Doctrine of Suffering and Sovereign of God

Colossians 1:24 From the Message: I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. New Living Translation I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ's sufferings for his body, the church. English Standard Version Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church New King James Version I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church Paul had the wisdom to recognize that God's power can be experienced in trials and God does not always delivers us from trials but that He brings us through trials more like Christ and closer to Him. Paul's Letters and aware of his afflictions that we can learn much truth from such trials, some of it depressing and some altogether elevating and wonderful. Quote by A.W. Tozer The ideal to which the Christian aspires is not to walk in the perfect way but to be transformed by the renewing of his mind and conformed to the likeness of Christ. The regenerate man often has a more difficult time of it than the unregenerate, for he is not one man but two. He feels within him a power that tends toward holiness and God, while at the same time he is still a child of Adam's flesh and a son of the red clay. This moral dualism is to him a source of distress and struggle wholly unknown to the once-born man. Of course the classic critique upon this is Paul's testimony in the seventh chapter of his Roman epistle. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Hebrews 5:7-9 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. "Is there sufficient grace to help us in every issue of life?" "Is there sufficient grace to help us in every issue of life?" Life is filled with difficulty. Life is filled with pain and sorrow and suffering. Bad things happen to everybody because we are living in a sinful world. Things will go wrong, they will go wrong all the time and that God has given us the grace to survive. God has given us the grace to sanctify us. The sources of "thorns" can be weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties. We don't know the source of Paul's thorn but when Paul wrote later, he listed all the thorns and he didn't say which one he was experiencing. In my personal view, reading Corinthians and history of Corinthians, Paul defines this thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan (that's another word for a demon, Satan's angel). A demon had moved in to some false teachers, brought the false teachers into the Corinthian church. The false teachers were trying to destroy his reputation because of his past (murderer). I believed that Paul saw this as a thorn in his flesh. It was tearing him because of his great love for the church and the people in Corinthians. Instead of fighting with false teachers, God gave Paul grace to endure and allow God to handle the situation. Paul just needed to focus on God rather than the problem. God uses suffering to perfect His power as verse 9 said "Power is perfected in weakness". God is saying "You should not have self-confidence and trust in yourself in the sense you believe you're capable of anything eternal that only I can provide grace and power." Only God can overcome situation as long as you trust in His GRACE. The question here is, when God given you the grace to handle the sufferings of life, did you allowed Him? That's the issue. Paul’s thorn was not his main focus but rather something far more deeper. The thorns are not necessarily evil, but rather the works of self-righteousness. God answer to our prayers because He knows that our trouble does not lie in our focus, but in ourselves. God is not here to get our circumstances straightened out so that we will become happy. Grace of heart is a gift from God and this has nothing to do with the thorns because God change our circumstances by changing us internally, by allowing Him to lift us above our present thorn and He will lead us into His will. It is a choice God gives us within the parameters of His omnipotence. Grace is having all sufficiency in everything we may have an abundance for every good deed. The right perspective is to understand that in the trouble of life this is part of it trying to discern what God is doing in the trouble of it. James says count it all joy when you fall into various trials cause trials have a perfecting work. Peter says after you've suffered a while the Lord will make you perfect. God uses suffering to reveal our spiritual condition. In the midst of the sufferings, what kind of Christian do you see yourself? God answers not by removing the pain, because the pain was productive, rather God gave Grace to endure. In this life it is inevitable and it is useful because it produces the evidence of your true spiritual condition, humility and intimacy with God and allows God to put Himself on display in His grace. "Therefore as, we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10). The needs of the people, not our own convenience, decide how far we shall go and how much we shall do. Had there been no Fall there would have been no thorns and no cross. Christ was the perfect example of the healthy normal man, He did not live a normal life. He sacrificed many pure enjoyments to the holy work of moral rescue. That example taught me that the needs of the world and my ability to minister to those needs. God is not primarily an emotion, but an act of the will that true Christian love is the love of willing, not the love of feeling. It's the devil who would like to make our life superficial prosperous, superficial successful, superficial happiness and superficial peace because