God’s Eternal Purpose (Book 1 of the Set Free Series)

Preface I thank the Lord for giving me the Holy Spirit and His word as a means of revelation and light. I also thank God for those men and women whom He has chosen, to give an understanding to, of His great mysteries. He has used such men and women as Thomas Law, Nancy DeMoss, Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, Watchmen Nee, Roy Hession and Charles Spurgeon as well as the Apostles and prophets of His word, to open my spiritual eyes and understanding. Their writings have had a profound influence on me and for that I am eternally grateful. In all humility we must come to the knowledge and acceptance that our natural

understanding of God is both inadequate and unacceptable. We must have a spiritual

awakening (revelation) to bring us to a place where we desire to as well as begin to know

our Lord. We are insufficient in our abilities to comprehend or see the great truths of His

word without His Spirit illuminating our conscious minds. I pray that by His grace and

love that He would do so as you read this book.

My prayer is that our eyes would be open to the revelation of the Holy Spirit so that we

might be able to comprehend the great truths of the Gospel. Ephesians 1:17-18 that the

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and

revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that

you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His

inheritance in the saints. Lord help us to see believe and understand 1. Your eternal purpose for us all 2. All that you have accomplished on the cross 3. All that you have accomplished by your resurrection 4. All that you are accomplishing today through your Holy Spirit

GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE

In order to have a better understanding of the truth and magnitude of our total redemption

provided for by the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our lives;

we must first put it into perspective with God's eternal purpose for created man. God's eternal purpose has been established from before time began and is still being

worked out today. His plan concerns His Son and includes creating mankind as a means by

which His Son might express His life. Our Lord created mankind to be the vehicle through

which it would be possible to commune (fellowship) with Himself, who is a Spirit. That

purpose was temporarily altered by the "fall" of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,

making it necessary for the redemptive work on the Cross undertaken by our Savior Jesus

Christ. His redemptive work has made possible a new creation to fulfill the "eternal

purpose" of God. Jesus represents the first kind of that new creation and thus has through

His death, burial and resurrection-restored and made possible for you and I individually

and collectively to fulfill the eternal purpose for which mankind was originally created. He

is the "first-fruit" of that new creation. For we are told in I Corinthians 15:20 But now

"Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen

asleep." Christ is the first of the new/redeemed creation and has made it possible for you

and I to be members of that new creation through His death on the cross, His resurrection

and the power of the Holy Spirit. For this we praise Him profusely.

The Man Adam

The creation of Adam by God was the initial process in God’s plan of creating beings by

which His Son's life could be expressed. Jesus the only begotten Son would be alive

through the life of many sons. Hebrews 2:10-11 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all

things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain

(Jesus) of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies (makes

holy/righteous) and those who are being sanctified (believers) are all of one, for which

reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

There are two distinct parties represented in this verse, the one who justifies and sanctifies

(Jesus) and those who are sanctified (the believer- you and I). These two parties are said to

be of one. The Greek word for "of" means to come out of. Although both parties came by

different means, both Jesus and the believers are out of one-that One being God. Hebrews

2:10-11 is in reference to redeemed man and the resurrected Christ. This was not the case

with Adam. Although Adam was created to be the source by which many sons would

come, he instead became the source by which and through which sin and death entered into

the world.

Adam was created with a spirit which would allow him to commune with "the spiritual"

world of God and a body through which he could experience the outside world. The

combination of these two aspects, in a practical sense resulted in a soul/personality in

Adam. He became in essence a living, created entity with a "free will." 1. "Adam was

created perfect-by which we mean that he was without imperfections because he was

created by God--but he was not yet perfected.

Adam's Free Will

Adam represented the initial fulfillment of God's plan, which went beyond just a creation

of a race of people. Through Adam, God sought to bring forth a creation with one blood

and His life dwelling within them. The man Adam, as mentioned earlier had a developed

soul and thus had the powers of choice. I must reiterate that God's goal in creating man

(Adam) was "son ship" or as a matter of more clarification "to be the vehicle whereby the

expression of His life would be made possible.

There was a clear choice presented to Adam in the Garden of Eden represented by "The

tree of life", which bore a fruit that could be eaten by Adam and The Tree of Knowledge of

Good and Evil (which God had forbidden Adam to eat from). Adam by virtue of the fact

that he had a free will would be making a decision between choosing divine life and total

dependence upon God or a life of independence from God. The Tree of Life represented

God's own life and by accepting it Adam would in essence have secured a life in union with

God and thus solidified mankind’s position as spiritual sons of God. If on the other hand

Adam ate from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil ( which God had forbidden Him

to eat from), it would indicate that he chose to live apart from God and to be led by his own

thoughts and feelings. When Adam chose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and

Evil, it immediately ushered in a rejection of God by His creation (Adam) to be that vehicle

by which and through which God could express His life. Adam’s soul became the center of

his understanding, and intellect and forever would usurp the place of the spirit that God

had designed him to possess so that he could have communion with Him. From that time on

Adam and all creation born of Adam would have lives devoid of the Spirit of God.

