John 12:33 Part II

August 31st 2014
Milk
Whether you are here live in the studio/church or watching online streaming we welcome you.

Jesus' Statement in John 12:32

Okay, so we are covering Jesus statement found in John 12:32 where He said:

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Last week we discussed several factors from scripture to help us understand this from what the Bible says (and hopefully not man). We talked about how the world is divided into two groups – those saved from hell and those who are not. We talked about scripture that clearly says God would have all to be saved, how Jesus is the Savior of the whole world, and how God always gets his way. To say otherwise is to suggest that He is not sovereign. But we also noted that He allows for the freewill of all men and women, that through His foreknowledge of all things He calls certain nations (like the COI) and then certain people (believers) to bring about His desired ends. Through all of this He is perfectly just, merciful, and sovereign.

God's Omniscience and Human Free Will

Go back with me, then – way back to before the world or the heavens were. To the “before all things.” We will call this period “pre-creation.” To the place where all we can say is “God” – The first and the last. Did God know all things about all things prior to creating them? Absolutely. We have to agree that He is . . .

• Omniscient (all knowing).
• Omnipotent (all powerful).
• Omnipresent (everywhere present).

Being all of these, being all things, being the first and the last, knowing the beginning to the end, did this God WHOM JOHN DESCRIBES AS LOVE know all things about each and every one of us . . . PRIOR to creating us? (softly) He had to. Not only because scripture says He did but because if He didn’t He could be surprised by our acts and if surprised then not in control of them – which is counter to scripture.

This leaves us facing a tremendous biblical conundrum. It’s enormous and one where the answers provided to me from the LDS and Evangelical Christianity have plagued me almost since I could think. We are told He is light. We are told He is love. But we are also told He is in control and He does what He will. In response to this men have come along and made propositions. Today we have men who are claiming something called Open Theism which suggests that God does not know everything, He is only fully prepared to respond to what comes up. Intellectually it is a reasonable response but the problem with it is it counters biblical representations of Him. I reject Open Theism as a non-biblical creation of Man.

Calvinism and God's Sovereignty

Then there is Calvin. He took His questions and explained them. Others came along and formed them in the acronym T.U.L.I.P. First, God, knowing all things, unconditionally created and elected some of us, before the foundation of the world, for eternal life and others for eternal hell. Born of flesh (and due to the Fall) all of us are totally depraved (having no ability to choose God). Then God unconditionally elects (saves, regenerates) those whom He will “to life,” and then Jesus came and suffered only for the sins of those whom God elected to save (limited atonement). Then because God always gets His way those whom He has elected cannot refuse His call (irresistible grace) and then finally, once He calls or elects a person they will (without fail) persevere – endure to the end / “Once Saved Always Saved” because God did not give them a choice in the first place . . . His will will be done!

The system is workable through much of scripture but it does not, in my mind, answer a number of other significant descriptions of God and His heart. For instance, Isaiah 55:8-11 comes to mind where He says “For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” And then, knowing God is love and good, how are we to understand Isaiah 45:9-11 where God says:

9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11 Calling

Understanding God's Sovereignty and Love

A ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. As a God of love from eternity to eternity, what is His pleasure, His will, His purpose? What does Jeremiah 29:11 mean when God says

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

What does it mean in the face of all this information when we read in 2nd Peter 3:9 that

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

OR what does 1st Timothy 2:3-4 mean which says

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth?”

Somehow we have to come to terms with ALL of this information – not just some of it.

The Challenges of Calvinism and Arminianism

So go with me (again) back to the beginning – prior to where God created the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. IF God knew He was going to create beings that would become kindling for hell, burning forever and ever and ever in real flames and created them anyway, calling it, “His Good Pleasure,” we have a serious problem with the other passages that call Him love, and good, and merciful, and Holy. Calvinism has provided the world with a myopic (and therefore limited view of God) emphasizing His sovereignty while either ignoring or redefining what love is.

