God’s Grand Plan

God’s Grand Plan

God's Grand Plan was forged in The Garden of Eden. Eden was the perfect place, created for a thriving human life with no illness, pain, or death. Nature was also perfect, with no earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, floods or tornadoes. The perfection of life in Eden had God's divine seal of approval, "It was very good"(Genesis 1:31). Everything was perfect, until through deception the Devil manipulated Adam and Eve to disobey God's only commandment—not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result, death came into humanity (1) and nature (2) alike, just as God had said it would. 

(1) For dust you are, and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3:19)

(2) The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:23)

Since the Fall, humanity and nature have been going into an entropy mode, from disintegration and gradual decline into chaos towards ultimate annihilation. God's Grand Plan is a divinely designed intervention to stop the advancing of this destructive course with the only purpose of saving the human race from the curse of death. Sole faith in Jesus reverses the curse, turning it into a life-giving blessing. God's plan for the redemption of humanity and nature began at the time of the Fall. God said: 

And I will put an enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15) 

The serpent's offspring is Satan; the woman's offspring is Jesus. The enmity between both—one aims at the demise of humankind, the other aims at its salvation. God's Grand Plan spoke of victory for the human race over the destructive work of Satan. His plan was set in motion in ancient times, and it is now continuously unfolding before our eyes. But even more, Jesus was chosen as the Redeemer before the creation of the world to execute God's Grand Plan (I Peter 1:20). Astonishingly, in the grand scheme of schemes, even we, who profess faith in Jesus were chosen in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). It is breathtaking to grasp that before God spoke the world into being, His Grand Plan was already set in place. On the sixth day, before even God created humanity, He foreknew everyone who would say "YES" to His call for salvation.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. (Romans 8:29a) 

 What a mystery! Yet, it is according to God's good pleasure to put this mystery into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, namely to bring all things in Heaven and Earth together under one head—Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:10). Even though this fullness of time has now been revealed, as long as we are still on this side of Eternity, God's divine providence will remain a mystery for us, the mere mortals. 

Back to Jeremiah 29:11, the Hebrew word translated as "to prosper”(NIV) is the Hebrew word "shalom" (שׁלום). Many Bible versions have also translated this particular use of the word "shalom" (שׁלום) as "wellbeing" or "welfare." NKJV has translated the word "shalom" (שׁלום) as peace. It is not accidental that the Prophet used this exact word because the message it conveys is eternal. "Shalom," which means “peace” in Hebrew, is the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. This is the same peace or "shalom" (שׁלום) Jesus promised to the disciples and to all who would believe in Him.

Peace (שׁלום) I leave with you; my peace (שׁלום) I give you. (John 14:27, emphasis added)

Jesus is the divine peace (shalom). He is the prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Only through Him can His peace (shalom) become our peace (shalom). According to the Apostle Paul, this is the peace that surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus is the cornerstone of God's Grand Plan (Ephesians 2:20-22; Acts 4:11; Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22). He came to defeat death and restore humanity's immortality, which was lost in Eden. 

Jesus also came to restore the glory with which humankind was created in God's image and likeness. 

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Lord Jesus is also restoring Eden's glory. The book of Revelation describes a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)

For the believers with the Messiah's perspective, God's Grand Plan is the complete restoration of humankind and nature to their former glory in the Garden of Eden. This is the same glory God Himself imparted in us upon creation at the beginning of time, which consequently was lost due to the Fall. The humankind regained its former glory through Christ crucified when Jesus breathed His last, saying, "It is finished" (John 19:30). On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the original sin, defeating the enemy. He crushed the ugly reality of death and restored the former divine glory to us. We are propelled into Eternity, becoming EHAD with God, just as it was in the Garden of Eden.