You may have heard the cliche, “It is all about God!” Well, is it? On the other hand, the evolutionists claim it is all about nature and evolution; with man now at the top of the food chain. Then, the multitudes who suffer daily and believe there is a devil likely believe the devil must be the one in control. And then some obviously believe there are multiple controllers in their lives: God has a part in their suffering. the devil has a part in controlling their lives. And other human beings definitely exercise some control over their well-being in their health, finances, relationships, etc.
Everyone else has a bigger slice of my life than I do, they evidently think. And the greater number of unfortunates in this world obviously believe in that mixture. God, Satan and other people have more say in my life than I do, is the obvious motto of many of the 7,000,000,000 plus people living on this planet. Confusion galore! Let us unconfuse the situation a little bit.
Our Creator did not have any kind of suffering in mind for any of His creatures, in spite of what John Calvin claimed. He said that God planned Adam’s fall, and wanted some of Adam’s fallen offspring to be saved from their fallen condition, but predestined others to suffer in hell eternally. Not their choice, but God’s arbitrary choice for them. No Scripture even hints of that kind of predestination. But, God did give man a free will, and did know that he would fall. John Calvin taught that God knowing that Adam would fall was the same as planning his fall. That is a big Satanic lie—and the biggest reason many people are suffering on this planet—believing the devil’s lies. It happened to Adam and Eve! And through them, to us! Their believing Satan’s lies is what opened the door to all the turmoil going on in the world today.
However, each generation since Adam and Eve has fallen for the same old satanic deceptions and has perpetuated the situation. And Paul prophesied that evil people will become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, as we near the end of this age (2 Timothy 3:13).
So, is it all about God? Is it all about man? Is it all about the devil? Scripture Truth is: It is all about God and His plan for creation. And man is part of God’s creation. Not in his fallen state, but as Adam was created to be. And Jesus came to reinstate man to that pristine state. But the reason for the need for Jesus to come to reinstate man into his original condition (and then some); well that is where the devil comes in. And even the devil did not start out as the devil, but as one of God’s beautiful angelic creatures, who decided to abandon his original habitation and purpose, and try to become a god like the Creator.
Although sin was not part of God’s original plan, it became necessary for Him to deal with sin. And sin beginning in the angelic realm was not the divine plan either. But God, being wise as He is, He has orchestrated His salvation plan flawlessly. God can win with any hand dealt to him by any of His creatures who have a free will. A major proof of that truth is the fact that all of the prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit about Christ have come to pass up to this point. Many more for the last days of this age. See, we have not departed from the last-days-events study. One prophecy has a 50/50 chance of being fulfilled. Two prophetic details have a much smaller chance of coming to pass. When hundreds of prophetic details are involved, the odds against all of them coming to pass becomes astronomical. To infinity and beyond! God’s Word prevails!
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books; and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website you can even listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com)