God’s Mysterious Plan
Would it surprise you to know that God the Father’s great plan is a mystery to a heavenly audience? Both Paul and Peter wrote to encourage God’s people to remain strong, knowing that they were in a struggle with spiritual forces. And there were angelic onlookers!
The Father’s plan is being worked out in the lives of those he has called to walk with him. And they are to be his witnesses, not only to people, but to angelic beings, too. We who are called into God’s service are stewards of God’s mystery, his plan. And we must understand God’s purpose and our role in it.
Spiritual Forces of Wickedness
But there are forces that are working counter to God the Father’s great plan! That is why Jesus instructed his disciples to pray that the Father would protect them from the evil one. This malevolent being and his supporters have been working from the beginning to thwart God’s plan. This is why Daniel wrote of his experience with an angelic messenger who had been battling another angelic being. And Paul wrote to the Ephesians to help them realize that they needed the Father’s help to contend with ‘spiritual forces of wickedness.’ They needed faith in the power of God the Father and the hope in Jesus sacrifice. Then, they could overcome the spiritual darkness and receive their inheritance … eternal life with the Father.
The Promise of the Kingdom
God the Father’s great plan was to create beings in his image and likeness, having his mind and character. The goal was to have his people become ‘one’ with him in spirit. Then they could be united into a great spiritual family, animated by love for God and one another. This was the vision of the Kingdom of God. The seeds of the kingdom would be planted when people received the spirit of the Father and became his adopted spiritual children. And having God’s spirit within them, his children would walk with him, follow his ways, and overcome the dark spiritual forces arrayed against them.
Our Faith Endures Testing
God’s promise of eternal life with his family is a wonderful hope that we can cling to, when we endure trials that test our faith. We can have this hope because our Father never changes and every good gift comes from him. He is always there to guide us with his word and the spirit of truth. As we look ever more closely into his teachings, his laws, we are freed from all the things that would cause us to stumble and fail. The Father’s character will become alive in us, as we conform our will and nature to his righteous ways.
God the Father’s great plan gives us the vision and hope we need to overcome the negative influences in the world. His spirit, the same spirit Christ had, gives us the power to move from spiritual darkness into the spiritual light. What a great hope we have to become children of our Father and brothers and sisters of our elder brother, Jesus Christ.
