All or Nothing! Part 2 – How does “all” relate to God’s authority and power?
There are 7 messages in this All or Nothing Series. To access them all, please use the following links.
All or Nothing Part 1
All or Nothing Part 2
All or Nothing Part 3
All or Nothing Part 4
All or Nothing Part 5
All or Nothing Part 6
All or Nothing Part 7
(a) God as Creator of all is entitled to receive all glory.
Romans 11:36 – For of him, and through him, and to him, {are} all things: to whom {be} glory for ever. Amen.
Nothing has glory or honour outside God. Satan wanted glory and God required all glory to be His. So satan lost the battle!
Isaiah 48:11 – For mine own sake, {even} for mine own sake, will I do {it}: for how should {my name} be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
We have no rights at all. Note what we feel when we do something good and someone else gets the credit for it! And all good belongs to God; all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Even satan was unable to justify any glory for himself and he, who possessed more power and authority than we could ever dream of, tried to get some of that glory which was due to God alone ….. and he lost all that he had in the first place.
Even when satan desires to attack us, he has to petition God against us first. Note that if all things work together for good to genuine Christians who are walking according to God’s will, then all influences on our lives must be permitted by God in order for Him to promise that all will work together for good!
If God doesn’t give permission, then satan cannot touch us (see Job). This assumes that we haven’t made a deliberate choice to sin by rebelling against God’s requirements. For, if we have rebelled against God’s will, no longer may we claim the promise that all things will work together for good. Thus if we rebel, it is we who are choosing what comes into our lives, not God.
In this way God ensures that all spiritual attacks permitted against us will work together for good and thus bring Him all the glory for the victory. Nothing can come against us unless it is permitted by the One who has all authority and thus all glory.
(b) We are complete in the One who is fully God who has all power and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 – 9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Note that we are complete in Him.
complete – pleroo (to be filled so full that no more can be added; to be made complete in every particular; to be rendered perfect; to bring to completion.)
fulness – pleroma {fulness; completely filled; used of those things with which a ship is filled: freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers, that is, the ship’s manifest is completed [all persons and cargo are on board before the ship sails])
Both fulness and complete are absolutes derived from the same Greek root word. You cannot be any “fuller” than fullness (pleroma). And “complete” (pleroo) is another absolute word. If only one thing is not complete, then we are overall not complete in Him. Like a jigsaw, we are only complete when all the pieces are in place. If just one piece is missing, then we, like the jigsaw, are incomplete! pleroo (complete) represents the fully-completed jigsaw with all pieces in place.
And note that Jesus has all the fullness (pleroma) of God in Him. (After all, He is God!) It’s a bit like the difference between computer software versions. One is a free trial which doesn’t have all the features unlocked. However, when you pay, you get the full, unlocked version, with all features included. Jesus is the complete unlocked fullness of God. If we are complete in Him, then we also should have our complete unlocked fullness with all features included. Put another way, we cannot be complete – that is, some or many features will be lacking – unless we are “in Him”. The two words “fulness” and “complete” are very similar words. All the fulness (unlimited fulness) of the Godhead dwells in Christ, and this means our completeness is likewise unlimited, that is, we are complete, not one thing lacking. Only in Christ can we be completely what we were created to be. Only in Christ (who is the pleroma of God) may we be pleroo.
So often we live as if we are limited in some way, that it just doesn’t seem possible to be complete. But why is it impossible? Look at this verse:
Matthew 19:26 – But Jesus beheld {them}, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
The rich young man had come to Jesus to ask Him, “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Jesus had asked him to give up all that he had, sell it, and give the money to the poor. The young man had gone away sorrowful “for he had great possessions.”
Look at the full passage: Matthew 19:16-26 – 16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? {there is} none good but one, {that is}, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19Honour thy father and {thy} mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go {and} sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come {and} follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25When his disciples heard {it}, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26But Jesus beheld {them}, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
So often the choice is between being perfect in Christ (Matthew 19:21) or seeking the apparent reality that often limits our thinking. However, with God all things are possible, as long as we are prepared to obey His conditions. In order to be complete in Christ we must also walk by faith, not by sight, for the real world is not what we see, but instead the eternal world (which is invisible to our eyes) is the reality that we cannot see except by faith.
2 Corinthians 4:18 – While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
(c) The Bible is full of absolutes concerning the authority and power of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:22-28 – 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24Then {cometh} the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy {that} shall be destroyed {is} death. 27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under {him, it is} manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Note all the “all” words – my count is 12 – and that doesn’t count other absolute words…. such as “firstfruits” & “last”. This is a statement comparing the Adam condition (death) with the Christ condition (life).
Note the following:- Adam – all die. Christ – all live. It is clear that Vs 22 has two parts, each set against the other in opposition to each other: all die: all live! However, not all in Adam will eventually die spiritually, for some of them will indeed have eternal life. Yet not all in Adam will live in Christ. So the message, in order to be consistent, must not conflict with the consistent message of the rest of the Scriptures. Some suggest that it is because all the dead one day will live (that is, will come forth from the grave), some to the resurrection of life, and others to the resurrection of damnation; see the following:
John 5:25-29 – 25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
However, I do not believe that 1 Corinthians 15:22 is relating to this, even though it has to be considered, as both “all”s cannot be balanced against each other with this interpretation. Some of the all in John 5:28 will not rise to eternal life but to eternal condemnation, that is, eternal “death”.
I believe that the meaning is spiritual, yet how can all those who die in Adam be the same as all those who live in Christ? We know that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.
Note Romans 3:23-24 – 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
But here note also that the same group that has sinned (all) (Vs 23) is the same group that is freely justified (Vs 24), although Paul also teaches in consequent verses that this is made effective by faith. That is, all sin, all are guilty, and in Adam all must die, yet all are also justified in Christ. But, you say, not all are justified in Christ. Well, yes and no. All are potentially justified, that is, all have the option to be justified via the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23) which must be made active by faith (Romans 3:26) by calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). Not all will call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, yet all are offered the gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23 which states that all those who must die for their sin are also offered the gift of eternal life in Christ).
All in Adam die, yet some will escape through being justified by faith. All are made alive in Christ, yet some will reject that life and be condemned to death. It’s to do with potential death and potential life.
In Romans 5, Paul teaches that through Adam’s offense, judgment came upon all men; yet through one Man’s righteous act, the gift of justification was offered to that same group of all men.
Romans 5:18 – Therefore as by the offence of one {judgment came} upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one {the free gift came} upon all men unto justification of life.
Thus 1 Corinthians 15:22 can be seen quite correctly as all men potentially condemned in Adam, and all men potentially alive in Christ. Calvinism with its limited atonement heresy would deny the gospel of life to all but the elect, yet Christ’s gift is clearly offered to all men; thus all men can potentially be saved, yet they aren’t because they exercise their free will to reject the free gift. (And a potential salvation is by no means lacking in anything for those who accept the free gift by faith. All who accept this potential salvation are indeed saved to the uttermost; this is consistent with all Scriptural references on this point.)
Thus in Adam all are condemned to die, and in Christ all may potentially receive life. It is man’s free will that determines which option he chooses: to remain condemned to death or to live in Christ. What must a man do to be saved? He must call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). What must a man do to go to hell? He doesn’t have to do anything at all; he that believeth not is condemned already (John 3:18).
These options are available to all mankind. They that follow satan’s pathways will end up in destruction, while those who follow God’s pathways will end up in life.
Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof {are} the ways of death.
Proverbs 11:19 – As righteousness {tendeth} to life: so he that pursueth evil {pursueth it} to his own death.
1 John 5:11-12 – 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; {and} he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
(d) The world which we see around us is not the real world; instead, the real world with all its absolutes as defined by Scripture is the eternal yet invisible “spiritual” world.
There’s very little in the Bible that isn’t clear cut like “all or nothing”. We don’t observe much of this absolute truth because the world we live in is not the real world, according to the Bible. The real world is the spiritual world, the eternal world, the one we cannot see. We are all too often deceived by the limitations of our physical sight (and thus our understanding concerning the world around us).
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – 16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward {man} is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding {and} eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen {are} temporal; but the things which are not seen {are} eternal. Also note the connection this has with the following just a few verses later…
2 Corinthians 5:7 – (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
And because God’s position and authority is absolute, we can be certain that the spiritual realm will reflect that, although it’s difficult to establish this by empirical proof with our earthly sight. However, the following example may demonstrate the difference between our earthly sight and our eyes of faith. It takes faith to see what Elisha could see, and real faith to act upon it.
2 Kings 6:8-18 – 8Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place {shall be} my camp. 9And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us {is} for the king of Israel? 12And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that {is} in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13And he said, Go and spy where he {is}, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, {he is} in Dothan. 14Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16And he answered, Fear not: for they that {be} with us {are} more than they that {be} with them. 17And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain {was} full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
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