THE PLAN OF GOD

 

Basic Christian Doctrines 15

 

1.   God Has a Plan.

 

The universe is not a car without a driver, nor a driver without a map. There is a purpose behind everything. The Bible often speaks of this great plan of God. It is the “purpose” of that famous and favorite Bible verse, Rom. 8:28. God has planned out this purpose in advance. He thought it out, planned it in every detail, and carries it out “on purpose”. It is an absolute purpose, not merely a wish or command. In theology it is called the “decree”. God has decreed His purpose and it shall happen. See Rom. 9:11, Isa. 46:10-11, Eph. 3:11, Acts 4:28 and 2 Tim. 1:9.

 

2.   God Predestined Everything.

The plan of God is also called predestination. God pre-programmed everything that will come to pass (Eph. 1:11). Everything can be traced back to God's ultimate plan, for “from Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). He not only created all things (Gen. 1:1), but drew up the blueprints for everything. He foreordained what will happen, and He did this in advance in eternity. He drew up the plan before He laid the foundation. He pre-determined what would happen, not merely what could or should happen. Then He set the ball rolling in a certain course, and it must follow the pre-arranged course.

 

3.   God Planned Every Detail.

There is a time for every purpose under Heaven, says Eccl. 3:1. God has planned out this great purpose to the smallest detail. This includes the exact timing when everything would occur. He also prepared every relationship with every other detail. Nothing was ignored. Even the smallest and seemingly insignificant detail was included, such as the number of hairs on our heads. He prepared this detailed inventory in advance, and the construction of the universe follows it perfectly, for God is the great architect and contractor who never makes a mistake. In theology, we speak of the great plan as the decree, the individual details as decrees.

 

4.   There is No Such Thing as Chance.

Since God has determined everything in advance, there is no such thing as chance. “Chance” was a concept invented by certain Greek philosophers, especially promoted among the Epicureans (opposed in Acts 17). It denies the existence of a personal and sovereign God who foreordains everything. Similarly, there is no such thing as luck, either good or bad. Nor is there any fortune or accidents. Even the roll of dice has been determined by God (Pro. 16:33). Conversely, there is also no such thing as blind fate, a concept promoted by the ancient Stoics. Whatever will be will be, only because God has determined it so.  Coincidence is true only in the sense that two events may co-incide, or happen at the same time. But that is because God planned it like that.

 

5.   God's Plan is Inevitable.

This plan will, shall and must come to completion. It is inevitable because God is sovereign and omnipotent. Neither angel, demon, sinner or saint can stop it in any detail, for even their actions to stop it are part of the plan. Nothing can stop it. See Psa. 33:11, 148:3, Tit. 1:2, Pro. 19:21, Isa. 14:27, Heb. 6:17, and Job 42:1. It is God's plan and only God could change it. But God has sworn with an oath that He will not change it. He is not fickle like a man who can change his mind (Jer. 4:28, 23:20, 30:24, I Sam. 15:29). In time, God interacts with us, and seems to change His actions, but this is all part of the great strategy. The plan is God's eternal purpose and God does not change His sworn intentions. He is not an Indian-giver or cheat. He keeps the oath He has sworn.

 

6.   God Consulted Only With Himself in the Plan.

This should be obvious, since nobody else existed when God made the plan. He did not consult with the angels, for they are not on the same level as God. He consulted only with Himself within the Trinity (Eph. 1:11; Psa. 33:11). Who is able to serve as advisor to God on such things? (Rom. 11:34; Isa. 40:13-14). God did not consult with Man even by foresight, for He foresaw what He pre-determined would occur. When it comes to pass, then, only God can take the credit for the accomplishment of what was planned.

 

7.   God Has Not Revealed All the Details of the Plan.

 

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that have been revealed belong to us, that we may do the words of this Law” (Deut. 29:29). God has revealed that there is a plan, and has even revealed a few details of the plan. But He has not revealed it all, nor could we comprehend it all even if He did. We must not pry into things that have not been revealed, such as the date for the Second Coming of Christ. In theology, we speak of the plan as the “secret will of God”. On the other hand, God has revealed much to us about our responsibility. This is the “revealed will of God”. Though God is sovereign and has foreordained all our thoughts and actions, we are still accountable and responsible. The revealed will includes the Law and the Gospel.

 

8.   God Uses Even Sin in His Plan.

 

Even sin is included among the details of the great plan. How could it be otherwise? Sin infects and affects so much of human existence, and much of the plan directly concerns Man. Therefore, God had to include sin in the great plan. He uses sin and sinners to carry out His purpose, even their own destruction (Pro. 16:4). We sinners mean sinful things for evil, but God means them for good (Gen. 50:20). God not only overrules sin, but includes it in a marvelous way as part of the plan. He planned to allow sin in order to reveal His holiness and justice in punishing it or to reveal His grace and mercy in forgiving it (Rom. 9). Even the crucifixion of Christ, the worst of all sins, was predestined by God (Acts 2:23, 4:28).

 

9.    Christ is Central to the Plan of God.

 

The plan is Christocentric. Christ is the very apex of God's purpose, for it is through Christ that God reveals His glory and through Christ that God receives glory back from His creation. Col. 1 describes how Christ is pre-eminent above all things, prominent in the plan of God and the great pivot of all history. Phil. 2 also describes how Christ is the center of God's plan, specifically the plan of redemption. We are not saved merely to enjoy God forever; we are saved in order to give glory to Christ and through Him give glory to the Father.

 

10. God's Plan is to Reveal His Glory.

Rom. 11:36 says that all things are from God in predestination and Creation. They are also through Him in providence. But they are also to Him in the final accomplishment of the great plan. And the bottom line of this plan is just this: the glory of God. God does all things for His own glory. Everything that is, was or ever shall be will give glory to God (Psa. 46:10, 145:10). God will reveal His glory when it is time for the great consummation. He will show His glory - glory revealed. He will receive glory reflected back to Him - glory received. God does not share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8, 48:11). Yet He does show His glory in part now and more fully in eternity. He will display the glory of His grace to the elect (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14) and the glory of His wrath to the reprobate (Rom. 9). And this glory will even be revealed to the angels, demons and inanimate objects. To God be glory forever and ever!