Orchastrated

We see an astounding message in Romans 8:10ff.. “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. This means we are children of God and co-heirs, of glory, with Jesus.”  But here is more, we are further introduced to a chain reaction of events that describes how the kingdom continues such a dramatic growth. God knew ahead of time what would happen regarding the Bride and her efforts. It is described from an all-knowing God’s perspective, as looking back on events which have already happened. We must remember that because of Jesus’ sacrifice, an amazing gift is available to all people, the opportunity to become a child of God and live with Him now and forever. God planned and therefore knows how this church would be formed and how it would blossom in the world. The chain remains intact when the Bride of Christ allows the empowering Spirit to use them to invite others to accept Jesus’ actions and the gift which is offered. To those who accept the invitation, He provides a pathway and defines the eventual future existence of the kingdom or the church. When we think about His definition of a kingdom or a group of people, it can be captured in the words, ‘those He predestined, He called. Those He called, He justified. And those He justified, He also glorified. Yes, God predefined the actions and pathways of a group of faithful people, the kingdom or the church. When the time was right, Jesus died for justification and future glorification. This gift was offered by invitation to all. There are some who are more open to this message and feel called to accept this invitation. This mysterious calling from God upon our hearts is a significant part of His total redemptive plan. It is not as though each person is somehow neutral in all of this and God chooses some to come into the kingdom. Individual designation of individuals is a false conclusion because Scripture clearly teaches that none of us are neutral. We are not suspended in some sort of limbo and our next steps are subjected to someone else. Everyone’s sin illustrates Everyone’s weakness. Scripture says, we have all gone our own way (Isaiah 53:6), and we have all sinned fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). This illustrates that our salvation is wholly of grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8). It is because of and through this grace we enter into God’s kingdom. Yes, God crafted a kingdom long ago, he then provided a way to overcome sin and allow people to come close to Him. When the Holy Spirit, who lives within the cleansed person and is allowed to lead the person’s decisions, the person finds themselves on a spiritual journey toward the end goal, heaven, where they will share the glory given to Jesus.