God’s Eternal Purpose: The Destination of Human Creation
A
good evangelistic question to ask a potential child of God is “Do you believe
in God?” If they respond in the affirmative the next question could be “Do
you want to know what God’s eternal purpose is for your life?”
Ephesians 3:1-11 addresses the complete revelation of God’s mystery as it relates to human creation. The mystery of God’s eternal purpose was hid (vs. 5, 7) in times past but it is completely revealed today. Because the mystery has been revealed Paul was able to confidently say in Acts 17:30, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” He could make this statement under the New Testament covenant because of the revealed mystery. However, this statement could not have been made under Old Testament regime because the people were still ignorant of the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose and mystery.
God’s eternal purpose for all of His human creation is for them to be united in one church (Ephesians 1:10-11). Every man and woman, rich or poor is to be united with God through the church of Christ. The awesomeness of God’s eternal purpose and plan for man is that it was predestinated, foreordained and organized before the world began. Before Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6) God developed a plan to save man. God’s plan for loving and saving was devised before man ever thought he needed to be saved (1 John 4:19).
Before the world was created God, as His own determinate counsel, (God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit) devised a scheme of redemption and plan of salvation to save individuals in the world willing to obey His pattern of salvation (Romans 8:29-30). Before the world began, the Godhead predestinated a plan to save the willing world through the suffering, bloodshed, death and resurrection of the Messiah. The suffering, death and resurrection of Christ was planned before God brought the world into existence (Ephesians 1:4-5). The determinate counsel of God determined that a Messiah would enter into the world and die for it (Acts 2:23; Luke 22:22). The awesomeness and love of God is evident in the fact that He planned the saving of man despite man not realizing he needed to be saved (Luke 23:34; Acts 2:36-37).
God’s mystery was not revealed to Old Testament prophets. Isaiah, although he prophesied about the suffering and death of the Messiah on the cross (Isaiah 53) he was not speaking of what he saw and understood. He simply spoke prophetically. He spoke as God commanded him, while God was revealing only a portion of His mystery. People live in an age now where what Isaiah spoke of Christ has already been revealed. It is already clear that Christ, the anointed of God, has shed his blood, died, and is now on the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3).
To truly understand the eternal purpose of God for man and woman, the genotypic and spiritual makeup of the human body must be explored. Genesis 2:7, I Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12 indicates that God’s human creation comprises a physical body, a spirit and a soul. The body is the part of man that will decay in the grave and the spirit of man is what God breathed into Adam, causing him to become a living soul. The soul of man/woman will never die and the soul is the essence of the true person. It is the part of man and woman that will finally rest in heaven or hell.
When Adam was created, the breathing of God into him gave him life. This was all that Adam needed to remain in close communion with God. It was necessary for Adam to be given a spirit because God connects with His human creation through the spirit. That is why Paul explained in Romans 8:16 that the Spirit of God bears witness with the personal spirit of man/woman. However, once Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden he disconnected himself from God spiritually. Romans 5 :12-17 explains that Adams sin brought death into the world. This death is twofold: physical and spiritual. God’s eternal purpose for man was predestinated and provides him with an opportunity to be reunited with God spiritually through His Holy Spirit.
Before looking at the intricacies of God’s eternal purpose for man, the destination of man’s body, spirit and soul must be explained and understood.
The Destination of Human Creation
The Destination of the Human Body:
Hebrews 12:2 informs the Bible reader that Jesus Christ is the “author and finisher” of the Christian faith. Therefore, taking a look at the destination of the body, spirit and soul of Christ tells the student of the Bible the destination of their body, spirit and soul. In this section the destination of the human body of Christ will be investigated first.
In Luke chapter 23 Jesus died on the cross. After which, a counselor named Joseph of Arimathaea went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus (Luke 23:52). Joseph took the body of Jesus and prepared it for burial. At that point the body of Jesus was dead for James said, “The body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26). At the point of death, the spirit and soul of Jesus were in different locations from His body. At death the human body stops functioning and is traditionally buried in the grave. At the point of death the use of the body is complete.
The Destination of the Human Spirit:
Again, in looking at the physical life and destination of the body, soul and spirit of Christ, the destination of the human spirit is also evident. Jesus, the author and finisher of the Christian faith has completed the course that man and woman will eventually travel.
All spirits belong to God and it is clear that God gave man His spirit during the creation of Adam. When God breathed into Adam, He gave him a spirit. Adam was not alive until God gave him a spirit. All spirits belong to God, and at the point of death all spirits will return to God. This is why Jesus said seconds before terminating His physical life, “…Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). The body of man returns to the ground and regresses to its original formulation and essence, dust (Job 34:15). However the spirit of man returns to its giver, God. But where does the soul go?
