Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Colossians 1:16 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. |
Bible Question:
Can you guys give me some of your perspectives or biblical perspectives on destiny. Is it just too complicated for us to understand that God has planned out our lives but on the other hand we have control of what happens in our life with God's help. Maybe I am just thinking about it at a wrong angle or there is a bigger picture involved. I would appreciate input or bible verses or anyhting at all you would like to contribute. Thanks. Josh |
Bible Answer: Hi, Josh... Destiny is a pagan concept. Like the word fate, it has its roots in feminine gods who set everything to occur in mischievous and perverse ways. The orthodox Christian world-view does not see things this way. Even those who hold to a strong predestinarian perspective don't see it this way. God is active in His creation, He uses the actions of everyone and everything for His own purposes, but things still are able to function to the limit of what their nature allows them to do. First, we must recognize that everything that is not God is created. Creation was made from nothing (ex nihlo). It isn't an emanation nor is it part of God. Furthermore, He sustains His creation. If He stopped, things would cease to exist. Second, it follows, then, that time itself was created. We are subject to time in a very linear fashion (i.e., one dimensionally). It is difficult, therefore, for us to grasp these ideas living as we do "inside the box." However, God is not subject to time -- He isn't even subject to three dimensional time, whatever that might be! When He looks at something the scripture even says He sees the end from the beginning. (Isn't it interesting that it is in the reverse order to what we expect?) Another very important idea to our doctrine of soteriology is that Christ, in Revelation, is said to be "the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world." We think of Christ as being slain in a moment of time. We are said to be "seated with Christ in the heavenlies" but it doesn't feel like that to us. Instead, that seems like a far future event. However, the Bible declares it in the present tense. So, when God looks at a thing, He sees everything it was, everything it is, and everything it will be all at once. We aren't that way at all. I'm looking at a computer screen. Rocks, extruded from the ground, were worn away by the action of erosion. They were ground down into tiny silicate components we call sand. Man came along and melted it and created sheets of glass, of which my computer screen is a product. Eventually it will be crushed into small components again. But I don't see everything my computer screen was, is, and will be. I can't even see but one side of a thing at a time! With God, it is not so. He is not subject to time, but time is subject to Him. We are told that God has an "eternal purpose." This is a plan that He is unfolding across time and space. God cannot be thwarted. Thus, we can say that nothing occurs outside of His sovereign. Isaiah says that all of His plans are carried out with perfect faithfulness. God is doing a work and, strictly by His good pleasure, we are part of it! Finally, I'd suggest you spend some time looking at causality. God is the great original cause of all other causes. He is sometimes called "the causeless cause." Look into what the theologians call "primary causes" and "secondary causes." Of course, keep studying the Word of God. It is the ultimate (although not exhaustive) authority of truth. (Because truth is anything that God says, and the scriptures are the Word of God, therefore they are true.) Perhaps some of these ideas will give you a foundation from which you can build a better understanding of the nature of God's eternal decrees, election, predestination, etc. I don't think anyone can totally understand it. However, I think it is quite possible to understand it far better than most of us do. I wish that I could point you to one source. Sorry, but it is a complicated subject, much deliberated by believers over the centuries. In Him, Doc |
Up | Down View Branch | ID# 142323 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for Col 1:16 | Author | ||
|
ekip | ||
|
Makarios | ||
|
sarahk | ||
|
bronx hulk | ||
|
Therese | ||
|
Ms L | ||
|
Exodus_20 | ||
|
Computrkid | ||
|
DocTrinsograce | ||
|
du plessis | ||
|
prettyboy |