Lesson for January 10, 2024
God’s Plan for the Human Race
God’s plan for mankind is revealed only through God’s Word, the Bible. God no longer speaks to man through voices, dreams, or visions as He did in Old Testament times. The Scriptures are our only source of information about God’s plan. The Bible is our “map” that guides us through life and reveals the method by which we can please God. Since God created us, it makes good sense to want to know His plan and purpose for our lives.
The Bible reveals the fact that God exists and that He has a plan for mankind. If a person says they do not believe that God exists, he must reach this conclusion based on one or more of three systems of perception:
- Rationalism – Reaching a conclusion based on what is considered reasonable.
- Empiricism – Reaching a conclusion based on what you see, touch, taste, hear, or smell.
- Faith – Reaching a conclusion based on confidence in the authority or truthfulness of someone.
Everyone uses all three of these methods for understanding the world around them. Since not everyone considers the existence of God reasonable and since we cannot see or touch God, we must rely upon faith as our system of perception regarding God. If we say that we believe that God exists, it is logical to have something upon which to base our conclusion. Faith is the system of perception that we use to reach this conclusion, which is based on the authority and truthfulness of God and His revealed Word, the Bible. (Hebrews 4:12; II Timothy 2:15)
God has made Himself known in a number of ways: in the conscience of man, in creation, and in the Bible. When we place our faith in the fact that God exists, we are relying upon both historical facts and Biblical facts in order to reach this conclusion. If God exists (and He does), then it stands to reason that He not only created mankind, but that He also wants to have a relationship with His creation. In order for God to have a relationship with mankind, He must reveal Himself in a manner in which man can understand. God has done this through His Son Jesus Christ and through the Word of God. (Romans 1:18-20)
God Makes Sense
Since God is totally organized in His thinking and actions, He makes perfect organized sense in all that He does. In presenting His plan to mankind, God’s plan makes organized sense and can be understood by every person, if they desire to know it. God is loving and kind and desires for everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth that He has revealed regarding Jesus Christ.
God Has a Plan
God not only created us, but He also predesigned a plan specifically for each one of us. This plan is a perfect plan because it was designed by a perfect Person. God’s plan for you is revealed in a logical and sensible way, and He provides the means for His plan to be carried out in your life. (II Peter 3:18)
You Are the Object of God’s Plan
God has a personalized plan for everyone. God was actually thinking of us in eternity past when He designed our plan. This is one of the reasons we are here on earth: to learn and fulfill God’s plan for our life. Failure to discover His plan and follow it will lead to a life of misery and guilt. On the other hand, if you discover God’s plan and follow it, you will experience an amazing life of peace and happiness beyond compare. (Romans 12:1-3)
We Owe God a Hearing
If there is a God, if He has revealed Himself, if He makes sense, if He has a perfect plan, and if He has a personal plan for us, then we at least owe God a hearing. After we have examined the facts as revealed in God’s Word about Who He is, then we can come to our own conclusion about His existence and His plan. Unlike religion, God’s plan is based on God’s grace (undeserved mercy and unmerited favor), not human works. The word religion itself comes from two Latin words, “re,” meaning back and “ligio,” meaning to bind. Religion is man’s attempt to bind himself back to God by his own efforts. Since this is an impossible task, religion actually makes a person antagonistic toward God and His plan.
Christianity teaches that it is Jesus Christ Who binds us back to God by means of our faith alone in Him alone. It is therefore God’s plan to provide for mankind something that he cannot provide for himself. God provides His plan in three stages. (II Corinthians 5:17-21)
Stage One: Salvation
It is God’s will for every person to enter into His plan by faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior. The issue is not your sinfulness or your past failures, because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sin on the Cross. Therefore, the issue is whether a person will accept the gift of eternal life by faith. Faith, belief, and trust are synonymous terms, which means that you are relying on Christ for your salvation and not on yourself or your good deeds. According to the Bible, faith is the only requirement for eternal life. (II Peter 3:9; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Contrary to popular belief, your personal sins do not condemn you. When a baby is born, he is born with Adam’s original sin and a sin nature, which condemn him to spiritual death (separation from God). A person does not become a sinner because he sins; a person sins because he is a sinner. All categories of sin were dealt with at the Cross, when Jesus was judged by God for the sins of the entire human race (past, present and future). (Romans 5:12, 6:6, 7:5, 18)
After salvation, the sin nature continues to reside in the body and seeks to control a believer’s thoughts and actions. Everyone has an area of weakness and an area of strength with regard to sin. The area of human weakness produces mental attitude sins (jealousy, hatred, etc.), sins of the tongue (gossip, maligning, etc.), and overt sins (murder, stealing, etc.). The area of human strength produces human good (good deeds, acts of kindness, etc.). When human good is substituted for divine production, it fails to meet God’s standard for believers. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5)
Stage Two: Believers on Earth
At salvation, God creates a human spirit within you so that you can understand spiritual truth. The result is that a battle begins in your soul. The battle is to determine who will control your thinking. God, of course, wants to be the One Who is in control, but a believer makes the ultimate choice. (I Corinthians 2:14)
God in His grace gives each of us the Holy Spirit to indwell us which provides the power to “say no” to the sin nature and “say yes” to God the Holy Spirit.
(Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 5:18)
When a believer does fail and commits a personal sin, they lose their fellowship with God and the filling of God the Holy Spirit. However, by admitting our sin to God, we are forgiven and restored to fellowship with Him. We are also, once again, filled with the Holy Spirit. This is God’s system for recovery when we fail, but He has also provided a system that helps us resist the temptation to sin.
God’s system for overcoming personal sin is consistently learning, believing, and applying the teachings of God’s Word. Spiritual growth is the key to understanding God’s plan for us. As we grow spiritually, we learn about God’s character: His love for us, His grace toward us, His truth, His power, His wisdom, and His justice. which increases our capacity for life. (II Peter 3:18; I John 1:5-10)
Stage Three: Believers in Eternity
Every believer is guaranteed eternal life. This means that you will live forever with God in a state of perfect happiness and contentment without the imperfections and influence of the sin nature, which will be gone. As a believer, you will receive a resurrection body like that of Christ’s. (Philippians 3:20-21; I Corinthians 15:35-45; II Corinthians 5:8; I Peter 1:4-5; Revelation 21:4)
Christ is preparing a place for each of us. The Bible describes Heaven as a place with streets of gold, walls of precious stones, and gates of pearl. Believers will also be given great rewards by Jesus Christ, called “crowns,” based on their fulfillment of God’s plan for their life. (John 14:1-6; I Corinthians 3:11-15)