Monday, April 8, 2013
JOB, AND THE MAN BORN BLIND
God is neither behind the bad things that happen in this world, nor in any collaboration with the devil to that end. Surprisingly simple as this truth is, many people are taught to believe the contrary. They believe that God is in charge of every happening on the earth- whether good or bad. They speak from a misconception of what the sovereignty of God is. Yes, God is sovereign but His sovereignty is often misunderstood to mean complicity in the afflictions of this fallen world. God does not just get up and do anything. He operates within Nature or principle without which he is no God at all. So before you know God as
sovereign, be sure to know also that God is good. Precept must necessarily be
upon precept (cf. Isa 28:13).
Download the pdf
Understand that originally God placed the earth under the authority of man. As a
result God has no direct control over the earth. He can only touch the earth through man. So He created the earth, gave it to man that man may rule from Him. This authority to rule was given to man when he was created.
Gen. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth.
Because of this sovereign pronouncement, God could not bypass man's will to do anything on the earth. In other words, God made the earth for man. Yes He is sovereign and can do all things but He also operates according to Nature. So we can say that in His sovereignty He chose to rule the earth through man.
This plan was however thwarted by man when he chose to obey the devil and disobey God. Through Adam's sin the devil gained control over the earth. As a consequence of the Fall, Satan became the legitimate heir and ruler over the earth. Hence, through the Fall, the corruption that was the devil entered into the world: sickness, poverty, earthquakes, tsunami, mishap and every grievous occurrence known to man. All these are from the Fall of man and not acts of God. When man fell or died the earth also fell or died with him. When we come to this revelation, we will appreciate the work of God in all this. He is the One doing the restoration, renewing, recovery, etc., and not the destroying.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
This is what the thief or the devil does. He steals, he robs, he kills, he destroys. So now
you know who is behind the tragic news; behind the bad things that happen whether
directly or indirectly. God is the one who gives life- eternal life- which is victory over
all these.
This is wisdom: to know how God is like, always look at the life of Jesus who was God
in the flesh. He was God with us. He came doing good and healing all those who were
oppressed of the devil. For the avoidance of doubt, Jesus clearly stated His mission
statement as follows:
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
If God was behind the oppression wouldn't it be self-contradictory to come with a
mission to deliver? Think about it. What would be the point?
Because some people realize that this perception is not good enough, they say God allows bad things to happen so that He may gain occasion to teach us and also get glory out of it. Again this is very, very, sad indeed. Like I said, God is not in charge of this world. The world is for Him. But currently, the world is a fallen world under the devil. Through Jesus Christ everything is being recovered and renewed which has started with the new birth. Eventually the whole of creation will come under the Christ :
Eph. 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.
One can say that by default bad things occur in the world because of its fallen state
and its subjection to the devil. To say God permits it is to infer that He is working with
the devil or He could stop it but has decided not to. According to divine law, God
cannot stop bad things from happening in the world except through man.
This is why the Church is here. We are the restraining force here or else the world
would be utterly destroyed. So God through Jesus Christ has established a legitimate
government on the earth so that He may rule in the affairs of men. However not all
are believers and not all believers are living the God-life. The Church is not at its full
potential. But we are going to be one of these days, Halleluyah!
So God does not just choose what to permit and what not to permit on earth. And He certainly didn't choose for you to trail a course so His glory would be revealed or to teach you a lesson. He already gave us the word to teach us (cf. 2 Tim 3:16). God is not 419 to intentionally allow problems in order to get glory. Of course when bad things happen, He steps in to restore and renew and does it such that the present state becomes better than the past. But that does not mean that for God to increase you, He must first destroy you. That is wrong. He can increase you without the help of the devil.
Many bad things that happen to believers could have been prevented if only they had the requisite knowledge of the word. The problem is not God doing what He wants, or that we are caught in some sort of inescapable web. The problem is our ignorance. 'My people perish for the lack of knowledge'. That's the reason. If only that person knew and understood divine health, he would not have died when he was attacked by the sickness. If only people knew and believed their rights in Christ... If only they knew, If only they understood.
Psalms 82:5-7 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Many of the times when bad things happen believers hide behind the story of Job
that God is allowing it to happen for a reason. This also is a misunderstanding. Many
believe the lie that it is God who removed the hedge of protection around Job.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only
upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the
LORD.
Nothing here says God removed the hedge. God said, ' see, all he has is in your power'. It means that it was something else that occurred to remove the hedge of protection. God did not remove it but something caused it to be removed.
According to Scripture, God never ceases to protect us (cf. Psalms 91, Psalms 121).
To think that God removed it is to see God as one who watches and uses the afflictions of men for sport. No that is scripturally incorrect. The problem was with Job and what he said and believed. Job believed that he was one day going to lose what he had. He was afraid and talked his fear.
Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was
afraid of is come unto me.
This was the reason why all of a sudden the devil had a free way into Job's life. He by
his fear gave himself up. This is consistent with Scripture. Fear makes us subject to
the influence of the devil. Fear is unbelief.
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Scripture does not conflict itself. Whenever we come across a passage that seems
to be contrary to what we know about God, we must find out what God really
wants to communicate. Consider the following familiar passage:
John 9:2-5 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man,
or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man
sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in
him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh,
when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Many people read this and conclude that God made him blind to reap glory out of healing him. People are born deformed because of the Fall and not an act of God. To get the actual translation of this Scripture, remove the stop after manifest in him and insert a comma and the true meaning will come out.
...but that the works of God should be made manifest in him, I must work the
works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can
work.
I am not trying to change the Scriptures. This is how it should read from the original. Also this better fits into the context. Other than that what Jesus said does not make sense at all. So Jesus states what should be the manifestation of the works of God which was to heal the man. Why? He was the light in this dark world therefore attributing the man's situation to the darkness in the world.
You see God is not the one behind the challenges you are facing. It is a deception of the devil to make you think God is behind it. If God is behind it then you will find it difficult using your faith to come out which is exactly where the devil wants you. You will submit to the situation hoping that when God is through, He will let you go. However your faith is stirred up without any shadow of doubt when you know it is not God behind these things but rather He is with you as the helper to bring you out on top.
1John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment