In his letter to the church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul writes, 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places, 4. even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:3-4 [RSV])
These two verses penned by the Apostle Paul some 2000 years ago while writing through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit just may be the most remarkable words found in Scripture for they give us an extraordinary insight into the very heart and mind of God! Have you ever fathomed the depth of revelation contained within these verses? Let me see if I can help you to grasp its meaning a bit clearer.
Try, if you will, to imagine that God has transported you back to that moment and you were there at that precise instant Paul just described “before the foundation of the world.” You find yourself in a place and a time that exists without time. There never has been time in this place you find yourself, and there never will be time within its bounds, for all there is in this place is now. You are experiencing eternity! You are existing in a place outside the very physical fabric of what we know as space and time, outside of the outer limits of the massive extent of the universe itself, for even at this point in history there is no universe. There are no stars, there are no planets, and there are no comets composed of ice and rock trailing their lengthy, dusty tails behind them as they orbit about the sun in their long and lonely journey around the solar system. There is no cosmos brimming with the wonders of God’s glorious and magnificent creation, most of which are yet to be discovered. There are no trees with their brilliant autumn foliage on display, and no flowers sprinkled across a meadow in the springtime of the year. There are no cruel, blasting winds from the north bringing the snows of winter in their wake, and neither is there any burning and scorching heat of a summer’s day. There are no animals living within the forests, the savannas, or the vast, frozen tundra for they do not exist. There are no snowcapped mountain vistas climbing high above the clouds to caress the azure blue sky above, and no rivers flowing in the lush, green valleys below. There are no songbirds singing in the cool, morning breeze as they greet the dawn, nor are there any eagles soaring high upon the currents of air rising from the plains below, catching the rays of the afternoon sun as they seek their unsuspecting prey below. There are no myriads of sea creatures swimming in the boundless, unfathomable ocean depths, and neither are there any gulls crying mournfully upon its seemingly limitless miles of coastline. There are none of these fair and wondrous things for God has not yet created them.
Although there is no universe, please do not be mistaken into thinking that where you are there is nothing but a vast void, meaningless and empty. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Never before have you felt such utter joy, such tremendous fulfillment of happiness without measure, and such profound comfort and reassurance, for you are enveloped in the very presence of Almighty God. Love flowing from Him permeates your entire being beyond infinity itself, for the Being you are with is complete and pure love, for God is the embodiment of love itself (1 John 4:8).
Neither is there any shadow or darkness where you are, for you are bathed entirely in immaculate Light, for “God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 [RSV]). In His immeasurable energy you are encompassed and enclosed in Him Who is “the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17 [RSV]). Never before have you experienced such beauty as that which emanates from that Light, and you now undergo sensations you never could have imagined existed or were even remotely possible. Your senses in their entirety are immersed altogether completely and thoroughly into Him Who has no beginning and Who has no ending of days, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ancient of Days Himself! Never before have you felt so totally alive!
Even though God has not yet created the universe, you are there witnessing firsthand as a plan is being formulated in the limitless mind of the Creator and Sustainer of all the worlds. As you listen in, you find yourself in utter shock and disbelief, for you understand that the plan God is making is centered around and involves YOU and your salvation! Oh, what matchless love, and what unparalleled grace! God knew YOU long before the world was created, and He chose how YOU would be able to stand holy and blameless before Him. You are seeing how you can become clothed in His holy and righteous garments, casting off the filthy rags of sin which you wear, and unashamedly stand before His throne of grace!
And then, as unbelievable as it sounds to your ears, you see how this plan is to come about. You are privy to the formulation of the gospel plan of salvation as it is being brought to its fruition as now that pure Light of God in His unadulterated love, speaks.
“Son?”
“Yes, Father?”
“It is time.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You are My beloved Son, but I must ask that You willingly leave this place and become a lowly Servant to bear the sins of My children to come. Are You prepared to take this burden upon Yourself?”
“Father, this, too, I know I must do, just as I know that You love Me and that We love our children yet to be born. I choose to humble and empty Myself of the glory I share with You and I agree to fashion Myself to be born as a Baby, to grow, mature and submit to My Earthly parents as a Child and to live My life as a Man in complete subjection to You for Your glory.”
“Son, are You saying You are willing to do this for Me and for My children?”
“Yes, Father, for the love I have for You and for the love I hold for Our children so precious in Your sight I choose to be born of lowly birth to a virgin as Your only begotten Child conceived through Your Holy Spirit. In all things, Father, I choose to be Your faithful, obedient Servant.”
“You are choosing to be My obedient Servant, My Son?”
“Yes, Father, even if it means My own cruel death, I will give My life for You and for Your children. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from My Father.” (John 10:18 [RSV])
“Yes, Son, You have perceived correctly. That is My will. But Your very own death? Even the death on a cross You are willing to undergo of Your own free will?”
