justice was met when He judged their sins – through sin’s death penalty – on the cross. If God destroyed sinful man by imposing the death penalty upon all men, His original purpose in creating man would be thwarted – so He paid this horrific price for them. (or, “made intercession” for them, in the words of the verses above) Where ever a man’s sin’s had been paid for, God could quite literally look upon him with eyes of perfect justice and see . . . sinlessness:

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” (Is 44:22)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:12)

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:21)

Such a man could once again be a companion to God, and serve Him in His perfect kingdom: in paying his death penalty, God’s original purpose in creating man was fulfilled! All of God’s attributes had indeed remained intact, and the eternal life that man was originally created for could be restored:

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Ro 6:22-23)

Because God judged the sins of “many” on the cross, He was also free to judge Satan and all who ultimately remain servants in his kingdom . . . those whose death penalty was not paid for by Jesus on the cross. Jesus referred to this judgment shortly before He was crucified:

“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (Joh 12:31)

“The Son of man [Jesus] shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Mt 13:41-42)

Speaking of a time shortly after His crucifixion and death, Jesus declares plainly:

“. . . the prince of this world is judged.” (Joh 16:11)

This is not to say that Satan is still not active in the world today – God’s Word is full of admonitions to us to beware of his murderous ways:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour . . .” (1Pe 5:8)

But part of God’s ongoing purpose, apparently, is to allow Satan to continue to roam the earth – for a time. To use a courtroom analogy, sentence has been passed – but it is yet to be carried out. But his ultimate destruction is plainly promised in God’s Word:

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming . . .” (2Th 2:8)

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Re 20:10)

God has indeed delivered the fatal blow to Satan – promised in the garden when He decreed that the “seed of woman” would “bruise” his “head.”

V.  The Overlooked Attribute

While it is compelling that God began to reveal His grand redemptive purpose for man immediately after he fell into sin, it’s astounding to see when this plan actually began: in The Book of Revelation, Chapter 13, verse 8, we read of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Jesus Christ is repeatedly referred to as “the Lamb” in God’s Word – See Joh 1:29) But “from the foundation of the world” means that Jesus’ role on the cross was established before man even existed . . . before sin ever existed. This can only mean that God knew of the fall of man . . . knew that His Son would have to die on the cross to fulfill His determinate purpose in creating him . . . before any of it happened:

“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you . . .” (1 Pe 1:19-20, emphasis added)

Moreover, God refers to those “many” souls that He redeemed on the cross using similar language:

   “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love . . .” (Eph 1:4, emphasis added)

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . . .” (Mt 25:34)

We’ve already discussed the Bible verses establishing that God exists outside of time. (Remember John 8:58?) But what this also means is that God knows . . . everything. He is omniscient, and it is the one divine attribute Satan could not have rationally accounted for when he conceived his plan of rebellion. If he had, he would have known his plan was doomed to fail before he ever got started on it. While the Bible describes Satan as being “full of wisdom,” it seems clear Satan could not see or know all that God sees and knows. Satan’s plan represented what had to be “the mother of all errors of omission.”

VI.  Spiritual birth

To review, all descendents of Adam (i.e. all men) were physically born into this world as spiritual corpses:

“Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Ro 5:12)

And again, man was not originally created by God in such a pathetic state, where God’s omnipotence requires that His original purpose in creating man be fulfilled. Therefore, a “spiritual” birth became necessary:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (Joh 3:3-6, emphasis added)

While Adam suffered spiritual death the moment he sinned, Jesus instructs a Jewish Pharisee of the absolute necessity for a spiritual re-birth in the passage above.  Jesus’ death on the cross “satisfies” God’s perfect sense of justice and makes such a re-birth possible. Moreover God’s Word tells us that this birth, or “quickening” is performed by Jesus himself:

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” (Col 2:13, emphasis added)

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” (Eph 2:1, emphasis added)

VII.  “Sheep” and “Goats”

Do all men experience this spiritual quickening? Listen to Jesus as He speaks of the end-times:

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . . . Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels . . .” (Mt 25:31-41)

This is a relatively unambiguous declaration: standing before God, not everyone will be declared fit to be God’s companion. Some will be ordered to “depart . . .” and it will be an “everlasting” separation from God – where, as we’ve already discussed, such separation is synonymous with an eternal death:

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Re 21:8)

Simply stated, this means that some men experience spiritual birth, and some do not. Jesus went to the cross with a definitive purpose: to pay the death penalty for the sins of “many” men. As omnipotent God, this purpose cannot be thwarted. But given God’s dreadful predictions in the passages above, it becomes clear that God could not possibly have gone to the cross for everyone: if He had, His omnipotence would not allow anyone to “depart . . . into everlasting fire.”