However, because God has divine wisdom and incomparable power, He had a plan. It is a

plan consistent with His eternal purpose and capable of overcoming the hellish act

committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden. The fall would be but a pause in the goals that

God originally had for His creation-for God would make a way to restore His lost creation

to its original purpose.

God's Plan of Redemption

I would like to present some more foundational facts concerning "the fall" of man, before

moving to any teaching in re: to the beautiful redemptive plan and act provided by God

and carried out by Jesus for our sakes.

Genesis 3:22-24 Then the Lord God said, "Behold the man has become like one of us (that

is having become his own god by becoming motivated to act on his own rather than being a

body through which God's spirit would live), to know good and evil. And now lest he put

out his hand (decide), and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever-therefore the

Lord sent him (Adam) out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was

taken. So He drove out the man and placed cherubim (Angels) at the east of the garden of

Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Here we see the catastrophic turn of events for mankind in his relationship to God and the

world around him. We can see in these verses that Adam, whom God had created to be

that creation by which "many sons" of God would come, had now forfeited that purpose.

The result is that God removed Adam and Eve from Eden (which represented the perfect

world that God had created for them), and cast them out into a new world. A world in

which Adam and all who came after him, would live a life directed by themselves rather

than God. Instead of being creatures who would express the life of God through

communion with His Spirit; they had become mutations of God's original creation. They

would now live in a different world than the one originally conceived of by God. Eternal

life as well as their spiritual link to God, was broken. The tree of life was withheld by God

and removed as a source of life (God's life) from Adam and all of his offspring until the

redemptive plan of God was complete.

That new world which Adam was driven to ("So He drove out the man...Genesis 3:24) is

the same world in which we live today. It is a world designed by man, it is corrupt and

godless, evil by nature and headed by the very creature (Satan) who orchestrated the "fall"

of man through his deception of Eve in the garden. This world system that we live in today

is not the one that God had made for His creation. The greed, selfishness, heartache,

murder, abuse, hate, and pride-are all the result of man's natural behavior. This world

will pass away at the second coming of Christ-hallelujah! Let us look with thanksgiving to

the promise given to us by the word of God in the book of Revelations chapter 21 verses 1-4

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had

passed away. Also there was no more sea. 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. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more

death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have

passed away.” Amen and Amen

The Necessity of Redemption

It would seem that God's eternal purpose had suffered derailment at the hands of

Satan through his seduction of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He was successful in

exploiting the "free will" inherent in the man Adam-thereby at least temporarily putting a

halt to the plans which God had for His creation. So now death and sin would reign in

mankind from the fall of Adam in Genesis 3:7 until today. However, God's plans are

immutable and ongoing. He had a plan and it involved the very Son by which He would

not only implement His plan, but through which He would recover His created beings

(mankind). In other words God had as part of His eternal plan-a plan to restore His

"fallen" creation and that plan involved His Son.

Romans 5:19 For as by one man's (Adam's) disobedience many were made sinners, so also

by one Man's (Christ) obedience many will be made righteous.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Our Savior (Jesus) has provided all that is required by God for the restoration of His

people. The rest of this study will focus on that fact. Therefore we will look very closely at 4

spiritual aspects of Christ death, burial and resurrection.

They are as follows 1. Justification 2. New Birth 3. Deliverance 4. Sanctification..

Although these four aspects of the redemptive act are important parts of redemption," we

must keep in mind that they are different parts of the one all encompassing act brought

about by the Cross of Christ. "The work of the Cross is finished and never need be

repeated, nor can be added to.

These four aspects of redemption will be further dealt with in our studies by taking a in

depth look at:

1. The Blood of Christ and how it deals with sin and guilt

2. The Cross of Christ and how it deals with sin, the flesh and natural man

3. The Life of Christ made available to indwell, recreate, and empower men

4. The working of death in the natural man so that the indwelling Life of Christ may be

progressively made real in our lives.

John Chapter 17:1-5

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father the hour has

come. Glorify Your Son that your Son may glorify You. as You have given Him (Jesus)

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 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.

