Thursday – September 1, 2016
I spent yesterday talking about the idea of predestination. Many have the concept that those that end up going to Heaven were predestined to go and those that end up going to Hell were predestined to go to Hell. And they believe that all the while knowing that it is the will of God that none perish (destroyed in this life or go to Hell) The reason this idea is a demonic perversion is that it gives all control to God and no right of choice to us. Worse than all that it violates Gods’ Word and His character. We are a free-will people, we have the right of choice whether it be good or bad. I would think that would be abundantly clear from just casual observation. Being predestined means that all of us have the God given authority to choose. Our text for today is below in the King James Version and the God’s Word translation. The God’s Word translation may help bring clarity. Let’s pick-up with Ephesians 1:6 and the phrase: “the glory of his grace”. We will break this down word by word.
Ephesians 1:5-7 (KJV)
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 1:5-7 (GW)
5 Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this
6 so that the kindness he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness.
I will start with the word ‘praise’ which is being used as a noun. Praise is an expression of admiration, approval, acclaim, applauding, worship, honor, adoration, celebration, and blessing. It is an expression of who and what they are. In this case what God is and what God does in our lives when we recognize what He wants to do and we enable Him by our thanksgiving, our praise, and worship to do the longing of His heart.
Now what about “the glory of his grace”? The glory of God is the Holy Spirit of God and the expressions or manifestations of the Glory are always good. One example of the manifestation of God’s glory would be the cloud by day and the fire by night that guided the Children of Israel in the wilderness. The dividing of the Red Sea, or the water gushing from a rock to satisfy a nation. Other manifestations of the Glory of God which is the ‘goodness’ of God are when a person is healed and there is no natural explanation. The woman with the issue of blood was healed instantly, as were all the others that Jesus healed, and she knew she was healed, no guess work. The ultimate pinnacle of the goodness of God, the Glory of God is the coming of Jesus and His redemptive work. In the wilderness when Moses asked God to see His glory, God showed Moses His goodness. If you study that text closely you will see that in that moment God demonstrated and showed Moses the coming of Jesus Christ.
Exodus 33:18-23 (KJV)
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
As you know Jesus is the rock, the Old Testament saints were looking forward to the coming Messiah, the Redeemer and some by faith pulled Him into their timeframe. God stood Moses upon the Rock hiding him in a cleft protecting him by shielding his vision and his person with the Holy Spirit (“my hand”). Moses saw the “back parts” of God. What would Moses have seen? Think for a moment about the ‘Armor of God’, the back parts are covered with and protected by the ‘Belt of Truth’. Recall that the Truth is four things or persons. Jesus is the Truth, the Holy Spirit is the Truth, the Word of God is the Truth, and Love is the Truth. The only way to the Father is by Jesus facilitated by the Holy Spirit. Moses saw the glory, the goodness of God, the coming Messiah who would provide the legal pathway for the return of the Holy Spirit into the earth available to all men. Having said all of that I believe the meaning here is simply interpreted as ‘goodness’. In order to come to the conclusion that I have you need the body of knowledge that I have just laid out.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
