|
Library
Two Contrary VisionsBy John O. Reid
|
Great men, in the society that we live in, are referred to as "men of vision." It is ascribed to them as being able to look over the noise and the trouble and the difficulties, and somehow to see what was needed, what was necessary, and in many cases what the future would hold. These individuals, with their perception of what the future held in store, frugally set their minds to make their vision a reality. They disciplined themselves in whatever development was required. They gave themselves over to little else but their dream. And they applied, probably, six of the seven laws of success. Because of that, attainment of their vision was guaranteed; and it was accessible.
A good example of this would be Henry Ford. Before Henry Ford brought forth the assembly line, people made automobiles in their back yard or at sheet metal shops. But Henry Ford had the vision of an assembly line, where cars could be produced quickly and efficiently and cheaply. And, from his vision, today almost everything that is mass-produced is certainly done on an assembly line.
Whether we be great or whether we be small, we all have visions of what we'd like to accomplish. For some it might be the building of that workshop behind the garage. For others adding a room onto the house, starting your own business, getting married and having children, putting them through college, redecorating, or planning a garden in the back yard. We all have visions of what we'd like to accomplish.
Without visions of what we'd like to fulfill, or to accomplish, life would be pretty monotonous and pretty dull--because God gave us the ability to imagine, to plan, to project our thoughts into the future and the ability, in many cases, to create what we've envisioned. This shouldn't seem strange to us because we are made in the image of God; and He has visions as well. So today, I'd like to talk to you about two separate visions that should be of great concern to us at this end time.
Long before the world was created, God envisioned what He intended to do. Throughout all the ages, this plan has never changed (and never will) despite all appearances that might be of the contrary. There is one ten-verse sentence in the Bible that pretty much describes the overall vision of God and what He's done for us, [as well as] what our response should be, and what the culmination of His vision is. I'd like to have you turn over to Ephesians 1, and this ten-verse sentence that Paul put together was from verse 3 through verse 12. But we'll start in verse 1. In fact, the commentator said this was one reason why Paul was so difficult to translate [and] to understand.
Ephesians 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.Here he starts to remind the brethren of the great vision that God has—the great plan He has for all of mankind. But he points it to them, because they are part of the group that this plan was designed for.
Ephesians 1:3 — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.Now Paul starts out by thanking God for His purpose—His everlasting desire and counsel for the saving of men—because that's what God's plan was all about (the saving of man). Paul felt that what God's done warranted thanks from us and appreciation; and that what God's vision did for man was to give him a basis for hope and confidence. When we understand what God is doing, it does give us hope and confidence.
Not only that, but we who are called should focus on what God's doing (His vision, His plan) and give thanks to Him continually for all He's doing. We are told to bless God; and now Paul tells us that, because of God's plan (His vision), we who are called are blessed with spiritual blessings—true spiritual blessings. Why? Because, you see, we are all personally included in God's vision, in His plan.
And we who are called right now are especially, specially blessed. We have the blessing of peace, redemption, adoption and we have the earnest (or, down payment) of God's Spirit that He's given us. Of all the people on the face of the earth, we are indeed the most blessed. As part of the vision that God had, we as the firstfruits have had all spiritual blessings bestowed upon us. We've been given the mind of God. That's a wonderful blessing! We've been given the understanding of God's nature, what He is, and what our future holds for us. Now, verse 4.
Ephesians 1:4 — According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.Our calling, and these blessings, didn't come by accident. We were not an afterthought. We were the result of the clear intention and design of God. We, who don't think too much of ourselves, were called with the clear intention and design of God. We were chosen individually. We were selected from all the people on the face of the earth. And lest we think we are really hot stuff, remember what it says in I Corinthians 1:26 and 27. "God called the weak and the foolish to confound the wise." Yet He called us in love, for the purpose that He has in store.
