In other words, God planned redemption before He created the race of people from whom He would draw the redeemed. His redemptive purpose came first. Let’s follow that even further, Titus chapter 1, for a moment. It talks about the gospel in Titus 1:1 and 2, Paul a bondservant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul’s identifying himself there. And he says he is for the faith of those chosen of God. That’s salvation faith for the elect, the knowledge of the truth according to godliness, the hope of eternal life. So he’s talking about the gospel, the gospel of all saving faith that involves election, it involves the knowledge of the truth, it involves godliness, it involves the promise and the hope of eternal life. But notice this, God’s whole saving purpose, His whole saving purpose was something God who cannot lie promised…when?…it says long ages ago, the Greek says before time began. Now when did time begin? When did time begin? On day one. So before day one God had already planned the gospel. And there was an element of the gospel that was a promise. He promised long ages ago. God promised that He would choose some, that He would grant them faith, that He would give them the knowledge of the truth, that He would produce in them godliness, that He would grant them eternal life. God promised that before day one.
Now the question is to whom did He promise it? He didn’t promise it to any human being, we weren’t even created till day six. He didn’t promise it to angels. As I told you earlier, angels were created at the same time everything else was created. We don’t know exactly or precisely when. But He certainly didn’t promise salvation to angels because angels don’t experience salvation, do they? So He didn’t promise them that. The angels who sinned and fell out of heaven fell forever and there is no salvation for angels. So to whom did God make a promise of salvation before time began?
Well, go over to 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9, we’ll get a little deeper into this. It says that God, the end of verse 8, who saved us, called us with a holy calling, etc., etc., etc., did this according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus…and for some reason the translators here translate the same phrase that’s in Titus 1:2, same exact phrase, there it’s translated long ages ago, or whenever, here it’s translated from all eternity, it’s the same phrase…before time began. Here we have it again. God made a promise, according to Titus 1:2, before time began. Here it says He had a purpose that involved Christ Jesus from before time began. So before time began God made a promise. He made a promise that He was going to redeem some creatures that He would make and He was going to redeem them by means of Christ Jesus. He must have been discussing then with the second member of the trinity the necessity of an incarnation, the necessity of an entrance into the world, the necessity of sacrifice for sin and all of that.
It was all planned before time began. Verse 10 says but it was revealed by the appearing of the Savior Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus. Now I’m taking you before Genesis 1, I’m taking you in time…before time began, before the earth was given its foundations, before there was any creation in the councils of God. The plan was there was going to be a redeemed humanity who would be created and redeemed, brought to glory by means of the incarnation and the sacrifice of the second member of the trinity.
We know further in the New Testament that they would be redeemed by the work of the third member of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, who would convict their hearts of sin and righteousness and judgment, who would illuminate their minds to understand the truth, who would regenerate them and grant them the new birth. And, of course, at that particular point they would be transferred from death to life, they would become one of God’s own. Those who would experience all of that are those whom God chose before the foundations of the earth, before time began.
Philippians chapter 1 verse 3 talks about…I should say Ephesians chapter 1, I’m sorry, verse 3 talks about the purposes of God, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…why?…just as He chose us in Him before…what?…the foundation of the world.” So the whole divine decree unfolded before time began, before anything was ever created. And this was in the council of the trinity. Verse 4 says, “He predestined us.” He did it simply because of His own will.
How far did this go? Well, the Father said I’m going to create and redeem some people, I’m going to give them to the Son as a love gift. In fact, if you look at John 6, and I won’t take the time, and look at John 17, repeatedly Jesus refers to every believer as those whom the Father has given Me. Remember that? Jesus in John 6 says, “No man comes to Me except the Father draws him.” Jesus says, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me and I will lose none of them.” In John 17 Jesus prays, “I pray, Father, that all that You have given Me will be brought to glory to see our glory.” Jesus refers to believers then as those whom the Father has given Him. And that begins to shape this plan. The Father then desires to show His love to the Son. It is His supreme love, it is the love that only God knows the love that is so great that it longs to give and God determines that the way to express that love is to create and redeem humans and then bring them to glory. And when they’re brought to glory, they are made like Christ. Philippians tells us in chapter 3 that we’ll be conformed to His glory, to the very body of His glory. First John 3 says we’ll be like Him for we see Him as He is. And so the Father is going to make us literally reflections, replicas of Jesus Christ who will radiate His glory and we will praise Him and honor Him and glorify Him forever and ever and ever and serve Him as well. That is the Father’s love gift to the Son.
The wonderful story, I’ve told you this in the past, is that 1 Corinthians 15 says when the Son…when the Son receives that redeemed humanity from the Father, when the Father gives the Son that redeemed humanity, when they’re all brought to glory, when we’re all there, and time is no more, and we’re all in the presence of God and we’re given by the Father to the Son, when the Father gives the complete redeemed humanity to the Son, 1 Corinthians 15 indicates that the Son turns right around and gives it back to the Father and God is all in all. And what has been achieved by that is a whole redeemed humanity along with holy angels populating the new heaven and the new earth forever, for no other purpose than to serve and to praise and glorify God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who is worthy of glory.
Now this gets personal in Revelation chapter 13 and Revelation chapter 17 where twice in both cases, chapter 13 verse 8, and chapter 17 verse 8, it says the same thing, it refers to believers as those whose names have been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life. Those whose names have been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life. And again it takes us back before the foundation of the world.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
