He rules the Heavens and the Earth. In all the events of Life: from our personal life, Family life, Business, Government, Judicial, Scholastic, Jobs, recreation and all activities under the sun: He rules and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!
I am reminded of How God Rules over current Rulers and leaders of Government in Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. 2 All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
Though things around us do not make sense at times, Fear not! He is on His throne Ruling, Revelation 21:5 "...and Behold, I am making everything New!
Look all around you, Jesus is on His Throne and He Reigns! The only Sovereign! The Sovereign King, the Lord God Almighty! The Lord Jesus Christ! The only Sovereign King of Glory! To whom all other inferior sovereigns will give an account, through out every age and generation!
No one can escape God's presence He made the eyes and ears, you cannot escape His notice of us in our Daily living, in whatever we do! He Hems me in, behind and before me.
Christ is Risen! He lives in me, He goes before me, He is above me, He is below me, He is behind me, He is in front of me, He is with Me!
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
God alone initiates salvation. He always turns toward man first and seeks him, as when God walked in the Garden (Genesis 3:8). Man does not seek God or turn to him without God first calling man to Himself (John. 6:37, 44; 1 John. 4:10,19).
ReplyDeleteSecond, God’s initiative does not exclude man’s free response, but demands it (Catechism of the Catholic Church [Catechism], nos. 154, 155, 2002; Philippians 2:12, 13). In other words, God wills that man be free to choose His grace or reject it.
Third, salvation is extended to each and every human person, not limited to just some, and one can fall away from grace (Hebrews 2:1-4; 6:4; 2 Peter 1:10; 3:9; 1 John 5:16, 17).
Furthermore, it is imperative that once one is touched by grace, he perseveres in charity lest he forfeit the free gift of salvation (Lumen Gentium [LG], no. 14). Within the confines of these principles, Catholics have sought to understand the mystery of predestination.
Though opinions and formulations have varied among Catholic theologians, with these principles left intact, there is room for legitimate speculation.
The only proper framework to understand predestination must be rooted in the notion of a communion of persons in love. Why? The nature of God as Trinity is this very kind of communion and God created man to share in that “blessed life” (cf. Catechism, no. 1).
God indeed does intiates Salvation, As the apposlte Paul teaches in Ephesians 2; 1-10, when we wer dead in our trespasses and sin, he made His Elect alive to Him, 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved"
DeleteSecond, Once the Holy Spirit quickens the dead sinner, and makes Him alive in Christ, then and only then does the Elect child of God respond in Faith that was given to him at regeneration, indeed His will was set free to believe on Christ and respond to God's grace on his heart. Apart from God's intiative, no mans will is free to choose, because his will is in bondage and he is dead to God. Remember the Apostle Pauls words, also, that it is God who made the beliver alive in Christ,"6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
DeleteThird, Salvation is offered to the whole world, but Christ's atonement was limited to God's chosen and elect before the foundation of the world! Ephesians 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— Therefore, Since God chose His elect before the foundation of the world to be Holy and blameless, then it goes without even stating it that His chosen cannot fall away from Grace. Even Jesus testified to this wonderful Grace: John 6 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
DeleteWhat was the Will of the Father, but that Jesus would loose none of all those the Father has given Him, but raise them up at the last day! When you are God's chosen you will not fall away because His Grace is irristable and His calling is effectual unto Salvation. It is not up to the merits of man and their good works unto Salvation, but Salvation is based solely on Christ's redemptive work on the cross and His blood is sufficent unto salvation, I cannot add anything to what Christ has done on the cross. And His blood is sufficient to cleanse me, I do not have to go to purgatory to burn off sins for cleansing.
DeleteFurthermore, it is imperative that once a believer is touched by God's grace, that his life of Sancfification will perservere in a life of living worthy of their calling and pleasing the Lord in everyway bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the Knoweledge of God, being strengthened with power according to His glorious might so that we may great endurance and patience joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritence of the saints int he Kingdom of light Colossians 1:10-13
The proper frameworkd to understand predistination is surrender to the Sovereignty of God and to know that it is according to His Good pleasure and will not bound by the will of man, that He made some to become vessels of Honor and some become vessels destined for destruction. Thus, and God in predestination indeed forloved those to believe in His Son before the foundation of the world that they may share in the blessed fellowship with the Trinity in the perpetual, eternal communion of God's Love in His only begotten Son.
DeleteFurthermore, no person is capable of loving God in their own strength apart from God's Grace. Because apart from God's grace we are allienated and enemies in our minds because of our Evil behavior Colossians 1:19-21 In and of our self we will not love God from our own intiative or efforts, but we are in rebellion against God and indeed dead to the life of God. Titus 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
And again, Romans 5:10 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.