“Yes, Father, not My will, but Thine be done (Luke 22:42 [RSV]). In all things, Father, this is My prayer. For You and the love You have for Your children I am willing to bear any pain and any death at any cost to Me personally. I am willing to be hung upon My cross and have the nails driven into My hands and into My feet. I am willing to be scourged and beaten. I am willing to be mocked and scourged. I am willing to have a spear thrust into My side and pierce My heart. I will do it all, if that is Your will in order for You to redeem Your lost sheep. If it is through My stripes that the children will be healed, then so be it, Father! I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 14:31 [RSV])
“My Son, You truly are My beloved Child! You are willing to do all of this, even knowing that in spite of Your great sacrifice the vast multitudes of Our children will still choose in their insolence and rebellion to reject You and Your salvation?”
“Yes, Father, I know this all too well, and it saddens Me deeply to know they will still choose to reject You. I know that in spite of the sacrifice You are making in sending Me to the Earth most of the world will mock Me and reject Me throughout the ensuing generations and centuries to come. It grieves Me, Father, but I realize that if only one precious soul You will create is saved to live eternally with Us in Our home in Heaven, then it will be worth it. In fact, I would be willing to do it again and again because I know just how much You surely love Your children, and it is not Your wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 [RSV])
“Yes, Son, I know that You, too, love My children, and that You long to have them share in Your riches as Your brothers and sisters throughout eternity. I also know You are willing to do this over and over again if need be, but I will not ask You to do this but once. Your blood shed upon that Cross of Calvary will be the satisfying atonement for the sins of all of mankind and for all of time. Only once will I ask that You die for mankind. In Your blood will the children be justified, and in Our Holy Spirit will the world be sanctified.”
“Oh, Father, how I love You dearly! I knew You would not leave them as orphans following My death, My resurrection and My glorious ascension to You above! How magnanimous it is for You to give to them of Your Holy Spirit!”
“My Son, I freely give to them Our Holy Spirit as a down payment for their life to come as it is spent in eternity with Us. They will be of Our family forever and ever!
“Come. Let Us now begin Our creation.”
That, brothers and sisters, is the story I see contained within those two verses written by the Apostle Paul some 2000 years ago. Even “before the foundation of the world” the gospel plan of salvation with YOU in mind was forged in the heart and mind of God. Jesus was there, and He knew just what a great sacrifice it would be for Him to make, but He was willing of His own free will to make that sacrifice because He loves the Father and because He loves YOU! So as you can see, your salvation in the body of Christ, which is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23), was His plan even before the beginning.
These two verses penned by the Apostle Paul some 2000 years ago while writing through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit just may be the most remarkable words found in Scripture for they give us an extraordinary insight into the very heart and mind of God! Have you ever fathomed the depth of revelation contained within these verses? Let me see if I can help you to grasp its meaning a bit clearer.
Try, if you will, to imagine that God has transported you back to that moment and you were there at that precise instant Paul just described “before the foundation of the world.” You find yourself in a place and a time that exists without time. There never has been time in this place you find yourself, and there never will be time within its bounds, for all there is in this place is now. You are experiencing eternity! You are existing in a place outside the very physical fabric of what we know as space and time, outside of the outer limits of the massive extent of the universe itself, for even at this point in history there is no universe. There are no stars, there are no planets, and there are no comets composed of ice and rock trailing their lengthy, dusty tails behind them as they orbit about the sun in their long and lonely journey around the solar system. There is no cosmos brimming with the wonders of God’s glorious and magnificent creation, most of which are yet to be discovered. There are no trees with their brilliant autumn foliage on display, and no flowers sprinkled across a meadow in the springtime of the year. There are no cruel, blasting winds from the north bringing the snows of winter in their wake, and neither is there any burning and scorching heat of a summer’s day. There are no animals living within the forests, the savannas, or the vast, frozen tundra for they do not exist. There are no snowcapped mountain vistas climbing high above the clouds to caress the azure blue sky above, and no rivers flowing in the lush, green valleys below. There are no songbirds singing in the cool, morning breeze as they greet the dawn, nor are there any eagles soaring high upon the currents of air rising from the plains below, catching the rays of the afternoon sun as they seek their unsuspecting prey below. There are no myriads of sea creatures swimming in the boundless, unfathomable ocean depths, and neither are there any gulls crying mournfully upon its seemingly limitless miles of coastline. There are none of these fair and wondrous things for God has not yet created them.
Although there is no universe, please do not be mistaken into thinking that where you are there is nothing but a vast void, meaningless and empty. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Never before have you felt such utter joy, such tremendous fulfillment of happiness without measure, and such profound comfort and reassurance, for you are enveloped in the very presence of Almighty God. Love flowing from Him permeates your entire being beyond infinity itself, for the Being you are with is complete and pure love, for God is the embodiment of love itself (1 John 4:8).
