All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:3-4 RSVA)
The apostle Paul spoke to the Greeks on Mars Hill and said,
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; And has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:24-28 KJ2000)
“He gives to ALL life, and breath, and all things… though he be not far from every one of us: For IN HIM we live, and move, and have our being.” So much for the God I was taught about in Catholic school that is way up in heaven and can not be bothered with us little peons down here on earth! God is very much involved with all of His creation and did not put it all in motion and then go on vacation, leaving the rest to us to deal with as some agnostics teach today.
No, the scriptures make it clear that our Father and His Son and the Holy Spirit are and have been very involved with His creation right from the beginning. The Spirit of God brooded over the waters, God said, “Let there be Light and there was Light” when darkness was upon the face of the deep. And John in the first chapter of his gospel records that without the Word, Jesus Christ, was nothing made that was made.
Yet, Paul takes it one step further when He wrote about Jesus Christ saying,
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:17-20 ESV – emphasis added)
Paul tells us that IN Christ all things are held together and that through Christ, God has reconciled to himself ALL things. How? Because God has placed ALL things IN Him. With this in mind, I would like to add this excerpt by Abraham Kuyper on how the very Spirit of Christ has been involved from the very beginning of creation and in the affairs of men, not just in our regeneration and New Covenant anointings as some teach.
Creation and Re-Creation
(from “Work of the Holy Spirit” by Abraham Kuyper – http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit)
“Behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you.”—Prov. i. 23.
We approach the special work of the Holy Spirit in Re-creation. We have seen that the Holy Spirit had a part in the creation of all things, particularly in creating man, and most particularly in endowing him with gifts and talents; also that His creative work affects the upholding of “things,” of “man,” and of “talents,” through the providence of God; and that in this double series of threefold activity the Spirit’s work is intimately connected with that of the Father and that of the Son, so that every thing, every man, every talent springs from the Father, is given disposition in their respective natures and being through the Son, and receives the spark of life by the Holy Spirit.
The old church hymn, “Veni, Creator Spiritus,” and the ancient confession of the Holy Spirit as the “Vivificans” agree with this perfectly. For the latter signifies that Person in the Trinity who imparts the spark of life; and the former means, “Seeing that the things which are to live and shall live are ready, come Holy Spirit and quicken them.”
There is always the same deep thought: the Father remains outside of the creature; the Son touches him outwardly; by the Holy Spirit the divine life touches him directly in his inward being.
However, let us not be understood to say that God comes into contact with the creature only in the regeneration of His children, which would be untrue. To the Gentiles at Athens, St. Paul says “In Him we live and move and have our being.” And again “For of His offspring we are.” (Acts xvii. 28) To say nothing of plant or animal, there is on earth no life, energy, law, atom, or element but the Almighty and Omnipresent God quickens and supports that life from moment to moment, causes that energy to work, and enforces that law. Suppose that for an instant God should cease to sustain and animate this life, these forces, and that law; in that same instant they would cease to be. The energy that proceeds from God must therefore touch the creature in the very center of its being, whence, its whole existence must spring. Hence there is no sun, moon, nor star, no material, plant, or animal, and, in much higher sense, no man, skill, gift, or talent unless God touch and support them all.
It is this act of coming into immediate contact with every creature, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, rational or irrational, that, according to the profound conception of the Word of God, is performed not by the Father, nor by the Son, but by the Holy Spirit…
Hence we have spared no pain, and omitted no detail, in order, by the grace of God, to place before the Church two distinct thoughts, viz.:
First, The work of the Holy Spirit is not confined to the elect, and does not begin with their regeneration; but it touches every creature, animate and inanimate, and begins its operations in the elect at the very moment of their origin.
Second, The proper work of the Holy Spirit in every creature consists in the quickening and sustaining of life with reference to his being and talents, and, in its highest sense, with reference to eternal life, which is his salvation.
Thus we have regained the true standpoint requisite for considering the work of the Holy Spirit in the re-creation. For thus it appears:
First, that this work of re-creation is not performed in fallen man independently of his original creation; but that the Holy Spirit, who in regeneration kindles the spark of eternal life, has already kindled and sustained the spark of natural life. And, again, that the Holy Spirit, who imparts unto man born from above gifts necessary to sanctification and to his calling in the new sphere of life, has in the first creation endowed him with natural gifts and talents…
Second, it is evident that the work of the Holy Spirit bears the same character in creation and re-creation. If we admit that He quickens life in that which is created by the Father and by the Son, what does He do in the re-creation but once more quicken life in him that is called of the Father and redeemed by the Son? Again, if the Spirit’s work is God’s touching the creature’s being by Him, what is re-creation but the Spirit entering man’s heart, making it His temple, comforting, animating, and sanctifying it?