Paul reminded us that we should hold our calling as exceedingly valuable, because we are a very important part of the vision (or the plan) that God has been working. He even shows us that before the foundation of the world, before the world was created...in fact, we are the reason why the plan was devised in the first place; and we are the reason that the earth was created—that the God Family might have more sons and daughters, more family.
Why were we called? "That we should be holy and without blame before him." It wasn't because of any greatness on our part. But it wasn't random selection. It was with a clear, considered, and deep thought on God's part that He selected each one of us to be saved at this time for His purpose. So lest anybody feels 'down in the dumps,' God clearly thought what He was doing when He called you. It wasn't random.
Ephesians 1:5-6 — Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved.As hard as it is to believe (because we tend, as I said, not to think much of ourselves—"Why did God call me? What did He see in me?"), this calling was made in great love. He had tremendous love for us individually when He called us. His proof of that love is that He gave His Son for us, as a sacrifice; and He is offering us eternal life. And to quote Albert Barnes, he said:
God has, in love, predestined us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will [or His purpose, or His plan, or the vision that He has for mankind].And we have the confidence that this vision (this plan) of God is sure and never will be changed. God is set in His purpose. He predestined us. He set the bounds of His plan long before we were called. He pre-determined that we would be His. That's pretty scary to think about—pretty awesome.
Now some take the approach that predestination means that they can do whatever they want. If they are predestined, they can sin over and over again and just say, "I'm sorry." And that they don't have to fight 'the good fight' the apostle Paul did. You can read about that in 1st Corinthians 9. And [they think] that no matter what they did, they'd be saved. But we know this isn't true, because John Ritenbaugh has been commenting to us that our job is to yield and to cooperate with God, in what He is doing with us. And that's exceedingly important. And that is what the understanding of the plan of God should promote in us. When we understand what God is doing and that we've been called and that we are special to God, we should have gratitude--and that gratitude should be reflected in obedience to God.
It was God's vision (or, plan) to adopt us. We were predestined to be adopted as His children; and God wants us to stop and consider that. I have four points here:
- We had no claim on Him, to become part of His family. The reason we didn't is that we didn't really know that God really existed. We had no idea what God was all about.
- Because of that understanding, and because of that [truth, or fact], we must understand that He has adopted us out of love for us and deep concern for us.
- That we are now under His protection and we are under His care, because we are part of His plan and part of His purpose.
- Because of His adopting us, it is our responsibility to respond to Him, to cooperate with Him, as loving obedient children, and depend on Him and come to Him when we have need.
And when Paul states that God this thing—"according to the good pleasure of his will"—it means that He delighted in doing it. He really wanted to do it! He didn't do it out of constraint but was well pleased to do it. In fact, He couldn't wait to do it; just as, I'm sure, Jesus Christ can't wait to get a hold of the world again. Yet He couldn't wait to start to call us and to fulfill His plan. It was His vision to bring it to pass.
And this was all done to produce praise from us to Him—for His wonderful plan and for the unmerited pardon that was extended to us. By His vision, that He put into action, we are to understand it; and we are to praise God for what He is doing in our lives. God is leading us to put away sin and to become holy. He's teaching us to be happy, instead of miserable. He's teaching us to have wonderful lives; and He's teaching us to become pure, by God the Father. This is His purpose for us. And He's saving us from death and giving us eternal life. This is all part of His plan. And God wants our praise to Him to be evidenced by obedience to His laws, which reflect His way of living (His way of life).
Ephesians 1:7 — In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.Now God's plan is to redeem us and eventually all of mankind from the consequences of sin--by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. And it is all done because of the abundance of His grace that He has toward us.
Ephesians 1:8 — Wherein he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. [Or, understanding.]Now this is something that, to me, is really amazing. We've been given the mind of God. We've been taught how to live. There've been people (kings, and prophets) throughout the ages who have longed to know what we know—and they don't. But God has given this to us. God's vision included great desire to fill us, liberally, with His wisdom that we might grow and develop godly character and become like Him—thus bringing honor to Him, for our changing and being like Him.
