Principle II: Predetermined Glory

Christ is known and loved from before the beginning, and having made all things by Christ, and for Him, He would therefore inherit the work so that humanity would be received into His glory and live eternally with Him.

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

introduction

The purpose of this framing is simple. Creation alone seems insufficient in that the observation that God created a thing leaves the purpose behind it undefined. God created all things, but to what end? What purpose did the man and his wife serve in the garden? Some only go as far as the admission that God did create the cosmos and left it at that. There is also the idea of improvisation; that He is making the best end out of how things have turned out. Then some say that the end purpose was known beforehand in God, and creation was made to fulfill it, but no one knows His thoughts concerning that end. The latter is closest to the truth.

the way to wisdom

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

– Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has set “eternity” in our hearts. However, all things are given its beauty in time. Solomon then envelopes the idea further by saying that God alone knows the work purposed from end to end. Three ideas are communicated above.

1. eternity in our hearts

2. beauty given in its time

3. God alone knows the work from beginning and end

The verse makes the point clear that what is given to humanity is understood as something sown that it would grow into its determined beauty. The Scriptures tell us that the thoughts surrounding creations fruition, from beginning to end, are prohibited to the Lord’s understanding. In essence, what God begins with is not what He intends to have at His end. And what God means to have at His end is a thing He alone knows. Though eternity is in our makeup, the work is made beautiful in its time. Furthermore, there is a necessary connection between the work and the Creator because God alone knows the thing the work would grow into. Humanity would not be able to think up the things God knows without Him. The Lord says:

“’For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.

‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

– Isaiah 55:8

This is the ideal starting point. God works as one behind a veil. Gaining that understanding may seem to come across as a restriction for us, but it is better seen as an invitation to communion with Him. Communion is the bridge to His Person. The Scriptures are clear when they say that none have known Him or counseled Him to see that which He has prepared for us from the beginning. But listen to the Apostle as he explains to us the way to God’s wisdom as he quotes Isaiah saying:

“But as it is written:

‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

- I Corinthians 2:9

Or, as Isaiah stated:

“For since the beginning of the world

Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,

Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,

Who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

- Isaiah 64:4

Paul begins by clarifying a condition: None know what God has prepared, and our becoming is God’s labor. Paul acknowledges the dependency in the hearts of men who cannot understand the intent of creation without waiting on the Lord. Paul then builds on the idea saying:

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.”

- I Corinthians 2:13

There is a notable distinction between the wisdom of humanity, and the wisdom of God. Many merely stress the notable disconnect between God and humanity, but I think it would be better communicated as a stress on humanity’s dire need to connect with the Lord who alone understands what has been prepared since the beginning of the world. Even Paul stresses this as the solution to bridge that divide. What God has prepared since the beginning is only learned by His Spirit. We need the teacher. Here, the bridge to understanding the things which God has prepared from the beginning is presented. The Spirit of God is the Teacher. Paul explains:

“But God has revealed them [the things which God has prepared] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

- I Corinthians 2:10-12

What God has concealed “before the ages for our glory”, He has also unveiled in Christ by His Spirit. God does not mean to leave humanity in want of the things He has concealed. What He has hidden is meant to be the glory of those who search for it in Him. The Scriptures say:

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

– Proverbs 25:2

And,

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

- Matthew 13:44

And,

“For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

- I Corinthians 2:16

We find understanding when we seek Him. Communion with His Spirit is the way to His wisdom.

unchanging intent

Now what is His concealed intent for us at the foundation? The Scriptures make it clear that God does not begin without an end. The Scriptures make clear that God has an explicit, and unwavering purpose from before the foundation of the world.

“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’”

– Isaiah 46:9

And also,

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

– Isaiah 55:11

He declares the end from the beginning. He does not begin without it. His Word will return to Him having accomplished what it was sent to do. The purpose and direction in the work in its fullness was known. What we must understand next is that it is also unchanging.

“God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

- Numbers 23:19

And,

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.”

- Psalm 33:11

And,

“Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You will endure;

Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;

Like a cloak You will change them,

And they will be changed.

But You are the same,

And Your years will have no end.”

