God's loving plans

1. God’s Loving Plans – 2nd April 2016
“Andthose he predestined, he alsocalled;those he called,he alsojustified;thosehe justified,healso
glorified”( Romans8:30).
The Scripturesreveal thatwhenGoddesignedaplanforlife, He usedcareful andlovingadvanced
planning.In Jeremiah1:5, “Before I formed youin the womb I knew you, before you were born I
dedicatedyou, a prophet to the nationsI appointedyou.” It tellsusthatGod knew Jeremiahbeforehe
was born.It followsthatGodknowsall of us evenbefore we are born.
God's advancedlovingandcareful planisconfirmedby Romans8:29-30 where Paul says: “Forthose he
foreknew he alsopre-destinedto be conformedto the imageof His son,so that he mightbe the
firstbornamongmany brothers.” The same notionof foreknowledge isrevealedinPaul’slettertothe
Ephesians1:3-4: “Blessed be the Godand father of ourLord JesusChrist,who has blessedus in Christ
with every spiritual blessinginthe heavens, as he chose usin him,before the foundationofthe world,
to be holy andwithout blemishbeforehim.”
God’splan forour life beganbefore we wereborn.The beginningof God’splanforlife isrevealedinthe
Bookof Genesis.Whenwe readthe bookof Genesis,we recognizethe spiritual elementsthatare being
taught tous for our existence.Adamrepresentsman;Eve representswoman.He createdmaninhis
likeness. Gen1:2727
So Godcreated mankindin hisown image,in the image ofGodhe created them;
male andfemale he created them” .
WhenGod createdman,he has beenblessedwith amultitudeof amazingcapabilities.He providedMan
withthe abilityto Love God and one another,create,asense of justice,forgiveness- these alone place
man far above all the animals.Man was createdto be in the likenessof Godand bynature to live a
Godly existence.Butatthe veryinceptionAdamandEve failedHimandthissiniscontinuedeventothis
day. Furthermore,man wascreated withthe abilitytohave a relationshipwithGod.Man hasthe ability
to receive the HolySpirit - GodHimself.Finally,manisdestinedforimmortality –notin thislife butlife
thereafterinGod’sKingdom.
There isnothingmore God-like than Love!We mayask ourselvescanthere be anybetterlovingplan
than this?God loveshumanitythatHe sentHisonlysonas an atoningsacrifice toredeemusforour sin
so that we mayhave the possibilityof eternallifewithHIM!Thisisfurtherexplainedwhenwe read in1
John4:8, “Whoeverdoes not love does notknow God,because Godis love”.
These are extremelyimportantelementsof God’splanforlife. ThroughHisteachings He hasprovidedus
certainprincipalsthatwe are expectedtoabide by whichare “alwaysfor ourgood”. These teachings
foundinthe bible take onfreshmeaning especially inthe contextof today’sworld. We needtoread,
understandandmeditate onHis teachingsthatgreatlyteach us to move awayfromsinand
sinfulness…andtogetclosertoGod and developastrongandlastingrelationshipwithHim. Forasimple
example we canlearnfrom Philippians2:5,“Inyour relationshipswithoneanother, have the same
mindsetas ChristJesus”

2. As Christiansourmainmandate shouldbe forus to live alife asGod desiresfromus……to be holyand
withoutblemishbeforeHim. We can learnthisin Colossians1:22, “Butnow he has reconciledyou by
Christ’sphysical bodythroughdeath to present you holyin hissight,without blemishandfree from
accusation— —“ AsChristiansweknowthatGod hasspecified requirements thatare demandedin
God’splan forus. These requirementsare giventousso that by fulfillingthesewe learntolive ourlives
withoutblemishand free from accusation— —“ We know these requirementsas the Ten
Commandments.(Exodus20: 3 – 17).
God's Loving Plans
“And those he predestined, he also called; those he called,
he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”
( Romans 8:30).