BARNES' NOTES says:
It was far-seeing; skillfully arranged; and carefully formed. The sense of the whole is, that there was a wise design running through the whole plan, and abounding in it in an eminent degree.So Barnes looks at this (and he certainly wasn't converted; but he had much of God's mind) and he says, "Look at this plan. It's awesome. God is giving these people He's calling now His mind and all wisdom and all knowledge."
Ephesians 1:9 — Having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself.Here is even more. God knew that for us to respond He had to make known to us what couldn't be known by us. We didn't understand God. We didn't know who God was. So God had to open our mind and He had to reveal to us—albeit through a glass darkly—what He was about. And because of that, God began to reveal what He was doing, to a people who didn't have the foggiest idea. He set His mind to reveal to us, in our calling, what had been hidden from mankind for all ages.
I couldn't help but think this morning, as I was considering this that we've been in the church for so long that we tend to take this for granted. You know, we just live this way; and it seems like it's always been this way. But, when you think back, it wasn't always this way. There was a time when you didn't know who God was. There was a time when you didn't know how to come in out of the rain. And so God called you; and, the moment He did, you started to understand things that were just too wonderful for you. So we've all been at this a long time; and we shouldn't forget how it was when we were called—and what a big difference it made in our lives.
The truth that He taught us was that we would be true, full members of the God Family; and that was just beyond us. And in His vision, why did He do this? Verse 10.
Ephesians 1:10 — That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.In His vision, in the fullness of times (in the arrangement of completing or the filling up of times) when God says, "That's enough."--When He says, "This is completed."—God's intent is to gather all things together in one. And the phrase "all things" doesn't just refer to spirit beings or to men on the face of the earth. It goes even further than that. It means all things in the universe--all things being restored to a pristine condition. I can't even imagine what that would be like.
We know that, by the time the end of the age comes, the oceans will have been turned into blood. And they'll be restored. The animal life, the plants, the rain forest—all of these things being put into pristine condition. What does it mean to the heavens? Will the world be like the Garden of Eden then? I imagine it will, because Jesus Christ is going to do this. Of course, you can read about this in I Corinthians 15:24. When He gets it all prepared, He'll turn it over to God the Father.
So what he's saying here is that God would sum up, or complete, all things in heaven and earth. Through His plan, He will make one wonderful kingdom out of the entire earth. This is, again, a part of the vision that God has for man. The intent of His plan is to subdue and to unite the earth into one Family under God and that God might be the Father—and that God the Father might bring New Jerusalem to earth and dwell with man. All of this will be done by His Son, Jesus Christ. This is part of the vision that God has. This was part of His plan before the earth was even put together.
Ephesians 1:11 — In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will.He works all things to fulfill His will, His intent. And that includes us! And we who are called by Him at this time (as firstfruits) have been favored by God's calling [and] are the first to have the inheritance that God's offering—which is to actual members, again, of the God Family. And to encourage us, Paul stresses that God works all things for us. His vision is to see that we make it. And you can read about that in Philippians 1:6, where he says, "I'll start a work in them and I'll finish it." So God is intent on finishing His will—that we might be the first that He's working with here [and] that He'll bring us to the future that He has for us.
He accomplishes all that is needed for our salvation. He's going to see to it that we get it. "According to the counsel of His will." Every object, every event, is under His control--as we've been hearing from John [Ritenbaugh], in his PROVIDENCE series. It's all under God's control. Paul is encouraging the people then, and us today as well. And it's in accordance with His eternal plan. No one has power like God. This doesn't mean that we don't have freedom of choice; but, again, our job is to cooperate with what God is doing in us and to respond to Him in love and obedience.
Now, why did He do this? Here's the last part of that ten-verse sentence.
