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God's purpose of the eons [ages] is to lead all mankind and all creation into His all so that He
may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).
In the fullness of times, also called
the consummation of the eons
, all things in heaven and on
earth will be fully subjected to Christ, and He will deliver up the Kingdom to the God and
Father, so that God may be all in all. In that day, all things will be new in fulfillment of God's
purpose:
Behold, I am making all new
(Revelation 21:5)!
God has established a plan to achieve this purpose and all the details of His plan are working
toward this end, which is actually a new beginning. The purpose is the goal, and the plan is a
multi-faceted, and often complex, scheme (actions, arrangements) to accomplish this purpose.
To achieve His purpose, God has put into motion an almost unbelievable project that
transcends the mind of man. The best script writer in Hollywood or the most gifted novelist
never could have written such a plan. Who could even fully sum up His plan? After all, His plan
involves a multitude of nations and billions of lives, each with their own history with God, not
to speak of all in the heavens that we know so little about.
Headship of Christ
At the center of God's plan is His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whose mission is to head up all
things in Himself, things in the heavens and on the earth.
(8) In all wisdom and prudence (9) making known to us the secret of His will (in accord with
His delight, which He purposed in Him) (10) to have an administration of the complement of
the eras, to
head up all in the Christ
—both that in the heavens and that on the earth….
(Ephesians 1:8b-10 CV)
Other translations express the phrase
to head up all in the Christ
as
to gather together in one all
things in Christ
(KJV)
,
to sum up all things in Christ
(ASV)
,
or
to bring into one the whole in the
Christ
(YLT).
In the Greek, the expressions
head up
,
gather up
, or
sum up
are translated from the word
1
#37
Head Up All Things in the Christ
March 2012
ana
kephal
aiomai
, which is comprised of two primary words with the first meaning "up" and the
second meaning "to strike on the head." For comparison, the Greek word often used to
describe Christ as the Head of the Body is
kephale
, which has a primary meaning of "seizing"
with "the head being the most readily taken hold of." Thus,
to head up
seems to be the closest
in meaning to the Greek.
The secret revealed through Paul has to do with the Headship of Christ and not simply a
gathering together. A gathering together or a summing up of all does not tell us much about the
purpose for such a thing. However, heading up all things in Christ tells us volumes, for it reveals
that everything in the heavens and on the earth will be brought under the Headship of Christ.
The Son of God is the Head or the authority over all things, and He must reign until He has put
all His enemies under His feet, and then He will abolish all rule and authority and power.
Heading up all things means to bring all in subjection to His rule and authority and power, so
that, at the consummation of the eons, all things in the heavens and on the earth will be put in
subjection to the Kingdom of God.
(23) But each in his own order
[troop]
: Christ the firstfruits
[anointed firstfruits]
, then at his
coming those who belong to Christ. (24) Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom
to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (25) For he
must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy to be destroyed
is death. (27) For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all
things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection
under him. (28) When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be
subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
(1
Corinthians 15:23-28 ESV)
All
is a comprehensive and inclusive word. Absolutely everything in God's creation will
ultimately be brought under the Headship of Christ and be subjected to His rule. Christ will
progressively lead
all
of mankind into the Kingdom of God, each according to his own troop
(order), in what could be called a mighty harvest. Just as barley, wheat, and grapes are each
harvested in different seasons, so too will all the troops of mankind be harvested.
Of the many things taught throughout the Christian world, it seems that very few ministers of
the word stress the totality of God's purpose that
all things
will be headed up in and subjected
to Christ, things in the heavens and on the earth, so that God the Father may be all in all new.
Stuart Pouliot
Maybe. If believing that God is all powerful, all loving, wiser than His creation and perfectly willing and capable of saving all of His children makes me a heretic, sign me up."
Notes:
"As late as A.D. 400, Jerome says "most people" (plerique). and Augustine "very many" (quam plurimi), believed in Universalism, notwithstanding that the tremendous influence of Augustine, and the mighty power of the semi-pagan secular arm were arrayed against it.
The principal ancient Universalists were Christian born and reared, and were among the most scholarly and saintly of all the ancient saints.
The first advocates of endless punishment, Minucius Felix, Tertullian and Augustine, were Latins, ignorant of Greek, and less competent to interpret the meaning of Greek Scriptures than were the Greek scholars.
The first advocates of Universalism, after the Apostles, were Greeks, in whose mother-tongue the New Testament was written. They found their Universalism in the Greek Bible. Who should be correct, they or the Latins?
The Greek Fathers announced the great truth of universal restoration in an age of darkness, sin and corruption. There was nothing to suggest it to them in the world's literature or religion. It was wholly contrary to everything around them. Where else could they have found it, but where they say they did, in the Gospel?
All ecclesiastical historians and the best Biblical critics and scholars agree to the prevalence of Universalism in the earlier centuries.
The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1908) by Schaff-Herzog says in volume 12, on page 96, "In the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa, or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality; one (Carthage or Rome) taught endless punishment of the wicked.
Ref: The Tentmaker and The Beautiful Christian Heresy
Today in our society in the US, we hear a lot about everyone's rights. People want to express their rights and make sure the rights of others are protected.
Have we ever thought about God's rights on our lives though? As our Creator, does He not have the right to do what He will with His own creation?
Is this wrong??
Many will say that God gave us complete free will to do whatever we want, to make choices without His interference. This to them is the reflection of true love. But if God gave us complete free will, why are we described as being slaves to sin, yet the Son sets us free?
