Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
***
Christ Is God
Chapter 45 – The Nature of a Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament involves, among other things, the concept of death. To be specific, death triggers the execution of the will. It is the dividing line between the making of a will and its execution. Paul puts it this way:
Hebrews 9:16 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.
Hebrews 9:17 For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.
A last will and testament also involves the concept of consciousness. The testator – that is, the person making out the will – has to be conscious in order to make it out. This hardly needs to be said, but I mention it because of its relevance to death as a transition.
The transition of death for humans means that one consciousness is lost and replaced by another. A mortal man becomes an immortal man. He thinks differently; sees himself and the world differently. He can no longer change his last will and testament because it was formulated under a consciousness he can no longer assume.
This same transition of consciousness applies to God’s journey through Christ. For example, once “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), He could no longer change anything He had said or done in the name of YHWH. This same restriction applies to each stage of His journey. What’s done is done, what’s said is said, and what’s written is written.
Recognize also that the concepts of heir and inheritance (which we examined in Chapter 37 – “The Inheritance of Christ”) are also related to the concept of a last will and testament. (For brevity’s sake, I’ll usually just say “will” going forward.)
With all this context, let’s revisit a biblical passage that appeared in this book more than a few times.
Hebrews 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Hebrews 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
A will can not only specify an heir, it can specify the terms under which the heir will receive his inheritance. For example, though the identity of the heir may be settled, the details of when and how the inheritance is to be received can also be managed by the will itself. Paul puts it this way:
Galatians 4:1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,
Galatians 4:2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
Before God created and assumed the role of Christ, He determined His will for Christ and for all creation. Peter described it this way:
Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
This is the will that “the Word” would follow until He “became flesh.” As a man, He followed “the predetermined plan” as it was revealed in the Old Testament. At each stage of His journey, God was following a plan. THE plan.
Paul called this plan “predestination.”
1 Corinthians 2:7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
This predestination is not of every detail in life. For if it was, this would be a fatalistic world – not a free-will world. This predestination determines primarily God’s actions, and sets the boundaries of our experience. This is how sinners can go to heaven even though we have all sinned in one way or another. We have choice, but God has the final word.
Having described the nature of death, consciousness, and will, we are now equipped to describe the means of God’s journey through Christ.
***
A Bible Reader's Website 