Man has always been
very special to God that He had a very special
plan for him even before the foundation of the
world. It was
God's purpose when He created him that "man should be Holy
and blameless before Him in love" (Eph.
1:4).
But, in order for man to serve Him on the basis
of love, man must be
made holy and blameless or be sanctified (freed
from sin).
Obviously,
God did not want man to be like the anointed
Cherub, whom He created perfect but later on iniquity or wickedness was
found in him (Ezek. 28:14-15). The anointed cherub aspired to be like the most high or God.
This iniquity is rebellion against God and the very proof that the
anointed cherub—although perfect at first—was without
love (Isa. 14:13-14. So, God cast him to the ground with
his angels, thus becoming the devil
and Satan who deceives the whole
world (Rev.12:9).
So,
God purposely does not want man to
be perfect or holy by himself because he might
boast about it—like the anointed cherub.
Instead, God wants man to fully understand that his
reward for being holy—that is salvation—is a
gift from Him (Eph. 2:8). It is not given for any reason or works
of righteousness done by a man, but it is given
to a man as a "gift from God" so no
one can boast about it (Eph. 2:9).
So, God
purposely made all people
"prisoners of disobedience", so that He might show mercy to them
all (Romans 11:32). Man as "prisoner of disobedience"
simply means that man as flesh was
created weak by God (Mat. 26:41). Weak
in the sense that man finds it difficult to resist
temptation and difficult to follow God's
commandments, and therefore he becomes susceptible or prone to commit sin.
In such a wretched situation, God's law requires
the sinful man to die for his sins (Rom. 6:23)
and that is the second death in the lake of fire, which
is the full payment of his sins (Rev. 20:14).
Although
man has fallen into sin and failed to live up to
God's design, that he be the image of God in
holiness. God nevertheless want man to become
holy, for holiness is required to serve God and
to be allowed entry to His kingdom in heaven.
But, man by
himself cannot change what become of him as a
result of his sin, because, salvation (which is the
reward of being holy) is given as God's mercy ((Titus
3:5).
It is not given for any reason or works of
righteousness done by a man, but it is given to
man as a "gift from God" so no one may boast
about it ((Ephesians 2:8-9) But God's law
also requires that man can only be made holy or
purified with blood, and without the shedding of
blood, man's sin cannot be forgiven ((Hebrews
9:22). Since there is no other way for man
to be made holy or purified without the shedding
of blood ((Hebrews 9:22), God plan was to send
His only Son into the world to become the
atoning sacrifice for man's sin, or in simpler
term as a "sacrifice to take away man's sins" (I
John 4: 9-10) .
God chose
Christ for this purpose long before the
world began, but now in these final days, he
was sent to the earth (1 Peter 1:19-20), so
that the sinful man may yet become holy or
sanctified (freed from sin). God's plan for making man
holy or sanctified, was to choose men
and adopt them as His sons through Jesus Christ according His purpose and good
pleasure (Ephesians 1:4-5). God's divine plan was to "create man in Christ Jesus for good
works or deeds" (Ephesians 2:10). These
good works and deeds are the laws and
commandments of God (Romans 7:12). Keeping these
laws and commandments is the whole duty of man
(Ecclesiastes 12:13). Thus, walking and living by
these laws and commandments
will make man holy or sanctified (freed from sin).
It is only through this plan, that man will regain his right to serve God on
the basis of love which is God's purpose in
creating Him.
___________________________________________________________