Calvinists often say that we cannot understand love through God’s eyes, that maybe to Him it is loving to save only some and let the rest suffer eternally. But Jesus clearly points out in scripture that if a men, being evil, know how to give good gifts how much more adept at blessing is the father of lights.

On the other hand, Arminianism, a response to Calvinism, refutes God’s Sovereignty and places salvation in the hands of man saying we are responsible for freely choosing all things and then are in control of whether we remain saved or not. In the end, Arminianism fails to adequately answer the ‘precreation question” of God because even if the view is correct, God still, knowing who would receive Him and who would not, of their own freewill and choice, created them anyway, essentially predestining some for heaven and some for hell!

An Alternative View

IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

Is there a reasonable, biblical response that offers us a solution to these seemingly contradictory issues and if there is, what does it ultimately reveal to us (AGAIN – through the Bible)?

I would strongly suggest there is an alternative view – neither Calvinistic nor Arminianist – that is wholly biblical.

First of all, we must admit that God is certainly sovereign and in total and complete control. Can (or will) true “agape loveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty.” control things the way Man defines and tries to control things? I would strongly say no. Control, as we see and define it, is diabolical in most applications. Love is liberating and free, NOT controlling.

How then, is God (who IS love – pure love, all love, the very definition of love) completely Sovereign? By His foreknowledge. He controls by foreknowledge, not force. We get a picture of this in the story of Joseph when he was sold into Egypt by his brothers.

After going through all sorts of hell, he became a mighty prince overseeing the distribution of food that saved His family among others. When the brothers who sold him into Egypt years early came to him in search of food, he revealed himself. Of course they felt horrible and frightened for having sold him in the first place but Joseph said in Genesis 50:20:

“. . . as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as this day, to save much people alive.”

The Role of Foreknowledge

How did a good and loving God, in light of the free will choices He knew humans would take before creating them, still create them, knowing some would burn forever in hell? Additionally, how is He able to have His will done in the face of our free-will choices?

Foreknowledge friends, foreknowledge.

His omniscient foreknowledge existing in the glory of pure love, allows for human-beings (and angels and saints and demons) to

Understanding God's Foreknowledge

Freely choose while at the same time giving Him total and ultimate control over the end of all things and for His pleasure . . . that He, in the end (as we read last week) will be “all in all.” We’ll get more into what His good will and loving pleasure is next week.

Speaking of His foreknowledge God said through Isaiah (42:9):

“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel said:

Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

Speaking of the day when heaven and earth will pass away, Jesus said:

Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

That’s foreknowledge.

The Role of Foreknowledge in Redemption

In describing himself as an apostle, Peter said (in 1st Peter 1:2) that he was

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

Even when it came to the suffering and deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of His own Son, we know it did NOT occur by the indiscriminate actions of the Jews, or the Romans, or even of Satan Himself, but by and through the foreknowledge of God. Did God force Satan or the Jews or Romans to do what they did? Not in the least. They chose. But God, knowing all things, allowed them to do what they chose to do to bring about His sovereign will.

In Acts 2:23 Peter is speaking to a group of Jews on the day of Pentecost and says to them:

“Him (meaning Jesus) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

When Jesus was taken by the Jews was there any surprise to God? Not at all. Again, listen to what Peter said:

“Jesus was . . . delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God to them, where they took Him and with wicked hands crucified and slayed Him.”

So, again, let’s go back. And ask yourselves,

In the beginning, did God know Adam and Eve would sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.? Absolutely. No surprise.

Did Satan get them to? Sure. Did God create Satan. Yes. Did Adam and Eve have the freewill to choose evil?

You bet.

As a result, scripture says that Jesus was slain from BEFORE the foundations of the world. This does NOT mean He was actually killed before the foundation of the world. It means that in and through God’s foreknowledge the death was wholly accomplished to save this world He so loved.

