February 8, 2012
God's Plan
I.) Believing Remnant 11:1-10
II.) Temporary Rejection 11:11-24
III.) Future Salvation 11:25-32
IV.) Let's Just Praise the Lord 11:33-36
There's a story, that's been passed down, through Church history, for probably 200 years, that supposedly, can sum up the Bible, in one word, and it also authenticates, Paul's explanation, of Israel's future, as it fits into God's plan. Apparently, Frederick the Great, who was King of Prussia, from 1740 to 1786, asked for proof, that would make him believe, that the Bible is true, in a discussion, that he had with his court chaplain. Frederick, under the influence of the atheistic French philosopher, Voltaire, had become skeptical of Christianity and of the reliability of the Bible.
Supposedly, his words to the chaplain were, "If your Bible is really true, it ought to be capable of very easy proof. So often, when I've asked for proof of the inspiration of the Bible, I've been given some tome, that I have neither the time, nor desire, to read. If your Bible is really from God, then you should be able to demonstrate the fact simply. Give me proof for the inspiration of the Bible, in one word."
How crazy is that? One word, to prove the reliability, of the Bible. I would have been terrified if I had been the chaplain, I'm not good at quick, one-word, answers like that. I don't know what I would have said-----love?, sin?, grace?, guilt?, God?, Jesus?, redemption?, salvation?, mercy? It seems like, that the best one-word description, of the Bible's reliability, would be a theological word, something that probes the depth of our intellect and touches the center of our souls, doesn't it?
The chaplain might have been prepared and equipped to offer a profound answer like that, for the kings's consideration, but instead, he gave a simple and obviously-plain answer-------
an answer that was lea,r for the whole world to see--------- he said, "Your Majesty, it is possible for me to answer your question literally; I can give you the proof you ask for in one word." The king was amazed, and so He asked, "What could this magic word be, that carries such a weight of proof?" And when the chaplain responded------Frederick of Prussia, didn't say another word, because he knew that it was the truth.
And, you will never believe what the word was-----it was "Israel."
The nation of Israel and Its history, is nothing less, than a miracle, as far as nations are concerned. The detailed documentation, that we have of It, is beyond anything, that we know about any other nation:
We know when, why and where, It was founded and we know, by whom. We have a written record of Its ancient and modern history and we have specific accounts, of the things, that the decentralized nation, has experienced, between ancient times and our modern era. Israel's homeland hasn't changed in thousands of years------its been their's, since God gave it to them. Remarkably, Its language is still intact. And Its faith-practice, is unchanged from the way God laid it out, for the nation originally, even though, only a minority of modern Jews, faithfully practice it.
These facts would be remarkable by themselves, but the miracle of Israel, is in the fact, that It has't had an easy time of existence, ever. There has been no continuity over the centuries; It has continually, been thwarted and persecuted and beaten down and beaten back and separated and ridiculed and even mass-martyred-------It hasn't survived, as a nation, because of Its fortunes or respect from other nations------It has survived in spite of them.
Israel could have vanished from the world's stage many times, in the course of Its history. The fact that It hasn't, is what caused Frederick the Great's, chaplain, to cite Israel, as his one-word, proof, of the truthfulness, of the Bible. No other nation, (extant) that existed at the time when Israel was founded, has survived what Israel has: genocide, removed from homeland for nearly 2000 years, repeated destruction and rebuilding of the capitol city, persecution--------Israel's existence can only be considered miraculous, and only God, is the author of miracles------ so, we can rest assured ,that He, alone, is behind the preservation, of a remnant of Israel, over and over and over again.------Out of hundreds of scripture references, pertaining to God and His relationship and plan for Israel, Jeremiah 31: 35-37 seems to illustrate the truth of this, best: "This is what the Lord says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar----the Lord Almighty is His name: " Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the Lord, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me." This is what the Lord says: "Only if the heavens above, can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out, will I reject all the defendants of Israel, because of all they have done,"declares the Lord."
From these promises, it sounds like, that as long as the sun and the moon and the stars continue making their appointed rounds, and until the whole universe is mapped and the center of the earth has been explored, Israel won't stop being a nation. And just like its God's hand, that is behind the miracles of the universe, it is also God's hand that is behind the existence and the longevity of Israel. Israel's continued existence, after close to 4000 years, truly is, the greatest proof-positive testimony, to the truth, of God's words and His promises, that has ever been.
