It's only after reading the whole Bible that one can truly understand God's Global Plan. Even God's Old Testament saints were in the dark when it came to understanding all that God was doing.
We read in the first chapter of the Bible that God created the heavens and the earth, and He saw that everything that He had made was "very good". But something terrible happened; man sinned against God, and everything was no longer very good. The earth was cursed because of man's sin.
But God had a plan to save man from sin and remove the curse from the earth. Hallelujah! God's plan was to come to earth as a man (Jesus Christ) and personally communicate His forgiveness and love to people. Christ would die on the cross of Calvary as a sign that God loves us, forgives us, and washes away our sin as we trust in His love, which was demonstrated in His atonement for all sin. Once for all, sin would be dealt with. Then Christ would rise from the dead to be the King of Heaven and earth forever. All who would believe in Him would be forgiven of sin and cleansed from unrighteousness, and have an opportunity to be part of God's eternal family.
A Special Place
God has a special place for each of us in His Kingdom, but it is our responsibility to seek it and find it. How? By searching God's word. In order to believe in Him, we must know what He says. We can't believe what we haven't heard. And we can't believe in someone who hasn't said something to us. But God has said something to us, and we must listen to Him if we are to be part of His family and kingdom. This is where the Bible comes in. God will speak to us by His Spirit as we read the Bible and seek to know Him.
God's Global Plan
As we continue to read the whole Bible, we begin to see God's plan unfold. Genesis is only the beginning. We must also read Exodus and the rest of the books of the Bible, if we are to get a clear picture of God's plan. We need to discover the thread of God's global plan throughout Biblical history in order to find our place in Him.
God's Forgiveness and Redemption for All
Old Testament history tells us that God was very interested in one particular group of people, one particular nation, Israel. But many people are not aware that God has always been very interested in the salvation and restoration of all mankind. Every people group has a place in God's plan. And God's specially chosen people group was, and still is, called by God to teach every nation of people about Him and His Kingdom.
The Biblical Thread of God's Global Plan
In the first 11 chapters of the Bible we read about the following:
God's Call to Abram
In chapter 12 God began to unfold His plan to save the human family from sin and destruction. He called a man named Abram to move away from his homeland and kindred to start a new special family for His redemptive purposes.
God's Continual Promise to Abram
So Abram obeyed the voice of the Lord, and as he moved, the Lord led Him to the land of Canaan. There God met with Abram and changed his name to Abraham, which means "father of many nations". Several times God promised Abraham, "In your seed shall all families in the earth be blessed".
Abraham-Isaac-Jacob(Israel)-Joseph
Now Abraham was a missionary, and so was his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob, and his great grandson Joseph. They were a missionary family. Then God chose Jacob and changed his name to Israel. He had 12 sons who were called the children of Israel. One of them, Joseph, was Israel's favorite son. But Joseph's older brothers hated Joseph, and they sold him to some nomads, who in turn sold him into slavery in Egypt.
In Egypt, God anointed Joseph's life. And by a series of miracles God delivered Joseph from slavery, and made him governor over all of the land of Egypt. Then there came a great famine in all the earth, and Joseph saved all of his father's family from starvation, by moving them all to Egypt. At that point, Abraham's descendants were living in Egypt.
Now Abraham's descendants, the "Children of Israel", were in Egypt for over 400 years, and during that time the family grew into a nation of more than 2 million people. But as the years passed, the children of Israel became slaves to the Egyptians. Then they prayed to the Lord for deliverance. And the Lord heard their cries and raised up Moses to set them free from Egyptian slavery, and return them to the land of Canaan where they were to fulfill the word of the Lord that was spoken to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Judgment in the Wilderness
Now there were many rebels among the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, so the Lord had to do some pruning on Abraham's family tree. After 40 years in the wilderness, and the death of the rebels, Israel was ready to inherit the promised land. So the Lord raised up a new leader, Joshua, to lead Israel back into Canaan. And the land was divided among the 12 tribes of Israel.
David's Kingdom
As the years passed by, the Lord raised up many leaders to help the children of Israel inherit the land which the Lord had promised to Abraham and his "seed". Then finally, the Lord anointed David, the son of Jesse, to be the king in Israel. David was a mighty warrior, and through him the Lord brought all of the nations in the land into submission to David's kingship.
Solomon's Kingdom
When David eventually died, God anointed David's son Solomon to be king in Israel. At first, the kingdom under Solomon was godly and very prosperous. People came from all over the world to see the great kingdom which God had given to Solomon, the son of David. But Solomon made some very grave mistakes. Solomon married many heathen women, who turned his heart away from the Lord, and Solomon ended up steeped in idolatry.
Israel's Sin and God's Judgment
Then Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, followed in Solomon's footsteps. Instead of being the international blessing that the Lord had chosen them to be, they became self-centered idolaters. So the Lord turned them over to Satan, to be ruled by heathen kings. Only a small remnant remained faithful to the Lord, the God of Abraham, and David.
Prophets and the Kingdom of God
During Israel's fall into sin, the Lord sent many prophets and wise men to tell them of His global plan, but they wouldn't listen. Only a few believed God's words that the prophets spoke. There were many words about the coming of a Savior who would redeem them from sin and bring in everlasting righteousness in a kingdom that would never be removed. This "Kingdom of God" would be the true fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob..."In your seed shall all families in the earth be blessed".
Jesus and The Kingdom of God
It was not until Jesus Christ, God's own Son, came to earth that a kingdom of true righteousness could be established once and for all. God could not find even one man worthy and able to rightly rule His people, so God himself became the man, the savior, the king that His people needed.
Jesus came and found the faithful remnant of Israel, God's chosen few, the "seed of Abraham". And after making an atonement, on the cross of Calvary, for all of the sins of the world, Jesus anointed the faithful remnant of Israel to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" and "teach all nations" about the coming of God's everlasting Kingdom of righteousness, which will fill all the earth and deliver the human family from sin and destruction.
Jesus commanded His disciples to do what Old Testament Israel had failed to do; reach out to all nations with the good news of God's kingdom in earth. Jesus anointed them with the Holy Ghost to carry out the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; "In your seed shall all families in the earth be blessed."
All Believers in Christ are Abraham's "Seed"
Paul the Apostle was chosen by the resurrected Christ to take the good news of the Kingdom to the "gentiles". Paul wrote to the Galatians that all who believe in Jesus Christ are the "seed of Abraham". (Galatians 3:16 and 29)
Challenge
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; you are the "seed of Abraham"; you are called to bless all families in the earth; you are chosen to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to all the world; to every people group on earth. Hallelujah!
Let's get busy about our Father's business. The world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Pray for:
Pray for God's cleansing, and anointing for the completion of His global purposes in Christ. Let's all commit our lives to Christ's Global Mission. Be Proud to be a missionary......Remember, God only had one Son, and He made Him a missionary. We missionaries are in good company.
Note: Why not send us some of your thoughts about Christ's Global Mission. Perhaps they can be included in this website.
Please address all inquiries or comments to David Hunt:
New Life Counselors, Inc. 35 West Pine Street - Suite 224 Orlando, Florida 32801 Office Phone: (407) 236-0017 e-mail: david@christianmissionstoday.org