Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "2-timothy-1"
Curtain of Eternity – Part 1
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 2
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 3
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living the new life that is in us out to the world. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m save because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living the new life that is in us out to the world. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m save because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 4
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saved anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saved anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 5
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. This was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 3 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not for His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. This is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. This was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 3 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not for His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. This is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 1
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What is the difference between time and eternity? That is the question I pose to you today. Any takers? Raise your hand high now. I wouldn’t want to miss any volunteers.
Didn’t think so. The question is a bit difficult for our finite minds to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? What do we have on which to base our estimation of eternity? The usual understanding is that time comes to an end but eternity goes on forever. You think?
Such an understanding of eternity is faulty through and through, dear friends, if for no other reason than the concept defines eternity in terms of time. If anything, it should be reversed. We would better define a glass of water in terms of the ocean, than the ocean in terms of a glass of water!
We might express the first concept by the phrase “eternal time”, an oxymoron par excellence if ever there was one. It is the stuff which makes up stuff and nonsense! On the other hand the phrase “timeless eternity” has a good deal of sense to it. Eternity is timeless, eternity is not time unlimited. We cannot define eternity in terms of time.
And therein lies the unresolved dilemma we puny humans have, when it comes time to understanding God and the things of eternity. We are creatures of time, space, and matter. We were created to exist in time, and we have always existed in time. Indeed until the day we pass from time into eternity, we haven’t a clue as to what it entails.
In 1 Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to intimate the duality which exists between time and eternity. It is an unfathomable mystery of the Bible, but it nonetheless exists. The Holy Spirit is God. He exists in eternity. He created it! He understands it, so He can explain it.
The trouble isn’t whether or not the Holy Spirit can explain eternity. The trouble lies in man’s inability to understand eternity. Accordingly the Spirit didn’t waste time explaining what we cannot understand. He took a different approach. He simply noted how it exists apart from time, that it is not dependent on time in any sense, and yet it still rules over time.
Let’s assay the Spirit’s expression of this duality in our text for today. First we need to identify the duality itself, and then we can sift through the goodies and see what we discover. So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
Wow! I’m already floored! We had best pause and catch our breath before proceeding any further. We are on holy ground, so we need to spend some time in the presence of Jesus before taking another step.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 2
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin, but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
So here’s how the Holy Spirit expressed the duality between time and eternity:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The operative phrases in those two points are these: “from all eternity” vs. “now has been revealed”.
If we would rightly understand the duality expressed by those two points, we must needs recall Rule #1 for Bible study: “a text without a context is a pretext”. Okay, so what is the context in which those two points occur? Let’s mull it over a bit and see what we come up with.
The duality occurs within the framework of two things God did for us Christians:
1. God saved us
2. God called us
God’s call to us came as “a holy calling”. Huh? What does that mean? Well, the word “holy” means that the Christian is set apart to God for His own good purposes. We are both saved from sin and called to live in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That makes God’s call to be “a holy calling”.
In other words God didn’t merely save us from the penalty of our sins which is death, eternal separation from Him in the Lake of Fire. If God saved us that way and left it at that, we would revert right back to sinning again and be in the same boat from which He saved us.
God saved us out of sin and into newness of life. He not only got rid of the sin, but He also replaced it with a new nature which doesn’t sin. That would be the Holy Spirit living within us, and I can promise you the Holy Spirit doesn’t sin!
Thus our salvation comes with a calling attached. We are called to no longer live to please ourselves and make our decisions based on what we think and what pleases us. Instead we are to learn what the will of God is by reading His Word daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach it to us. We are then to respond to what He teaches us by obeying what we learn, by putting it into practice in our lives.
Romans 12:2 refers to this as no longer being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In plain talk we stop getting our thinking from the evening news and the movies and folks on the street: we instead get our thinking from the Bible as the Holy Spirit reveals its truths to us.
I hear the dinner bell. So we’d best stop now before mom gets mad. Let’s go to chowing down on this concept of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The best place to do so is at the feet of Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 3
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living out to the world the new life that is in us. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m saved because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
God saves us out of sin and He also calls us to a life of holiness. To do so we stop following the words of man and commence to following the Word of God. We then put shoe leather to the Word of God as He teaches it to us. The more we do so the more we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When we put into practice what we learn, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we grow strong spiritually. The old sin nature lurking inside grows weaker and the new nature of the Spirit grows stronger. Then we are more consistent in our daily living, such that we and others see the Holy Spirit living out to the world the new life that is in us. Jesus walks the earth in human form still, only now He does so in His Body, the Church.
This is indeed a “calling”, and this calling is assuredly “holy”. The concept of “holy” contrasts with the concept of “sin”. God is holy and man is sinful. When we live for God in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God, then we are no longer living in sin. We are then living holy lives. We are fulfilling His “holy calling”, and this is His purpose in saving us.
That is the context for understanding the duality expressed between time and eternity in 2 Timothy 1, dear friends. God both saved us and called us with a holy calling. Yet He did so not on the basis of “our works”. In other words God didn’t decide who He will save and call based on man. We didn’t earn it by doing anything, i.e., “works”.
