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"He started something good
And I'm gonna believe it
He started something good
And He's gonna complete it
So I'll celebrate the truth
His work in me ain't through
I'm just unfinished
I'm just unfinished.."
These words to one of Mandisa's songs resonated with me today as this pertains to all people who were made through Jesus Christ who died for all people. God's goal is to become all in all as revealed in 1 Corinthians 15, one of my favorite passages of scripture. God has a plan for all of us and right now, we are still unfinished as He brings His plan into fruition.
1 Cor. 15
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." (I Corinthians 15:21-28).
All were made for God and in the end, He will be all in all. He will be all things to all people. Right now, in this day and age, He is transforming the lives of believers, the elect, the saints, the body of Christ. Eventually He transforms all people, indeed, the entire creation. The judgments are a part of this process. That will be a glorious day when God becomes all in all.
Romans 8
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, [n]in ** hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. NAS
Universalism is a lie and denies Grace Salvation, for Grace Salvation tells us that Grace is discriminate upon its recipients, only a remnant of mankind partake of it and the rest shall be hardened Rom 11:5-8
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear) unto this day.
Rom 9:18
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Now universalist denies this and says, nay but God saves all humanity without exception, hence denying Grace !
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Now universalist denies this and says, nay but God saves all humanity without exception, hence denying Grace !
Two things can be true at the same time. A god could judge sin in the moment, and yet ultimately vanquish it in history. He could punish sin, but not eternally. He doesn't have to be unquenchably bloodthirsty to do actual justice.
I am noting that this is becoming something of a debate between the same two persons, and it has value in describing the two opposing views, but I do not think they are irreconcilable either, if a person can stand outside of their preconceptions and look at it honestly. Which is a BIG "if".
Of course I grew weary of debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin a long time ago, so these things no longer keep me up nights ;-)
As the Bible says, God "hates ALL who work iniquity." Now, be very careful with that statement. I have heard theologians get slippery here. If a Christian gets out of line and begins to declare that God loves the whole world enough to save it all through Christ, they will whip out that scripture and slam it on the table. Psalm 5:5 clearly and plainly states: God hates ALL who work iniquity. That leaves us in an interesting situation with Scripture. Paul said it very plainly:
Rom 3:23
ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God;
Isa 53:6
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. That means you. That means me. That means "every one." That means, according to the Bible, God hates ALL, because ALL have been "workers of iniquity."
2 Corinthians 5:14
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.
Everyone was dead in sin. However, Paul said: when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6). That is quite loving, no? If theologians interpret God's hate as being an emotional reaction, which would AS A RESULT, preclude him from loving too much, what is going on here? Would God send his Son to die for people he hates, or people he loves?
As a human, have you ever HATED anyone? I mean have you felt that hot poison in your stomach? Have you then been able to emotionally love that same person that you would kill your child for them? It's a bit hard to imagine isn't it? That's because God's ways are higher than our ways. Even his hatred is higher.
God hated this world of sinners, yet he loved those same sinners. From a human emotional perspective, it is a contradiction. Ancient Semitic people understood exactly how these love/hate statements were intended according to their language traditions: "the language of absoluteness to express a preference."
Regarding God's hate to Esau, Vincent's Word Studies has this to say:
The expression (hatred) is intentionally strong as an expression of moral antipathy. Compare Mat 6:24; Luk 14:26. No idea of malice is implied of course.
The Barnes Commentary on the Bible has this to say:
"Have I hated" - This does not mean any positive hatred; but that he had preferred Jacob, and had withheld from Esau those privileges and blessings which he had conferred on the posterity of Jacob.
This is explained in Mal 1:3, "And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness;” compare Jeremiah 49:17-18; Ezekiel 35:6
It was common among the Hebrews to use the terms “love” and “hatred” in this comparative sense, where the former implied strong positive attachment, and the latter, not positive hatred, but merely a less love, or the withholding of the expressions of affection;
Compare Gen_29:30-31; Pro_13:24: “He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes;” Mat_6:24, “No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other,” etc.; Luk_14:26, “if any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, etc.”
So "love" and "hate" are not only linguistic exaggerations, common for Hebrews of the time, but are an expression of preference which do not necessarily imply a visceral emotional reaction. So God chose/loved Jacob, and God hated/did-not-choose Esau. Merciful Truth
If God did not love workers of iniquity, Jesus never would have died for workers of iniquity.
As it is, God loves all. Jesus died for all.
The Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)
Jesus is “the Christ, the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of our God our saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:3-6, KJV)
God chooses a certain group of people, believers, the saints, the first fruits, the elect, the sons of God, to be His lights in the dark world, in this age. This group of people are being saved in this age and includes both the Jewish and Gentile believers. These people are chosen by God to be a blessing to others, to the rest of His harvest. in the end, all Israel will be saved, and all people will be saved, delivered out of sin and death, healed, made whole. All people were made for Him and He has been made heir of all. Colossians 1, Hebrews 1.
God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 04-21-2024 at 08:24 PM..
I have been listening to a very good study on the effect of Satan and sin on all of us. We all die in Adam due to Adam's disobedience which was the result of Satan's influence. All of us were born into death as a result and we become sinners as a result. Satan is described as the prince of this world and he is actively working to influence us today. Someone may say that Satan is not real and that he doesn't exist or have power. This is not what the scriptures teach.
Ephesians 6
0 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Believers struggle against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world, spiritual forces of evil that exist in the heavenly realms. In the scriptures, Satan is referred to as the prince, or god of this age or world. His influence is real but it is temporary. Things to remember concerning our struggles in this world or age.
1. The earth was cursed at God's judgment of Adam which included all of Adam's descendants, the human race.
2. We were born broken, imperfect, even prone to "miss it".
3. Internal and external influences affect us in many different ways, for example the influences include physical or genetic anomalies, natural disasters, accidents, tragedies.
4. They affect our emotions and self worth, positively or negatively.
5. They affect our health and relationships.
6.They affect all aspects of our lives including our work, interests, income.
7. They can affect our view of God and distract us from what life is really about.
We had no sayso as to whether or not we would be influenced by these forces. We could not prevent ourselves from being born into death.
God is ultimately sovereign over all forces. Negative, evil influences are temporary in the design of God.
And just as we all die in Adam, we will all be made alive in Jesus Christ in the end. All of creation will be delivered, healed, made whole in the last Adam, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created.
Romans 8
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, [n]in ** hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. NAS
Two things can be true at the same time. A god could judge sin in the moment, and yet ultimately vanquish it in history. He could punish sin, but not eternally. He doesn't have to be unquenchably bloodthirsty to do actual justice.
I am noting that this is becoming something of a debate between the same two persons, and it has value in describing the two opposing views, but I do not think they are irreconcilable either, if a person can stand outside of their preconceptions and look at it honestly. Which is a BIG "if".
Of course I grew weary of debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin a long time ago, so these things no longer keep me up nights ;-)
As the Bible says, God "hates ALL who work iniquity."
Thats a different group of sinners,
God loves some sinners while being sinners, not the same group Rom 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners[workers of iniquity], Christ died for us.
Nothing slippery about that, its cut and dry,
Besides both Jacob and Esau were sinners, duh God Loved the one and hated the other Rom 9:13
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Both men needed Mercy,
So universalism denies the Sovereign Mercy and Love of God, and Blasphemes Him as a Monster since He shows Mercy and Grace to only a remnant of mankind instead of all
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