Neither is there any shadow or darkness where you are, for you are bathed entirely in immaculate Light, for “God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 [RSV]). In His immeasurable energy you are encompassed and enclosed in Him Who is “the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17 [RSV]). Never before have you experienced such beauty as that which emanates from that Light, and you now undergo sensations you never could have imagined existed or were even remotely possible. Your senses in their entirety are immersed altogether completely and thoroughly into Him Who has no beginning and Who has no ending of days, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ancient of Days Himself! Never before have you felt so totally alive!
Even though God has not yet created the universe, you are there witnessing firsthand as a plan is being formulated in the limitless mind of the Creator and Sustainer of all the worlds. As you listen in, you find yourself in utter shock and disbelief, for you understand that the plan God is making is centered around and involves YOU and your salvation! Oh, what matchless love, and what unparalleled grace! God knew YOU long before the world was created, and He chose how YOU would be able to stand holy and blameless before Him. You are seeing how you can become clothed in His holy and righteous garments, casting off the filthy rags of sin which you wear, and unashamedly stand before His throne of grace!
And then, as unbelievable as it sounds to your ears, you see how this plan is to come about. You are privy to the formulation of the gospel plan of salvation as it is being brought to its fruition as now that pure Light of God in His unadulterated love, speaks.
“Son?”
“Yes, Father?”
“It is time.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You are My beloved Son, but I must ask that You willingly leave this place and become a lowly Servant to bear the sins of My children to come. Are You prepared to take this burden upon Yourself?”
“Father, this, too, I know I must do, just as I know that You love Me and that We love our children yet to be born. I choose to humble and empty Myself of the glory I share with You and I agree to fashion Myself to be born as a Baby, to grow, mature and submit to My Earthly parents as a Child and to live My life as a Man in complete subjection to You for Your glory.”
“Son, are You saying You are willing to do this for Me and for My children?”
“Yes, Father, for the love I have for You and for the love I hold for Our children so precious in Your sight I choose to be born of lowly birth to a virgin as Your only begotten Child conceived through Your Holy Spirit. In all things, Father, I choose to be Your faithful, obedient Servant.”
“You are choosing to be My obedient Servant, My Son?”
“Yes, Father, even if it means My own cruel death, I will give My life for You and for Your children. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from My Father.” (John 10:18 [RSV])
“Yes, Son, You have perceived correctly. That is My will. But Your very own death? Even the death on a cross You are willing to undergo of Your own free will?”
“Yes, Father, not My will, but Thine be done (Luke 22:42 [RSV]). In all things, Father, this is My prayer. For You and the love You have for Your children I am willing to bear any pain and any death at any cost to Me personally. I am willing to be hung upon My cross and have the nails driven into My hands and into My feet. I am willing to be scourged and beaten. I am willing to be mocked and scourged. I am willing to have a spear thrust into My side and pierce My heart. I will do it all, if that is Your will in order for You to redeem Your lost sheep. If it is through My stripes that the children will be healed, then so be it, Father! I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 14:31 [RSV])
“My Son, You truly are My beloved Child! You are willing to do all of this, even knowing that in spite of Your great sacrifice the vast multitudes of Our children will still choose in their insolence and rebellion to reject You and Your salvation?”
“Yes, Father, I know this all too well, and it saddens Me deeply to know they will still choose to reject You. I know that in spite of the sacrifice You are making in sending Me to the Earth most of the world will mock Me and reject Me throughout the ensuing generations and centuries to come. It grieves Me, Father, but I realize that if only one precious soul You will create is saved to live eternally with Us in Our home in Heaven, then it will be worth it. In fact, I would be willing to do it again and again because I know just how much You surely love Your children, and it is not Your wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 [RSV])
“Yes, Son, I know that You, too, love My children, and that You long to have them share in Your riches as Your brothers and sisters throughout eternity. I also know You are willing to do this over and over again if need be, but I will not ask You to do this but once. Your blood shed upon that Cross of Calvary will be the satisfying atonement for the sins of all of mankind and for all of time. Only once will I ask that You die for mankind. In Your blood will the children be justified, and in Our Holy Spirit will the world be sanctified.”
“Oh, Father, how I love You dearly! I knew You would not leave them as orphans following My death, My resurrection and My glorious ascension to You above! How magnanimous it is for You to give to them of Your Holy Spirit!”
“My Son, I freely give to them Our Holy Spirit as a down payment for their life to come as it is spent in eternity with Us. They will be of Our family forever and ever!
“Come. Let Us now begin Our creation.”
That, brothers and sisters, is the story I see contained within those two verses written by the Apostle Paul some 2000 years ago. Even “before the foundation of the world” the gospel plan of salvation with YOU in mind was forged in the heart and mind of God. Jesus was there, and He knew just what a great sacrifice it would be for Him to make, but He was willing of His own free will to make that sacrifice because He loves the Father and because He loves YOU! So as you can see, your salvation in the body of Christ, which is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23), was His plan even before the beginning.
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