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something. Many times he has
st retched out his hands to an errant
humanity. Throughout history God
has offered his loving help. But
have people accepted his offers?
Or has God consistently been
shown the door?
Human beings, as a whole,
haven't wanted the Creator "med–
dling" with their Jives. He has been
dismissed from the supervision of
their affairs.
Jesus larnented: "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the one who kills the
prophets and stones those who are
sent to her!
How often
1
wanted to
gather your children together, as a
hen gathers her brood under her
wings,
but you were not willing"
(Luke 13:34,
Revised Authorized
Version
throughout unless other–
wise stated). Here Jerusalem sym–
bolizes the plight of all mankind.
Humans don't want God's "intru–
sive" protection-not real ly! And if
we think we do--it has to be on
our own terms. Humankind has not
been willing to accept God's terms
ánd conditions.
This universe runs on Jaw. God's
natural and spiritual laws are a fact
of life. Violations exact fearsome
penalties. But man would rather
reap the consequences than submit
to the way of God. Hence the car–
nage of the 20th century.
Has God, then, given up on
mankind ? Has he washed his hands
of our problems-left us to our
own devices? Or is he sti ll fully in
control of the fate of man?
God in Time
The truth is: God is going to bring
human existence to a successful
conclusion. Ultimately he will help
us solve every one of our problems.
He is very aware of our decision–
making capaci ty. He made us with
that capacity. We are agents of
choice. We must decide between
good and evil.
We are deemed worthy of ac–
countability. As we are chosen for
Jife, so we must ourselves learn to
choose wisely. We must experi–
ence- and witness- the folly of
unwise choices. This is character
building. This requires time.
God himself does things at the
proper time. Sorne 2,000 years ago
he took a decisive step in human
history. The apostle Paul described
8
it in bis letter to Christians living
in Galatia. "But when
the fullness
of the time
had come, God sent
forth His Son, boro of a woman,
born under the law" (Gal. 4:4).
Notice the expression-"the
fullness of the time." Various Bible
translations and paraphrased ver–
sions bring out the meaning more
clearly.
The New English Bib/e
translates this expression, "But
when the term was completed, God
sent bis own Son.... "
The
Jerusa/em Bible
has it: "When the
appointed time carne...."
Today's
English Version
describes it simply
as "the right time."
.All that had gone before was
necessary preparation . At least 300
years had elapsed since the last
scripture in Hebrew was written.
Now the time for the Messiah had
fully come.
At that particular juncture in
history Rome controlled the known
civilized world. Do you think this
was an accident? No, the Roman
Empire provided the means for the
apostles to carry the message to the
whole Mediterranean world and
beyond. Organization was one of
the Empire's strong points.
God did not send Jesus at a time
of general anarchy. Nor in the
Dark Ages when the true Church
of God was forced underground.
But Jesus carne at a time when
Rome would, unwittingly, provide
the vehicle for the gospel to go
wherever the Empire had planted
its feet.
God is not capricious. God is not
impulsive. He does things accord–
ing to plan. He has a master sched–
ule. In American football nomen–
clature, God has a game plan.
The First Step
Every plan wor thy of the narne has
a number of steps. God's plan is no
different.
It
is outlined by seven
major steps.
The apostle Paul aptly describes
the first step in God's master plan.
Again the time factor is promi–
nently mentioned. Paul wrote: "For
when we were s till without
strength,
in due time
Christ died
for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6).
Nothing about the sacrifice of
Christ was an accident. Much that
had happened in Hebrew history
led up to this singular event. It was
the first vital step in a grand plan.
No place in the Bible describes
its incredible impact better than
John 3:16. "For God so loved the
world that He gave H is only begot–
ten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish.. . ."
Why doesn't God do something?
He did do something! He sacrificed
his Son to redeem all of hu–
mankind. That one act set in mo–
tion a chain of events that would
ultimately solve man's problems.
Mystery of the Ages
The apostle Paul spent much of his
ministry thinking about God's
great master plan-one with a def–
inite timetable. Take Ephesians
1:9- l
O
as another example. This
time the apostle summarized the
whole of the plan-emphasizing
the overview
rather than any one
step in particular. He writes:
"[God] having made known to
us the mystery of His will, accord–
ing to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself, that in the
dispensation of
the fu/lness of the
times
He might gather together in
one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on
earth- in Him." These two verses
encompass the arrival of the king–
dom of God on earth.
lndeed these two key verses in
Ephesians sum up the whole plan
of God. Step-by-step details are
mostly omitted, but the grand
overview is immediately apparent.
Here's another rendering, from
The Translator's New Testament:
"He made known unto us the
secret [Greek: mystery] of his will,
that gracious purpose which he had
set himself to fulfill in Christ when
the right time should come: his
plan to gather up the whole uní–
verse, everything in heaven and
earth, to a unity in Christ."
What is this mystery Paul is .
speaking about? You need to be
reading the series now running in
The P/ain Truth
titled
Mystery of
the Ages.
Here God's plan is de–
picted in its entirety-including a
detailed description of each essen–
tial step.
Why doesn't God do something?
He has, he does, and he will!-al l
in due time. "Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, toda y, and
forever" (Heb. 13:8). o
The
PLAIN TAUTH