- Psalm 102:25-27

Such is the determination of God. His end is declared, and His counsel stands forever unchanged from the beginning, He does not lie, nor does God apologize for it, but His Word is sent to accomplish its task. He will make it good, and it is here that we see that they will be made new. It is not Him who will change, but it is the heavens and the earth that will wither saying to us, “Like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed”.

alpha and omega

We can summarize by saying that what God has concealed for us, He makes known to us by His Spirit, should we seek Him. What He purposed from end to end is known and will be done. All things will be changed, their beauty realized, and His word will accomplish what it was sent out to do.

Here we are now presented with the crux of our faith, and the purpose for the work. We have become aware that there is a beginning and an end in the work, and it was John who heard the Lord Jesus Christ say:

“’I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

– Revelation 1:8

And,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

– Revelation 22:13

In light of this, we can move into the effort of understanding the idea that Jesus Christ is the framework that creation is purposed within, from end to end. The Scriptures name Christ the Almighty Whose advent is creation’s chief expectation. The Scriptures tell us this advent has been the hope, and expectation of the people of God from the beginning.

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’”

- John 1:45

The one they found is Christ. The word used is christos meaning, “Anointed”. He would be “the coming king whom the Jews expected to be the saviour of their nation and the author of their highest felicity”. He is regarded by Philip as Him whom Moses, and the prophets wrote about.

“Then He [Christ] said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’”

– Luke 24:44

The purpose in the work of God from creation, according to the text, is in service to this Christ who would inherit the earth, that humanity would find fulfillment and salvation by Him.

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

Until Shiloh comes;

And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”

- Genesis 49:10

And,

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be Ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth are from of old,

From everlasting.”

- Micah 5:2

Take note of the language used to describe the Christ. He is Shiloh (šîlô), meaning “he who it is”, “that which belongs to him”, and “tranquility”. He is called from ancient and everlasting. He is Peace determined for us from the beginning. The language remains consistent.

“For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

- Isaiah 9:6,7

And Christ makes the unchanging and determined will of the Father clear when He says:

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

- John 6:39,40

Upon Christ’s advent, He would gain all that was promised to Him that they would be raised up as incorruptible with Him on the last day.

As the Apostle states:

“- In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

- I Corinthians 15:51-53

There again is the same idea. “Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed,” and “He has made everything beautiful in its time”. Christ means to raise what was sown as incorruptible with Him. This advent determined from the beginning is creations chief expectation. Christ is the secret given to kings to search out. He is the message given to prophets to prophesy. He is the Seed sown in the work at the beginning. The whole of history refers to Him from end to end.

the veil of denial

Whether we look to His purpose for us with gladness or refuse it in pride, He cannot deny Himself.

“If we endure,

We shall also reign with Him.

If we deny Him,

He also will deny us.

If we are faithless,

He remains faithful;

He cannot deny Himself.”

- II Timothy 2:12,13

Paul makes reference to this denial of intent by Moses who came down from the mountain from the presence of God. The Scriptures say:

“Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him [God]. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.“

- Exodus 34:29,30

So, a veil was put over Moses’ face in order to put the people at ease. But Paul tells us the true nature of the veil saying:

“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

- II Corinthians 3:14-16

We can then expound on the idea that the work of creation is purposed in Christ, the “Beginning and the End”.

the beginning

What does it mean that Christ is the Beginning? The Scriptures go on to say that all things created were made by Christ and for Him.

“He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

– Colossians 1:15,16

The text states that He is the firstborn, that is, the Inheritor. All creation, and every word given is of and to Christ, that He would inherit the work at the fullness of time. His Sovereignty may be put into question, but Jesus said to the Jews who questioned His Person:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

– John 8:58

This is the groundwork of this principle. It is the person of Jesus Christ. Language having to do with the One who preceded creation; the One who was present at creation; the power by which the worlds were made from; The One who would inherit creation, and to Whom all creation will return to surrounds Jesus Christ solely in the Scriptures.

