God Has A Plan For Me
Over the past few years, I’ve had several folks tell me: “God has a plan for me”. This is usually in the context of something happening to them or some event which they may have perceived as “a sign”. Perhaps they fail to remember Acts 10:34 as Peter and several brethren from Joppa had gone as directed, to the household of Cornelius. He said: Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: I ask, if God is not a respecter of persons, (and He’s not), then why would He have a plan for one, and not another?
The truth is, God indeed has a plan. And surprisingly to some, it is the same plan for everyone. God’s plan, formulated even before creation, is the means by which the soul of man can be redeemed. 1Peter 1:18-20 shows this to be the case. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,. The plan of God to “save” man has now been fully revealed through the Bible so that all can know the plan and “choose” for themselves. No one is going to “force” them to follow God’s plan. All are free to be “lost” if that is what they desire.
But I got a little ahead of myself. We need to look at the start of man, when he made the wrong choice and see that God’s plan was in place even then. In Genesis 3:15, we see the first prophecy made by God Himself, and was speaking of the fulfillment of His plan for Salvation. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. God was foretelling the coming of the Christ. Man (& woman) sinned, and in so doing had separated themselves from God. (They died spiritually) as God said they would.
It would be many years before God’s plan for Salvation would come to fruition. God, tells us throughout His Word, how that because of Abraham’s faith, he would be the one through whom the Christ would come so this great plan of redemption would be carried out. In Genesis 18 just before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, God declared what part Abraham would have in God’s great plan for the redemption of man. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:17-19)
Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob (Israel), whose twelve sons were the heads of the tribes that made up the nation of Israel. It was through this nation that the Son of God would come to earth and pay the price so man could be saved. Galatians 4:4 tells us that God’s plan to redeem the souls of mankind was presented in accordance to God’s timeframe. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,. Then in Ephesians 1:10 we are told what was to be accomplished by the advent, earthly ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of the Christ. 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:
Israel, as a nation was separated for the purpose of bringing the Christ to the world, and as strange as it sounds, much of Israel rejected Him and that which He taught regarding the kingdom that would come shortly after His death, burial and resurrection. John 1:10-11 tells of His coming to provide the “Light” man needed, and much of Israel’s response. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. However, the next two verses show that even this rejection did not halt or hinder God’s plan for the saving of the souls of those who would obey. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
This is God’s “plan” for all humanity. First to be born physically, then to make the choice to be born “spiritually”. We are told in 2Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God wants you to be saved. This is why He sent His Son. This is why Christ died to shed His blood, so you and I could have the choice to contact that blood in baptism. God isn’t a respecter of persons as we see in Acts 10:35. But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Will you not make the choice to obey God and participate in that one plan that God has provided to save man’s soul? Yes, God has one plan for all. Let us help you see from God’s Own Word what that plan is and how to follow it so we can be together with God for eternity.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
