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God’s Purpose Revealed Through History

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren

beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the

beginning for salvation through sanctification

by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”

2Thessalonians 2:13

Of all the important promises which the elect of God[1] anticipate, and of which they are to partake,[2] the most important is the truth that He has chosen a people as an inheritance unto Himself. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”[3]

Life has never been contingent upon the fairness of God. In the unfairness of this life, noted by many, God grants more to some and to others less. Whether it is good looks, health, intelligence, children, wealth, land, comfort, peace, testing, trials, and abundance or lack, whatever it may be, they all come from His hand. “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”[4]

Believers throughout the ages have looked to the God of the scriptures as the Granter and the Sustainer of all that can be seen. For the man or woman of faith, all which one may possess comes from the hand of God. This would of necessity include the next breath of air.

In all of this, the man of faith understands that whether God grants or holds back, including whether He chooses[5] one over another,[6] it is done with purpose[7] and it is for the good.[8] A man cannot see the beginning and the end as does the God, whose counsel stands forever and whose purpose cannot be confounded.[9]

 

The story of redemptive history began with man revealed as a creature of the earth. Man and his connection with the earth are the result of God’s clear determination. When God created man from the dust of the earth, both the man and the earth became bound together to serve the purpose of the God who is absolutely sovereign over His creation.[10]

From the beginning it was through the decree of God that man should subdue and take dominion of the earth. In short, this is God’s mandate for man. One does not have to search the scriptures long to confirm that the promises of God for both the earth and man are inextricably linked together.

This purpose of God has not changed since God gave the charge to the first Adam.²⁶ “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"[11]

Redemptive history began in earnest with Adam’s disobedience and the curse of God placed upon the earth.[12] Because of the curse, the first Adam, along with all those who followed him, would fail to fulfill God’s mandate to subdue the earth and take dominion over all the living creatures.[13]

Today it appears that society at large places little stock in God’s mandate, which places the onus upon man, in light of what mankind has done to the earth. Certainly man has done much in the way of destroying the earth,[14] but does this change or negate the mandate that man is to subdue and take dominion of the earth?[15]

More importantly, when God cursed the earth,[16] did the mandate for man change? "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion.”[17]

Which gives rise to a provocative question in relation to God’s mandate: Did God change His mind because of Adam’s disobedience?

And a final, important question: Is there now a different goal for mankind, and has the earth become irrelevant in light of God’s decree for man to subdue and take dominion over it? In other words, if God’s mandate has become meaningless, has man’s hope for the earth changed? The question is asked in context of Church dogma, which dictates that man's hope is a heavenly destination.[18]

 

 These questions are asked in light of a Christianity that has been infiltrated by the philosophy of humanism, and has taken the earth’s side in the battle between earth and what man has done to the earth, especially in the last century or so. Indeed, no one can refute the argument that the greed of man and his thoughtlessness has done much to destroy the earth.[19] But does losing such an argument negate the mandate of God? If so, why did the prophets speak time and again of the restitution, the promise of the renewed earth[20] with the establishment of God's kingdom on the earth?[21]

The teaching of Jesus, as he taught his disciples to pray, reveals the goal for redemptive history, and is clarified in his prayer to God, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."[22] If we are to learn anything from redemptive history, it is that God's plan for the earth and for man are inextricably linked to the God whose will will be done.

Redemptive history will come to a close when the earth and man come together in the restitution of all things.[23] The very concept of restitution implies that God's plan for the earth is still in the future. Throughout the scriptures, God made promises to His people, among them that they would possess a land in peace and prosperity, and that land would be theirs for the rest of time.[24] Jesus reminded us of the promise of God when he preached to the people, “the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”[25] Jesus’ promise is still the promise that stands today.

 

In the Gospel accounts, first Jesus, and then the apostles, are seen preaching from the Old Testament Scriptures regarding the promises God made to the fathers. In fulfillment of that which Moses spoke fourteen centuries earlier, Jesus came as “that prophet,”[26] and he came “to confirm the promises made to the fathers.”[27] The Apostle Paul reminded us of this truth when writing to the Roman believers, “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.”[28] Paul also wrote to the Corinthians, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him (Jesus). That is why it is through him we utter our Amen to God for His glory.”[29]

All the promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus, as the Christ of God, the Chosen One.[30] With the indisputable faith that would lead them to their eventual martyrdoms, the apostles believed that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s servant.[31] They believed unreservedly that Jesus was the anointed one of God[32] who became the recipient of all things.[33] They saw Jesus as the rightful heir, because the inheritance was promised to him, as he was the son of man, the son of David, the Son of God.[34]

Among the things which God the Father has given to Jesus are David’s throne,[35] a people,[36] a new name,[37] a kingdom,[38] authority,[39] judgment,[40] and the very works he accomplished when he walked among us.[41] And of the greatest importance to us, and perhaps the most crucial of all, Jesus received the sure mercies of David.[42] In truth, if it were not for God the Father raising Jesus from the grave (the sure mercies), would he not (still) be dead?[43] Even the

life-giving spirit Jesus became[44] was a gift from the Father.