The Destination of the Soul of Man:
In deciphering the destination of the soul of man one must
look at the destination of the soul of Christ. The body returns to dust, the
spirit returns to God, but upon death the soul of man and woman goes to a place
referred to as the Hadean world. This is the temporary location of all souls
after death. This is where the true essence of a person, the part that feels,
thinks, understands and processes dwells until the judgment of the Messiah (1
Peter 4:17). As will be discussed later, the Hadean world is divided into two
parts: A place of paradise and a place of torment. The only unclear element the
author is wrestling with is whether Tartaros/abyss/the deep/bottomless
pit is a destination for evil spirits alone or evil spirits and the souls of
those who have died out of Christ. In 2 Peter 2:4 the Greek word for “down to
hell” is Tartaroo, which is rendered “the deepest abyss of Hades.” The
passage in 2 Peter 2:4 refers to the angels that sinned, makes no mention of
humans and appears to have been used only once in New Testament scripture.
Regardless of the exact inhabitants of Tartaroo, the soul of the Messiah went to Hades (Acts 2:31). Jesus did not reside in the torment portion of Hades but the paradise side, as evidenced by His statement to one of the malefactors on the cross: “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The soul of the Messiah went to Hades but was not left in Hades (Acts 2:31) because the totality of Christ, body, spirit and soul was resurrected and He returned to the right hand of God (Romans 8:34).
The body of man returns to the grave and eventually to dust. The spirit of man returns to God and the soul of man is carried to the Hadean world where it awaits the judgment of God (Luke 16:22 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).
God’s Eternal Purpose
Understanding the destination of the body, soul and spirit of man after death helps a person grasp the critical nature of God’s eternal purpose. The fact that God predestinated His plan to save the world is often misunderstood. However, in realizing God’s methodology of salvation or scheme of redemption, His supreme love for His human creation is evident. Man has often confused God’s predestination plan for the predestination of individual and not the church. God’s predestinated plan was for the church (the method by which men and women would be saved) and not for any particular individual. All men and women have an equal chance of being saved (Acts 17:30). Paul’s epistles to the Romans and the general Ephesians letter addresses God’s eternal purpose:
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Romans 8:29-30 “For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he
also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified,
them he also glorified.”
·
Ephesians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will...”
God developed His predestinated plan to save man (His eternal purpose) because He knew Adam would sin in the Garden of Eden. Once Adam sinned in the garden death was introduced to the world. Paul said “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). For Adam this death was twofold: It brought about a physical death, but more importantly it brought about a spiritual death in Adam. The spiritual death Adam suffered was his disconnection from the presence and communion with God. Adam was expelled from the garden and Moses wrote the following account: “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:23-24). This was a type of spiritual death for Moses because he no longer had the close intimacy with God.
God knew that Adam would sin in the Garden of Eden and therefore He prepared him and all other humans created after him with the necessary element to meet Him. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The God breathed spirit in Adam provided him with a means of spiritual communication with God. Almighty God gives every born human a spirit. Man and woman need a spirit because God reaches His human creation on a spiritual level. Although Christians are commanded to glorify God in body and in spirit (Romans 6:20) God is a Spirit and expects to be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Because God knew man/woman would be disconnected from Him, He provided His human creation with a spirit that would one day help man/woman reconnect to Him.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). The Christian and all the world
in thankful to God for the giving of spirit because without it the human could
not eventually connect to God’s Holy Spirit. God’s eternal purpose is wrapped
in the fact that between life and death God expects man and woman to reconnect
with God through His Holy Spirit. Humanity can only connect with God on a
spiritual level and this is why Jesus shared these words with Nicodemus
regarding salvation: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5) .
This man who came to Jesus by night was already physical and possessed a human spirit, but for him to become a true child of God, he needed to be born again. He was already born of a woman (flesh) but he needed to be born of the Spirit. The human spirit of Nicodemus needed to come in contact with the Holy Spirit of God for him to be reunited with God. God purposed this plan before the foundation of the world and it was made possible through the death and bloodshed of Christ.
God was thinking about man before He crated a single atom. Before the world began, God had already organized His plan to save the world, His eternal purpose. As part of God predestinated plan, He predetermined that the Son of God would come in the physical person of Jesus Christ and offer Himself as a sacrifice for the world. It was God’s determinate counsel (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) that created, initiated and completed the plan.
Peter said to the present Hebrews during his powerful sermon
on the day of Pentecost that brought the church into a physical existence,
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst
of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain” (Acts 2:22-23). Luke the physician also said
concerning the Godly predetermination of Christ, “And truly the Son of man
goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed”
(Luke 22:22).
It was the determinate counsel of God that determined before the world began that Jesus would shed His blood, die on the cross and be resurrected early one Sunday morning, having fulfilled the sacrifice necessary to establish a new covenant and an eternal purpose (salvation plan) for all believing humans to be saved under.
The eternal purpose of God was to establish a church that would be for all men and women everywhere, regardless of race, class, nation or socioeconomic status. God created man and woman with a spirit so they could one day find God and be added to his church. God only has one church that is governed by one gospel and one doctrine. God purposed this plan in Himself before the foundation of the world was established.
·
Ephesians 1:9-11 “Having made known unto us the
mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in
himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will...”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16). God loves the world so much that He
developed a plan to save man before man knew he needed to be saved. God has
revealed His mystery and eternal purpose for humanity. It is simply that He “might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10).
Do you believe in God? Do you understand what God’s eternal
purpose is for your life? Are you ready to be reunited with God by connecting
with His Holy Spirit through water baptism for the remission of your sins? “Then
they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).
God has paved the way to save you today!