Why is it then that the scriptures proclaim that one day every knee will bow in adoration and that every tongue will willingly give praise to Him?
This sounds like all wills will be changed and brought into submission to and in alignment with His sovereign will.
Does God not have the right to one day open all eyes and convince, and persuade all hearts that they should return to Him?
Would it be wrong for Him to bring all into submission to His sovereign will?
He certainly has the will for all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
He certainly has all power.
Would this not be the reflection of true love?
True love does what is best for the one who is loved and bringing all into submission to His perfect sovereign will is true love.
A person who is outside of His will is lost, ignorant, and spiritually dead, out of step with His own Creator, a slave to sin.
God does not leave anyone in a state of ignorant rebellion, sin, self destruction, and death forever.
He allows this to take place for a purpose and for a season.
True Love will rescue the lost self destructive soul.
True Love gets up and goes in to save someone who is drowning, even if the person does not want to be rescued.
We say that someone who tries to commits suicide is mentally ill.
If you see someone that you love, put a gun to his or her head, you are going to do what you can to help that person.
You are not going to shrug your shoulders and say, "Oh well, you want to do this, go right ahead!" and just walk away, not if you love that person and especially if you are able to help him or her.
God's love is greater than any human love and it is more powerful and effective than any human love.
When Paul, who described himself as the chief of sinners, had a personal encounter with Jesus, he changed.
Such is the power of God. It is able to change one's mind and one's heart.
I believe that God's power is able to crack the hardest heart.
Light is greater than darkness.
He is able to cause all hearts to return to Him.
And He will do it in His own time.
Psalm 22:
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28
For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
29
All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive...
God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 03-14-2020 at 07:03 AM..
Can you tell us why the religion of Universalism is allowed on a Christianity forum?
S.T. You are most likely unaware of some of the most wonderful individuals who have held such a glorious hope. Perhaps Isaac Watts who penned over 700 hymns, or George MacDonald & Wm. Barclay are not Christians in your view. The list is quite amazing and the Hope of all hopes more so!
I don't think it's about God's rights over us. I think God is trying to teach us the revelation you receive when you realize that everyone is equal to you, and you have to solve time and space and the use of limited resources. Right of way is very important is discovering who goes next, not individual rights. Individual rights only give you the standing to stand in line. We all have to wait our turn. God volunteers to wait His turn, in order to show the truth to us. That's partly why you gotta have faith to experience more of Him. Right of way means you have to allow Him.
I don't think it's about God's rights over us. I think God is trying to teach us the revelation you receive when you realize that everyone is equal to you, and you have to solve time and space and the use of limited resources. Right of way is very important is discovering who goes next, not individual rights. Individual rights only give you the standing to stand in line. We all have to wait our turn. God volunteers to wait His turn, in order to show the truth to us. That's partly why you gotta have faith to experience more of Him. Right of way means you have to allow Him.
What I am sharing, is that God is sovereign over us. He, as our Creator, has all rights over us. Many people get upset because they say that God cannot force Himself on anyone. He can force Himself on us. He is going to subject all to Himself. This means that we are not on the same level as our Creator. And He as the Creator, has every right to subject all to Himself. He has every right over our lives and He has never yielded up His rights as our Creator. All have been created for Him.
I don't believe that God is trying to do anything, I Am I a Prophet. Trying suggests the possibility of failure. God never fails. He has all power and He is able. He does not fail at anything. He may willingly allow things to happen for a season, but He also never gave up His sovereignty over us Ultimately, He is over all and all belong to Him.
Yes, He wants us to live by faith and He is teaching us to live by faith in this age for His purposes. He is creating a people of faith who are trusting in Him and living for Him today. He allows people to reject Him for a season. Yet in the end, He will reveal Himself to all and all will return to Him. All ignorance will be eliminated when the truth is revealed to all. Every knee will bow in adoration and every tongue will willingly confess Him. He is able to return all to Himself. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 03-14-2020 at 10:38 AM..
S.T. You are most likely unaware of some of the most wonderful individuals who have held such a glorious hope. Perhaps Isaac Watts who penned over 700 hymns, or George MacDonald & Wm. Barclay are not Christians in your view. The list is quite amazing and the Hope of all hopes more so!
If you believe that universalism is new age, then you hold to a mistaken belief without understanding the Scriptures.
It appears you that you are uninformed about your own ideology. The Course in Miracles, THE primary literature of New Age, is showcased in you religious institutions
S.T. You are most likely unaware of some of the most wonderful individuals who have held such a glorious hope. Perhaps Isaac Watts who penned over 700 hymns, or George MacDonald & Wm. Barclay are not Christians in your view. The list is quite amazing and the Hope of all hopes more so!
No more let sin & sorrow grow or thorns infest the ground, He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found
We have many here that continually lie and personally attack anyone who is steadfast in God’s word. And this collection of people fall into your camp’s philosophy. No, your fellow followers are very poor representatives.
Christian Universalism is NOT a New Age idea Many Christians have held to this belief since the days of the early church. Many if not most of the first believers believed in the eventual restoration of all people to God. Believers who believe hold to Christian or Biblical Universalism or Christian Universal Salvation are also Christians. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 03-14-2020 at 10:59 AM..
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Many Christians have held to this belief since the days of the early church. Many if not most of the first believers believed in the eventual restoration of all people to God. Believers who believe hold to Christian or Biblical Universalism or Christian Universal Salvation are also Christians. God bless.