It Is Finished!

As a counselor, people are encouraged to come talk when problems arise. It could be problems at work, the spouse, kids, etc. Biblical counselors are here to listen to your struggles, and give advice according to the Bible.

Growing up, this is how I pictured God's relationship with His creation. Adam failed, so he kicked them out of the Garden of Eden. Everyone sinned, so God destroyed the earth. Sodom and Gomorrah were evil, so God destroyed them. Over and over it appeared that God was seeing a counselor to figure out what to do next, and everything came to a climax at the ultimate overhaul: the crucifixion and resurrection. This type of thinking leads us to think of God as the ultimate child abuser by using Jesus to fix His problems.

Then a question popped into my mind "What if God is not a reactionary God? What if everything is part of a plan?" I continued to just meditate on those questions. My conclusion to these questions were "the Bible says that God is sovereign. That means that He cannot be a reactionary. Therefore, there must be a bigger plan." Up until this point, I had kind of humanized God. When I began to look at God's sovereignty, He quickly began to grow.

Matthew 10:29–31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Colossians 1:16–17 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

God created Adam and Eve to live in a perfect environment that was free from sin. God made a deal with them. They could live in that garden as long as they did not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Side note: We all know now that God is the only thing that is righteous and holy. He is the only perfect being. This side note raised some questions in my head. "If God is the only righteous, holy, and perfect being, than what was God's plan?" This question is pinnacle! If Adam and Eve's disobedience was part of the plan, then this changes everything. The Old Testament would have to change from a bunch of random stories about old people, to a redemptive plan that was set into place before time began. The whole Bible no longer looks like 66 random Reader's Digest books, and it begins to resemble a miraculous 66 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Romans 5: 12-21

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[e] because all sinned — for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible began to transform before my eyes. It began to come alive, and I began to see little nuggets of redemption throughout the Bible. I began to see Christ on every page. But, the best was yet to come! One day, I was reading in the Gospels, and I came to the verse where Jesus said, "It is finished." I felt like Emeril Lagassi saying "Bam!" Christ accomplished what Adam was never designed to do. I can't save myself, because I was never designed to save myself. God's redemption plan, set before the foundations were laid out, had been completed. The ultimate story of the Father's love for His children. The world's greatest jig saw puzzle, became the greatest story of redemption. 

Because He Lives by Bill Gaither

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!