Ephesians 1:12 — That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.I'll read this from THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE:
For it was his will that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, should cause his glory to be praised. (Ephesians 1:12)And from THE LIVING BIBLE:
God's purpose in this was that we should praise God and give glory to Him for doing these mighty things for us, who are the first to trust in God.When Jesus Christ returns, when mankind understands the purpose that God has for them and see that we've made it, they are going to praise God that we've gone through the process. That we've been faithful, that we've grown, that we've trusted God, [and] that we've obeyed is going to give them heart; and they are going to praise God.
Again, we praise God--we thank God--by yielding to Him and (I want to stress this) by withholding His standards, by displaying His character in us, and by reflecting His love with each other and with our fellow man. God expects this from us.
So, brethren, in these ten verses, we've seen God's vision put into action--with the creation, with our careful calling. We've seen where His plan will culminate--with a wonderful future for all of mankind. And we see where our response to Him should be, for all He's done and is doing in our life. We should praise Him and thank Him and cooperate with Him, as He works with each of us individually. This is the overall plan of God.
This is an overall encapsulation, in a sense, of what God intended to do. But throughout the Bible, God gives us individual visions, or plans, for our conduct. His vision for us, if obeyed, will cause us to build the godly character that we need—that we might inherit all the wonderful things that God has set for us. And, though we'd have to read the whole Bible to get it, I would like just to touch on a few of these. Turn over to Ephesians 4, if you would; and we'll read verses 1 through 4. We are special; and there are certain things that God wants us to conform to.
Ephesians 4:1-4 — [Paul starts out...] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, 2 With all lowliness [There's part of the vision that God has.], and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling.Now the word "calling," of course, has the connotation of being invited to participate in an event; but it also takes on the connotation of being summoned. This was no accident. You've been summoned by God to fulfill His vision. And you've seen the overall vision. We've been summoned by God for the specific purpose; and this purpose should be to complete the personal vision that He has for us. And this is what we should be focusing on.
This purpose is, indeed, found throughout the entire Bible. You can read it in JUDE. You can read it in Colossians 3...all the way through the Bible, the instructions that God gives us. I'd like to just sort of skim through Ephesians 4, 5 and 6 here. Quickly, verse 11, regarding the elders...
Ephesians 4:11-13 — And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For [Why?] the protecting of the saints [This is why God called the ministry.], for the work of the ministry [to learn to serve], for the edifying of the body of Christ. [Why?] 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.This was the vision that God had for the ministry.
Ephesians 4:17-18 — This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk [for us, it'd be "as the world"], in the vanity of their mind [or, imagination]. 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.We don't have blindness; and God says, "You shouldn't be walking that way."
Ephesians 4:19 — Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.God says that we shouldn't be this way.
Ephesians 4:22-26 — That you put off concerning the former conversation [conduct] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind [that you change, that you overcome]; 24 And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore [What should you do?] putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor [This is the vision God has for us.]: for we are members one of another. 26 Be you angry, and sin not.Don't hold your anger, because then it goes into revenge after sunset. And then Satan has a chance to enter into your life, because you give place to him.
He says [verse 28], "Don't steal any more. Rather labor..."--working with your own hands so that you can give to others who have need.
Ephesians 4:29-32 — Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit [by disobedience. Yield. Cooperate.] ... 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice: 32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.Of course, that doesn't mean to be a doormat. That just means that there may be order in the house. Jesus Christ is over the man; and the man is over the wife.Ephesians 5:l-4 - Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints [those called by God and who partake in His vision]; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient [fitting]: but rather the giving of thanks.
Ephesians 5:22 — Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord [Eternal].
Ephesians 5:22 — Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives...So here's the other side. Your relationship isn't "Me, Tarzan. You, Cheetah." This means you love your wife, you serve your wife, and you care for your wife.
Ephesians 5:25-28 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself.God gave us these wonderful helpmeets to help us in our families; and we should show them love, and tenderness, and consideration, and help them when we can.
Ephesians 5:29 — For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church.So, as Jesus Christ loved and served the church, we men are to love and serve our wives and to care for them.