Nor did God save us and call us with a holy calling according to anything meriting that we deserve it. In other words not only was it not on the basis of anything we did, but it also was not on the basis of who we are. God did so according to His own purpose and grace. The concept of “grace” means that God’s salvation and calling are granted freely based upon Himself, not upon man. We receive it as a free gift, not as deserving it because of who we are.
The text continues in this vein by noting how God’s grace came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. The way it came to us was by means of the cross and the empty tomb. The text expresses this by the words “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. Jesus did so at the cross and empty tomb.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus had no sin because He is God, therefore Jesus didn’t earn death as His wages. Notwithstanding this, Jesus did die on the cross. Since His death wasn’t as payment for His own sins, it was payment for the sins of the world. The cross is how Jesus abolished death. He died man’s death.
Praise the Lord Jesus! I sure am glad He died for me. I’m even gladder that He lives for me. I’m saved because He died for me. I live a holy calling because He lives for me. Think I’ll spend a while musing on these notions.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 4
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saves anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus saved us and called us with a holy calling. Hallelujah! This is spelled c-r-o-s-s and e-m-p-t-y--t-o-m-b.
The cross was where the penalty for my sins was paid, where I was saved from sin and death. The empty tomb demonstrated this to be true. Death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin, and death comes as the wages of sin. Having died bearing the sins of all mankind, Jesus rose out of death with the bill for all those sins marked “Paid in Full!” Now the new resurrection life of Jesus is available to whoever will receive it.
The cross paid the penalty for sins. This is salvation. We are “saved” from sin. The empty tomb extends the benefits of the cross to include “a holy calling”. We are saved from sin for the purpose of living a holy life. To live a holy life requires power and ability within us which is not corrupted by sin. That is the definition of a new, holy nature.
That completes our diagnosis of the context for the duality between time and eternity, as presented in 2 Timothy 1. In that context we are able to rightly grasp what the Holy Spirit reveals to us by this duality. So let’s begin by repeating the duality, so that we have it fresh on our minds:
1. which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2. but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus
The word in point #1, “which”, refers to God’s salvation and holy calling combined. Remember, God never merely saves anyone. He saves for a purpose, and His purpose is that every person he saves stop living for sin and thenceforth live in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. That is the definition of “a holy calling”.
Ergo, the duality has to do with God’s salvation and calling as they are joined together in holy matrimony for all eternity, beginning from the moment a person is saved. God didn’t plan His salvation and calling of each Christian at the moment he was born, nor even at the instant he was conceived, neither from the first thought mom and dad had of conceiving a baby together.
No, indeed! God’s plan to save me and call me with a holy calling occurred in eternity, dear friends! And the same applies to His plan for you guys and gals too. Eternity isn’t dependent on time, you see. We puny creatures of time had no existence until we were conceived and then born, but God’s plan for us existed even before time began! Explain that one to me, I dare you!
Still, eternal plans for creatures of time and space and matter don’t go very far, unless time actually exists along with those creatures. This brings in point #2 of the duality we are vetting from 2 Timothy 1. In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time.
Hold that thought. It is much too steep for us to wander into it willy-nilly at this late hour. We will explore that terrain on the morrow. Enjoy time with the Lord Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Curtain of Eternity – Part 5
(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:9-10].
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. That was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 7 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. That is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In order to fulfill the eternal plan of God, God needed to enter time as a creature of time. That was why the eternal Son of God at a point in time (circa 7 B.C.) willingly took upon human nature. This is known as the “incarnation”.
The Son of God’s human nature was not sinful human nature but sinless human nature. God originally created man sinless. Man acquired his sin nature by disobeying the Word of God in the garden. The virgin birth of Jesus was the means by which real human nature was acquired without sin.
We already descanted upon the cross and empty tomb. The eternal Son of God exists simultaneously as a creature of time and space and matter because at a point in time He became a creature of time. He became a man. He didn’t stop being the eternal Son of God. Rather, He became a man simultaneously with being the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the God-man, two natures existing simultaneously in one Person.
The duality which exists between time and eternity is intimated at by the Holy Spirit in our text. From God’s perspective my salvation and calling occurred in eternity, and He is the source. But such a concept is incomprehensible to me. Now that the Word of God reveals it to me, I know its veracity and believe it. But I believe it by faith, not by intellect.
This doesn’t mean I stop being intellectual and become a blind dote, gullible and swallowing any blather I hear. It means I know the Lord Jesus personally and have learned by experience as well as His Word that He is utterly trustworthy and never lies or makes mistakes. Consequently I know that what He teaches me about this duality is true, though I am incapable of understanding it because it is too deep for my intellect to fathom.
Having learned all of this spiritual truth today, I am strengthened in the inner man to love Jesus all the more and live His holy calling. “Why so?” you ask. Because I realize even more why He bothered to become a human being forevermore. I recognize more deeply how much He truly loves me because He did so.
His appearance in time so as to fulfill God’s plan of eternity was for my benefit, not His. He wants me to know His love for me, so He came into time in a manner I could comprehend. That is how God reveals Himself to me and to you and to every Christian.
Can you relate to the love of God for you personally? Does this not strum your heart strings and play a love song for God? If so, then the duality between time and eternity as we read it in 2 Timothy 1 has achieved its goal. Works for me. Hope so for you too.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
