For the first time in all eternity, God suffers grief!
God who has existed from all eternity had perfect peace and harmony, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Then we read in Genesis; “Let us make man in our own image and likeness” Genesis 1:26
I want to say upfront that what I write about God is based upon what he reveals to me through his word, the Bible. When God created man, he fully knew that man would fall into sin and separation from himself. Many ask the obvious question, why did he create Satan and man knowing what would happen? It is an excellent question that has an answer!
In this modern world it is believed by many that all people have a “Free will” but I beg to differ. According to the word of God it is not true but there was a time when it was true. God created Lucifer an Archangel along with the other Angels of various positions of authority. We read of the fall of Lucifer (Now Satan, the adversary of God and his creation) through his pride, even wanting to have his Throne exalted above God’s.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. Isaiah 14:12 NLT.
“But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. Isaiah 14:13 NASB.
What I understand is that God allowed his creation to make free will choices of their own, even the choice to rebel and sin against him as Satan did along with a number of Angels. This begs the question why? We know Paradise lost was no surprise to God; in fact, he had already planned to send his only begotten Son to redeem many of his creation.
All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast–all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13:8 NLT.
In his creation God allowed free will choices, they were not puppets on a string but why didn’t God just wipe them out and start over? God is perfect in all his ways, in mercy and compassion but also a righteous Judge! God hates sin, he cannot sin, neither can he tempt anyone to sin. It appears that Lucifer committed the first sin against God through pride, as a result he sealed his own fate but God has given him a period of time, his rule of the earth that Adam and Eve forfeited by believing Satan’s words rather than God’s. When this took place, man’s “Free will” was gone,All mankind now have a will bound to Satan who is as Jesus said; “The Prince of this world”.
It now is apparent that the reason God had allowed the fall of Satan and mankind was twofold, the first is to bring honor and glory to his Name (The giving of his Son is an unspeakable gift which no one can match or would have thought of to do! The just dying for the unjust, his enemy!) The second is to have a people for himself who would worship him in Spirit and Truth. We are HIS people who he saved from their sins!
Our God of mercy and compassion decided to save the many as Jesus said at the Last Supper. He sent Jesus to plunder Satan’s Kingdom, setting prisoners free, loosening them from bondage to Satan. (Circumcision was a picture of being loosed from sin with the shedding of blood). God does a miracle for his people, the elect; he restores the free will they had lost through the fall of Adam and Eve.
Through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit they are given the “Godly repentance” a person needs in order to obtain salvation. (This was the true repentance preached by Peter in the Book of Acts) It is a supernatural ability that man on their own does NOT have! This, along with the “Gift of faith” enables the person to believe God’s word; they are then “Sealed” by the Holy Spirit, who will abide in them forever! An added gift is to once again have their free will restored.
They are now free to serve and obey God but can choose not to, even willfully sin! Being they are not their own but are God’s possession, there are consequences because of their new position as Son’s who the Father will correct, this proves his love for them.
Do you realize that only the believer can grieve God’s Holy Spirit? This is God himself suffering because of our willful sin.
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30 NLT.
Even in the Old Testament his people grieved his Spirit by their lifestyle.
But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them. Isaiah 63:10 NLT
I love the Book of Hosea, in it the man of God is told to go to the “Slave” block and buy back his adulterous wife, which he does, she then loves and stays with him. It is a beautiful picture of our redemption through Christ, for us he went to Satan’s slave block where we were like Hosea’s wife. Like her, we had no hope yet Jesus came to redeem us, not with silver or gold but with the precious blood from Emanuel’s veins!
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:10 NLT.
The world’s sin has caused God to be angry and allow *evil to punish those dwell on the earth, his long suffering from that will end when Jesus returns to set up his Kingdom for 1000 years and show his perfect Reign compared to the sinful lawless Reign of man today!
*To allow evil is not doing evil, in this God accomplishes his will being done and always brings good out of it, unlike our enemy Satan!
Author Ken
May 2013