In Romans 11, Paul is demonstrating to his readers, that the Gospel has been at work in Israel's past, is at work in Its present and will be at work in Its future -----even as it's presently at work, among the Gentiles. God hasn't rescinded His word-----Israel's greatest day of salvation is still ahead. The Bible isn't a fortune-telling book; its a fact-telling book---so we can trust that Israel's future is assured; it has never been written out, of God's plan.
I.) Believing Remnant: 11:1-10
The Jewish celebration of Hanukah and the Christian celebration, of Christmas, happen, at the the same time of the year-----because they have a wonderful thing in common. Hanukah is a celebration of the cleansing of the Temple, in preparation for the arrival, in Jerusalem, of their long-awaited Messiah. And, Christmas, is the celebration of the coming of that same Messiah, to a whole world, that was waiting for Him. The connection between these two celebrations and these two religions, symbolize the close relationship that the nation of Israel has with the church, of Jesus Christ.
In this chapter, we can see what the connection is supposed to be between the church and the Jews. Unfortunately, they have historically behaved, like 2 relatives, who can't get along with each other.They have disagreed and argued and out-right persecuted each other, through the centuries. Paul, a Jew among Jews, is beautifully clear, in his explanation, of how we believers, are supposed to live and treat, our Jewish friends and neighbors.
God has not washed His hands of the people of Israel, because of their rejection of Jesus----He chose them from the beginning, to be right smack-dab, in the middle, of His love and His plan for human history.
Paul uses himself as an example of the fact that God has not rejected the Jews-----not as a nation, and not for individual salvation. In its early days, the church was primarily made up of Jews, and down through the centuries, there has always been a remnant of Christian Jews, or Messianic Jews or Full-Circle Jews, whatever you want to call them-------how wonderful would that be, to be able to have the same heritage that Jesus did, and then to have Him as your Savior too. (I've always wished that I could be a Messianic Jew.) (I have a good friend who is a Christian and she married a Messianic Jewish man, about 15 years ago. A Baptist preacher and a Messianic Jewish Rabbi, married them. And I loved it. I remember that the Rabbi talked about what good Jewish boys, Paul and Jesus and the groom had been, and that the marriage of the couple, was an example, of the way heaven will be, when Jews and Christians, will finally be joined together, as one big, loving family. )
Paul's conversion was encouraging! He had been the most calculating and bloodthirsty enemy of the church. The early church fathers, thought that he was so evil, that even after Paul was saved on the Damascus Road, Barnabas, was the only person who defended and supported him and finally convinced the other leaders to trust him too. Paul, wanted his readers to understand, that if he could come to faith in the Lord Jesus, there is hope for anyone. Paul's faith journey, is proof-positive, that no one is beyond God's grace. People like him are living examples that God isn't through with the Jews. This is what makes the Gospel so beautiful to me. Again and again in his New Testament letters, Paul marveled at God's grace to him. He was continually amazed, that God would call, a blaspheming persecutor of the church, to be one of His own, remade in the image, of Jesus.
But Paul, is just one example, of many millions of Jews, who have come to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul uses Elijah, to drive his point home------ that there has always been a faithful remnant, even when it looked like the entire nation, had fallen away from God. (Which is what we think, when we look toward Palestine, at the nation of Israel, today.) There was a time in the life of the prophet Elijah, when he thought that he was the only person, left, in Israel, who had remained faithful to God. This happened, very soon, after Elijah's triumphant defeat of the priests, who worshiped the false god Baal. The priests tried to call fire from heaven to consume their sacrifices, and nothing happened, and then Elijah had the sacrifices doused with water to the point, that they were in a ditch of water, and then he called on God, to consume the thoroughly, drenched, sacrifices----- and not only, were they burned up-----but all the ground around them was too, and then he called on God to make it rain and He did------ and it hadn't rained in 3 years! There was no doubt that Elijah's God, was God! Following that triumph, wicked Queen Jezebel began to persecute the prophets of God, including Elijah-------he had to run for his life, and hide in a cave. As a result, he reached a point where he felt all alone and was convinced, that there were no other, faithful Jews in the land-------- in that lonely moment, Elijah prayed," I have been zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too." But our precious God answered him with "I reserve 7000 in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal." Elijah thought he was alone, but God told him to take his focus off of himself and count again….there were 7000 other righteous, faithful Jews. Elijah, had forgotten 2 things which we forget too, when we take our focus off of the Lord, and put it on our circumstances------his own limited knowledge and God's unlimited power. For us as believers, the situation is never as bleak as it can seem, because God is infinitely, more powerful, than we can even begin to realize. God is sovereign and by His grace, He will always accomplish His will.