Nor must all men be quickened in order for God’s original purpose in creating man to be fulfilled. Look carefully at God’s carefully-articulated motivation for dying on the cross in the first place:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16)

In the passage above, the Greek word for “world” is “kosmos,” meaning ,“orderly arrangement.” (Remember our discussion on God’s original created order? You can refresh yourself on it here.) It was completed in six days – and it was flawless, as God’s attributes would mandate. John 3:16 above makes it clear that God died on the cross to restore this perfect order – an order where man and God enjoyed unfettered fellowship. Many churches today incorrectly teach that the word “world” in the scripture above refers to all human beings: not only is this an inaccurate translation of the word “kosmos,” but it is inconsistent with the words of Jesus himself – and God’s attribute of omnipotence. Praying to God the Father shortly before His death, Jesus plainly states:

“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” (Joh 17:9, emphasis added)

If Jesus died for all men on the cross, and the word “world” refers to “all men,” why would Jesus explicitly declare that He did not pray for the world . . . immediately before dying for all men? Does that make any sense? As a shepherd separates sheep from goats, so God the Son makes a clear distinction between those whom God the Father has given to Him, and those He has not.

VIII.  Spiritual Birth Conveyed

The central question that emerges then – arguably the most important question that any human can ask while alive on this earth – is, “How does one obtain this spiritual birth?” The answer, by human reasoning and religiosity, is quite unintuitive: it isn’t “obtained” by any of us. It is given to us by God, or it is not:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9, emphasis added)

Salvation refers to being “saved” from eternal spiritual death. Most man-made religions – including many self-proclaimed “Christian” denominations – deny the truth of this Bible verse by contriving a long “to-do list” of good works as being prerequisite to obtaining God’s favor . . . as a requirement to receive salvation. The word “grace” above refers to God’s “unmerited” favor; that is to say that there is no amount of good works we can perform to obtain God’s favor, by definition:

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Ro 5:8)

According to God’s Word, spiritual birth is not earned: it is a gift from God. And what is the gift we read of in the passage from Ephesians above? The gift is “faith:” it says we are “saved through faith.” And what is faith, according to God’s Word?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

There’s that word again – “hope!”  Simply stated, faith is belief in something we cannot necessarily verify with our worldly faculties – things that cannot be seen or heard with eyes or ears made of flesh. The capacity to believe in God – to believe His Word – is a gift from God in and of itself. The absence of faith is the surest sign that spiritual birth has not yet taken place in the soul of a man or woman:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1Co 2:14, emphasis added)

If you have not been spiritually born – i.e. you remain as you were when physically born, a spiritual corpse, a “natural man” – then you possess no spiritual faculties to “discern” the “things of the Spirit of God,” according to this scripture. The physical equivalent would be like being born with no eyes, no ears, no sense of smell or touch . . . no senses whatsoever. You would be quite literally unable to perceive the world around you.   The Bible tells us that the spiritually unregenerate man will regard the Bible as “foolishness –” unless and until that man is given a spiritual life, and therefore, spiritual “senses.”

How many people do you know who regard the Bible as “foolishness?”

VIV.  The Mind of Christ

Continuing forward in 1Cor 2, we see God contrast this type of “natural man” against the “spiritual” man:

“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Co 2:15-16, emphasis added.)

What this verse essentially tells us is that . . . if we are saved, then we have the mind of God . . . the mind of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at what God’s Word has to say about Jesus’ mind a little more closely:

“Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.   I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” (Joh 8:25-29, emphasis added)

First, we see that Jesus’ mind is full of the things that God the Father has taught Him, and that He seeks to “always do those things that please him.” Jesus – made of flesh and blood just as we are – is claiming to be able to do something none of us can: to always please God the Father. This is how we know that Jesus lived the life of a man – but without the sin propagated to all other men through Adam. Looking further:

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” (Joh 14:10-11, emphasis added)

Here we see an actual joining of minds between God the Father and God the Son, in that the Father actually “dwelleth” within the mind of Jesus, and speaks through Him. And finally, when praying to God the Father for His followers, Jesus implores:

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Joh 17: 21-26, emphasis added)

This is what it means to “have the mind of Christ:” the Father and Son joined in mind, and man’s mind joined in both – where this joining would result in our being loved by God the Father in much the same way Jesus was.

