"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" (Hebrews 2:4 KJV)
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing into to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along will all wisdom and understanding. God has revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan." (Ephesians 1:3-11 NLT)
There are certain things we have been told about God's plans, most of which we have been shown what is easily seen in the Scriptures; none of which is unexplainable or hard to imagine why God does what He does, because everything is done according to His will; even the stuff that might seem unfair. As Pastor Bryan said the other night: "God is just, He isn't fair!"
Wrap your mind around that, because it really does matter how we interpret what is being said! If God was fair, then we might get what we deserve, what is the real result for things we have done; instead, He is just, giving us what we need, not what we deserve, based upon His great love for us, not according to our love for Him!
So many people think of God being the kind of God who returns kindness for kindness, or love for love; as if God is saying, 'You obey me, and I will care for you.' They hardly ever stop to see the love He has for us, isn't based upon what we do, but is totally and completely based upon what He does, we just need to receive His love, and be abundantly blessed, beyond what we could ever imagine...
"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boost about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:4-10 NLT)
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