And because of God's grace, there will always be a remnant of the faithful. They may be few in number sometimes, and they may be weak in strength but there will always be a remnant. We have to remember that the Bible, is not about us, its a book about God. Its about His wisdom and His knowledge and His judgements; and we have to remember, that in His sovereignty, He chose the Jews and He chose us, to be His children-----that was His plan, not because we deserve it, but because we don't. He wanted us to understand His love and our worth to Him, by showing us His grace. To be chosen by God, is a wonderful and humbling experience. (The story is told that when Thomas Edison was working on his first light bulb, he handed the finished prototype to a young helper who was supposed to carry it to another laboratory, but the assistant dropped it and it burst. The whole team had to work another 24 hours to make another light bulb. When it was finished, Edison deliberately handed it to the same young assistant. It must have meant the world to him, for the young man to be chosen for that responsibility again, after his first failure, even if it was an accident.) That is exactly what God has done with mankind--------He gave us another chance, by giving us Jesus-----all we have to do, is take the second chance, out of His hand------- and for the Jews,He is still holding the lightbulb out, waiting for them to take it out of His hand, they just haven't yet, but there will come a day, when they will.
Grace is God at work. Works is man at work. If salvation is by grace, then it can't be by works. And if salvation is by works, then it can't be by grace. You can't mix works and grace. Paul explains in this passage that the Jews, as a whole, don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah, because they don't understand grace. They are convinced that good works, is the only thing, that can make them righteous. And this line of thinking and reasoning, hardens their hearts to God and to His words. It is the saddest thing, when God allows a heart to harden itself, but it's what He decided from the beginning, would be the response, when a person refuses to believe. This is a lesson for Jews and Gentiles----when we hear the truth of the Gospel, for salvation, or, we hear God speaking to us, to obey Him in a situation-------we should act on it. If we don't, we can lose our capacity to recognize the truth, when we hear it. If we harden our hearts, Paul says that even our own table and our own food will become a snare and a trap. The table and food symbolize the blessings that God had given Israel. They should have drawn them to Him, and led them to Jesus, but instead, they became stumbling blocks. The Law was part of those blessings------Jewish people have always highly prized the Law, even though many, today, as a whole, are not really religious and aren't well versed in the words of the Old Testament. Even very Orthodox Jewish people, who spend enormous amounts of time in intensive life-long study, of the Law and its interpretation, only seem to focus on legalism, ritualism and endless debates over interpretation------they totally miss the most important part of the scripture-----which is, that their Messiah has come. Jesus told them, in John 5:39-40 "You diligently study the scripture because you think, that by them, you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." and unfortunately, 2000 years later, very little has changed.
II. Temporary Rejection 11:11-24
Even though Israel's stumbling, led them them to crucify Jesus----it wasn't enough, for God to turn His back on them permanently. Which is remarkable! God's promises to Israel stand, regardless of what they did or they do------because it's not about them, its about Him.
Paul lists 5 reasons in this passage to explain God's tolerance of their temporary rejection of Him and to show how they will someday, become the leading godly nation of the world:
1.) Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them envious. We talked a little bit about this last week….
Paul says that God wants to use, the salvation of the Gentiles, to make the Jews envious of their salvation, so that they would want it too. In the book of Acts, Paul's ministry of evangelism, was always initially to the Jews----But when the Jews in the synagogues would refuse to hear and heed the message, Paul would turn around and preach it to the Gentiles-they would listen and believe-----in city after city, the Gentiles were blessed by the Gospel, and their lives were changed forever. The Jews were envious, of the fact, that it was their Jehovah God, that the Gentiles claimed, was the reason for their transformation.
This should speak volumes to us, about how we should live our lives as believers. It tells us that we should be so enthusiastic and joyful and loving toward one another, that every Jewish person who sees us would say, "What do they have that I don't?" We need to lead lives that radiate the love of God. Jewish people should be so drawn to the Jesus, that is sticking out all over us, that they can't help, but want Him too.
One of the great tragedies of the church, since it began, is that we haven't demonstrated the love that we're supposed to, that will attract the jealousy of the Jews. If we are going to be witnesses, to the Jewish community, or to anybody for that matter, our lives should be vibrant examples of the joy, that can only come from a growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The persecution of the Jewish race has been a blot on Western civilization for 2000 years. The rock-bottom reason for anti-Semitism, for anybody who acts on it, lies in the fact that it was Jews who killed Jesus. But Paul is teaching us here, that we shouldn't look back at the cross, with an attitude of blame, for those who were responsible, we need to look back at it, with extreme gratitude, because Jesus died for our sins. We should say, "Thank God He died!", not "curse the Jews for killing him"------because without His death, we would all be lost, forever.