They make His beginning clear saying:

“He [Christ] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

– I Peter 1:20

The word foreordained is proginōskō meaning “foreknew”, or “predestined”. He was not only known, but He was purposed in God with a task. This much is clear when it says He is “foreordained from before the foundation”, and all things hinge on His coming so that heaven and earth would be changed. The point is that Christ is before all things.

“And He [Christ] is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

– Colossians 1:17

And Christ said,

“For You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

– John 17:24

Being known, purposed, and loved beforehand, He is then present at the work of creation as the Logos.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

– John 1:1

It is the Word and authority that spoke at the establishment, and it was done. It states that nothing was made without Him. He commanded, and it stood fast. It is the word that would return to the Father having accomplished what it was set out to do.

“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

– Luke 8:25

And,

“For of Him [Christ] and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

– Romans 11:36

glory beheld

Christ then being with God and predestined in God before the foundation, through Whom the world was made, and to Whom the world was made, would manifest Himself to creation as heir to those who wait on the Lord.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

- John 1:14

And,

“[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power.”

– Hebrews 1:2

He did not appear in grandeur, but Christ was manifest in obedience to the Fathers known desire. There was no pride in His heart as in meekness, He surrendered Himself in His purity even to death. Being before all things, He was manifest as a servant in our likeness, despised and rejected by many, and therefore lifted up in greater glory.

“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

– Isaiah 53:2,3

And,

“Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name.”

– Philippians 2:6-9

And unto glory Christ has been received having made Himself manifest. He is the Beginning out of which the worlds were modeled. He is the Lord who appeared as Immanuel. He is the End to which all things will return to.

the end

We can then draw upon what we know about the end.

“Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness 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.”

– Ephesians 1:9

Again it is clear that heavens and earth will wither and fade. All things will be made new in Christ. And when John looked upon God’s city at the end he said:

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”

– Revelation 21:23

Christ is present throughout the entire work. From the beginning to His end, mankind, and all the work of His hand, is set aside so that He would gather together all things in Christ, the Inheritor.

the garden of God

What does this mean for us to be the inheritance of Christ? What purpose does humanity by the man and his wife in the garden serve? By His intent, the Scriptures say that we are to be set apart that we would be made sons and daughters of the living God in Christ to Himself. We were sown in the earth as one body, but we will be raised in the likeness of another. Paul expressed:

“And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.”

- I Corinthians 15:37,38

And,

“It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

- I Corinthians 15:44,45

The truth expressed is that the body raised incorruptible in Christ is not the same as the body sown in the Earth. The garden in Eden is a picture of God’s priority as a gardener. He is interested in growing things, and we are His garden raised beautiful in time. For God did not plant trees in the garden of Eden, but seeds to grow a yield in time.

“Before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;”

– Genesis 2:5

We are likewise sown in the Earth like scattered seed tasked to be fruitful. And what did the blind man first see when Jesus gave him sight? The history tells us that he looked up and said:

“I see men like trees walking.”

– Mark 8:24

It is in His season that we will be plucked by the Lord of the harvest. As the apostle Paul says:

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.”

- I Corinthians 3:9

We should be comforted with the truth of God knowing now that He does not relent from accomplishing the task. He does not change, but we will be transformed. We are sown in the earth by Him one way to be raised as a new creation.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—”

- I Corinthians 15:51

sons and daughters

This is our purpose in Him. This is by God’s design, that we would be fashioned that God would raise for Himself children in righteousness. He would direct the work to this end.

“’Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;

And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.

I have made the earth,

And created man on it.

I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,

And all their host I have commanded.

I have raised him up in righteousness,

And I will direct all his ways;

He shall build My city

And let My exiles go free,

Not for price nor reward,'

Says the Lord of hosts.”

– Isaiah 45:11-25

And as Moses said:

“Let Your work appear to Your servants,

And Your glory to their children.

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands."

- Psalm 90:16,17

The work then follows the guardrails, so to speak, of divine intent unto Jesus Christ. Humanity is the work of His hand, set apart from the beginning for sonship by His Spirit. It is according to His good pleasure. Those who have believed in His name are counted among them.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

– Ephesians 1:3

Why state our purpose as known before the foundation? It is because the work of creation was driven by this purpose. The end was declared beforehand. The purpose was known and the work of creation was inspired by Christ, and the children of God are raised by Him. It isn’t an unfamiliar idea to the Scriptures as all things wait in earnest.