Here we also come to a brief discussion of the third person of God: the Holy Spirit. We’ve been discussing God the Father, God the Son – who is also referred to as ‘The Word of God’ – as being the same person . . . the same God . But God’s Word promised that this third part of himself would one day dwell inside His redeemed children, and thereby transform their minds:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Eze 36:26-27, emphasis added)

Bible scholars place these writings from the Book of Ezekiel nearly 600 years before the time of Christ.   The excerpt above tells us that God’s indwelling Spirit will “cause” us to change our minds about obeying Him . . . to literally change the desires of our heart.

Jesus himself told us the Spirit would open our eyes to the truth – all truth:

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (Joh 16:13-15, emphasis added)

Jesus words above again speak of the union of mind we have with God the Father and God the Son if we are one of His. Do you recall our earliest discussions . . . how knowing the truth is prerequisite to securing real, lasting hope for our lives? The passage above tells us that God’s indwelling Spirit guides  us to all truth . . . and to real hope.

These are deep and powerful Bible verses! They tell us that just as Jesus sought to “do always those things that please” His Father, so will we – by having the mind of Christ. This is a truly extraordinary part of God’s grand purpose: it resolves, once and for all, the “Power Paradox,” and finally, finally brings us to the point where we can serve as acceptable companions for God . . . exactly as He had originally purposed for us. This is a far more exalted state than Adam and Eve could have ever hoped to enjoy with God in the Garden: while Adam and Eve were ‘in the image’ of God, they did not have “the mind of Christ” – or they never would have sinned. The soul of a redeemed man, however, has this mind – a mind which is utterly incapable of attempting to exercise its limited power against God.

Does this mean that the redeemed man never sins once being saved . . . once being given the gift of the Holy Spirit . . . the gift of having the mind of Christ? In a word, “No:” in the flesh, we still have the sin nature of Adam, and the curse of physical death that comes with it. Christians physically die like everyone else. But when we are saved, when the Spirit of God takes up residence in our bodies . . . an internal war begins between body and soul. The apostle Paul laments this internal war in the passage below:

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.   O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Ro 7:18-25, emphasis added)

In the passage from Ezekiel, we saw that having ‘the mind of Christ’ changes our desires . . . gives us the desire to obey God’s law. And Paul confirms this desire within his spirit (or, “inward man”) in the passage above. But he also feels another law fighting this desire from within his sinful, physical body: ‘the law of sin.” Why then, can Paul “thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” in spite of this lifelong internal war?

Because God won this war – on the cross – for us!

While our fleshly, sinful nature may still provoke us to sin against God in spite of being saved, God’s just penalty for all of His children’s sins – past, present and future – was paid for when Jesus laid down His life for them.

The story of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the story of a miracle! It is a story which began in eternity past and is one which never ends . . . . ever. It is a story of God’s love, justice, forgiveness, omnipotence, acceptance, omniscience and sacrifice – among many other things.   It is a story of life that never ends . . . a story of hope . . . and a story for you – if you believe in it.

The question at hand is . . . do you?

Let’s talk about that here.

The key points to take from this page:

God’s determinate purpose in creating man was companionship for himself. For this reason, He made him in His “image” and “likeness.” However, the “resemblance” both Satan and Man had with God led them to want to exercise their limited power in the same way God exercises His infinite power: without accountability or restraint imposed by anyone. While Satan had hoped to create his own kingdom on this earth, replete with human subjects, God’s omniscience doomed his plan from “before the foundation of the world.” By becoming a man and paying the just death penalty for sin, God the Son justified “many,” preserved His original purpose in creating man and judged Satan for his rebellion. Redeemed man is given God’s Holy Spirit, and “the mind of Christ.” While his flesh remains sinful – and may provoke him to sin – his soul remains justified in the eyes of God. This is what makes eternal life and eternal companionship with God possible – and it is nothing less than a miracle.  All of these points are rigorously supported in God’s Word.

We’ve covered a lot of ground on this page!  If you need to, take a break, then re-read it — paying particularly close attention to the scriptural quotations provided.