(R.Kent Hughes says that when he was in seminary, that he had a messianic Jewish dean, named Charles Feinberg, who was brilliant. Apparently, he was so intelligent, that he could lecture his class without missing a syllable, while he was writing a note to his secretary, at the same time.
He came to know the Lord, as his Savior, in a precious way. Just after he graduated from the University of Pittsburg, he found himself living in an Orthodox Jewish household. In that household was a "Sabbath Gentile" a Gentile woman who was hired to serve the family on the Sabbath. Dr. Feinberg wasn't aware of it, but the woman had taken the rites of purification, just so that she could work there, and be a witness for Christ, in that home. He was attracted to the quality and winsomeness and joy, of her life, so he began to ask her questions. She couldn't answer all of his questions so she took him to someone who could-----Dr. John Solomon, the resident head of the American Board of Mission to the Jews, and Dr. Feinberg was led to the Lord.)
Dr Feinberg was jealous of a cleaning woman's love for her Lord-----it was a holy jealousy. What a challenge that is to us. We should so love the the Lord. and each other, that Jews and Gentiles, both, would look at us and say, "They have something that I don't have and I want what whatever it is!"
2.) Israel must ultimately return to God, because worldwide blessing, will only come, when that happens.
The Gospel has gone out to the Gentile world, because the Jews have rejected it-------but that has become the means of our reconciliation to God, so we should be so grateful for the spiritual blessings, that we've received because of their rejection. But at the same time, our hearts should be broken in grief, for Israel, not the political entity that exists in the Middle East, but for the special nation of people, that are scattered across the world-----the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We need to grieve for the people who are so zealous for the Law, that they can't see, that their Dream has already come true.
There is a bright and glorious future that is waiting for them. If there rejection of the Gospel has brought about the salvation of the Gentiles, can you imagine what's going to happen, when they understand, that the Savior has come! When God's perfect plan is made complete, when they finally believe. When that day comes, it will be as dramatic an event, as a dead body coming back to life. The OT prophets say, that when that day comes, that the earth will blossom like a rose, and that there will be no more war, and that the restored nation of Israel will be a source of blessing, to the whole world.
We need to keep our eyes on the Jewish people and instead of judging and ridiculing them, we need to pray for God's blessing, on them---- and we should be so tender and humble and ernest and intentional and patient and non-condemning, as we try to evangelize them. And we should evangelize them, because we don't know who is going to be a part of the remnant-----so we need to try to reach as many Jewish people, for the Lord, as we can, while we can.
3.) If the firstfruits are acceptable and holy before God, then the rest of the offering will be too.
Paul's example of dough, might be confusing to us, but to an Orthodox Jew it would have made perfect sense. This is referring to the offerings and sacrifices in the temple. For the offering of the first-fruits---- a pile of dough would be made up and someone would take a handful of it and present it to God. If that first handful was acceptable before God, then the rest of the dough would be acceptable too. In this passage, Paul was using the first-fruit to symbolize Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. Abraham was accepted by God, which meant that his descendants would be too. They will never be cut off from having a relationship with Him, there will always be a remnant, who will receive His promises. Because the nation of Israel's root, is holy, the branches will be holy too. Israel's origins will make her restoration a natural thing.
4.)When a Gentile becomes a Christian, he becomes an adopted son of Abraham. But when a Jew becomes a Christian, he doesn't have to become a Gentile. The Jews are the natural branches of the tree, and the Gentiles are grafted in.
Paul used an olive tree, to symbolize Abraham. He addressed both the Jews (the natural branches of Abraham's tree) and the Gentiles (the branches that were grafted onto Abraham's tree). C.S. Lewis said that "in one sense, the converted Jew is the only normal human being in the world. Everyone else, is from one point of view, a special case, dealt with, under emergency conditions." I believe that's a true statement, because God did open the back door and let the Gentiles into His kingdom. We are adopted, even though, it was planned that way, just as perfectly, as He planned for the Jews to be the chosen ones, to receive the promise of the Messiah. So it's healthy for Gentile Christians, to remember that, and to be grateful to God, for the privilege, of being grafted, onto the tree of Abraham.