Thus following the Sacred Scripture and the superior theologians, we reach a confession that maintains the unity of the Spirit’s work, and makes it unite organically the natural and the spiritual life, the realm of nature and that of grace.
Of course His work in the latter surpasses that in the former:
First, since it is His work to touch the inward being of the creature, the more tender and natural the contact the more glorious the work. Hence it appears more beautiful in man than in the animal; and more lustrous in the spiritual man than in the natural, since the contact with the former is more intimate, the fellowship sweeter, the union complete.
Secondly, since creation lies so far behind us and re-creation touches us personally and daily, the Word of God directs more attention to the latter, claiming for it more prominence in our confession. But, however different the measures of operation and of energy, the Holy Spirit remains in creation and re-creation the one omnipotent Worker of all life and quickening, and is therefore worthy of all praise and adoration.
Truly IN HIM we live and move and have our being and by Him do ALL things consist. What a great and wonderful God and Father we have who has made ALL things ours IN Christ.
For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, (Ephesians 1:9-11 RSVA)
And he has put all things under his [Christ] feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23 RSVA)
A Wilderness Voice 
Beautiful and well said! Every breath, every cell testifies to God’s presence in our very being. We tend to take these things for granted, the breathing and the regeneration of our cells, but they are miraculous things indeed. Just the number of cells that must be replaced daily to keep us going is remarkable. The moment our healing stops we are in a whole lot of trouble, because our physical bodies must be renewed and regenerated constantly.
No, it is not like God created us and then went on vacation. 😉
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Gabrielle, thank you for your reminder of how God is even involved in maintaining our health down to the cellular level. I have been totally bless ever since I found that verse that says of Christ, “In Him ALL things hold together.” Most scientists are totally baffeled as to why a group of protons in the nucleus of an atom are held together when as like charges they should be flying apart. Or they are stumped as to why according to their own second law of thermodynamics, the celestial bodies that are moving out from a common beginning point in what they call “the Big Bang,” why these bodies are accelerating instead of slowing down. They come up with terms like “atomic glue” or “dark energy” and “dark matter” when the only darkness in God’s universe is found in the hearts and minds of those who deny Him under the influence of the Prince of Darkness. Truly, in Christ all things hold together and are watched over by Him.
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Just lovely, Michael. You words are always so reassuring, they remind me that the kingdom is a real thing, that the paths we all take to discover the truth and the way and the life may look a bit different, but eventually we all arrive on the same page. Faith has an evidence and substance and it bears good fruit.
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That was a great quote by Kuyper, Michael. If we understand it properly, it should mean the end of all arrogance and boasting about having been elect by God. Election does not mean that some people are “better” than those who have not been saved (yet), it only means that there are some whom God chose beforehand that they should spread His light in this world so that others might see it and follow Him whom they cannot see (yet).
Your well-wrought article also reminded me of that, which I find, strange term “common grace” that says that all not-yet-saved-people in this world might share in a “lower kind” of grace as if there was a “better” grace for those who were drawn to Jesus by God earlier. This sort of arrogance I often met in evangelical circles made me shudder and run since it somehow divides God into two separate beings, a reachable God for the elect and a distant God for all the other miserable human beings who were not chosen by Him before the foundation of the world. If we who were drawn to God do not feel compassion and the desire to see those outside of Christ eventually saved too, I wonder whether we already have true faith…? 🙄
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Dear Susanne, thank you again for your thoughtful comment. The theological arrogance of unregenerate minds amazes me. How supposed Christians can boast about their being “the elect” of God when everything I read in the scriptures about His great grace totally humbles me and makes me so thankful that He could, as John Newton so wonderfully wrote, “save a wretch like me.” Paul made it clear that no flesh will stand before God and boast. What His grace has done for me is make me SO love Him and want to be with the One who first loved me for all of eternity, not elevate myself over all the other beings He loves so much. Nothing stinks in God’s nose more than religious pride which originated in Satan himself (see Isaiah 14:12-15). Yes, Susanne, I also wonder about those who claim the name of Christ, yet do not manifest His love and desire that all men might be saved.
You are a blessing! ❤
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You’re very welcome, dear Michael. ❤
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Susanne’s words remind me of what Paul says in Roman’s 9:3, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
The idea behind sacrificing your own salvation so that another might be saved is really the condition we want our hearts to be in, in order to fully understand the nature of love and the sacrifice Christ made for us all. Salvation is really the most precious gift I have and to give it up, perish the thought, but when our love grows to the point of where we can put others before our own selves, we draw closer to Him and develop a deeper understanding of who He really is and what the nature of the relationship is to be. Sometimes with children, parents feel as if we would trade our lives for theirs if we could, and that really captures the essence of our Father’s love for us all.