Ephesians 5:30-32 — For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.Because the marital relationship pictures that very thing: the Bride of Christ being married and being submissive.
Ephesians 5:33 — Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as [he loves] himself [And I think all of us love ourselves. There's no question about it]; and the wife see that she reverence [respects] her husband.He goes on to say, in chapter 6...
Ephesians 6:1-4 — Children, obey your parents...2 [this is] the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. 4 And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.[With gentleness, instruction, kindness, teaching, correction when it's needed.]
In verse 5, he says:
Servants, obey your masters...as you would obey Jesus Christ. "Masters", or supervisors (who are in the church), are to take care of their people because you take care of them as if you worked with Jesus Christ.As I said, you can read any part of the Bible. It all instructs us as to what to do—about the vision that God has for us individually—that we might inherit the promises, that we might build the godly character that we need. And in this end time, brethren, we need to be extremely conscience of this; because He knows that if we apply ourselves to accomplishing what He asks of us, we will fulfill His plan for us. And we will receive the awesome reward that He has set apart for us.Ephesians 6:10-11 — Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Brethren, it is vitally important that we don't loose site of what God is doing and what He expects of us. If God has a vision that includes us (of what He wants to accomplish), so does our archenemy, Satan the devil. He has a vision concerning us that he wishes to accomplish as well. What is Satan's vision? Turn over to Isaiah 14, verses 12 through 14. Satan's vision, unfortunately, was to rebel against God. That was his vision—rebellion.
Isaiah 14:12-14 — How are you fallen from heaven, [margin, O day star] Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregations, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.He will take over. [That is Satan's vision.] If there is one thing that God hates, it is rebellion. Yet Satan rebelled and he pulled a third of the angels with him. Another way to say that would be: "How have you fallen from heaven? Howl, O Lucifer. Howl at what you've done (and what's coming upon you)."
Just as we are part of God's vision, we are part of Satan's vision as well. God's vision was for us to become part of His Family; and Satan's vision--because of the potential we have--is to totally destroy us. We are going to look at some of what Satan does. If there is one scripture that would be 'a job description,' and a warning about Satan, it would be I Peter 5:8.
I Peter 5:8 — Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.We don't ever want to let down on this. We don't ever want to not understand this. The intent here is that we are to be sober and not to take our calling lightly. We aren't to doubt that God will take care of us; but, at the same time, we are to be vigilant. In other words, we are to watch what we are doing; watch what we take into our minds; watch what we look at. In other words, we are to be circumspect and to be constantly on guard. Why? Because Satan the devil, as a roaring lion, is seeking to devour. Another way of saying that—to see whom he may swallow up.
How does Satan fulfill his vision for us? Look over in Luke 4 verses 1 through 13.This is the tempting of Jesus Christ; and we can learn something from this.
Luke 4:1-12 - And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. [I imagine that was very true.] 3 And the devil said unto him, If you be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [We have to remember here that Jesus Christ wanted to be in charge of these kingdoms, to help those who were suffering and hurting.] 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give you, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. [He said, "I have the authority to give this to you."] 7 If you therefore will worship me, all shall be yours. 8 And Jesus answered [because He could have gotten it right then, in an instant, rather than wait for God to do it] and said unto him, Get you behind me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you be the Son of God [If you're so hot...], cast yourself down from hence: 10 For it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you: And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. [Now here was a chance. He was approaching it from a vanity level.] 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.And [in verse 13] He told Satan to get lost; and Satan departed for a while. But he wasn't finished with Jesus Christ yet. Satan tempted Him in His weak areas—not that Jesus Christ had any, but where Satan thought He would be weak. While He was hungry from fasting forty days, he said, "Turn the stones into bread." In trying to tempt Him not to wait for God to give Him the kingdom, Satan said, "I'll give it to You right now. Just worship me." And then to tempt Him in the area of vanity
JOR/plh/
 |
 Printer-Friendly  E-mail this page |
|
| Articles | Bible Q&A | Bible Studies | Booklets | Sermons |