Whether it's in worship, prayer or in our relationships, with nonbelievers----- from time to time, all believers need to be reminded of, just who are the sinners and just who is the Savior. There can never be any doubt, who is the dependent one, and who is the Sustainer. We are supposed to share with the world, a gospel that it don't deserve, while at the same time, remembering, that we don't deserve it either.
5.) The olive tree represents the faith of Abraham. By being grafted into that faith, we have received blessing, from the God of the earth, through His grace, without any works or merit on our part. Paul is saying that Gentiles are like a wild olive tree branch, that is laden with hard, shriveled fruit; and that they have been grafted into a cultivated tree, that brings forth rich, luscious fruit.
Paul's description of this grafting, is contrary, to what really happens in nature. Normally, if you graft a nectarine branch into a peach tree, the grafted branches will grow nectarines, they won't grow peaches. The branch will produce fruit according to its own nature, not the nature of the tree that its been grafted into. In Paul's analogy, he is saying, that when we're grafted, a miracle takes place. We are wild olive branches that produce hard, bitter fruit---but once we're grafted into a cultivated tree, we will begin to produce the rich, juicy, fat fruit, of the cultivated tree. Paul's reasoning, is, that if God can do such a miracle, with the fruit, of grafted Gentile branches, how much more of a rich, wonderful harvest, will He produce, from the true Jewish branches?
After listing the reasons, that he believed were proof-positive, that God will restore the Jewish nation, someday, Paul went on to speak about, the two sided coin, of God's kindness and His sterness. We don't like to think about God being stern, but its important for us to be reminded of it from time to time. If we come to God with an attitude that is grateful and humble and repentant, we will always find that He is loving, gracious, forgiving and openhearted, always ready, to give us, everything we need. But if we come to Him, with an attitude of complaining, trying to always justify our disobedient behavior, we will find that God is as hard as iron and as merciless as fire can be.
That is the key to the mystery of Israel and its present blindness to God's truth. As long as the Jews come to God, on the basis of works and self-justification and self-righteousness, they will find God to be stern and iron-willed, resistant to their behavior. But if they'll come to Him, in repentance, then, they will find God, standing with His arms outstretched, ready to welcome them as long-lost children.
In Zechariah 12:10, Jesus said, "and I will pour out, on the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him, as one grieves for a firstborn son." and In Zechariah 13:6, the prophet describes the very minute, that Israel will recognize Jesus as the Messiah and will return to God-----"if someone asks Him, 'what are these wounds on your body?' He will answer, 'the wounds I was given at the house of my friends."
The whole nation of Israel will mourn and repent, of its rejection of Jesus the Messiah. And God will comfort and restore them, and make their nation a fountain of blessing to replenish the earth.
III. Future Salvation 11:25-32
Paul calls, the Jews resistance, to the Gospel, a mystery. He doesn't mean that it's obscure and difficult to understand------he means, that it has a special meaning in scripture, and that it refers to an occurrence, that is supernatural, in nature, unable to be understood, through normal human observation and logic, and can only be revealed by God, Himself.
Jewish people are among the most religious people on earth, but they stubbornly resist any teaching, about Jesus, being the Messiah. There is usually a solid wall of indifference and objection to the message. And sometimes, their resistance, is accompanied by an anger, that is out of proportion, to the subject matter. It's not that they don't recognize that He is one of their greatest prophets and teachers, they do, but that's all they think He is----they absolutely do not believe that He is God's Son, the Messiah. Their religious and cultural blindness, to even entertain the idea, that He might be the Messiah, is the mystery, because it defies all natural explanation.
V. 25 says that "Israel has experienced a hardening, in part, until the full number of Gentiles has come in." This means that not all Jews will be resistant, some will listen to the Gospel and be saved and some will not----- but we aren't told whether it will be 10%, 50% or 90%, so we have a responsibility to keep on telling them.
When we're witnessing to a Jewish person, or a Gentile person, either one, and the person rebuffs us, it doesn't necessarily mean, that their hearts are irrevocably hardened, against the Gospel. We can't see into a person's heart, only God can do that-----so our job is to love them, no matter how long it takes, and keep telling them the truth with patience and kindness.