then we pride ourselves with pride so others can see how much faith we have. God's power is GRACE and that is where my faith is. QUOTES Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins. God's love is still working. He comes in and takes the calamity and uses it victoriously, working out His wonderful plan of love. Eric Liddell Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you. Corrie Ten Boom One thing we may be sure of, however: For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory. Jerry Bridges When you say that a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God. Charles L. Allen Faith recognizes the fact that God is in control of my life. Whether I believe it or not, it's a fact that God is in control of the world. If I don't believe it, I"m just robbing myself of the enjoyment of the fact. Paul Little "Faith never means gullibility. The man who believes everything is as far from God as the man who refuses to believe anything." The Root of the Righteous, 120. Faith A.W. Tozer John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Throughout the Bible, God is repeating Himself by saying as He said in Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses told the people of Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ... for the Lord thy God, he it is who doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." The Jewish people firmly believed that God was with them. Jesus reminded the disciples of that SAME fact to us. Great Faiths of the Old Testament believed in God even though they had never seen His form nor seen their promises before they died. They trusted in His care without ever seeing a protecting hand. They had full faith in an invisible God!. In 2 Corinthians 4:18 says So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. God is eternal, not temporal therefore His promises are ETERNAL. Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 21:6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. Psalm 119:89 [ l Lamedh ] Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 13:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep. 1 John 2:25 And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 1 Cor. 10:13, "These has no testing taken you but such as is common to man; but God will, with the testing, also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says "God said 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His ; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer. My God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. God is with you in everything you do for if God is for us, who can be against us? "Moses spent 40 years thinking he was somebody; 40 years learning he was nobody; and 40 years discovering what God can do with a nobody." DL Moody One of the biggest problems in the Christian life in their sanctification process is lack of motivation to enjoy real intimate communion with a holy God in eternal sense rather than temporal sense. Temporal time does not change us but God does when He changes us from within as we walk in Spirit. Our glory lies in withdrawal from all that builds on dust (temporal). If God had wanted us completely out of the temporal world He could have taken us home at the time of our spiritual birth (salvation). Christ's definition of Beatitudes (Matthew 5) contradicts Flesh's definition of happiness. True happiness begins in our hearts, mourning over sin which leads to meekness. From the attitude of meekness, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, we can receive God's mercy and righteousness that our hearts will be pure. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit came into our hearts and cleansed our sins and purified our hearts. Only God can provide happiness when we have Jesus Christ in our hearts and only Jesus Christ can give us true happiness. "A selfish desire for happiness is as sinful as any other selfish desire. Its root is in the flesh which can never have any standing before God." A.W. Tozer (The Price of Neglect) Page 36 God has blessed us according to His Will. I know I am happily blessed by God according to God's standards rather than my or the world's standards. God is unaffected by His creatures' opinions simply because we are His creatures and He is our Creator. Many Christian thinkers have differed regarding this from their own perspective rather than God's perspective. Wisdom sees everything in focus and be able to trust God no matter what happens. All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom for His own glory. There are many Christians do not truly believe in God's sovereignty. How can any Christians not be aware of the sovereignty of the God? It is amazing that there are some who deny any God's divine involvement in our salvation?. Sovereign God is the absolute, infinite, unqualified ruler in all realms in heaven and earth and sea. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God is God and He KNOWS ALL. Ecclesiastes 8:17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it We are to trust in God's decisions which is REAL FAITH. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says, "My thoughts are completely different from yours, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Food for thoughts on the subject of God's Sovereign. How can anyone be a Christian and not fully aware of the sovereign of God? There cannot be two absolutely free beings in the universe. If that were true, then our wills would have as much authority as God's, and that cannot happen. He alone is sovereign; He alone is unlimited. A.W. Tozer We received our faith when the Holy Spirit convicted us to turn to God. If you are saved, it's entirely God's doing, and not to your credit at all. All you did was responding to the Holy Spirit's conviction and He did the rest. There's no measure of faith involved on our part except our obedience. Its a choice in matter of responding to the Holy Spirit's conviction in our hearts to be saved. Jesus said in John 16:8 "When He (Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." Later in the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Romans 10:8b-10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved . The heart believes and the mouth confesses. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit, without the Holy Spirit, you can't have faith and without the Holy Spirit, you can't be spiritual. If you don't have faith, then you don't have the Holy Spirit. Faith don't come before the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit comes before Faith. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake." Romans 4:20-25 Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." The bottom line is this: FAITH is a gift from God. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. What Christians needs to do is obey God's word in Faith. We are focus on our faith based on obedience to holiness, adding to our faith and fruit of the spirit through grace. To be Spirit-filled, means you rely on the Holy Spirit to produce the fruits, we can't without the Holy Spirit. Adding to our faith in obedience is listed In 2 Peter, Chapter 1, verses 5 through 9: "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. The Bible clearly teaches that no one has true "freewill" except God Himself. God is in control and He will allow us to have freewill only if its according to His will. We have to understand that God controls everything including our freewill. The "freewill" is always subject to God's sovereignty and His divine freewill. The key is that God is ALWAYS in control even in our own freewill. "When God is involved, anything can happen. Be open. Stay that way. God has a beautiful way of bringing good vibrations out of broken chords." Charles (Chuck) Swindoll "One thing we may be sure of, however: For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory." Jerry Bridges Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. We are so entangled with "reasonings" regarding the doctrine of Salvation. You are either Spirit-Filled by acknowledging the conviction of Holy Spirit or don't acknowledge the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. When a person do NOT acknowledge the Holy Spirit, that is explained in Mark 3:29 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." Acts 7:51 "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" Without the Holy Spirit, we do NOT have the "ability" to get saved or even understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the only person that can quicken people to be saved and hunger to read the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Biblically, it is very clear that no one seeks God on their own (Romans 3:11) and God calls and saves us by the Holy Spirit, not according to our works but according to His own Will and Grace which were granted us in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 1:8-9). God gave us saving grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Ungenerated people have no capacity to understand God's spiritual truth; instead they created God in their own image that they are calling God's truth foolishness (1 Cor. 2:14). They are spiritually blind (2 Cor. 4:4), spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) and spiritually ignorant (Eph. 4:18). The Holy Spirit is inviting everyone as in Matthew 22:14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." Christ did died for all. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus said in John 6:37 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." Then again in John 6:44, Jesus said "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Again, Jesus said in verse 65 "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." The Holy Spirit have been trying to draw people to Him by convicting them to repent and put their faith in God. However, Jesus set an example why people do NOT turn to God is in Luke 14:27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Romans 9:19 says "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" The Holy Spirit convicts a person to repent his/her pride by "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:12) Mark 13:20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has shortened them. John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Ephesians 1:11 In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. God knows every little details and He has already planned out our tomorrows and He is holding the world in the palm of His hand. Sovereignty and omnipotence are together that one cannot exist without the other. Quote Union between Christ and his people was planned already in eternity, in the sovereign pretemporal decision whereby God the Father selected us as his own. Christ himself was chosen to be our Savior before the creation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20); Ephesians 1:4 teaches us that when the Father chose Christ, he also chose us. - - by Anthony Hoekema Quote God has reserved to Himself the right to determine the end of life, because He alone knows the goal to which it is His will to lead it. It is for Him alone to justify a life or to cast it away. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Your friend sounds like me and you will probably argue with me as you do with her. The goal of spiritual growth is not only formation of Christ-like character and thinking, but ultimately influencing others for Christ. God is in control whether we accept our situation or not. We all need to focus in following God for today and tomorrow. Our spiritual outlook is to be on God and trust that God's glory that will be revealed. We have to remind ourselves that if we frequently relive our reasons for discouragements, we will lose our positive spiritual direction. Oswald Chambers explains better than anyone could: "If we are willing to give up only wrong things for Jesus, ever let us talk about being in love with Him. Anyone will give up wrong things if he knows how, but are we prepared to give up the best we have for Jesus Christ? The only right a Christian has is the right to give up his rights. If we are to be the best for God, there must be ictory in the realm of legitimate desire as well as in the realm of unlawful indulgence."Paul Little "Faith recognizes the fact that God is in control of my life. Whether I believe it or not, it's a fact that God is in control of the world. If I don't believe it, I'm just robbing myself of the enjoyment of the fact." Our greatest teachers are circumstances because they train us into spiritual growth occurred in the most unfavorable of circumstances. When we most aware of our weaknesses, we are more inclined to collapse into God's strength and experience His amazing grace. "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9). Corrie ten Boom is one of my greatest examples. With God's grace, we have the power to reach the prize of God's will. Reading Hebrews helped me understood that I am to be aware of obstacles and hindrances I would meet during my life, to throw me off balance that hinders doing the Will of God that could entangle my life easily if I do not submit myself to God's power of grace. God's grace is more than sufficient in my life that I am to fix my eyes on Jesus who is my author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). Faith and Grace together is to "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV). I should always keep filling the Holy Spirit in my life so that I am able to act and react any difficulties in my life with God's power (Grace). The power of Grace through the Holy Spirit is my strength that I am able to boast and win for Christ at all costs (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-12). OP's thread have the wrong idea what Doctrine of Suffering really means. People will use this simply because they do NOT want this to happen to them even though the Bible says in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. God was not obligated to promise that He would save all who believe in Christ; nor He was obligated to declare that He who committed the sin against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven. If God had not been pleased to obligate Himself in these cases without dishonor to any of His attributes. As A.W. Tozer once asked, "The real problem created by the doctrine of the divine Sovereignty has to do with the will of man. If God rules His universe by His sovereign decrees, how is it possible for man to exercise free choice?" Therefore on the "obligation", to teach that God has made a unilateral covenant from which He cannot escape, and all we need to do is to believe to assure our getting anything we want. Such teaching is in radical contradiction to the letter as well as the spirit of the Holy Scriptures.(A.W. Tozer) My eternal hope depends on God's Word and His decisions because He will make good on His promises at HIS time, not mine. Christ through His death and resurrection, every legal hindrance has been met and satisfied. There is nothing that can keep me from assurance except my own faith. Its not about thinking our way into salvation or to reason our way into salvation. The only way to get in is to believe Him with my heart which is sealed by the Holy Spirit. God do not and will not violate man's freewill however at the same time, God is our created and there will be times He will use His will against our freewill. Romans 9:18-20 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? Ephesians 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. There are great amounts of evil and suffering in this world and there should be no denial of that fact. Nobody would argue that there is evil in the world. Everybody admits that. God is not the author of evil. If God created evil, then God would be both good and evil. And if God were both good and evil, there would be no hope for the ultimate triumph of good, which the Bible promises. Einstein said. "But if God is responsible, then he cannot be a good God, or he's responsible for evil. And if God is responsible, the God of Judaism or the God of Christianity, then he makes us do bad things, as well as good. And if, God was like this, he would be constantly passing judgment on himself as evil." God is not responsible for evil. His creatures are. God is not responsible for evil. His creatures are. Everything that God created was "very" "Good." Everything. Habakkuk 1:13 says: "God is of purer eyes than to" approve evil or "behold evil. He cannot look on wickedness." 