Jesus the redeemer We know in retrospect that Jesus has become the redeemer of our lives. He is the source

and the instrument that God used to reinstate His purpose back into the human race.

Jesus Himself asserts that this is true as He prays to His Father in the gospel of John

Chapter 17. It is here that we have the privilege of seeing the great love that Jesus has for

His Father. Here in Chapter 17 is the obedient and loving Jesus communicating with His

Father in much the way that an obedient child would let his/her parents know, that they

have done what was asked of them. Let us read from this Chapter so that we might receive

revelation through God's word.

Again we get a glimpse of Jesus speaking to His Father about completing the work that

God had sent Him to do and signifying that it is God Himself who has given Him the

authority to redeem mankind back to its original purpose (I have finished the work which

You have given Me to do).

Furthermore Jesus commented that this eternal life that He had the power to give mankind

through redemption-could only come to those who believed and knew who God was and

who Jesus was. Not simply to know about them-for there are millions who know about

Him. But here we see the word know as in knowing intimately who He and His Father

were. Jesus had glorified His Father on earth by completely doing the will of His Father in

coming back and becoming the fulfillment of God's requirement for mankind to be

reconciled (yes even redeemed), back to Him. We see this articulated by Paul in Romans

Chapter 8:2-4 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the

law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh,

God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account (because) of sin.

He condemned sin in the flesh (this is the great work that Jesus did in obedience to His

Father and that He indicated that He had completed in John Chapter 17), that the

righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the

flesh, but according to the Spirit.

And now that this great work was done we find Jesus lovingly asking His Father to restore

Him back to the glorious relationship with Him before the beginning of time. He longed to

be back with His Father and soon would be- for the crucifixion had yet to occur.

John 17:6-8

"I have manifested (made known) Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of

the world. They were Yours. You gave them to Me, and they have kept your word. Now

they have known that all things which You have given me are from You. For I have given

to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have

known surely (without a doubt) that I came forth from You and they have believed that

You sent Me.”

Knowing Christ In this verse we see where Jesus says that He has taught the disciples the words of God and

that as a result that they believed-without doubt and as a result knew who He and God

really were. There are many today who believe and yet do not “know.” Earlier in John

17:3 Jesus tells us that eternal life is to know both He and His Father. We are told in

James 2:19 that believing alone is not enough, “for even the demons believe and tremble.”

The real question is what do you do with and about your belief? Jesus came into this dark

world as Light and in John 1:5 we are told that the world (darkness), comprehended

(knew/understood) Him not.

I would submit to you today that if you are struggling with your perception of Christianity

or your life as a “Christian”-it is quite possible that you have a belief in God, but have yet

to know Him. This mental state is described by my brother Watchmen Nee as the “crisis of

faith.” This term alludes to the fact that once the Holy Spirit by His grace provides you or I

with a certain understanding and revelation concerning Who God and His Son Jesus

Christ are; at once you believe. At once when you believe-the crisis of faith comes upon

you. You believe in but yet still do not know the risen Christ. It is at this point that many

begin to embark upon their own understanding of our Lord. Assumptions are made based

upon our human understanding, intellect, beliefs, ideas, emotions etc. There is only one

problem with this approach-we are not capable of “knowing” God through our own

understanding. It must come by the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit and the Word

of God. I Corinthians 2:10-11 “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For

the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God. For what man knows the things

of 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.” Therefore we must humbly pray for God’s revelation

through His Spirit and Word.

The Crisis of Faith The real crisis of faith comes when you and I make a decision to hold on to our long held

assumptions, religious traditions/doctrines and ideas-rather than the sovereign word of

God revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to

please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of

those who diligently seek Him.” In this verse we not only see the tremendous value that

God has placed upon faith but also the catalyst necessary to produce faith. Faith then is

made possible and increased in those "who diligently" seek to know God. My brothers and

sisters-have you diligently sought out to know Him today or are you still feebly holding on

to your views of God. Is God not able to teach you who He is? For faith comes by hearing

and hearing by the word of God.

John 17:9-11

"I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for

they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy

Father keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as

We are."

At the risk of being repetitive-I would like to state again that God's eternal purpose was to

express the life of He and His Son through his created being (mankind). Adam's rebellious

act in the garden of Eden created a temporary detour to that purpose. The resulting man

"made after Adam's likeness," (Genesis 5:3)- would develop without the Spirit of God as

His guide. The world as a result with its systems, civilizations, religions, philosophies etc is

the result of man's plans and is diametrically opposed to God's purpose. We must

remember that Adam and Eve were driven out of the world that God had created for

them. This world that we live in today is not God's world, it is man's world and God has

fully rejected it.