This hardening will be limited in duration---it will not go on forever. It will only last, "until the full number of Gentiles has come in."We don't know exactly what that full number will be--------it could be the number of Gentiles, who are going to come into the family of God, and when that number is reached, God will intervene and end Israel's spiritual blindness; it could be that the Gentile church, will become so full, in spiritual riches, that it will awaken such envy and spiritual hunger for God, that Israel won't be able to continue to resist------and they will beg believers to tell them about Jesus; or it could be universal evangelization, which is the spread of the gospel, to every tongue and nation, and only God will know, when the last person has heard----and then, Israel's blindness will be lifted. Whatever it means, it is referring to some kind of positive outflow, of the Gospel of grace, among the Gentiles, and when it comes, the Jews will be receptive to the Gospel, as they never have been before.
The stage, seems to be being set, for this great spiritual revival, more than any other time in History--------Jews are turning to the Messiah, in increasingly greater numbers; there is an unbelievable expansion of the church, happening in South America and Korea and North Africa; and in the geographic Israel, in Palestine, the Bible is becoming more and more of a cultural focus--"each young person has to memorize, in Hebrew, the entire historical books (Genesis through Chronicles) plus the prophets (Isaiah through Zechariah), before he can graduate from high school. Even though the government is using this methodology for historical and moral emphasis, this kind of preparation, of Jewish hearts and minds, can only, in the future, play a significant role, in the nation's eventual conversion, to the Messiah."
The thing that blocks an individual or a nation from receiving God's mercy, without a doubt, is , having an attitude of self-sufficiency; an attitude that says, "I don't need any help; I can handle my own problems without God." But this kind of attitude, cuts people off from God's mercy and His grace. People who insist on their own self-righteousness, can't receive God's righteousness, that only comes through faith.
God has used the Jews rejection, of Jesus, as the means to reach the Gentile world-----and that was always a part of His plan. And He has used the Gentiles to make the Jews rebellious, so that they will also receive His mercy. And that was always a part of His plan. Only the mind of an infinite God could have conceived such a surprising plan. The truth is, it doesn't matter whether you're Jew or Gentile, unless we realize how rebellious our hearts are, we won't be able to receive God's mercy. So, God works in human history, to make us aware, of our basic inherent rebellion against Him. Paul makes it clear, that every person is a rebel and that the only way to be saved, is to recognize that fact, admit it, and accept God's free gift of mercy.
IV. Lets Just Praise the Lord 11:33-36
In the last few verses of this passage, Paul's heart and mind were filled with the majesty of God and His goodness and he couldn't help but break into a song of worship and praise. He lauded God's wisdom, which is light-years deeper than human wisdom and His justice, which is unsearchable. His thoughts are beyond our understanding. There is no way that we can fathom God. All our efforts to define Him, confine Him and reduce Him, to our level, are doomed to failure. He isn't accountable to us. He owes us no explanation. He is God.
We can't grasp God's eternal plan. Its beyond us. The moment we try to figure out what he's doing in human history, we wind up bumping into, mystifying paradoxes, that boggle our finite minds. For example, we know from scripture, that God has given mankind free-will------and that He never interferes with human responsibility. Nothing that God has ever done or said, will ever infringe on our ability, to make free, moral choices. But by the same token, nothing we ever do, as human beings can frustrate God's sovereign plan.
To us, this makes no sense---to God it makes perfect sense.
When we look at Jesus, we can cache a glimpse, of the subtle brilliance, of the mind of God. The enemies of Jesus were constantly trying to trap Him, by maneuvering Him, into an either/or, no-win situation. One time, they asked Him if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. They were trying trap Him----- if He had said yes, He would have angered the Jews, because they hated their Roman oppressors; and if He had said no, He would have been advocating disobedience, to the Roman government, and the Romans would have arrested Him.
But Jesus evaded their trap by applying a logic that transcends human thinking. He called for a coin, which He held up, in front of His enemies, and said, "Whose portrait is on this coin?" His enemies replied, "Caesar's". Then, Jesus said, "in that case, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what belongs to Gods." (Matt 22:15-22) And His enemies couldn't argue with Him. This showed them that the wisdom and judgement of Jesus, was unsearchable and beyond their ability to fathom.
There is a subtle point, that Jesus makes, when He holds up that coin. He says that we should give to Caesar what ever bears Caesar's image. But this also implies that we should give to God, whatever bears God's image. God has stamped His image on each one of us. What does this mean, that we owe God-----the answer is----- ourselves-----we owe God everything that we are. God is the originator and sustainer of all things! Our very existence-------the next breath we take and the next beat of our hearts, depends completely on Him. All things begin and end with Him. so as Paul says, "To God be the glory forever! Amen."
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