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

– Romans 8:19

The intent then becomes clear. Humanity, whose frame was not hidden from the Lord, is His workmanship set aside for Christ as adopted sons. We are vessels set apart for His glory. This is His thoughts concerning the work of His hand.

“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.’”

- John 17:1-5

Before any known fault or failure, before any accomplishment or success, before the model of man took form, the saints in the Scriptures collectively agree that Christ was there at the foundation; that men were set apart to be made sons of God by Him, and that all creation in heaven and earth would be made one in Him forever. Even the prophets spoke of the sons of God. This is the purpose of His work in humanity from the beginning.

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

– Genesis 1:31

It’s a simple picture. God’s desire from the beginning are His sons and daughters. Christ then desires His bride by which we become sons and daughters of God.

of him, for him, with him

Consider what God said of Adam who had no suitable helper:

“I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

– Genesis 2:18

The man worked alone in the garden, and God saw that it was good to give to him a suitable helper comparable to him. What was it that God did to give the man a suitable wife? Paul explains the unique institution of marriage given to humanity in the make and union of Adam and Eve. Upon meditation of the marriage, he says:

“For we are members of His [Christ’s] body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

– Ephesians 5:30

Paul reflects on the institution saying marriage is a thing concerning Christ and His Beloved. The union of Man and Woman there in the garden is purposed with Christ in mind. It is a prophetic model. Eve was the bride pulled from his side for him. The Church, as the Beloved, likewise is the partner pulled from Christ’s side as “members of His body”. Even so Christ was put to sleep as no helper was found suitable. So, the Lord was put to sleep, even given into death. Out of His deep sleep then one comparable to Him was made of Him and for Him by the Spirit of God. Then the two are given dominion. The image in the beginning was telling of a greater glory as the desire, and intent of God in Christ. She is his beloved and his beloved is like a garden. Solomon expressed:

“A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”

- Song of Solomon 4:12-16

The trouble you might have is in understanding what is meant when he says, “my sister, my spouse”. The word for sister used is 'āḥôṯ meaning “kinswoman”. It is an expression used for “one who is of the same tribe or people.” She is ally, beloved, and spouse as Sarah was to Abraham. She is no stranger to him. To him, the beloved is like a fragrant garden sealed away where living waters flow. Her fragrance is his enjoyment but it is their union that is her longing. It is her love that is his enjoyment. It is the day of their wedding that makes his heart glad.

“How fair is your love,

My sister, my spouse!

How much better than wine is your love,

And the scent of your perfumes

Than all spices!”

– Song of Solomon 4:10

And,

“Go forth, O daughters of Zion,

And see King Solomon with the crown

With which his mother crowned him

On the day of his wedding,

The day of the gladness of his heart.”

– Song of Solomon 3:11

The language is consistent. The two are like a picture painted of the divine expression. Many regard the song as a sensual ballad, ripe with overdone passions. However, the love between the Shulamite and her King is a necessary picture noted as a tender garden. Do not stir, nor awaken its passions prematurely. A fragrant garden is a well-kept labor of love. God is not without desire for that which would make Him glad as the intent from the beginning. The day of the Lord’s wedding is a great expectation.

“For your Maker is your husband,

The Lord of hosts is His name;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

He is called the God of the whole earth.”

 – Isaiah 54:5

And,

“I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.”

– Hosea 2:19,20

We are members of His body. She is of Him, for Him, and now promised to be with Him forever in the highest place. It is fitting for it to be regarded as the Song of songs to some. It is also telling that a garden is given to its beauty in its time.

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

- Genesis 1:27

And as the image of the invisible God walked among us, John the Baptist declared when he saw Christ:

“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.”

– John 3:29

In the garden, the man and his wife were given dominion. Christ, now having been received into glory, desires the union of glory promised.

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

– John 17:24

And perhaps we can better understand when it was said to Eve, the Mother of all living:

“Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

- Genesis 3:16

The words remain consistent. The word spoken burns in the conscience as a mysterious and irrevocable hope.

you are a temple

This is the direction His work would take. And Paul says concerning God’s mind toward our purpose:

“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.”