I John 2:15-16 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the

world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the eyes,

and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world."

Us as one Our Lord has provided a way of redemption and restoration and will gather those (His

church) who have received His gift of eternal life to Himself and His Son. There is a new

world which He will establish that is spoken of in Revelations chapter 21 and it is that

world which we are to look to and wait for. So it is that we see Jesus in John 17:9-11

making the certain statement that He has nothing to do with this world or those who are a

part of it. He has come for those whose eyes have been opened and who have believed with

their hearts that He is from and of the Father. Let us not miss the significance of the last

sentence in verse 11; "Holy Father keep through Your name those whom you have given

Me, that they may be as one as We are." Here we see our Lord proclaiming His purpose as

it relates to God's eternal purpose. Namely that mankind would be grafted into the life of

the Father and the Son. Nothing describes God's purpose more directly than John 14:20

"At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in Me and I in you.”

Paul further punctuates this thought and provides further clarification in the book of

Colossians 1:27 "To them (God's saints) God willed to make known what are the riches of

the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles (those of us who are non-Jews); which is

Christ in you, the hope of glory."

This then is our hope "Christ in us."

John 17:12-26

Not of this world

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me

I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition (Judas), that the Scripture

might be fulfilled. But now I come to You and these things I speak in the world, that they

may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has

hated them because they are not of this world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray

that you should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil

one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your

truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the

world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I

do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

that they all may be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one

in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I

have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that

they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and

have loved them as You have loved Me. 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. O righteous Father! The world has not

known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have

declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me

may be in them, and I in them."

His Joy Fulfilled

Jesus prayed that His disciples (including all of us today) would have His joy fulfilled or

accomplished in us. Jesus' joy was in doing the will of His Father and I pray that it would

become our joy as well. We see that in this prayer, Jesus did not ask that we (his disciples)

would be taken out of the world; but instead, that we would be kept from "the evil one."

Why? Because we saints are to remain in the world to complete the work of Jesus Christ in

redeeming others back to the Father through the preaching and teaching of the gospel and

more importantly through His life lived out through us.

Sanctification-God's work! Christ also asked His Father to sanctify us by His truth (verse 19). Jesus Himself was

sanctified as the Son of God in the flesh. God had given Him the authority to sanctify

Himself. By sanctifying Himself-He also has sanctified us (his disciples). He states that it is

for our sakes that He sanctified Himself. This gift of sanctification is made possible to us

through the carrying out of God's sovereign will by Jesus. We are one with "The Father

and the Son" and therefore have been sanctified by God's word, through faith. Leviticus

11:44 "you shall be holy; for I am holy." I Peter 1:16 " Be holy, for I am holy." Our

sanctification cannot be done through our effort, it has been brought about by Jesus

Christ and made possible by His death, burial and resurrection. We all are sanctified

through Christ and by nothing more or nothing less. We will look more closely at

the sanctifying power of Christ later in our studies.

His loving request We have further insight into the love that Christ has for us as He prays to His Father

on our behalf. How amazing that our Lord would include you and I in His prayer

concerning His disciples. We who live today are as much a part of God's purpose as those

disciples during the time of Christ. He prays also that we might be "as one as He and His

Father are one.'' So now the promise as well as the eternal purpose through Jesus’

redemption has been extended to you and I. Our Lord finishes this loving prayer with the

following petition to God. He simply asks that the "love of God with which He loved His

Son, may be in us as it is in His Son." It is that love which makes His eternal purpose

possible in you and I today.

God’s great commission to believers Finally I would like to focus our attention to verse 18 as Jesus gives us an early preview of

the great commission spoken of in Acts 1:8. God’s commission given to us, being that we

are to be sent out as ambassadors of Christ. We are to be vessels used by the Holy Spirit to

express the life of Christ to others-which after all is the eternal purpose of God.

Set Free Series

God’s Eternal Purpose is part of an 11 Booklet series. The following is a

complete listing of those booklets.

1. God’s Eternal Purpose

2. God’s Redemptive Plan

3. His Blood

4. The Cross and Sin

5. Christ in Us

6. Us in Christ

7. The Holy Spirit

8. Deliverance

9. The Body of Christ

10. Sons of God

11. Revelations

If you are interested in receiving one or more of these booklets, please write to

me at urbanfamilyministries@yahoo.com. Booklets are Free!! However, we

at Whole Armor, do accept donations to help with printing and other costs

associated with producing this series. All donations can be made through Pay

Pal at http://godanddinosaurs.blogspot.com