The Purpose of Foreknowledge

Stay with me now. We KNOW from scripture that God is good, light, love. He desires “a good and expected end,” not an evil one. We know that out of His good pleasure (and out of His loving good pleasure because God is LOVE) that He created all things, knowing before-hand how all of us would freely live, and walk, and be. Not “forcing us to be,” but freely allowing us to be and do whatever we were going to be and do.

Prior to creating all things with a complete foreknowledge of them would a loving God desire or will that only some would be saved or all? Think about this! He has not created us and yet knows what we will do and choose. He knows all of us are going to mess up – all of us – we only do it in varied degrees. And He knows some of us are going to relate and handle things relatively well and some are going to make the biggest mess of the lot given.

But scripture says that He desires that all would be saved!

Now to help round out the idea (and the applicability of the idea) to the various things God has done to have “His will and pleasure completed” let’s talk about the very biblical concept of first-fruits.

Firstfruits as a Biblical Concept

The word used for firstfruits in the Greek is (aparchn) and it generally applies to the first-fruits of a harvest – or that which is first collected and consecrated to God as an offering of gratitude from a harvest.

The idea is that because the blessings of God have

The Concept of First-Fruits

been poured out in providing a harvest that we respond by taking the first part of it – the best part of it – in recognition of His love and mercy, and give it back to Him. Built into the concept is an order or rank. Additionally, first-fruits ALSO applies to the best of the whole harvest.

So let’s say you have a grove of apple trees and you want to give the first fruits to God. This does NOT mean the very first apples to come to the grove are God’s. In fact, we learn from Leviticus 19:23-25 that when it came to tree first-fruits the Children of Israel were to wait for four cycles of harvests before either offering first fruits or harvesting them for themselves. So the order and rank part applies to the first acceptable harvest as a whole and the best of that harvest.

Numbers 18:12 says it well:

“All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first-fruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.”

The Role of Firstborn and Honor

Got all that? When it comes to humans, the first fruits of the womb, however, are always the firstborn sons, which is naturally a picture of our Lord. The purpose and symbolism is manifest even in our day and age. The person to be served first is typically someone of highest honor.

Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase.” Additionally, the first-fruits, as we’ve defined them, were very important to God.

Ezekiel 48:14 says:

“And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the first-fruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.”

So, and in accordance to God and His sovereign ways and perfect foreknowledge, the idea of first-fruits – picturing His Only Begotten Son – was initiated very early in biblical history. Remember now, first-fruits include the concept of “the best,” the first delivered, and a rank among others that ARE TO COME. Did you hear me? First-fruits include the notions of the best of a crop, the first out of a crop, and a rank (meaning there are other ranks) coming in after the first and best.

Biblical Examples and Symbolism

When God created everything in the Garden of Eden He said, “it was good.” Adam and Eve were the first fruits of all humanity. They were first, they were the best (God created them, right) and they were first in rank. God gave them a choice – to love Him and therefore obey Him, or to choose their own will and way. Did God know what they would do? Certainly. Did God stop with the human race at Adam and Eve or did others follow in after “the first and best” called Adam and Eve? Certainly others came – even all the way down to each of us today.

With the first fruits of the Human race failing to love and choose God, God (by His foreknowledge) elected a nation above all other nations. Romans 11:16, speaking of the Nation of Israel and likening them to “a tree God created and elected for specific purposes,” has Paul say, speaking of the Nation of Israel:

“For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

See, the first fruit nation, like the first fruit couple, failed to live the law and choose God. Now listen – this is key –

Just as more individuals came after the first fruit couple Adam and Eve, filling the earth, so did other nations follow in after the first fruit nation (Israel) failed to choose God (and that ultimately rejected the Messiah). Who are these other nations? ALL OTHER NATIONS, right? God has elected (based on His foreknowledge of what Adam and Eve and the Nation of Israel would choose to do) “to use them” to achieve His good pleasure and will, not because He respected them any more but because of His foreknowledge of what He knew they would do.

Then we know that God sent His Only Begotten Son, right? The first fruits of God (now the Father) and of Mary and the ONLY one up to this point in history to do His will.