– Ephesians 1:11

It is in the intent of our design as bodies made in His express image and likeness. The intent in our makeup is to stand at His end as Beloved, His body, His sons, His city, and His temple for His glory through Jesus Christ.

“Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?”

– Isaiah 66:1

And,

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”

– John 2:18

It was Christ, through whom the worlds were made who said, “I will build another [temple] made without hands.” And here we see a glimpse of the divine idea realized:

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

– Revelation 21:2

And,

“Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

– Ephesians 2:20

The Bride, the temple, His sons, His city; all the work of His Hands established in the highest dominion and adorned to be presented as holy for Her husband. This is His Seed sown, and raised incorruptible.

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

– I Corinthians 3: 16

And,

“For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

– II Corinthians 11:2

The Scriptures are masterful at presenting His desire in many different ways, and still all at once. Where we may see a glimpse here and there by one way or another, God sees them altogether realized in Himself through Christ at His end.

jars of clay

What can we say of God’s mind concerning humanity? We have been given pictures of foreshadow, and the veil over the history has been lifted in Jesus so that we would see the Beginning and the End in Him, and only by Him. It has been His relentless effort to accomplish the purpose He spoke of in the beginning. Still, the apostles gives us a sober reminder saying:

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

– II Corinthians 4:7

That is a key principle of grace in God’s choice. It is not in the value of our makeup, position, or effort. We are dust, and He is in heaven. It is not of our initiative or a result of our proving ourselves worthy. Again it is, “According to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” It is simply because it pleased God. Again He says, “My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure”. He has written the history, and the unraveling of time will unfold unto the completion of the work.

“However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

– I Corinthians 15:46

crowned in christ

It is not an unfamiliar idea to wonder at His drawn attention given to humanity from the beginning. It's key to remember that this purpose in God is given only to humanity. David, pondering the mystery of God’s attention over us, says:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.”

– Psalm 8:4

David wondered at the God who gave humanity, in their low esteem, His eternal attention. Compared to the grandeur of angels of light and flame we are regarded more than they are. And even the angels are said to be ministering spirits to those who would inherit salvation. Though we are low in the hierarchy of creation, we are stewards of a weighted glory, a crown promised in Christ before time began. He continues His marvel saying:

“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.”

– Psalm 8:6-9

The dominion of Adam and Eve was the precursor. There is the popular idea that paradise was lost in Adam. This is incorrect. The garden of Adam and Eve was a shadow by comparison to the hope of glory obtained in Christ. As evening came before the morning, the first glory would be a shadow compared to the second. Christ comes to us as the dawn of a new day brings lights to all things hidden.

“Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

- Psalm 19:6

And having been raised up, of Christ, it says:

“Having become so much better than the angels, as He [Christ] has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

– Hebrew 1:4

It is a name given first to the Firstborn of God. Adam and Eve merely had dominion over the Earth. However, the dominion of Christ is over all things.

“I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, One like the Son of Man,

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days,

And they brought Him near before Him.

Then 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 the one

Which shall not be destroyed.”

- Daniel 7:13,14

And,

“He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.”

– Psalm 89:27-29

And,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation... And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

– Colossians 1:15,17,18

And,

“[Jesus Christ] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”

– I Peter 3:22

And of those who regard Him it says:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

– II Corinthians 3:18

It is the Son of Promise who is glorified, and us by Him. It is Christ that the whole of history regards that all things will be put under His feet.

“The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”

- Psalm 110:1

son of promise

It is said that the History of Joseph serves as archetypal of Christ. Joseph, the youngest of twelve, is positioned as last among his brothers, but at the same time he is firstborn of Rachel. To them he is the son of promise who, by God alone, came to them last. But we are more familiar with the dream that was given to him in his youth:

“So he said to them, ‘Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.’”

