Lesson for July 2, 2023
The Doctrine of A Personal Sense of Destiny
Lesson 1
Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him Who is able to do for more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Do you have a personal sense of destiny? Is this knowledge influencing your life in a positive way for Jesus Christ, or are you going through life without purpose or direction? Is your life more abundant than all that you can ask or think? Using this sixth Problem-Solving Device can change a believer’s perspective toward life. God’s plan for our lives, as believers in Christ, is perfect. However, we are imperfect, and we don’t always live our Christian lives in light of eternity. The “here and now” (the details of life) often gets in our way and causes us to forget what God has planned for us. As Paul stated above, our future is bright!
A decree from God in eternity past guarantees great blessing for all believers in the future. There are also even greater blessings for those who choose to live their lives according to God’s perfect plan. Fulfilling God’s plan as a member of the Royal Family of God (the Church) brings glory to Jesus Christ.
God cannot do anything contrary to His essence. Therefore, God cannot deny Himself. Because God cannot deny Himself, He cannot deny the fantastic eternal blessings He decreed for believers in eternity past. These blessings await those who use their volition to glorify God by the consistent study and application of His Word.
In the function of His divine power, God is able to do anything which is compatible with His perfect divine essence. God does not choose to do everything by His omnipotence but has shared His power with Church Age believers through the Holy Spirit. Although God decreed certain things to come to pass unconditionally, most events of human history are conditional, based on mankind’s response to God. The laws of divine establishment, eternal salvation, and the execution of the Protocol Plan of God are a few examples of mankind’s conditional freewill to choose for or against God. God blesses positive volition, and He judges negative volition. God’s eternal purpose for human history cannot be negated by the negative volition of mankind.
The plan of God for Church Age believers is a perfect demonstration of mankind’s freedom to choose, as decreed by God. His plan begins with the salvation work of Jesus Christ on the Cross and the response to that plan. After salvation, believers who develop their spiritual lives through persistent spiritual growth demonstrate the effect of living one’s life in light of eternity. One of the principles of having a personal sense of destiny is that believers learn to take the responsibility for their own decisions (good or bad). However, there are always consequences for disobedience and bad decisions.
A common question is “Why am I here?” For the answer we go back to a time in eternity past in Heaven. This was a time when no sin or evil existed. However, Lucifer (Satan), the highest-ranking angel in Heaven and the most beautiful creature to ever come from the hand of God, became arrogant. Full of pride and arrogance, he rebelled against God and persuaded one third of the angels to join him in this rebellion. As a result, the name Lucifer, which means son of the morning, was changed to Satan, which means adversary or accuser. Satan and his followers were cast out of Heaven and sentenced to the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Satan apparently appealed his sentence saying something like, “How can a loving God send His creatures to the Lake of Fire?” Man was created in order to resolve this appeal from Satan. (; Matthew 25:41; Mark 5; 8:38; I Timothy 5:2; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:15; Revelation 12:4, 20:10)
Mankind was created lower in order than angels, yet they were created in the image (the essence of the soul) and likeness (with a unique personality) of God. (Genesis 1:27) There was, however, one characteristic that was common to both man and angels – volition – the free will to choose for or against God. Satan and his followers (now designated as fallen angels or demons) had rejected God. Humanity was created to demonstrate to Satan that God’s sentence was fair. Even though God loved the angels, He could not violate His justice and righteousness by changing His character to accommodate them. When some of them rejected God, they were fairly sentenced to the Lake of Fire. As we know, Adam “our original parent” deliberately sinned against God, resulting in spiritual death being imputed to the entire human race. However, by accepting God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, both Adam and Eve received eternal life, which demonstrated to Satan how God can save His creatures and still be consistent with His justice and righteousness. (Genesis 2:17) If just one person accepted God’s plan of salvation, it is enough to prove that God is fair and just.
Now we can understand why Satan and his demons are doing everything in their power to keep people from trusting Christ as Savior and attempting to distract believers from their spiritual lives. Since believers are here as part of the resolution of the conflict between God and Satan, it is important for us to be credible witnesses for God. One way in which we can be a witness for God is to demonstrate God’s grace in our lives through a Personal Sense of Destiny. This means that we must learn exactly who we are as a result of being in union with Christ and what we have as a result.
Having a personal sense of destiny takes you from spiritual babyhood to the beginning stages of spiritual adulthood. You begin to grow up in Christ and realize all the wonderful things that God has done for you, is doing for you, and is going to do for you. This causes you to put aside anything in your life that is a distraction to your spiritual growth and health. And it causes you to keep looking to Jesus as your only real hope (confidence) for lasting peace and happiness. A personal sense of destiny will cause you to live your life in light of eternity. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
In order to have a personal sense of destiny, we must understand the plan God. We call it the Protocol Plan of God. Protocol is strict adherence to precisely correct procedure. In the case of believers, protocol is strict adherence to the instructions from God’s Word and using the correct procedure for carrying out those instructions. By learning and applying doctrine found in the Bible, believers can fulfill God’s plan for their lives. When this truth is presented from the Word of God in a systematic manner, it allows any believer to grow spiritually (regardless of I.Q.) by following God’s plan.
God, in His grace, has set up certain protocols that must be strictly adhered to if a believer is going to advance in their spiritual life. Random intake of Bible doctrine will not accomplish the goal. If a believer is to properly execute God’s plan, they must be consistent in learning and applying Bible doctrine. There is no other plan for believers in this Age.
Believers receive all the necessary tools for fulfilling of the plan of God. The objective for believers should be to reach the status of spiritual maturity. Only by residing in God’s power system under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit can believers reach this status and an advanced personal sense of destiny.
God’s policy for dealing with mankind is always His grace. This grace begins with providing salvation through Jesus Christ. Since Christ paid the penalty for the sin of the entire human race, anyone can have eternal life and be saved from eternal separation from God. All that God requires is a simple act of faith in Jesus Christ (apart from any human merit). This simply means that you are relying (trusting) on Jesus Christ for eternal life and not your good works or anything else. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
After salvation, God’s policy continues to be grace. Only by understanding His grace can a believer fulfill the plan of God. The Christian Way of Life was not designed to be a life of human good works performed as a means of gaining the approval of God. The Christian Way of Life is a life of thinking divine viewpoint, which results in the production of divine good. (Titus 2:12)
God’s power system is based on a strict adherence to divine truth. When believers begin to learn about God’s character and attributes, they become motivated to love Him and depend on Him in every circumstance of life. The natural result of our love for God will be impersonal love for others, based on the character of Christ that we develop in our souls.
Our authority for the protocol plan is the Word of God. It is the Word of God that establishes the standard by which all teachings, experiences, and actions are judged. Any teaching, experience, or action is wrong that does not fully agree with Scripture. Those who distort, change, or misuse God’s Word are “false apostles” and “ministers of Satan.” (Matthew 7:15; II Corinthians 11:13-15; I John 4:1-3)
God has a purpose for His protocol plan and that is to glorify Jesus Christ. Glorifying Christ is accomplished as believers exhibit the character of Jesus Christ that can be developed only by the Holy Spirit as He is allowed to fully influence the thinking of believers. Bible doctrine is how the Holy Spirit empowers us and guides us through life’s journey as we develop to the fullest a personal sense of destiny.