The Fulfillment of God¡¦s Eternal Purpose
The eternal purpose of God¡¦s Creation is centered upon His Son, including the creation of all things, the salvation of sinners, the judgment of the world and the final renewal of heaven and earth (Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:16-17; Ephesians 3:4-11). From the point of view of God¡¦s chosen people, we have received tremendous grace from Him. We have seen God¡¦s love and faithfulness through our initial loss of His abundant life to retrieving it again. We can generally learn how the eternal purpose of God is accomplished from Creation to Eternity through five ¡§finished¡¨ tasks in the Bible.
In the beginning God created
heaven and earth, completing the myriad wondrous deeds according to His own
wise plan. The work of creation was achieved whenever He spoke, and it was very
good (Genesis 1:7-31). God used five days to create the universe as a dwelling
place for mankind, and on the sixth day He created Man. ¡§The Lord God formed the man (Adam) from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a
living being.¡¨ (Genesis 2:7) This was the first ¡§finished¡¨ task in the work of
Creation. God gave the Garden of Eden to Adam and his wife as their home.
Besides all the other abundant provisions, the garden also bore the fruit of
the Tree of Life as food for Man. Regrettably, Man was tempted by Satan to sin
and turn away from God, thereby bringing forth death and the corruption of
heaven and earth.
The eternal purpose of God and His
love for mankind were not affected by the betrayal of all the generations of
sinners. Starting from the fall of Man, God continued to reveal to us His plan
of salvation through His chosen people, the Law and all the prophets. Finally,
God sent His Son to earth to personally make clear to Man His grace of loving
kindness and truth of salvation. ¡§The Word became
flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the
One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.¡¨ (John 1:14)
This is the second ¡§finished¡¨ task, and it is God becoming a man to personally
carry out the work of saving sinners.
The prophesies in the Old Testament regarding the Son of God were fulfilled one after another when Jesus was on earth. His identity and work were testified to by the Father, angles and men. Even evil spirits recognized Him as the Holy One of God. Our Lord came to earth as the Son of Man to let people know that He is the Christ established by God through miracles and wise teachings, so that they will repent, turn back to Him and receive the life of God. Christ obeyed the will of the Father all His life, and followed God¡¦s purpose of salvation for mankind by dying on the cross. Therefore, He said ¡§It is finished¡¨ just before He died (John 19:30), fulfilling the third part of God¡¦s eternal purpose.
Christ the Son of God resurrected
on the third day after His death, revealing once again that He is the Lord of
might and of life. He has risen to heaven to prepare an everlasting dwelling
for us, and will come back to receive the Church in the future. God also
bestows the Holy Spirit to those who repent and believe in Jesus, and allows
Him to be with us always. Although God has spread the Gospel of Salvation of
Sinners to all the earth through the testimony of the Church, there are still
many who are hard-hearted and reject it. Because of Satan¡¦s deception, the sins
of Man will keep on increasing until God¡¦s righteous judgment arrives. This is
what is recorded in Revelations, when God punishes the Anti-Christ and
unrepentant sinners through the plague of the seventh bowl at the end of days.
¡§The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air,
and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, ¡¥It is done!¡¦¡¨
(Revelations 16:17)
The
final fulfillment of God¡¦s eternal purpose is His renewal of the heaven and
earth that have been corrupted by sin and the great plagues. That is when the
Church unites and dwells forever with the bridegroom, Jesus, as the Bride of
Christ. Just as John heard God declare in his vision of revelation, "It is
done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is
thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.¡¨
(Revelations 21:6) God will renew everything so that we will have His life and
be worthy to live with Him forever. That is the final fulfillment of God¡¦s
eternal purpose of Creation.
Thank
God! May all power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise be to the
one true God and the Lamb for ever and ever!