Few can be found who are willing to talk about Jesus in this way and consider the truth that Jesus by inheritance has been given all things, since He now sits at the right hand of the Father who said to him, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage.”[45] Jesus truly is the heir of the world, since all the promises of God find their Yes (amen)[46] in him.

In the beginning, God’s ultimate intention was to place man above His creation as the showpiece, to display His glory before the heavenly host. Jesus, the last Adam [47] is the center of God’s showpiece in His plan for redemptive history.

Redemptive history is the story of God’s plan to establish the kingdom of God on earth, where God would dwell among His redeemed people. The kingdom of God is the reality which is destined to come to fruition on earth. As Jesus taught his disciples, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’”[48] This is exactly the way the scriptures close in the Revelation God gave to Jesus. "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.”[49]

Nearly five hundred years before Jesus appeared on the banks of the Jordan River, Daniel the prophet "saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”[50] What Daniel envisioned was the kingdom of God on earth, the kingdom God as given to the Son of Man. It is the revelation of that place where God and man dwell together.[51]

Perhaps the most overlooked of the kingdom parables[52] is, “the certain man who planted a vineyard.”[53] The message is clear: God is the certain man of the parable, who planted His vineyard to be tended so it might produce fruit. In expectation of the harvest, servants were sent to receive it, but were turned away, beaten, abused, and some were killed. The owner of the vineyard (God) then sent His beloved Son, whom the tenants would surely revere. “But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’”[54]

In the parable, the man’s son is Jesus, which means he was the heir of the vineyard. At the end of the parable, Jesus pointed to the scriptures,[55] making it clear to his listeners that he was the cornerstone of the kingdom of God, the place where God has planted His vineyard.

The parable revealed the connection between the Vineyard (the kingdom of God) and the Cornerstone. “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?' Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.’”[56]

God’s kingdom rule upon the earth is the expectation and the hope of the true people of God. Those listening to Jesus tell His parable would have possessed knowledge of the prophets and the promises God made to His people to establish the kingdom of God. Many would have been looking in expectation of God's kingdom rule, and because of their expectation were drawn to the message Jesus preached and taught to the people.

For those who rejected Jesus, as reflected in the parable of the vineyard, it must surely have disturbed them to hear it spoken aloud that the kingdom they sought was to be taken from them and given to a people producing its fruits. That Jesus persisted in these kinds of stories and preaching infuriated the religious elite, who went about making their plans to find a way to kill him.[57]

 

 

In conclusion, God’s purpose was clearly expressed in His decrees. The decrees delineate the basis of God’s kingdom on the earth. The concept of God’s kingdom began with the decree, "Let there be." In the creation that followed, we see God's desire to give dominion to the earth with man.[58] The man God had in mind was identified by His decree stating that God’s only begotten Son was to be the legal and rightful heir of the earth.

As redemptive history progressed, the heir of the kingdom was revealed to come through the promised seed to Abraham, and was passed along through the seed of David. In the fullness of time,[59] the promised seed was manifested as Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of man.[60]

Jesus is the man of God's desire, he is the second Adam, whom Yahweh claimed as His Son and He would become his Father.[61] Jesus is the man whom we behold as the rightful inheritor of the world today and in the ages to come. Through Jesus’ obedience to the Father[62] and his willingness to lay down his life as the Lamb of God, he was named heir of all God has included in His kingdom, [63] where God and His people will dwell together as one.

 

"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."[64]

 

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[1] Colossians 3:12 Mark 13:22 Romans 8:33

[2] 2Peter 1:4

[3] Psalms 28:9, 33:12 Exodus 19:5 Deuteronomy 7:6

[4] Matthew 5:45

[5] Ezekiel 20:5 1Chronicles 28:6 2Chronicles 6:6 Isaiah 41:8, 43:10 Matthew 12:18

[6] Romans 9:21-26

[7] Isaiah 48:17 Psalm 32:8, *33:4-5

[8] Romans 8:28

[9] Isaiah 44:6-8, 46:10 *55:10-11 Psalm 33:11

[10] Isaiah 44:24, 45:5-6, 18 Jeremiah 32:17 Malachi 3:6

[11] Genesis 1:28

[12] Genesis 3:17-19, 5:29 Romans 8:20-22

[13] Man has taken much under his dominion, but as the Hebrew relates …not everything! Hebrews 2:6-8

[14] Revelation 11:18

[15] The question is asked in light of Christian theology that appears to place very little importance on God's mandate for man to subdue the earth.

