Love Came Down - Lim Ning

In The Beginning

God is there as the Holy Trinity and through the fellowship of the Holy Trinity, the perfect love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was shown. The existence of this universe was not needed, but out of his own will and love, he created the universe through the Word. (Genesis 1) God also created Man in His image, and gave them authority over all things on earth.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, ESV),

Every Christian will know what happens after this, Adam and Eve would eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, be exiled from the Garden of Eden and all mankind fell into sin. (WSC qn 16). If God is all powerful and all knowing, why did He in the first place create Adam knowing he will be tempted and sin? There are many choices God could have made in the beginning, such as creating a world where there is only good but by creating this world where there exist both good and evil, God gave us the freedom to choose. Comparing a creature, created to only love its creator and a human, created with the free will to choose whether to love the creator, the creator will be more pleased and glorified when the human with the free will makes the commitment to worship and love the One who created him or her. Out of love, God gave us this free will and yet, Man has used it against God by trying to be righteous and hence we entered this state of depravity.

Total Depravity

If this sounds familiar to you and a flower rings a bell, you do know your Calvin stuff.

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12, ESV)

All man have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Given this situation, there is no way for us to mend our relationship with God as we are constantly sinning and guilty of our sins. However, God has a plan of Salvation from the beginning. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ into the world that all who believe in Him will be saved through His blood on the cross. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Most HIgh Priest who sacrificed Himself and atoned for our sins once and for all.

“For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19, ESV)

However, did Jesus die for ALL mankind or for a CHOSEN group?

Election and Predestination

The title gave the answer away. Yes, Jesus did not die for all mankind but for the elected.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37, ESV)

Before we even think God is unfair, let us question whether it is even just for God to save us though we are sinful. We deserve judgement and punishment and yet, out of His mercy and love Jesus was crucified and we have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."” (Romans 9:14-15, ESV)

God is not only a Just God but also a Merciful one. As such, many questions regarding the issue of how can a God be Just and also Merciful at the same time. God had 4 options he could have made regarding the issue of predestination of one’s salvation.

1. God could decide to provide no opportunity for anyone to be saved
2. God could decide to provide an opportunity for everyone to be saved
3. God could intervene directly and insure the salvation of all people
4. God could intervene directly and insure the salvation of some people

However, only one option is able to exhibit both his Merciful and Just side. If God had went with option 1, he would have completely been a Just God and no mercy was shown onto the Man that he created in the first place. Option 2 shows that people have the choice to choose their salvation as an opportunity is given, which shows that God is not sovereign and did not predestine people to be saved or not. Option 3 is the reverse of option 1, where it shows the complete opposite side of God, the Merciful God where no one will die and all will be saved. Thus, we are only left with the last option that clearly shows that God is both a Merciful God and a Just God. By saving some, God shows His Mercy, and by not saving the others, He shows His Justice over sinful people. (Chosen by God, R.C. Sproul)

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:20-24, ESV)

To summarise things, let us picture an orphanage. We are all orphans waiting for adoption by someone. If Mr A decides to adopt a girl, the girl should be filled with thanksgiving and not ask Mr A why isn’t everyone adopted. It is not because God does not have the power to save everyone, He does! Rather, we should always remember this grace is mercy from God and humbly accept it with thanksgiving.

Conclusion

In this long journey as a Christian, we may struggle with certain truths and question our religion. However, let us be comforted that our God initiates, sustains and sees the completion of His plans in us. As we continue to seek to understand God, let us remember God’s grace and blessings on us and respond with love and reverence for Him. Most importantly, let us have faith-which is defined by John Calvin to be “a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us, founded upon the truth of God’s given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” God bless!