God had a Plan, Thoughts on Being First Christ, the Firstborn

I’m still studying the word, 'first.' Isn’t it something how one small word can have so much depth? One of the most important aspects in this topical study has to be that Christ Himself is the Firstborn, (see verses 15 and 18 from Colossians 1 below) and (verse 18) that He will come to have first place in everything. Sometimes the scriptures are so powerful that it seems nothing else needs be said. Still, I would simply like to emphasize some things. Verse 15 – He is the image of the invisible God. Verse 16 – by Him all things were created. Verse 17 – He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. Verse 18 – He is the head of the body, the church. Verse 19 – all the fullness dwells in Him. Verse 20 – all things are reconciled to God through Him, and through the blood of His cross.

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

I am overwhelmed by these scriptures. If anyone ever has any doubt about just who the Lord Jesus Christ is, these scriptures are great reassurance that He is Emmanuel, God with us!

Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]

God had a Plan, A Good Deeds Book

I like to think of Titus as being ‘The Good Deeds Book.’ Now I know some of you are already a bit nervous about that. After all, our salvation isn’t based on ‘good deeds,’ but on the grace of God; it is the free gift of God’s love and mercy which we received when we believed that Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. And you are so very right about that. Nowhere in the bible does it tell us otherwise. Even in the very book of Titus the gospel of our salvation is explained, stating quite clearly that we are not saved by our own deeds which we have done in righteousness.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

There are other fundamental themes found within the book of Titus – church planting, sound doctrine, role modeling, and generally how we as Christians are to live our lives. That said, the theme I would like to focus on – is good deeds. Titus is only three short chapters and yet ‘deed’ or ‘deeds’ are mentioned in seven verses. From these few verses, it is evident that now, having been saved by grace, we are most surely to practice ‘good deed doing.’ Because it is mentioned so often, I have to conclude that it is considered by God Himself to be very important. In addition to Titus 3:4-7, the other verses that mention “good deeds” from Titus are the following:

Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Titus 2:7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,

Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,

Titus 3:8 This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.

Titus 3:14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

So, why are good deeds so very significant? Why not just enjoy grace, and sit back and wait for our ultimate salvation when the Lord returns to take us to be with Him forever? I believe the reason is simple – if an apple tree never produces apples, can we be sure it is an apple tree? The evidence of our faith is fruit – and if our lives produce no fruit, how can we be sure that faith is real?

Truly, I believe it is God Himself who desires to see fruit in our lives. Faith that produces no good thing is not something He is pleased with. He is pleased, however, when our faith is revealed – exemplified by our good deeds. The apple tree proves it is an apple tree by producing apples.

John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

God’s plan didn’t end with our salvation. “Good deeds” aren’t somehow an accidental post script to our foundational faith. God knew and planned all along that our actions would line up with our beliefs – when we really believe. If we believe a stove is hot, we won’t touch it. If we believe God is real, our actions will show that belief.

So, what then – are we to spend our days just looking for ways to be a “good-deed-doer?” It’s not that simple. Even a non-Christian can be a “good-deed-doer.” Motivation of the heart, whether we are doing deeds by faith – believing first that a specific deed is the thing God wants us to do, and knowing we can’t do anything in our own power but must rely on Him and His power working through us – all of these things tell whether it is truly a “good deed” in God’s sight. We do so many things from a desire to earn the favor of man, or even to earn God’s favor because we don’t completely understand the grace in which we stand.

Here is a very simple example. My child does not earn the right to be my child by cleaning his room. He already IS MY CHILD. He cannot earn through good deeds what he already has. We cannot earn by good deeds what we have already been freely given. If my child chooses to disobey me by not cleaning his room, he is still my child and I still love him. But quite frankly, I am not pleased with his behavior. On the other hand, if my child chooses to obey me by cleaning his room, then not only is he still my beloved child, but he has pleased me with his behavior.

This is a simple illustration of God’s love for us, and how completely accepted we are in Christ Jesus. It also explains some scriptures which otherwise might cause some confusion, because in fact, we are told to make pleasing God our very ambition.

1 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

Colossians 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

I like the book of Titus. Rather than being discouraged because I know I’m never going to get it all done, nor get it all done right, nor even do all the “good deeds” I’m called to, I’m thankful for God’s grace, and that He tells me I am His child, and He will always love me and always be with me. I’m also thankful that I can pursue knowing and pleasing Him, because by His grace He is building inside of me a desire to please Him, and because according to scripture it is the right thing to do!

And so, God’s plan – we are to be: an example of good deeds, zealous for good deeds, ready for every good deed, careful to engage in good deeds, and learning to engage in good deeds – and all for His glory, because we have as our sincere ambition to please Him in all respects!

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Job 42:1-2Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."
[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]

God had a Plan, Moses

He should not have been allowed to live. At least, that’s what the ruling authorities said. You see, in Egypt the Israelites had grown so strong the Egyptians feared they would soon take over.

But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them. Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. "Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land." (Exodus 1:7-10)

You remember the story of the baby, Moses. The Egyptian king’s edict was that all male babies born to the Israelites among them were to be killed by being cast into the Nile, but the baby girls were to be allowed to live. The parents of Moses sought to obey God rather than men, and hid the baby Moses. But they knew they could not keep him hidden forever, so they took a basket, covered it with waterproofing tar and pitch, and placed it in the reeds on the bank of the River Nile.

Of course God had a very definite plan for Moses. That's why he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, and why she desired to keep him as her own. He was nursed by his own Hebrew mother and yet raised in the palace. It’s quite a story of God rescuing one who was supposed to be killed, according to the prevailing authorities of the time.

It has been said that Moses is a type of Christ. I believe that means that he was representative of the Christ, the Savior, and in a sense gives a prophetic picture of what was to be fulfilled through Jesus.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

Satan has always had a plan, and that is to try to stop God’s plan from coming about. Just as the ruling authorities of the time tried to kill Moses, so the ruling authorities of the time sought to kill Jesus.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive." (Exodus 1:22)

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. (Matthew 2:13-14)

Just as God rescued Moses from the wicked plan of Pharaoh, God rescued Jesus from the wicked plan of Herod. The rest of the chapter of Matthew 2 goes on to reveal several more instances of Joseph, husband of Mary, listening to the warnings of God to move in order to protect the Child, Jesus.

Of course the day came when God removed His protection from Jesus – we all know the suffering He endured on our behalf. How amazing is the love and mercy of God, that He would not leave anything to chance, but He had a plan to redeem, and when the fullness of the time came, He sent forth His Son…

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:4-6)

After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; (Revelation 19:1)

***

Job 42:1-2Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."
[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]

A Sobering Conclusion

I know it's tempting when we read certain scriptures to jump to conclusions, but here's something to think about. The same Jesus who said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly," also said, "...not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." If we are going to hold fast to the whole truth of God, we must come to the sobering conclusion that the "abundant life" is not the same as "material wealth." Just a candid thought.

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."