16 February 2025

Jesus- Not Merely the Man, But God (TMF:2555)

Friday, February 21, 2025

Peace to Live By: Jesus- Not Merely the Man, But God (TMF:2555) - Daniel Litton
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Moving along to verse 17: “And he [God’s beloved Son] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” This just didn’t come from Paul’s fanciful mind, but recall, John recorded for us in John 8:58: “Jesus said to them [the Jews], “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” This verse in Colossians shows the eternality of Christ. Jesus not merely the man, but God, God who becomes man at a point in time. Incredible and hard to fathom—perhaps impossible to fathom. It makes good sense that in the Son “all things hold together.” Notice that all things are said to be holding together as if there is a force that works against “all things.” What constitutes that force? Obviously coming to mind is Satan. That’s obvious. But also it should be noted the rebelliousness of mankind, as we just discussed. The negativity of people—their sin. If it wasn’t for Christ’s consciousness—Christ’s love—that holds the world together, certainly everything would fall apart.

God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 4 (TMF:2554)

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Peace to Live By: God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 4 (TMF:2554) - Daniel Litton
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And technically speaking, and not to get too off track, really it would appear that God never originally wanted governments to begin with—for they are a result of the fallen world. Now, we do know that Revelation 21 tells us of the New Jerusalem that, “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there” (Revelation 21:24-26, ESV). Governments then could be part of the New World. To reiterate, though, evil is present in the current governments not because God is perverted—but rather it is because people are that way. God is not authoring evil. Remember, mentioned last week was the verse in Acts 12 where the angel of the Lord struck down Herod. If God had chosen Herod for evil purposes to bring about good, then why would God have struck Herod down? One could say that it was because God was through with him, but the passage doesn’t seem to imply that.

God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 3 (TMF:2553)

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Peace to Live By: God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 3 (TMF:2553) - Daniel Litton
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Where the misunderstanding comes, is when we believe that God puts bad people into power because he wants to accomplish good. Though, that’s not to say, he would love to see good come about from it in people turning from their sins. And, it’s not to say that God will not work good where he can, which includes any kind of situation in which he can—but he will not go against people’s freedom to choose. This is serious business we are discussing. What about Romans 9:17 and 18, and Pharaoh, and the fact that God raised him up and hardened his heart? It would seem that God in that instance already hardens a heart that is hardened. So, again, the verse stating “all things were created through him and for him” shows God’s original purpose for the creation—for the “thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” And technically speaking, and not to get too off track, really it would appear that God never originally wanted governments to begin with—for they are a result of the fallen world.

God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 2 (TMF:2552)

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Peace to Live By: God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 2 (TMF:2552) - Daniel Litton
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Thusly, it only makes sense that God does not work toward evil. Even Romans 8:28 makes that clear in the simplest sense. Though that verse also tells us something—and that is that God works for the good of those who love him. It is qualified. It isn’t that God works for the good in all things, and let’s be clear, for that is because he cannot. Why? Freewill. People have freewill. God cannot go against people’s wills when they do not choose to freely love him. That would be force. God doesn’t operate by force. Where the misunderstanding comes, is when we believe that God puts bad people into power because he wants to accomplish good. Though, that’s not to say, he would love to see good come about from it in people turning from their sins. And, it’s not to say that God will not work good where he can, which includes any kind of situation in which he can—but he will not go against people’s freedom to choose. This is serious business we are discussing.

God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 1 (TMF:2551)

Monday, February 17, 2025

Peace to Live By: God Working Good Out of Evil, Part 1 (TMF:2551) - Daniel Litton
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So, “all things were created through him and for him.” Does this mean that God has created the evil powers for his own sake, for his own purposes? It depends on who you ask—but the true answer would be no. Let us rewind for a moment and discuss the physical earthly kingdoms again. We know that certain leaders end up being evil leaders, or really, are already evil when they come into power. Again, we really need no explanation of this, and we just saw this with Herod. And we saw how God worked against this. It isn’t that God needs to have the evil present in order to show his power, as is often assumed. But it is that God works good out of the evil that is present, as he did with Peter (and again, this was in response to the believers prayers—don’t miss that). And he did use it to show his power, or course. It isn’t though that he desires it in order to show his power. Why, he created the world and everything in it, a very powerful act—a tremendous display of his power—with no evil present.