Does God have a plan?
The Source of Information: The Bible
The simple answer to the question is, Yes! Of course, questions arise such as: What is the plan? Where does the information come from? and How do you know the plan is real and authentic?
The Bible is the source document regarding God’s plan. This is because, the Bible states that God is the author of the Bible. It is true and it is right.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5).
The Plan: The Kingdom of God on Earth
When Jesus began his ministry, he tells us about his mission, as given to him from the LORD God. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43)
Jesus’ mission was to preach and make people aware of the Kingdom that his Father, the LORD God, would establish here on this earth. The Kingdom of God is the plan that the Bible lays out for the reader, which goes back the the Old Testament. The Old Testament actually describes what the Kingdom will look like and how it will be structured. This demonstrates the plan that the LORD God had from the beginning.
If we start reading the Bible at the beginning, in the book of Genesis, we are introduced to a man called Abram. The LORD God saw faithfulness in this man and called him to leave his home (and the practice idol worship there) and go to a land the LORD God would reveal to him. The LORD God made Abram a promise, “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3).
In fact, this promise would be extended to Abram’s family and fulfilled by his son, one of his decendants. “Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:12-15)
Interestingly, the LORD God made this promise of dwelling in the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:17-21; 21:8), to Abram when he had no children. The LORD God changed his name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5). From Abraham, came the nation of Israel. This is because Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, had his named changed to Israel and it was through Israel’s descendants that the promise would be fulfilled by the LORD God (Genesis 28:10-15).
“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ And he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then he said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed'” (Genesis 32:24-28).
Jesus is the son of promised son of Abraham
Jesus’ mission was to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. This is because Jesus is the promised son, or descendent, of Abraham that would fulfill the promise. This is why the first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament informs the reader of two key figures in Jesus’ genealogy: David and Abraham. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers…” (Matthew 1:1-2)
Not only was Jesus born as a descendant of Abraham, he was a descendant of Judah and also a descendant of King David. He is therefore called, “the son of David, the son of Abraham”.
It must be noted that Jesus, being also the son of David, who inherits the promise of being King of the Jews and the entire world, is based on a promise the LORD God gave to King David (2 Samuel 7:8-16; Luke 1:26-33). “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
Later on in the New Testament, the apostle Paul explains that Abraham’s inheritance not only encompasses the land of Canaan or Israel, but the entire planet earth. “For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13).
The Kingdom of God and Believers in Jesus
Furthermore, the apostle Paul tells us that the promise of the Kingdom of God on the earth is not just for the Israeli people, but is extended all who are faithful, like Abraham and those who are baptized into the saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” (Galatians 3:7-8)
“…for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)
The Kingdom of God is spoken of through the entire Bible. The fact that the plan of God is an everlasting Kingdom to be established on the earth by the Lord Jesus Christ at his return to the earth is seen in the following passages:
“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever…” (Daniel 2:44).
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom…” (2 Timothy 4:1).
God does in fact have a plan for this earth and life upon it. The plan will be established when Jesus Christ returns to set up the Kingdom and reign as King over the entire earth. If we want to be part of that Kingdom we must believe in Jesus and be baptized into his saving name. We therefore become children of Abraham and inheritors of the promise for ever and ever.
DC
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
