# 8. The Purposes of God Concerning Man
The universe came from the goodness of God. Not to display His power and wisdom, but to express His kindness, God created the heavens and the earth and filled them with all kinds of beings. Infinite wisdom and almighty power only carry out the plans of eternal love. Goodness is the driving attribute that prompted everything the counsel and hand of the Lord have accomplished. The flow of the universe runs entirely toward benevolence. "Abundant in goodness and truth," all God's plans aim to spread happiness on the largest possible scale. There is evil; but under the kind administration of the Father of mercies, there will be as much good, with as little evil, as almighty power, guided by infinite wisdom and goodness, can achieve.
We can guess much, but know little about the origin of moral evil in God's domain. Its history on earth is faithfully detailed in the Bible; and that, in divine wisdom, is all that is necessary for our successful fight against its power and joyful escape from its consequences. It is not necessary for us to analyze and understand the origin and nature of darkness to enjoy the light of the sun. The effects of light and darkness on our system are enough, without any theory, to make us avoid the former and delight in the latter. "By one man sin entered into the world," says Paul; and "by one tempter sin entered into man," says Moses; and "lust, when it conceives, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death," says James the Apostle, and these are the landmarks of our knowledge on the matter.
To limit the spread of sin, to prevent its recurrence anywhere in the universe, and to save sinners from its ruinous consequences, are the godlike purposes of the common Father of all. The Gospel, or Christian system, is the only plan that infinite intelligence and almighty love could devise for that kind and gracious end. This purpose, like all God's purposes, is eternal and unchanging. The plan or theory was, therefore, not only arranged before the Jewish and patriarchal ages but before the foundation of the world.
The promises made to Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, etc., are clear proofs that the plan was laid and the purposes perfected before the world began. For why, we ask, could God promise the defeat of Satan by the son of Eve, the blessing of all nations by the son of Abraham, etc., if a plan of this importance had not been previously established? The moment that Adam, Eve, and the serpent were judged marks the first promise of a glorious victory over our adversary by a descendant of Eve. That promise, and the resulting institution of sacrifice—the altar, the victim, and the priest—are ample proof that the plan was completed and a remedial system adopted before the trial of our first parents.
But this is not just to be inferred from these clear and powerful premises. It is expressly and repeatedly declared. Two things are as evident as demonstration itself: — First, that all the purposes and promises of God are in Christ—in reference to Him, and fulfilled in and through Him; and second, that they were all contemplated, agreed upon, and organized in Him and through Him before the foundation of the world. These two points are so closely connected that they are generally stated in the same parts of Scripture. For example: "He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began; but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. 1:9-10. Again, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began; but has in due time revealed His word through preaching." Titus 1:1-16; Titus 2:1-15; Titus 3:1 "He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love." Eph. 1:4. Indeed, Jesus Himself hints that the whole matter of man's redemption, even to the preparation of the eternal homes of the righteous, was arranged before time began: for, in His own parable of the final judgment, He says, "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit a kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:34. And Peter settles the matter forever by assuring us that we "were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish and without spot, who was foreordained before the foundation of the world." Christ, then, is the Lamb that was foreordained, and "slain from the foundation of the world." Therefore, Jesus says to His Father, speaking doubtless in view of His work, "You loved me before the foundation of the world;" and thus, as Matthew quotes a prophet speaking of Him, "He spoke things which had been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
It is clear then that the whole remedial or gospel system was planned, arranged, and established on the basis of the revealed distinctions of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and by these, in relation to one another, before the foundation of the world; and that all the institutions and developments of religion in the different ages of the world were, in line with that system, devised in eternity and completed some two thousand years ago.
Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah, was chosen, or rather was always the chosen one, the beloved of God, and appointed to be the foundation of the new creation. "Behold," said Jehovah, seven centuries before His birth, "I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation," called by Peter "a chosen stone," though rejected by the Jewish builders. Again, by the same prophet, He is called the elect of God: "Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon Him: He will bring justice to the Gentiles," etc. "He will be for salvation to the ends of the earth."
Because of these gracious purposes of God, the Word became flesh and lived among us—the Son of God was sent by His Father—became a Prophet, a High Priest, and a King over men, so that He might be the mediator and administrator of a system of grace. He became the righteous servant of Jehovah, a voluntary sacrifice for us—died, was buried, and rose again—ascended where He had been before—and then, in union with His Father, sent the Holy Spirit, who proceeded from the presence and by the authority of the Father and the Son, to complete the sanctification of His people. He is now seated on the throne of God—head over all things to complete the triumphs of His cause—to lead many sons to glory—to raise the dead, judge the world, and punish Satan and all who joined him in his rebellion, whether angels or men—to create new heavens and a new earth, and to establish eternal peace, love, and joy throughout all the new realms He will have gained and over which He will have reigned: for He must reign until all His and our enemies have been defeated forever. Then He will hand back to the One who gave Him His kingdom all the authority He exercised in this great work of human deliverance. Then God Himself, in His original character and glory, as He reigned before sin was born and His administration began, will rule over all things everywhere forever and ever.
The present elect of God are, then, those who are in Christ, not those outside of Him: for it was in Him that God set His affection on them and chose them for eternal life before the world began. God is not, indeed, in this whole matter a respecter of persons. He looks at character, not at person. He has predestined all who are in Christ "to be holy and blameless before Him in love," and, at His coming, to be confirmed in all personal excellence and beauty, and to share with Him the joy of a glorious immortality. So that "we shall be like Him"—He is the firstborn, and we His younger brothers, bearing His image in ourselves just as we now bear the image of the earthly Adam, the father of us all.
In all these gracious purposes of God, two things are most remarkable: — First, that He has chosen and called certain people to high and responsible positions as parts of a grand system of practical philanthropy—such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David, Paul, etc. These were chosen and elevated not for their own sake, but as public benefactors and blessings to the human race. It is not for its own sake that the eye is so beautiful or performs the function of vision; nor that the ear is so finely made and performs the function of hearing; but for the general comfort and safety of the whole body. So it is in the family of God—in the body of Christ—all apostles, prophets, preachers, reformers, and all specially called and chosen people. As the Lord said to Saul of Tarsus, so it can be said of all those "sons of oil"—those chosen ones—"I have appeared to you to make you a minister and a witness for me—to send you to the Gentiles," etc.—to make you a public benefactor. Next to this remarkable fact is another even more remarkable: — that, according to God's purposes for the whole human race, things are arranged and set in order so that all enjoyments shall be, as far as human choice is concerned, conditional; and that every person, regarding spiritual and eternal blessings, will certainly and infallibly have their own choice. Therefore, life and death, good and evil, happiness and misery, are placed before man as he now is, and he is commanded to make his own choice and take his own path. Having chosen the good portion, he is then to "make every effort to confirm his calling and election." 1: In the original, the phrase in these two passages is pro chronoon aionoon, sometimes translated as "before the time of ages" — before the Jewish jubilees or ages began; and it means that God's purpose to call the Gentiles was prior to the covenants with Abraham and the Jews. Understood this way, it only proves that the purposes and promises of God in Christ were formed and expressed before the days of Abraham. But it is equally true regarding the beginning of time: for the phrase pro and apo katabole kosmou, found ten times in the New Testament, literally indicates the foundation of the world. We quote Eph. 1:4. — Matt. 25:34. — 1 Pe 1:19-20. — as clearly declaring this.