Union with Christ - our fate is not in our hands.
Union with Christ was a central reality for Paul's theology and for John's. It has also been at the heart of much Reformed theology (albeit understood in differing ways). And MAN ALIVE it is a glorious truth! It is breath-taking!
In Christ God-the-Son unites himself to our humanity. He lives our human story, bears the divine curse on sin and then is resurrected by the Father to new life.
In the body of the risen Lord God has already completed salvation. In Christ we have died, been buried, been raised and are now seated in heavenly places. In Christ we are already justified, sanctified, and glorified. In Christ we are chosen. The risen Lord is himself the assurance that God's cosmic purposes will be manifest.
That God will achieve his purposes for creation is not a mere desire, a wish, a hope. It is a certainty because the reality is already embodied in the Lord - our representative.
In the end, our fate is not in our hands. Thanks the Lord! Our fate is in the hands of the triune God. The Father has purposed our salvation from eternity past. The Father was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Redemption is complete in Christ. The Spirit is leading creation to participate in the glorious deliverance already accomplished in the Lord.
Sure we have free will but our freedom will never thwart the purposes of the soverign God. Speaking for myself I can say that I am unspeakably reassured by this. The future will see the manifestation of the glory of God in creation and that future is not under threat.
In Christ God-the-Son unites himself to our humanity. He lives our human story, bears the divine curse on sin and then is resurrected by the Father to new life.
In the body of the risen Lord God has already completed salvation. In Christ we have died, been buried, been raised and are now seated in heavenly places. In Christ we are already justified, sanctified, and glorified. In Christ we are chosen. The risen Lord is himself the assurance that God's cosmic purposes will be manifest.
That God will achieve his purposes for creation is not a mere desire, a wish, a hope. It is a certainty because the reality is already embodied in the Lord - our representative.
In the end, our fate is not in our hands. Thanks the Lord! Our fate is in the hands of the triune God. The Father has purposed our salvation from eternity past. The Father was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Redemption is complete in Christ. The Spirit is leading creation to participate in the glorious deliverance already accomplished in the Lord.
Sure we have free will but our freedom will never thwart the purposes of the soverign God. Speaking for myself I can say that I am unspeakably reassured by this. The future will see the manifestation of the glory of God in creation and that future is not under threat.
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