Jesus as the First and Only

In many ways, Jesus was the first and only of the church. First and only born of a virgin. First and only without sin. First and only to come down from above. First and only to obey the Law. And having been the best, the first, and the first of an order or rank.

First Fruits in Spiritual Context

of humanity, he became the first fruits in overcoming the grave by overcoming sin and death. Listen.

1st Corinthians 15:20 says it:

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.”

Because of Him, all of mankind (every rank) will be resurrected, or as it says in 1st Corinthians 15:23

“But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.”

From His ascension on, the Church – His church, comprised of individual believers, have now become the first-fruits of believers. This is us! Romans 8:23 calls us “the first fruits of the Spirit.” Of the first, of a rank, of therefore, the best of all.

First fruits plays such a role in God achieving His own pleasure and will, that when a person became a believer in a certain geographical area in the early church they were known as the first fruits of that area. In Romans 16:5, Paul is giving greetings, and says

“Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the “firstfruits of Achaia” unto Christ.”

The Role and Significance of First Fruits

Here’s the point, which we will continue to build upon next week . . . First fruits does NOT mean there is no fruit coming after. It merely signifies the first of the best, the first in rank, and the first AMONG many. Adam and Eve were followed by more people. The Nation of Israel was followed by more nations. Jesus, the first resurrected, was and will be followed by more. The first believers of a given area were followed by more, and the church of the redeemed will be followed by more.

James 1:18 says it well:

“Of his own will (of His own good pleasure) begat he us with the word of truth (according to His election based on His foreknowledge), that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

The Harvest and Gathering

Just as the Nation of Israel thought the sun rose and set on them, and could not accept subsequent nations as being His and part of His harvest, we, in the church, have made an error in believing that the sun rises and sets only on us. Through every harvest of the field there was always the first-fruits, picturing Christ, picturing His bride of believers. But then there was a general harvest. Of what? All the rest of the fruit, right? And then after that there was always a gleaning of the field? What was that? That was when the field – thought to have been harvested completely, was checked to make sure that any fruit that was dropped or fell to the ground or was lost is found and gathered up, that none would be lost.

I would suggest that God does not like losing. I personally do not believe He looses anything. Nor does He appreciate loss or waste.

Remember when Jesus gathered all those who were following Him into the wilderness and night was about to fall? We read about it in Matthew 14:15 where it says:

“And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18 He said, Bring them hither to me. 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.”

Parables of the Lost

I used to be fascinated by the fact that Jesus, who duplicated the fish and loaves had the disciples gather up that which was left over. I understand better now.

God does not like loss. And if He cares enough about gathering up dead fish and inanimate bread, what about the souls of men?

We know in Luke chapter fifteen, Jesus is asked why he eats with publicans and sinners. And He responds by telling three stories one after the other – all about lost things.

The first, a lost sheep – and the message was, “What man would not leave the 99 and go after the 1?”

The second was

Parables of Redemption

A lost coin – one of ten – and He asks, “What woman of you would not sweep and clean and search the house until that coin was found and when it was would not call all her friends and say rejoice, that which was lost is found?

And then of course this series of stories ends with the parable of the Prodigal Son, who Jesus says, having gone astray, “comes to his senses” and decides to go back to the care of His Father’s house.”

Returning Home

“When he came to himself” Jesus said, “he made the decision to return home.”

And how was he received.

Jesus tells us. His father, seeing him coming from a long way off did something that was absolutely an embarrassment for men to do in public in the east – he ran.

He RAN to his lost Son.

Description of Love

In First Corinthians 13 Paul describes love to us. He tells us that

God’s love is long-suffering It is kind It does not envy It is not boastful Nor proud It behaves itself And does not seek its own interests It is not easily provoked It does not think evil; It does not rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth . . .

And he concludes by saying:

God’s love bears all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, and finally that God’s love never fails.

Next week we will begin to see from the Bible how His love never, ever fails, which will help us better understand when Jesus said:

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

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