[16] Genesis 3:17 Job 5:7

[17] Genesis 2:28-30

[18] What became of Jesus’ statement, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth"?

[19] Revelation 11:18

[20] Isaiah 65:17, 66:22 Revelation 22:1

[21] Numbers 14:21 Psalm 72:19 Habakkuk 2:14 *Isaiah chapters 60-65 speak of God's Kingdom.

[22] Matthew 6:10

[23] Acts 3:21 Romans 8:21

[24] Exodus 32:13 Psalm 37:29 Isaiah 60:21 Ezekiel 37:25

[25] Psalm 37:11 See also Matthew 5:5

[26] Deuteronomy 18:15-18

[27] The promise to the fathers. Romans 4:13-16

[28] Romans 15:8

[29] 2Corinthians 1:20

[30] Isaiah 42:1

[31] Isaiah 42:1 Philippians 2:7

[32] Isaiah 61:1 Luke 4:18

[33] John 3:35 Matthew 28:18

[34] Psalm 2:7 Daniel 7:14 John 3:35 1Corinthians 15:27 *Galatians 3:16-18, 29

[35] Luke 1:32 2Samuel 7:12, 13, 16

[36] John 6:37-39 10:27-29 17:2

[37] Revelation 3:12

[38] Daniel 7:13, 14 Psalm 110 Revelations 11:15

[39] Matthew 28:18, 11:27 Daniel 7:13 ,14

[40] John 5:22, 27 Acts 17:31

[41] John 5:36 3:2

[42] Psalm 89:26-35 Paul points us back to the Psalm in Acts 13:33-34 See also, Isaiah 55:3,

[43] Revelation 1:18, 2:8 Romans 6:9 Acts 13:34

[44] 1Corinthians 15:45 Jesus became immortal upon his resurrection from the dead by God the Father. The grand assumption (based upon the Trinitarian creeds of the Church) is that Jesus was always immortal. If so, how is it that he died and lay dead in the tomb for three days? Logic dictates that which is immortal cannot die. This goes against all understanding of who and what God is. God cannot die, He alone is life immortal, a life-giving Spirit dwelling in unapproachable light, 1Timothy 6:13-16. The only way for a man to truly approach God and stand in His presence is to become immortal, a life-giving spirit. Jesus is the firstfruits of the life-giving spirit that will be shared with all those who are found in him and made a partaker of the divine nature, 1Peter 1:4. The promise and hope upon the resurrection is that we will become "like him." 1John 3:2 Philippians 3:21 1Corinthains 15:53-54

[45] Psalm 2:8

[46] 2Corinthians 1:20 The amen...the fulfillment found in Jesus.

[47] 1Corinthians 15:45

[48] Matthew 6:10

[49] Revelation 21:3 *See Leviticus 26:11-12

[50] Daniel 7:13-14

[51] Revelation 21:3

[52] The Parables Jesus taught the people were all in the context of the Kingdom of God. Mark 4:33, 34

[53] Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-9, Luke 20:9-18

[54] Luke 20:14

[55] Psalm 118:22 Isaiah 28:16 Matthew 21:42 Ephesians 2:20

[56] Matthew 21:42-44 ESV

[57] John 7:19, 8:37, 40 Luke 4:28-29

[58] Genesis 1:27-30 Psalm 8:3-9 Hebrews 2:6-8 Psalm 144:3

[59] Galatians 4:4

[60] Daniel 7:13-14 Matthew 26:64 Revelation 14:14

[61] 2Samuel 7:14 Psalm 89:26 1Chronicles 17:13 Hebrews 1:5 Psalm 2:7

[62] Hebrews 5:8 As a son, he (Jesus) "…learned from the obedience which he suffered." In his suffering, Jesus complied willingly with the will of the Father (Psalm 40:7-8), which led him to be the sacrifice for the sins of His people; the cup the Father gave him to drink. Luke 22:42 See also Isaiah 52:13 through chapter 53, the suffering servant passage.

[63] The Kingdom of God on earth. Matthew 5:3, 5, 10 Psalm 110, 72:8 89:27 Hebrews 2:8-9 Revelation 21:3 John 14:23 2Corinthians 6:16

[64] John 17:9-11 ESV (English Standard version)