1st Corinthians 14:33 says: "God is not the author of confusion." Confusion is a product of sin. 1st John 1:5 says: "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." James 1:13 says: "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man." 1st John 2:16 says: "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father." Psalm 5:4: "You are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness; neither will evil dwell with You." God is not evil. God does not do evil. He cannot be tempted to do evil. He never tempts anybody else to do evil. God is not responsible for evil. The source is sin which is outside of God. When God created angels and God created humans, He gave them intelligence. He gave them reason, and He gave them choice. And choice gave them the freedom to determine that behavior. Intelligence, reason, and choice. Bottom line: With what they knew, and with the ability they had to process that information, they would be brought to a choice. And whether angels or men, they would have the choice either to obey God or not to obey God. To disobey God was to initiate evil. Evil is not the presence of something. Evil is the absence of righteousness. You can't create evil, because evil doesn't exist as a created entity. It doesn't exist as a created reality. Evil is a negative. Evil is the absence of perfection. It's the absence of holiness. It's the absence of goodness. It's the absence of righteousness. Evil became a reality only when creatures chose to disobey. Evil came into existence initially then in the fall of angels. And then next, in the fall of Adam and Eve. Therefore, evil is not a created thing. Evil is a lack of moral perfection. God created absolute perfection. Wherever a lack of that exists, sin exists which cannot exist in the nature of God or in anything that God makes. Evil comes into existence when God's creatures fall short of the standard of moral perfection. God did not create evil. He did not author evil. He did not make evil. He did not bring it into existence. That would be impossible because God is good, all good and only good. Therefore, whatever comes out of Him is all good and only good. God can, therefore, produce only good. Today, God is ruling all things to work together for our good and His purpose. Romans 8:28-29 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Each of us has a part to serve Christ in accomplishing God's will. The ability of Jesus Christ to hate sin because it was sin that Adam separated us from God. It was sin that Christ died for. Before we came to Christ (repented for our sins), our imperfection in loving the good (light) and hating the evil (dark) were preventing us from receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus never hated a sinner, but He hated the evil and depravity that controlled the sinner. 1 Peter 3:17-22 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 10:29: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. How do we put up with Evil that God allow to happen? The Apostles, Joseph, Joshua, Daniel, Job, David and others like Corrie ten Boom how differently they interpreted their relationship with God. Learning from them, I can see that circumstances did not control them; it is their reaction to circumstances that determined what kind of people they were and most importantly, how faithful they were. No matter what we do, God is always guiding us through our circumstances (good and bad, including sickness like Joni Tada). The confusion will continue because of lack of understanding when we study "Doctrine of Suffering". Foreknowledge means "was foreknown before the foundation of the world." Since Christ was foreknown by God before the foundation of the world, and we were foreknown by God before the foundation of the world, we were foreknown in the same way Christ was foreknown. A good example of what Peter meant by "foreknowledge" is found in Acts 2:23. Speaking about Jesus to a Jewish audience, he said, "This man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." Here foreknowledge is linked to a predetermined plan. God's foreknowledge is a deliberate choice. God foreknew not by prior observation, but by bringing into reality His predetermined plan. Therefore, I am saying man has no ability to save himself that God's foreknowledge must be more than foresight: If man were able to believe on the basis of his own ability, then salvation would be appropriated by a human work. While salvation is a result of belief, the ability to believe is a gift granted by God (Eph. 2:8-9). 'My purpose will be established, I will accomplish all My good pleasure' God gave all equal opportunity to obey Him, but many "chose" to reject Him. There are people who believe that God is a God of love and grace, yet not of justice. If you do not receive Jesus Christ, God's justice can only condemn you. The choice is yours. God let's each man and woman chose whether they will be obedient to Him or not. "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." [2 Thessalonians 2:10] In a sense, they refused to love the truth and therefore were condemned,they did it all themselves in their own choice. I believe that God has ALREADY obligated His promises according to His will through His Son, Jesus in John 19:30 Jesus said, "It is finished." God's promise is eternal because Christ is the mediator of the covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance. With that promise, as a Christian, I always thank God continually for my guarantee of my spiritual security and freedom in Christ. With God's promised that thhe bond of the Covenant between God and me is ETERNAL that will never fail because it is God who has promised, and I have strong FAITH in His Character of His Eternal Promise. Regarding the topic of Job In the Old Testament: Ezekiel refers to Job along with Noah and Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14,20). In the New Testament: James draws upon the example of Job to comfort the suffering, proving the point that God is merciful. He commends the endurance of Job (Jas. 5:11). The only difference that I see between Old and New Covenant is this: Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance. That Covenant is that He has died as a ransom to set us free from the sins committed under the first Covenant. The Book of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the mediator, the executor, of The New Covenant (The New Testament). The Old Testament priests, sacrifices, and sanctuary are superseded by the mediation of Jesus, the crucified, risen, and reigning God-man (Heb. 1-10), in whom believers now find their identity as the seed of Abraham and the people of God (Gal. 3:29; 1 Pet. 2:4-10). Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. We need to understand that this New Covenant is sealed in the blood of Jesus, Who is our Savior and Mediator, brought us together with His Grace and Mercy that we have great spiritual and eternal freedom. God is the same yesterday and today and forever. The Old Testament listed the examples of GREAT faiths (See Hall of Faith, Hebrews, Chapter 11 which made references to the Old Testament). The REAL mystery is less of me and more of God, that my spiritual life deepens and I am strengthened in the knowledge of His grace. Knowledge of the mystery is having the reality of an experience of knowing God personally and consciously. Jesus Christ Himself is the deeper life, and as I plunge on into the knowledge of Christ and His love. Ephesians 1:9 And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ. No matter how much "data" we have. No matter how much knowledge we have in the Mystery of God, we will never fully comprehend God until we get into heaven. Psalm 48:14 "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says, "My thoughts are completely different from yours, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Jesus is our mediator and THROUGH Christ....we are spirit-filled to be like HIM when we use the word "Christian". In Galatians 6:14--Paul said that by taking up the cross of Christ, he crucified himself to the world--he died to everything around him and became consumed with the gospel of Christ. In Ephesians 5:18 where the present tense of the verb in Greek means: "Keep on being filled with the Spirit." Being filled with the Holy Spirit means we are to refrain from using our rights and privileges we are entitled to by God's grace because we desire to do God's will out of love and obedience as if we are after God's own heart. Oswald Chambers explains better than anyone could: "If we are willing to give up only wrong things for Jesus, ever let us talk about being in love with Him. Anyone will give up wrong things if he knows how, but are we prepared to give up the best we have for Jesus Christ? The only right a Christian has is the right to give up his rights. If we are to be the best for God, there must be Victory in the realm of legitimate desire as well as in the realm of unlawful indulgence." Obviously Job is aware of God's promise of a mediator when arguing with "his friends" who thought they knew everything. In chapter 42 of Job. "And Job answered the Lord and said, O, I see, I get it, You can do everything and no thought can be withheld from You and who's ever going to hide counsel without knowledge, therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, things too wonderful for me which I knew not." Job is saying: "God, I understand, You're God, You're sovereign, You can do anything. You know everything. You have all the privileges. I'm a fool for even opening my mouth, I apologize. I've been talking about things far beyond my understanding which I knew not. Too awesome for me to understand." God didn't lose the bet because if he did lost the "bet", He would NOT be God. Satan's "bet" with God demonstrate the true character of Satan. His arrogance in the presence of Jehovah and his inability to "see" the future confirm that he is far removed from the divine nature. God sees the future of Job and Satan cannot. From the Book of Job, we see that God is in complete control including this so called "bet". Satan had neither the power nor the authority to do anything without the permission of God. It was consistent with God's nature and will for him to have allowed those things to happen to Job. The Lord's point to Job, at the end of the book, is that he is the all-powerful Creator. He is the loving Sustainer. And he is the perfect Ruler. He created the Universe, and he knows how to govern it as well. Satan may not be aware that God is taking advantage of Satan's plans. God knows everything before Satan even think up a plan. Satan may be powerful but not all knowing as God. God is ruling all things to work together for our good and His purpose. Romans 8:28-29 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 10:29: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. If God can control with those two sparrows, then He will do the same for His children as well. In reality, the blessings are from God, the Holy Spirit-and using that person as an instrument to do God's will and plan. Obviously, there is no real sense in which we are able to do spiritual work of any kind without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, our faith and our works are NOTHING. Through the Holy Spirit, God's grace gave us the strength. I trust God's will more than I trust my OWN will. My destiny through God's will, not my faith alone.