- Genesis 37:6,7

And,

“Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, ‘Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

- Genesis 37:9

It is an explicit dream of greatness. The history records that the dream came first. Only after hearing it did his brothers come to mock the dream, but his father kept the matter in mind. Even so his own kin conspired against him saying:

“Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

- Genesis 37:20

Therefore, by them, he was cast into a pit to die, sold as a slave, and unjustly tried as a prisoner. He was chastised by his own blood for his dreaming but in a foreign land the dream was realized. Joseph was brought from the pit and God revealed to Pharoah by him the coming calamity that many would be saved. He was then given the highest seat and his own came to him seeking help, not knowing who he was. Joseph spoke to his brothers saying:

“And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

- Genesis 45:7,8

But a notable aspect to this history is the mockery of the dream and the effort to quell what was purposed in the son of promise. His brothers hated him for the favor their father gave him, and also because of his dreams of greatness. Amongst themselves they mocked him, and finding him alone, they tore away his clothes. That which purposed itself against the dream God gave was first purposed in God to bring the dream into fruition. The effort to mock God by violent effort in the chastisement of Joseph was the necessary means to the salvation of many. The effort to stop it, was what had spurred it. Joseph spoke saying:

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

- Genesis 50:20

Such is the purpose of God in Christ, the Son of God, who sits at the right hand for the salvation of all. The purpose cannot be thwarted, even by death.

the better adam

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

- Matthew 27

Here was an innocent Man brought to death. It must be understood that He was not innocent of crime merely, as we might understand innocence, but having been born of God, He stood for us as a kind of new Adam; a better Adam. Therefore, He did not share in the judgement of death Adam received by disobedience. Here is One born of a virgin. And yet here we see that He was given to the grave of Adam regardless.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

- II Corinthians 5:21

The first man in the garden was spared by the act of God in the sacrifice given for clothing as a covering, and the death was appeased but not satisfied. We see here the death of Adam is finally satisfied in Christ. It was Christ who prayed, “It is finished.” Where God spoke death as judgement, God also suffers it in Immanuel. Where God shed first blood in the sacrifice for Adam’s covering, God also offered the last Sacrifice Himself to wash away the guilt of sin entirely.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool.”

- Isaiah 1:18

Christ’s plea on the cross was for justice. Who would condemn an innocent Man into eternal separation?

“Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.”

- Isaiah 53:4,5

And,

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

- Isaiah 53:7-9

But the grave did not hold Him as he slept in the bowels of death.

“Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

- Acts 2:23,24

Even Christ gave reference to what would happen by Jonah, saying:

“because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”

- Matthew 12:40

conclusion

Such is the predetermined purpose of God for humanity. Christ is the Predetermined Glory, Son of promise, and our chief expectation for the fulfillment of all things. He is the Beginning and the End. He is raised up to the highest place in God. We are the collective inheritance He desires, as a Father desires sons, and as a Man desires His Beloved wife.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.”

- Ephesians 5:25

Therefore, we can then better understand Paul’s confidence when he exhorts the saints saying:

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

- Romans 8:33-35

Paul is keenly aware that any tribulation and the powers that purpose themselves against the will of God in Christ will only come to nothing.

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

- Romans 8:38,39

I think it is right to say that God established the End and makes a beginning for it. The framework that creation exists in becomes clear from Beginning to End. He makes clear His purpose, His thoughts concerning us, His “dream”, and the promise given to humanity in Christ. The beginning is Christ, and the end is Christ. Heaven and Earth are His. The intent in our make is to be set apart as vessels, heirs, and a work of His Son glorified. This is the will of God. It is His doing. This is His Logos.

“For ‘He has put all things under His feet.’ But when He says ‘all things are put under Him,' it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”

– I Corinthians 15:27

No doubt, this framework is beautiful, and with all of this in mind it is comforting to see how God has directed His thoughts concerning the work of His hands. It is important, I think, to understand the clear intent of God from the beginning.

However, as tempting as it might be to rejoice in the idea over humanity, it would be a mistake to ignore the falling away that would follow. The narrative in history would encounter a “kicking against the goads”. Resistance, corruption, and an enemy would come to the field of God and sow seeds of discontent. Man, by disobedience, would inherit the most deadly condition. We would see the significance in the words of Jacob’s sons saying, “We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

“I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking.” – George MacDonald