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Great thoughts, Gabrielle. Thanks for your wise input, as always! 🙂
Your comparison between God’s love and parents’ desire to trade their own lives for the lives of their kids hits the nail smack on its head. Very good! ⭐
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Wow! I love it! I used to be arrogant of being part of the “Elect”. Made me feel more special than others. So in essence, I believe the Dark Night of My Soul had led me to believe that I was no better than they. I judged. I was self-Righteous. And during those 4 yrs. 2009-2013 I saw myself as nothing but dung. Who in the world do I think I am? So the end result was that I can no longer judge. That is God’s job. However horrible my dungeon experience was, I am so grateful to have survived. I am so grateful that I have been restored to Love and Beauty in all things. I am grateful to have been kicked out of my residence in Nov. of 2013 to experience a new level of perception however imperfect it may have been. Pain, anger, treated unfairly, then finally forgiveness, acceptance, love, beauty, and merciful. Compassionate. I too desire for ALL men to be saved. I am not so special after all. And that is wonderful news. Love and understanding is all we need. How can I judge women who have had abortions, when I too had one. I used to be anti abortion and still am but it is not my job to judge and I cannot control what men do.
As in Isaiah 55:8-9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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Thank you, Stacey. Before my 14 years in the wilderness (Dark Night) I thought I was pretty good stuff. In my own mind I was “God’s prophet of the hour” and some “great Bible teacher.” Then God showed me how HE saw me and that stripping process started in 1980. Well, I have come to realize that once He starts that process of killing that old Adam (and Eve) in us, it really never stops. In more recent years I have been invited to travel and teach the saints in foreign countries,.. what I always dreamed of. But you know what? I have come to despise that old image I once had of myself. Now I understand what Paul was talking about when he told the Corinthian church,
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 KJ2000)
I find the whole thought of standing before the saints of God and teaching them very sobering and even frightening, for I know that I am but flesh unless He comes through and speaks through me.
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Stacey, you are VERY special and extremely honest too. Love your comment, my sister. ❤
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Just beautiful, Michael! ❤
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Thank you for all your kind responses to my blog, dear Anna. You are such and encouragement to me. I hope all is going well for you in your new location and that God has opened doors for you to reach out and help the hurting and lost there.
You are such a blessing to us all! ❤
Michael
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You ask “Do I (we) believe it?” Like seemingly everything else in scripture, I would exclaim that yes, in fact, I do believe, even though I had doubts and my mind actively sought to disprove. Many years ago, the Lord said to me “do not read books”, for He told me they were often the opinions of men and the source of pharisee yeast. So I would only read the scriptures, discuss them with the few friends the Lord gave me and of course spent countless hours and days pondering their meaning.
Often the Lord would give me a vision or dream to help with understanding His word. About being “in Christ”, there was a time while recording a new song, I began to come down with a cold which would bring my work to a stop. The Lord gave me a brief dream in which I could see myself in the Lord – that I could tell, I was near His heart and looking out through His body (skin) to see a devil coming towards me with a sickness (cold) he intended to forcibly give me. The Lord asked “is there sickness in My body”? I answered “no” and with clear understanding of my place IN Christ, rebuked the enemy and told him there was NO sickness in the body of Christ and I was IN the body of Christ. The enemy fled and I awoke free from the cold I seemed to be coming down with.
Bless the Lord and His patience, for He has spent 60 years showing this doubting believer the extent of His love, His liberty and teaching me what it means to be a son of God in Christ. I imagine, Michael, the day will someday come, when all that is this world, the heavens and earth, will disappear in an instant and nothing will remain, but men and women, looking at one another and simultaneously coming to the sobering realization that nothing in this life was ever worth our time, our investment, more than loving the Lord and thereby one another, being charitable, encouraging, forgiving, etc. All of course, the realization that all things are in fact, in and of Him – our every breath and heartbeat, believer or not, a gift of God in Christ.
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Yes, Jack, All that is seen will be done away with, but those things that are not see are eternal. Faith, Hope and Love, these three remain along with all those hearts in which they abide. No wonder the true church, God’s kingdom, is the one that is found in our midst and not made with the hands of men. Thanks for your comment, my brother,
Michael
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You might like this scientific little nugget.
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Thanks for sharing this, Elli.
Michael
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Reblogged this on Praying for the millennials.
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